Page 33 of Prince of Scandal

“Yes, something is wrong!” he exploded. “I hauled you out of a dangerous river because you climbed a damned tree and sashayed along a branch! You just…do things. Impulsive and foolish things. Even when warned not to. What if you’d hit your head on a submerged branch? Or drowned? That would be utterly unbearable!”

Georgiana remained silent for an endlessly long moment, and while his heart feared he’d been too harsh, his head pointed out the sheer terror he’d experienced earlier. This woman required a damned bodyguard to save her from herself.

“Well?” he continued sharply. “What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?”

Unexpectedly, she smiled. A soft, sweet smile that thawed some of the ice inside him. “You are correct, Mr. Latimer,” she murmured. “I am indeed guilty of a great many impulsive and foolish things. I should never have stepped out onto that branch. Especially fully clothed and not knowing the river. I apologize for scaring you. I scared myself. I won’t do it again.”

“Good.”

“But now I wonder…” she continued, caressing his shoulder until he bit back a groan, “will I suffer consequences for my actions?”

“You bloody well should,” he snarled.

“Such as?”

“Your backside spanked pinker than raspberry marzipan. I can think of no one who requires discipline more than you.”

Georgiana gasped, and self-loathing shot through Ashton, making his stomach churn. Where was his control? Why the hell had he said that? What kind of fool straight out told a woman they’d only just become intimate with that she should be spanked? Christ. He definitely needed to stay away from other people. Remain a recluse for his own good.

He exhaled slowly. “I mean—”

“Oh, I know exactly what you mean, Mr. Latimer,” said Georgiana, her words oddly measured. “The thing is…how does a wayward lady secure such necessary discipline? It’s not like she could just stroll up to a gentleman and say please sir, I’m impulsive and willful and need to be spanked. Could she?”

Ashton froze, even as his heart soared to dizzying heights. No. Surely not. Georgiana King, his mischievous, passionate minx, the woman he’d not stopped thinking about since the moment they’d met outside this very dwelling…wanted to be spanked?

“Certainly she could,” he replied slowly. “As long as the gentleman was an experienced master who listened and cared for her wellbeing. If she placed her trust in him and fully submitted, he would discipline her regularly. Most often to enhance her orgasms, but also as a punishment when required.”

Georgiana bit her lip. “What if the lady wanted that very, very badly, but was…a bit nervous? Could she…could she say if she didn’t like something or if it was too much?”

“Always,” Ashton said firmly. “Discipline only works if everyone gets what they truly desire from it.”

She moaned then, the sound so rawly sexual that his cock jerked. And in one decisive movement, Georgiana shrugged off the blanket, her eyes glittering. “Please sir, I’m impulsive and willful and need to be spanked.”

Ashton stared at the lush beauty on his lap. Her hair had gone wild, her elbow had a small scrape, and they both had a faint lingering odor of eau du Yare. Yet Georgiana King had never looked more lovely than she did right now, submitting to him. “Very well, little one. Lie down over my lap, toes on the floor. Today you put yourself in danger, which is simply not acceptable to me. So, I’m going to spank you twenty times. It will hurt a great deal. This is not for your pleasure, so I’ll not permit you an orgasm.”

“But I shall be petted afterward?” Georgiana asked anxiously. “And get strudel?”

“Yes.”

She quivered. Then, giving him a wholly wicked smile, Georgiana maneuvered like a cat until she lay settled across his lap, her toes on the floor and upper body supported by the chaise.

Reverently, Ashton ran his hand over her backside, caressing the soft, dimpled skin until she whimpered and shamelessly pushed against his fingers, demanding he begin.

“Ashton,” Georgiana said irritably. “I have waited forever for this. Do not dilly-dally.”

He smiled. In future, such pouting would earn her further discipline, but right now he was too happy. A woman he cared about, wishing him to spank her.

He too had waited forever for this.

* * *

It would be very, very easy to fall in love with Ashton Latimer.

In a fever of anticipation, Georgiana forced herself to remain still as she waited for her first proper disciplining to begin. Everything about this man was just right. The way he danced. The way he held her in his arms. The way he protected her and called her little one. How he was so stern and yet so caring, too. The longer she spent with Ashton, the stronger the urge became to tell him the truth about everything in her past. Especially after her frightening mishap in the river; never again would she rebelliously climb a tree branch in order to provoke a reaction.

But apart from the anticipation and yearning swirling in her belly, there was such relief also. Ashton understood her need to be spanked. He’d not been appalled or alarmed or overcome with mirth. No, he had embraced it. Even explained the difference between pleasure and punishment spankings.

“What a glorious backside you have,” said Ashton as he continued to torment her with caresses. “So lush and full and perfect for discipline. But before I start, you must clasp your hands and rest them on the small of your back.”