"The darn horse has excellent taste, I will agree. What is that?"
"Peppermint tea. I found the herbs in that little clearing. Sweetened with honey, of course."
"Speaking of honey, it is time that I take care of your punishment. I owe you for taking off like you did, remember?"
"I remember just fine, Sloan. Also that it worked out well in the end. " Blair shook her head. "I don’t think punishment is necessary."
"Oh yes, it is. I have to be a man of my word if you are going to respect me. After dinner, we will handle this. I love you," Sloan said, kissing her cheek and handing her a roasted potato.”I am just not pleased with your choices. I’ve warned you countless time about how unsafe this environment is and yet you did what you wanted. You had a tantrum and stomped off like a child. That is unacceptable.”
Blair wrinkled her nose. "Is spanking me because you are displeased a means of showing love?"
"One of many, my dear. It also shows my possession. I am a very possessive man," Sloan shrugged. "I don't share what I claim as mine with others."
"Jealousy is not a becoming characteristic, nor is being controlling," Blair commented, her eyes twinkling.
"Jealousy when it is unfounded is unbecoming. I am possessive, not controlling."
"You? Not controlling? Oh, my!" Blair started to laugh heartily. "You are the most controlling, stubborn, and opinionated person I have ever met, next to my aunt."
"That was not a nice thing to say." Sloan looked somewhat wounded. "I would like to believe I have less selfish motives for my actions than she does."
"By far," Blair agreed. She elbowed him. "But if I put the two of you in a room together, it would be difficult to determine which one would come out victorious."
"I would," Sloan insisted. "There is no doubt of that."
"You could not spank your way into winning a fight with Aunt Imelda. She would surely find a means to put you into a corner like a child," Blair teased.
"Oh really? How about if I put you into a corner like a child before your spanking this evening?" Sloan raised his eyebrows, his amusement growing as Blair continued to sass him.
"Would there be a corner to be found," she swept her hand to demonstrate that the environment was without such a location, "you would be hard-pressed to make me remain. I frequently escaped corners as a child and scrambled out the opened windows."
"Well, little girl," Sloan snatched Blair's wrists and pushed her back against the ground as he straddled her waist, "you would not be as apt to escape, knowing that the penalty for leaving your corner is a sound paddling over a barrel."
"I fear that we will have many barrels at our homestead, once we marry," Blair sighed, closing her eyes as he began to kiss her throat.
"We will have a barrel in every room if that is what is needed to keep you out of mischief." Sloan sat straight and placed his hands on his hips. "Let's go take a dip in that waterfall and then proceed with your punishment."
"I would rather we take a dip and you make love to me, as you promised."
"I intend to make love to you in a proper manner after we are wed. Tonight," Sloan reached under her skirts and brushed his knuckles between her cheeks, "I intend to have you in another way. Consider it part of your punishment."
"No! That is abhorrent. I shall not …"
"You shall not argue. And you shall trust me to proceed with what I feel is best for you. Take off your dress, Blair."
Blair stood gracefully and began to peel off her trailworn dress and let it drop into a puddle at her feet. Her petticoats fell in a loud rustle immediately afterwards. Blair lifted her chin, still dressed in her draws and chemise.
"The dress is off, Sloan. Your turn."
"It does not work in that manner, young lady. Come." He held out his hand for Blair to take. With a sigh, she pressed her slender hand into his and carefully picked her way behind him to the riverbed. "Wade in and rinse yourself of dust. I do not want you to be distracted by dirt in your eyes when I spank you."
"Shall I remove my underclothing?" Blair asked as she settled into the cold stream, her breath catching in her throat as she grew accustomed to the cold.
"Not yet. I will purchase new clothing for you when we get into town. Those garments have seen better days."
"Delicate cotton and silk were not designed to sustain through travel. Must you watch me?"
"I certainly must. I have no doubt that you will try to escape, as though there were a window nearby."
Blair laughed, splashing him, "How well you know me! Although I would not get very far dressed in so little—and what I have being threadbare."
"Hurry now, Blair. Now is not the time to soak and nap."
"Skinwalker will not permit you to harm me," Blair said warningly, nodding towards the ever-watchful animal.
"Skinwalker is a horse. And horses can be tethered. Out now." He snapped his fingers. "It is time to get down to brass tacks."
Blair released a loud sigh as she stood before him. Her thin, torn underclothes clung to her body like a second skin, displaying every curve she possessed. She accepted Sloan's hand and followed him to where he had tied up the second horse. The heavy leather saddle and blanket was mounted on a large log to allow it to dry after the grueling journey.
"Bend over that saddle so I can prepare you for your spanking," Sloan ordered.
The saddle was just high enough off the ground that when Blair complied, her fingertips barely touched the ground. Blair bit her lip, realizing there was nothing to keep her from toppling over. He parted her drawers, exposing her pale, snowy mounds and the glistening slit that had begun to sprung moisture—a moisture not obtained in the river.
Blair gasped as he placed some items on the ground before her. "What is that?"
"I took the liberty to whittle out a paddle. You looked shocked."
"I have never been struck with anything other than a strap and a cane. And the cane was always over clothing," she confessed.
"You will never receive a spanking from me with a barrier of clothing between us, Blair Farbor." Sloan ran his hand along the protruding globes. "I am going to start with that light paddle but I can promise you that by the time I am done with this lesson in obedience, you are likely not going to want to sit for a long while. That should be enough to help you consider the consequences for declaring your independence and self-reliance while on the trail."
Blair hissed as the paddle fell in succession ten times, eliciting a warm sting, but nothing that remotely resembled even her first 'tete-a-tete' with his belt.
"You did not even react to that. Has the saddle made your bottom so hard that you cannot feel this?"
"I feel it just fine, Sloan Adkins." Blair looked up and grinned.
"Hmm, but not enough. Let's go to this one," he lifted a stout switch that he had appropriated from a nearby hazelnut tree. "I doubt you will be smiling so much after you feel this on your bare backside."
The first stroke landed, and Blair instantly popped off the saddle and grabbed her bottom. "That hurt!"
"Really? Good! Put your bottom back over that saddle, young lady. Bend all the way over and if you get up again, I have the means to keep you in place. You will learn not to run off and worry me again."
"Sloan! This is unfair."
His expression made Blair's shoulders sag. Playtime was over and he was getting 'down to brass tacks', meaning she had no means of escape. She slowly slid back over the hard leather of the seat, pushing against the pommel and cantle to anchor her hips between them. Ordinarily, she liked the scent of leather, but this time she thought only of how Sloan's belt had felt the last time he had her bent over in this position. How she wished it were his belt being applied to her bottom at this time!
"Sloan, please have mercy. I have been so cooperative, have I not?"
"This has nothing to do with mercy or your recent behavior. It has to do with paying the consequences for poor choices. Over more, Blair."
"I will be angry should you
pursue this course."
"Then be angry. I will not dodge my duties as your protector or fiancé, nor will I turn a blind eye as you place yourself in danger."
"I will not submit to this treatment. It is unnecessary."
"That is what you believed the last time I was forced to severely discipline you, remember? I must say that I am pleased that your bottom has retained its plumpness despite our journey," he casually added.
He placed the switch on her upturned moons and tapped the wood down gently to gauge his distance upon the enticing target. Blair's flesh rose in goosebumps as he tapped the switch down a second time and then a third.
"I refuse to shed tears for you," Blair announced as she tightly closed her eyes.
"I wish repentance, not tears, my girl." Sloan pulled his arm back, cocked and ready for release. With rapt concentration, he swiped the switch downwards. It sliced through the air with a sharp whistle and rebounded off Blair's backside with a resounding crack.
Blair clutched the edges of the saddle fender with a viselike grip as a line of scalding fire flashed across her tender posterior. Her breath caught in her throat as she reluctantly accepted that she was to experience an exceptionally painful few minutes.
"As I said, my dear Blair, I intend to teach you yet another lesson that you are not likely to forget in a hurry," Sloan said calmly. "Eleven more lashes, and then all will be over."
The switch swished and thwacked again, sending every nerve ending in Blair's body into a hot prickly dance. The third stroke slashed downwards and Blair's eyes prickled with hot tears that she stubbornly refused to allow to fall.
Blair glanced back as Sloan paused to check the condition of her throbbing buttocks. His lips were pressed into a thin line as he carefully ran his palm along the red stripes.
"Please, Sloan, cease this," she begged.
"I cannot, my love. I must keep my promise and show you that I will never abandon you, even in discipline." He took a step back, aimed, and silently delivered stroke after stroke with determined force. Each time the switch slashed across his target, it cracked like the firing of a rifle. By the seventh stroke, Blair's buttocks were evenly covered with hot welts from top to bottom. The eighth and ninth strokes began to merge with the existing lines and left her flesh feeling like it was sizzling coals. She shook her head in a desperate attempt to clear the fog of pain, just wanting the last blows to be over.
Blair's bottom felt fried and frazzled, and her hanging head began to ache as the blood pooled downward. As the tenth stroke whistled through the air, Blair clenched her teeth to the nerve-jangling implosion that racked through her body. The eleventh and twelfth stroke followed swiftly with the same snake-like bite. Blair gripped the leather of the saddle in white-knuckle desperation, hardly able to breathe as her bottom throbbed, ached, and burned.
"Your punishment is complete, honey. You may stand now," Sloan said softly, helping her up.
She pushed away from his arms. "Do not touch me."
"Blair Lorraine, you deserved that punishment. It is over; you have been forgiven, and your transgressions will never be repeated. Right?"
Despite her chalk-white face and thin lips, Blair remained defiant. She brushed some hair from her face, tied the drawers snugly around her waist, and smoothed down her still-damp chemise as she glared at Sloan.
The headstrong woman looked at the solemn man contemptuously. "You wanted to thrash me—well, now you have. I hope you enjoyed it." Her voice was clear and bold. When she had finished speaking, she turned on her heel and walked towards the white horse. Suddenly she turned around and curtsied.
"Thank you, sir," she said sarcastically, "you won't have to beat me like that again."
As Blair hurried from the clearing, her heart was pounding and her bottom felt like a cauldron filled with the spiciest habanero chili. She was livid with Sloan, yet all the while she was waiting to be called back. Oddly, she felt intense disappointment when she failed to hear even an utterance. She ventured into the river and slowly lowered her anguished body under the cool water.
"I know you are angry with me," his voice said from behind her. "It is never pleasant when we have to pay for the crimes we commit."
"I did not commit a crime," Blair pouted, not looking at him. "I took a walk because I felt unwell and was unhappy."
"You disobeyed me and risked your safety. Because of that, you were taken by those outlaws."
"Outlaws that I escaped from."
"It seems to me that you are still quite innocent about what a man can do to your body," Sloan said patiently.
"I know what you can do to my body," Blair answered back stubbornly.
"No, you do not. But tonight, you will learn."
"I am not in the frame of mind to accept your advances." Blair turned her head, fighting back unwilling tears as her tender bottom scraped the rough sand below the slow-running water.
"You will be once I begin. I can hear the tears in your voice even though I don't see them. Why are you resisting? You received a thorough punishment for your wrongdoings. Why hide the discomfort?" Sloan said, sliding into the water next to her after removing his clothing.
"I do not wish to talk about the ill-treatment you met upon my body." She shrugged his hand off her thigh.
"Do you truly believe that it was undeserved?" His voice was low, closely matching the sound of the moving water. Blair did not respond. "I asked you a question, Blair. Can you tell me that what you received was not deserved?"
"You did not have to be so harsh."
"I would have stopped with the thin paddle, had you not laughed at me."
"I did not laugh at you. The paddle did not hurt. It was very pleasant. I did not think you would go to such extremes to punish me."
"There were no extremes taken. You were switched. Your skin might show a few lines, but no flesh was bloodied."
"I am still angry with you." Blair's voice softened as her tears began to flow freely.
"I know you are," Sloan sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her resistant body close to his. He kissed her forehead. "I do not enjoy discipline. I would much rather spank you in play.
"Why must you spank me at all?"
Sloan shrugged, stroking her arm. "I enjoy it. The feel of your soft, warm flesh under my hand excites me, especially when it becomes hot. When the paleness turns to a deep blush, it really is beautiful to watch. It also warms your womanhood. You are quite wet after a spanking, even though you protest."
"You imagine things, sir."
"Do I? I am willing to lay down a bet that you are quite slippery even now."
"You are mad."
"Touch yourself, Blair. See for yourself."
"I will not."
"You are a stubborn girl. Stand."
"I thought I had made my wishes known that I do not desire your fondling right now."
Sloan ran his hand along the inside of her thigh, tsking as she rapidly closed her knees together. He pulled her backwards to rest between his knees and placed one leg between her thighs, prohibiting her from closing them. He began to knead her left nipple between his index finger and thumb while his right hand slipped between her legs.
"Not wet? Even in the water, your body is begging to be touched." He kissed her cheek as he gently caressed her clit. Slowly, Blair began to lean against him, her quiet sobs transforming into longing mews. Sloan ceased his stroking and stood, lifting her thinly-clad body in his arms.
"Kiss me," he said, carrying her to the clearing and setting her down on the open bedroll that had been warmed by the crackling fire. Blair pressed her lips to his, yipping slightly when her tortured backside touched the blankets.
Blair's moans increased as Sloan slid his fingers in and out of her virgin womanhood and then leaned over to lick her damp upper thighs. He peeled the wet undergarments from her body and sat up to admire her pale flesh against the light of the fire. He settled between her spread knees, nibbling on the soft inner flesh as he ma
de his way towards her glistening treasure. Blair was unable to resist the urge to reach between her knees and wind her fingers through his thick hair. She pulled gently, tugging him higher until his hot breath bathed her throbbing clit. He slid his tongue over her outer lips and her swollen nub, nibbling and sucking as he went. Blair began to squirm, pressing his mouth harder to her womanhood. She jerked when Sloan flicked his tongue against her button.
"Oh, Sloan," Blair purred, "don't stop."
"Do you forgive me?"
"Mmmm," Blair hummed, speechless.
Sloan continued to lick as he moved his left finger from her quim and pressed against her anus. "I will have this tonight, Blair."
She only murmured as he slowly pressed his fingertip into her tiny rosebud. She gasped as he nibbled on her clit and teased the tender bud, pulling away quickly as she grew near to being spent.
"You are a cruel man, Sloan Adkins." She writhed under him.
Sloan slid a second finger into her tight orifice and pushed his thumb into her womanhood, his mouth not stopping its magical performance. Blair's back arched in pleasure as her body began to tingle in anticipation of the upcoming release.
Sloan used his right hand to plunge his fingers deeper into her openings, careful of her maidenhead as he pushed upon the roof of her shaft and rubbed the tiny mass of soft tissue found behind her pubic bone. Blair screamed out, twisting her fingers around Sloan's hair and jerked spastically as her body twisted in delight. Still in mid-orgasm, he turned Blair over and pulled her hips up, forcing her to support her upper body on her hands and forearms.
"What is it that you are doing?" Blair panted as she felt something smooth and slippery being dribbled down between her cheeks.
"Cottonseed oil. I picked it up in the last town."
Blair groaned again as she felt a finger being pushed back into her bottom, and she tightened around the digit. He eased in and out, adding a second finger until he felt her relax.
"I will go slowly," he promised as he lined up the head of his cock with her tiny pucker, once again stroking and caressing her throbbing clit. He began to push gently, allowing her time to open her body for him. Inch by inch, Sloan penetrated her ass, holding her in place with his hands firmly grasping her hips.
Over the Barrel Page 11
