The Blue Lion, page 4
part #1 of Cape Danger Series
"Yes, but—" She looked away. "You have so many other responsibilities."
He was shaking his head. "I'd give them all up in a heartbeat to take care of you. Do you understand me?"
Strong hands descended on her shoulders, and he lifted her chin, tilting her face upward.
"You come first, princess. But I have certain demands I'll make of you, and one of those is that you be honest with me. Our relationship comes first, and at the top of the importance list is honesty." He stared down into her eyes. "When we decided to pursue a relationship of dominance and submission, you asked me not to give you a pass for being irritable when you were tired or didn't feel well. Have you changed your mind?"
She shook her head. "No, not at all."
His expression remained stern. "So, what should we do about this?"
"I-I don't know what you mean."
He scowled. "Yes, I think you do."
Meg's eyes pleaded. "You're not going to spank me."
"I am. For several reasons. One, for failing to tell me what you remembered when I specifically asked you to come to me, day or night. Two, is getting snippy when I brought it up again. And three, for accusing me of having the motive of distrusting you, which never occurred to me."
"No, Matt. Please don't."
"Come with me, princess."
He reached for her, setting her on her feet, and led her into the downstairs bedroom. Taking her by the waist, he pulled her between his thighs. When she stood there, feeling as humiliated as if she'd already been spanked, he spoke.
"You understand why I'm going to do this."
She nodded.
"I'm waiting, princess. Scrubs down."
Meg hooked her thumbs into the elastic waist of her scrubs and brought them down to her knees before glancing up at him.
He shook his head. "Not quite enough. Panties down too. Or I will."
A tear began its trail down her cheek, and she brought her panties to her knees as well.
Matt lifted her by the waist and brought her down over one knee, elevating her bottom. He brought his other leg over her thighs to keep her from moving as he lectured.
Meg knew she'd disappointed him, and she began to cry openly. An occasional, "I'm sorry," slipped out as he began delivering the rhythmic swats to the underside of her bottom. His hands were iron-hard when he spanked, and she flinched as each one landed.
"Tell me why we're doing this?"
Meg gulped. She hated answering these questions. It meant admitting how wrong she'd been.
"Because I didn't tell you," she choked out.
"Because you disobeyed. That's what the majority of this is for. You promised me you'd let me know the minute you remembered something. Did you?"
"No. Matt, I'm so sorry."
"That minute never came, until I was forced to press you into a confession. I don't want this to ever happen again. We vowed to never keep secrets from each other."
"It won't happen again," she wailed. "I promise."
The blows began to land harder, and she struggled against him, reaching back to protect herself. But she only succeeded in having him trap her wrist and hold it at the small of her back.
"Matt," she begged. "Please, stop!"
"When I'm finished. You must learn, sweetheart, I love you with all my heart. But I won't put up with defiance, and I expect you to keep your promises."
"I've learned. I swear it. Please?"
The barrage kept up only a few more moments. Meg finally began to submit to the discipline he was giving. She relaxed over his knee, and her shoulders melted into the quilted coverlet, covering her face with her free hand. Matt stopped and leaned over her, whispering into her ear, "All right. But I want you to know, if it happens again, it won't be as pleasant next time. I have to be able to trust you, princess. Hear me?"
Her cries sounded pitiful, even to her, and she nodded, whispering, "Yes, Sir."
The hands that had been so hard began to rub away the sting as she continued sobbing into the quilt. The next thing she knew, he'd lifted her into his arms and was cradling her.
"Shh. I love you, princess. Know that above all else."
Meg couldn't answer. Her sobs continued for a long time, and she brought her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shirt. The guilt and worry that had plagued her all week slowly ebbed away as she became quiet in his arms and fell fast asleep.
Matt held her until she'd fallen asleep, before gathering her up and taking her upstairs to bed. This was not what he'd planned for her this weekend. He knew how worried she'd been all week, and he'd intended to give her a passionate lovemaking session and sleep with her cocooned in his arms before she went to the luncheon the next morning.
He sighed as he climbed into bed with her and held her close. He'd only spanked her a handful of times since they'd been married, and it had always been for something like this—something that threatened her safety.
He had laid down some ground rules early in their marriage, after knowing how poor her vision was. She was always to have a backup pair of glasses or contact lenses with her, and she was always to carry her cell phone so she could call for help. There was no way she could see well enough to drive without them. She, on the other hand, was so accustomed to seeing poorly, she had no idea what she was missing. He'd dusted her bottom enough for being careless about carrying her phone with her in the beginning, and she'd finally gotten better. But after watching Andrea Woods send his precious girl hurtling forward and nearly crashing into a table, it had shaken him up, considerably. The news about what had happened in high school shook him even more.
Meg still didn't seem to understand how much it concerned him. He was determined, however, that she would.
He rose, after he was certain she was sound asleep, and went downstairs to put the rest of the food into the fridge. Then he checked the security system and came back to bed to hold her through the rest of the night.
Sunlight streamed through the window into Meg's face, and she rolled over, straight into her husband's chest. Opening her eyes, she realized he was watching her, an indulgent smile on his face.
"Morning, princess."
She lowered her eyes. "Morning."
Matt leaned down and kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling this morning?"
Meg spoke in a whispery voice that sounded penitent. "I'm good."
"Good. Here's the deal, sweetheart. I want you to call Nicole and tell her if she wants to ride with us, she's welcome. I'll be glad to pick her up. But I'm taking you to The Blue Lion. No," he raised his brow, putting a finger to her lips to silence her, "don't argue with me. If you want, I'll stay in the car and wait until you come back out. I can sit out there and get some work done, but at least I'll be nearby in case you have any trouble. Hear me?"
Meg sighed. "Yes. I don't like it, but I hear you."
"I didn't expect you would. But the more I thought about her purposely stomping on your glasses, the more disturbed I became."
"But you're treating me like a child." Meg rose on all fours, her irritation truly showing. But before she realized she was naked from the waist down, a hard hand had connected with her bottom. She immediately sat down, just out of his reach.
"Ow."
Matt leaned forward. "And you're acting the part. I'm doing my best to keep you safe. Do you need a repeat of last night?"
"No." Her voice was small.
"Then I suggest you behave."
She sighed. "Okay. I'll call."
"Good girl. Would you like breakfast? It's seven-fifteen."
Meg stared up at him. He was offering to fix breakfast, after she'd acted so childishly? Her eyes welled with tears, and Matt reached for her, wrapping her in his arms.
"Oh, Matt. I'm so sorry."
"Shh. Come here."
She found herself turned toward him as he wrapped her hair into his hand and tilted her head back to receive his kiss. As he pressed her down against the bed, she grinned up into his face. "I love you, Matthew Hart."
"I love you, too, princess." A smile crossed his face as his mouth came down possessively on hers.
Chapter 4
Nikki seemed remarkably happy when Meg called to give her the message.
"I think that's a great idea," she said in her normally perky voice. "Scott isn't here, or I'd have asked him to."
"You're kidding."
"I'm dead serious," Nikki assured her. "I think it's terribly romantic that Matt is so protective of you. You should appreciate it." She began laughing. "Quit rolling your eyes and go get ready. See you later."
Meg stared blankly at the phone as she hung it up. "I swear."
But it wasn't until she stood naked, in front of her closet, that she realized she didn't have the slightest idea what to wear.
"You're not ready yet?" Matt stuck his head around the corner.
"I don't know what to wear."
He began laughing, and she turned to glare at him. "Don't laugh at me. I'm serious."
"Do I need to take you shopping?"
"No time. What would you like me to wear?"
The gleam in his eye answered long before he spoke. "Exactly what you have on." When she whirled around, glaring at him, he grinned. "You asked." As he glanced down at his watch, he nodded. "You'd better make up your mind, princess. You have twenty minutes."
Meg began pulling stuff out of the closet frantically. Looking at each garment, she shook her head and tossed it on the bed. She was still standing there ten minutes later when Matt came back into the room. He calmly walked over and picked up a pair of black leggings and a long ivory top with a sheer overlay.
"Here. Put these on."
Meg took them from him and ran to the bathroom, leaving him standing there and shaking his head. "Can you pick me out a pair of shoes?" She waited a moment. "Matt?"
"Yes, but I'm bringing you a pair with flat heels."
She started to ask why, but she knew the answer. If she'd been wearing flats the night of the class reunion, she might have been able to catch herself.
He brought her glasses to her a moment later. "Do not forget these this time."
Meg picked up her purse and held it out. He promptly grabbed her case for them and put them inside, closing it.
"Good. You look gorgeous. Let's go."
He herded her downstairs and into the car, leaning across her and fastening her seat belt, and Meg leaned upward and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for looking out for me," she said softly.
A wink answered her, and he closed her door, moving around and getting in the driver's side.
The trip out to pick up Nikki on the other side of Kingshighway was out of the way, and he took a shortcut down Country Club Lane until they were outside the city limits.
"Where are you going?" Meg asked curiously.
"It's a short-cut. You'll see."
Nikki looked cute when they picked her up. She had chosen a black tunic and a pair of black slacks. "Why, oh why," she said as she hopped into the back seat, "do we get so bent out of shape over a simple luncheon?"
"Because they were our peers when we were in school and we want to make a good impression. Maybe next time, you and I should wear blue jeans and sweatshirts."
Nikki chuckled. "There won't be a next time. Dr. Hart, have you figured out she has an answer for everything?"
Matt only glanced down at Meg and then back at the road. "You noticed that too, hmm?"
"Funny." She turned to Nikki. "Is my make-up smeared?"
"It's beautiful."
They were quiet as Matt turned to go back the way they had come.
"Whoa," Nikki said from the back seat. "Look."
Meg turned just in time to catch sight of it. A large Victorian looking stone house stood back off the road, protected by wrought-iron gates and a fence that lined the road. A neatly manicured lawn cut in a diagonal pattern adorned the yard.
"Pretty," Meg commented.
"No, you missed it. Look at the stone animals behind the gates."
They had almost passed the next hill, and Meg barely caught sight of them. "What are they?"
"They look like gargoyles to me. There's one up close to the house, too. And the house next door is a funeral home."
"That's where the County Coroner lives," Matt said.
Meg stared at him. "You mean the Coroner, as in Heather's husband?"
He nodded. "Pierce Hicks. Yes."
"There's another building just down one road from it," Nikki added, "with sort of the same décor, but without the gargoyles. It looks like a funeral home, but I didn't see the name on the sign. I wonder if it's owned by the coroner."
Matt glanced in the rear-view mirror. "If they have any connection to Pierce, I don't know it. He's pretty above-board about stuff like that."
"It sounds like it might be a conflict of interest," Meg spoke up thoughtfully.
"Indeed."
They made it to the restaurant with two minutes to spare. Meg reached for the handle on the door as Matt pulled up, and he caught her arm, turning her to face him.
"Keep your phone turned on. I may text you, and if you run into any problems, send me an SOS."
She leaned up to give him a kiss on the mouth. "Yes, Sir. All right, Sir. Whatever you say." She stopped when she saw his face. Leaning upward, she kissed his cheek. "Sorry, Sir," she whispered in response to his raised brow of warning. Quickly, she exited the car.
The others were all there. Nikki was holding the door for her when she reached it. Heather was on her way over to greet them, looking as lovely as she had at the reunion.
"Oh, please come in! I can't tell you how glad I am you're here." She leaned forward. "Andrea was the first one here, and I was so afraid I'd have to spend the whole time talking to her. It's absolutely wonderful to see you." Her voice returned to its normal level. "We're back here," she added, directing them toward the back. "We don't officially open until noon, so we have an hour to just chat with each other. Have a seat, both of you."
The seat next to Andrea was open, and Nikki promptly took it. "Hi, everyone. Sorry, we were almost late. Heather, we passed your house on the way back into town. I didn't realize you lived there."
"The place with the gargoyles?" Heather was laughing. The house belonged to my brother before we moved there. He still owns the funeral home next to it, but we bought the house. They're supposed to be lions, I think. But you couldn't prove it by me. They give me the creeps when I come home at night and it's late. Especially if the remote doesn't work for the gates. She turned back to motion to a young lady who was moving toward them with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. "This is Abby. She's a college student who's just finishing up her master's in biology. I kidnap her to work for me on Saturdays. She'll be taking care of us today."
Heather sat down at the table, and Abby gave them a huge grin. "Welcome. What would you ladies like to drink? Champagne? A glass of wine? Club soda?"
"Just unsweetened tea, thank you," Meg answered first. Nikki ordered coffee and both ordered the house special. She noticed the other ladies were sipping champagne, with the exception of Hannah.
"Be right back with your drinks," Abby said, before leaving.
Heather watched her go. "She's such a good kid. She's one of those who can take a table full of orders and not write anything down. She only lacks three more semesters, but I was lucky to get her to come and work for me."
"She's cute," Amber said softly, before sipping her champagne.
"Coward," Nikki whispered to Meg. "What, no champagne?"
Heather turned to face them. "You should have. The champagne is good."
"Thanks, but I have so much to do when I get home, I don't want to sleep the day away."
Heather nodded. "Ah. I see. Well, I tried to reach Chelsea, since she didn't make it for the reunion, but she never returned my call. I wasn't even sure I had the right number. So, what have you all been doing all week?"
Mellie answered first, "Antique hunting for my shop. I found a one hundred-year-old clock this week. It's actually pretty primitive, but I swear I've been looking for one like it for years. This is the first time I've ever seen one."
"You have an antique shop? I didn't know. It sounds like great fun," Meg said softly. "I don't suppose you have any record changers or old LP records? My husband collects them. I'd love to see it sometime."
"I just went to an estate sale and ended up with thousands. Come by anytime. Honest, I'd love to have you come in and poke around. I'll give you the grand tour. It's three floors."
"I'd probably need to get Matt to make me a list. I'd never attempt to bring an album home without one; it would be sure to be a duplicate."
Mellie nodded. "How many does he have?"
Meg rolled her eyes. "Around three thousand. A room full." She laughed. "You should have seen the house when we married. Records everywhere, nothing in its jacket. But he knew right where everything was. When I cleaned up, he couldn't find anything."
"How does he manage, being a doctor?" Amber was grinning.
"The nurses put everything back. Except on his desk. They don't touch that."
"But he knows where everything is," Nikki put in. "Moral of the story: Don't touch Dr. Hart's desk."
"Oh, bring him in. He needs more records." Mellie was laughing. "My husband is like that too, but the difference is, he can't find anything."
Amber spoke up a moment later. "I've spent the entire week attending one soccer game after another, and they aren't even my kids. I teach piano, and I go to every game I can."
"Your husband doesn't mind you doing that?" Andrea's voice had a scornful tone to it.
Amber's face blanched. It was obvious she wasn't prepared for the question. Averting her gaze, she seemed to hunt for words. "Um… he doesn't know about… all of them."
Meg and Nikki exchanged glances of concern. Something was wrong in Amber's life, something she couldn't share.
Heather seemed to recognize it too. "It's so nice that you're willing to do it. I'll bet the kids appreciate it." She paused, turning toward the others. "Do you all have kids?"
