His Good Girl (15 page)

"It's nothing," she whispered.

I frowned as she dropped her eyes again and turned away. "You look at me right now, Cara Sims. Now, tell me what you were saying."

"It's… well, when I first met her, Amber told me about your parents, and how they'd had this whirlwind romance—kind of like us, I guess. And she sort of made it sound like, well, like you'd want to get married the same way they did."

"What are you saying to me right now?" I asked, genuinely perplexed. "Are you telling me that Amber convinced you to marry me?"

"No, of course not. I
wanted
to marry you."

"But Amber… she was the reason you just had to get married right away?" I clarified.

"Well, it sounds pretty bad when you put it that way, but yeah, I guess."

I paused, trying to take it all in. "You told me that you'd never been more sure of anything in your life."

Cara squirmed in my lap, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Why did you wait so long to tell me this? Hell, why didn't you tell me
six
months ago, when it happened?"

"I-I didn't realize… I thought she was my friend."

Confusion gave way to anger and suddenly, I was seething—though I wasn't sure whom I was angrier with; Cara, for keeping this secret from me, or Amber, for being her usual bratty, manipulative self. She'd been playing Daddy's little girl and going unchecked for so long that I doubted she even knew such behavior was wrong.

I didn't speak until I was sure I could keep my frustration under control. "It seems to me like right after we got married, you started being distant. Am I to understand that this is the reason why?"

"I'm sorry," she blurted. "I never meant to let that happen. I just… I was so shocked, and I felt tricked…"

"But not by me."

"I know. I'm really sorry, Kevin. I shouldn't have pulled away like that."

"No, you shouldn't have," I agreed. "And more importantly, you should have talked to me about it."

"I know."

"Do you, Cara? Do you understand that
we
have to come first? No matter what?" I said.

"I-I'm starting to, I think."

"Good. Now, tell me the rest."

"The rest?" she echoed weakly.

"Come on, Cara. I don't pretend to think I know everything about you, but I've learned a few things. You're wound tighter than a spring right now, and if that had been everything, you would be more relaxed by now. So, come on, out with it."

She was slow to get started, and stammered at first, but once she'd begun she picked up steam, and soon I was getting the full story about how Amber had worked to forge a false friendship, seemingly all so she could be the one to drop the devastating bombshell that I'd been married before. I swallowed hard upon hearing it, feeling awful that my sister had used my own cowardice to hurt my wife.

"I can't apologize for that enough," I murmured, kissing her silky head.

"I know, I know, I wasn't trying to… we've already talked about that."

"I know, and you were unbelievably forgiving, but I just want you to know, I'd pay any amount for a time machine so I could go back and do things differently. To be honest, I was afraid I'd lose you once you knew, and then it seemed ridiculous that I'd waited so long to tell you."

"You could never lose me," she said, snuggling close.

I tightened my arms around her gratefully, inhaling the sweet, flowery scent of her shampoo. "Is that why you and Amber are so at odds?"

"Well, it's part of it," she admitted.

"What's the rest?"

"Ah, well… You know she got here before I got off work… and I guess she was snooping through my stuff," Cara began.

"I see. And what did she find?"

"Um, a pregnancy test. It was negative," she rushed to assure me.

"Thank God." I immediately regretted my words when I saw how Cara blanched. "I mean, that would be great," I said quickly. "
One
day. But do you really think we're ready now?"

"I don't know," she mumbled.

"I promise, I do want a family with you, honey. But to be honest; I don't think I'm ready. Not yet."

"Are you sure?"

The doubt in her voice nearly broke my heart. "Of course I'm sure, baby. Don't you believe me?"

"Of course I do," she said, in a small, little-girl voice as she sniffled. "It's just… well, Amber said…"

"Oh, let me guess," I groaned. "Go ahead."

"She said… well, she acted like… like you didn't want a baby with me." Her sentence ended with a sob and I scooped her up, cradling her in my arms.

"That's not true," I whispered, kissing her forehead. "That's not true at all, and Amber knows it."

"Then why would she say something like that?"

"Because she's jealous."

"Of what?" she asked.

"Of you, my beautiful bride."

"Me?" She uttered an incredulous laugh. "Why would she ever be jealous of
me
?"

"Oh, Cara." I sighed. "When will you ever see what everyone else does? Because you're beautiful and smart and successful. Because you're kind and tender-hearted on top of all of that. Amber is jealous of anyone she thinks might be better than her—she has to be Queen Bee in every situation. Even with my wife, it would seem. And if she thinks you might somehow have something she doesn't, well…"

"You really think all those things? About me?"

I hugged her as tight as I could. "You're all that and so much more," I promised, kissing her right on the lips.

Our kiss was passionate and deep, not to mention long overdue. When we pulled apart, she had the smallest of smiles curving her lips, and some of the light was back in her eyes.

"Now it's my turn to tell you something," I said.

"Mmm?"

"You know that Karen and I were married for three years. Obviously, we haven't really talked about it, and there's a reason for that. It's painful for me to remember."

"Kevin, you don't have to—"

"Yes, I do. I should have told you all of this already. The thing is, Karen and I were very happy together. It's strange to say that, considering, but we were. We weren't planning on starting a family anytime soon—she was happy with her career, and we were enjoying being just the two of us. But when she got pregnant, we were excited and immediately started making plans. Then, when she lost the baby… well, everything changed."

"Oh, God, Kevin. I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Cara said.

"You couldn't have."

"That must have been awful."

"It was. I was sad, too, but Karen… she changed after that. It seemed like no matter what I did, it upset her. She stopped going to work, and more often than not, I'd come home and find her crying in the dark. I wanted to work through it, I would have done anything…"

"So what happened?"

"She left me. She said it wasn't me, but I've always thought that there must have been
something
I could have done, something I should have said to bring her back to me."

"I'm sure that isn't true."

"Well…" I smiled sadly and shrugged, "it was a long time ago, and there's no sense in speculating. But I still should have told you, and I'm sorry I didn't."

"It's all right."

"I hope you understand now why I want to wait. I guess I've been afraid of history repeating itself."

"I love you." She didn't say anything else, but curled up on my lap and let me hold her. I caressed her hair, lost in my memories, until I heard her soft voice pipe up. "Are you still going to spank me?"

"Do you still want me to?"

"Not really. I mean, I know it'll hurt… but I think maybe you should."

"Why's that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Because I was disrespectful the other day. I could tell you wanted to spank me, but you didn't, and everything has felt 'off' between us lately. I thought that maybe… maybe if you spanked me, things might get back on track."

"Okay."

"Okay?" she echoed, a strain of nervousness creeping into her voice.

"Yes, I think you're right. Put yourself over my lap, babe," I told her.

She looked at me with wide eyes, nervously biting her lip. It took everything I had not to remind her that she'd
asked
for the spanking, but I didn't think she'd appreciate being teased right now. I was patient, however, and though she took it slowly, eventually she was lying face-down over my lap. I readjusted her until her bottom was in prime spanking position before resting my hand on her backside. She flinched at my touch and I couldn't help but chuckle. "I haven't even started yet, honey," I said gently.

"Well, hurry up so it can be over."

"Just remember that you asked for it."

***

Cara

I'd already started to regret asking for the spanking before it even started. I regretted it even more when he began to pepper my bottom with quick, light spanks that quickly turned serious. I squirmed as my skin began to heat up, whimpers escaping my lips when the warmth intensified. "Ow!" I moaned, after a particularly hard spank to my thigh. "It hurts!"

"I know, baby."

"I've had enough!" I screeched, as more hard spanks fell on my thighs.

"You said you wanted to make this right," Kevin reminded me without pausing. "And that means that
I
decide when this spanking is over." As if to make his point, his hand seemed to become harder than ever as it connected with my tender orbs.

"I know!" I whined. "But does it have to be so
hard
?"

"I'm afraid so, honey." He picked up speed and before long, all that could be heard in the room was the loud smack of his hand against my bottom and my gasps and grunts of pain.

I wasn't able to remain silent. Soon, I was sniffling as the heat in my buttocks intensified. As his hand smacked again and again, my sniffles became tears, which then morphed into sobs. The fire he'd stoked in my backside scorched so deep I doubted I'd ever sit comfortably again. And when he stopped and let me sit up—I cried out the moment my tender rear hit his hard thigh—I said as much.

"Oh, baby," he said, chuckling as he kissed my tears away. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

"That sounds promising," I grumbled.

"Look, sweetheart, I know you asked for this spanking, and I appreciate you wanting to get back on the right foot. But if you don't want to do this going forward, I understand. We'll find another way to make things work."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I think this works for us," I admitted.

"Yeah?" He grinned down at me.

"Yeah. As strange as it sounds, as much as my butt hurts right now, I feel better. I know it doesn't make any sense, but…"

"It does to me," he assured me, hugging me tight. "You're a very special girl, Cara Sims. You know that?"

"So I've been told." I giggled.

"Well, I'll tell you again. Hell, I'll tell the whole damn world."

I smiled up at him, feeling more relaxed than I had in weeks. I was really glad that he'd insisted I open up to him, glad that he'd opened up in return. And I'd meant what I said; as painful as the spanking had been, I felt closer to him than ever.

"I love you," Kevin told me, his brown eyes warm and full of light as he looked at me.

I tilted my head up, and he obliged by kissing me. I was about to answer him when I heard the front door creak open. Immediately I felt myself tense, knowing that Amber was back.

"Shh, don't you worry about her. I don't want you to worry about a thing, understand?" he said.

"Yes, sir."

"I like the way that sounds on your lips, babydoll." He planted another kiss on my lips. "Now, excuse me for a moment."

"Wait." I clung to his shirt, shaking my head. "Please, don't. Not tonight. Stay with me."

"Cara—"

"Please," I begged piteously.

"Not tonight," he conceded finally. "But I
will
deal with this, understand?"

"I understand. Just stay with me tonight." I leaned forward and kissed him, nibbling his bottom lip playfully. "Besides, I see you so rarely these days, I'd almost forgotten what you taste like."

"Well, what do you say we rectify that?" He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the bed before playfully tossing me onto the mattress. When he reached for me, I scrambled away laughing. His eyes were full of excitement as he proceeded to chase me around our room, but we both knew he would win in the end. We both knew that I wanted to be caught.

***

When I woke up the next morning I rolled over to see that the space beside me was empty. I patted it and smiled, remembering how wonderful the previous night had been. I still felt deliciously satisfied and dearly loved. Stretching out on the bed, I enjoyed a few more minutes under the covers, unable to stop smiling. It had been too long since we'd had that kind of evening, and I hoped to repeat it soon—
very
soon. Maybe even this morning, in fact.