Page 55 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 1

“Troy… please. My feet are killing me, damn it. Slow down.”

“Well, I don’t feel sorry for you since you’re old enough to know how to buy more sensible shoes to wear in the Colorado snow, and that’s the second curse word not far from young children in the last hour. I’m no prude so that language doesn’t bother me in private, but I’m warning you now, I don’t want to hear any more profanity in front of children.”

He pulls them down a short hallway into an empty alcove, decorated and lit by twinkle lights in large artificial Ficus trees. Hallie is helpless to fight his strength as he backs her into the private cutout, pressing her back against the wall and caging her in by placing his hands, one still holding a gift, on the wall above her head. She’s grateful that while he is close enough to smell his masculine scent, he’s keeping a few inches between them.

The burst of resentment and anger she had felt just a few minutes before are dissolving, quickly replaced with a cocktail of guilt and fear of what Troy is going to do. She’s witnessed first-hand what he’s capable of. They’re far enough away from the loud party music that Hallie can hear her own labored breathing as she tries to calm herself, choosing to focus on the fashionable tie knotted at the collar of his dress shirt directly in front of her. It gets harder when Troy cups her cheek with his palm, pulling her chin up so she has no choice but to look into his stormy eyes. She expected to see anger, not his calm disapproval. For some reason, seeing his disappointment takes her guilt to a new level.

“Now, why don’t you tell me what that was really all about?”

“I don’t want to talk about it with you.”

“And why not?”

“Because… you’re part of the problem. All of the men in Eagle’s Pass think they can do whatever they want and us women will just fall at your feet, begging to have our asses lit up for no good reason. Thanks, but I can pass on that.”

Hallie isn’t sure why she is going off on Troy since she really had thought she was adjusting well to the strange rules of the town. As an outsider, she was coming to terms that there were people who lived a life of domestic discipline. But tonight, being confronted with both an example of punishment she had witnessed first-hand and Troy trying to act like her long-lost father, Hallie’s tolerance level has sunk to a new low.

She’s prepared for his anger, so the broad smile he flashes releases a few unwanted butterflies in the pit of her stomach instead. “Well then, I guess I’m glad I don’t live in Eagle’s Pass, so you can’t lump me into that bucket. And if you’d stop acting like a brat, I wouldn’t feel the need to manhandle you away to cool off out of ear shot of impressionable children.”

Hallie’s mini meltdown has run its course. “Fine. I might have over-reacted… just a bit.”

“You think?” Troy is laughing at her now.

“You can stop laughing any time now. It isn’t that funny.”

“If you say so.” She knows the second he realizes how close they are. She’s relieved when he takes a step away from her, giving her a bit of breathing room again.

“So, I wonder what kind of gifts they give out to everyone. You game to open our gifts and take a look?” Hallie is surprised he’s giving her rude behavior a pass. She doesn’t know how to interpret what feels like disappointment with Troy’s change of subject. His question hangs in the air. It feels like a dare.

Hallie is curious and more importantly, she welcomes the chance to steer the subject away from her less-than-admirable conduct of the last ten minutes. “Sure. I love opening presents. I’ll go first.”

Hallie rips through the red wrapping paper to find a box of what, at first glance, looks like simple lotion, but upon closer examination, she sees the box touts its medicinal value in ‘helping to relieve pain and cool heated skin.’ Hallie blushes as she realizes she is holding lotion to rub on her ass after getting a hard spanking. “Oh goody. A gift I’ll never use.”

His laughter is back. “I wouldn’t go giving it away if I were you. If you decide to stay in

Eagle’s Pass, I predict it won’t be long before you’ll be in need of a dab of that.”

“Very funny. I can’t wait to see what they buy for the Doms around here.”

Troy grins. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.” Troy rips the paper off his present and takes a short peek in the box without showing Hallie. He whistles. “Oh, you’re gonna just love this.”

“That bad?”

“Depends on your perspective I would guess.” Hallie’s eyes almost bug out as he pulls a heavy-duty wooden spoon out from the tissue paper wrapping. His grin is disarming. “Somehow,

I don’t think most of the HoHs are going to be cooking with this.”

“Fucking great.” The second the bomb leaves her mouth, she regrets it. “I’m so sorry. It just slipped out.”

“I don’t think so. What I can’t figure out is if you are just being careless or if you are subconsciously trying to push my buttons to see how far you can push me.”

“That’s ridiculous. Listen, for the last few years I’ve lived with a rock band traveling cooped up on a tour bus at least fifty percent of the time. Let’s just say I picked up a few bad habits.”

Troy at least looks like he might be listening. “Okay, say I buy that as a plausible excuse for your potty mouth, I’m assuming your aunt and uncle are not thrilled. Adam seems like a pretty straight shooter.”

Hallie’s heart rate is going up at the mention of her uncle. “We don’t need to bring Uncle

Adam into this discussion, do we? I mean I wouldn’t want him to be disappointed…”

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