Missy Meets the Marshal (Lone Star Love Book 2) by Amelia Smarts Read Free Book Online

Do you understand?"
    She grabbed his trouser leg with the hand not trapped in his grip against her waist. "Yes, Grover."
    He continued spanking, focusing on her lower bottom and thighs.
    She spoke in a small voice. "Did you just ask me to marry you?"
    "Yes, Missy."
    "You asked me to marry you while spanking me, Grover?" Her small voice grew louder with outrage, and she spoke his name at the end in a high-pitched squeal.
    Grover paused and laughed, causing him to loosen his grip on her waist. Missy used the opportunity to push off of him in an attempt to escape, but he caught her and planted her back over his thighs. Holding her in place, he continued the spanking.
    "This is how naughty girls who lie to the marshal get proposed to, Missy. Good girls get a proposal from a man on bent knee along with a ring. Naughty girls get a proposal over a man's bent knee along with a burning backside. What's your answer, young lady?"
    After a few more smacks, she responded in tight voice, "I'll marry you."
    He settled his hand on her hot bottom and caressed it in circles. She remained stiff over his lap. "Hey." He brushed her hair to one side and turned her head so he could look at her face, which betrayed her hurt feelings. "Aw, honey. I'll get you a ring too. Okay?"
    She sniffled and gave him a watery-eyed smile. "'Okay. Thank you."
    He felt her relax over his lap and he smiled. "I'll be a good husband to you, Missy, and a good father to Lou. It won't make any difference that she's Nathan's daughter."
    Her body stiffened again and she burst into loud sobs. He rubbed her back. Instead of his touch calming her down, her cries grew louder.
    Grover gathered her into a hug on his lap. "What is it, Missy? What's wrong?"
    She cried into her hands. "Grover, you said you don't want me to hide anything from you. I want to obey, but I'm so afraid. I'm afraid you'll reject me, and I don't think I could bear it now."
    He squeezed her tight. "I won't reject you. I understand who you are. Look, honey. I know how to figure out two things—guns and people. And I've figured you for a good person. Whatever you think is too horrible to tell me, it won't be. Let me prove it to you."
    Missy wiped away some of her tears. "When I traveled with Nathan and his gang, I was the only woman. I thought Nathan would protect my honor. But he and his three men played poker one night around the campfire, and Nathan ran out of money. So he bet me, his wife. He lost, and that night he allowed the winner to be alone with me."
    Grover's hands froze in place around her. He wasn't expecting that. He felt horrified with each new piece of information Missy gave him about Nathan.
    "It didn't happen only once. It happened more than once and with more than one man. I don't know who Lou's real father is." Missy cried in earnest. "You can take back the proposal, Grover. I'll understand."
    Grover remained quiet, trying to understand how a man could pass his wife around to other men. It didn't register as possible for a man to do. He knew Nathan was a scourge on society, but some of the most evil men he knew still protected their family. Nathan was a monster, he realized, and far more evil than he ever thought.
    Missy's sobs grew louder, and he became aware that he needed to comfort her. He tightened his arms around her. "Shhh. It wasn't your fault, honey. It doesn't change how I feel, and unlike your first husband, I'll always respect and protect you. That much I can promise."
    She sniffled and wiped the tears off her cheek. "You still want to marry me, Grover?"
    He stroked her arms clad in his shirt, which was much too big for her. The sleeves were longer than her arms, and her hands weren't visible. He chuckled. "You look so cute and little in my shirt." He pushed up a sleeve, caught her hand, and pressed his lips against it, looking into her eyes as he did. He gave her hand three more quick kisses, then said, "Yeah, Missy, I want to marry you. You sure you want to marry me?"
    A smile