Page 32 of Cowboy Daddies

Had she really wanted a spanking? It had seemed a lot more fun in her head. Then again, the wetness between her legs indicated this was exactly what she wanted. How was that possible?

Grady brought his broad, hard hand down again and again with resounding cracks in crisp, sharp, smacks that stung every inch of her skin and sounded so loud it echoed through the barn. “No, Daddy. No! It hurts!”

“That’s exactly what it’s supposed to do,” he said without so much as a pause in his relentless assault on her backside.

Sage finally lost every ounce of her control, crying out and kicking her feet wildly as sting after stinging swat landed. Each one burned hotter than the last, building a deep, fiery pain that spread across her entire bottom and down into her thighs. It felt like her skin was on fire, like the worst sunburn she’d ever had, only a thousand times worse because it kept getting renewed with every hard smack.

She wriggled and squirmed desperately over his lap, but his strong arm held her firmly in place, making her feel so very sorry and completely at his mercy. Her bottom throbbed with every firm swat, the heat building higher and higher until she couldn’t hold back the sobs anymore.

“Daddy!” she wailed, her voice breaking on the word. “I’m sorry! I’ll be good, I promise!”

But Grady didn’t slow down. If anything, the sound of her calling him Daddy seemed to rally him, making him spank her even harder. Sage’s eyes filled with fresh tears as the burning intensified, her bottom feeling raw and swollen with every stinging smack. She felt so ashamed, so remorseful for worrying him, for breaking his rules, for being so reckless.

Grady’s hand continued its steady, punishing rhythm, each swat overlapping the last until her entire backside felt like one giant, throbbing blaze. She kicked and pleaded, but nothing slowed him down. All she could do was take it, tears streaming down her face, feeling smaller and sorrier with every burning swat.

Sage screamed and bucked wildly, kicking her feet and twisting her hips in a frantic attempt to escape the burning heat Grady was building under her skin. Every sharp swat landed with a loud crack that echoed through the barn, sending fresh waves of stinging fire across her poor bottom. It hurt. Like really, really hurt.

Right now, every stinging swat she hoped would be the last was followed by another firm smack.

“Let me up!” she sobbed, tears thick in her voice. “Daddy, please! I’ll be good forever. I promise!”

His hand hovered for a moment, and she held her breath and closed her eyes, bracing for another swat. A horrifying thought occurred to her. What if he was pausing to get one of those leather straps she’d seen hanging on the wall?

Every muscle in her body tensed, bracing for whatever her Daddy decided to do to her. To her relief, he released her and helped her scramble upright.

Sage immediately yanked her clothing back into place, rubbing her scorched bottom with both hands as she stumbled backward. “You—you spanked me!” she sputtered, eyes wide and shimmering with the tears not yet streaming down her face to join the others.

Her wild red curls tumbled into her face like a fiery halo, and she shoved them back with an angry swipe. Her cheeks were flushed pink with embarrassment, the tip of her nose bright red from crying. She glared up at him, lips trembling, even as fresh heat pooled low in her belly.

“That hurt!” she cried, voice cracking with emotion.

Grady folded his arms across his chest and met her glare with a stern, unyielding look. “Damn right it did, little girl. And you earned every single swat.”

Sage’s bottom gave another sympathetic throb at his words. She shifted from foot to foot, rubbing the tender skin through her shorts, feeling very exposed under that intense green gaze. Part of her wanted to stomp her foot and argue.

Another, softer part wanted to crawl into his lap, hide her face against his chest, and let him hold her while she sniffled.

Instead, she hugged herself, voice wobbling, and cried, “I really am sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just… I wanted to show you I belonged here.”

Grady took her hand. He drew her back to the bench and pulled her into his lap, holding her close against his solid chest.

Sage curled into him immediately, tucking her face into the warm curve of his neck and wrapping her arms tight around him. She breathed in his scent and that comforting masculine warmth that made her feel so safe and let out a shaky little sigh.

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” she whispered through her tears, voice small and wobbly. “I just didn’t want you to send me away.”

Grady pressed a slow, tender kiss to her temple, his big hand still gently rubbing slow circles on her back. The steady motion made her melt even more, her sore bottom throbbing warmly against his thigh.

“I know, baby, and you took your punishment like my good girl. Now listen to Daddy. There is nothing you could do that would make me send you away. We can talk about what will happen at the end of the summer, but if you leave this ranch, it will be because you want to.”

“But you pull away from me every night when you tuck me in, Daddy.”

“Babygirl, when I tuck you in at night, I’d love to do nothing more than lie down beside you and hold you until you fall asleep. When I leave, it isn’t because I don’t want you.” To make his point, he took her hand and pressed it against his rock-hard cock. “Does that feel like I don’t want you, Wildfire? I want you so much it hurts. But we’re very new, and I have to do what is best for you first. That isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. When you’ve had time to know what you want for more than just tonight, we’ll talk again.”

She squirmed on his lap, and he groaned. “I wish that rule applied to spankings as well as sex.”

He raised one brow and shook his head. “What you did was dangerous, and yes, you scared me. And when you scare me by doing something dangerous, you earn a spanking. That’s how this works.”

Sage nodded against his neck, her body relaxing fully into his hold. She was deep in her Little headspace now, soft and clingy and content. The burning ache in her bottom mixed with the comforting safety of being held like this created the most confusing, wonderful swirl of feelings in her tummy.