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  She looked up and nodded. “It hasn’t been this bad for a long time. I usually just get lightheaded and grouchy.” She took another sip of apple juice before continuing. “Robert can always tell when I’m not taking care of myself. He keeps me in balance.” She let out a frustrated breath. “I feel so guilty for proving how much I actually rely on him. He needs to be able to concentrate on what he’s doing so that he can wrap everything up and we can really start a life here together.”

  “What happens when you don’t take care of yourself, Ever?” Violet felt a little like she was prying asking, but she had to know. She kind of knew what went on between Robert and Ever, but she didn’t really “know” the details.

  Everleigh looked at her with stark seriousness. “I get the paddle; the thick one with holes. He’s extremely serious about it when I skip meals.” She put her juice on the tray and curled under the blanket. “I haven’t told you this, but shortly after Robert and I got together, well and probably before, I was bordering on being anorexic. For me, it’s not at all about body image, I just get busy and forget to eat or drink, well or even sleep. So when this happens, it means big consequences. At first I had to keep a food journal and was spanked with the paddle at each miss. Now he just keeps an eye on me. He notices right away if something is off. So, if I skipped a meal or never showed up in bed, he removes all of my clothes and I bend over the kitchen table for a serious paddling. It’s usually one hundred with the paddle in twenty swat increments and corner time in between with a small warm up to prevent bruising,” she confessed.

  She winced. “Ouch, that sounds intense.”

  “It is,” Ever admitted. “But it’s also why I rarely screw up in this way anymore. I also lose my clothing privileges for the week, except when I have classes to teach of course. This is a big deal offense in our house. It never gets any more serious than this.”

  “Oh, wow,” she said. The idea of clothing privileges had never even occurred to her. She obviously had a lot to learn about what all could be entailed in DD. “Well, I can’t say that I blame him, Ever. This is really scary and while I might normally be concerned, I understand why he has such serious consequences for this. He obviously loves you a lot to take such measures.”

  “He does,” she said with a smile. “And I love him just as much. I really am a lucky woman.” She sighed. “I know he’s going to want to come home early when he finds out. I hate for him to do that when I know he has so much work to do. I would rather he stay and finish so that we can start planning the wedding.”

  Ever looked so mournful, it tugged on her heartstrings. “What if I stayed with you until he’s finished with his business overseas?” she blurted out before she even knew she was going to say it. Her heart pounded as she realized the magnitude of what she had just offered.

  Everleigh looked over at her surprised, then hopeful. “Would you really do that? Can you do that? How will your boss react?”

  “Um,” she said, grappling to figure out the details. “Well, we do have an office out of Denver. I could try to talk my boss into transferring me. I obviously haven’t thought this through very far.” She wrapped her hand around Everleigh’s, looking her straight in the eye. “What are best friends for?” She smiled. “I will work it out. You just worry about explaining what happened to your husband and figure out how you’re going to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” Rising, she made her way to the door. “I’m going to go out and try to get in touch with my boss. You call Robert and let him know that his wife is alive, well, and in need of a good hard spanking.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Ever called out to her as she walked out of the room.

  As soon as she cleared the door, she collapsed against the wall, her heart beating in her throat. Holy Moly, am I really about to do this? Spontaneity was not something she normally did. Thinking back on the last few days with Charles, though, she was certain of one thing, she had to see where this took her and this was her chance.

  “Hey,” she greeted Charles sleepily. She called him as soon as she got a chance to.

  “Hey, yourself,” Charles replied. “Is everything okay? Are you holding up okay?” he asked, the concern barely contained. She could hear him pacing in the background.

  “I’m tired, but everything is fine. The doctor said as long as she rests tonight and tomorrow and takes care of herself, she will be back to normal by Monday.”

  “What a relief. “It’s good to hear your voice,” he groaned. “I’ve been fighting to keep myself from rushing over there. I was worried about Everleigh and about how you were holding up.”

  “Trust me, you weren’t the only worried one,” she said in amusement. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like for poor Venia who saw the whole thing happen.” She began twisting her hair up for the night.

  “If it had to be anyone,” Charles said, “I’m glad it was Venia. She knows how to handle an emergency. As Ever’s mentor, she will be able to guide her and help keep her accountable.”

  “Oh?” she asked, slipping under the covers. “How did you know this was something she needs to be held accountable for?”

  “In a close knit community like this, word travels fast. It’s hard to keep secrets.” His deep voice soothed her frayed nerves over the phone.

  “I’ve noticed. Every single person I talked to today seemed to know all about us.” She wondered if her voice came across as incredulous about being the topic of gossip as she felt.

  “Take it as a compliment,” he said with sincerity. “They must like you a lot if they told you what they thought to your face. Actually I have something that I’d like to talk to you about, but not over the phone. Why don’t you get some rest and I will bring you over some coffee in the morning? Oh by the way, I packed up your booth after you left, so I also have your proceeds. I will bring that too.”

  “Thank you! Wow,” she said, sitting bolt upright in bed. “I can’t believe I didn’t even think to go back and clean up. You didn’t have to do that, but I’m so grateful you did! Did you happen to pick up the rest of the art I had up for sale?”

  “I didn’t have to. You sold your entire collection.”

  “What,” she gasped. “What do you mean? I don’t believe it.”

  “Well, believe it. I was told that all of the paintings you had in the adult section were purchased, too. I can certainly believe it. You are an incredible artist, Violet. I can’t believe that you choose to spend your days doing the leg work for big corporations when you have talent like that.”

  Violet didn’t know what to say. She was dumbstruck. They said their goodnights and she hung up the phone in a daze.

  Despite being exhausted, she laid there for a while replaying the events of the last few days. She thought about Charles, with his sexy smile and firm hand coming down on her bottom. She thought about her art which, until a month ago, she thought was just a part of her past; something she did as a kid. Who knew that all it would take to get her creative juices flowing again would be a spanking? And now she had just sold out her entire collection including her most recent work that she had done just two days ago. Her concern for her best friend did cast a shadow over everything. She absolutely couldn’t leave her right now. She hadn’t even told Charles that she was staying. Not long after, in the jumble of all of her thoughts, she drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 6

  Charles stood outside on the doorstep for a minute gathering his thoughts before pressing the bell. He planned on having a serious conversation with Violet this morning. Last night had brought home to him just how much he had grown to care about her. He knew it had only been a short duration, but he also knew himself well enough to be certain. All that was left was for him to find out if she felt the same way.

  The door creaked open. Violet grinned her hello and motioned him to come on in. “Mmm that coffee smells good.”

  He couldn’t help but whistle inwardly at how well she filled out the black yoga pants she had on. The loose t-shirt she w
as wearing, thank God above, didn’t cover her beautiful ass. The woman could make any outfit look good. He kept his thoughts to himself and pulled her into his arms for a long hug. Her muscles relaxed as she seemed to melt right into him. She leaned back after a few seconds though, breaking the spell.

  “Are those donuts that I smell?” She sniffed at the bag he held in his other hand.

  “Guilty,” he said with a wolfish grin. “Just wait until you taste these and then you tell me if you could have resisted. Ange’s bakery was on my way here. The smell lured me in. Her donuts are practically a sensuous experience. Here, try one,” he offered, pulling one out of the bag. Breaking a small piece off, he fed her by hand.

  Her whole face lit up with delight as she tasted the sweet pastry. “Oh my God, I see what you mean,” she moaned.

  He barely contained a moan of his own as he watched her lick glaze from her lips. He wasn’t going to get through the morning without ripping her clothes off at this rate. He steeled himself against the urge. Too many important matters to discuss. There would be plenty of time for that later, he hoped.

  “I better bring some to Everleigh. I made her promise not to get out of bed today and she is not very happy about it. Maybe this will butter her up and put her in a better mood.”

  As they walked into the bedroom, he noted that Violet had not been kidding. The normally sweet natured girl was in a huff. “Don’t you think you’re going to bribe me with sweets,” she grumbled. She obviously had overheard them talking in the hallway.

  Charles noticed that her skin was still a bit pasty from yesterday’s misadventure. Taking in a plate of eggs and toast with barely a nibble taken cast off to the side a bedside table, he decided to put an end to Ever’s pouting, and took a stern tone. “No bribes, but you will eat every bite of those eggs,” he said, nodding to them. “Or I’ll put you over my knee now and explain to Robert later why I felt the need to spank his naughty fiancée.”

  Her face paled and it was almost comical at how wide her eyes flew open as her hand simultaneously went to cover her bottom. “You wouldn’t?” she asked, all the while her face telling everyone in the room that she thought he would do just that.

  “Eat up and you won’t find out,” he said sternly. It was an empty threat, but she didn’t need to know that. As head of the discipline committee, his reputation preceded him and it was almost humorous at how quickly a look or word from him caused the ladies of the community to shape up. He had never even doled out one of the spankings that he had prescribed at the committee meetings. It didn’t matter. His name was associated with discipline in its highest form.

  Everleigh quickly scarfed her entire plateful of food so fast that Violet burst out laughing.

  “Hey, you haven’t felt a discipline spanking from him! You don’t know how it feels!” Ever cried out indignantly.

  This only caused Violet to laugh even harder. “Neither have you!” Charles couldn’t help joining in the laughter.

  “No, but I know what one feels like,” Everleigh mumbled, blushing fiercely at the realization that he had gotten her.

  “You know,” he said, looking Violet directly in the eye. “I can remedy that if you’re curious. I’m sure I can think of something to punish you for.” He winked.

  “Um, no, I think I’ll stick with the fun ones, thank you very much,” Violet said emphatically.

  He pulled her to him snugly against his body. “No, thank you,” he said seductively, kissing her lips softly.

  “Hey, hey, hey, no hanky panky in my bedroom,” Everleigh burst. “Go find another room for that business,” she said, but he caught the satisfied gleam in her eye.

  “As you wish,” he accommodated, pulling Violet out of the room by her hand behind him.

  As soon as they cleared the room, he had her pinned to the wall. “Speaking of spankings,” he murmured, kissing down her neck, “I think you need a spanking for making me wait a whole day to see you again.”

  “Mmm,” she purred under his ministrations. “Maybe I do.” A groan left her lips as he moved lower, kissing the tops of her breasts beneath the collar of her shirt.

  “No, but I can spank you anyway,” he said, slipping his hand around to grasp her bottom firmly but briefly.

  Violet protested as he backed away trying to pull him back in. “Ah, ah, ah,” he admonished. “There’s time enough for that later. I hope anyway. I’d like to talk to you first, about your plans and about us.”

  “About that,” Violet began. “I have some news to share.” He watched her pad over to the table to sit down and followed taking a seat across from her. “I’m extending my stay. I spoke to my boss and he agreed that I can work out of the Denver office temporarily. This way I can stay with Everleigh until Robert gets home.”

  Charles took that in, deliberating on what he wanted to say next, so he started with something easy. “When do you start back to work? Do you have to work tomorrow?”

  “I have another week before I am expected to check in. He wasn’t happy, but I had accumulated another week of vacation time and thought this was a good time to use it. You know, so I can keep an eye on Ever and figure some other things out,” she trailed off.

  “Things like us?” he asked gently.

  The way Violet looked at him set his soul on fire. She gave him a hungry look that was equal parts passion and vulnerability that made him realize how much she was risking by opening herself to a relationship with him. She swallowed hard and nodded.

  In a heartbeat he had scooped her up, striding over to the couch settling her in to nestle in his arms.

  “Violet, don’t go back to your old life,” he appealed intensely. “Oh, honey, you belong here. You belong with me. I’ve never met anyone who belonged in this life more than you do, who belonged in mine.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m scared,” she admitted. ”I’ve never felt anything like this. You have to understand,” she said gently, her tiny hand tracing the line of his jaw, “this won’t just change my home or my relationship status. What does this say about me? What does it say about the life I have chosen for myself?” she rambled. “This isn’t me. I’m a ball buster in my normal everyday life. You’ve never seen that side of me. Would you even like me if you did?”

  “Violet, the only thing I will ever ask of you is to be true to you. If you are happy working a job that requires you to bust your ass to succeed, I will support you. I would support anything that you do if it makes you happy.”

  He could tell she was overcome with emotion. He had never felt like this about anyone before. Charles hoped he could make her understand that while yes, he wanted a spanking relationship with a woman who was submissive to him, he also wanted that woman to be strong in mind and spirit. He didn’t want her to think she would have to sacrifice herself to be with him. They would come up with the boundaries of their relationship together.

  She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I really like you, Charles. I can feel myself falling in love with you, and I never expected for that to happen when I came here. Things that I thought I had shut the door on forever have come back to the surface.”

  He cradled her face in his hands, tipping it up to look her in the eyes. “Violet, I am falling in love with you. I think I have known from the first day that I met you.” He kissed her lightly on the lips before continuing. “Do you think you can do me a favor and try to just live out this next month as if this was your only option? Give yourself over to this relationship completely to see if it’s something that might be who you are too, if we are?”

  She nodded, swallowing hard. “I think that’s why I suggested that I stay with Ever. I don’t think she really needs me. I know that this community takes care of its own. I just have to know. I don’t want any what ifs.”

  “Okay, deal,” he said, breaking out into a huge cheesy grin. “For the next month we give this relationship our all. We get to know who we really are together. Violet, you have no idea how happy you have just ma
de me.”

  “Probably just as happy as I made myself,” she admitted.

  He felt his gut slowly start to unfurl from the knot it had been in before this conversation. He didn’t know how he would have handled it if she had walked out of his life tomorrow to go back to her life in Colorado Springs.

  A thought hit him suddenly. “Have you turned in your application to extend your stay?”

  “Not yet. I will probably go do that tomorrow.” She gave him a puzzled look.

  “Make sure you do,” he said with humor. “You don’t want your housewarming into the community to be a trip before the disciplinary committee.” He smirked.

  She looked a little shocked at the idea. “No, I don’t think that I do. Honestly the thought never occurred to me,” she said, worrying her lip.

  “I was just teasing.” He laughed, tapping her on the nose. “Just make sure you do fill out the appropriate paperwork as soon as you can.”

  Her shoulders sagged with relief. “I will make sure to do that first thing in the morning. By the way,” she asked him, sitting up, “what do you know about Dr. Yu? He’s the therapist that has been recommended to help Ever with accountability while Robert’s gone. It was actually his condition for her in addition to me staying, or he was going to hop on the next plane home to make sure she was okay himself,” she said, rolling her eyes a little.

  He leaned back a little getting more comfortable. “Dr. Yu is an excellent therapist that has a part time office here in Corbin’s Bend. In fact, I refer people to him all the time as a part of the terms of a disciplinary contract if extra help is needed.”

  Violet squirmed a little on his lap. Holding up a hand she said, “That’s all I need to know. I had a feeling that he used a special “Corbin’s Bend” brand of accountability. I don’t need to know anything else about it. As long as you think Ever’s in good hands, I’m sure it will be fine.”