“You can’t expect me not to protect you, Sarah. I will always do everything in my power to make sure no one hurts you.” Brian cupped her jaw, running his thumb over her cheek.“But I understand what you’re saying. I did go a little too far, and I promise never to lie to you or keep things from you again. In the future, I won’t try to keep things from you, just to protect you from worrying.”
Sarah searched his eyes, remembering all the times he had fooled her and teased her. She trusted him so much that it would be easy for him to fool her if he wanted.“How can I believe you?” she asked quietly.“How do I know you won’t do the same thing again the next time some crisis comes up? I can’t live like that, Brian. I can’t be your wife if you shut me out.”
Brian made an impatient sound and stared down at her for several long moments. Finally, he sighed and clutched her hand in his. He opened the study door and towed her to the center of the room. With everyone’s expectant eyes on him, he knelt on one knee before Sarah and placed a hand over his heart.
“Sarah Martin,” he said firmly, “I solemnly swear before all my family and Judge Hawthorne, and with God as my witness, that I will never lie to you again.” Seeing Sarah’s eyebrow raise in skepticism, he cleared his throat.“At least not about anything important. I promise that, in the future, I will share all my worries with you, and that I will never keep secrets from you again.” Brian looked thoughtful and frowned slightly.“Having said that, I reserve the right to keep minor secrets from you … but only those that will bring you joy.”
There was a long moment of expectant silence as all eyes turned to Sarah. Everyone waited with baited breath for her reply. She tried hard to keep her lips from twitching, but it was a useless endeavor. Seeing Brian kneeling humbly before her … trying to make a solemn vow while maintaining some wiggle room for himself to tease and torment her … was simply too much. She finally gave in and favored him with a laughing smile.
“In that case, I would be happy to marry you, Brian McKenzie.”
Aidan and Liam whooped for joy and Naomi clapped her hands together delightedly. Brian rose to his feet and clasped Sarah’s face between his hands, giving her a long, gentle kiss. Even the judge looked a little misty eyed. He blinked rapidly and cleared his throat, once again assuming his gruff persona.
“Alright then. If I’m going to perform this wedding, let’s get to it. I want to go to bed!”
*****
Aidan pulled the wagon to a stop in front of Naomi’s old cabin and grinned over his shoulder at Brian.“Well, little brother, I think Liam would get a lot more sleep tonight if you and your lovely bride spent the night here. It’s well stocked with firewood and provisions, so you two should be more than comfortable.”
Brian returned his grin, ignoring Liam’s howl of laughter as he lifted Sarah down from the wagon bed.“You read my mind, Aidan. Don’t expect to see us for a few days.”
The others laughed, and Sarah blushed. Aidan nodded his approval as he turned the horses toward home. His parting comment was thrown back over his shoulder.
“The cabin’s nothing special, but the mattress is delightful.” Aidan grunted when Naomi gave him a sharp jab in the ribs with her elbow.
Brian chuckled, watching the rest of his family disappear through the trees. He turned to his wife, squeezing an arm around her shoulders.
“Come on,” he said with a wide grin.
Brian scooped Sarah up and carried her inside, kicking the door closed behind them. The interior of the cabin was only dimly lit by light from the small windows, and he set her to her feet. He fumbled around until he found a lantern and then lit a fire for them. Sarah watched him, feeling her heart swell with joy and love.
It was such a relief to have her memory restored. For the first time, dark clouds weren’t hanging over them, and the future looked bright indeed. She couldn’t quite believe her good fortune. She had found and wed her ideal man.
When Brian had a roaring blaze going, he rose from his haunches and came to stand before her. He cupped her face in both hands and bent to kiss her. His lips were soft and gentle, plucking at her senses as he tasted her mouth. He raised his head and waited for her eyes to flutter open.
“I love you, my angel.” Brian’s face was etched with sincerity and commitment.
Sarah searched his eyes for a long moment and then smiled.“I know. I love you too.”
He kissed her again while they began undressing each other. They worked their way to the bed, removing clothing as they went. By the time they reached it, they were both naked.
The cabin was still freezing, but neither of them noticed as they tumbled together onto the soft feather mattress. He lifted her on top of him and devoured her mouth. Their kisses were searching, hungry, eager. They were both breathless when Brian finally broke off from the kiss.
He lifted Sarah to a seated position straddling his hips and then stared up at her. His eyes drifted down her naked body, enjoying the sight of her breasts quivering from her panting breaths. He finally met her gaze, took a deep breath, and released it on a regretful sigh.
“I’m afraid we still have some unfinished business before we can have our pleasure,” he said quietly.
“What?”
“You promised that you wouldn’t go into town, and then you did,” he said.“You broke your promise to me, Sarah.”
“Oh, that,” she mumbled.
“Yes, that. If I can’t trust your promises, I can’t trust you. You know what this means, don’t you?”
“But Brian, I won’t ever misbehave like that again, and it’s our wedding night. You don’t seriously intend to spank me, do you?”
“I’m going to start our marriage as I intend to go on, Sarah. You didn’t just misbehave. You broke your promise to me. You said yourself that a marriage has to be based on trust. You broke my trust, and you must be punished for it. Do you understand?”
“But Brian, I don’t get to spank you for lying to me. By lying, you also broke my trust. It’s not fair if I’m the only one who gets punished.”
Brian sighed again. “You’re right, Sarah. It isn’t fair. If it will make you feel any better, I don’t want to punish you, nor will I enjoy it. In fact, it hurts me almost as much as it will hurt you. In a way, I’ll be punishing both of us.”
“Then why do it at all? Can’t you just believe me when I say I’ll never break another promise?”
“I do believe you, Sarah. But that doesn’t change the fact that you must be punished. There must be consequences. And you promised to submit to me in all things. Are you now going to break that promise too?”
She bit her bottom lip nervously but shook her head. When she spoke, he could barely hear her soft whisper.“No, Brian. I understand, and I will submit to being punished.”
“Good girl. Now, bring me my belt, Sarah.”
She rose and went to where he had dropped his breeches. He sat up on the edge of the bed and watched while she pulled the belt free and brought it back to him. He laid it on the bed beside him and pulled her over his knees. He wrapped a firm arm over her waist and caressed her bottom with his palm.
“I’m afraid this will be different from the previous spankings you’ve received, Sarah. This one is punishment rather than pleasure. It won’t be easy for you, but I expect you to lay still and take your punishment. Are you ready?”
She took a deep breath and released it on a nervous sigh.“Yes, Brian.”
He lifted his hand and brought it down with a thunderous crack. Sarah screamed and jerked with surprise.
“Ouch! That really hurts!”
Another smack fell on her bottom. It hurt worse than the first one, and she began to cry. This was unlike the previous playful spankings Brian had given her. This time, he delivered a steady barrage of smacks, never giving her a chance to catch her breath. Her bottom felt like it was on fire. She sobbed but did her best to lay still over his lap.
“Brian stop, please! I’ll never break a promise to you again
, I swear. Please stop!”
Brian ignored her pleas and continued to spank her until her bottom was bright red and burning. After what felt like an eternity, he paused, letting Sarah catch her breath between sobs. When he reached for the belt, she began to panic and squirm.
“Isn’t that enough? Please don’t use the belt, Brian. Please! I’ve learned my lesson, truly.”
“I’m afraid that was just the warm up, Sarah. Now be still or it will be worse.”
Sarah howled, but she held herself as still as possible over his lap. Nonetheless, when he brought the belt down hard across her tender bottom, she couldn’t help but squirm with pain. It felt like someone had taken a white hot brand to her bottom.
Brian gritted his teeth as he swiftly meted out ten painful strokes of the belt. He worked as quickly as possible to get it over with. He didn’t like having to punish her, and he was proud of Sarah for accepting the discipline so well. She sobbed and squirmed, but she didn’t try to break free of his hold. His heart swelled with love for her.
When he was finished, he tossed the belt aside and gently massaged the raised, red welts on Sarah’s bottom. She was sobbing, and her face was streaked with tears. He lifted her gently and seated her straddling his lap, as he held her tenderly and stroked her hair.
“Shhh, it’s over, angel. Just breathe. You’re alright.”
Sarah clung to him and cried. After a few minutes, the pain began to fade, leaving a burning ache in her bottom to remind her of her punishment. She realized he had been neither harsh nor unfair. He had administered just enough discipline so that she would never forget to keep her promises. She gradually calmed, and she finally released a shaky sigh. She lifted her head and met his eye.
“I’m sorry, Brian. I swear … I’ll never do anything like that again.”
“I know, angel. I hate punishing you. I know you won’t break a promise again.”
“No, I won’t. I love you, Brian.”
“I know. I love you too.”
He kissed her, and she wound her arms around his neck. Their kisses quickly became heated, and Brian laid back on the bed once more.
Sarah spread kisses over his face, neck and chest. She was surprised to realize that the spanking hadn’t dampened her desire. If anything, she wanted Brian even more desperately than she had before he had punished her.
Her heart swelled with joy, as the realization that she was finally Brian’s wife started to sink in. She was his and he was hers. More than anything, she wanted to lavish pleasure on Brian and have him pleasure her in return. She rose onto her arms, straddling his hips.
“Brian?” She looked at him, trying to keep her lips from curving upward at the corners.
He tucked her hair behind her ears, wondering at her expression.“Yes, my darling angel.”
“I was very naughty today,” Sarah said, nibbling her bottom lip to stifle an impish smile.“I knew that I shouldn’t have gone into town without asking you, but I did it anyway.”
Brian raised one dark brow.“Sarah, let’s not talk about that anymore. You’ve already been punished, so we can forget about it now.”
Brian stopped talking as she slid further down his body until her moist cleft was poised above his groin. With a wicked grin, Sarah arched her hips, scalding the underside of his cock as she slowly rubbed the full length of his shaft with her hot wet folds. His next words were slightly strained as she repeated the decadent caress.
“What exactly are you doing, angel?”
“I think I should do one more thing to make amends to you,” she whispered.
“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?” he asked with a puzzled smile.
“I think it’s time for me to make amends to you,” Sarahâs grin deepened as she slid further back until she was straddling his ankles, “with my mouth.”
She met Brian’s eye boldly as she gripped his cock in her hands. She used her delightful pink tongue to trace the full length of him before she began exploring. She traced each throbbing vein with her hot tongue and gently massaged his aching balls. She paid special attention to the sensitive tip, licking it lovingly as Brian groaned his appreciation.
It was the first time she had initiated sucking his cock. She had pleasured him with her mouth lots of times, but only when he asked it of her. Brian was thrilled by her boldness. As he watched her avidly, he thanked his lucky stars that he had found his perfect woman to love and marry.
She sucked him into the hot cavern of her mouth, and her lips curved around him in a smile when she heard him moan with gratitude. After several minutes of her ministrations, she released his throbbing cock and met his eye again. She raised one teasing brow and her eyes sparkled with mischief.
“I guess that you’ve married a nasty little cocksucker.”
Brian burst out laughing, but his chuckles ended with a groan of delight when she took him into the flaming recesses of her mouth once again. Her tongue was sinfully delightful as she stroked him, sucking and bobbing until she had taken him deep into her throat. With every delicious squeeze of her lips, she worshipped his cock, lavishing him with pleasure until he could barely breathe.
He enjoyed her efforts for as long as he could before lifting her head away from him.
“I’m not finished,” she murmured. When she met his eye quizzically, he smiled.
“You’re not the only one who was naughty, angel. I should never have lied to you or kept secrets from you.”
He held her gaze as he urged her to turn around and straddle his head, facing his cock. He lay on his back with his head between her thighs. Her eyes widened as she looked down at him.
“Go back to what you were doing darlin’,” Brian said with a wicked grin.“I’ll make my own amends.”
At his urging, Sarah bent over and took him into her mouth once again. She moaned when she felt his mouth on her womanly flesh. He lapped her folds with his tongue, making sure to taste every inch of the soft, pink flesh before suckling her clit. Sarah felt overwhelmed by sensation. She was torn between the pleasure of making love to his cock and the ecstasy of his mouth on her sensitive slit.
When Brian stroked two fingers deep inside her, searching, finding and teasing her sweetest inner spot, Sarah couldn’t hold out any longer. She released his cock and leaned her forehead against his thigh, screaming with delight as her orgasm rolled through her.
Brian sucked in several ragged breaths, enjoying the sight of her quivering flesh splayed just above him while he allowed his own urgency to recede. As soon as she was able to breathe, he drove her on to a new summit.
By the time Brian felt he had adequately atoned for his misbehavior, Sarah was trembling with both satisfaction and heightened need. He scrambled from beneath her, leaving her on hands and knees in the middle of the bed.
He knelt behind her, stroking her hips and buttocks while he rubbed his cock teasingly along her clit. Sarah shuddered, releasing a desperate whimper when he squeezed the raised welts on her sore bottom.
Brian planted his hands on the outside of hers, his back on top of hers. Sarah felt surrounded and defenseless. The contrast of her softness and vulnerability compared to the raw strength of his much larger, stronger body engulfing hers made her shiver again. The feeling of surrender, the yielding of control, the absolute certainty that he would never harm her was intoxicating.
“You know, my angel,” he said in a deep, rumbling growl near her ear, “I’m afraid I have a habit of misbehaving. Are you prepared for a lifetime of having me make amends like that whenever I’m naughty?”
Sarah moaned as he harshly squeezed one nipple and nipped sharply on the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder. He knew just what she liked, and she shivered with desire. She looked sideways over her shoulder, managing to catch his eye, and she raised one challenging brow.
“Yes, Brian. Feel free to make amends like that whenever you want.”
He threw back his head and laughed. She giggled too and then wriggled her red bottom at hi
m teasingly.
“What about you?” she countered with an impudently challenging raised eyebrow.“As you’ve said countless times, I am a naughty angel. I won’t ever break another promise to you, but do you think you can make me behave? I’m liable to keep misbehaving just so you will spank me.”
Brian’s grin was consummately wicked, and his breath was fiery hot against her neck. He knew she was referring to the playful spankings he usually gave her. They both enjoyed those, and they often preceded their most enjoyable sexual encounters.
He squeezed both of her nipples hard enough to bring tears to her eyes before giving them each a sharp twist. She yelped in pained surprise, but then she gave a delighted moan. His voice was so dark it sent shivers down her spine when he growled low in her ear.
“Who said I want you to behave? I love spanking you, and I know you love being spanked, my very naughty little angel.”
Sarahâs giggle was shortened to a surprised gasp when he plunged two fingers into her slick sheath. He grinned down at her as he fingered her to a steady rhythm.
“Now, my naughty angel, tell me what you want me to do to you on our wedding night.”
“Brian! You already know what I want,” she mewled.
He chuckled and kept up the sweet torture.“Yes, but I want to hear you say the words. You know I love hearing you talk dirty to me, baby. Say the words for me, angel.”
She sighed dramatically, but then gave him a naughty smile from over her shoulder. He had spent months trying to get her to overcome her shyness about crude language. Her next words shocked him completely.
“I want you to fuck my hungry, little, wet pussy with your huge, hard cock so hard and deep and fast and long that I won’t be able to walk tomorrow. I want you to torture my nipples and squeeze my sore ass while you fuck me and use me for your pleasure. I don’t want you to stop until I’m exhausted and begging for mercy. And at the end, I don’t want you to pull out. I want you to shove your lovely hard cock deep into my greedy little pussy and fill me up with your thick, hot spunk.” She gave him an angelic, sweet smile. “Is that what you wanted to hear, husband?”
Naughty Angel: Brian's Bride (The McKenzie Series #2) Page 23
