“Yes,” The response was more squeak than a spoken
word, but it sufficed. In the next moment, Clarissa winced at the sound when
the belt whistled through the air then jerked hard when the leather wrapped
itself around her soft buttocks.
“Oh! Sweet Jesus…” She managed not to cry out, but
only just.
Clarissa lay, quivering, her throbbing bottom
clenching as she readied herself for the next stroke. She did not have to wait
long. The leather split the air again, then fire snaked across her buttocks for
a second time.
“Aaah.” She muffled the cry against the desk and
clenched her backside even harder.
“I am told a spanking is less painful if you relax
your bottom, though, of course, I cannot be sure,” James observed, adjusting
his stance in preparation for his next stroke.
Clarissa grunted, and clenched tighter still.
The next five or six strokes landed in fairly rapid
succession, and despite her most earnest desire not to alert Victorine or any
of the staff to her plight, Clarissa’s cries became louder. She could not stop
her feet from kicking out with each new stripe laid by her cousin and could
barely maintain her grip on the opposite edge of the desk.
After the tenth spank, James paused. “Would you like a
brief respite, Clarissa? You are doing well, and we are half-way there.”
Half-way? Is that all?
She considered his offer but shook her head. She
needed this to be over. If they stopped, she would find the starting again even
harder. And since she was already half-way…
“I… I am all right. Please, continue.”
He laid his palm on her right buttock and stroked a
slow, gentle circle. Clarissa had not expect such an intimate touch. She jerked
under his hand.
“What are you doing, James?”
“I am checking. It is my responsibility to take care
of you. Your skin is hot but shows no sign of breaking.”
“I do not understand.”
“You will have marks from this, but they will fade. I
shall leave no permanent scars on your body.”
“Oh.” It had never occurred to her that such was even
a possibility. How soon the memories of the brutality witnessed in Holloway
receded, or maybe she truly did recognise the difference. James had said she
would be safe with him, and she never doubted it.
A handsome viscount. A headstrong Suffragette. And a
cause worth dying for.
She grew up while I wasn’t looking. My sweet little
half-cousin is now a beautiful woman. I’ve adored her for as long as I can
remember. It’s high time I made her my viscountess.
But there’s just one problem. While my back was turned Clarissa has joined the Suffragette Movement. And now, I gather, she’s incarcerated in Holloway facing their vile force-feeding regime and God only knows what other horrors. I need to act quickly.
I’ve never been more pleased to see my handsome
cousin. Always my guardian and protector, James rescued me from that awful
place and brought me home to Smallwood where he is determined to keep me safe.
And he insists upon employing his own brand of discipline, to teach me the
error of my ways.
I want to surrender to him. I love him. I think I always
have. But I love the Suffragette cause too. James wants me to submit to his
authority and continue the campaign without endangering my life. But this has
become a fight to the death, and I will not desert my sisters.
Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for
mature readers.
This
story was previously published in the 2019 anthology Once upon a Christmas
Wedding. This version is a stand alone story, re-edited, and with new
content added.
mybook.to/DeedsNotWords (and it’s FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited)
USA Today
Bestselling author Ashe Barker writes erotic romance and spanking romance in a
variety of genres including contemporary, BDSM, paranormal, historical. ménage,
gay romance and time travel. She is a #1 Amazon Bestseller and all her stories
feature hot alpha males and sassy submissives, often with a lot to learn. Kink
abounds, and there’s enough dirty talk to satisfy the most demanding smut
lover. However dark and dirty the setting, love always emerges triumphant, and
her stories never fail to deliver a satisfying happy ever after.
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This sounds like an interesting set-up, Ashe. When is it set?
ReplyDeleteIt takes place in the early 20th Century. The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote in the USA, was proposed in 1919 and ratified in 1920. I'd say this story takes place in the years that lead up to that point. Suffrage for women voting began in the mid-to-late 19th Century, but I think Ashe's story takes place after 1901.
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