Page 78 of Blushing Bride

“But you shouldn’t have been there,” I pressed.

“I know I wasn’t supposed to be, but I know my little girl,” he whispered.

“What?” I asked breathily.

His hand splayed across my lower back, pressing me to him even more closely than before. The hard line of his cock pressed against my hip.

“I told you to delay the meeting with the emissary, didn’t I?”

A quick jolt of fear pitched down into my belly.

“Yes…”

“And did you?” he asked pointedly.

I shifted my gaze to stare down at the floor, but his hand grasped my chin and forced me to look up at him. I expected him to be angry, but his eyes were warm with his love and adoration.

“No,” I whispered, feeling naughtier by the second.

“I knew you wouldn’t, little girl. I could tell from the sound of your voice that you were going to defy me,” he stated plainly. With every syllable, my heart sank, and guilt curdled up from the tips of my toes. I licked my lips, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

“But I…” I tried, feeling a need to explain myself. He shook his head and the words died on my tongue.

“Shhh. We will deal with that tomorrow after you have eaten a hearty meal and after a full night’s rest,” he answered. My skin heated and I felt my cheeks flush.

“Deal with how?” I asked, unable to stop myself. I wanted to know what he was thinking, even though I already knew what the answer would be.

“I’m going to punish you, little girl,” he said simply. His arms squeezed around me, holding me tight.

It felt like such a safe place to be. To be honest, I never wanted him to let go.

* * *

I slept cocooned in Ryker’s embrace the whole night. The next morning, there was a knock on the door, and I started, but he kissed my forehead and went to answer it himself. Naked, I pulled the sheets up to cover my breasts. Ryker rolled in a cart, and I realized that we had probably come to a bed and breakfast of sorts the night before. He unloaded it and poured a cup of coffee for me, serving it to me while I was still in bed.

I sipped it slowly, watching as he unloaded several platters of food. I was excited to see that a few of the plates were covered with thick pancakes, and I wondered if they would be as good as the ones he’d made for me that first morning after he’d slept over. He set it all up on a wooden tray and carried it over to me.

“Eat up, sweetheart,” he said with a soft smile. I couldn’t help but feast on the sight of him. He was wearing nothing more than a pair of dark gray sweatpants. They were slung low on his hips, which only made his narrow waist and wide shoulders that much more apparent.

I used my fork and knife to cut a small bite, popping it in my mouth without further delay.

“How is it?” he asked.

“Delicious, but not nearly as tasty as yours,” I answered.

“You flatter me, pretty girl,” he grinned widely, cocking his head.

When I was finished, he took my plate away and loaded the cart up again before pushing it out the door. After he closed it, I hopped out of bed and scuttled off into the bathroom, meaning to brush both my teeth and my hair. I quickly freshened up and when I came back out, I froze in place at the sight before me.

He had sat down on the couch, directly in the middle. Seeing him waiting for me like that made my mouth feel like I’d swallowed a sweater.

The tension between us sparked. I knew what was about to happen. Even though I was nervous, a part of me knew that I needed this between us. He cared about me, and this was about to be a very physical representation of just how much.

His gaze found mine and I knew that it was time for the punishment he’d promised last night.

“Come here, little girl.”

There was no thinking of a way out of this, and my feet simply moved. Before I knew it, I was standing there naked in front of him. Despite my nerves, my nipples had pebbled into hard little buds and the flesh of my thighs was already wet with my arousal. When his gaze dropped, it settled there long enough so that I knew without a doubt that he had seen it. That only made my nipples tighten further.

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