Shared by Her Soldiers (10 page)

They had been dating for a few months when Sean had begun scolding her for her sharp tongue. She really did say whatever thought entered into her mind, and knowing her aversion to all things spicy, he came up with a way to ‘cure’ her. She had been shocked when, during an argument where she’d ended up calling him an asshole, he’d produced the bottle and made her stick out her tongue so that he could put a few drops of the oil on it. She’d hated the sight of the damned thing ever since. She didn’t like to even touch it—the glass felt hot against her skin, taunting her with what was to come.

When she reached the living room—she briefly considered pretending to trip, so she could drop the damned thing, but she abandoned the plan when she saw the way he was watching her. He’d figure it out and then she’d
really
be in some trouble—she thrust it out toward him.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised.”

She lifted her eyes to his face, surprised to see the grin on his lips. It was a small one, but a smile nonetheless. “Sir?”

“I thought your first order of business when I packed my bags would have been to plan an
accident
for our little friend here.”

She glanced away, but not before a smirk slid across her own lips. Maybe he still knew her better than she’d suspected.

“It’s a good thing for me that it’s still here. You know how much I hate to make the stuff.”

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. Sean had planted a small garden in the backyard, consisting only of peppers. Whenever he ran out of the damnable sauce, he just went to the garden—or the freezer, if they were out of season—cut a few up and made a new batch. It made the entire house smell awful, and set her tummy to churning. When the latest batch was finished, Sean had called her into the room, holding a spoonful. She’d looked at him with fearful, wide eyes, afraid that he was going to make her taste it as a reminder of what would be in store for her. Thankfully—sort of—that was not the case. Instead, he’d called her over and made her smell it. She’d done it as quickly as possible, standing up and wrinkling her nose at him. She’d been uneasy about it before, but having to get that close to it, fearful that even the smallest drop might brush against her lips, made her sweet-tempered for the next few days.

“I’m glad to be of service,” she said wryly.

“Hmm, I like the sound of that.”

He’d murmured the words softly, but when she caught them, she scrutinized his face. He didn’t seem so angry at her anymore. He seemed almost… what?
Oh
. He was in his element. He was back in control, and he was loving it. The funny thing was, though perhaps she should hate him for it, seeing him like this made her relax. This was the most cordial conversation they’d had since he’d been home—over pepper sauce, no less.

But as his blue eyes sparkled, she couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was. He had a lean face, with a well-defined jaw. Her eyes were drawn to the stubble that had grown since he’d been home, and she found herself wanting to caress it. Combined with the confidence in his voice, he looked downright sexy. Funny, she hadn’t thought of him that way since she’d first seen him step off the plane. She would have been happy to change his mind to more pleasant things and quell the pulsing in her quivering sex, but since he had that god-awful bottle clenched in his hand she doubted she’d have much luck. Just the sight of that bottle stilled her lust and turned it into something more akin to apprehension.

“You know that I love you, don’t you, Kaitlyn?” His voice was low, for her ears only.

She gave a tentative nod.

“No, I want to hear you say it, baby. Look, I know that I did some things that you disagree with. I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry for that. I really am. But then I came home, and I thought things would be better—
normal
, between us, but clearly that’s not the case. So, I need to ask, and I need to know your answer. Do you know that I love you?”

She searched his face, touched to see the uncertainty in his eyes. This whole time, she’d thought he was trying to hurt her, trying to be distant, but maybe he’d thought the same of her. She reached up to touch his face, giving in to her yearnings, the bottle be damned. “I think so.”

“I need you to know that I do. I would do anything for you.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze before bringing it to his lips and kissing her fingers. “You know that the only reason I punish you is because I love you, don’t you?”

“Well, then I think in the spirit of love we should just put the pepper sauce back in the pantry, don’t you?”

“Kaitlyn.” His voice was edged with warning, but she could swear she detected a hint of laughter in there, too.

“Yes, sir. I do.” When she said the words, she felt something shift in her chest, like a heaviness being lifted from her heart. It was true—she did know that Sean loved her. He was just bullheaded about it at times, but hadn’t Jarrod accused her of the very same trait?

“Good girl. Now let’s get this over with.”

Kaitlyn watched with large, wary eyes as he unscrewed the top off the bottle. It took a matter of seconds, and then he was holding it in front of her. She looked up at him in a silent plea, but all she got in return was a shake of his golden head.

“Open up, honey.”

Reluctantly, she parted her lips and stuck out her tongue. At least her tongue got one last moment of defiance before the awful sauce dripped onto it. She was wincing and making faces from the onset, and too busy to notice that Sean had put the bottle down and pulled her over to the awaiting chair until she was flipped face down over his lap.

“Is it as awful as you remember it?” he asked conversationally.

She scowled at the floor, wishing she could do it right to his face. “Yes, thanks for asking. It’s horrible! Sean, please, can I get something to drink?”

“You can,” he agreed amiably. “Right after we finish here.”

She opened her mouth with every name in the book ready on her lips, but when she realized that it would inevitably lead to more pepper sauce, she closed it and bit down on her lower lip.

“Now, remind me why your tongue is burning.”

“Because… because I said something that I shouldn’t have. Something… hurtful,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t make her repeat the words she’d used. She regretted them enough without saying them a second time.

“Yes, you did. And naughty girls who say bad things get their mouths punished, don’t they?”

“Yes, sir.” God, she felt like her mouth was on fire. No matter how many times she swallowed, she couldn’t dull the fiery sensation that had filled her mouth the second the oil had dripped onto her tongue.

“Naughty girls who say bad things get what else punished?”

She closed her eyes shut tightly, wishing that he’d just get on with it. He was worse than Jarrod! How had she managed to forget that? “Their bottoms, sir.”

“That’s right. Do naughty girls get to wear clothing for their punishments?”

She sure hoped so! “Only if you see fit, sir.”

“Hmm… well, I think in this case, looking at the seriousness of the transgression that your spanking is going to have to be on the bare.”

Kaitlyn winced and tried to swallow past the awful spice filling her mouth. Thankfully, Sean didn’t seem to be waiting for a response from her, because as soon as he’d given the pronouncement, he began sliding her pants down. She wiggled over his lap, both shamed and somehow turned on by the gentleness in his touch as he began to bare her for her punishment. The panties were the next to go, the last layer of protection from his paddle-like hand.

She was still tingly from the swats he’d given her earlier. Though there hadn’t been many, they’d been hard. She could feel his eyes on her backside, perhaps assessing the state of her naked skin. She could feel it when he raised his hand, and though she knew what was coming would hurt, she was ready for it. She deserved to be punished, and she was more than willing to take it if it could erase the awful feeling that had consumed her the minute she’d opened her mouth and uttered those awful words. She would give anything to take them back, but since she couldn’t, paying for them with cheek-flattening swats and even that horrible pepper sauce would be the best she could do.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it.” She thought she’d whispered it too quietly for him to hear, but to her surprise she felt herself being helped up off his lap. When she came face-to-face with his soulful blue eyes, it was almost too much for her. She hadn’t seen him look at her like that in a long time. Suddenly, he wasn’t stiff, militant Sean right now. He was looking at her with tenderness in his eyes that suddenly made her keenly aware that they weren’t alone. She squirmed on his lap, wanting to look away while at the same time wanting to drown in his eyes.

“Do you know that’s the first time you’ve said that?”

Kaitlyn ducked her head. “Well, in my defense, I did try to apologize but you were too busy spanking me to hear me.”

“Well.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’m sorry I missed it, but it’s still nice to hear.”

“I
am
sorry, Sean. You have to know that. I swear, if I could find a time machine, I would.”

He let out a low chuckle. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

She raised her chin, hoping for a kiss, but to her disappointment, he only bounced his finger off her nose. “What?” she demanded. “Afraid of a little pepper?”

“Not at all,” he laughed. “But you
are
being punished, remember? I wouldn’t want to risk undermining my own authority.”

“No, we wouldn’t want that.”

“All right, let’s get this over with. Lie over my lap, honey.”

She thought of mentioning that
he
was the one who was stalling, but decided against it. Her panties were already on the floor, after all. Once she was back over his lap, Sean quickly made it clear that he didn’t intend on delaying any further. The first swat was so sharp, the crack of it against her ass resounding through the room, that it took her by surprise. Before she’d even had time to properly feel the sting, the second came behind it, followed by an equally fast-paced, smarting third.

In no time, he had her gasping for breath. Determined to be good and take the punishment she’d earned, she grasped his knee and clung on for dear life. It looked like it was going to be a long and bumpy ride.

Before long, gasps turned to cries. She was soon calling out with every hard smack he delivered. The burning in her mouth and the fire he was creating on her cheeks warred for her attention. As Kaitlyn bucked over her husband’s knee, she found herself hard-pressed to remember a punishment that had ever been so painful. As much as she tried to stay focused, to remember how she’d earned the chastisement she was receiving, the pain of those hard, never-ending spanks began to consume her.

As the pain spread in a line of fire across her ass, her fight or flight instincts kicked in. She began to claw at his knee, trying to find something to grab so she could hoist herself off his lap. He was swatting her too fast and she kept losing her hold, so she began to roll over, trying to twist free.

Sean caught her mid-spank and repositioned her, putting her ass squarely over his knee as he trapped her legs, leaving her dangling. She grabbed chunks of carpet, trying to use the shag fabric to pull herself out of his iron hold. As frenzied as she was becoming, even she wasn’t surprised when that didn’t work.

“Settle down, Kaitlyn,” her husband growled, his palm connecting with her quivering flesh in a barrage of spanks.

“But… it hurts!” she wailed.

“It’s supposed to. And remember, you’re paying for hurtful words, so I think the punishment fits, don’t you?”

She could find no response to that question, and as fast as the spanks were flying, she probably wouldn’t have been able to get the breath for it even if she had. She tried once more to kick her legs, but he had them pinned down. Once she gave up and relaxed into the position he’d put her in, she allowed the tears to come. They came quickly, pouring hotly down her cheeks and blurring her vision.

Right behind the tears were the sobs that she’d kept locked in her throat. Once she set them free, she was slumped and crying in earnest with no end in sight. And not just for her burning mouth, or her fiery-hot ass, though either was a reason to cry. She was crying for Sean, for how she’d hurt him. She could only hope that once this was over—if it was
ever
over, because she was beginning to have her doubts—that he would well and truly forgive her and allow her to make it up to him.

It was several minutes before Kaitlyn realized Sean had gone still. The spanking he had given her had created waves of heat that continued to radiate, and a burn that continued to rage long after his hand stopped delivering those stinging spanks. Even when she realized it, she still didn’t try to move. For all she knew, he might just be resting his hand for round two. She hoped not, but it was a possibility. Besides which, she was still stuck in the middle of a crying jag. She hated how she sounded—gasping, heart-rending sobs that kept coming over and over again, like a song playing on a loop. She hated it most because she knew how terrible it sounded and she didn’t like to think of Sean feeling sorry for her. Even though her ass might never recover, still it was
her
that should be sorry.

And she was. So very, very sorry. She intended to tell him, as soon as she regained the power of speech. So maybe in a day or two.

Sean waited, patiently patting her back as she wept. She knew she didn’t deserve his comfort, but she appreciated it nonetheless. It wasn’t until her wails subsided to sniffles that he helped her sit up on his lap.

“Feeling a little better?” he asked kindly.

“My b-butt hurts.”

He gave a little chuckle. “Well, since that’s the whole point of a spanking, you’ll understand if I say I’m glad to hear it.”

She gave him a small, teary smile, although she didn’t find it nearly as funny as he did. Which, of course she wouldn’t seeing as how it was
her
butt that was aching and in need of relief. “I’m very tired,” she said in a small voice, glancing over at Jarrod.