Unexpected Consequences by Cara Bristol

too much of an upheaval. It was better he keep his distance.
    Wasn’t it?
    “It’s been…a long day for you. I’ll lock up the rest of the house. You go on to bed. I’ll be up later. Don’t wait.” His tone was as stiff as his posture.
    Melania sucked in a silent breath. She’d obviously misread the signals, imagined the flash of heated desire in his gaze. She swallowed to expel the bitterness of his rejection. After avoiding him, it seemed crazy she should want his reassurance, need his arms around her, crave his physical possession.
    She watched Jared stride from the foyer, each step away from her adding weight to her aching heart.
    Melania blinked back a tear and ascended the stairs to their room.
    In the master suite, she kicked off her shoes and slipped out of her dress in the dark. There was no rush to get ready for bed; Jared would be awhile. He was giving her a taste of her own bitter medicine by avoiding her. She sniffed.
    She stowed her shoes in their box, hung her dress in the closet, then, clad only in bra and thong, sat at her vanity in the bathroom. She winced as her bottom connected with the padded stool, but noted she was getting used to the pain that came with sitting, almost relished it. No, that was insane. How could pain be pleasant?
    Melania poured makeup remover on a wad of cotton and swiped it over her eyelids and face. She sighed. She should have been relieved she had time alone. It was crazy to feel hurt that Jared was delaying coming up to bed.
    She wiped her face with a fresh cotton pad. After being spanked so soundly, making love should have been the last thing on her mind. She moved to her sink and washed her face, patted it dry, then massaged a night moisturizer into her skin.
    Melania stripped off her underwear. The crotch of her panties was damp. The throbbing in her ass cheeks seemed to transmit to other parts of her anatomy. Her sex felt swollen, achy.
    Finished in the bathroom, she moved into the bedroom to get a nightie from her dresser drawer. As she turned from the light switch, she caught sight of her backside in the standing mirrors.
    The rosy brand beckoned her to examine herself further.
    Using one mirror to see her reflection in the other, she appraised her bottom. The hue had deepened since she’d first looked at it. Gingerly she smoothed her hands over her inflamed flesh. Her gaze was riveted on her wedding ring and reddened skin; she was unable to look away. A scarlet mark of shame, the red butterfly on her bottom served as a reminder of her disobedience, of Jared’s rightful dominance. A quickening curled low in her stomach, a stirring answered by a tingle in her clit. Not excitement, she told herself as her breathing increased and her body seemed to loosen and grow languid. Not sexual excitement.
    Curiosity. Just…curiosity.
    She wanted to view herself from Jared’s perspective. She retrieved and donned her mules. After returning to the mirrors, she spread her legs and bent at the waist the way Jared had ordered her to do in his office.
    Her eyes widened.
    The position didn’t merely expose her bare buttocks; it presented them as if they were an offering and revealed the bare lips of her waxed pussy. She looked like sex and submission, a gift and a challenge rolled into one package. Deep within, a latent, elemental hunger stirred. Stripped, posed, and exposed, she looked…
     
    So fucking beautiful, Jared feared his head would explode.
    He had intended to give Melania more time alone to process what had happened, but found he couldn’t stand to remain apart from her another second. Even if she wouldn’t let him touch her, he had to be near her.
    The sight he found upon entering their bedroom drove him from zero to rigid in seconds. Melania was examining herself in the mirror. Her position, so similar to the spanking pose, sent a rush of white-hot lust coursing through his veins. The round moons of her ass bore his mark of loving discipline, a deep rose hue of