Staking Their Claim by Ava Sinclair Read Free Book Online Page B

could not do that; she was his charge, he was not yet her husband, and he could tell by her movements that she was an innocent, totally unaware of the affect her gyrations were having.
    With a heavy hand, he pinned her in place again, this time leveling the blow directly on that tender crease of skin between her bottom and her thighs. Jenny, unable to slide backwards, shot forward, sending the platter of biscuits tumbling to the floor. Her legs were churning wildly, and Nigel could see everything now. With a gruff word for her to hold still, he brought down the cane for the sixth and final time, ready now to end both their misery.
    “There, there,” he said as he tossed the cane onto the table and enfolded her in his arms. “We’ve no more need for such unpleasant business.”
    She was sobbing against his chest so fiercely, all he could do was sink into the chair and pull her to him, swallowing hard as she immediately curled into his lap. He could feel the heat of her punished bare bottom pressing against his hard cock and shifted to alleviate the throbbing want building in his balls. She was seeking comfort now—innocent comfort—and nothing more. He held her to him, dropping a kiss to the top of her blond head as he soothed her.
    Nigel could have held her all day like that, but once again he told himself that the whole point of this exercise had been to teach her a lesson that was yet to be finished. Once her sobs had subsided, he tipped her off his lap and asked her if she’d like to try again to obey as he knew she could.
    “You’ll look so lovely in your frock,” he said. “So why don’t you go get dressed, and if you’re still hungry, we’ll put this whole matter behind us.”
    Jenny stood, clearly defeated, and nodded her head. She sniffled sadly as she left the room. Nigel retrieved the biscuits from where they’d fallen, suddenly grateful that both he and Cody kept a tidy house. Back home, he’d have never entertained the thought of consuming something that had touched the floor. But here, where food was scarce and there was no guarantee that flour would be available, they couldn’t afford to be picky.
    He was dusting the last of the biscuits off when Jenny finally reentered the room. He’d not called after her this time, knowing she’d be wearing the dress he’d picked. As expected, she looked lovely in her pink frock that matched the flush in her cheeks. She’d even managed to braid her hair, tying a little bow at the end of each braid. She was, he decided, the perfect picture of a chastened little girl as she walked stiffly and painfully to the table.
    “May I eat standing?” she asked, her manner sedate. Nigel noted that she did not meet his eyes, but seemed unusually shy.
    “No,” he said firmly but gently. “If you disobey, you endure the full effects of your folly.” He pulled the chair out and she glanced up at him with trepidation before sinking onto the hard seat with a pitiful whimper.
    They ate in silence, and Nigel was pleased to see that Jenny cleared her plate. The diminutive waif he’d scrubbed and spanked had a healthy woman’s appetite for food. As he pondered the glimpse of her wet pussy, he wondered if that appetite would extend to more carnal fare.
    He was eager to find out once he could establish himself not just as her guardian, but as her suitor.

Chapter Six: Twice the Confusion
     
     
    When Nigel had sent Jenny to her room that second time, she’d shut the door and walked immediately to the looking glass that stood in the corner, seeing herself as she decided the Englishman saw her; with some strands of her long hair plastered to her flushed face by tears, her red-rimmed eyes, and childish nightgown, she looked every inch the chastened little girl.
    “They treat me like a child,” she said to the forlorn reflection, but even as she spoke, she silently wondered if they knew her secret. Her bottom—so excruciatingly sore from welts she now traced with her