Magical Mayhem (13 page)

Megan looked around in surprise. "Is this it? The location is terrible!" she announced, thoroughly surprised.

"No, this isn't it," Montague told her, his voice full of anger.

"Then why are we here? Is something wrong with the car?"

"No, Megan, nothing is wrong with the car. What is wrong is your attitude. I pulled in here to mend it for you." Her green eyes opened wide.

"Montague, if you spank me right now I swear I will never speak to you again as long as I live! I am in serious pain; my butt is burning and on fire, not that you care! Sitting right now is more than I can bear and I don't feel like being all happy! And, you can be sure I don't intend to be rude to your friends. I'm not like that, but you'd best hope they have padded seats in this place, and I hope you plan to eat fast!"

"I punished you over two hours ago; you might be sore, but you aren't still burning, Megan Marley." He called her bluff. "You are pouting, and I know a surefire cure for pouting..."

"I am not pouting, you arrogant beast!" To his shock she undid her seatbelt, got on her knees on the seat and pulled up the light, floral skirt to reveal her flaming buttocks. "Put your hand on my butt, Montague, and then you tell me I don't have a reason to complain!"

Chapter Nine

Montague was completely fed up with Megan's sulking and her uncalled for temper. When he pulled off the street and into the vacant parking lot it was with one thought in mind, pulling one Miss Megan Marley over his knee and spanking her again. The little redhead had done nothing but test his patience this day, and she needed a good spanking to learn what he thought of her behavior. Perhaps a damn good spanking would settle her down and remind her to behave while they were at his friend's new restaurant? He simply would hope for the best, and if she still continued to misbehave, he would make her regret her foolishness when they returned to the hotel later that evening.

The very last thing he expected her to do was challenge him and declare her butt was still burning from a few whacks with his belt nearly three hours ago, and then, when he didn't believe her, to pull up her skirt to show him! Even worse, her creamy pale skin was truly welted and a flaming red where he'd struck her with his belt. It had to hurt just as much as she said it did. "You look as though I punished you five minutes ago!"

"It feels like you did, too," she whispered, mollified by his shocked tone of voice. "It was the dress fabric, Montague. It held in all the heat and I am miserable, still."

"I can see that you are. I'll call Ralph and tell him we can't make it, and take you back to the hotel and we'll put some cold compresses on your rear," he said decisively, taking out his cell phone.

"No. You just told me how important this evening is to him, and how much trouble he and Sophie have gone to. I promise I won't embarrass you."

"You can't possibly enjoy the evening now."

"Believe it or not, just knowing that you didn't plan this outing to be mean to me makes a difference, Montague. Besides, now that I have that horrible dress off, my bottom will start to feel better soon, I hope!" she added so wistfully that he had to smile.

"You need to sit down and put your seatbelt on, honey. I can't move the car until you do."

Montague was a real stickler for seatbelts, just like her Dad and brothers. Megan hated wearing them. They were too restrictive, and she felt it should be a person's choice whether or not to buckle up, but almost every darn state insisted on enforcing a law requiring adults to wear the damned things. The statistics said they saved lives, but she also knew they claimed lives as well.

Still, she obeyed Montague, wincing in pain as her bottom once again met the leather seat of his car. Fortunately, the drive didn't take much longer, but Megan immediately felt sorry for the owners. The parking lot was all but deserted!

Ralph greeted his old friend with a huge grin and lots of back slapping. It was apparent to Megan that she was seeing yet another side to the big man. When Ralph turned to look at her, she could tell that he was sizing her up and trying to determine whether or not she was 'right' for "Six," as he called Montague. "This is Megan Marley, Ralph."

"Megan, you sure are pretty... too pretty for Six!" he said with a wide grin, giving her a big hug. "I'm so pleased you could come tonight. I don't get to see this guy nearly often enough."

"Where's Sophie?" Montague demanded, and was a bit surprised when his friend looked at his watch with a frown.

"She has about two minutes to get her butt out here..." Ralph muttered, and then added, "We had a bit of a disagreement over something and she is still pouting."

Montague shook his head. It was going to be a long dinner if both redheads were pouting over spankings, and he could tell by Ralph's expression that he'd just finished tanning his wife's backside. Sophie wouldn't be a bit pleased to see him if that was the case; it was his fault that Ralph started spanking her in the first place. Back in college, where Ralph met Sophie during their sophomore year, she'd loved to tease other men to watch Ralph get jealous. After the third such incident, Ralph was at the end of his patience. He'd turned to Montague for advice, and Montague told him that he would put the lovely redhead over his knee if she was his girlfriend and acting like that. Ralph took the suggestion to heart, and Miss Sophie towed a much narrower line from that point forward.

Just as Ralph excused himself to go and look for his headstrong wife, she came through the swinging doors that led to the kitchen. She completely ignored Ralph's disapproving expression and walked straight to Montague, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "It's so good to see you, Six. This must be Megan...? I'm pleased to meet you, but I have to ask... How on earth do you stand this guy?" Her blue eyes were full of impish teasing, and Megan laughed, instantly liking her.

"It isn't easy sometimes, but someone has to keep him in line." Sophie laughed, as did Ralph, who nudged Montague.

They exchanged a few more pleasantries and Ralph said the words that Megan had dreaded hearing since they walked into the place, "Let's sit down and enjoy the meal that Soph and I prepared for you." He led them to a table set for four, and opened a bottle of wine. A server came in carrying a tray, and Ralph said, "This is Nathan; he graciously agreed to stay after hours to serve us tonight."

Nathan grinned and said, "Overtime pay is fantastic, and I have another semester coming up and books to pay for!"

"I worked a wait job in college, too," Montague surprised Megan by saying. When he saw her expression he laughed and then said, "Dad helped with tuition and that stuff, but if I wanted any money for gas and running around, I had to earn it. The sisters are doing the same. It builds character."

"That's when I got into cooking," Ralph shared. "Six served the food, but I was always in the kitchen doing prep work."

"That's because they were afraid you'd scare off the customers if you worked the front," Montague ribbed the other man.

"That's why we still keep him in the kitchen," Sophie added, giving him a dark look.

"Sophie, play nice... and stop squirming, or else." Ralph was clearly issuing a warning.

"Stop threatening me, Ralph. You were in the wrong, no matter what you say on the subject! Megan, I hope you realize that these two are of the same kind...? If they can't argue their point successfully, they resort to spanking! Pray tell me, how am I supposed to sit here throughout a long dinner without squirming after he used a wooden spoon on me just before you arrived...? He just does not realize how much it hurts!" She gave Ralph a defiant look and then stood up. "I am going to go and tell Nathan to speed it up."

"He will serve the entree when I told him to, and not one second before. Now, sit down and behave yourself, Mrs. Carter, before I excuse us from this table for a repeat with that wooden spoon you love so much."

Megan was embarrassed and didn't know what to do or say. Montague seemed amused, but he wasn't saying a thing to ease the situation, and he didn't seem a bit shocked or surprised when Sophie dumped her glass of wine on Ralph's white chef coat!

"I cannot believe you just did that, Sophie Ellen Carter," Ralph said angrily, his cheeks bright red. "What kind of an impression are you trying to make on Megan? Six already knows how you can be when you don't get your way, but Megan is just meeting us and I am perfectly sure she is never going to want to be around us again!"

"Sophie's temper is like another little girl's at this table," Montague said with a smile. "At least you aren't standing in front of an audience full of people right now."

"What did you do to Six, Megan?" Sophie was eager to turn the attention away from herself.

Megan gave Montague a dirty look. "I thought you said you forgave me?" she whispered.

"I did and do," he assured her, smiling.

"How is that? By trying to make me look bad in front of your friends?" She got to her feet and headed for the ladies' room. She was unaware that Sophie was following her.

"Please don't cry, Megan. Six wasn't trying to embarrass you as much as he was trying to save me from Ralphie. I have a rotten temper, and Ralph smacked my butt for at least ten minutes right up until you two arrived, then he gave me five whole minutes... how generous of him... to put on a smiley face to come out and say hello. Men! They think they are always so right, and Ralph knows nothing about the front of the house. That is my job, but does he want to let me run it? Nope. He wants to micromanage me, and I am either going to have to stand up to him or lose my staff." She looked at Megan. "Please tell me you embarrassed Six to the teeth in front of the audience??? I need to hear that...!" she exaggerated.

"Ohhhh, I embarrassed him, but even worse, I made him very angry. I am having a terrible time sitting, too."

"Oh no!" Sophie wailed. "And I am complaining about myself!" She stomped her foot. "I told Ralphie that we should opt for more comfortable chairs in the dining room. He refused, of course. Please tell me what you did to Six...?" she begged.

"I was supposed to hand him a wand, and instead of handing it to him, I slapped it hard against his hand and it burst into flowers. The audience laughed; they knew I'd spoiled the illusion. Montague was furious with me, and even though I told him I was sorry afterward, he punished me," Megan confessed. "I am still burning so much it is impossible to sit at the table, but Montague believes I will be just fine sitting and getting to know you and Ralph."

"He wouldn't have bothered to do that if he didn't care about you, Megan," Sophie defended Montague. "He could have fired you."

"I know, and I honestly don't know why I let him get under my skin so much. One second I can be perfectly fine, and in the next, I am so angry and doing things that are far out there for even my terrible temper!"

"I know that feeling well. I almost ruined our entire wedding because they mixed in a few flowers that weren't supposed to be in the bouquets, and I had a major tantrum worthy of a diva. Mom couldn't calm me down, and the next thing I knew, Ralph was there, flipping me over his knee, wedding dress and all, and calming my nerves in such a way that I responded immediately. Oh, but I was so embarrassed when I realized my Mom and my attendants witnessed the spanking, though. I refused to marry him, next, and that got me another spanking. I swear, the man knows how to get to me. He's strong and tender at the same time. He is the only one who has ever been able to make me want to behave. And, I would do anything for him, even if I didn't want to. I love him that much. Do you love Six in that way?" she asked of me, demanding an honest answer.

"I think I do. I know that he makes me feel so very loved and cherished, especially after he has punished me. I don't feel he is abusing me, or mistreating me in any way. Does that make sense? I never thought I would be saying that about any man. He might be my boss, but our relationship goes beyond that. His family accepted me... as I am. I am so flattered."

"Yes, Six's parents are great. I met them when we were all in college. They drove up for a visit as a surprise to Six and took a group of us out to eat at a steak house, and I thought at the time it was such a great thing for them to do. None of us could have afforded to go there, but they made it clear they were buying and took all of us along with Six. He is so proud of them. It was such a fun evening, too. I still shudder when I think of how much they spent that night. Generous, but you would never know that Six came from a wealthy family. He had to work along with the rest of us just to get by."

"He doesn't flaunt his wealth, but I know Montague makes a good living performing."

"We are hoping this restaurant does well. We've put a lot into making it work... and I know that Ralphie is afraid we won't have enough business to stay in the black." There was a knock on the door.

"Ladies, come and eat before dinner gets cold." The voice was Ralph's, and Megan could hear an edge of anger coming through the even tones.

"We'd better go," Sophie whispered. "I don't want another spanking, and I've pushed him too far as it is."

"I'm under orders to behave, too," Megan added. "I just wish you had cushions to put on the chairs!" They giggled and then hurried back to the table.

"So glad you could join us," Montague said when his dark eyes met Megan's. He wasn't happy and it showed.

"Sophie and I were getting acquainted," Megan defended herself. "It would seem that you and Ralph have a lot in common."

"What's that?" he asked, unaware he was being set up.

"You are both grumps today!"

Sophie giggled.

"That must have been some talk the two of you had for those five minutes you were in the ladies room," Ralph said, looking at his wife.

"We covered the important things," Sophie told him. "Megan agrees with me about these chairs."

"If you two weren't in trouble all the time and earning a sore butt, sitting on these chairs wouldn't be such a problem."

"Humph," Megan argued. "If you are like Montague and think most wives are spanked, then just think how many of them will refuse to come here and eat after a spanking? It could cost you thousands of dollars over the course of a year!" she dramatically declared. There was silence at the table, and then, to her relief, both of the men started chuckling and the evening was off to a great start.