by Jodi Bella
Her father handed her over to her groom, and he beamed down into her face. He took possession of both her hands and brought them to his lips for a kiss. "Welcome back," he whispered.
And the wedding ceremony began.
Alicia glanced at her husband from the passenger seat as he drove. She sighed contentedly, thinking over the day. She was weary from all the dancing and mingling they'd done at the reception, but it was hardly even five o'clock. They planned to check into the honeymoon suite they would share for that night, then maybe go out for a bite to eat after freshening up.
Luke was being very mellow, but she sensed that his mood would change once they were alone. She knew she'd scared him badly today when she'd run into the street. Plus there was the little fact that she'd run out in the middle of their wedding ceremony to deal with.
They checked into their room, and Luke made a big production of carrying her over the threshold. The room was beautiful, done in pale blue and gold, with accents of rose and royal blue. The bed was round and huge. There was a whirlpool bath for two, and a small refrigerator stocked with wine and cheese. Luke tipped the bellboy and closed the door behind him with a quiet click.
Alicia slipped her shoes off and sat tentatively on the bed. Now that they were alone, and at their final destination for that evening, she was a bit unsure of herself. She glanced at Luke to try to gauge what he was thinking, but she couldn't tell a thing from his expression.
"Why don't you slip out of that dress?" he asked huskily, digging in one of the suitcases for something.
"Okay. I'll just freshen up a little in the bathroom."
He nodded distractedly.
Alicia slipped the silk dress she'd donned after the reception over her head and scrunched her hair a bit. She wore a plain white lace slip beneath the dress, no bra, no panties. She figured it was appropriate for whatever her new husband had in mind, be it her punishment or their wedding night pleasure.
When she emerged from the bathroom, Luke was sitting on the edge of the bed and she knew then which would be coming first. Tears welled in her throat and without quite realizing what she was doing, she knelt at his feet. She laid her head against his knee, hugged one of his calves in her arms, and cried.
"Shh," he soothed, stroking her hair with light fingertips. "Don't cry sweetheart. Alicia, please. Don't cry."
"I'm so sorry! I should have trusted you. I do trust you…"
"I know." Luke pulled her up to sit beside him and he cradled her against his shoulder, rocking her in his arms. "Please don't cry."
She managed to regain control of herself, sniffling a little.
"You must hate me for what I did."
"Never. I would never hate you, no matter what you did. Don't let me ever hear you say anything like that again." Luke gave her a little shake. "Hear me?"
"Yes."
He pressed a warm kiss on her forehead and wiped her damp cheeks with his thumbs.
"Are you ready to hear where I was last night?"
She nodded, and sat waiting for him to continue.
"I have an old friend who is the manager at Hatfield Bank over in Merion. I spoke with him last week about getting you the loan for the bakery. And last night, I met him at the bank to fill out the necessary paperwork."
"You were meeting with him at a bank at eleven in the evening?" Alicia questioned.
Luke sighed. "Yeah. I didn't exactly have time to meet with him during normal business hours with everything that's been going on with the wedding. So he made a special allowance for an old friend and met me there last night. If you don't believe me, I have his cell number. You can call him yourself. Plus when we get back from our honeymoon, you'll have your loan money."
Alicia blinked. "You got approved?"
"We did."
"How?"
He shrugged. "I put the farm up as collateral."
"You did what?" Alicia couldn't believe her ears. And he was so blasé about the entire thing. "Luke, are you crazy? That's your home! It's been in your family for generations! How could you put it up for a measly few thousand dollars?"
"You're good for it, I figure," he said, tweaking her nose. "You don't seem to understand how this marriage thing works, Alicia. That farm is your home now, too. As much as it is mine, or Mom's, or Missy's. And your bakery, your dream, it's mine too. We're partners. We're going to work together on all of it."
"Still…" she hesitated. "I don't know that I can let you do this…"
"I thought you'd feel that way about it," he admitted. "That's why I didn't tell you about it before I went and did it. There's no ‘letting' me do it now – it's a done deal. You just have to learn to live with it. And I don't want to hear any lip from you about it, because you're in enough trouble with me already as it is."
Alicia sighed and rested her head on Luke's shoulder. "Okay. Thank you."
He squeezed her knee. "You know, you scared the hell out of me today."
"I know." She closed her eyes tightly, seeing the whole thing in her mind as if she'd watched herself running from the church on a film. She saw herself darting into the street, narrowly escaping getting hit because Luke pulled her back in the nick of time. "It was stupid. I'll never forgive myself for the way I embarrassed you. For the way I embarrassed myself."
"I was talking about when you almost became street pizza," he said, and they shared a dry laugh at the way he put it. He drew her into his arms and let out a long held breath, squeezing her tight. "I thought you really were going to be lost to me, forever."
"I'm sorry. I'll never run from you again, Luke. I promise."
He gave her lips a soft, feathery kiss of forgiveness and love. "I know." He smiled gently at her. "Close your eyes. I have a present for you."
"A present?" She made a face. "I didn't get you anything!"
"So what? Do what your husband says and close your eyes."
"Oh, all right."
Alicia's eyes fluttered closed and she felt the mattress shift as Luke stood up. She heard the sound of a zipper being opened and closed, then the mattress shifted again as Luke rejoined her.
"Hold out your hand," he instructed.
She held out both hands and was rewarded with an awkward, heavy weight being deposited there.
"Okay, open your eyes."
A long box sat in her hands, wrapped in cream colored paper decorated with maroon and hot pink hearts. A shimmery satin bow in scarlet red was tied on top.
"Oh my," Alicia said. "How pretty. Did you wrap this all by your lonesome, Cowboy?"
Luke grinned, his eyes twinkling with some private joke. "Just open it already, Miss. Smarty Pants."
She tugged open the ribbon, then wound the scarlet satin band loosely around her husband's neck, giggling at the face he made when she did it. She lifted the lid off the box and gasped at what she saw inside.
It was a wooden paddle, the large business end of which was shaped like a heart and painted a bright, hot red. Engraved in the wood were the words, "Luke and Alicia Stephens. May 1, 2001."
Alicia lifted the paddle out of the box, her stomach falling at the weight of it in her hand. It was beautifully made and of quality material. Sure to last a good number of years, she thought with an inward smile. Just like their marriage.
"What do you think?" Luke asked. She was surprised to see that his expression was uncertain. She caressed his cheek lovingly, emotion choking her throat. After all this time, and despite all his usual self-confidence, he was still obviously somewhat uncertain about this part of their relationship, and whether she really accepted it or not.
"I think it's a beautiful gift," she said, a catch in her voice. "I will always feel your love for me whenever I look at it, whenever you send me to fetch it for you, whenever you use it to spank me."
He smiled, and pulled her close for a kiss and hug. Alicia felt all her tension ebb away in his embrace, and she knew she was finally at peace with her past and what had happened back then. She could move on now, and be free t
o trust this man who loved her with such devotion. She could trust him to keep her heart safe. And she would do everything to keep his heart safe and protected for the rest of her days.
They pulled apart slowly and looked into one another's eyes for a long, long time. Then Alicia sat back on her heels, handed the new paddle to her husband, and bent herself over his lap. She reached back with one hand and pulled the back of her slip up, exposing her bare backside for him.
"I didn't think I'd be using it so soon," Luke said, running his hand slowly over her curves.
"I deserve it," Alicia said, settling her head on her arms. "I want you to, for what happened today. Because I didn't trust you and because I tried to run from you instead of talking with you. I want you to do it now so that it will be done with and then we can really start our honeymoon."
Luke nodded his agreement. He stroked her hair back from her face and bent over her to place his usual twin kisses to her bottom cheeks. Then he drew back his arm, and set their wedding night off with the first of many hot, red flames.
The End
About the Author
Jodi Bella
Jodi Bella has also written under the pen name Otkromance. She started writing spanking stories for a newsgroup and was recruited for a pay website by a fan. Jodi is a self-proclaimed book junkie (Stephen King and Tana French are her favorite authors) and a music and concert addict. She lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia with her spoiled cats, Murphy and Shadow.
Don’t miss these exciting titles by Jodi Bella and Blushing Books!
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Available March 2017: Cowboy Love
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