Keys to the Kingdom by Fiona Wilde Page A

have a snake in my house."
    She whimpered as he sat down and pulled her across his lap.
    "Please, my prince, no!" she cried out. "Your brother already.."
    But he'd already bared her bottom and was shaking his head at the light blush he saw on the smooth skin.
    "...gave you a very slight taste of what is owed, Angelica. I am about to give you the full measure."
    She was not prepared for the pain of this spanking. His hand, hard from years of riding, jousting and working -for this was no idle prince - impacted her already tender bottom with a resounding smack that instantly set her to kicking her legs in protest.
    "Och!" she cried. "My Lord! No! It hurts!"
    He ignored her, targeting the middle of her bottom and spanking first one taught, springy cheek and then another in rapid succession until they were as read as the holly berries in the garden. Then his hand moved lower to pepper the underside of her buttocks and the tops of her thighs with rapid, stinging spanks.
    Angelica went from cursing him to cursing herself, for she knew he was intent on doling out the same portion of discomfort she had caused him. And she could do nothing but accept her lot as her mouth poured forth with plaintive bawls and tears ran in rivulets down her fair face to puddle underneath her on the floor.
    She begged, she pleaded, she promised him anything and everything if he would only stop. But Prince Quentin ignored her and only ceased when her bottom bore a criss-cross pattern of handprints and blooming bruises.
    Angelica had so exhausted herself from struggling that she had no more fight in her, and as she lay there limp and sobbing it occurred to her that along with the pain had come a sort of cleansing. Quentin had spanked her not into just physical, but emotional submission. She felt ashamed, but also necessarily corrected for what she'd done to bring on that shame.
    "Quentin, I'm a fool," she sobbed, and he gently sat her up and cradled her in his lap.
    "You're foolish," he corrected. "That is not a fool. Fool's never learn and I believe you have."
    "You don't hate me then?" she sniffed.
    He pushed the sodden hair from her face and shook his head. "No, my pet," he said. "I quite like you, actually. I would like to love you, should I be given the opportunity."
    She considered this and tried not to reveal what she felt, which was a leap of her heart. Quentin was handsome. And strong. He was, she knew, what he needed.
    "My sisters might not like it," she said.
    "How do you know that they are already not falling in love with my brothers?" he asked. "How silly would you feel to find you were the only one who resisted love? The only one to deny herself what they had found?"
    She thought about this.
    "It is permissible, you know, to make your own decisions away from your sisters," he said. "For instance, do you need their permission to do this?"
    He kissed her gently, softly.
    "No," she said. "Do it again."
    He smiled and repeated the kiss, this time gently parting her lips until his tongue could creep in and caress hers. She moaned.
    "I could do more," he said. "But if you'd rather wait and ask your sisters first...."
    She wound her arms around his neck and suddenly everything was forgotten - the prank, the spanking, the anger. Angelica wanted more of this, more of him.
    But he gently pushed her away. "We must wait," he said, as much disappointment in his voice as was in her eyes. "Your honor..."
    "Hang my honor," she said, but he shook his head.
    "I will honor your virtue," he said. "Even if you won't."
    He laughed at her seductive little pout. For a virgin, the young princess had excellent instincts. She had no way of knowing that he wanted to ravage her right then and there.
    "But take heart," he said. "There will be time soon enough for us to explore on another in the marriage bed."
    She smiled. "Provided you woo me accordingly," she said.
    "I will certainly try," Quentin said as he smiled back and noted that while she'd not given him a full