Linnet immediately shifted sideways, hurling abuse at him using every expletive she knew, most gleaned from sailor’s curses she’d heard aboard the ship. Her cursing did not help her cause but merely galvanised John into furious determination.
Taking a firm hold of the leather, undeterred by her struggles, he grabbed her arm. Twisting her ignominiously back onto her stomach he held her in an inexorable grip. The first painful lash across her bottom was such a shock, she opened and closed her mouth in a silent scream. The second cut roused her into defiant action, kicking and bucking.
Unrelenting, he held her fast and spanked her with ruthless resolve. As each stinging swat found its mark, she screeched and hollered, alternating between begging him to stop and wailing abuse at him. Had she remained silent, he might have stopped after only a few strokes with the doubled over strap but her continuous abuse only served to make him more determined to punish her thoroughly. Relentlessly, he brought the strap down, cutting across her backside time and again, impervious to her pleading cries until her bottom was criss-crossed with crimson marks. Eventually, she lay limply, submitting to her punishment. She wept genuine tears and spouted apologies.
At last he released her, his chest heaving. “Perhaps now, ma’am, you will reconsider before recklessly defying me. No more putting yourself into harm’s way, or running headlong into danger.”
She rolled away, weeping, her rounded bottom flaming red. Sobbing uncontrollably, she gazed up at him resentfully from a tear-streaked face. “I hate you!” she cried, without any real conviction.
John’s eyes narrowed, his lip twitched. “Why, darlin’,” he drawled with tender malice, “I love you with all my heart an’ soul. In fact, I’ve a mind to show you just how much I love you.”
He advanced purposefully toward her. She attempted to stand but, hampered by the breeches lowered about her knees, she fell backward onto the hay. She had no idea of the provocative picture she posed with her hair in tumbling in disarray and her clothing revealing far more than it covered. Her swelling bosom was exposed by the gaping shirt, her shapely limbs sprawled upon the bed of hay.
John, fully aroused by the sight she presented, strode over, throwing himself down beside her. She cringed away from him, trying to roll out of his reach, but he held her fast, entwining his hand in the loose cascade of her hair. He pulled her unceremoniously against his chest, his arm clamped tight about her. His mouth found hers, silencing her protests with a demanding kiss. His tongue raked the soft inner flesh of her lips. Breaking the kiss, he lifted his head and his gaze met her tear-flooded eyes. When he spoke, it was with deep conviction. “You are my wife, Linnet. It’s time you accepted the fact. Learn to know me as your husband. There is no going back from here. Mismatched we may be but I love you regardless, my spoiled, aristocratic lady.”
He reached down to wrench the breeches from her ankles, ignoring her shriek of pure rage. He avoided her clawing hands. He administered a couple of hard slaps to her scalded posterior, then grabbed her knees and pushed her legs apart, yanking her spread-eagled body toward him. Using his heavy weight to subdue her resistance, he penetrated her easily, impaling her with a snapping thrust that caused her to gasp his name aloud.
Always, in the past, John had considered her pleasure before his own. This time was to be very different, he meant her to know her master. He smiled—as he expected, she was slick with desire. Her body wanted him even as she struggled against him.
“Shall I take your bottom, is that what you need in order to mind me?” he growled into her ear. She froze, and he chuckled as she moaned.
He pressed her down against the scratching hay, ramming into her with an unrelenting force. Sliding his hands beneath her, he ignored her whimpered reply. “No, please, not my bottom!”
He clutched her smarting buttocks, raising them to meet the full force of his thrusts. “I shall take you in your final virginal place. Tell me you need me to tame you, tell me you want me in your ass.” He glared down into her wide, sea-green eyes. Oh, the signs were all there, she was fully aroused. “Make no mistake, Linnet, you have met your match. I intend to make you mine, in every way,” he whispered, his voice a hoarse growl in her ear. His teeth grazed her neck, his body demanded surrender. She whimpered, her hands clutched at his shoulders. She slid her arms down over his back, digging her fingers into his taut buttocks. He rode her hard and she was with him, her hips rising to meet his thrusts as she fell voluntarily into the rhythm of his onslaught.
His deep hammering brought her to the edge of a shattering and surrendering climax. “Oh, oh, my, J-John!” she keened with quivering ecstasy. “Yes, yes—oh yes!”
With deep satisfaction, he heard her cry of supplication before pulling suddenly from her body and flipping her over onto her stomach. He put his mouth to her ear. “Tell me to take your virginal ass, prove that you submit to me and that you are mine and mine alone.”
She quivered at the picture his words painted in her mind. “I-I do,” she whispered quietly.
“No, ask me to take you… there,” he persisted. His finger slipped into the crease of her buttocks and rested against her puckered hole then, gradually, he increased the pressure. She clenched against his invasion.
“P-please,” she whispered shakily, “t-take my bottom. I am yours, only yours,” she agreed nervously.
“Good girl,” he praised as he pushed his fingers into her slick channel, gathering her dew. Coating his finger, he eased it into her tight little anus. Scissoring his fingers within her, he opened her passage, widening her, ready to take his girth. She mewled and shifted away from him. “Hush, do not pull away from me; push your rump back to meet my hand. Trust me, it will go easier for you if you do that. I shall not harm you—remember, I love you—but you need to learn that I am in charge of you and your well-being. This base act, this taking of your backside, will brand you as fully mine. I promise you shall remember the lesson and that it will keep you safe in future. If I am to protect you then you have to learn to obey me, Linnet. Prove to me that you can do that, obey, and trust me now. Let me take your wicked little ass.” He relaxed as she did as he asked. Lifting her hind end, she pushed back onto his hand.
When he felt she was ready, he gathered more of her leaking moisture to lubricate his throbbing cock. Pressing his manhood into her small puckered entrance with gentle pressure, he halted, holding still as she cried out at the rude invasion. He whispered reassurance then continued to ease himself inside her, gradually, until his cock was fully pressed deeply within her passage.
She complained, whining as he remained still, deep seated within her heat. She shifted with a groan that sounded more aroused than punished. He grinned into her hair. She was ready, more than ready. He slipped a palm underneath her, covering her slick mons. His digits tormented the raised nub of her hardened clitoris. Her groans became moans; she was definitely a woman aroused.
Slowly he withdrew his length from her tight warmth. Then, gently, he slid back into the tight and greedy grasp of her virginal back passage. As he pushed himself through her tightness, the pleasure of his gripped manhood felt indescribably good. Gradually he increased his pace until he was pounding against her fiery butt cheeks, his flanks slapping against her yielding flesh. Frenziedly, he gave one last snap of his hips, thrusting deep within her, using her unremittingly for his own pleasure. Moving the hand that cupped her sex over her taut nubbin, he pinched.
She howled her release, the sound a frenzied mix of pleasure. Roughly, he branded her as his. Arching against her, he convulsed with a surge of roiling rapture as his seed spilled into her hot dark vessel.
Together, their laboured breathing slowed to a normal pace. He withdrew slowly so as not to hurt her. Lying beside her, he smoothed the tangle of titian hair back from her flushed face.
He leaned in and grazed her lips with his, studying the depths of her unfocused, smoky green eyes. “Do you know me now?” he asked huskily.
She nodded, hesitating brief
ly.
“Tell me,” he commanded.
“Yes, husband, I know you,” she whispered, relishing her deeply primeval need to give him her submission, accepting finally his dominion, and glorying in his possession of her. She recognised him finally as her match, her mate—her master.
Chapter 12
She opened her eyes; turning her head to look at her husband’s pillow, she saw that he was gone. Stretching out her hand, she felt the sheet. Cold. He must have risen early.
She’d spent a restless and uncomfortable night, her body sore from the spanking of the previous evening. She’d accepted the fact that she alone was responsible for the horrible misunderstanding. She’d created havoc and paid the price for her foolishness. She also realised that, after last night, their honeymoon was over; their marriage had truly begun.
She shuddered as she remembered her punishment. She’d made an enormous error of judgement but John had corrected her and forgiven her mistakes. She dreaded facing the Lammers, although her guilt had receded in the knowledge she’d been properly chastised for her stupidity. Ruefully she rubbed her chastened buttocks. She was sore inside and out. Last night was not a punishment she would ever forget. It had been intense, both dreadful and wonderful, a powerful reminder to her to take the dangers of this new world seriously and to follow her husband’s guidance.
Attempting to sit, she found it impossible, her bottom was too tender. So she rolled off the bed, wincing at the movement. Standing, she gingerly soothed her scalded rear end. A soft tap at the door had her hastily reaching for her hairbrush, whereupon she began to nonchalantly brush out the snarls in her hair.
As she worked at disentangling her curls, Sarah Lammers walked in holding a china jug.
“Good morning,” she greeted Linnet brightly. “John said to let you sleep in this morning; I hear that you have had an uncomfortable night.”
Linnet flushed hotly, she wished he’d not shared such information.
Sarah grinned. “Relax, my dear. I understand. Here, I have made you some balm to soothe the pain. It is what we use for burns but it has always worked for me in this situation. Just rub it in gently and it should help to soothe, it stops the stinging.”
Linnet looked at Sarah with surprise. “You mean?”
Sarah chuckled and sat down on the side of the bed. “My dear, surely you don’t think you are the first young woman to receive a licking from her husband?”
Under Sarah’s gentle, questioning gaze, Linnet pondered on how to reply. “Well, I have no idea… but I guess not.” Her voice trailed away as she flushed with shame.
Sarah shook her head, clucking her tongue. “Linnet, what a sheltered life you must have lived! Now, child, you listen to me: there is always a period of adjustment in any marriage. It is difficult to accept that your husband now has the ultimate say in all that you do. Especially living here out in the wilderness, but you must accept that John has your best interests at heart. Your safety is his sole responsibility. Do you understand that?”
Linnet nodded and asked curiously, “Does Hans, er… perhaps I shouldn’t ask?”
Sarah quickly interrupted Linnet’s stumbling question. “I was a young bride, like you. When Hans and I married, I knew nothing of men, other than my father. Boston is not like the wilderness where we have chosen to live. I had grown up in relative safety whilst living in Boston. My schoolteacher parents encouraged me to learn, to read and to sketch. Oh, how I loved to draw. I hardly ever have the time now.”
She paused, staring dreamily out of the window; finally, she sighed and picked up her tale again. “Hans was such a handsome devil and he is such a giant of a man. When he began courting me, I felt I was in seventh heaven!
“We were soon married and moved out here. It was an adventure for me. It was like all the books that I had read at home of explorers and travellers, but I had no idea of the dangers that surrounded us. We built the cabin first up on the ridge and lived up there for a couple of years while Hans built this house.
“I used to wander off to sketch. Hans was a very understanding young husband, he liked to see my drawings of the forest and wildlife. He told me that, provided I stayed within shouting distance of the cabin, he had no objection to my hobby.”
Sarah broke into a chuckle. “I remember feeling so indignant at that. I thought that he had no right to even think of objecting to wherever I wished to roam. Anyhow, I wandered farther and farther afield each day. Hans kept telling me that I must stay close by the cabin but I ignored him.
“Then, one day, I was sitting on a log, drawing, when I felt a sharp bite on my leg. A snake had bitten me; the pain was dreadful. I screamed for Hans but of course I was too far away for him to hear me. I was outside all night. Luckily for me, Hans found me early the following morning. I was very unwell for several days. We had no idea if I was to live or die.
“When I recovered, Hans told me that it had been the worst week of his life. He told me that I was never to go out of sight of the cabin again. At that time, I was still weak and frightened. I made the promise easily, never thinking that I would want to go farther away after my terrible fright.
“Some weeks later, Hans had been out cutting wood for our new house. He came back at dusk; the fire in the stove was out with no meal cooking. He thought perhaps something must have happened to me, that I was hurt again. He searched and called for me for an hour or so.
“In the meantime, I walked home from my wanderings and lit the fire to begin our supper. Hans arrived back from his search fearful that I was dead. When he heard me singing happily with no thought at all of the worry I had caused him, well, he soon made it very clear how worried he’d been!”
Sarah looked at Linnet impishly. “I couldn’t sit for a week! It was then I went through the book of recipes and herbal remedies my mother had given me for our wedding. I found a recipe for balm made with wintergreen to help soothe burns and bruising. Never again have I wandered away from home without first telling Hans where I am going.
“So there you have it; you are not the first, and you certainly won’t be the last to suffer from a sore bottom! I still have to remember to obey, otherwise, well, you know!”
Sarah stood up and handed Linnet the bowl of medicinal-smelling balm. She reached over and gently kissed Sarah’s cheek. “Thank you,” she said simply.
Sarah patted her hand. “When you are ready, come down. Apparently I am to teach you how to cook.”
Linnet frowned. “Oh?”
Sarah shook her head when she saw the mulish expression settle on Linnet’s face. “I wouldn’t deny this request from your husband, not just at the moment, hmm?”
Linnet nodded, she understood. Sarah smiled and left, closing the door quietly behind her. Linnet lifted the pot of balm and sniffed it. She found it smelled pleasant, slightly medicinal. She scooped some out then rubbed it gingerly over her sore buttocks. Sarah was right; it would not do to test John today, and probably not for some while.
She pondered over the story Sarah had shared with her. Perhaps all wives were regularly spanked by their husbands? Women promised to obey their husbands in their wedding vows, and she realised she had not been very obedient to her husband. She decided she would make more effort to listen to him—after all, she didn’t want a repeat of last night and the ghastly strap. She shuddered.
Linnet was still pondering her marriage when she made her way downstairs. Sarah had placed two steaming cups of coffee on the table and when Linnet arrived, she placed a cushion on one of the chairs. Giving Linnet a cheeky grin, she gestured for her to sit, which she did, wincing even with the cushion under her.
“Now, I want you to know that I bear you no grudge for what happened to Peter. I knew he had gone off by himself and he has explained that you didn’t know that he’d followed you. Thankfully, his leg is sprained and not broken. I should like to know what happened. Why did you run away?”
“I think I should explain something of my background to you so that you can unde
rstand what led to my decision to leave here. My father is Sir Edward Wainwright; my family home is Lavenstock Hall in Devonshire in England. My mother, Arabella, died when I was small, and so I suppose I was a little indulged by my father and used to having things mostly my own way...”
Here Sarah tried to hide a smile, for she privately thought Linnet the most spoiled young woman she had ever met. “That explains your accent.”
Linnet nodded. When she’d finished her tale of woe, she told Sarah that she very much doubted that John still loved her. Sarah reached across the table and, taking Linnet’s hand in her own, she gave it a squeeze. “You cannot doubt his love; he was distraught when he discovered that you had gone. His anger toward you was because he feared for your safety, and his fury at your disobedience was because your wilfulness placed you in danger.”
Linnet nodded and sighed. “I seem to have a knack for making the wrong decisions.”
“We all take time to adjust to a new way of life, and you have had an enormous change to your own, so try not to be so hard on yourself. I always think that one of the good things about a spanking is the clearing of the air and the fresh start it affords us.”
Linnet nodded, slowly understanding. “Hmm, I hadn’t thought of it quite like that. Thank you, Sarah.”
A comfortable silence settled between them as they drank their coffee and reflected upon the relationship each wife had with her own husband, pondering the uncomfortable circumstances that arguments with their men sometimes led to, and the private but rather delightful side effect of the spankings they occasionally received—namely bedding their men.
Linnet came out of her reverie first. “Now, where were we?”
“I think you were about to tell me how you came to be upon the ship?” Sarah prompted.
Linnet sipped her coffee and nodded. She began her tale, finishing with her spanking in the barn the night before.
Her Match, Her Mate, Her Master Page 18
