“Bend yourself over my lap so I can give you the discipline you sorely require.”

Wait a moment. Was he planning to tan my hide? Like I was a ten-year-old?

“Now hold on,” I said. “I’m a grown man.”

“Oh, I know that very well, Rooster. You wouldn’t be in this cabin if you weren’t. However, you haveactedlike a child, and you need to be taken in hand.”

I was strangely affronted, even though an over-the-knee spanking would be a good deal less painful than the other punishments I’d imagined. Once again, my pride got in the way of common sense.

“You want me to go over your lap? For ahiding?”

“You can call it that if you like.”

“What wouldyoucall it?”

He leveled a gaze at me, his palm sliding back and forth on his trousers like a restless dog on a leash. “Deserved,” he said. “And if you keep asking me questions, this is going to go much harder and longer than I’d planned.” He leaned back and narrowed his eyes at me, then pointed at his knee and raised his eyebrows.

All right. Fine. If he wanted to play at this game, I could too. Perhaps if I acquiesced and squirmed and cried in a tempting way, he’d go easy on me. Perhaps he enjoyed having relatively young men over his lap with his handprint imprinted on their backside. Perhaps not the worst thing that could happen. Maybe if I could put on a good performance, he’d forget about the mopping and bend me over his bed afterward.

I stared at his lap, noticing the telling bulge in the fabric. Hmm. So this was making him aroused, was it? Now I wanted to bend myself over his knee, but I couldn’t figure out how to get myself in the proper position without looking foolish. He took pity on me, I supposed, and took my wrist, pulling me so that I lost my balance and fell onto his lap with all the grace of a tethered donkey—and a similar sounding squeal.

Captain Martin adjusted my position and kept me from sliding off, whilst I stared at the wood planks beneath his feet, my cheeks flaring with the indignity of the position. However, the press of stiff heat beneath me certainly mollified my shame somewhat. If the captain was enjoying my indignity so much, well then, that made everything worthwhile. Captain Martin’s thighs provided a strong support, but I wiggled nonetheless, satisfied to feel his cock throb and swell even more.

His fingertips on the edges of my scar made me jump. The damaged and reddened skin there was quite sensitive. He feathered his touch over the imperfection, as if afraid of hurting me, even though I was in this position expressly so he could do so.

I gasped and tried not to wiggle as he traced its jagged outline.

“Sensitive?”

“Quite,” I admitted.

“I’ll try to avoid the area. That leaves most of your spectacular arse available to my striking hand, at least.”

“Spectacular, eh?” I asked, trying to keep from smiling.

“Oh yes. The prettiest I’ve seen.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“I won’t lie, Rooster, to you or anyone else. I’m generally honest to a fault, so if I tell you a thing, you can count on it.”

“All right. I suppose that’s reassuring.”

I only hoped he didn’t hold me to as high a standard because if a lie would get me out of a tight spot, I had no problem with fibbing.

My father had beaten me on occasion, but never over his lap like this. He’d taken me into the shed and strapped my backside with a leather belt, which had hurt like hell and had not been pleasant at all. I figured I could take a hand spanking, especially from someone like Captain Martin, who no doubt desired the fun more than the pain. At least, that was what I was hoping.

Captain Martin rested his broad hand on my buttock and squeezed, causing my cleft to part and flash him a glimpse of my tiny hole no doubt. He inhaled and his cock swelled more.

I wiggled because the anxiety and excitement made me restless. He sighed.

“Stay still.”

“Yes, Captain. I’ll try.”

I didn’t succeed. When his hand made contact with more force than I’d expected and a sound like the crack of a bullet leaving a musket, I yelped and scrambled to get away. But the captain held me with his iron grip and chuckled.

“When I give you a directive, my red rooster, my lovely little cockerel, I expect you to follow my orders, just like any member of the crew.”