“And you accusemeof not speaking of love,” I said wryly.
“Shall we ride on, my lady?”
There was no denying the renewed spark in his eyes and I couldn’t help it—I found myself pulled into his gaze, forgetting, even if it was just for a moment, that he was my enemy.
* **
That night we sought shelter in a barn owned by a kindly farmer along the road. Once upon a time, I would have been quite indignant at even the suggestion, but a night on the hard ground had changed my expectations. I doubted I would ever stop longing for my soft down bed, but I did my best to push thoughts of it aside.
The farmer’s wife had even gone so far as to bring us each a serving of fresh eggs and a side of ham, along with cups of sweet milk. My stomach had rumbled embarrassingly at the sight of the food, and while all I’d managed to do was blush, Antony thanked her for her hospitality.
“You see?” he teased as he sat beside me on the barn floor. “Farmers’ wives aren’t so bad after all.”
“Hmph,” I grumbled, ignoring the remark as I began to eat. Yet, for all my protest, there was no denying that something had changed between us and I had no idea what to do about it. Perhaps it had happened when I’d accepted his proposal of marriage and had come to realize that I would spend the rest of my life tethered to his. Whatever the reason, I was seeing him in an entirely different light, no matter how many times I tried to remind myself that I should hate him.
Antony said nothing more as I ate, and to my surprise, when I finished he put half his portion on my plate.
“What is this?” I asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
“I find I’m not very hungry. I wouldn’t want to be wasteful.”
I knew it for a lie the moment the words were out of his mouth, yet I couldn’t deny my hunger, which gnawed at me as though I were being eaten away from the inside. So I bent my head over the plate and murmured my thanks before I began to eat once more.
“You know, I do believe that’s the first time you’ve ever thanked me for anything.” His voice was light and teasing and I found myself smiling at the sound of it.
“I shall thank you not to snore tonight, then,” I commented between bites.
“I do not snore,” he protested, bumping me playfully with his elbow.
“You do,” I accused. “And if I am to become your lady wife, I demand you stop it at once.”
“Youdemand, do you?”
I heard the mock-challenge in his voice and having eaten my fill, decided that I would rise to it. “Yes, and there is one other thing.”
“I see. And what would that be?”
“This business of spanking me is much too foolish. Why, it’s practically barbaric, and I won’t stand for it!” The moment the words were out of my mouth, the air between us seemed to still. I felt my cheeks heat with a mixture of embarrassment and excitement. I didn’t know what had caused me to bring it up at all. I should have been grateful that he had not chastised mesince the first time, but for some reason, the thought of it now seemed to put an energy into me that I’d never before known existed.
“That’s right, I’d nearly forgotten. How could I have been so careless?” Before I could say a word, Antony had taken the plate out of my hands and set it aside before putting me over his lap.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I cried out, kicking my legs and trying to push myself up.
“If my memory is correct, I still owe you a thrashing.”
My breath hitched and I could feel my nipples become taut against the bodice of my gown. “No, you musn’t.” Yet, the words came out sounding breathy and weak, and soon Antony was peeling my skirts back one by one, taking his time and chuckling as I squirmed over his lap.
“I musn’t?” he echoed, his own voice husky and rich with desire that only fed my own. “Please, Cecily dear, tell me what else I musn’t do?”
Before I’d had a chance to reply—with every layer of clothing that he touched, I was finding it harder and harder to concentrate—his hand came crashing down on my pantalets. It certainly wasn’t soft, but it wasn’t very hard either. He paused before delivering the next blow, which came down with just as much force as the first, causing me to whimper in a way that had nothing to do with pain. I wasn’t sure what was happening to me. My cheeks were flushed, my breath was coming in small, shallow gasps, and with each and every firm spank that he landed on my clothing, the knots in my belly contracted and then loosened once more. It was a feeling unlike any I’d ever felt before. Was this what he spoke of when he talked of love? If so, I wasn’t entirely sure that I liked it.
“Stop, Antony! Let me up!” I protested, writhing on his lap as I tried to sit up. He had a good hold on me, however, and I was kept right where he wanted me.
“Be a sweet, biddable maid and take your punishment,” he returned, the teasing still present in his voice.
But I couldn’t simply lie there and let him continue to make me feel things that were surely sinful. Each time his hand came down, smacking me soundly but leaving only a light, tingling pain, a rush of warmth filled my cheeks and ran down the length of my body until I was sure all of me must be aglow. If that wasn’t of the devil, I didn’t know what was.
“This isn’t what it was like before,” I murmured, so low that I was certain he wouldn’t have heard me.
