The instant he made the decision, a boulder lifted from his shoulders. A sense of rightness settled inside him. Concurrently, anticipation heated his loins. His girl needed a firm hand…and it would be his pleasure to give her what she needed.
“Don’t lie to me again,” he said.
“I won’t.” Livy chewed on her bottom lip. “Will you still court me then?”
“No,” he said firmly.
Her eyes glimmered. “Please, I swear—”
“We are beyond courtship, Livy.” He cupped her cheek, trailing his thumb along her delicate cheekbone, swiping away the single tear that had fallen. “Our bond has changed over time, and my mistake was trying to convince myself that I still see you as a little girl when it is clear that you are a woman now. A woman who knows her mind and who wants to be my lover and my duchess. Who is willing to follow my rules and guidance. Am I correct?”
For a heartbeat, she just stared at him.
Then she breathed, “Yes. Oh, yes.”
“When we are together like this, you may address me as Ben.” He tested her. “Or sir.”
Her quiver of excitement electrified the space between them and sent a stiffening jolt to his cock. God help him, she was aroused by dark games. The things he could teach her…
“Yes, sir,” she whispered.
“Now you have been a naughty minx not once but twice,” he said in a deliberately cool tone. “Taking risks and lying to me.”
Her expression instantly grew contrite. “I am sorry—”
“And you will make amends.” Taking her hand, he led her over to the stone bench. He sat upon it and patted his thigh. “Put yourself over my knee for your punishment.”
19
Shaking with anticipation, Livy lowered herself onto Ben’s lap, her torso pressing against the hard rack of his thighs. She could hardly believe this was happening. For a terrifying moment, she’d thought she had lost him forever, but somehow he had decided to give her another chance.
Guilt gnawed at her; she hadn’t told him the entire truth. Yet how could she, when she knew that he would forbid her from being an Angel? When she’d given her vow of secrecy to Charlie? Livy could not choose between her love for Ben and her independence.
I’ll find a way to make this work.
She shivered, thinking of the consequences if she failed.
“You are certain you wish to play this game, little one?”
She twisted her head to look at Ben. Seeing the concerned dent between his brows, she realized that he’d misread the cause of her shiver. He thought she was afraid of what they were about to do when, in reality, she was afraid that he wouldn’t want to make love to her.
“Yes, sir,” she said in a rush.
She didn’t know why calling him “sir” put her into a lather. The wicked glint in his eyes told her he felt the same way. She’d always enjoyed playing with him, and this felt like a new, exciting, and very adult game.
“Then pull up your skirts for me.”
At his commanding tone, something in her went as pliant as wax held over a flame. With trembling hands, she reached back, tugging the flimsy material to her waist. Beneath the short acrobat’s skirt, she wore no petticoat, just stockings and a pair of drawers. Her breath whooshed from her lungs as he palmed each cheek of her linen-covered bottom in turn and squeezed. His proprietary touch made desire bloom inside her.
“Given your many trespasses, I think you need a bare-bottom spanking.”
Heavens. A heady blend of excitement and embarrassment enveloped her as he drew down her drawers, leaving them to hang by her ankles. Imagining what he was seeing, how she must appear to him, caused heat to spread over every inch of her skin.
“Ready to count out your punishment, little one?”
She turned her head once more. He’d never looked more handsome or more serious. And in his question, she heard what he was asking. Are you certain you want this?
“Yes, sir,” she said breathlessly.
He brought his hand down, the loud smack echoing through the leafy alcove. She gasped in shock at the burning sensation on her left cheek.
She blinked at him. “That hurt.”
“Did you think it would not?” he inquired. “Count, Livy.”
“One,” she blurted and dropped her head.
He swatted her other cheek.
“T-two,” she said.
Her cheek pressed against his trousered leg, she scarcely heard the next slap over her thundering heart. Who knew that being spanked could be so…titillating? The heat in her bottom set off a chain of reactions in her body. Her skin felt itchy with need, her nipples throbbing with engorged heat. In the secret cove between her thighs, she’d grown distinctly damp, and sudden anxiety besieged her.
Am I supposed to be this…this wet? Is it normal? Will he notice and find it disgusting…?
Smack. The firmness of his palm jolted her out of her thoughts.
“You forgot to count,” he said.
Botheration, she’d lost track. “Um, four?”
“Incorrect.” For some reason, his reprimand aroused her further. “Am I boring you?”
“N-no, sir,” she stammered.
“Then look at me.” When she did, he said, “Tell me what is distracting you.”
Her face burned worse than her bottom. “It’s, um, nothing…”
“I will be the judge of that.” He spanked her again, then rubbed the spot in a way that made her squirm in his lap. “You are not to hide anything from me, Livy. Ever.”
If he only knew all that I’m hiding…
She bit her lip, not wanting to be distracted. Ben had asked her what had diverted her in this moment, and she could give him the truth.
Gathering her courage, she said, “It has come to my attention that I’ve become rather…damp. In, um, an indelicate place.”
A devilish smile lit his eyes.
“Have you now?” he said. “I shall be the judge of that.”
Her breath hitched as his touch trailed down the crease of her bottom. His fingers dipped lower, and she gasped when they touched her most intimate place.
“Hmm, you are wet, you little minx.” The satisfaction in his
