He opened the door and ducked in, tucking and rolling behind the couch as he pushed the door closed. He should scold her and tell her to behave, but she was in a fine temper, and her wild spirit was one of the things that drew him to her.
“Zara, sweetheart…”
“Don’t you Zara, sweetheart me! I tried to sit up, thinking I’d at least set the table or get plates out… Do you have any idea how much that hurt?”
“I do,” he said, still hunkered down behind the sofa. “I’m the guy who put those welts there.”
“Don’t sound so fucking proud of yourself,” she threatened.
“I’m not. I’m simply telling you I was well aware when I took my belt to your ass, there would be raised welts for a day or two.”
“So, you wanted to see me in pain?”
“No,” he continued reasonably, trying to keep his amusement out of his voice. “What I wanted was for you to think twice about doing something that foolish again, but know if you did anyway, I would discipline you hard enough, you wouldn’t do it a third time.”
“It hurts!”
“I’m sure it does, sweetheart, but you could have been killed. I need to know you’ll behave yourself and do what I tell you. You need to know when you don’t, I’ll punish you and remind you which one of us is dominant.”
“Motherfucker!” She launched another bowl, but the dish hit the soft couch and didn’t crash. She shrieked in frustration. Noah stood and regarded her across the small space. She had another plate poised to throw.
“Settle down, Zara. That’s enough. When we’re home and you want to have a tantrum, that’s one thing—I’ll simply buy sets of dishes when they’re on sale—but this is a safehouse, and we try to keep from coming and going so as to not call attention to us. Put the plate down.”
“No,” she said, still clutching it.
“Zara, put it down. I meant what I said. There’s aloe gel in the bath. If you want, I can put some on those welts, and it’ll take some of the sting out of them.”
“I can do it myself.”
“Not as easily as I could, but even if you could, you aren’t to do it,” he said evenly.
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because I’m the one who put the sting in your tail, and if there’s to be any relief, I’ll be the one giving it. Now, put the plate down, or I’ll take it from you and punish the inside of your bottom as well.”
“You already did that.”
He grinned. “Yes, but not as much punishment as you’d like me to believe. As I recall, you came twice for me when I took your bottom hole. You should know, I checked the pantry, and there was ginger root.”
“Shit, Noah!” she said but put down the plate. “These welts hurt.”
He came around the couch and approached her in the kitchen, checking for any signs this was just the eye of the storm. Seeing none, he pulled her into his embrace and held her, making soothing noises until her body quit resisting the comfort he sought to give her, and she clung to him.
“I know, baby. I need for you not to do something like that again.”
“I swear, if you tell me it hurt you more than it hurt me, I’ll shoot you again… this time with a bullet.”
He laughed. “That’ll be enough of that, woman. You level a gun at me again, regardless of the ammunition, and I’ll lay twice as many stripes across your backside as I did this afternoon.”
“No, please, no.”
“Then, behave. Why don’t you go lie on the couch? I’ll get the gel, and we’ll see if I can’t take some of the fire out of them.”
“Fine, but I’m not apologizing about…”
“The temper tantrum?” he suggested.
“Expressing my righteous indignation, realizing you’re a ruthless bastard who took a belt to my ass and deliberately left welts behind.”
“Good enough.” He chuckled and led her back to the sofa.
Zara stretched out, and Noah headed into the bath, then took a few moments to check the nightstands and under the bed. Sure enough, there were firearms located in all three places. He grabbed the aloe and started back for the sitting room. He considered taking the two pillows on the bed but didn’t want to ignite another firestorm. Taking them anyway, he figured if she got testy, he’d simply withhold the aloe until she decided to settle down and rein in her temper.
She spied the pillows. “Not funny,” she said with little heat.
Noah was figuring out Zara’s temper was more like a summer squall than a true storm.
“It wasn’t meant to be and wasn’t meant to be anything other than trying to give you something soft to sit on. The fact is, sitting is not going to be comfortable for you for a few days. If you want to eat lying on your belly or your side, I’m fine with that. The only time your ass needs to come into contact with anything at all, as far as I’m concerned, is when I’m fucking you.”
“You don’t seriously think I’m going to let you fuck me after that, do you?”
“What I think is, I already fucked you after I welted you, and just because you get yourself into enough trouble you and my belt have to have a little discussion, it doesn’t mean either of us is doing without.”
Noah loved watching her think and the emotions play across her features.
“Truth is,” she sighed, “as much as it hurts, I’m still wet for you.”
He hugged her close. “That may be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“I really do wish I could hate you or at least not want to fuck you…”
“But you don’t, do you?”
“No… but I wish I could.”
Noah reached behind the couch and got the wildflowers.
“I picked these for you on the hill to the east of us.”
“Shit! Now, why did you have to go and do something like that?” she said in a voice bordering on tears.
“I thought you’d like them. I wanted you to know that once I’ve punished you, which includes fucking you in some way, that as far as I’m concerned, it’s over and done.”
“That’s really sweet. And I greeted your return with crashing dishware.”
“At the risk of inciting another tantrum, I’m not the one who can’t sit down. A bit of temper on your part is to be expected.”
“So, you’re not mad about the dishes?”
“Like I said, I don’t like that they were here at the safehouse, but at home, it’s not the worst thing you can do. Zara, I don’t expect you to be some kind of complacent submissive who accepts her punishment without reacting and/or getting angry. That’s not who you are… and you’re who I want,” he answered reassuringly.
“And again, you have to be nice to me, so I realize what a total bitch I was.”
“A bitch with a bright-red ass and sporting some pretty impressive welts.”
“You don’t have to remind me…” she sulked.
“Let’s see if I can’t make it feel a little better.”
Zara grumbled but didn’t resist when he delicately dabbed the soothing aloe gel across the marks his hand and belt had left behind. He knew they were still sore, but he hoped the gel would help a bit.