Page 56 of Forever His Brat

This time when he stopped the sizzling didn’t immediately recede and for a few minutes she was too focused on the pain to think about anything else. “Twenty-five,” was a relief though. There was comfort in hearing that final number, even if it was a bit late.

It penetrated through the haze of pain, and she stopped struggling and flopped forward on the tabletop with a loud expulsion of air. Her heart was racing. As it thundered in her ears, she blinked away a few tears and saw them splash on the wooden surface.

Twenty-five swats weren’t normally enough to make her cry. They played much harder than this for fun. It was justsodifficult when the stingy spanks came that fast.

Letting go of control had always been hard for Charlie. When it came to Sam she wanted to, she really did; it just wasn’t easy. But she loved that feeling when he yanked the reins and pulled her up short.

There was more to being a Dom than just enforcing rules and delivering spankings. Sam always did those things. Bringing her to a feeling of complete surrender was what she’d missed the most in the past few months—and she wasn’t there quite yet.

There was no desire to say something smart-ass at the moment, which was a good start. The three spankings weren’t what had gotten her that far. It was more the way he wasn’t letting anything slide. Part of her, very deep down, was loving this day of tight control.

As she sniffled with her forehead against the tabletop, she felt a loosening of stress deep inside. The tightly wound coil of worry started to relax as his hand dropped to gently caressed her stinging cheeks.

He was totally in charge, and she loved it.

After just enough rubbing to cool down her stinging rump, Sam hauled her back up and gave her a hug. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and then suggested she pull up her pants. As she took care of that he started to unpack the rest of the box.

“Not sure if you guessed what your next chore is going to be, but I’m betting you at least have an idea?” One eyebrow went up in question and she nodded. “Good, have a seat. You’re going to start with the rougher sandpaper.” He set down a couple sheets of course grit paper.

She moved around and gingerly sat, testing as she put her weight on the wooden seat. Her backside prickled a little and the heat seemed to coalesce in the areas that were pressed to the chair—but it wasn’t terrible. “I’m going to order cushions for these seats,” she said half-under her breath.

“Just because you have them doesn’t mean I’ll let you sit on them, but sure, go ahead.” He grinned, knowing exactly what had prompted her comment. “Anyway, start there, be careful to get all the rough spots and then switch to the finer sandpaper.”

Charlie was proud of herself for not rolling her eyes as he described the steps. Everyone knew how to use sandpaper, but she kept her mouth closed and nodded as she listened. Once she got started, Sam left her alone for a while.

She wasn’t sure what he was up to, but he swung back around to check on her now and then. The process went quickly and most of the steps were fast. On his second visit she had the gloss out and was about to start painting on a coat.

He stopped her and leaned in to inspect her work. “Not so fast, Charlie. You want to wipe the paddle down with a wet cloth, otherwise you’re going to seal in those little bumps from the sawdust. You won’t like the roughness on your skin much.”

Whoops.“I brushed it off. Thought I got it all.” She frowned because now she could see what he was talking about. That added a step, but she quickly moved on to the final part.

She liked the way the wood gleamed under the clear coat. The purple-red color became so much more vibrant under the lights. She had to admit this one was beautiful too now that it was more finished.

“Too bad it’s so mean,” she said as she hung it carefully on a hook so that both sides could dry without sticking to anything.

Sam laughed. “I like mean.”

“You would,” Charlie popped back and then winced and shot him a nervous look.

Luckily, he just laughed again and pulled her into his arms. “You like it when I’m mean too. You just won’t admit it.”

He was right about both things, and she changed the subject. “So, what else is on the schedule for today? More chores?”

“Yes, but this is a chore for both of us. I was thinking since today is all about reconnecting and strengthening our relationship… it would be a good time to actually finalize some wedding details. What do you think?” He tilted his head in question.

Charlie wasn’t really interested in parties or planning them, but in this case… “Yes! We still have to settle on a date. Oh, but that’s going to depend on when we can get the pavilion done. Are we sure about the timing of that?”

Sam frowned and then shook his head. “Let me get my schedules and my laptop. You grab your stuff and I’ll meet you in the living room, okay?”

That was fine with Charlie and since she was there first, she decided to build a fire. The warmth would be a nice touch to an afternoon of sorting out wedding details. She piled on the wood, stuffed in the kindling and was just encouraging the small flames when Sam returned with his arms filled.

He grinned when he saw what she was doing. “Can’t imagine what you’d do if we lived in a warmer climate, Charlie girl.”

“We’d move,” she retorted and then got to her feet and went over to settle on the couch. “Okay, so when can we think about the wedding?”

Sam sat down and pulled out his schedules, lining them up in front of them on the coffee table so he could look them over.

“You know they have those on computers now too. It’s a lot easier.” She grinned.

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