Love of a Cowboy 1 Page 13

  “Cord, I…I thought you were dead,” she said, the words muffled against his chest.

  His arms tightened around her and she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. “I know, sweetheart. I know. Did he hurt you?”

  Kayla knew exactly whom Cord was talking about, and she shook her head. “No, he didn’t have time,” she said. She didn’t add anything else. All she wanted to do was to stay in Cord’s arms forever, but then the thought of Dalton Jeffries intruded, and she took a step back to look up at Cord.

  “Dalton and some of his men were chasing me.” She looked around wildly, but didn’t see him anywhere. “I don’t know where he is…”

  Cord’s jaw clenched for a moment, but then his expression softened as he gently brushed her hair back from her face. “I know, sweetheart, but you’re with me, now. I won’t let Jeffries hurt you.” He glanced over her shoulder, frowning for a moment before turning his attention back to her. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

  He took her arm, leading her to where their horses stood, but before either of them could mount, a gunshot echoed through the valley. Startled, Kayla jumped, instinctively taking a step closer to Cord, only to see him grimacing. Her mouth went dry as she saw blood running down his arm.

  “Cord…?” she began, but he shook his head.

  “It’s nothing. Keep going, get to the horses,” he told her.

  He would have gotten both of them on their horses and out of the open, but the animals had gotten so spooked by the gunshot that they had taken off. With no choice but to face Jeffries, he drew his pistol and turned to face the man, shoving Kayla behind him as he did so.

  Instead of riding down the gorge like his men, Dalton Jeffries must have ridden around, and was now bearing down on him and Kayla. Behind him, Cord could feel her trembling as he lifted his pistol. Though Dalton’s bullet had only grazed him, it still made it difficult to hold his arm out straight, and it trembled as he aimed at Jeffries.

  “Cord…” Kayla said nervously as Jeffries continued to draw nearer, firing continuously.

  Cord didn’t answer. Unlike Jeffries, he was waiting until his target got closer; when he shot, he wanted it to count. Grinding his jaw, he released the breath he had been holding and slowly squeezed the trigger. His aim was true and Dalton Jeffries fell from his horse to tumble to the ground.

  Behind him, Cord heard Kayla’s soft sob of relief, and he turned to wrap his good arm around her.

  “It’s over, sweetheart,” he said softly against her hair. “It’s all over.”

  An hour later, Cord and Kayla were back home. Lucas and a group of men, many of the ranch hands among them, had met up with them as they were on their way back. Kayla had listened as Cord explained what had happened at the gorge, and had been relieved when the forman said that he would take care of things. All she had wanted to do was go home and be with Cord.

  Now, as she looked at the bandage encircling his upper arm, she frowned slightly. “Are you sure that you shouldn’t have the doctor look at that?” she asked.

  He gave her a lopsided grin as he pulled her into his arms. “I’m fine,” he said. “Anyway, having the doc take a look at it would mean going into town, and all I want to do is be alone with you,” he added, kissing her gently on the mouth.

  Unwilling to argue with that, she rested her hands on the smooth muscles of his bare chest and parted her lips under his. When he lifted his head a moment later, she saw that he was regarding her intently.

  “You know,” he said, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “I believe that we were in the middle of something when we were interrupted last night, weren’t we sweetheart?”

  Kayla’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment, and then her eyes widened in surprise. He couldn’t possibly be referring to the spanking, could he?

  “Cord…”

  His mouth quirked again. “If I remember correctly, you over my knee and waiting to be spanked with your hairbrush, weren’t you?”

  Kayla blushed as she felt a familiar tingle between her legs. “But your arm…” she protested as he gently took her hand and led her over to the straight-backed chair that was still sitting in the center of the bedroom.

  “Is fine,” he told her as he sat down, and then smilingly added, “Besides, a little exercise will be good for it.”

  Though Kayla smiled at their light banter, her pulse fluttered as Cord gently guided her over his lap. She had taken the pins out of her hair when they had come in, and it fell over her shoulder in thick waves to skim the floor as she placed her hands down to balance herself. She had also taken off her dress when they’d come in, and so wore only her undergarments. She caught her breath as Cord slowly lifted her petticoat to reveal her pantaloons, which he wasted no time in pulling down. With her bottom bared to his gaze, she began to get even more aroused, and she waited breathlessly for him to begin.

  He didn’t begin right away, however, but gently caressed her bare cheeks with his hand, and she moaned softly.

  “So, tell me, Kayla,” he said as he continued to rub her bottom. “What exactly are you being spanked for?”

  She didn’t answer right away. Though he had certainly admonished her before when he had spanked her, this particular type of scolding was new to their relationship, and she realized that she liked it.

  “Well, Kayla?” Cord prompted, giving her bottom a sharp smack with his hand.

  The spank stung, and she gave a little yelp. “For lying to you,” she said in a small voice.

  “Most especially that,” he agreed. “And what else?”

  She thought a moment. “For playing cards at the saloon?” That shouldn’t really count, she decided, especially since she had gotten his ranch back for him. She didn’t mention that to him, though, not when it was way more fun to be spanked for her misdeeds instead.

  “Mm-hmm. What else?”

  He had started to caress her bottom again, and the feel of his hand on her bare skin was making it difficult to concentrate. “I…I don’t know,” she stammered.

  “What about your plan to steal from me?” he reminded her.

  She craned her neck to look over her shoulder at him in surprise. “But I didn’t really go through with it,” she protested.

  “But you did consider it, and so you should still be spanked for it,” he told her matter-of-factly. “What else?”

  Her brow furrowed as she gazed down at the floor. “I can’t think of anything else.”

  “No?” he said. “Well, I can think of one or two. Like coming outside last night when I specifically told you not to.”

  “I was only trying to help,” she said rebelliously.

  “Instead, you got yourself kidnapped,” he said. “Which brings me to your next transgression. Riding down that gorge after I told you how dangerous it was.”

  The memory of her headlong flight down the steep canyon was almost enough to make her shudder, but that didn’t stop her from defending herself. “But I thought that if I didn’t, then Dalton and his men would catch up to me.”

  He said nothing for a moment, as if considering her point, but then she felt his shoulder lift in a shrug. “Possibly,” he agreed. “But that still doesn’t excuse the fact that you put yourself in that position because you refused to listen to what I told you to do.”

  Kayla made a face, but said nothing.

  “So, let’s see,” Cord continued. “All in all, I think you’ve earned yourself a good hard spanking. Several of them, actually. Don’t you?”

  She squirmed in his lap at the image his words brought to mind. “I suppose you’re right, but not too hard,” she pleaded.

  Above her, Cord’s mouth quirked. “No harder than you deserve,” he assured her. “And certainly no harder than you enjoy.”

  His words almost made her moan. How could she get so aroused from a few simple words? she wondered. But before she could contemplate that thought further, Cord began spanking her.

  The spanks were light at first,
love pats designed to warm up her bottom for the real spanking that was to come, she was sure. Cord’s hand smacked her right cheek for awhile, and then went to her left, before alternating left, right, left, right until her bottom felt warm and tingly all over. Kayla “ooohed!” and “ohhhed!” with each slap, wiggling against him, which only seemed to arouse him, judging from the hardenss she felt pressing against her.

  Deciding that he had warmed Kayla up enough, Cord reached for the hairbrush, but then thought better of it, at least for the moment. Instead, he rested his hand lightly on her rosy bottom. Her skin was warm and soft, and he almost groaned as he caressed her smooth cheeks. Perhaps stopping to rub her bottom hadn’t been a prudent idea, he thought, but even as he questioned his actions, his hand moved lower to delve into the silken folds of her pussy. She was already incredibly wet and ready for him, and it took everything in him not to forget all about her spanking, and pick her up and carry her over to the bed instead. The only thing that stopped him was knowing how much wetter and hotter she would be if he spanked her even more.

  From her position draped over his lap, Kayla moaned with pleasure as he slowly slid his finger inside her wetness. As much as she enjoyed being spanked, she found herself hoping that Cord would decide she had been punished enough and make love to her instead. But then she felt the sharp sting of the hairbrush on her bottom, and she knew that the spanking would only make their lovemaking that much more incredible.

  The brush came down on her other cheek, and she let out a squeal of protest as she squirmed on his lap. “Owwww! Cord, not so hard!” she protested.

  She could almost imagine his mouth quirking as he answered. “It’s supposed to sting, sweetheart. You’re being punished, after all. Remember?”

  She certainly did remember, but it didn’t feel like she was being punished at all. The brush actually wasn’t unpleasant in the least. It’s just that she knew that if he continued to spank her with it, she might orgasm before they even started making love and she really wanted to save that for him. He paused, rubbing the back of the brush against her upturned bottom. The wood felt cool on her hot skin, and she sighed with pleasure.

  “This,” he said, smacking her defenseless bottom again, “is for coming outside last night after I told you not to.” He brought the brush down, alternating from the right cheek to the left, careful to give both the attention he so obviously thought they deserved. “You really should do as you’re told, you know. And this,” he told her as he smacked her again, a little harder this time, “is for riding down the gorge.”

  “Owwww!” she said, arching up against him.

  He pushed her back down with a firm hand. “However,” he said, bringing the hairbrush down again. “As you pointed out, you had little choice but to go that way, so we’ll skip to the part about your stealing from me. That should get you a good dozen or so good spanks.”

  Kayla opened her mouth to protest, but could only gasp as Cord proceeded to deliver the spanks. Hard and fast, they made her squirm and let out little cries of protest every time the brush connected with her bare skin.

  Cord, however, must have decided that she needed a respite, because he stopped to gently caress her bottom in between. She moaned as she felt herself get even wetter, and was just wondering if he would slide his hand down to finger her clitoris when she felt the brush once again on her already-tender bottom.

  “This next set is for playing cards in the saloon,” Cord told her as he lifted the hairbrush. “Which is something you are never, ever, to do again. Do you understand me?”

  He punctuated each word with a sharp smack, and watched with approval as her beautiful ass turned an even prettier shade of red. He was already rock hard as it was, though, and having her wiggle around on his arousal was almost too much. And he still hadn’t even spanked her for lying to him yet!

  Deciding it was time to remedy that, he pressed down more firmly on her back with his hand and took aim with the hairbrush. “I think it’s time to address your lying, don’t you, Kayla?” he asked her softly.

  She made a soft sound that could have been one of protest, though he couldn’t be sure. There was no mistaking her reaction to the hard spanking he began giving her, however. She cried out, squirming and kicking her legs so much that he had to wrap his arm around her waist just to keep her in place.

  Kayla’s bottom was so hot that it felt like she had just sat on the stove, and yet she wouldn’t have asked him to stop for anything! The tingling between her legs was equally intense, and she thought that any second she would come just from the spanking. Just a few more fierce spanks and she’d be there…

  But instead Cord threw down the hairbrush, picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed.

  “I think your spanking is over with for now,” he said huskily. “But we’ll get back to it right after take care of another urgent matter.”

  Kayla didn’t protest. Instead, she began to frantically unhook the fastenings on her chemise as she watched Cord undo his belt.

  An hour later, she and Cord lay entwined in each other’s arms, both drowsy from their lovemaking. Her bottom still had a warm glow to it and her lips curved into a smile at the thought of the spanking he had given her. She couldn’t wait for him to do it again.

  Beside her, Cord propped himself up on an elbow to gaze down at her. Reaching out, he smoothed a stray piece of hair back from her face. “I love you, Kayla Mathison, do you know that?”

  For a moment, Kayla said nothing, but simply gazed up at him. Then, suddenly, her eyes welled with tears.

  Cord frowned. “Kayla?”

  She shook her head, smiling up at him as she wiped a tear from her cheek. “Before you found out who I was, I thought that I wouldn’t care if you called me Abigail for the rest of our lives,” she said softly. “But now, hearing you say my real name…hearing you say that you love me…”

  He lowered his head to kiss her gently on the mouth. “I’ve always loved you, Kayla.”

  His words made her feel warm all over, and she reached up to caress his face. “I want us to get married again, Cord.”

  His brow furrowed. “We’re already married, sweetheart.”

  She shook her head. “You married the woman you thought I was,” she said. “I want you to marry the real me this time.”

  His mouth quirked. “In that case, then yes, Kayla, I would be honored to marry you…again. But first, we have to get back to that spanking we didn’t finish. We should start our married life with a clean slate.”

  And so, wearing the wedding dress she had made, carrying a bouquet of fresh daisies, and using her real name this time, Kayla Mathison married Cord Holderness all over again. And this time, the only secret between them was why she had such a hard time sitting down during the reception.

  The End.

  Paige Tyler

  Paige Tyler is a full-time, multi-published, award-winning writer of erotic romance. She and her research assistant (otherwise known as her husband!) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their easy going dog and their lazy, I-refuse-to-get-off-the-couch-for-anything-but-food cat. When not working on her latest book, Paige enjoys reading, jogging, doing Pilates, going to the beach, watching Pro football, and vacationing with her husband at Disney. She loves writing about strong, sexy, alpha males and the feisty, independent women who fall for them. From verbal foreplay to sexual heat, her wickedly hot stories of romance, adventure, passion and true love will bring a blush to your cheeks and leave you breathlessly panting for more!

  Visit her website here:

  http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com

  Visit her blog here:

  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2300692.Paige_Tyler/blog

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