Page 68 of Hold a Candle

Belton looked incredibly relieved. “I will, thanks.”

Even Luca was relieved, although he tried not to show it. He was the one who was a confidential informant after all. He did dangerous stuff all the time. He would go outside again if he had to, but he was glad he didn’t have to.

Heading to the deck when everyone was outside to get food was one thing. Now that everyone was inside and the night was deathly still, he didn’t want to set foot outside the door.

***

ONCE JAMIE AND PAULEYwere in the hayloft, Jamie turned around and closed the hatch above the ladder. It creaked loudly as it went down and that satisfied him. Should they be interrupted, he would have fair warning. Then he grabbed Pauley’s hand and dragged her along behind him towards the right side of the barn.

“Where are we going?” Pauley gasped. “The double door where the hay is loaded into the barn is on the back side. I figured we could open one of the doors and see most of the back pastures and into the hills above us. The window on the left is a little tall unless we stand on a hay bale.”

Jamie nodded. “Aye, we could, and we will. But right now, I want to do something else,” he replied wickedly, his eyes gleaming in the semi-darkness. “Ah, here we go.” A satisfied grin curled his lips as he quickly spread the blanket out on the hay-filled floor and pulled her down with him. He sat in front of a stack of hay bales and leaned up against them. Then he patted his thighs in invitation. “Over ye go, lass.”

Pauley’s eyes opened wide and a smirk lifted her beautiful lips. “What makes ye think I’m going to just crawl across yer lap?” she scoffed, crossing her legs beneath her and sitting sideways to watch his face.

Jamie watched her eyes light up in challenge as he studied her. The scrabble of what was probably a mouse in the silence startled her, and her breath hitched as she gazed furtively around. His glance at his watch told him it was going to be an even longer night as they waited for the soothing rays of the sun to bring warmth and light to their world. The stillness of the wind and the mocking gleam of the moon wasn’t doing anyone any favors at 1:30 in the morning. If there were spirits about, this was their time of a 24-hour day. Especially on All Hallows Eve.

The tense set of Pauley’s shoulders, and his, told him they both needed a distraction. Neamh was well guarded, they could take a few hours off and relieve some tension.

“Are ye going to make me come after ye then?” he mocked, taking her chin between her fingers and forcing her gaze to him.

Her eyelids drooped slightly and she whispered, “That all depends on what ye have in mind.”

“I think that’s quite obvious. That reminder I promised is ready to be delivered, and yer naughty backside needs it.”

Their lips weren’t an inch apart. “And who are ye that I should obey just because ye wish it?” she challenged softly.

He slid his hand behind her slender neck and up into her hair, holding her still. “I’m the man who’s falling in love with ye, Pauley MacBride, and I’ll no tolerate disobedience in my arms.” He dropped his mouth and took her lips, his tongue slipping along the seam of hers, seeking entrance. “Open to me, firebrand,” he insisted, the fingers of his other hand stealing beneath her sweater and pinching a soft nipple. It hardened like a blooming flower. She gasped and then groaned as his tongue took possession of her mouth and she melted into him. The gentle scent of peach from her delicate skin was intoxicating.

His tadger sprang into life and danced with pleasure behind the zip of his trousers. Her soft, yielding body was eroding his self-control at an alarming rate. Only one other woman had enjoyed this effect on him, making him lose every ounce of self-control he had, and he’d married her. It took everything he had to pull away from Pauley, but he finally managed it.

She stared up at him as if she too, were in shock. “Jamie,” she gasped, trembling all over.

“Unless ye want me to strip ye down, have my wicked way with ye, and then escort ye to the nearest altar, ye’d best get over my lap while I still have some resistance left,” he grated. “Once I take yer body ye’ll be mine, lass, so if ye aren’t ready for that, ye’d best obey me.”

***

PAULEY TRIED TO GETa grip on herself. Never before had she been so tempted to throw caution to the wind and indulge in an impulsive, wild affair. Her lady parts were humming the mating tune, her breasts were practically reaching for his touch of their own accord, and pushing herself back from his broad chest with trembling hands was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. She inhaled deeply and ran shaky fingers through her hair. Her lips felt plumped, the blood of desire running through every vein of her heated body, including those. Her panties were damp.

She looked up into his stern face and realized her choice had already been made. She was falling for him too, and that scared the hell out of her. He expected her obedience, and she wanted to give it to him. Maybe she wasn’t ready for marriage again, but she was certainly ready for the effect his touch had on her. It was as if her body had been waiting for him, for this experience.

Need blossomed into a hungry, raging furnace that she’d never felt the like of before. The banked fires raging in his eyes both scared and excited her. With a submissive whimper she crawled across his lap and waited with breathless anticipation.

When Jamie’s hand slipped beneath her belly to unsnap her jeans, she whipped her head around to catch his gaze. “W-What are ye doing?”

“A proper spanking is done on bare skin,” he replied, efficiently making short work of the button and zipper, then neatly lifting her middle with one arm and sliding both panties and jeans down below the curve of her bottom.

“I-I thought this was just a reminder,” she squeaked. Feeling the pink stealing into her face because he was seeing her bare bottom for the first time, she couldn’t help wondering what he thought. She didn’t need to wonder long.

“Ye have a beautiful backside, lass,” he said gruffly.

Pauley shivered as he ran his palms over the flesh of her buttocks and gently squeezed. Then his hand pushed her panties and jeans further down her thighs and she could feel the muscles in her legs trembling as he trailed his fingers back up between them. She knew she was wet, unlike her mouth which was so dry she could barely speak. “J-Jamie.”

“Shush,” he soothed, his palm making circling motions. “I have ye right where ye need to be.”

When the first set of three spanks landed on her shrinking bottom, she gasped with shock. This wasn’t what she’d thought it would be. It hurt a lot more than the first reminder had. “Stop that,” she hissed as she turned around and glared at him. “That hurt!”

He grinned down at her. “What did ye expect? That every time would be a few light spanks and it would all be forgiven? It doesn’t work like that, lass. If a lesson is to be taught, it gets stronger each time until the naughty one gets the idea.” He waggled a finger at her. “And ye have been very naughty, teasing me, taunting me, and trying to get a rise out of me. I’ve no had a chance to give ye what ye really need, but now I’m going to do my best to do a proper job of it.”

---