Courted by Trouble: A Courting Romance (In Hyacinth Book 3) by Bree Cariad Page A

“I may not have known you then, but if I’d been here, Steph, I would have gone with Alex to come rescue you.”
    They lay curled up on the sofa for a few minutes before she pulled away. “Okay, let’s do this thing.”
    He snorted. “I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to go.”
    “I don’t care. We might as well get this first one over with.” She looked over at the wall where a strap and a paddle hung.
    “No. Not at first. This time I’ll use my hand.” Stephanie should have felt more relaxed at that thought, but she still remembered Kathy describing how hard Xander’s hand was.
    “O-kay.” He guided her over his lap, with the top part of her body lying across the sofa and her hips sitting high over his knees. It was a rather startling position to be in as her toes just barely touched the floor and as she lay there with his hand sitting on top of her linen skirt, Stephanie found herself wishing she was wearing jeans. It would probably hurt a lot less.
    “Why are you here?” he said in the firm voice he had used when he originally assigned the lines.
    Having to repeat back her offense was slightly humiliating. “When Marjorie showed off her baby at the Lava Lamp today and said that maybe someday she would marry into a family like the Covingtons, I very loudly replied, ‘Drake has better taste.’” She had said a few other things too, but hopefully he hadn’t heard about those.
    “And you shouldn’t have said it, because?”
    Drat. He was going to make her say it. “It was rude and below me. Even if it’s true. Ow!” she cried as his hand collided with her rear end in a loud and rather painful swat.
    “Again.”
    Grimacing, she said, “I’m sorry. I was mean to her and I shouldn’t have been. It made me look bad and you as well. She just gets under my skin.”
    “I know, but you need to be the bigger person.” Without another word, his hand fell again. Each swat was sharp and the heat it left behind surprising. By the fifth blow, she squirmed, by the eighth, she couldn’t have stayed still if she tried. Cries left her lips and she blubbered and cried as he continued to turn the heat up on her derriere. When he stopped, his hand resting lightly on her lower back, she sobbed into the seat cushion, tears running hard down her face. “Come here,” he murmured after she started to hiccup the sobs back. He lifted her up, sitting her on his lap and pulling her close.
    While exhausted and limp, Stephanie had to admit that she felt better. Which was bizarre. Dora, Cami, and Kathy had been right. Spanking was a release. “She’s always been mean to Dora,” she murmured against his chest. “Dora takes it well, but Marjorie goes out of her way to comment on her weight. I hate her for it.”
    “James needs to take his wife in hand a little more often,” he mused. “Dora’s a wonderful woman. Why hasn’t anyone courted her?”
    “I don’t know. She’s sweet and funny and can cook like nobody’s business. She would make any man an amazing wife but none of the guys notice her.”
    He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “How do you feel?”
    “Lighter,” she admitted. “There may be something to this spanking thing after all. But my rear end burns.”
    “It’ll be gone tomorrow,” he said quietly. “Are you ready for dinner?”
    “Definitely.”
    Dora didn’t say a thing about what had just happened. She served up dinner when they got there and Stephanie winced as she sat down. “Dora,” Chris said as he took a bite of the meatloaf she made, “have you ever thought of going to cooking school? You’re a great cook.”
    She beamed at him. “No. I’m happy where I’m at. I like doing the backend stuff where I’m helping out.”
    “Well, if you ever decide to branch out, I’d give you a recommendation,” he said as he took another bite. “As a chef, we’re taught all the fancy stuff, but you cook the basics people love.” Pausing, he turned toward her. “What