Ginger Up Read online

  “Ginger!” Beau exclaimed, shaking her gently. “Laney is your cousin, and this is a big deal! It’s her dirty thirty! You have to go! Now get up and change, right now.”

  She opened her eyes then, long enough to roll over and fix him with her most awesome death glare. “If you wanted me to go, you should have remembered to tell me before it got down to the last possible second. I busted my butt today working on your stupid little list, and now, I’m tired and sweaty and there is no way I can get Hazel and myself ready to go in time. It’s fine. Laney will get over it. Now go and have a good time.”

  “Excuse me?” Beau was indignant. “You don’t get to talk to me like that. Ginger? Ginger!”

  She had already rolled over and closed her eyes and was pretending to sleep. She lay there listening to him sputter, careful not to move, until she heard him give up and exit the room.

  When she was sure he was gone, she sat up in bed and turned on the tv. She was much too upset to sleep now.

  * * * * *

  Beau put on a fake smile as he entered the clubhouse where the party was being held. The place was packed, Josiah had really gone all out. He spotted Laney and Josiah in the corner of the room talking to Jonathan Travers, Jonathan’s HoH Benjamin and a young man he didn’t recognize at first glance.

  Straightening his tie, he purposefully strode toward them, greeting Laney with a warm hug as soon as he reached them. “Happy Birthday, Laney.”

  “Beau! You made it!” she squealed as she pulled away. “Where’s Ginger?” she asked, scanning the room. “I have to show her something.” She colored, sticking her hand behind her back quickly, her cheeks flushed with joy.

  Beau sighed. He hadn’t missed the huge sparkling diamond on Laney’s ring finger. He was angry that her cousin wasn’t there to share this moment with her. “I’m really sorry, Laney. It’s my fault, I forgot about it until the last minute, and I didn’t give her enough time to get ready. She and Hazel were napping when I got home.” Beau gave a forced smile, and hoped that no one would notice his teeth grinding together as he spoke.

  “It’s okay.” Laney looked crestfallen even as she said it, but she too, faked a smile. “I’m just glad that you’re here.”

  “Hey, man, good to see you.” It was the blond stranger who spoke. Close up Beau could see that it wasn’t a stranger at all, but Danny, who did their weekly seafood deliveries and had become close to Laney and Ginger both. It made sense that Josiah would have invited him. Danny didn’t live in Corbin’s Bend, but he knew many of them, Brent himself included, considered him an honorary resident. He had heard rumors that there was even a pool going on how long it would take for Danny to become a resident.

  Beau greeted Danny with a handshake. He had met him several times, but never engaged in conversation with him. From what he did know of him, he was generally a very outgoing and fun loving guy, but that wasn’t coming out in him tonight. Danny was very quiet, and seemed uncomfortable being there. Beau caught Laney giving him more than a few suspicious looks.

  Danny leaned back with his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “So, how’s Ginger doing? I’m bummed she didn’t make it tonight. I was looking forward to seeing the baby, finally. I’ve only ever seen pics so far.”

  “She’s good, just tired. I’ll tell her you said hello.”

  “Yeah, do that.” Danny fell quiet, his eyes darting anxiously around the room. “Well, I’ve got an early morning tomorrow, so I’m going to head out. Happy birthday, Laney, and congrats to you both.” He gave her a quick side hug, and all but ran out the clubhouse door.

  “Okay, seriously, what is wrong with him lately? That was weird!” Laney exclaimed a little too loudly, causing Josiah to give her a stern warning look. As usual, it didn’t faze her. “What? Everybody was thinking it! He’s not acting like himself at all!” She frowned, unable to let it go. “He didn’t call me Princess all night, and he didn’t even refer to Ginger as the Ginger Queen once. It’s not like him, I’m telling you, something’s wrong. Danny has nicknames for everybody, and he always uses them.”

  The rest of the small group nodded their agreement. Jonathan opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off with a discreet pat, and warning glare from Benjamin. Jonathan grumbled, but quieted.

  “I think Danny is just going through some stuff right now, and wasn’t in the party mood, but he came anyway because you mean a lot to him.” It was Benjamin who spoke, his hand still resting discreetly on his partner’s lower back. Jonathan just nodded, and with an unconvinced sigh, Laney let it go.

  “Fine. Hey Beau, can you tell Ginger that I really need her to come in this week, so we can look over the books? I really need to get paid soon. I mean, with planning a wedding and everything, I’m going to have a lot of expenses coming up, and I’ve been patient enough.”

  “I’m sorry?” Beau questioned, doing a double take. “What are you talking about, you’ve been patient enough? You haven’t been paid? Since when?”

  Laney looked horrified. “I…I…Forget it, I’ll call her tomorrow,” she backpedaled.

  Beau stepped forward, his heart pounding angrily, as he tried to keep his cool. “Lannea,” he growled. “Tell me what you mean. When was the last time you were paid?”

  Laney stared at the floor. “When you did the end of the year books,” she admitted, not looking him in the eye.

  Beau had to work to keep his voice calm, he was seeing red as he processed this information. “That’s three months! You mean to tell me nobody has been paid in three months? How is the business even functioning?”

  Laney threw her hands up in front of her to stop him from going off the deep end. “Beau, I’m half owner, now remember. I can write checks. The suppliers and employees are getting paid, it’s just Ginger and I that haven’t been. I make deposits weekly, and I pay bills weekly. But Ginger and I don’t get paid until we do the monthly profit and loss, and see what our revenue is. She’s supposed to do that; she told me not to worry about it. Besides, I’ve been kind of busy with everything else.”

  He relaxed a little, once he realized things weren’t as dire as he had been thinking. Still, Ginger owned a business, and she needed to be responsible for that business. He had known that she had been staying home a lot, but he had assumed she was going in every once and a while, or at least doing some work from home. He couldn’t believe how naive he had been. Things were even worse than he thought.

  “Laney, you can’t be expected to do all the cooking and general running of the place, and all of Ginger’s job too. That’s too much for one person.” Beau rubbed his hands over his face, thinking. “Okay, I will make sure you get paid by Friday, and I will make sure Ginger starts doing her job, instead of expecting you to take care of everything.”

  “Beau, I’m fine. Except for not being paid, everything at The Ginger Paddle is going great, and we’re busier than ever. We just need to give Ginger a little more time to get back to her old self. She’s been through a lot, and she doesn’t need to have to worry about rushing back to work.”

  Beau frowned, his eyebrows raised in annoyance. “Laney, it’s been four, almost five months. She’s had time. We’ve all given her plenty of time and space, and asked as little as possible from her. I hate to say it, but I don’t think we’ve done her any favors. I’ve been letting her get away with murder at home, and now I find out she hasn’t even attempted to go in to work?” Beau stopped short, shaking his head. “No. I’ve had enough. This stops now. No more free ride, no more pity party, and no more calling off domestic discipline.”

  He didn’t miss the shocked faces around him as he turned and stomped off, fully intending to go home and get to the bottom of what was going on with his wife, even if it meant busting her butt to get there.

  He was blocked at the doorway by Josiah and Benjamin.

  “Move.” He was in no mood for good manners, and especially in no mood for well-meaning interferences from his friends.

  “Hang
on just a minute.” Josiah stepped in front of the doorway and wouldn’t move. “What did you mean you called off domestic discipline? When?”

  Beau sighed. “When she was on bed rest.”

  Josiah gaped at him incredulously. “That was months ago, bro! You seriously haven’t been doing DD all this time? Like, not at all?”

  “Nope,” Beau snapped, trying to push past him.

  “And now what? You’re going to storm in there and… That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

  “Well, not doing it isn’t working. I gave her time. I’ve been patient. Marcus told us to use alternative punishments, but they didn’t work for us, so we took a break. Now she doesn’t seem to want anything to do with it at all, and she’s taunting me with it.” He shook his head. “Look, I’ve been dealing with it as best I can, but not doing DD is not working for us.”

  Benjamin stepped forward and put his hand on Beau’s shoulder. “Okay, okay. I can see that something needs to change, but storming in there like that and spanking her without consent is not going to fix things. Let’s sit down and talk about this. Stay, have a beer, enjoy the party, and we’ll talk this out and try to come up with a less caveman-like solution.”

  Beau deflated. He knew Benjamin was right. He didn’t intend to let the break continue, but he needed a better plan than what he currently felt like doing about it.

  He allowed himself to be dragged away to where the beer was being served.

  * * * * *

  She was asleep when he got home from the party. One beer had turned into two, and two into three, until he had let go of his frustration and allowed himself to have a good time. And thanks to his meddling friends, he did have a better handle on how to handle it.

  He tucked her in, bringing the cover up to cover her, and tucking it under her chin. Tonight, he would let her sleep. Tomorrow, she would be in for a rude awakening.

  Chapter Four

  Smack! Ginger awoke instantly to a hard slap across her upper thigh. Her short pajama bottoms offered nothing in the way of protection.

  She grabbed at the covers, pulling them up and over her head. “Leave me alone, Beau. I’m sleeping!”

  Beau did not listen. The covers were ripped off her once again, falling to the floor in a heap. Another stinging slap to her left thigh jarred her from sleep, and she leapt off the bed, indignant.

  “What the hell?” She glared at her husband, reaching behind her to rub the spot where his hand had met her thigh.

  “It’s time to get up. You need to shower and be downstairs for breakfast in ten minutes. You have a lot to do today.”

  She stared blankly at him, her mind still fuzzy in her half asleep state. “Beau, shhh. You’re going to wake Hazel.” She gestured to the bassinet beside the bed, her heart skipping a beat when she looked over and found it empty.

  “Hazel is sleeping in her crib, in her room. If she wakes up, I will take care of her. You now have nine minutes.” Beau left the room, leaving her standing there confused and angry.

  She stared in confusion at the closed door. What on earth had gotten into her husband? Even as she asked herself this, a familiar feeling of desire and anticipation knotted up within her, and she was appalled to realize she was almost aroused. I obviously need more sleep she told herself, picking the covers up off the floor and climbing into bed underneath them. She, of course, couldn’t fall back asleep, but she stayed there burrowed stubbornly under the covers. She figured that when Beau came in, if he thought she was asleep, he would leave her alone.

  Instead, she found herself ripped out of the covers, and lifted through the air as if she were weightless. The air whooshed out of her lungs in a surprised oomph when she found herself upended across her husband’s knees for the first time in a very long time. She immediately struggled against his arms, flailing about in an effort to get herself off his lap by any means necessary. Beau, of course, was stronger, and had her effectively pinned within seconds. When she realized she was not getting up unless he let her up, she tried appealing to his logical side.

  “Stop it, Beau! Let me up this instant! I haven’t done anything to deserve this, and furthermore, we’re on a break!”

  She couldn’t believe it when he chuckled. That made her even more furious, and she fought against him with renewed strength, even though she knew her efforts would be futile.

  Beau’s only response was to tug down her panties and shorts, letting them fall down to her knees. She sucked in her breath. That was never a good sign.

  “I think,” Beau said matter-of factly, his finger resting atop the entrance of her dark hole, “that you and I both know that you have done plenty to deserve this, and more.”

  Belatedly, Ginger recalled her cousin’s warning phone call from the party last night. She silently cursed Laney for not keeping her big mouth shut.

  She squealed when Ben’s finger penetrated her bottom hole, and instinctively stilled her struggles, laying stiff as a board against his penetrations.

  That darn man had the audacity to chuckle again.

  “You always have listened best with my finger in your ass. Do I have your attention now, my darling stubborn wife?”

  “Yes. Yes, I’m listening!” she shrieked, bucking against his finger as he moved it slowly up and down inside her. “But we’re still on a break!”

  That earned her a volley of smacks, each one harder than the one before.

  “See, I think you and I have a difference of opinion on what a break actually means,” he told her jovially, resting his hand on the hot spot of flesh below her cheeks.

  “Well that’s ridiculous–a break is a—EEEK!” she shrieked as he rained a barrage of punishing blows on her bare bottom.

  “I have—” Swat “—had about—” Swat “—enough—” Swat “—of your smart mouth!” His hand came down hard on her sit spots, alternating sides, until she was gasping for breath. “Now, you are going to be quiet and listen, or I am going to break out the paddle and show you what I really think of this break of yours. The only thing I want to hear out of your mouth for the next ten minutes, is yes, Sir!” He punctuated his edict with a spank to her upper thighs that nearly brought her reeling up from his hold. “Do you understand?”

  “I…I…” she sputtered. Beau’s finger plunged deeper inside her tight hole, and she gasped at what she knew was a warning. The fight left her. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Good girl. Now we’re getting somewhere.” As a reward, he stilled his finger, relaxing it inside her. His other hand rested atop her still warm cheeks as a reminder. “Now, as I was saying, we seem to have a differing opinion these days as to the purpose of a break. See, I saw it as a way to let you recover physically and emotionally from everything that you went through. And maybe you did too, in the beginning. But, see that’s changed. Now it seems as if you are viewing the break as a free pass to get away with whatever you want, or don’t want to do as the case may be. You’re abusing my generosity, aren’t you?”

  She shook her head in vehement denial, but Beau was having none of it. His finger plunged deeper inside her until she squealed and bucked against him. The bucking just earned her a fresh set of punishing blows to her tender bottom crease.

  “Do you want to re-think your answer, darling, or should I continue? Are you ready to listen now?”

  Ginger was stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid, and she could see there was only one way out of this. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Yes, Sir, what?”

  “Yes, Sir, I’m ready to listen.”

  “Good.” He stopped spanking then, resting his large palm against her hot skin. She shivered in spite of herself. She wanted to be mad. What he was doing shouldn’t feel so good, but her body was reacting in ways it never had before.

  “See, here’s the thing. I was more than willing to take a break. Aside from your temper, I’ve never had to worry much about you, and I figured I could trust you enough to keep yourself under control, and remember the heart of why we do this. But now, now yo
u’re disobedient, you’re not living up to your responsibilities at work, you’re rude and belligerent, and you seem to enjoy throwing it in my face that I can’t spank you for it. The way I see it, you’ve been begging me to do just that.”

  Ginger bit her lip, chewing it absently as she pondered his words. Is that what she had been doing? Shame rose up in her cheeks as she remembered her harsh words and defiant actions. It was just yesterday, but it seemed so long ago now. Nothing to put things in perspective like a first thing in the morning trip over your husband’s knee, she mused.

  “Is that what you’ve been doing, Ginger? Have you been begging for a spanking?”

  She didn’t reply. Still wrapped up in her own thoughts, she didn’t even realize he was asking her a question until his hand stopped rubbing and came cracking down on her backside with all the force of a paddle. Damn, she had forgotten how hard his hands could be.

  “Answer me, woman.” His hand went back poised for impact, and she squeaked out her answer, bracing herself for the blow.

  “No, I wasn’t, I wasn’t!” It didn’t seem to be the answer he was looking for as his hand connected with her aching backside.

  “Okay, okay, maybe I was! But it wasn’t conscious!”

  At her admission, his hand stilled, coming down softly to rest on her back. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Tell me, whose idea was it to do domestic discipline?”

  Ginger sighed. “Mine, Sir.”

  “And, whose idea was it to move to Corbin’s Bend?”

  She could see where this was going, and it didn’t bode well for her. “Mine, Sir.”

  “Mmm-hmm.” His finger pumped inside her, in and out of her tight hole. “Whose idea was it to take a break from any and all punishments against the advice of our friends and mentors?”

  “It was my idea.” Her voice sounded empty, even to her.

  The pumping stopped, but the spanking began in earnest. His hand flattened against her bottom, again and again, peppering both cheeks with sharp swats, one after another, with no pause between. DD may have been her idea, but damn, the man could spank.