Page 50 of Cowboy Daddies

“I—”

He cut her off immediately. “Hiding things from me still counts as lying, sweetheart. Don’t bother trying to argue. Just be grateful I’m not slipping a bar of soap between those beautiful lips of yours.”

She shuddered, but there was silence from her, so he continued. “Not taking care of yourself, and we’ll add not letting me take care of you, as well. You knew I wouldn’t have allowed this to go on.”

A long pause, but this time he waited until she finally said, “Yes, Sir.”

“You know it’s my job to help you when you’re struggling and I can’t do that if you hide things from me.”

“But I can’t just expect …” The words trailed off and it was a few seconds before she tried again. “I wanted this career. You helped me so much while I was working on my degrees and I needed it, but after I graduated it was different. I couldn’t keep running to you every time I had a problem.”

“Says who?”

“I-I mean… I just…”

“Allegra Cassidy Dalton, I am your Dom and your husband. I can, and will, help you with any problems in any part of your life. It sounds like somewhere down the road you convinced yourself being an adult meant never needing help.”

“Not exactly, but I should be able to handle my own job, or else what is even the point.” There was such a note of self-derision in her voice that he was tempted to start the spanking immediately.

He swallowed back a growl. “Girl … you know that’s not how this works. When we decided to live this dynamic, we each agreed to certain things. Do you really think getting serious about a career wipes all that away?” He stopped and frowned as things clicked into place.

“Was this why you started to get such an attitude every time I acted like your Dom? Sulking for days after punishment? Ignoring me when I tried to get you to slow down? Rolling your eyes when I gave you advice?”

“Um …” She buried her face in the blankets and mumbled something he couldn’t make out.

It didn’t matter. He was pretty sure he knew what her answer was. “That was why I thought you no longer wanted this lifestyle!” He’d felt guilty for letting it all slip away, but now he realized that she’d sabotaged them both.

“I’m sorry. I just thought an adult shouldn’t need someone else helping them to do a job they were getting paid to do. You already have a job; you shouldn’t have to do mine too.” Her voice sounded thick and the words kept catching.

He sighed. “Sweetheart, I wasn’t trying to do your job. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I know nothing about marketing, but what I do know is how to take care of you. That doesn’t change because you finish school and move into a career.”

“Oh sure, bring logic into it.”

Carter snorted and gave her backside a light slap. “Someone has to.” He shook his head as he stared down at her. “You are desperately in need of a spanking, and I think it’s about time we get started.”

She tensed, her backside clenching automatically in anticipation—not that it would do her any good once he started.

When it came to punishment, he usually skipped the warm-up. The slow steady build was for sexy spanking, but it had been a while. Just this once he’d start off slow, giving them both time to reacclimate before he got to the real heart of the matter.

His left hand stayed at the small of her back, a subtle reminder to stay right where she was, and then he began to spank with his right. The slow sweeping swats were easy enough to take at first. If anything, she was leaning back into them, enjoying the slight sting and the warmth that each one brought.

If he let his hand slip between her thighs, he knew he’d likely find her wet and slippery already. His wife loved a good spanking and the way she reacted to them never failed to turn him on. They’d both enjoy it if he let his fingers wander…

But this wasn’t foreplay. It was discipline, and it was time to remind her of that. The slow tempo picked up until he was peppering her ass and thighs with sharp slaps. Her soft moans turned into gasps, as her skin heated and darkened into a rosy blush.

By the time his palm began to burn, she’d begun to make sounds of distress. Her face had gone back into the blankets to muffle the noise, but he could hear the faint yelps and whimpers. “Someone is out of practice with getting her backside tanned,” he commented, chuckling.

“It always hurts more when I’m in trouble,” she said, lifting her head just enough that he could hear.

“That’s kind of the point, sweetheart. But don’t worry, I’m not going to let you get out of practice again. Starting tomorrow we’re turning over a new leaf, and speaking of new…” He paused, letting his hand come to rest against her hot skin. “I bought a new toy a few months back, but it was a little too mean for foreplay, so it’s just been sitting in the drawer unused.”

She groaned. “I-I think your hand is enough.” There was a slight pause and then she quickly added, “Sir.”

“Do you? I don’t. If we’re going to start over, I want to make sure you feel like you’ve paid for all your sins. I wouldn’t want any lingering guilt to hamper our new start. Besides, I think this new implement will make a good impression on you.”

A shiver rolled through her body, and she squirmed on her knees as he moved away from the bed. It was very likely that at least some of her reaction came from excitement. Allegra hadn’t yet been pushed past the limits of what she found arousing. His hand alone was rarely enough to make it real punishment, because she enjoyed the skin-to-skin too much, even when she felt guilty about whatever she was in trouble for.

But Carter knew the lingering thrill would quickly die when he brought out the new toy. He’d hidden it underneath the multitude of other fun, and not-so-fun, implements they’d gathered over the years. It wasn’t until he pulled it out that he remembered how thick it was.