Page 10 of Ranch Rules

She pulled the door closed and minced toward him, clenching her teeth as well as her fists. She was so angry at finding herself in this predicament that she didn’t trust herself to speak.

Thomas gave her a single nod once she had arrived at the chair. “Good. Now, take off your pants.”

Her scowl deepened but she complied, making every movement from the unbuttoning of her jeans to shucking them down her legs as pronounced with her fury as possible.

If he noticed, he chose not to comment. “Bend over the arm of the chair.”

“This is stupid,” she spat at him as she bent her body over the arm, positioning her hands flat on the seat. “Barbaric.”

“I don’t think so, but then again, I’m not the one with my ass in the air, so what do I know?”

Hearing the amusement in his voice and knowing it was at her expense did nothing to cool her ire. But nothing could have prepared her for the first swat of his hand. It landed with a loud thwack against her pantied rear and it took every ounce of self-control she possessed not to cry out with the surprise of it. In mere seconds, her surprise was replaced with stingy pain.

Before she could completely recover, another solid smack landed, right on top of the first. She hadn’t been ready for it and a gasp was wrenched from her parted lips. Embarrassment washed over her quicker than the pain in her rear, and Natalie bit down on her bottom lip to ensure that it didn’t happen again.

She was successful, but only because she was stubborn. As smack after hard-handed smack assaulted the seat of her panties she was biting her lip so hard she felt sure she would taste blood any moment. Her behind was stinging furiously and the tears she’d wiped away had returned, threatening to fall.

“You took that well.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Natalie straightened, her hands instantly reaching for her pants.

“Wait just a minute now. We’re not through.”

She whirled to face him, mouth hanging ajar. “But that’s not fair! You said—”

“I know very well what I said, Miss Natalie,” he scolded with a southern twang.

Her scowl deepened, as did the furrow in her brow. It wasn’t fair that she could be turned on—he didn’t deserve to have that accent to lure innocent women in only to inflict pain on their unsuspecting behinds. She jerked when she felt his thumbs inside the band of her panties. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” Without hesitating, he pulled her underwear down to join her pants.

“But—”

“No buts. At the ranch, naughty girls are spanked on the bare.”

“But that’s not fair! I hadn’t signed a contract! I—”

“Do you need to sign a piece of paper to know how to behave?” His arched brow challenged her.

Natalie hadn’t pouted since she was four years old and her father had refused to let her eat ice cream for breakfast. But despite the years that had passed, her face seemed to remember how. She could feel her lips pulling down, disapproval in every line of her face. “No, of course not, but—”

“Good, then we don’t need to be having this conversation.”

She was getting very tired of being interrupted. If she had been in a courtroom, she would have eviscerated him, but it was hard to feel the same level of control she normally possessed with her bare bottom on display. “Listen, I don’t get the appeal here, I don’t know if you actually provide something people want or if it’s some sort of fetish, but I am a grown woman. And I insist on being treated like one,” she informed him with as much dignity as she could manage.

“Finally something we agree on.”

Natalie’s eyes narrowed. This had to be a trick. “Well, if we agree then why...?”

“You know the first sign of maturity, Miss Natalie? Knowing when you’ve messed up and deserve a punishment, and being willing to admit it and accept the lickin’ you’ve got comin’.”

She knew it. “But I—”

“I’ve said all I intend to on the matter. Now, bend over the desk.”

Her eyes darted to the office furniture. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the one she had in her office, and she could tell at a glance that it would be far from comfortable. Suddenly, her mouth felt very dry. “But why? Can’t I just stay here?”

“No, you cannot. You’ve earned a trip over that cold, hard desk, and that’s exactly what you’re going to get.”

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