The Ranger and the Runaway

by Loki Renard

  “Let me guess,” Sandy rolled her eyes. “Rawlins wants another turn at my ass with his belt.”

  “He’s going to have to get in line with that attitude,” Travis teased. He put his thumb and forefinger to her chin and kissed her passionately, chasing all thoughts—aside from her need for him—out of her head.

  Chapter Eleven

  The wedding was a simple affair conducted at the local church. The ceremony flew by so quickly, Sandy was barely aware of any of it. She kept her eyes locked on Travis until they’d both said the words ‘I do,’ then fell into his arms and a new life besides.

  She was in ecstasy as they drove from the wedding back to the base, excited to see where she and Travis would be spending their lives together. The base itself was pretty nondescript from the outside, heavy concrete low-slung buildings and she hadn’t really thought about where they’d live precisely.

  It was dark when Travis parked the Jeep in the motor pool, helped her out, and led her across to a relatively secluded area where a concrete shed stood covered in creeping ivy.

  “Welcome home, Mrs. Blake,” he said, pushing the door open.

  Sandy peeked inside and saw that it had been turned into a single room apartment—in a manner of speaking. There were only two windows and neither one of them would probably let in a whole lot of light, but what she could see didn’t look terribly appealing.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Come on in,” Travis said. “We have the whole place to ourselves. Oh… wait…” He swept her up off her feet and carried her over the threshold, depositing her on the faded carpet with a broad smile. “What do you think?”

  Sandy sat down on the hard-spring double bed that dominated most of the room and made a face. “This place is…”

  “You don’t like it?”

  There wasn’t much to like. It was cramped and small and the paint was peeling and the carpet was manky and there was a weird smell emanating from the bathroom and… “I hate it,” she said honestly.

  Travis’ face fell. “I guess it’s not much of a honeymoon suite, huh?”

  “No, it’s okay,” she hastened to reassure him. “I still love you. I just don’t love this hole Rawlins has stuck us in. He did it on purpose, I bet.”

  “Rawlins found us a place on a classified base where we could be together, so you and I could both be happy,” Travis corrected her. “Believe it or not, this is actually pretty decent compared to the barracks.”

  “What, are people actually sleeping in their own pee there?”

  Travis’ handsome features became stern. “That’s enough, Sandy. You’re starting to sound like a spoiled little brat. No, this isn’t the nicest place on earth, but it’s a start, and it means we can be together. You’ve spent the last month doing damn near anything to be near me, and now we’ve worked things out to make that happen, all you can do is complain about the furnishings?”

  “Well, they suck,” she pouted.

  “I guess we’re going to start this marriage the same way we met,” Travis said grimly. “With your bare ass over my lap.”

  “You asked me what I thought,” Sandy scowled. “I told you.”

  “It’s a heck of a lot better than that dive you were staying in when we met,” Travis pointed out as he sat down next to her and began rolling up his sleeves.

  “Yeah, but I wasn’t going to live there,” Sandy said. “That was temporary. This is… my life. This is like a… a cell!”

  “What cell do you know of that has a kitchen and bathroom en suite?” Travis said, taking hold of her by the upper arm. He tipped her over his black pant-clad lap and locked her in place with one leg over the back of her thighs.

  Sandy knew then that she’d made a huge mistake. Her wedding dress was no great white flowing gown; it was a simple white shift and it rode up high enough that he had no trouble pulling it up over her rump and settling it around her waist.

  Her new husband started spanking her hard, his palm making crisp contact with each of her cheeks one after the other. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you,” he said as he spanked her butt at a slow enough pace that Sandy knew he was planning to sustain it for a while. “I married you because you’re the smartest, bravest, sweetest, most loyal woman I’ve ever met, and because I can’t get enough of you,” he said as his palm scalded her bottom. “Now did you want to be with me because you thought you’d stay in the nicest places, or did you want to be with me because I know what you need? I know how much you crave someone to take total control, to be there for you when you can’t be there for yourself.”

  Guilt and shame began to well up in Sandy. She knew she was being a brat. The little apartment was actually pretty nice compared to most places she’d lived in previously, and it did mean that she and Travis wouldn’t be ripped apart. That was the important thing.

  “Answer me, Sandy,” Travis insisted, swatting her harder until she let out the little sob she had been holding in.

  “I wanted to be with you,” she admitted. Travis didn’t stop spanking her; his palm kept reddening her cheeks, painting the skin framed by white thong panties a bright red hue.

  “And do you really care about the place we’re living right now? Or did you just need to know that nothing has changed between us just because we’re married?”

  Hot tears splashed down her face as she clutched at Travis’ leg, nodding silent agreement.

  “I’m sorry,” she gasped. “I’ve been so selfish and shallow. I just… I got scared, I guess.”

  “We’re not always going to live in a place like this,” Travis promised her as his palm slowed. “We will probably live in some much, much… worse places.”

  Sandy snorted with tearful humor. “You’re terrible.”

  “I’m a lot of things,” he growled, taking hold of the elastic of her thong and sliding it over to expose her tight little anus and wet pussy. Her body was responding out of instinct, her hips lifting as he ran the pad of this thumb across her clenching rosebud. “But most important, I’m your husband.”

  A little smile crossed Sandy’s face, followed by a moan as he slid his fingers down her slit and played with her pussy while keeping his thumb pressed firmly against her ass, massaging the tight little ring with a gentle, insistent touch.

  She cuddled into Travis and gazed at his handsome face. “You never told me what Rawlins did to you after he caught us and I accidentally told him everything.”

  “Accidentally told him everything,” Travis snorted. “I can’t blame you for that. He’s one of the most effective interrogators we have.”

  “But what did he do to you? And how did you manage to talk him into letting me come here? He told me to get off his base and never come back.”

  “Well, he let me sweat it out in the cells a few days,” Travis said. “And then he called me into his office and told me I’d better marry you and quick.”

  “He did?!” Sandy lifted her head in surprise. “Why?”

  “He said you were too special a girl not to marry, that he’d known a lot of women in his time and he knew when one of his men had meet a keeper. Hell, he said he’d court-martial me if I didn’t marry you.”

  “What!?” Sandy sat bolt upright in bed, making Travis’ fingers slide out from her pussy. “So we’re only married… because you were ordered to marry me?”

  “It’s not like that,” Travis said. “He gave me a nudge, that’s all.”

  “You chose marrying me over a fucking court-martial, Travis, that’s not a nudge.”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Travis tried to explain. Sandy wasn’t having it.

  “I’m going to sleep,” she said. “I’m tired. Turn out the light.”

  There was a pause before Travis replied. “You know what? If you’re going to act like this, then you don’t deserve to come tonight, Sandy. I’ll deal with you tomorrow.”

  Travis’ displeasure was more evident than ever in the dark, but with tears of rejection stinging her eyes, Sandy d
idn’t care.

  * * *

  She fumed at Travis’ revelation all the rest of the night and all the next day. Travis had to go back on duty right away, which meant she had plenty of time to think about how fucked up the situation was and get monumentally angry about it.

  “Made to marry me?” She slammed dishes into the little sink in which she was attempting to clean up from breakfast with limited success. “Well, fuck that,” she said, her anger coming to a head. “I don’t need anyone to be made to marry me. I’m out of here.”

  Having prepared absolutely nothing she’d need to leave, Sandy stormed through the base, determined to get away as quickly as possible, damn the consequences. On her way she happened to encounter Rawlins, who greeted her in fairly friendly fashion.

  “How are you settling into base, Mrs. Blake?”

  “Fuck you,” Sandy swore at him. “Stay the fuck out of my life.”

  Rawlins’ brows almost hit the sky. He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back to him roughly. “What did you just say to me?”

  “I don’t need you organizing pity marriages for me,” she snapped at him.

  “Pity marriages?” He asked the question as he strode back to his office, pulling Sandy along behind him. He yanked her into the room and shut the door behind them both before turning to her again. “What the heck are you talking about?”

  “You made Travis marry me. I know you did.” Sandy said. She tugged at the ring on her finger, pulled it off, and threw it at Rawlins. It bounced off his chest and rolled away under the table.

  Rawlins scowled at her outburst. “Cool your jets, girl. Right. Now.”

  Sandy settled into a glowering silence.

  “Now yes, I did tell Travis to marry you…”

  “See! You…”

  “But!” Rawlins thundered. “That was after how he told me how much he loved you and that he was damn well considering taking a dishonorable discharge to be with you regardless.”

  “…oh.” Sandy bit her lower lip and squirmed in place. “I’m, uh, I’m… huh… I guess I’m sorry.”

  “You guess wrong. You’re not sorry yet,” Rawlins growled. “You’re going to be though, I can promise you that much.”

  He opened his door and shouted at the nearest soldier to bring Travis to his office.

  Travis appeared a few minutes later. His expression went from curious to stern when he saw Sandy standing in the corner of the room where Rawlins had once more sent her.

  “What’s going on?”

  “What’s going on is your wife just told me to go fuck myself.”

  “Sandy!” Travis snapped her name in a tone that made her stomach do flip-flops.

  “I’m sorry, sir.”

  “I don’t need your domestic arguments spilling over, Travis,” Rawlins frowned. “Obviously you two have some things to discuss. So I’m giving you leave,” he snarled at Travis. “Take this girl somewhere nice and show her why you made her your wife.”

  “Yes, sir,” Travis acknowledged. “Thank you, sir.”

  Rawlins didn’t acknowledge Travis’ gratefulness. He fished through his drawers and came up with an envelope. “Here,” he growled. “Wedding gift.”

  Travis opened it and Sandy’s eyes went wide. “Tickets to Hawaii? For us?”

  “You know another Mr. and Mrs. Blake?” Rawlins rumbled in response.

  “Thank you so much,” Sandy said, her eyes suddenly brimming with tears of emotion. “That’s so nice of you, I didn’t know you were nice.”

  “You better make sure you get on that plane before I change my mind and take my belt to your rear instead,” Rawlins replied. “That’s the real gift here, the free pass you just got. You ever speak to me that way again and I’ll tan your hide so hard you forget you ever had one.”

  Sandy risked darting forward and giving the man a quick hug. Rawlins patted her shoulder and eased her off gently. “Your wedding ring is still under the desk,” he said. “You might want to get that in case you need a small missile later.”

  She dived under the table and grabbed the ring, shoving it quickly back on her finger. When she emerged, Travis was standing there, his arms folded over his chest. “Rawlins might be giving you a pass,” he said. “But I’m not.”

  “Take it back home,” Rawlins grunted. “Go on, get out of here. I don’t want to see either of you until after the honeymoon.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Travis said, taking a firm hold of Sandy. He pulled her out of Rawlins’ office even faster than she’d been pulled in there and quick marched her back to their apartment.

  “Is he always angry when he’s being really nice?” Sandy asked the question as her feet struggled to keep up with Travis’ pace.

  “Usually,” Travis nodded. “How did your wedding ring end up under the desk?”

  “It just kind of did,” Sandy said with a little half-smile of guilt.

  “Uh huh. How?”

  “I might have thrown it at him.”

  “You threw your ring at Rawlins,” Travis said, shaking his head. “Because you went off on some tangent thinking I don’t care about you?”

  “Because I thought he made you marry me,” Sandy said. “I know that was a silly thought now, but the way you said it…”

  “Uh huh,” Travis opened the front door of their apartment and ushered her in. “And you didn’t want to talk to me about it, did you. You just thought you’d go off half-cocked as usual. Dammit, Sandy. You’re lucky Rawlins has taken a shine to you. I can’t even begin to imagine what he would have done if anyone had pulled the shit you did today. Do you have any idea…”

  Sandy shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry,” she said. “We got married so quickly, I mean, so, so, so, so quickly and when you said he ordered you to, I figured…”

  “You figured you’d forget about everything that’s happened between us up to this point,” Travis said. “No, we haven’t been together for long, but we’ve had more happen to us in a month than happens to people in a lifetime. I married you because you’re my world.”

  “I’m your world?” Happy tears began to brim again.

  “Yes, Sandy. You are. Do you not realize how much you matter to me? To other people? Mrs. Brown loves you. Hell, Rawlins is about as soft on you as I’ve seen him be soft on anyone. You’re not alone, Sandy, and there’s no reason to go running off anymore.”

  She nodded slowly, his words sinking into her soul. She realized what a huge mistake she’d made in thinking he didn’t care. Of course he cared. He cared more than anyone. “So, uh. Are we going to head out on this honeymoon now? When do we leave?”

  “Changing the subject isn’t going to save your butt,” Travis said. “But hell, I’m not spanking you here. I’ll spank your sweet little ass where the sun shines.”

  “You mean the sun shines out of my ass? I think so too,” Sandy giggled.

  “I meant Hawaii,” Travis said, landing a hard swat to the aforementioned ass. “Now hurry up and pack, woman, and don’t forget the leather belts and that heavy wooden hairbrush either.”

  “But…” Sandy pouted.

  Travis leaned down and kissed her pout. “Honey, you are not going to sit once in Hawaii, I promise you that. And heck, if you keep going the way you have been, you might not sit as long as we live.”

  She smirked up at him and nipped his nose. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Mr. Blake.”

  “Don’t write checks your ass can’t cash, Mrs. Blake,” he rejoined, slapping her bottom hard enough to bring her up onto her toes.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hawaii was beyond gorgeous. Sandy couldn’t believe how warm and beautiful everything was, how golden the sand, how blue the sky—and how outrageously hot Travis was in swimming shorts. She could have happily spent the rest of her life walking with him on the beach and occasionally dipping into the ocean to cool off before retiring to the hotel room for marital intimacy.

  The first seventy-two hours of their honeymoon were absolutely
perfection and harmony. Then, on their third night, Sandy wanted to watch a fire-poi demonstration down on the beach. Travis insisted that they go to bed instead as, according to him, they had a big day the next day. Sandy couldn’t imagine what a big day in Hawaii would constitute. Would they have an extra-long walk on the beach? Spend a little longer staring into one another’s eyes?

  “We can go to bed any time,” she complained as she circled the hotel bedroom with her purse in hand. “How often are we going to get to see balls of fire swinging around? They’re balls. On fire. Balls on fire,” she repeated for emphasis.

  “Something else is going to be on fire soon,” Travis growled at her. He had his serious, stern expression on. Having not seen it for nearly three days, Sandy was almost startled into obedience. Almost.

  “It’s twenty-two hundred hours,” he continued. “By the time that thing finishes it will be one in the morning, you will have had too many coconut cocktails, and you’ll end up sleeping in until tomorrow afternoon.”

  “So?” Sandy threw her hands up in dramatic fashion. “We’re on our honeymoon, Travis. I’m sorry this doesn’t fit with your army ranger expectations, but we’re not on military time now. It’s not twenty-two hundred hours. It’s ten o’clock and it’s early. Sheesh. You’re like an old man sometimes.”

  Travis grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her forward, bending down so that he was nose to nose with her, his eyes boring into hers. “Sandy,” he said in chillingly quiet tones. “You’re behaving like a spoiled brat. Do you want a spanking?”

  She knew she was pushing her luck. So far she’d managed to avoid any spankings, and she kind of wanted to keep it that way. Having her butt whipped was not any way to remember a honeymoon. “Fine,” she sighed. “I guess I’ll go get washed up and ready for bed.”

  “Good girl,” he said, standing back up and letting her go.

  Sandy walked into the bathroom, still with purse in hand, and pouted at herself in the mirror. She was all dressed up and ready to go out. Her makeup was done, her clothes were cute. Why was Travis being such a downer?