Chapter Four
The resolute glare Galien pinned her with brought Claire out of her bad disposition. His description of her wants and needs had embarrassed her deeply, but regardless of that she felt even more ashamed for having held her breath like a child protesting a nap. Angry red marks lifted on his forearms where she’d dug her nails into him too. How had she let this happen? Now he intended to punish her for the second time today. She watched as he removed the scabbards from his sword belt and doubled the thick leather length in half. Panic and regret welled up in her, and she wished she had not overreacted.
“I’m waiting, Claire. Please assume the position. Hands and knees, bare bottom lifted up to receive ten lashes.”
“I will do no such thing! You embarrassed me!” Her voice cracked over words she had intended to speak with confidence.
He stepped closer and blocked out the lantern light, appearing as a shadow until he knelt to look into her eyes. “We are husband and wife. I did nothing untoward to you, and you put yourself in harm with your childish antics.”
“I did not put myself in harm, Lord Galien. As you can see, I am fine, and I would have been fine without your interference.”
“You also disobeyed me, Claire, and for that you will be punished.” He clasped the sword belt tighter in his grip and nudged her. “Hands and knees now, or these ten lashes will turn into fifteen.”
Tears burned in her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to keep her emotions hidden. The last thing she wanted to do was break down weeping. She bit her lower lip, needing the distraction of the pain to focus on restraining her tears, and turned onto her hands and knees.
“Very nice.” Galien moved behind her, still kneeling atop the blankets. “Now be a good girl and bare your arse to me, Claire.”
A wave of submission rolled through and her face grew hotter than the braziers. Time slowed as she reached around and flipped her skirts up, andwhen she rested on her hands again she found herself leaning down, found herself truly presenting her backside to her new husband. The sudden desire to please him filled her and cooled her fury. He wasn’t going to pound her with his fists or drag her through the camp by her hair, the sort of thing Lord Diterich had done before she learned how to read his moods to avoid his outbursts. Instead, Galien meant to punish her for a specific infraction, just as he had in the castle. Somehow this comforted her, even though he was about to cause her pain.
Galien placed a steadying hand on her lower back and dangled the belt against her bottom cheeks as if preparing his aim. “If you remain in position and keep cooperating, Claire, I will make these lashes light. I know you are still sore from earlier, and I hate to cause you pain, but this is for your own good. Please be a good girl for me.”
The tears that had been threatening to fall trickled down her face now as she reacted to Galien’s soothing words and gentle tone, for they calmed her and lent her the strength to yield to his discipline.
He shifted on the bedroll behind her and the belt cracked across her cheeks, the first lash falling with a mild sting. She exhaled in relief and held position, waiting for the next blow. He didn’t make her wait long, and he landed the next two strikes in lines below the first one, but again the pain proved bearable. The fourth lash stung her upper thighs though, and she winced and cried out, her flesh especially tender in this area.
“You’re doing very well, Claire. Only six more to go. But before I continue, I want you to promise you will be sweet and submit to my whims tonight, even if it embarrasses you. In return, I promise to give you pleasure and show you the utmost care, but you need to trust me first. Will you promise this for me, sweet girl?”
It was so surreal, resting on her hands and knees with her bottom bared in the middle of a belt whipping, while Galien spoke to her so very calmly, as if he were commenting on the weather. The act of surrendering to him felt more intimate than the kiss they had shared, and the warm sensation of her desire returned to pulse between her thighs. She tried to ignore the longing that coursed through her and focus on answering Galien’s question. “Yes, my lord. I promise.”
“You please me, Claire, very much.”
The final six blows fell in quick succession, the last one packing the harshest sting of all. She cried out and lurched forward, almost breaking position, but she reared back and kept on her hands and knees, waiting for Galien’s instruction. A warm hand brushed across her punished flesh, and he stroked her sore cheeks.
“Mm,” she said with a sigh. “Thank you, Galien.” She supposed it was acceptable to call him Galien now instead of Lord Galien when they were in private. She waited and listened for his objection, but it never came, and shesmiled, rather liking the feel of his name on her lips without any formality. She liked hearing her name on his lips as well, especially when he called her sweet Claire. No man had ever used an endearment with her before, not even her father.
He rubbed the sting from her bottom using both hands now, and he tapped the insides of her legs to force her to spread wider. She obliged him, still overcome with the unceasing urge to please him, even though his actions made her face flame. Of course the embarrassment of knowing he had a perfect view of the folds between her thighs made her heart race faster, and she throbbed in her womanly parts and ached for him. She arched her backside higher and trembled as his rubbing hands moved closer to her center, and when his fingertips danced along the outer lips of her quim she jerked into his touch with a whimper.
“Just as I suspected. You’re soaking wet, Claire.” His voice was strained, but he sounded pleased by her body’s reaction to him, and this shocked her and filled her with curiosity.
Why was she getting so wet? His quick intake of breath as he parted her folds put her more at ease with her body’s reactions, and she gasped as an intense burst of ecstasy rocked through her. He swirled and applied pressure overtop a place where she’d never been touched, and she moved against his hand, unable to keep still during the onslaught of pleasure. She felt herself building up to something, but before she reached what promised to be a climatic ending, he turned her over and resumed untying the front of her dress. Panting, she peered up at him from under her eyelashes, admiring the sculpted expanse of his chest and the dark spattering of hair covering it.
“Let’s get this off of you,” he said, his eyes darkening. “I want to see my wife.” He lifted her dress over her head and cupped her breasts over her chemise, kneading and stroking the exposed flesh of her cleavage.
Her hardened nipples ached and tented the fabric, and she resisted the impulse to shield herself from Galien’s intense gaze. His eyes gleamed black in the lantern light, and she glanced down at the hem of her chemise, knowing he’d insist she lose this item of clothing too. She bit her lip as he studied her, and to her surprise he divested himself of his leggings before requiring anything else of her.
The appearance of his thick, long manhood jutting out set off a fluttering in her stomach, and her breaths came shallow and fast. She swallowed hard and lifted her eyes from his swollen shaft to meet her husband’s gaze. He edged forward on his knees with a predatory stare trained on her, and he next slipped her chemise off her shoulders, working it off her with slow movements as he paused time and again to caress her skin in all the right places.
The moment her chemise fell to the ground beside the bedroll, he latched onto one of her nipples and pressed her down atop the blankets. His tonguedanced around her stiffened peak, and each hard tug sent a spiral of wicked sensation straight to her nether region. She felt moisture gathering between her thighs, more of the wetness Galien had been so pleased to discover, and she wrapped her arms around him, drawing her hands up and down his back, then through his hair. He traveled on to her other breast, pinching her peak first before taking it into his mouth. His ministrations spawned an even deeper longing within her, and she found herself pressing against his leg, seeking relief from the sweet torment he so mercilessly inflicted upon her.
He pulled back and situated his body over hers with his manhood grazing the opening of her slit, and he dragged it through her wetness, coating the tip of his hardness as he gazed down at her, looking every bit the fierce warrior. He was a powerful man, a knighted lord with vast holdings, and she knew he intended to always command the same respect and obedience from her as he commanded with his men. Although she hadn’t wanted to marry him, in this tent, in this moment, she wanted nothing more than for him to command her, to show her the pleasure he’d promised. She parted her thighs and arched up, inviting his entrance.
A growl rumbled out from him, and he clasped her head and claimed her lips, kissing her harder than he had before. She moaned into his mouth and tried to meet the thrusts of his tongue, and she felt his stiffness pressing into her, teasing her entrance with slow and shallow thrusts. An urgent fire lighted within her, and she whimpered and would’ve begged him to take her if only she could speak. But he kept kissing her, kept holding her steady in his arms and taking all that he wanted.
She gasped for breath when he pulled back, and she searched his eyes, wondering why he hadn’t taken her yet. Why was he teasing her so? She felt frantic and needy and ready to combust, and she trembled as her aching transformed to an almost unbearable throb.
“Please, Galien,” she said in a harsh whisper. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“What am I doing to you?” He continued the slow and shallow movements, still not filling her up as she so desperately wished he would.
