Page 53 of Rory: His to Discipline

“I don’t know the first thing about spanking a woman,” Del admitted honestly. “I can see where you’re coming from and I admit I have often thought the same thing. Bridget is wild and out of control at times. I worry about her on the weekends, even though I try not to think about her. There’s something about her that just grabs at my heart, when I don’t feel like choking her,” Del stated simply. “Say I did spank her, what makes you so sure it will work, that it will change anything?”

“It won’t work,” Sean replied, “Not unless you love her. Spankin’ isn’t to be taken or givin’ lightly. It’s a commitment of sorts. It says, ‘I care for you and I will not let you continue to behave this way’. It says, ‘You are important to me and to my happiness’. A man who lets his woman ride roughshod over him may love her in the beginnin’ but it won’t last. He’ll feel like less of a man and in time she’ll begin to hate him and herself. They might not even be friends at the end.”

“I’ll think about this, Sir,” Del promised, not quite believing what he was agreeing to. “If things work out between me and Bridget, is there some place I can go and take lessons?”

Their laughter was heard all the way in the other room and the girls wondered what was going on. Molly smiled and kept writing the list of everything they would need for the wedding.

“It’ll either come naturally to you, or it won’t,” Sean told Del smiling. “Either way, it won’t be pleasant. Not at first anyway. Women kick, and fight and yell their heads off. The important thin’ to remember is don’t stop till she comes around to your way of thinkin’, no matter how long it takes. After you can cuddle and soothe her, but durin’ you’ve got to be firm.”

“Now, that you two got out of doing dishes,” Rory grumbled, smacking Del in the head with a damp towel, “how about we go watch some football?”

“All right,” they agreed, grabbing some cold beer from the fridge.

“Come on, Del,” Rory said flinging an arm over Del’s shoulders. “I’ll explain the game to you and anything else you have questions about.”

Chapter Eighteen

Time was slipping away from Tess and lately she felt like she was on a runaway train, moving faster and faster to an unknown destination. With her wedding only two weeks away, Christmas gifts to be bought, working at the law office, attending class two nights a week and trying her best to make progress on the house, she felt desperate and frustrated.

Rory was next to useless in making any decisions about the house. She knew he was working hard, but if she heard “Whatever you think, babe,” out of his mouth just one more time she was going to beat him with her new frying pan.

His kitchen was woefully under stocked with cookware, dishes and assorted utensils, so Tess had reluctantly broken in her new bank card and gone shopping.

Apparently, he did not care what color carpeting, drapes or walls they had. Furniture was not high on his list of priorities either. In fact, Tess was beginning to think he actually preferred having only that overgrown monstrosity of a chair to sit on and his huge bed. If they watched TV, he would make her sit on his lap where he would tease and torment her for hours, which usually resulted in several earth-shattering climaxes for her before he would carry her to the bedroom for a further demonstration of his authority over her.

He did go grocery shopping with her, picking up several items that were not on her list including the mysterious ginger root he had referred to the night he had blistered her ass. Tess almost fainted when he picked up several long, large cucumbers testing their weight in his hand smiling suggestively.

“I’m allergic to cucumbers,” she lied quickly.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” he replied smoothly, reaching for a squash that was much more intimidating.

“Give me those,” she snapped, tossing his first choice into the cart with a thud.

“Babe, you lied to me,” he said sadly with a sigh. “You know what that means, right?”

Tess left him in her dust as she pushed the cart away from him, but she could still hear him laughing as he followed her.

Rory unpacked the bags in the kitchen while Tess took cleaning products to the pantry. When she came back to the kitchen, he was washing the green vegetables in the sink. Her heart was in her throat as she started backing away from him. Taking a knife, Rory cut a large piece of the cucumber in half, sprinkled it with salt and began munching.

“You jerk,” she cried, picking up a dish towel and smacking him with it. Laughing he captured her in his arms.

“Want a bite?” he asked innocently.

“I thought .…”

“I know what you thought, and while it’s an appealing idea, I don’t think you’re ready for that,” Rory whispered as she relaxed in his arms. “At least not yet,” he continued, laughing when she tried to wiggle away. Sweeping her up into his arms he strode to the bedroom, kicking the door shut with his foot.

“Rory, the groceries,” Tess protested when she landed on the bed with a bounce.

“They’ll keep,” he replied undressing quickly. Stark naked he moved to his dresser taking out several ties. Approaching the bed, he grinned at her wide-eyed expression. He had threatened to tie her several times, but so far, he hadn’t needed to. “Where does my naughty little bride think she’s going?” he asked as she started to scramble off the other side of the bed.

Tess looked at him, frozen in place. God, he was magnificent. Tall, strong with supple flesh over muscles that were beautifully defined, he took her breath away. With his thick black hair, blue eyes and firm jaw he could have come off the pages of any magazine that featured the best-looking men. She did not know who chose the sexiest man in the world, but they were oh, so wrong. He was standing right before her, looking at her with lust and determination. How she was lucky enough to find him, and have him want her above all others, she would never know.

“Nowhere,” she sighed, answering his question as she opened her arms to him.

Rory undressed her, loving each new section he uncovered. Turning Tess onto her belly, he massaged her neck and shoulders before moving to her lower back.

“Don’t move an inch,” he ordered, getting up and gathering what he needed.