Rival Desires

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by Annabel Joseph


  But oh, her bottom hurt. She stayed in position and only kicked a little bit, although she cried louder and louder. At last he left off belaboring her bottom, and she gasped for breath. She would never look at this meadow’s stump quite the same again. She rather wished it had grown over with ivy many years ago.

  “What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked when she caught her breath. His hand moved lazily over her hot cheeks, a soothing sort of threat.

  “I’m very sorry I said the word sto—the ‘s’ word in front of your friends,” she said. “And I’m terribly sorry I pretended to be tired only to trick you. I’ll never, ever do that again, I promise.”

  As she finished her abject apology, he gave her bottom a final spank, then brushed her skirts down. She let out a relieved breath as he lifted her and set her upon his lap.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, throwing her arms about his neck, and she meant it. “I’m going to be so good from now on. Well, at least for the rest of today.” It wouldn’t be hard to remember her manners, with her bottom smarting whenever she tried to sit on it. “I want to be a good wife to you, not a crosspatch.”

  “I’ll love you either way,” he promised, pulling her close against him.

  They sat that way for long, peaceful minutes. At times like this, she understood what he meant when he said that the occasional spanking was good for a marriage. Although, if she had a choice between erotic punishment and a sound spanking like the one she’d just received, she rather preferred the former. Ah, perhaps tonight...

  She leaned back and took in her handsome, loving husband. He wasn’t a stranger anymore. He was her rescuer, her heroic Viking with his broad shoulders and long, gold-blond hair.

  “I feel like singing,” she said. “Shall I sing for you?”

  “Always. The answer to that is always yes.”

  He held her as she sang songs about love in German and Italian, while the hawks flew in lazy circles above their heads. The world is love, and I shall raise my voice to the heavens. In all the skies, you are the one I see.

  When she tired of singing, he kissed her instead, pressing his lips to hers until she lost her breath.

  THE END

  A Final Note

  Thanks for reading this first book in a new world, with three more stories to come. It took me a long time to dream up the futures for the young children you met at the end of the previous Properly Spanked series. I knew I wanted their parents to be part of the stories, but I wanted the kids to have the spotlight—and the spankings.

  If you’re new to the Properly Spanked world and haven’t read the original series, please enjoy the book descriptions that follow. I hope you’ll read all of them as you’re waiting for the next Legacy novel. Lord Townsend will be the hero of the next book, and I promise more loving and spankings to come.

  Many thanks to wonderful Wendy B. for helping me find a title for this book when I couldn’t seem to pull one out of my brain! Thanks also to Tiffany, Lanie, and author Renee Regent for their encouragement and assistance with this novel. If you enjoyed it, I hope you’ll leave a review at your preferred site or on Goodreads. As for what’s coming up, you can stay up to date by joining my mailing list at annabeljoseph.com, or subscribing to my silly videos and updates on YouTube. (Just search my name.)

  In closing, thanks for being a reader. Like Ophelia, your love and support makes me want to sing.

  Properly Spanked: The First Series

  Take a rousing romp through 1790s England with the original four Properly Spanked novels…

  Training Lady Townsend: The Lady Aurelia has been promised in marriage to the Marquess of Townsend since she was four and he was fourteen. Unfortunately, she grew up into a pillar of propriety while her betrothed grew up into a renowned rake. Of course, no one would expect such an unsuitable match to go forward…which is why they find themselves at a loss when circumstances force them to the altar and into each other’s arms.

  Hunter, the beleaguered marquess, believes he’ll survive the uneven match by continuing to frequent his well-trained coterie of whores and courtesans, but Aurelia’s powerful father has other ideas. When he blocks Hunter’s access to the only women shameless enough to cater to his decadent needs, the marquess informs his new wife that something will have to be done.

  That “something” will be the immediate commencement of her erotic training…whether she wants it or not.

  To Tame A Countess: The Earl of Warren never considered himself the heroic type—or the marrying type. Unfortunately, while attempting to save the mysterious Lady Maitland from the clutches of a degenerate fortune hunter, he ends up shackled to her himself.

  It was never in the plans, and worse, his bride doesn’t want him. Rather than feel grateful, Josephine begs to be released from the marriage so she can accomplish her dearest goal—to be left alone. Troubled by an unconventional childhood, scarred by painful memories, Josephine acts out until Warren has no choice but to begin a disciplinary program to bring her to heel.

  Although his spankings are firm, painful, and plentiful, he makes little progress in taming his wild countess. But her wildness pleases him in the bedroom, where they spend hours at uninhibited play, fulfilling licentious and carnal lusts. While Josephine struggles to understand her feelings toward her authoritative husband, Warren must decide if having a tame wife is worth the anguish of damaging her already vulnerable heart.

  My Naughty Minette: The Earl of Augustine has always thought of Lady Minette as a sister, but when a nocturnal adventure goes horribly awry, he’s forced to make her his bride.

  Now his friend Warren is furious with him, the jilted Lady Priscilla is spreading ugly gossip, his father’s illness is worsening, and Minette is…well…being Minette. Flighty, exuberant, and utterly irascible, she wants a true marriage, when all August can see is the impish girl he rescued from scrapes as a child.

  But Minette has idolized Lord August for years, as long as she can remember, and she’s determined to make their union a passionate and fulfilling one. She launches caper after caper in an effort to capture his attention and awaken his masculine hungers. Unfortunately, all she seems to accomplish are repeated disciplinary sessions over his lap.

  Can she make August realize she’s the love of his life in time to save their crumbling marriage—and her smarting backside? Or will he hold her at arm’s length forever, refusing to acknowledge the powerful emotions she stirs in his heart?

  Under A Duke’s Hand: A duke as wealthy and powerful as the Duke of Arlington requires, by matter of course, an elegant, perfectly pedigreed bride. Unfortunately, he must settle for the king’s choice: Miss Guinevere Vaughn, the rough-edged daughter of a border baron. She’s pretty enough for a Welsh hellion, but she hasn’t the necessary polish to succeed in London society. When Aidan explains that she’ll need to improve her manners—and her disposition—he finds himself locked in a vexing battle of wills.

  Gwen never asked to wed a duke. Her new husband is haughty, inflexible, and demanding, and makes no secret of his disdain for her upbringing. No matter how hard she tries to please him, she’s never good enough. He disciplines her with an iron hand, and then expects her to submit to his vile whims in bed. Not that his whims are…completely…vile...all of the time. It’s only that her husband doesn’t love her, and she wants him to love her.

  If only her feelings were not so complicated.

  If only life was not so difficult Under A Duke’s Hand…

  The Properly Spanked Series

  #1 Training Lady Townsend

  #2 To Tame A Countess

  #3 My Naughty Minette

  #4 Under A Duke’s Hand

  You May Also Enjoy…

  Disciplining the Duchess

  Over five seasons, Miss Harmony Barrett has managed to repel every gentleman of consequence and engineer a debacle at Almack’s so horrifying that her waltzing privileges are revoked. If she’s not in the library reading about Mongol hordes, she’s embarrassing her f
amily or getting involved in impulsive scrapes.

  Enter the Duke of Courtland, a man known for his love of duty and decorum. Through a vexing series of events, he finds himself shackled to Miss Barrett in matrimony. But all is not lost. The duke harbors a not-so-secret affinity for spanking and discipline…and his new wife is ever in need of it. Will the mismatched couple find their way to marital happiness? Or will the duke be forever Disciplining the Duchess?

  This 85K word erotic romance novel contains domestic discipline themes and both harsh and loving spanking scenes. It is available at all retailers, and also available in audio at Amazon or Audible.

  The Royal Discipline series

  “Absolutely filthy.” – Geoffrey Chaucer

  “Rather raunchy for a fairy tale, but we liked it.” – The Brothers Grimm

  “I enjoyed the evil punishments. And the happy ending!” – Vlad the Impaler

  “Seriously? I mean, really? He was far too gentle with her.” – Marquis de Sade

  There’s a problem in the kingdom of Hastings: the princess is too headstrong and ill-mannered to carry on the royal line. In desperation, the king delivers his daughter to the darkly imposing Duke of Thornton, who promises to correct her behavior through a course of stringent and lowering physical chastisement.

  Despite the duke’s harsh disciplinary measures, Princess Violet resists change, and Thornton is soon drawn into an escalating battle of wills with his spirited charge. How far will he go to humble the haughty royal, and put an end to her spoiled behavior?

  This series is available at all retailers, and consists of a super dirty and erotic novella, Royal Discipline, as well as a free follow-up novellette called The Royal Wedding Night.

  About the Author

  Annabel Joseph is an award-winning author of BDSM romance and spanking historicals. Her stories run the gamut from sweetly perverse to scary/hardcore, but no matter the kink level, a happily ever after is guaranteed. Annabel also writes non-kinky stories under the name Molly Joseph. To learn more, and to sign up for her mailing list, visit annabeljoseph.com.

 

 

 


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