by Maggie Ryan
Heat suffused her as she wondered what he must think, how he must wonder if she was incapable of admitting that she had been the one to truly place herself in this position. If she hadn’t broken her promise to not walk about unescorted, if she’d taken even a moment to see if he’d reached the livery before her, if she hadn’t walked into that building and put herself in danger, she wouldn’t be nose to wall and bottom bared to the room. Her thoughts slowed as she studied each one. Remembering that Gabriel had pulled his gun, that he’d kept his hand on her as they’d left the saloon and the way he’d hurried her down the street, not putting his gun away until he had her safe in a carriage, she finally understood that this time, it had not been only herself she’d put in danger due to her carelessness. Guilt flooded through her and she felt tears well. As the first slid down her cheeks, she began to lower her hand and then linked her fingers tighter together and let the tears fall.
***
Gabriel knew the exact moment that comprehension of his reason for placing her in the corner dawned on her. Her entire body had tensed when he’d bared her bottom after her quick spanking but he watched as she’d begun to lower her hands but hadn’t. He’d seen her clenched buttocks loosen and heard her soft sigh as well as a sniffle. It was a start and yet he knew that she’d be back in her naughty corner once more after he turned her barely pink cheeks a deep ruby red.
“Come here, chiquita.”
She hesitated for only a moment before turning. Her eyes were on her feet as she approached him, her steps hampered by the fabric bunched around her ankles. When she was close, he drew her to stand between his spread legs.
“Why am I going to give you a spanking?” When she didn’t instantly answer, he drew her arms down and held her hands in one of his, using his other to cup her chin and lift her head. “It’s important that you understand why you are being punished, chiquita, otherwise, it is a rather useless endeavor.”
Her eyes blinked to keep the tears at bay and his heart clutched. He had seen the strength and determination in her. He’d seen the sweetest smile on her lips and heard the sass and humor when she was teasing. He’d witnessed the incredible tenderness she had towards Della. He’d enjoyed their conversations and had been awed by her intelligence. What he hadn’t seen was the vulnerability that was now written all across her face. “Jewel, I need you to let me know that you understand why I’m going to spank you.”
“I-I don’t pay attention when I should,” she said softly. “I cause you and John and… and everyone worry.”
When she stopped speaking, he prompted her to contemplate her answer more deeply. “Why do we worry?”
“Because I don’t do what you tell me to…”
“Chiquita, we worry because we care for you. We worry because we don’t want for you to get hurt or to lose you. You are important to all of us; not just because we all wish for you to realize your dream, but because you are a wonderful woman and we’d like to have you around for a very long time.”
“You do?”
Squeezing her hands, he smiled. “Of course I do… you’re not only my partner, you’ve managed to worm your way into my heart. Chiquita, if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t take the time to punish you so you’ll remember that stopping to think about your safety is vital so that you won’t get hurt.”
Her lips twitched. “So, you are going to spank me because you don’t want me to get hurt?”
Gabriel felt his own lips twitch and was glad to see her sassiness return. “Cheeky, chiquita,” he said and then nodded. “Sí, voy a darle una nalgada hasta que tu culo esta bien caliente y rojo.”
Her brow furrowed and yet she smiled. “Gabriel, I don’t understand Spanish.”
Gabriel grinned. “Then, little girl, let me speak in a language that you will definitely be able to understand.” She looked a little dubious but when he guided her across his knees and rested his palm on her bare bottom, she placed her hands flat on the floor and turned her head back.
“Ahora, sir?”
His grin had her heart skip a beat as he nodded and stroked his fingers across her quivering nates. “Sí, chiquita, ahora.”
Lifting his hand, he brought it down with a resounding smack which instantly had her head dropping down and her right cheek showing the imprint of his hand. Another smack and her left cheek sported its own print; and so her lesson began.
Smack… smack… smack… smack.
“You are important to us.”
Smack… smack… smack… smack.
“Your friends care about you.”
Smack… smack… smack… smack.
“I care about you.”
Smack… smack… smack… smack.
He watched as she began to respond with more than the soft yip. His alternating between each plump globe had them shaded the same, the pink hue darkening into redness that began to bloom across her bottom.
“Relax your bottom. I want you to show me you understand why you are getting spanked and accept the lesson.”
“But it hurts!” she said as if she were the first person in the world to discover the fact that a hard hand smacking a bare bottom wasn’t done without that very purpose in mind.
“I’m glad, little one, because if it did not, then the lesson would be useless. Unclench your cheeks.” When she tightened her clench instead, he shook his head.
Smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack.
These swats peppered down the backs of her thighs to just above her knees and had her screeching and arching her back, one hand reaching to attempt to push his hand away, and her feet kicking. He responded by placing his leg over both of hers, capturing her hand and pinning it against her lower back, tugging her wiggling body closer into his waist and repeating the lesson.
Smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack.
“Relax your sweet cheeks, Jewel, and I’ll return to them. Refuse to do so and I’ll continue to spank your naughty legs. Your choice.”
He gave her a moment to decide and when her buttocks softened, he ran his palm across them. “Good girl.”
Smack… smack… smack… smack.
“Every time you ignore your own safety, you will be right back over my knees getting a hot and very red bottom.”
Smack… smack… smack… smack.
“Every time you refuse to listen to me ask you to come away because you have put yourself in danger, you’ll have this pretty little ass heated.”
Smack… smack… smack… smack.
“Every time you decide that your life isn’t worth keeping out of harm’s way or respond like a spoiled brat when we remind you that your life is precious, you’ll be over my lap feeling my hand pound onto your butt until I feel you have learned the lesson.”
Smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack… smack.
“Stop!” she wailed, her hand long having left the floor to clutch his ankle. “Please, stop. I’ve learned the lesson! Stop!”
Gabriel thought she probably believed she had but her continued wiggling, arching, squirming, and now her demand that he stop, told him otherwise.
“You are still fighting the lesson, little one.”
“It hurts so much! My bottom is on fire!”
“And I’ll continue to stoke that fire until you open your heart and let the lesson in. Again, it’s your choice as to how long that will take, isn’t it?” he asked, not requiring an answer as he tilted her forward and lifted his knee, pushing her red bottom higher. The next round would be sure to have her squealing as he would place each swat into the very tender, very pale area that had been protected by the curve of her cheeks but was now stretched taut. This was considered the ‘sweet spot’ on a naughty girl’s bottom and she would feel these swats far longer than the others. In fact, by the time he finished spanking her sit spots, she’d remember the lesson every time she sat down for the rest of the day at the very least.
The first swat delivered with a
n upswing had her head rearing back and a long cry issuing.
Smack… smack… smack… smack.
One buttock lifted as it received the painful swat and then the other, both quivering and bouncing as he increased the tempo until she was sobbing.
“Am I getting your attention? Are you through trying to get through the spanking and accepting the fact that you earned it?” Smack… smack… “That you deserve it?” Smack… smack… “That you need it?” Smack… smack…
“Y-yes… yes, sir!” she sobbed. “I-I’m so… sorry! Please… ow, please…”
When she went limp over his lap, her bottom quivering but loosening when he lifted his palm from her thigh, he said, “Last round, chiquita.” When she wailed but didn’t attempt to pull away, he rubbed her blazing cheeks.
“Better this pain than the pain you would have experienced if any of those men took you away before I found you. Do you understand just how dangerous a position you placed yourself in? Do you realize that you stepped into the very place that Tompkins planned to place Della? Those men don’t give a rat’s ass about you, Jewel. I do.”
“Ye-yes, sir… I am so sorry.”
“I know. Let’s finish this.” He completed her spanking with a flurry of swats, covering both her buttocks, the backs of her thighs and ending with a pair of hard swats onto her sit spots. Placing his hand on her bottom, he could feel the heat and see the red color he had promised. Lifting her, he sat her on his thigh and as she gave a wail, he rolled her into him to keep her weight off her punished nates, and pressed her head against his chest.
“Shh, chiquita, shh. It’s over. You had a hard spanking but learned a valuable lesson.” He hated to let her go, the small body just felt so perfect against him, but he was a very firm believer in completing every task. Standing, he held her close as he walked across the room. “You’ll spend ten minutes in the corner. I want you to think about how you can keep yourself from getting a little bottom that is muy caliente y roja,” he said and then translated, “very hot and red. Let the pain remind you that you are very special to me.”
Though she clung to his neck, he pulled her arms down, bent and kissed her forehead and then turned her to face the wall. She obediently put her nose in the corner, her sobs growing louder as he took the hands she’d clasped onto her punished bottom and put them on top of her head.
“No rubbing. No trying to negate the lesson, little one. When she danced from foot to foot, he placed a warning palm on her left cheek, stilling her feet instantly. Ten minutes and then we’ll talk.”
He was gratified to hear a soft response of, “Yes, sir” and then his heart filled when she added, “Will you… hold me… after?”
“Yes, Jewel, not only will I, I will love to.” He stepped away and returned to the chair. He picked up the drawers she’d kicked off not long after her spanking started and laid them at the foot of the bed. He adjusted his prick which had begun to ache the moment he’d felt her silken skin beneath his palm. Taking his seat, he suddenly grinned at the wet spot he discovered on his pants. His cock twitched again and he knew he wasn’t the only one who had become aroused during the spanking. The evidence was tangible beneath the fingertips he ran across the wetness and told him she’d been more than a little aroused.
Looking across the room, he saw the fire she’d mentioned and that he’d purposely lit glowing against her crimson skin. God, she had the most beautiful arse he’d ever seen. It was heart shaped with plump globes that quivered with just a touch and jiggled with abandon as his palm cracked onto them. They’d been pale as moonlight before going through every hue of a sunset. He had told her he’d blister her butt and though he’d indeed given her a spanking to remember, he’d not raised a blister and he knew he’d not left a single bruise. That might not be the case if he needed to repeat the lesson as he’d increase the punishment with a repeat of the same naughtiness. If he had need to take his razor strop to her ass and whip her, he was sure that he’d raise welts. Even then, her bottom would hurt worse than it did presently but he would never, ever harm her. Unlike the men he’d seen that day, their eyes showing their true desires as they’d raked them up and down her frame, he would rather die than harm her. But, he’d never hesitate to cause her a little bit of pain if that would serve to keep her safe.
***
Jewel’s tears ended after a minute or two and became sniffles. Her bottom burned and throbbed, aching to be comforted but she dared not drop her hands. She had no doubt that what Gabriel had done was truly discipline her. He hadn’t spanked her as some form of fake pre-penance for an act of pleasure. No, when she was tilted over those thighs, it had been for one thing… punishment. Though she’d protested, she hadn’t really been worried. After all, Malcolm had spanked her every time they’d come together. But now, with an ass that felt as if she’d not only backed into a fire but had wiggled down to sit upon the blazing embers, taking her own sweet time jumping up, she understood those had been nothing more than a bit of slapping her bottom before they engaged in sex.
She felt her sex clutch and her face suddenly bloom with heat as a trickle slid down her thigh. Oh God, could he see? Would he be able to tell that her body responded in dual ways to his lesson? Yes, her bottom burned beyond belief and yet that very pain had her quim leaking its own tears. Remembering that she’d asked if he’d hold her, she began to tremble. No, she couldn’t allow him to hold her—not when he’d possibly discover her disgusting wantonness. He’d be repulsed. He’d spanked her to punish her, not to… to prepare her for his use.
She shrieked when she felt a hand on her bottom.
“Shh, I’ve got you,” Gabriel said, moving his hand to her waist and turning her to him. “I called for you but I guess you didn’t hear.”
Unable to look at him, she tried to calm her breathing as he drew her arms down from her head. “I-I didn’t,” she finally managed, and then squealed again when he scooped her into his arms.
“No, I mean, you don’t have to… I’m fine,” she said, her heart racing.
“I want to hold you, Jewel,” Gabriel said, taking his seat again and holding her against him. “I will always hold you after I’ve punished you. I need to make sure that you are okay. I need to comfort you and, selfishly, to comfort myself.”
“I-I’m fine,” she said, attempting to push away.
“No,” he countered, “you’re not fine.”
God, he was so big, so much stronger than she as he proved by holding her easily with one arm as his free hand once again cupped her chin and lifted her head until she couldn’t help but meet his eyes. She was surprised when he released her face only to lift a handkerchief.
“Blow.”
Could she be more embarrassed? She must look like a mess and knew for sure that her face had to be as red as her backside. She allowed him to help her clear her nose and then felt her sex spasm when he bent and placed the gentlest kiss on her forehead.
“Talk to me, chiquita.” Her mouth opened but no words were issued. He kissed the tip of her nose and smiled. “No hurry; I’ll hold you until you are ready.”
That’s what she was afraid of and yet she felt herself melting against him. Her cheek just felt right pressed against his chest and the thumping of his heart had her calming despite her embarrassment. He began to run his hand along her arm as if he were calming a frightened animal and yet the kiss he dropped on her head and the fingertip he ran down her cheek had her knowing he was aware that she was a woman. She had no idea how much time had passed but when she realized she was actually dozing, she jerked awake. God, speak about embarrassing. He’d spanked her raw and yet she was more content and more relaxed than she’d been in… well, for as long as she could remember. But still, he had to be wondering how long he’d be forced to sit with a half-naked… as that thought bloomed, she remembered that she was indeed bare from the waist down. Her squirm stilled as she felt something hard against her hip. The realization that it was his cock, his very hard cock, had her quim p
ulse.
“It’s okay,” Gabriel said, breaking the silence as he bent to kiss her head again. “A spanking is a very intimate thing. It’s only natural that your body reacts in your own unique way. As you can tell, mine reacts as well.”
“You-you don’t think I’m some sort of… of slut?”
Her chin was lifted again and she could see his grin. “Jewel, if you were some sort of prude I doubt that you’d be a madame. Never be ashamed of the fact that you enjoy pleasure You are a very beautiful, very sensual, and very desirable woman.” His dimple appeared as he continued, “And, sometimes a very naughty little girl.”
She couldn’t stop the smile from appearing after he bent to kiss the tip of her nose. Suddenly she wanted those lips to drop to hers, to claim hers with as much passion as his hand had claimed her bottom. When she lifted her chin higher as if to guide him to her mouth, he shook his head.
“First, we need to finish your lesson.”
“There’s more? You-you aren’t going to spank me…”
“No, chiquita. No more spanking unless you do something else that earns you one. I mean that we need to talk about what happened here. I need to make sure you understand why I felt I had to spank you in the first place.”
Jewel relaxed and again laid her cheek against his chest. “I do understand and even though my bottom really hurts, I agree that I earned the spanking. Between you, John and Nettie, I’ve been told several times that I need to consider safety. I’m not sure why I didn’t really listen but I promise, I have learned my lesson. Thank you.” She giggled and lifted her head to look up at him. “I-I never thought I’d thank anyone for spanking me but, well, thank you.”
