Page 92 of The Duke's Indecent Match
Which meant it had to be now.
Heart beating a rapid tattoo in her chest, Kalina knocked on the study door.Waiting until she heard the slightly muffled invitation to ‘come in’ to open it, all the while wondering if she was going to lose her courage and run.
Having to face her husband and make such a scandalous request was not something she would have ever imagined herself doing.None of this felt like her, like the person she’d always been.But, on the other hand, she did not know that she had ever wanted something for herself so badly as she wanted her husband’s forgiveness.
Opening the door and facing him, seeing him in the light of day, watching the startled expression fall over his face before he blinked and returned it to a neutral one, she felt far more vulnerable than she did when she was naked in the dark with him.Perhaps it would have been easier to say the words then, to make her request at night, if only he would let her speak.
But he would not.
Which meant she had to do it now.
He got to his feet as Kalina closed the door behind her.
“Yes, ah… what can I do for you?”There was something odd about the way he stumbled over his words, like the sentence came out unfinished even though it was complete.
Kalina went to stand in front of his desk, hands folded over each other in front of her so that they would not show how she was trembling.She was wearing her favorite, most comfortable morning gown, the light pink and white striped muslin that made her feel airy and bright.Even that did not help with the urge to turn and run or to stammer out something else and flee.
She had to get the words out, right now, or she would never be able to say them.
“I want you to spank me.”They came out in a rush, tumbling over each other, barely intelligible even to her own ears.Hereford stared at her.She stared back at him.
She was going to have to say it again.
She could not possibly say it again.
Kalina was about to retreat when her husband shook himself out of his stunned silence.
“Did you just say you want me tospankyou?”He sounded both shocked and confused.
“Tiffany suggested it.”Well.She had not meant to say that, but they were the first words that came to mind.Blame her friend for the audacious request.“As… as a penance?”Fumbling for what she meant, she came out with the wrong word.Or perhaps it was correct.She might not have known about her father’s plans, but she still felt guilt.
If he spanked her, he might feel better about it all… and so might she.
“As a penance,” he repeated slowly, like he was turning the words over in his head as he said them.“Yes.I can see that.That…” He paused and took a deep breath.“I accept your offer.”
For a moment, it was as though she could not understand what he’d said.The words took several heartbeats to process.Only when he pushed his chair back from the desk and sat down in it, while she was still standing, and put his hand on his thigh, did she fully comprehend his response.
He accepted my offer.
He wants to spank me.
As penance.
Kalina knew what a spanking was, but other than a one-time swat from her mother as a child when she’d stolen agulab jamunfrom the kitchen, she’d never received one.The sweet dough ball had been more than worth the slight sting and her mother’s half-exasperated, half-amused scold.
Feeling as though some strange entity had taken over her body, Kalina found herself walking around the desk and facing her husband.Hereford tilted his head back and patted his thigh.The dark brown trousers he was wearing went well with the dusky rose waistcoat over his crisp white shirt.The lighter brown jacket he had on at breakfast had already been removed and was draped over the back of his chair.He looked impeccably handsome.The light in his eyes as he looked up at her gave her hope that perhaps Tiffany had been correct about this tactic.
“I… just, over your lap?”Her hands fluttered uncertainly at her sides as she looked at him.
He nodded his head, patting his thigh at the same time.The stern expression on his face made her feel even more jumpy, despite the desire that she could see in his gaze.
Taking a deep breath, Kalina awkwardly put herself over his lap.At least, she felt awkward.If he thought her so, he did not comment on it.Instead, he moved his hand out of her way, and she heard him let out a long breath as she settled her stomach against his thighs, her side against his stomach.Putting her hands out in front of her, against the softness of the rug beneath his desk, she wriggled to try to feel less vulnerable… but it was no use.
Especially when he tugged her skirts up to reveal her drawers.Despite the brightness of the room, she could not see him in her current position, but she was suddenly, acutely, horribly aware of how he would be able to see every bit of her.There was no darkness to hide behind in here.
The feeling of him parting her drawers at the split, revealing her buttocks to his gaze, and the hand that came down to rest over the curve of one cheek, made her shudder.Though she tried to turn her head and crane her neck, hoping to get a glimpse of her husband’s expression, she was unable to see it well enough.
All of his focus was on her exposed bottom.
