Cowboys in Charge Read online

  Disappointment wound through her. His “boy wonder” was swelling in spite of what Adam had said. She was a bit sore, but she would certainly go another round…or two. “Are you sure?” She moved ever so slowly against him, trying to change his mind. “Really sure?”

  Annoyance etched his beard roughened face. He gave her bare bottom a brisk smack. “Stop that! You can’t always get your way.”

  The swat had stung and she frowned at him. “But we’re already conveniently naked. Already here in this nice big, warm bed.” She heard the pout in her voice, which she knew he wouldn’t like. But, darn it, who knew when they would get around to doing this again! It had been a month or more since the last time they’d come together for more than a quick wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am moment.

  “I know you want to.” She wriggled over him again, determined to tempt him into staying right where they were.

  His big hand settled over the spot he’d just swatted, in warning not in play. “Don’t you have a full schedule training those new saddle horses today? It’s only a week until Christmas. Aren’t those horses supposed to be ready for their owners by then?”

  Her body tingled beneath his calloused palm. She’d been serious. She desperately wanted to spend more time heating up the sheets. “Yes. But taking another hour wouldn’t be that big a deal.” Her whine had grown and she heard the quiet grinding of his teeth.

  She should accept the situation, but logic wasn’t with her at the moment. There was an unquenchable need inside her this morning. Irritation laced her words as she asked, “Am I really so resistible to you? Is that why it has been so long since we’ve had steamy sex?” Sure, he’d gotten all hot and bothered just minutes ago, but she had been the one to initiate it.

  He smacked her butt harder this time and his expression had turned stony. “Is that what you really think? That I don’t want you?”

  She shrugged. “Well, it seems like it.”

  “Neither of us has an hour to spare today,” he reminded her in his rational tone. “This isn’t the time to get into an argument about how much I want to fuck you. And, yes, I do want that. But I don’t like being manipulated and you know that.”

  She blew out a breath of frustration. When he set his mind on something, there wasn’t much she could do to change it. He lived by a strict schedule, making only small allowances to spur of the moment things that came up. She was actually surprised he’d stayed in bed so long this morning. And she was very glad for the way she’d had his undivided attention for at least a little while. Yet she didn’t want to give up just yet.

  “Maybe it’s time,” she boldly dared.

  His hand had settled on her butt again, holding her in place. He gave a squeeze of caution. Ridiculous as it was, her stomach fluttered. Her clit pulsed with interest. Her body wanted anything he would give her. She remembered how he’d mentioned giving her a nice bottom warming to start off this cold winter day. That didn’t sound so terrible. Particularly if it led to…well, getting her way.

  “Up, sweetheart,” he ordered in a sharp tone, arching upward to get her to move.

  What was that old saying? In for a penny, in for a pound. Well, she’d gotten her penny’s worth of delectable attention from him. Now she wanted the rest of the pound’s worth. As with sex between them lately, spankings had been rare, too. He believed in discipline for certain infractions to agreed-upon rules or acts of misbehavior. She wasn’t wild about them, but accepted them, although not always gracefully. Was he so darn busy with the ranch that he couldn’t take some of his precious time to deal with disciplining her? Why hadn’t she thought about this before? Okay, not going to bed with a sore butt was a good thing. Still…

  “About that bottom warming you mentioned.” She ignored the way her face heated and she looked directly at him, jutted out her chin in challenge.

  His brow furrowed and stress lines creased the corners of his mouth. “I wasn’t serious.”

  Her heart pounded. This was nuts. Forget this crazy idea! Instead she blew out a frustrated breath. “Maybe I want it.”

  His eyes narrowed in disapproval. “You want me to spank you?”

  No! “Yes.” There! She’d said it, okay practically begged for it.

  “We don’t have time for this nonsense, Amber Powell. I’ve got things to do. You’ve got things to do. We didn’t really even have time for—”

  “So you just humored me!” she cut him off. “You didn’t think we even had time for that quick hump and bump. You just fucked me so I wouldn’t nag you?” Now she was hurt and mad.

  She shoved her way off his chest and climbed off the bed. “I’m sorry to have bothered you. It won’t happen again,” she said primly.

  Before she could take more than a step away, he snapped, “Watch your language, young lady! And you’re being ridiculous.”

  Squaring her shoulders, she hissed, “You said fuck first.”

  He gave a curt nod. “Still, I don’t like such crassness crossing your lips.” His expression tight, he added, “Since you really want a spanking, I’ll give you one.”

  “Don’t do me any favors.” She stood still, trembling in anger and irritation, her eyes stinging, and she blinked rapidly. What had gone wrong here? This wasn’t what she wanted, not really. But she’d had a moment of insanity and pushed his patience.

  “You’re acting like a real brat now. For no reason.” His shoulders were rigid as he sat again on the side of the bed.

  “No reason! I have to beg for a few minutes of your time.” She ignored the moisture on her cheeks and swallowed a lump in her throat. He’d hurt her pride and bruised her heart. “As I said, I won’t bother you again.”

  He must have seen the tears, heard the misery in her voice. He cursed. “Dammit, sweetheart, do you really want to start the day off this way?”

  She brushed off her cheeks with the back of her hands. “By getting some more of your precious time? I had thought so.”

  “By getting your ass burned,” he countered. He drew in a deep breath and blew it out.

  Everything had gone way off course from where she’d intended this to go. She’d been excited when he’d mentioned a bottom warming. But he hadn’t been serious, at least not seeing it as a foreplay kind of thing. And in her disappointment she’d turned whiny. He never liked that and neither did she. Talking about burning her ass because she’d annoyed him wasn’t good, not at all.

  “You’re right, we’ve both got more important things to get to.” Was that still a whine in her tone? Maybe he hadn’t noticed.

  “Get your paddle.” He had caught it and she’d pushed the matter too far. When she warily looked at him, his jaw had tightened. He waited.

  “How about we start over? We each get up, get ready, and go our separate ways like always.” She inwardly groaned at having added the ‘like always’ comment. Her bitterness about their lifestyle at the moment was evident.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Meaning I’ve been a bad husband lately? That us not burning up the sheets has all been my fault?”

  She worried her lower lip. He’d called her bluff and he was right: she’d been as much at fault about their lack of lovemaking recently as him. She shook her head, dread tumbling in her stomach.

  “Paddle,” he reminded her, not backing down an inch.

  “I’ve got to saddle train today,” she protested quietly.

  “It’s going to be a bit uncomfortable for you.” His gaze shifted to the closet where the long, thin paddle hung on a hook. Her paddle.

  The morning had definitely taken a turn for the worse. Sitting in those saddles today was going to be a lot more than “uncomfortable.” But she’d nudged them to this point with her over-worrying about things. She should have just enjoyed what they’d done and treasured those memories the rest of the day. She shouldn’t have gotten frustrated with her stressed and tired husband.

  She walked in resignation to the closet and took the disliked paddle from the hook. He’d gotten it for her not long
after they’d married almost seven years ago. The words Bad Girl were fading from use even though he hadn’t used it in a while.

  When she stepped out of the closet, Adam stood by the dresser. She preferred going over his knee for her punishments. They just seemed better somehow, more personal. Standing with her arms braced on whatever surface while he disciplined her felt more impersonal. But she wasn’t the one who picked the when, the how, the where or the how long.

  He stood calmly, grimly, as she walked over and handed him the paddle. Without him saying a word, she gripped the edge of the dresser and stepped far enough away that she could lower her head to the top. As she dropped her head, she glanced at their wedding picture. She still loved this man as much as she had when they had said their vows. Even when he burned her bottom.

  “What do you think you deserve for the brattiness?” He shifted to her left side.

  She knew he already had a number of swats in mind, but she answered him anyway. “Five.” That seemed reasonable, bearable for being on a saddle later.

  “I’m thinking a dozen sounds better.”

  A dozen. Not good. She tensed for the first swat, never his hardest.

  When it came, she released the breath she’d held. Not so bad. She eased her grip on the dresser for a second and then held her breath for the next one. This would be the attention getter.

  She heard the whisper of sound as the paddle came at her. It landed briskly and she gasped, arching her back. Yes, he had her attention. Geez, it stung so much already!

  “Ten more. Hold real still, sweetheart. I’ll get these done right quick and we’ll be good to go.”

  “Good to go? Hold still? Damn easy for you to say.” She gritted her teeth, tensing again. He’d have taken care of this “unpleasant chore”—as he called it—and would go on about his day.

  He blazed the paddle down briskly five times before he gave her a breather. She danced from foot to foot, gripping the dresser’s edge tight, quietly hissing after each strike.

  “Almost done.”

  The sting settled in and she wanted the rest of the swats already delivered. Again, she thought about how after this that the problem for him would be taken care of. He’d give her a brief comforting hug and go shower, get dressed, and tend to his business. She would have to deal with a burning butt, the awfulness of pulling on jeans, and then walking around all day as the tight denim rubbed against her sore bottom. It took longer for the pain to go away when she couldn’t just lie on the bed and let it fade. Bouncing in a saddle would bring all these “wonderful” feelings back over and over.

  Another sharp swat jarred her out of her musings. She gritted out, “Damn!” Then she quickly said, “Sorry. I wasn’t focused.”

  She took the final four swats with as much grace as she could. Only with the last sizzling one did she arch backward and cry out, “Owwww!” She sucked in a shuddery breath. Gawd, it hurt.

  Next came the awkward moment of standing upright, wincing at the discomfort of moving. She drew in several deep, steadying breaths before she turned to face him. As usual, he gave her a gentle look. He’d once told her that he didn’t like causing her even minor pain, but sometimes it was necessary.

  “I’ll take a quick shower.” He pulled her into the expected hug and walked quietly to the bathroom. He stopped and glanced back at her. “Are we still on for going to Tom and Sally’s party tonight?”

  Perfect. A paddling, a day’s worth of discomfort, and they had a Christmas get-together to attend tonight. She wasn’t really in a festive spirit. But she nodded before she went to hang up her paddle.

  * * * *

  Mid-afternoon Adam drove back into the ranch yard from town. The day had been killer long and they still had a party to attend tonight. He yawned.

  He’d sure rather stay home and snuggle with Amber. What she’d started this morning had played over and over in his head all day long. The way she’d taken his cock into her hot mouth, drove him to the brink of pouring down her throat. But she’d stopped at the opportune time and straddled him. It hadn’t taken her but a couple of slow sensuous glides down his cock before he’d given her his all. Not that things had ended there. Oh, no, his determined wife had kept at him.

  Of course, he’d more than cooperated. It might not have taken all that long, but he’d given her a damn good fucking, like he’d promised her.

  He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed messing around with her. He missed more than just the sex. He’d almost forgotten how playful she could be and how much he liked the spirited side of her. They’d both been too damn busy, going their separate ways too much. They came to bed late at night and crashed. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d even cuddled before they fell asleep.

  Disgusted with himself, he yanked the key out of the ignition and ground his jaw. His marriage was fading away and he hadn’t even noticed. He’d been taking Amber for granted. Damn.

  A man shouldn’t assume his wife was happy just because she didn’t complain all the time. She had complained this morning and he’d spanked her for it. He’d been too stressed, too…well, too everything. She’d deserved a few swats with his hand, but not getting her butt paddled.

  The ranch demanded too much of his focus. He needed to shift more of the responsibilities to his foreman. Jake was a good ranch hand and he’d worked here more years than he had. He needed to spend more time with the woman he loved.

  Jake walked over to the truck and Adam climbed out. “I’ll let you men deal with these supplies.”

  He nodded toward the truck’s bed filled with bags of feed, some fencing, and other boxes of supplies they’d ordered. He shut the cab door. “You and I need to have a talk after Christmas. I want to discuss some changes in duties, you taking on more.”

  “Sure, boss.” Jake grinned. “I’m up for it.” He waved at a couple of ranch hands coming out of the barn. “You and Amber still going to Tom’s later? She’s looking a bit tired today.”

  Guilt curled through him. No doubt she was tired from all the early physical activity, including the paddling he’d given her. She’d gotten snippy, tried to manipulate him, which she knew he didn’t like. But he didn’t have to wallop her like that. He’d known she would have a tough day ahead with helping to saddle break the horses. It had to have been damn uncomfortable for her today.

  He pulled himself back to the moment. “I’m not sure if we’ll go or not.”

  Jake walked behind the truck. “I think she’s still in the indoor arena.”

  Adam wasn’t sure he wanted to face her right now, but told himself to man-up and do it. He didn’t want to see her flinching in discomfort as she worked the horses. But then maybe she wasn’t flinching anymore, maybe the sting had faded away. After all, he hadn’t given her that much of a paddling.

  As he walked into the large arena where they trained horses during the winter, he was relieved to find his wife standing along the metal railing and not sitting a horse. Her attention was focused on a couple of the younger ranch hands working with two of the mares. But she looked stiff and he noticed a wince when she shifted from foot to foot. Her hands moved subtly back to rub her bottom. Not a good sign.

  “Are you almost done for the day?” he asked, moving closer, cautiously.

  She glanced at him in surprise. Her face turned pink and she dropped her hands from her butt. “I’m done riding, yes.” She turned toward the arena and lowered her voice. “It was worse than I thought it would be. All that lifting up and settling back down…kind of like getting paddled all over again.”

  He wasn’t on her “good” list at the moment. “How about I call Tom and tell them we aren’t coming tonight? We can just stay home, maybe watch a movie.” Let me make it up to you.

  “If I can suffer with a sore bottom all day doing this, I can certainly go to a party. They’re our closest friends. We need to go.” She didn’t look at him. “Don’t you have some bookwork to do? Some calls to make?”

  He didn’t like he
r trying to get rid of him, even if he did need to get on the ranch computer for a while. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You pressed my last nerve and paid the price. I shouldn’t have paddled your ass.” But she needed a reminder that she’d pushed him at a bad time. “A spanking would have been enough.”

  She glanced at him, puzzled. “I didn’t ask for an apology.” She turned away again. “I’ve moved on from that.”

  * * * *

  Christmas Eve. Amber couldn’t believe how fast the last week had gone. The horses she’d been hired to saddle break were trained and gone. She’d earned more than she’d figured on and she’d spent every last penny. On things for Adam. He could be something of a penny pincher at times, but it came naturally for an accountant, she supposed. But he didn’t care how she spent her money, money that she earned separate from the normal ranch income.

  He wasn’t home yet and she was worried about him. He’d gotten a cold the day after they’d had that ridiculous argument. Not wanting to expose her more than necessary, he’d slept in the spare bedroom. She’d protested, but he’d insisted. Big, stubborn cowboy.

  Cold or not, he’d worked alongside the hands as they’d mended some fences. And he’d helped several of the local ranchers with some end-of-the year accounting in his limited spare time. Again, she’d tried to convince him to wait on the bookkeeping stuff until after the first of the year. But, no, he’d gone all pig-headed about that, too.

  Where is he? She looked anxiously out the bedroom window. A thin layer of snow covered the ground and big, fat flakes were falling. Not a snowstorm to worry about, just enough to make it pretty for Christmas. But the wind was blowing and seeped in around the blinds making her shiver. If she had on more clothes, it probably wouldn’t bother her.

  Headlights turning off the ranch road and into the yard caught her attention. Her heart skipped a beat and excitement thrummed through her. He was finally home. She had a hot meal of his favorite chili in the Crockpot, corn bread, too. She’d bought his beer of choice as well. And she’d even made pecan pie from his mother’s recipe. She wanted everything to be perfect tonight. She knew he still loved her, the fire of it had dwindled some and tonight she intended to get it going all over again.