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Authors: Sue Lyndon

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BOOK: Shana's Guardian
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He left Shana to her own thoughts, and a
dirty kitchen.
 
It struck her as
unusual that he’d ordered her to bed.
 
Did he plan to punish her in her room?
 
He’d never done that before, instead preferring
to bend her
over
the desk in his study to administer a
spanking.
 
She fetched fresh water
from the spring that ran through the cellar and placed it on the woodstove to
heat.
 
She used it with a dash of
soap to scrub the dishes and counters clean.
 
Once everything was put away, she
readied herself for bed and crawled under the covers to wait.

She chose her longest cotton nightgown,
but with a sinking heart realized Daman would flip it up and
bare
her bottom anyway.
 
No matter how much she begged, he always did.
 
The worst part was that he got a good
view of the area between her legs each time, but ignored that particular part
of her anatomy as if it didn’t exist.
 
She couldn’t count the times he’d run his hand over her bottom during a
punishment and she’d found herself aching to be touched
there
.

Shana sighed.
 
Most of her friends were married now,
and at twenty-three she was the oldest eligible woman left in the settlement
– and probably the oldest virgin too.
 
But even though she’d never been with a
man, Shana knew what went on between husbands and wives.
 
She’d heard plenty of friendly banter
about sex between her married friends.
 
So while she understood what it was she craved from Daman, she dared not
reveal her secret to him or anyone else.

The topic of marriage had never come up
with her uncle.
 
Why hadn’t he arranged
a union for her yet, and why did he refuse all matches proposed by other
families?
 
Too nervous to broach the
subject, she dreaded the day he announced a match for her.
 
As her guardian, it was his
responsibility to see her married
one day
.
 
Oh, but she hated the thought.
 
The day she left Daman’s home would be
the day her heart broke to pieces.

Leave the rats for Winston.
 
Being separated from her uncle was her
greatest fear.
 
Experiencing another
man’s intimate touch was her greatest fear.
  
Her twenty-fourth birthday loomed
five months ahead like a death sentence.
 
It was doubtful she’d remain under Daman’s roof much longer, not when most
girls her age were married with two or three children already.

The creaking of floorboards brought her
back to reality.
 
She sat up in bed,
staring silently at her uncle.
 
He
held his belt in one hand, and one glance at the terrible implement left her
shuddering.
 
The bed dipped as he sank
down beside her.
 
Her heart flooded
with warmth when his expression softened.

Oh, what she wouldn’t give to wake up to
that handsome face every morning for the rest of her life.

* * *

“I don’t want to hurt you, Shana, but you
disobeyed me and caused me to worry.
 
I know the settlement is safe, but if you’re told to return home, I
expect you to follow my directions.”
 
Daman watched lines of distress appear on her pretty face as she met his
gaze.
 
Even in her moments of
apprehension, she was the loveliest creature he’d ever set eyes on.

He sighed when she didn’t respond.
 
Of all the days for
her to earn a punishment.
 
He
cursed inwardly at the bad timing.
 
Sending Shana to fetch a book at the library had only been a ruse to get
her out the house for a few minutes.
 
Daman had planned to cook dinner anyway, as a surprise and as a means to
soften her for an important topic he planned to broach this evening.
 
By sending her to her bedroom instead of
his study, he hoped she wouldn’t be as frightened, but he now second-guessed
that decision.
 
This was intimate
and dangerous on a level his niece probably didn’t realize.

Or maybe she did.
 
She might be young and inexperienced,
but she wasn’t naive.

He trailed his fingers under chin.
 
“Let’s get this over with, shall
we?
 
There’s something important I
must discuss with you tonight.”

A flicker of doubt crossed her features
as he guided her onto her stomach.
 
He hesitated before baring her bottom, but decided not to go soft.
 
The world was a dangerous place,
especially beyond the barriers of the settlement.
 
Shana’s waywardness would get her into
serious trouble one day if his expectations and punishments lacked
consistency.
 
He had to remain firm.

Which was exactly why he planned to marry
her.
 

True, she was his niece, but not by blood.
 
He’d already obtained permission from
the priest and he doubted anyone would raise an eyebrow over his decision.
 
Okay, maybe an eyebrow or two.
 
Not that he cared.
 
He’d be damned if he’d let some young
buck take her away, possibly to another settlement.
 
No.
 
She belonged to him.

Shana buried her face in the pillow and
fisted her hands in the sheets after the first smack.
 
Daman warmed her up with his hand, placing
ten
firm
slaps on each cheek before reaching for the
belt, knowing it carried more bite than the paddle.
 
Her hands flew back and he captured her
wrists in his left hand.
 

“You know better.”
 

The dark pink flesh of her bottom turned
an angry shade of red as he lowered the belt repeatedly, giving her twenty
blows in all.

After moving her nightgown down, Daman gathered
her in his arms.
 
She never cried,
no matter how harsh the punishment, but he still felt compelled to comfort her
each and every time.
 
When she’d
first come to live with him, she’d been inconsolable and had cried herself to
sleep for a month.
 
Nothing he did
or said could soothe her, and it had been a relief to see her tears dry up one
day.
 
That was six years ago, and
her emotional detachment in certain circumstances scared him now and then.

She smiled plenty, and her frequent
laughter was the most beautiful sound in the world.
 
But when a situation became tense, she
erected a sturdy wall around her heart.
 
She allowed herself to feel joy, but never despair – at least
openly.
 
No tears, ever.
 
He knew the spankings hurt, that
physical pain was a deterrent, and her remorse was always evident.
 
Sometimes he’d catch a glimmer of
moisture in her eyes, particularly if he was scolding her, but she’d blink it
back immediately, causing him to question whether or not it was there in the
first place.

He continued to hold her, rubbing his
hand down her back while listening to her deep breaths.
 
Her hair smelled of the lilac shampoo
he’d brought her after a trading mission to Marshall Settlement.

“I’m sorry, Uncle Daman,” she said.
 
The regret in her voice was obvious, and
it pleased him that she’d learned her lesson.
 
If something bad were to happen to her .
. .

It was a thought he couldn’t complete.

He drew back and kissed her
forehead.
 
“You’re forgiven, my
dear.”

Slowly, Shana drew away from him and
seated herself in front of her pillow.
 
With her long white nightgown and wavy blond locks framing her angelic
face, he couldn’t help but stare.
 
She hugged her legs to her chest and gazed questioningly at him.
 
“What did you need to talk to me about?”

A stab of worry and doubt left his mouth
dry.
 
He cleared his throat and said
a silent prayer that she would accept his decision.
 
“You’re twenty-three years old now,
Shana.
 
It’s time you took a
husband.
 
That’s what I want to talk
to you about.”

The bed quaked as she adamantly shook her
head in protest, her hair flipping violently about her face.
 
“No, please, not yet.
 
I don’t want to.
 
Can’t I wait another year or two?”
 
Panic laced her every word, and her wide
blue eyes pleaded with him.

Daman regarded her strangely.
 
“Most of the friends you’ve made here
are already married, many of them with children by now.
 
I thought you’d be pleased.”

“Are you sending me away because I’m bad?
 
I promise I’ll listen better.
 
I’ll do more around the house.
 
I’ll do whatever you want – just
please don’t make me get married.”
 
Her chest heaved and she blinked rapidly.

She was almost crying.
 

He moved closer and gathered her small,
delicate hands firmly in his.
 
A
slight smile curled his lips up, and her reluctance to leave his house –
for whatever reason – gave him the confidence he desperately needed to
continue the conversation.

“I’m not sending you away.”
 
He hesitated and waited for her to meet
his gaze for a long, tense moment.
 
“I intend to take you as
my
wife, Shana – if you’ll have me.”

Her mouth dropped open and she inhaled
quickly.
 
“You want to marry
me
?”

Daman grinned and suppressed a chuckle.
 
He couldn’t help but find her surprise
amusing.
 
Of course she didn’t understand
the depth and complexity of his love for her.
 
He’d never spoken those feelings aloud.
 
But was she so blind that she didn’t at
least suspect it?
 
He could’ve set
up a match for her years ago, but he hadn’t.
 
Nor did he do so much as glance at
another woman since she’d come into his home.

He squeezed her hands.
 
“Yes, I want to marry you.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“I won’t force you, Shana.
 
Think on it.”
 
He leaned forward and kissed her
forehead again.
 
“Sleep well.”

Daman found his own bed, but tossed and
turned for most of the night.
 
A
brief instant of solace warmed him as he recalled Shana’s fear.
 
She’d seemed not only opposed to
marriage in general,
but
afraid to leave his
home.
 
Her reaction puzzled him as
much as it gave him hope.
 
He closed
his eyes and drifted into a restless slumber, wishing he were a goddamn mind
reader.

* * *

Shana was beyond stunned.
 
Daman wanted to marry her.
 
Talk about a dream come true.
 
She planned to tell him
yes
first thing in the morning.
 
She would’ve accepted his proposal the
moment he’d asked – if only her senses hadn’t abandoned her.
 
I
don’t know what to say
.
 
Ugh.
 
What a silly response.

She imagined what it would be like to
share his bed, and a shock of scorching heat blasted straight to her
pussy.
 
If the priest had already
approved their marriage, they could become husband and wife any day they
chose.
 
She closed her legs tight
together and tried to think of something else.

The spanking.
 
Would he still see fit to chastise her
after they got married?
 
She wasn’t
sure whether she liked the idea or not.
 
Part of her had come to love the punishments as much as she hated
them.
 
The growing ache between her
thighs confused her to no end.
 
Even
though it was as great a sin as premarital sex – according the church
– Shana sometimes couldn’t help but touch herself in the privacy of her
room after being spanked by Daman.

Her heart beat faster and she squirmed in
the covers, feverish and uncomfortable.
 
She rolled on her side and reached up her nightgown, beneath her
underclothes to feel her tender bottom.
 
Trying to rub the soreness away only increased her arousal.
 
She glanced at the curtain that
separated her room from the hallway and listened.
 
Nothing.
 
It was late.
 
Daman would be asleep.
 
No one would ever know.

BOOK: Shana's Guardian
4.39Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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