Royal Discipline Read Online Free Page A

not fair to spank someone every night whether they deserve it or not.”
    “And yet there are those who swear by the practice. When I wed, I’ll certainly subject my wife to nightly spankings. What better way to underline the husband and wife’s complementary roles? The husband is able to assert his dominance, and the wife is able to show her submission to his will.”
    “That’s ridiculous,” Violet said, kicking again, for all the good it did her. “When I’m wed, I shall be the dominant one, the head of our relationship. I shall be the queen.”
    “You won’t be the queen until your father dies,” the duke retorted. “And he is in impressive health.” His hand stroked over her bottom, in a way that both discomfited and shocked her. “I daresay your husband will give you any number of spankings despite your royal title. Men tend to fancy themselves head of the household, even if their wife is a princess or queen.”
    “Not the man I marry.”
    “Very well. You may work that out with him in the future. For now, I imagine you are owed a lifetime’s worth of spankings, so we might as well begin.”
    The lazy caresses stopped, and his great hand fell upon her bottom with shocking, stinging force.
    “Oh,” she cried, panicking in earnest. “You mustn’t—”
    But the monster did. He spanked her again and again in that sharp, stinging way, delivering blows that resonated with heat. When she tried to squirm away, he merely held her harder—and spanked her harder—until she decided it best to desist.
    But oh, to lie there under that barrage of endless spanks! Until now, it had been the idea of punishment that horrified her. Now it was the actual pain, the violent sounds and sensations, yes, and the exposure, but mostly the pain. She had not believed even a severe punishment could hurt this badly. And he planned to spank her like this every night?
    She began to cry again, choking, miserable sobs between each squeal of protest. He did not have to spank her that hard. He did not have to spank her at all! Just when she thought she couldn’t bear another moment of the torment, his busy hand came to rest. He smoothed it over her burning bottom cheeks.
    “That’s all for tonight,” he said.
    Violet went limp with relief. His hand on her bottom felt strangely soothing, even with the lingering pain. After he rubbed her bottom for a while, he reached to caress her hair with a light, fleeting touch.
    “There, you see,” he said. “You feel calmer now, and you have a better idea of what to expect.”
    For one moment, she wished to get angry again, to rail at him that she was not calm...but she felt too calm to do it.
    No, not calm. Rather, she felt tired, tired of fighting him, tired of fighting her fate. Later, after she’d rested, she could resist him again, but for now, his caresses felt too good. His soothing voice quieted the maelstrom in her mind. After another few moments, he brushed her skirts down and righted her in his lap.
    “I’ll not require you to attend me at dinner,” he said. “I’ll have Mrs. Mulgrew bring you a tray. I suggest you use the remainder of the evening to rest and consider the many things I’ve told you. Tomorrow we’ll begin your training in earnest. By the end of our sojourn together, I promise you shall always feel as calm and focused as you feel right now.”
    She gazed into his eyes, wanting to refute him. Wanting to hate him. Instead, at the slightest pressure from his palm, she leaned her head forward against his shoulder and let out a long, miserable breath.
    “I’m tired,” she whispered. “I want to go home.”
    “I know, darling.” He set her up straight again and cupped her chin. “Things will look clearer in the coming days. And you will, eventually, go home.”
    Those words sustained her, helped her hold herself together until he left the room. Once he was gone, she went to the bed and threw herself upon it, and shed more tears into the soft,