It's Book Hooks Wednesday! Yay! And I'm sharing an excerpt from my spanking novella in the Corbin's Bend series, Past Interference, the sequel to A Simple Misunderstanding. Past Interference was originally part of the Corbin's Bend Valentine's Day collection "Love in the Rockies," but is now being sold separately.
What she needed was the opposite of what she wanted.
In this scene, which occurs near the beginning of Chapter Two, Eleanor Benson (Elly) is six days away from getting married again, and her doubts are eating her alive. After suffering through a bout of stress-related migraines, she's finally gotten up enough courage to tell her husband-to-be that she's not sure she wants to get married again. Jerry knows Elly is nervous, but believed he'd managed to convince her he is nothing at all like her first husband, Arthur, who abused her. Unfortunately, he's beginning to realize Elly's fear of her past may ruin their future together, so he suggests they sit down and discuss why she's having second thoughts, and why he wants to marry her. Elly insists she's not afraid of Jerry, but when he realizes she hadn't been afraid of her first husband when they got married, either, he seeks to understand what happened between them.
“You know how I felt about Arthur,” she
answered with a sigh. “He was handsome, commanding, intelligent and
domineering. I was young, silly and in love with the thought of a man like him
taking command and protecting me. I just didn’t understand what that meant
until after…”
“After he deflowered you and began to
assert his authority?”
Closing her eyes against the unpleasant
memory, she gave a nod. “Yes. Though, he was respectful toward me in the
beginning. A little patronizing, perhaps, but he didn’t try to diminish me. He
would correct me if I said or did something wrong, but he wouldn’t call me
stupid or thoughtless. He liked teaching me things, but he also preferred to be
the one in control.”
“That’s not unusual. Many Heads of
Households prefer to set the rules. So when did he give you your first
spanking?”
Elly squirmed as she recalled the
embarrassing day in question. She didn’t care for the direction this
conversation was taking, but understood why Jerry was asking, so she did her
best to be honest. “A few days after we were settled in our new home. I burned
our dinner and set off the smoke detector, bringing the fire department to our
door.”
“Hmm. Let me guess. He punished you for
being inattentive to the point you put yourself and your home in danger in a
way that humiliated him?”
Elly gaped in surprise. “How did you
know?”
“I finally figured out how your husband
thinks.”
Valentine's Day in Corbin's Bend. As Elly Benson readies herself for her second wedding, the doubts and misgivings of any new bride-to-be are exacerbated by the abuse she suffered during her first marriage.
Though she's lived with Jerry Douglas for four months now, and been subject to his discipline more than once, Elly's first husband had been kind and careful with her, too, until the day she vowed to love, honor and obey him. The lessons she's learned from the past make her doubt she can ever find happiness in the future.
Past Interference is available at the following locations.
I also have a page on my web site where I am offering a sample of the first two chapters. If you're interested, visit either the Spanking Romance or Past Interference page in the Over 18 section of my website.
Thanks for visiting. Now go visit the other authors participating in Book Hooks
Great snippet Kathryn, difficult conversation for Elly.
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Roz
Good excerpt. I feel for the heroine and can sense her hesitation.
ReplyDeleteLearning from past mistakes - always a great concept in a story. Great cover, Kathryn.
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@ketadiablo
I love that tagline: What she needed was the opposite of what she wanted. That's so true of many of us, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteGlad Elly was able to have that tough conversation with Jerry.
ReplyDeleteLove the premise of the story. A difficult conversation for her to have. Beverley
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