Page 284 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

She could feel her face heat at the ease with which he’d said those two words. The fact that she seemed unable to actually voice the “s” word didn’t keep her from quivering at the thought of his hand on her bottom. Realizing he was still looking at her as if waiting for a response, she had to be truthful. “The thought did cross my mind.”

“I know,” he said, pulling out into the traffic.

“How did you know?”

Pulling to a stop at the red light, he turned to her again. “Remember, little one, we’ve been writing for almost three years. I know a great deal about you and your face is an open book. You felt guilty about drinking and cursing and because of the wonderful, sweet girl that you are, you know you need to be reminded that those aren’t admirable traits.”

“Perhaps,” she conceded, leaving her hand on his thigh after he began to drive again. “I’m just glad you opened the front door instead of the back.”

Another shudder coursed through her at his chuckle. “There are quite a few doors that I’ll be opening as we go along.”

Betsy smiled. She had never had any doubts that Jack was a gentleman, one who would treat a woman like a lady, opening doors and leading her through them. The memory of his hand pressed against her lower back as he guided her through crowds, letting her know that he was right there with her, had her heart warming. When he said her name, she looked up. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you say something? I’m afraid I was wool-gathering.”

He smiled and shook his head. “You are just too adorable.” Her lips turned up and she snuggled a little closer until he continued.

“I was saying that after I open the front door to your house, young lady, we’ll be going inside and addressing my concerns.”

“What… what do you mean?”

“Darling, I am positive that you know exactly what I mean,” Jack said as he reached down and covered her hand with his. “We are no longer separated by thousands of miles and it’s time my girl learned that words inked onto paper are done with the same hand that will teach a naughty girl a lesson.” When she didn’t… couldn’t respond, he gave her fingers a squeeze. “Don’t worry, sweetie, I will never harm you.”

Betsy’s breath left her in a loud exhale. How could she have been so worried? Of course he wouldn’t actually span… correct her. Suddenly, she wondered why the thought of being spared the humiliation of being physically chastised didn’t fill her with relief.

“Betsy, honey?”

Again she realized that he’d been speaking, and she’d been lost in her thoughts. “Oh, I’m sorry. I-I know you’d never hurt me, Jack.”

Jack moved his hand to cup her chin with his fingers. “Spankings hurt, little one, but as I said, I will never harm you. Your bottom will sting and be tender, but your heart will know that you are very much loved.”

Betsy could have sworn that her heart actually stopped beating as his intention became crystal clear. Once it pounded in her chest again, she asked, “So… you really are going to span… spank me?”

“Yes, my sweet Betsy, I am, and I believe you understand why it is necessary, unless I’m completely off base?”

She couldn’t help but notice that there was no longer any humor in his tone, despite his reference to baseball, which they continued to tease each other about. The tone of his voice had deepened, but just the sound of that firmly given statement followed by an endearment that filled her with love, caused a wave of heat at the knowledge that though she was about to get her wish for some alone time with him, her Jack sounded rather quite like the Mr. Bossy she’d teased him about earlier. Why that didn’t have her shaking in fear, she didn’t exactly know, but she only nodded and sighed. “No, you’re not wrong. I-I just thought…” Pausing only had her remembering that this man had captured her heart fully from the first moment she’d penned him a letter and that gave her strength to give him a small smile. “I’m sorry, Jack.”

“I know you are, sweetheart, but I’m afraid you’re going to be a bit sorrier in just a little while after we attend to your naughtiness,” he said as the traffic light turned green.

Forget her tummy. When her bottom clenched, she said, “I really feel awful.”

“Awful due to the alcohol or awful because you know you were naughty?”

Her entire body heated with his question and yet when he gave her hand a squeeze, she didn’t even consider lying. “My stomach is fine… well, it’s filled with butterflies but… I feel awful that I was… that I acted badly. But I won’t do it again, I promise! Can’t we just forget about it this one time?”

“No, darling, we can’t,” he said, giving her hand another squeeze.

After unlocking the door, Jack entered the small living room and settled down on the center of the sofa. When she attempted to pull her hand free, he shook his head. “Betsy, right over my knee, please.”

“What? Now?”

He noticed she didn’t ask ‘why’. “Yes, my love, now.”

“I-I thought you said I needed to take a nap. Or wait, maybe I should make a pot of coffee. Jane said it might help—”

“Are you telling me that Jane was aware of your condition?”

Betsy didn’t know whether to backpedal or to come clean. When he continued to look at her, the muscle in his jaw twitching a bit, she swallowed hard. “Um… yes, but I-I sort of ignored her. I’m really sorry, Jack. I know I embarrassed you when you had to pull over and someone saw me being sick—”

“No, Betsy, you didn’t embarrass me. I wasn’t concerned about anything but the fact that you were so ill. However, I am concerned to learn that you ignored your friend’s advice. Especially since I recall we had a conversation about over-indulging just a few nights ago.”

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