Read The Art of Discipline: Running Toward Trouble (The Mockingbird Chronicles) Online
Authors: Stardawn Cabot,Alexandra James
The Art of Discipline: Running Toward Trouble (The Mockingbird Chronicles) (31 page)
Will laughed. “Yeah, but she does eat a vegetable on occasion. I guess Emma decided that junk food really didn’t have its own spot on the food pyramid.”
“Laugh it up, William,” Dani teased. “I could always forget to sign your check this week.”
“Is this a private party or can anyone join in?” Stevie’s voice asked.
Turning, Dani smiled at Stevie who was coming toward the tables. Getting a nod from her, Dani quickly stuffed her burger and fries back into the bag that had contained Emma’s salad and bolted from her seat, before racing up the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Stevie asked, seeing Tod stand halfway up. Stevie shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Emma and Dani need some time without extra eyes or ears.”
Sighing, the man ran his fingers through his hair. “But we have our orders…”
“Orders which are to be used with common sense, I’m sure,” Stevie countered. “Let them be,” she instructed.
Shaking his head, he stood, only to be blocked by Will. “Please, Tod, sit down.”
Stevie looked up at him. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want Dani to call her aunt and uncle,” she threatened as the color drained from his face and he slowly sat down again. Turning to Anna, she asked, “Pizza burger?”
“You know it, Luis sends his best,” Anna answered as Stevie smiled and grabbed the bag that Anna waved in front of her.
* * *
Dropping the bag of takeout on the kitchen table, Dani kicked off her shoes and hurried toward the bedroom. Opening the door, she smiled and gently crawled onto the bed where a much more relaxed Emma lay.
“Hey, how are you?” Dani asked, as she gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ve felt better, or at least my backside has,” Emma answered. Looking over her shoulder, Emma waited until green locked with blue. “Coulda done without Stevie knowing that I didn’t run a background check on Jason before he tried to kill me though.”
Dani winced. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. I just thought…”
“That you needed to make sure that I was punished for putting my life—our lives—in danger?”
“Emma,” Dani tried. “I didn’t mean it like that.” When Emma didn’t respond right away, Dani shifted uncomfortably. “Are you mad at me?”
“No, not anymore,” Emma explained with a sigh. “I wasn’t really prepared to chat with Stevie today, much less be held accountable for something like that.”
Dani grimaced. “I’m really sorry…”
“Dani, it’s over. My butt is as sore as hell, and I was pissed, but then I got to thinking it was only fair. You got busted for putting your life in danger; I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t realize I did the same thing.” Emma then paused for a moment, patting Dani’s pillow and inviting her to lie down next to her.
“You gonna try to trick me into taking a nap?” Dani teased as she willingly accepted.
Emma moved forward slightly to kiss the end of Dani’s nose. “No, I just wanted to thank you. I wasn’t expecting it, but it was just what I needed.”
Smiling, Dani got comfortable and waited for Emma to shift again, finding her usual spot, with her arm around her waist before speaking again. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried about you.”
“You were, huh?” Emma quipped.
“Yes, especially after Stevie cornered me this morning. I thought she was gonna kill you,” Dani frowned. “And then you’d kill me…” Dani trailed off. “Sure you’re not mad?”
“No, I’m not mad at you, honey. Although if you ask me again, I might change my mind,” Emma teased. “I was upset at first because I thought that you tattled on me, but Stevie told me what happened. I realized you weren’t trying to get me in trouble.”
“Ah, Emma, what if I was?”
“What do you mean?” Emma narrowed her eyes, as green met blue once more.
Dani swallowed. “I didn’t, I mean, that was never my intention. But what if something happened that I think, or that you do something that…”
“Dani, I want to make something clear. It’s not your place to tell Stevie if I did or didn’t do something. If I need to confess something, I will. If you have a problem with something I did or didn’t do, I’d expect you to bring it to me, not to her. Do you understand?”
Dani chewed her lip for a moment.
“Okay, what? What are you thinking?” Emma prompted.
“Were you planning on telling Stevie about Jason?”
“No, but not because I was trying to avoid punishment,” Emma quickly explained before her tone quieted. “Honestly, Dani, I wasn’t thinking about it like that. I made a mistake, but I wasn’t purposely hiding it.”
“So what should I do if I’m upset about something?”
“Talk to me about it, just like any couple. My time with Stevie isn’t really about punishment, or making amends, or giving you a way to get retribution because you are upset with me. What happens between me and Stevie is between me and Stevie.”
“So, then you are telling me I shouldn’t have said anything about Jason?”
“Yes and no. If you would have gone running to Stevie and told her you think I need to be punished for something, then yes, you would have gone too far. And I can tell you right now, she probably would have marched you over to me, and we’d be having a very different conversation right now.
“The way you did it though, you brought up something to Anna, who suggested that Stevie ask you and then me about. You didn’t make the decision there; Stevie did.” Seeing the frown on Dani’s face, Emma echoed it. “A bit confusing, isn’t it?”
“A bit,” Dani agreed.
“Let me put it another way: if you have a problem with me, discuss it with me. If you think it’s important enough, I promise to tell Stevie, no matter the outcome. But it has to come from me; no going behind my back, understand?”
“Okay, I think I can do that.”
“Good,” Emma smiled as she shifted and then winced as her bottom made brief contact with the mattress.
“How hard was she on you, anyway?” Dani couldn’t help asking.
Emma rolled her eyes. “Go ahead and look, Ms. Obvious.”
Gently moving, Dani rose to her knees and carefully slid down Emma’s pajama bottoms. “Wow. You’re glowing,” Dani whistled. She put her hands on Emma’s flaming backside. “And I bet I could fry an egg on here too,” she commented, gently rubbing Emma’s bottom. “So what did she use?”
Emma groaned. “Just about everything. I think; hairbrush, plastic spatula, and that little leather paddle. I think she even got in a few with a tawse before she switched to the sorority paddle.” She looked up at Dani, her green eyes sparkling. “I may have had just a bit of an attitude today.”
Dani opened her eyes in shock. “You? Never.” She smirked, bending down to give Emma a gentle kiss. “By the way, what’s a tawse?”
Emma grinned. “Advanced toy.”
“Someday you’re gonna have to let me look in that box,” Dani mumbled.
“Oh, I’m sure someday you’ll be familiar with everything inside my box,” Emma teased, patting the pillow next to her once again.
* * *
It was at little over an hour later when Dani woke up to fingers unbuttoning her blouse. Leaving her eyes closed, she reveled in the sensation as a gentle hand moved over her now exposed breast followed by a mouth exploring it as well. Moaning, she opened both eyes and found herself looking into deep green pools.
“Awake?” Emma teased.
“I think so.” Dani arched her back as Emma continued her exploration. “Although I don’t remember falling asleep. Why is it that whenever you get spanked, I end up taking a nap?”
Emma grinned. “Just one of those many talents that I possess.”
“So I take it you’re not hungry?” Dani tried to keep focus.
“Not for what’s in the kitchen,” Emma confirmed as Dani moaned once again.
The End
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More Stormy Night Books by Stardawn Cabot and Alexandra James
The Art of Discipline: Dani's Discovery
Yet another tragic event befalls Danielle Ryan, and she is forced to return to her uncle’s bookstore upon his sudden death. Uncle Sean was her only living relative and now that he’s gone, she has been left truly alone. While settling his affairs, however, she is unprepared for the life-altering experience she encounters when she finds her match in her uncle’s store manager, Emma Gray. Emma invades Dani’s life in surprising and unexpected ways, bringing not only discipline, but love—two things that Dani desperately needs.
All is not perfect, though, and fate hands them another twist when Emma’s biological father gets into the mix, catching both Emma and Dani off guard and threatening to end their happiness. Afraid that their newly created bond will be shattered, they have to buckle down or risk losing everything.
Fighting to keep each other safe, Emma and Dani learn not only how to work together, but more about each other and the blossoming love that has formed between them as well. Throughout it all, Emma continues to broaden Dani’s horizons, opening her eyes to just how much she’s been neglecting herself and helping her to discover trust, domestic discipline, and what it really means to be family. Will their newly found relationship and trust in each other be enough, or will Dani give up and run all the way back to Chicago?
More Stormy Night Books by Stardawn Cabot
Standing Firm
Twenty-four-year-old Morgan Fox wonders if her life is over when she is forced to return to US soil after losing her leg in Afghanistan. Things take an unexpected turn, however, when she lands a job as a bodyguard for Dakota Summer, an eighteen-year-old television star, and quickly realizes that her Army training did nothing to prepare her for dealing with the spoiled teen’s disregard for rules. Her job description is to keep Dakota away from the party scene and out of the news, but when Dakota refuses to obey her, Morgan can find only one way to make the teen pay attention: a good, hard, bare-bottom spanking.
Dakota’s life began spiraling out of control after her older brother died in a car accident, and it is only under Morgan’s firm hand and watchful eye that she truly starts to heal. She also begins to realize what she’s been missing: someone who will care enough to put a stop to her dangerous behavior. Dakota finds herself oddly at peace as she suddenly faces real consequences for her actions, even when those consequences leave her with a red, stinging bottom.
The women soon become friends, and although Dakota continues to push her bodyguard away and test her boundaries, Morgan stands firm, refusing to let her behavior go unpunished. When Dakota tells Morgan that she’s falling in love with her, though, the older woman is suddenly at a loss. Dakota has allowed Morgan to bare her bottom and spank her until she’s sobbing, but can Morgan let herself be vulnerable enough to embrace Dakota’s love for her, in spite of the insecurity she feels as a result of her injury?
Stardawn Cabot Links
You can keep up with Stardawn Cabot via her Amazon and Goodreads profiles, using the following links:
http://www.amazon.com/Stardawn-Cabot/e/B00H87QEBC/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7527774.Stardawn_Cabot
Alexandra James Links
You can keep up with Alexandra James via her Amazon and Goodreads profiles, using the following links:
http://www.amazon.com/Alexandra-James/e/B00H8HZEJ0/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6511832.Alexandra_James
Table of Contents
More Stormy Night Books by Stardawn Cabot and Alexandra James