Free Claiming His Wife by Golden Angel

revealed about his spanking
tendencies.  If Irene had been gazing at him in such a manner,
Grace would have bristled, but from Cynthia it didn't feel
threatening at all.  
    "Lord Brooke," she said, very
prettily, standing and dropping into a brief curtsy, proving that
she could behave when she wanted to.  
    Alex studied her in that somber,
serious way of his, before giving her a slight bow in return, from
the doorway.  "Miss Bryant, a pleasure."  His eyes
returned to Grace before he backed slightly out of the room, giving
Edwin space to reach for the door again. 
    "We'll be in the library
till dinner,” Edwin said to his wife, giving her a last, soft smile
before closing the door behind him.
    With the door safely shut between
herself and her husband, Grace began to breathe again.
 
    "Wonderful!" trilled Cynthia as she
returned to her seat.  "A whole meal without having to talk
about the wedding!"  She rolled her eyes.  "The Countess
is relentless."
    ******
    Gathered in the billiards room, Wesley
quickly claimed Alex as a partner, while Hugh and Edwin paired up.
Neither of them had played with Alex back in London, so they didn’t
realize what a smashing player he was. Wesley and Alex trounced
them for the first game, as Wesley had always been a keen billiards
player as well, and Hugh and Edwin had demanded a change of
partners for the second game. Both of them were reasonably good
players, but Wesley and Alex excelled at the trickiest shots and
angles.
    Conversation, which had been mostly
about the game itself, began to turn round to the ladies down the
hall. Alex had enjoyed seeing Grace with the other women, smiling
and laughing as if she was one of them in more ways than just
friendship. The others were all happy wives and he wanted her to be
one too. Perhaps their influence was just what she
needed.
    “I’m glad you and Grace could make it
in for the wedding,” said Wesley, coming to stand beside him while
Edwin took a shot. His slightly raised brows also indicated his
surprise that he’d gotten Grace to accompany him at all. “I was
surprised you came together.”
    “It took some convincing on my part,”
he said. Hugh tilted his head, watching them from across the table
and obviously listening in. Only Edwin seemed to be focusing on the
billiards table, finding the perfect angle for his shot. “But she
seems to be coming round.” He hesitated for only a moment before
continuing. Part of him didn’t want to share too much of his
marital life with Grace, but another part recognized that these men
all had much more experience in administering discipline to their
wives and so far that was where he felt he’d made the most progress
in regards to Grace. “I ah… disciplined her on the
trip.”
    The balls on the billiards table
clicked, one of them sinking into the far pocket as Edwin
straightened, raising his dark brows at Alex. “Not to force her
compliance I hope?”
    Although the question was mild, there
was an undercurrent of danger there if Alex answered incorrectly.
None of these men would take it kindly if Alex was spanking Grace
for anything other than deserved punishments. From someone else he
might have taken offense, but he knew that Edwin and the others
only had Grace’s best interests at heart and he couldn’t be upset
about that.
    “For cursing at me and insulting me,”
he answered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hugh nod his
approval. “I won’t tolerate that, even if she’s still angry at me.
Which she is, but I would never punish her for her feelings, only
for the way she expresses them if she becomes disrespectful or
rude.” He felt the need to explain that. Even though Edwin, Hugh
and Wesley were all his friends, they hadn’t known him as long as
they’d known each other, and he wanted them to completely
understand where he was coming from.
    “That’s good,” said Hugh, giving him a
sympathetic smile. “She’s probably going to be holding a grudge
against you for