Free Second Time Lucky (Club Decadence Book 5) by Maddie Taylor

little preview.” She glanced over her shoulder seeing him reach toward the nightstand and pick up her hairbrush.
    “I’ve learned my lesson. I swear,” she burst out in a rush. Applied to an already hot and stinging behind, she knew the brush, although made of lightweight hollow plastic, was going to light her up further.
    He settled back into place, rubbing the wide plastic back against her inflamed skin. It felt cool, which was wonderful, but she doubted it would last long.
    “I heard your fear through the phone. I wanted to hold you, protect you, instead I felt helpless. The only thing I could do was wait until you got home. I couldn’t stop thinking of what that bastard could have done to you.”
    She sniffled as tears threatened. Rarely, if ever did she cry, learning long ago that they were a useless waste of time. These, however, were inspired by guilt over worrying Sean, rather than by some injustice done to her, and therein lay the difference. She blinked rapidly trying to keep them at bay.
    “When I make a rule to keep you safe, you will follow it. Without question. It’s not arbitrary because I’m trying to control you, or I’m a hardass or a worrywart. It’s because I have legitimate concerns about your safety. The other reason is that I love you, Mara, and want you with me, full of sass and sweetness, for a very long time. Your butt is paying the price of disobedience tonight because I want to make sure there isn’t a second time where you pay with something more costly, like your life.”
    “Oh, Lucky.” Her breath hitched, her words coming out with a stutter as a rare tear rolled down her cheek. It was followed by another and another, until a steady stream flowed and dripped off her chin. “You’re right; I was tired and put myself at risk because I was eager to get home. I thought I was invincible after going six years without an incident.”
    “You also thought I was being overprotective.”
    She nodded, wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her hands. “I’m probably stupid for admitting this, but I had another option. Brent offered to take his break early and walk me out. I turned him down.”
    “The six and a half foot tall, two hundred fifty pound bruiser of an orderly I met at the employee picnic? Hell, Mara!”
    “I told you to show how really contrite I am, Sean. I’m sorry that my selfishness caused you to worry.”
    “I’m proud of you for being honest, and I can tell you are sorry. It goes a long way in easing my worry about a second offense. You’ll get ten with the brush as a reminder.”
    The first swat colliding with the lower curve of one cheek said the time for talking was over. The impact was solid, the resonant crack echoing sharply off the walls and wood flooring. He applied it steadily with an alternating pattern syncopated by the moans and grunts that broke from her lips. By the fifth smack, she added her feet, thumping them in a flurry against the mattress. At the eighth, a sustained “ow” joined in and when he reached the tenth, a discordant “holy shit” burst free.
    Two more spanks followed, harder than their predecessors, in a critique of her color commentary no doubt.
    She heard a clatter on the nightstand seconds before his hands found her waist and he flipped her once again, setting her astride his thighs. Her hands flew back to her burning ass at the same time his hands cupped her face. “Can you tell the difference between a correction and play now, Mara?”
    “Yes, Sir.” She bit back several sassy retorts because his emotions remained raw and it wasn’t smart to poke an already irritated bear.
    “Good, I expect this lesson won’t ever need repeating.” He took her mouth in a fast, hard kiss, before cradling her against his chest. When his hands slid down to her bottom, he pushed her hands aside. “No rubbing after punishment, unless it’s by me.”
    He proceeded to do exactly that, his big palms gliding gently, soothing the skin he’d