That sent them into laughter again. However, as she began to calm down, Lainie felt her mental gears grind to a halt again as it dawned on her what Julie was implying. “Wait a minute, you mean he spanked you over the smoke detector?”
“Yep,” Julie said without the slightest hint of hesitation or embarrassment, as though such a thing were perfectly normal. Although, she supposed in Corbin’s Bend it was. “I knew he would,” Julie went on. “It’s a bad habit, and I don’t want to pass my destructive tendencies down to my kids. We’ve been working on it for a long time.”
In a way, that made sense, and Julie was clearly comfortable with her choice. In fact, both Julie and Cadence seemed to be very happy in their relationships. Thinking about it, Lainie realized that even though they had been talking and working together for quite some time now, there had been none of the bad mouthing men and complaining about relationships that she had come to expect that almost universal with any gathering of women. Sure, there was some good-natured teasing and complaining, but it was of a totally different tone than what she had come to expect. Maybe there was something to Grant’s insistence that implementing this lifestyle would transform their relationship after all.
“I admit,” Julie was saying, “I’ve vastly prefer fun, sexy spankings to the punishment kind, but there’s something to be said for both of them.”
“What do you mean fun?” Lainie asked. “I thought punishment was the whole point.”
“Sometimes it is,” Venia put in, “but not always. Like Julie said, a lot of us find spanking pleasurable. It can be really erotic, under the right circumstances.”
“It’s great foreplay,” Julie said. “It’s amazing how heating you up back there can get you hot and bothered all over.” She exchanged a knowing look with Venia and Candace, both of whom clearly agreed.
“Especially if he goes all dominant with it,” Candace added, cheeks flushed and eyes shining. “Is there anything sexier?”
That part at least Lainie understood. Years ago, back when she was in college and Grant was a rookie cop, she’d had a few too many one night and admitted that she rather liked it when he took charge in the bedroom. If she liked that, would she like spanking too? Cadence seemed to think that they went hand-in-hand. Could they?
In that context, thinking about spanking as sexy didn’t seem so foreign. After all, there were dozens of magazine articles in all sorts of women’s magazines claiming that adding a little kink could do wonders for spicing up your sex life. She knew the truth of that from her own experience with Grant occasionally taking charge in bed. Could spanking be the same way?
All of a sudden, she very much wanted to find out. One way or the other, she was going to find a way to bring it up with her husband. Soon.
CHAPTER THREE
“How did it go this morning?” Grant asked, late that evening as they were changing for bed.
“It was good,” Lainie admitted. “We got a lot done.”
“I can see that,” Grant replied, looking around the room. “We could barely move without stepping over boxes this morning, and now there’s hardly a box in sight.”
“You should see the recycling bin,” Lainie told him. “It’s overflowing.”
Grant quirked an eyebrow. “We have a recycling bin?”
“We do, a garbage container too,” Lainie confirmed. “It’s not quite as full as the recycling bin, yet, but that’s probably because we had no groceries in the house.” She had finally made it into Denver for groceries this afternoon after Grant had come home from his orientation and the others had gone home. Natalie had, on Cadence’s invitation, gone over to her house to meet her eldest son, Michael, who was around the same age. Lainie had been nervous about leaving Grant and Kathleen alone at home. The two of them seemed to butt heads on the best of days, but on the other hand, there was a part of her that thought it served him right. After all, he was the one who had grounded Kathleen over her misgivings so maybe it served him right to have to put up with her. Miraculously, they had both survived her three hour trip without bloodshed.
“I’m glad it wasn’t as bad as you thought,” Grant said.
“It wasn’t bad at all,” Lainie told him. “I actually had a lot of fun. The girls are great, nothing at all like I had expected.”
“Nat certainly seemed taken with Cadence, or at least with her kids,” Grant commented. Natalie had regaled them at dinner with details of her visit. She’d come home chattering about how much fun she had and how cute the baby was. She was also begging to join an art class Everleigh Harris taught at the community center. That had been a surprise. Natalie tended to be more outdoorsy than artistic, but apparently Michael had introduced her to several of the neighborhood kids around their age. One of the girls, Jordan somebody, had told Natalie about the class, and now Nat simply had to join it.
“I’m glad she’s making friends,” Lainie said.
“I’m glad you’re making friends too,” Grant said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her.
“Me too,” Lainie agreed. “It’s a little weird though.”
“How so?” Grant asked, dropping a kiss in the juncture between her neck and shoulder.
“They talk about being spanked like they were talking about going to the grocery store,” she said. “As if it’s the most normal thing in the world.”
“It is normal here,” Grant replied. “You know that.”
“I know,” Lainie sighed. “It’s not that I have a problem with it. I don’t at all. It’s just still new to me. It’s going to take some getting used to. For you, this is going back to what you knew. For me it’s a whole new world.”
“I sometimes forget how new it is to you,” Grant admitted. He sat down on the bed and pulled her down beside him. “We had talked about it though. You’ve always known.”
“Knowing it and living it are two different things,” Lainie told him, “and yes, we had talked about the discipline thing, but for some of them, I’m not sure that’s what they’re talking about.”
Grant nodded. “It might not be. People here live all sorts of different types of relationships. They all involve spanking, of course, but they may not necessarily all be DD, though a lot of them will be.”
“The way they talked about it I got the impression that they liked it. That it was somehow a turn on,” Lainie admitted reluctantly.
“It is for some people,” Grant said.
“Is it for you?” Lainie asked, eyeing him curiously. He had never said so explicitly, but after this afternoon she’d wondered if that might have been part of his motivation for moving here.
Grant nodded again. He was half in the shadows, lit only by the dim light of the lamps on either side of the bed. “Yes, it is.”
Lainie twisted around to face him, shocked. “It is? Why didn’t you ever tell me? For God’s sake, Grant, we’ve been married sixteen years. You could’ve said something.”
“Some fantasies are better left as fantasies,” Grant explained. “It never seemed to be something you were interested in. I tried hinting around about it a few times, and you didn’t really react or pick up the signals in the way somebody who shared this interest would, and I love you so I let it go. I didn’t want to take the chance of offending you or worse having you try to do something you hated just for me. Some people just aren’t wired this way, and that’s fine.”
“How am I supposed to know what I like or don’t like if you don’t even tell me? Don’t I even get the courtesy of being able to decide for myself?” Lainie demanded. “What else have you been keeping secret?”
“I’m not keeping anything secret,” Grant shot back. “I’m sure you haven’t told me every fantasy you’ve ever had, and I don’t expect you to. Some things are just better left unsaid.”
“And just what made you decide that? Oh, that’s right, I didn’t pick up on your hints,” she said sarcastically. “Just when were you giving me these hints anyway?”
“It was years ago,” Gra
nt replied. “Kathleen was a baby.”
“For the love of God, Grant, I was a sleep deprived twenty-year-old who had just given birth. You could have been waving lighted flashing signs around, and I might not have picked up on it. Don’t you remember how exhausted we were?”
“So what are you saying?” Grant questioned. “Are you telling me you would be open to trying erotic spanking?”
“Maybe,” Lainie replied hesitantly. She was curious. Hearing the others talk about it had made her wonder, and now, knowing that it was something Grant fantasized about as well just upped curiosity even more. But what if Grant was right? What if some fantasies were better just left as fantasies? What if she hated it?
Before she could make a decision, Grant leaned over and kissed her, cupping a hand behind her head and pulling her to him. When she was breathless with heat boiling in her blood and zipping along her nerves like electricity, he broke away and began trailing tiny kisses up her neck from shoulder to ear. He caught her earlobe between his teeth, nipping it gently in a way that never failed to turn her into a puddle of goo. Where did this come from? One minute they had been talking about spanking and the next... The thought slipped away before she could finish it.
“Stop me if I do something you don’t like,” Grant murmured, releasing her ear and working his way back down, alternately nibbling, suckling, and kissing.
Stop him? Who was he kidding? She could barely form a coherent thought much less draw a breath to protest. Besides, after all this time, he knew her body as well as his own, as she knew his, knowledge he was using to good effect just now. He had worked his way slowly down to her breast and was mouthing them through the thin cotton T-shirt she wore. Her head dropped back of its own accord and small whimpers and moans left her lips without conscious thought. He pulled away long enough to catch the edge of her shirt and strip it over her head. She gripped his shirt, pulling herself up right, and scrabbling for the edge of it, intending to return the favor.
Abruptly, Grant pulled back, kissing her hands and pulling them away. “Uh, uh, uh, naughty girl, we’re doing this my way, on my terms. Keep your hands to yourself.” He tucked her hands into her lap and covered them with his own. Lainie made a halfhearted attempt to pull away, but he simply shifted, putting just a bit more pressure on his hands and holding her exactly where he wanted her.
Ah. So that was how this was going to be. Since they married, there had been occasional nights when he had done this, taken charge and given her small commands and limits, even occasionally pinning her down or restraining her hands. It was familiar and something they both enjoyed. Not that she didn’t also occasionally enjoy putting up a fuss about it.
Biting back a smile, Lainie huffed, “Fine.” So quickly she didn’t have time to realize what he was doing. Grant transferred both her hands into one of his and used his free hand to swat the side of her bare thigh where it was exposed below her sleep shorts. It wasn’t a particularly hard swat. It barely stung, but it was sudden and completely unexpected and made her jump. A faint handprint bloomed on her skin, clearly visible even in the dim light, and she stared at it, fascinated.
“Stop pouting,” Grant said. His voice was stern though his expression was something akin to smug amusement. “Keep it up and I’ll give you what you’re asking for. Understood?”
And suddenly everything fell into place. The earlier conversation, the sudden turn to sex, and exactly what Grant was doing now. Just as clearly, she knew he was giving her an out. If she stopped and simply went along with him, then it would be just as it normally was, the same mild dominance that they had done many times before, but if she continued her lighthearted resistance and grumbling then he would spank her. The choice was entirely up to her.
“Understood?” he asked again. He wasn’t asking if she understood what he was saying. That much was clear. He wanted to be sure she knew what he was doing and was okay with it.
She nodded slightly in answer to his unspoken question. Then, taking a deep breath and committing herself, she said aloud, “I’m not pouting,” deliberately jutting her lip out in a clear pout. “I’m just waiting on you to get on with it, unless of course you’d rather I take things into my own hands.” Lainie leaned over and kissed him. Then, while he was distracted, snatched her hand from beneath his and deftly slipped it into his shorts, cupping and fondling gently.
Grant groaned. “You’ve done it now,” he said against her lips. Reluctantly, he broke away and extricated her hand. “I told you to keep your hands to yourself.”
Lainie grinned, completely unrepentant. “I couldn’t resist.”
“I know I’m pretty irresistible,” Grant replied, ridiculously smug, “but that was very naughty. I’m going to have to punish you.”
Lainie let her eyes go wide. “No you don’t,” she told him, shaking her head. “I’ll be good.”
“Oh yes,” Grant said, voice going deep and husky. “This is going to be very good. I promise.” He pulled her to her feet and guided her around to stand between his legs. Then, he hooked his thumbs in her shorts and pulled them and her panties well down.
Though Grant had seen her naked many times before, Lainie’s face flamed, and she had a sudden urge to cover herself. Grant didn’t give her the opportunity. Taking her arm, he guided her around to his side and over his knees. Lainie swallowed, finding her mouth suddenly dry and her heart racing, though whether with anticipation or nervousness she couldn’t have said. Grant wrapped an arm around her waist and shifted her position so that she was tucked in close to his stomach and her upper body was resting on the bed. Given the difference in their heights, this left her feet dangling well off the ground and her bottom perched high in the air. She was acutely aware of the cool air brushing her backside. Somehow it seemed cooler than it had been just moments ago on the bare skin of her arms and legs. She felt Grant shift and she tensed, expecting a swat, but he only laid his hand on her bottom. After a moment he began to move, rubbing and caressing, pausing now and then and cupping his hand gently where it lay. It was more like a massage than a spanking and Lainie found herself relaxing into it. After a while, his hand lifted and came down, but it was barely more than a pat and entirely painless. He made a complete circuit of her bottom, covering it in light pats. When he started the circuit for the second time, the swats were a little harder and a little harder still the time after that. Now they were beginning to sting, but surprisingly, that wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, Lainie found she quite liked it. When he amped it up yet again, covering already well warmed skin with solid swats, the sting washed over her like an electric current and seemed to connect right with her center, making every swat like a lightning bolt of arousal.
“Oh, God,” she moaned. She was squirming and twisting now, low groans and wordless noises mingling with echoing swats.
“Like that?” Grant asked. Even without being able to see him, she could hear the grin in his voice.
“No,” she said dryly, “not at all.”
Grant slid two fingers into her wet heat. “Liar.” Since she was sopping wet, it seemed pointless to argue. Of course, if the hardness jutting into her hip was any indication, Grant was enjoying this is as much as she was. He took hold of her clit and rubbed it firmly between his fingers.
Lainie gasped, bucking helplessly. “Please,” she choked out.
“Please what?” Grant asked genially, as if he didn’t know damn well what she meant.
“Dammit, Grant,” she spat, desperate with need. He freed the hand holding her waist and brought it down hard on her ass. “Owww,” she whined even as she clinched hard around his fingers.
“Watch your mouth,” he warned. He started spanking again, but this time he was thrusting his fingers in and out of her in time with the spanks, spiraling her up farther and farther until she finally shattered. When she was sprawled limp, boneless, and breathless over his lap, he withdrew his fingers and gathered her up, carrying her and laying her on the bed. He was gentle, but he laid her squar
ely on her hot and stinging bottom. “Don’t move,” he commanded before standing up and stripping off his tee shirt and shorts.
Naked and standing over her, Grant suddenly seemed very big. He wasn’t an overly large man, but he was broad shouldered and well built. He was nearing forty but didn’t look it. There wasn’t an ounce of extraneous fat anywhere on him. Long lean muscle layered beneath extremely fair skin like ropes under white silk, the expanse broken only by the scattering of freckles across his shoulders and the sparse sprinkling of hair in shades of autumn and brown across his chest, leading to the thicker thatch down below. He climbed on the bed and braced himself over her, moving in a way that reminded her of a very large, very stealthy big cat, a tiger perhaps, waiting to pounce.
And pounce he did. Capturing her mouth, he entered her in one hard thrust, driving into her with an intensity that stole her breath. Then he withdrew and did it again, pounding her sore ass against the bedspread. Fire blazed and burned with every movement. It hurt and it didn’t, all at once. She arched up to meet him, running her hands over every part of him within reach. Pleasure and pain mingled washing over her in waves, hurling her ever closer to the peak and sending her over. Grant followed close behind. For a moment, he collapsed over her, eyes closed before he came to himself and rolled off of her.
“Let that be a lesson to you,” he said wryly, sometime later when they could both breathe again.
Lainie snorted, choking on a laugh. “If that’s what being naughty gets me, I’ll have to misbehave more often.”
Grant guffawed, rolling onto his side to look at her. “Next time I’ll take you from behind so I can see that gorgeous red ass the entire time,” he rumbled into her ear.
Lainie grinned, a delicious shiver running through her. “What’s stopping you now?”
Grant opened one eye and glared at her. “Sassy brat, you’ll pay for that when I can move again.”
Lainie raised up to kiss him. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Learning to Live Again (Corbin's Bend, Season Two Book 9) Page 6
