It had been an extraordinarily interesting week, Caleb mused as he looked at his sleeping bride. She had surprised him; keeping him on edge and guessing what she'd do and say next. He had no idea he was in for the roller coaster ride of his life. Mara had him experiencing a kaleidoscope of emotions from the moment he brought her home. Hell! From the second I told her we were married, I've been in a damn tailspin! One minute, I want to hold her tight... keep her safe... then she does something to set me off and I want to scold her... and sear her bottom so it burns for a damn week! He laughed softly. All week long... just when he was ready to flip her over his knee and let her know she had pushed him out of control, she'd peeked at him from behind thick lashes and gifted him with a smile so full of promise... He shook his head. She was going to kill him with her antics and... God help me! He groaned at his thoughts. He had awakened her physical desires and now her blatant sensuality had kindled his libido to a constant state of boiling and he wanted her again.
For now... she slept. Her deeply pinked bottom revealed that she had been thoroughly spanked and the satisfied glow on her face showed that she had been thoroughly loved as well. He hoped her sleep was restful; he had promised to sear her butt in the morning for the little stunt she pulled earlier and he meant to keep his word.
~~~
Henrietta, the housekeeper, left the honeymooners to themselves, showing up only in the kitchen to leave prepared meals. For now, the master and new mistress of the house seemed content to dine on each other but if their mood changed... she made sure there was sufficient food prepared. The last she had seen of them was their first morning at home. She had put a hot breakfast in front of Caleb, the rich aroma of steaming coffee instantly mixed with the weight of the looks Caleb and Mara had exchanged as they gazed into each other's eyes, the aura of their early morning tryst still lingering. Henrietta smiled, knowing neither had heard her soft goodbye.
Caleb looked at the woman who had shared his bed the night before and who had unabashedly straddled his body earlier that morning. He laughed softly remembering the feel of her on top of him. She smiled and blushed.
He pulled her onto his lap, kissing her until she gasped for breath and then slipped a hand into her robe. Palming a breast, he whispered that he was going to eat breakfast and then pull her under the table and make love to her in front of god and company.
She was suddenly shy, turned in his arms, and to cover her embarrassment, ate the bacon... the only thing on the plate he really wanted.
"Mara!" he scolded with just a hint of exasperation.
"Caleb," she acknowledged, her mouth full, both hands reaching for his plate.
"I'll spank you," he threatened.
She rolled her eyes.
"I like bacon."
"So do I," he deadpanned, his hand slipping under her butt to cup her bottom cheeks.
She ignored his words, eating the rest of the bacon and all the buttered toast while he lectured her. Interrupting his discourse on the merits of "the way to a man's heart is not by eating his bacon..." she wanted to know what he kept in those outbuildings beyond the corral. "What's out there?" she asked. "More horses?"
"Yes," he murmured as he pulled her head back so he could feast on her neck and throat. "Don't go into the stable without me."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so," he replied calmly, his dominant side surfacing.
Mara arched a brow. She wasn't used to taking orders...
She had hopped off his lap and for a solid week, had led him on a merry chase... teasing him... defying him... arguing for the sake of argument... testing the waters. If he was under the misguided notion that marriage was going to bring calm and peace to his life... she quickly disabused him of that thought. If Mara had to be married, she was going to make her own rules...
So far... the only peace he had enjoyed was from each night's sleep and that only came from exhaustion... Caleb had been certain their lovemaking and the occasional spanking would tame her feisty, independent ways. He would have bet the ranch that she'd come to see that it was better to give in to his way of doing things. He had lived the single life for years; he had wanted her for a long time, but marriage was no excuse to change his ways.
Mara laughed at the absurdity of this statement... and went on her merry way. When he barked at something that she did that displeased him, she'd challenge him... running through the house... making him chase her.
He chased her... upstairs... catching her on the landing, fully intent on spanking her. She had thrown her arms around his neck, her body warm and soft against his own... "Make love to me," she had whispered. I
nstantly, his body ruled his head... making him forget why he had chased her... and carried her to their bed where passion ruled them both. When he warned her not to slide down the banister and she did... and then caught her as she slid off the handrail... he upended her and warmed her bottom on the spot. It was only after he had made love to her in the alcove beneath the wooden staircase that he realized he had simply reinforced the very behavior he had been trying to correct.
Almost every chair and couch had seen her draped across his lap as he laid the ground rules for their marriage... his hand emphasizing every point, her loud protests and insults turning to sweet purrs of satisfaction as he provided the positive reinforcement for his words.
He was exhausted. He was revitalized. He was falling in love with a woman he had yet to tame and... At least I'm not bored, he chuckled softly. After an entire week of spanking and lovemaking and much cuddling and conversation, Caleb was certain she knew he was the head of their household.
Foolish man...
Mara was simply letting the man take the lead... the way one does when training a headstrong and naive puppy... allowing the creature to run out of steam before reining him in and bringing him to heel.
Both were in for quite a surprise.
~~~
"Mara! Where are you?" Caleb bellowed as he looked around their bedroom. They were going into town to dinner and a show that evening and he wanted her to be well rested before they left. He had specifically told her to lie down.
"Where the hell is she?" he muttered as he went looking for her.
She was visiting the stables, the one place he had forbidden her to enter alone.
"What a handsome fellow you are," Mara cooed as she placed a soft hand on the giant horse's head. "I just bet you're the sweetest thing, aren't you?"
The stallion snorted and raised its head.
"Mind your manners," Mara admonished as she reached into her pocket for an apple, offering it to the beast then closing her hand around it. "Don't slobber," she warned as she opened her hand again.
The horse made a snuffling sound as it lowered its head over the side of the stall and mouthed the apple in her palm, its lips soft against her skin... deceiving in its touch. Teeth nibbled then bit the apple and an unsuspecting Mara reached with her other hand to stroke the animal's head once again.
Nostrils flared... eyes went wide... the horse backed away... and then a loud sharp whinny rendered the air as the stallion reared its front legs and slammed against the side of its stall as it came back down.
Taken by surprise, Mara lost her footing as she stepped away from the stallion's stall... and into her husband's arms.
"Are you okay?" he asked, the relief in his voice mixed with urgency, his heart still pounding from seeing her so close to the devilish beast as he entered the enclosed area.
She nodded, unsure why the horse had reared.
"Didn't I tell you not to come in here alone?" Caleb barked as he quickly escorted her out of the stable. "I bought that horse at auction," he explained. "That stallion is prize horseflesh for my mares, but he was mistreated by his previous owner... a woman."
"I'm sorry, Caleb," Mara murmured. "I forgot," she admitted. "And... I didn't feel like lying down and... I thought I'd just walk around a bit. You were in your study and I..." Her words faded as he scooped her up in his arms, his tight embrace squeezing air from her lungs.
"Mara..." he began.
"Caleb! I said I was sorry," she apologized when she could take a breath.
"Not nearly as sorry as you're going to be!" he promised as he swiftly made his way back to the house. "You could have been seriously injured," he yelled, the adrenaline still surging through his gut. "You could have been killed!"
"You're making a bigger thing out of this than you..."
"Stop while you're ahead, little woman! Trust me on this. You don't want to make it any worse. I'm about as mad as a..."
"You're *not* going to..."
"Yes, I am!"