Page 34 of Hold a Candle

“I’m no finished yet. I want ye to think about what it would be like to lose everything ye worked so hard for because ye wouldn’t listen.”

With that, he started that awful steady spanking rhythm that was driving her emotions to the brink. What was worse, she’d already thought about those things and knew he was right. Between the pain in her bottom and pain in her heart, Pauley finally burst into tears. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done that. Raw, choking emotions overwhelmed her and she couldn’t help herself.

Jamie stopped spanking immediately and pulled her up and into his arms where she shamelessly clung to his strength. The broken wall of sheer need sent tears racing over the levy until she was finally limp in his arms. With a heartfelt sigh, she attempted to sit up in his lap and look him in the face. It was embarrassing, but she saw no censure in his gaze, only gentle consideration and caring.

“I-I did need that, but I don’t think I can say thanks,” she admitted ruefully, hissing at the impact of her bottom flat on his hard thighs. “How did ye know?” She really wanted to know how he’d read her so well. No man had ever guessed at her hidden desires.

“Ye promise ye won’t get offended if I tell ye?”

“I’ll try not to,” she cried, sniffling and rubbing her face with the back of her hand.

He chuckled. “I guess I can’t ask for more than that. Actually, it was Rhonda. She had a need that she said she’d only explain once, and if I didn’t get it after that, then she would never speak of it again.”

Pauley was intrigued. “Really? And what was it?”

“I’ve always been a dominant Scottish male,” he explained, “and spanking is nothing new in my background. But Rhonda sometimes liked to be spanked when she didn’t deserve a hiding. She wouldn’t ask for it. It was just something she couldn’t do. She wanted me to figure it out.”

“I take it ye did?”

“Oh, aye. It was easy to pick up on her cues. She enjoyed being a brat, teasing, playing tricks, and aye, sometimes she was naughty on purpose. Like the time she went over budget when we’d just talked about it and agreed to it.” He chuckled at the memory.

“How much did she go over? Ten pounds?” she scoffed with an eyeroll.

One eyebrow shot up. “Try 1000 pounds.”

Pauley gasped and tried hard not to snicker behind her hand, but she knew her eyes were giving her away.

“And aye, she wanted attention to her willful little bottom and got more than she bargained for that time. She didn’t like it when she really got her bum roasted, which wasn’t often, but she accepted it as part of the relationship.”

“Normally, I wouldn’t ask a man about his wife,” she admitted, “but Rhonda sounds like someone I’d love to have met.”

He tucked her hair behind her ear and lifted her chin. “She was like ye in some ways, but very different in others. Ye are both lovely women, and I’m a lucky man to have met two of ye in my lifetime. I know it’s too soon, but I’m falling hard for ye, Pauley. And before ye say it, I’m no looking for someone to replace my wife. I was attracted to ye the moment we met, and I didn’t know anything about ye. I might have been a bit lonely, but I was also comfortable on my own if that’s the way it had to be.”

Pauley stared doubtfully at him, but she accepted that he meant the words he was saying. Time would tell though, as to whether she could truly trust him. When he took her face between his gentle palms, she clung to his wrists as he dipped his head and gave her a tender, exploring kiss.

The next few hours were spent cuddling, talking, and sharing passionate kisses which they took turns slowing down when banked embers would flare into needy embraces. It was a magical time for Pauley, a time to savor. She almost felt bewitched and under a spell as they blocked out the world and took this precious time to learn about one another.

“It’s almost as if the fairies have cast a spell on me,” she gasped after one especially passionate kiss that left her wanting.

“Well, it is almost All Hallow’s Eve, ye know. Magic is in the air this time of year,” he replied. “Are ye sure ye aren’t part witch? Because I think ye have bewitched me.”

With his strong arms holding her close, Pauley never wanted to leave, but his words brought someone to mind. “I need to tell ye about my Gramma Caulfield. She had the second sight ye know. She promised me I could have it to if I just dialed in.”

His eyebrow shot up. “Dialed in? How do ye do that exactly?”

She shrugged, a teasing grin lifting her lips. “I don’t know. Maybe just wish something would happen?”

“I’m game. Take a shot.”

She tilted her head and thought about Luca. “Okay, I’ll go with something general. How about...I wish Mica would show up with some new information.”

They both jumped when the doorbell suddenly pealed in the stillness.

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