Claiming His Wife (2 page)

Grace was already filling her plate,
her focus completely on the food in front of them rather than
looking at him.  With an inward sigh, Alex supposed it was
enough that she wasn't throwing the food at his head.
 

They ate in complete
silence.

In fact, Grace didn't make a single
noise, speak a single word, until he started to follow her into the
carriage.  Already seated upon the bench, she whipped her head
back around from where she'd already been looking out the window,
her large blue eyes even wider than usual.

"What are you doing?" she asked
sharply, her voice laced with shock.  Alex had thought it was
pretty obvious was he was doing, but he answered her
anyway.

"I thought I might join
you in the carriage for the afternoon," he said, keeping his tone
as amiable as possible, but also firm.  He turned his head,
giving Rose a jerking nod at the other carriage which was carrying
several of the other servants. The maid turned, leaving him to
climb in with Grace.

Firmly planting himself on
the bench across from her, his legs stretched out, taking up as
much space as possible. The carriage door shut and Grace hissed,
like a cat whose fur had just been ruffled the wrong way.  In
fact, she looked very much like that cat.  Alex ignored
her.

There was a long silence
between them, and then the carriage rocked as it began moving.
 He looked at Grace as she looked out the window, studying the
tense muscle in her jaw, the long line of her throat, the way her
breasts heaved as she sucked in air through her nose, and the tiny
fists that were balled on her lap.  It had been a long time
since he'd been able to look at his wife this way, to examine her
so minutely.  There were small changes in her body, although
she'd only become more beautiful with age, but the largest changes
weren’t immediately visible. 

At one time they would have sat side
by side in this carriage, talking and laughing, and she would have
pressed herself against him while he wrapped his arm around her
shoulders.  One time he'd even made love to her in a carriage.
 After a ball, on their honeymoon, he'd pulled up her skirts
and taken her right then and there, because he couldn't wait till
they'd returned to the hotel, his passion for her had been so
great.

"Stop looking at me like
that."

Alex raised his eyebrow.  As far
as he could tell, Grace's attention hadn't strayed from the window.
 But then again, he hadn't been looking at her expression just
now.  His eyes rose back to her face, noting the pink tinge to
her cheeks. 

"What do you mean?" he asked, although
he knew very well what she meant.  He'd been looking at her
the way a man looks at a woman, at his wife.  The way a man
looks at a woman who has been in his bed and found pleasure
there.

"It's making my skin crawl."  She
shuddered, to emphasize her point.

Although the little barb pricked, the
way she'd meant it to, he couldn't help but wonder if her attack
was more of a defense.  There was certainly something about
the tilt of her chin, the way she was holding herself, that made
him feel as though she was trying to protect herself from
something.  From him.  Hope kindled in his chest.
 She wasn't as indifferent as she pretended to be.
 Perhaps she didn't hate him as much as she seemed
to.

"I would think you've become used to
men looking at you like that," he murmured.  Grace's eyes
snapped to his face, flashing blue fire, before she tore them away
again.  Her pretty rosebud of a mouth was wound up tight and
pinched.  As he watched it slowly smoothed and relaxed, as if
she was pulling down a mask over her face.  "Many men enjoy
looking at a beautiful woman."

"Many men enjoy doing quite a bit more
than that."

A reference to her lovers.
 He wasn't surprised.  Jealousy had become a part of his
everyday life after she'd left him, but he'd always considered it
just punishment.  After all, he'd been the one to drive her to
that point.

"You would know, I
suppose."

To his surprise, Grace flinched.
 Her eyes slid over to him again, wary and defensive.
 

"I didn't take a lover till you took a
mistress," she said, obviously expecting him to argue.
 

"I know."

Her mouth opened and shut,
surprise flitting across her face.  Apparently he'd rendered
her speechless.  Something that he hadn't thought possible.
 The carriage rocked as she looked back out the window, her
brow creased in thought at his revelation.  Her face was
closed, impassive again, and he couldn't read what she was
thinking.  It nagged at him, even as he recognized the irony,
considering that many among the
ton
called him "Stone Face" for the same
reason.

Alex knew that many of his desires
were improbable.  He wanted his younger wife back, the
trusting young woman whose expression had always been open, whose
moments of bitterness were constantly turned to lightness at the
drop of the hat.  There had always been a bit of a dark core
to Grace, behind her laughing face.  Alex assumed her father
was somewhat responsible for that; the man hadn't cared overmuch
for his daughter, before or after her marriage.  If it hadn't
been for Alex's intervention, the Duke would have had her
ostracized once she separated from Alex.  

But the man had respected Alex's
wishes when it came to dealing with his wife.

However badly he'd gone
about doing it.  Now was the time to fix that though.
 He'd seen the marriages his friends had procured for
themselves; remarkably similar to the marriage he'd once thought to
have.  The main difference, it seemed, was that they spanked
their wives when the women became unreasonable or acted
inappropriately.  If Alex had given Grace time to calm down
the very first time that she’d first ranted at him, if he’d
swallowed his foolish pride and actually followed her and spanked
her until she talked to him about whatever the problem was, maybe
they could have avoided the misery that they'd made of their
marriage.

It was by no means
entirely her fault, but nor was it his.  Still, he assumed the
burden of responsibility.  After all, he was older, should
have been wiser, and was the head of the household.  It was
past time to start making up for their mistakes and establish a new
world order. He’d originally come to London this year hoping to
speak with her, hoping to end the stalemate, and then he’d seen his
friends’ marriages and he’d begun to realize what he needed to do.
Now it was time to put their advice and suggestions into
action.

"Grace..."  His voice
trailed off and then firmed as she ignored him.  "Grace, look
at me."  He could see the reluctance in her as she turned her
head to face him once again.  At least she'd obeyed, even if
the eyes that met his were entirely devoid of sparkle.  They
were practically doll's eyes, dead and empty.  "I'm not going
to hold your lovers against you.  I want a fresh start for
both of us.  Our marriage needs to move forward, not dwell in
the past."

The suggestion sparked an immediate
response, but not at all the one he was expecting.  Honestly,
he'd thought that she'd be relieved he was being so reasonable,
that she would at least grudgingly agree to such a tactic.
 Instead, her eyes came to life with fiery anger, her lip
curling in a gorgeous, derisive sneer.  She was suddenly so
much more alive, as if his words had lit a flame inside of her.
 

"Your mistresses don't concern me,"
she spat the words out, showing them for the lie they were.
 "But I have no interest in starting anew with you.  Why
won't you just leave me alone?"

Alex felt his expression harden, knew
it was turning into the dark, rock-like features for which he was
known.  It was the easiest way for him to hide his emotions.
 "Because you're my wife."

"Well, I don't want to be
anymore!  Honestly, how dense do you have to be?  A rock
has more capacity for both emotions and intelligence than you
do!"

That was it.  While
he was willing to make some allowances for her anger, since she was
obviously still holding a grudge, outright disrespect he would not
tolerate.  If starting fresh wasn't acceptable to her, then he
would have to impose himself on her life until she came to realize
that he wasn't going away and that he also wasn't going to tolerate
rude behavior on her part.  While he couldn't control how she
felt about him, he could at least control how she treated
him.

He'd seen how his friends curbed their
wives' behavior, and how effective it was.  He'd allowed Grace
to run amok for far too long, showing no outright interest in how
she behaved.  Perhaps she thought he didn't care, the way a
spoiled child would run rampant, trying to find boundaries.
 Well, Alex was going to set some.  Starting now.
 

Quick as a snake, he grabbed Grace's
hand and used the momentum of the carriage to pull her across the
dividing space and over his lap.  Her shriek of shock and
outrage didn't detract from the rush of pleasure that he got from
touching her.  Especially once she was pressed against him,
her bottom high in the air.  

THUMP!

The layers of her skirt were
definitely in the way.  Alex immediately understood why Hugh
had insisted on a bare bottom spanking.  It was obvious that,
while she was frozen with shock, the blow had barely touched her
through all those layers of skirt. 

"Alex, what the
hell?!"

Insults and now cursing,
which was not at all befitting of a lady.  Grace wriggled on
his lap, trying to squirm away, and igniting a response that she
probably wouldn't have expected.  Then again, just being near
her aroused him, actually having her softness pressed against his
lap and cock would have tried a saint.

"I told you Grace, we're starting our
marriage over.  While I understand that you may still be angry
about some things, and I accept that, I will no longer tolerate
certain behavior from you.  Insults and cursing are both
included in that."  Ignoring her squeal and the way her nails
were digging into his leg, through his pants, he flipped her skirts
up.  

She was wearing pantaloons beneath,
but that was fine.  The fabric was thin.  He'd allow her
some small protection, since this was the first time, and he knew
that he was already pushing her quite a bit.  

SMACK!

The sound of his hand impacting her
flesh through one layer of fabric was much more satisfying than
through her skirts.  Grace cried out, struggling wildly now.
 Holding her firmly, his arm resting on her back and his hand
gripping the far side of her waist, Alex started to spank her,
doing his best to keep the blows evenly spaced across her bottom.
 

"There will be no more
insults."

SMACK!

"There will be no more
cursing."

SMACK!

"You will be civil if nothing
else."

SMACK!

"We will work out our issues in
private."

SMACK!"

"In public we will present a united
front."

SMACK!

"And there will definitely be no more
men," he said fiercely, allowing his emotions to bleed
through. 

SMACK!  SMACK!  SMACK!
 SMACK!

Grace was howling, crying,
kicking.  He could feel the heat emanating off of her bottom
through the thin fabric of her pantaloons, and just barely see a
pink glow.  This wasn't a particularly hard spanking, but it
was certainly more than she'd ever experienced.  He knew that
her father had never employed any means of discipline; Grace had
said he tended to ignore his daughters unless he wanted something
from them.  

"There will be no more women for me,
either."

"Alex, stop, please!  Owwww, Alex
stop!"

SMACK!  SMACK!
 SMACK!

"Do you agree?"

"Stop, pleeeeeeeeease, it hurts, Alex,
stop!"

"I need you to agree to my terms,
Grace."

SMACK!  SMACK!
 SMACK!

"I agree!  I agree!"

Immediately, Alex stopped spanking
her.  He could feel the sobs that were wracking her frame, and
he suddenly realized that he'd never seen her cry.  The need
to soothe her was almost overwhelming.  Lifting her up, he sat
her on his lap, letting her squirm and wriggle as much as needed to
be comfortable sitting on his thighs when her bottom was probably
burning.  Digging a handkerchief out of his pocket, he wiped
at her tears, cradling her with his other arm as he murmured about
how pleased he was that she'd agreed.

Ignoring his aching erection wasn't
pleasant, but it was worth it just to have her in his arms
again.

******

Confusion swamped Grace as her tears
overwhelmed her. The spanking had hurt, it surely had, but it
shouldn't be making her feel like this.  The skin of her
bottom burned, sparks flaring as she tried to find a comfortable
way to sit on Alex's hard thighs.  

She shouldn't be enjoying having his
arms around her, she really shouldn't, but it felt so good to be
held and comforted while she cried.  It was not something she
had much experience with.  Crying had never done any good when
she was growing up, mostly it got her banished back to the nursery
where her father wouldn't have to look at her tears, and so she'd
soon learned not to.  The last time she'd really cried had
been the night she'd left Alex, and even those tears had dried
fairly quickly, because she'd been well aware how useless they
were.