Chapter 23

Renata went to see the lawyer she'd been referred to and found a no-nonsense, brisk woman who very obviously knew her stuff. Within a few minutes of talking to her, Renata found that she really liked her new attorney, Caroline Knox. She had asked Renata to send her a copy of the letter she'd received from the government, on the day she'd made the appointment, so she could be ready for what they were going to discuss. Then she'd sent a form for Renata to fill out that was full of questions about her interests, needs, and a rough idea of what she foresaw in her future. It hadn't made a lot of sense to Renata at the time she filled it out, but it soon did.

"So, it looks like you're not concerned with what you're going to live on for the rest of your life, am I right?" Caroline asked, looking over her glasses at her client.

"That's right. I'm perfectly comfortable, I have some assets of my own, and I own the farm outright. I also have a safe full of valuable jewelry that I wouldn't have a problem selling if I needed to. So I don't need the money for myself."

"Do you plan on having children?"

Renata hesitated. "It was never in my plans in the years I was married, but everything is changed now. I love children; the best thing about my life as Renata Wakefield was the work I got to do for the children's hospital in Washington. I thought about just donating it all to them, but honestly, I was lucky enough to get them set up with several organizations that do a good job of raising money for them. And I'll never spend time in Washington again, so I can't be personally involved with the hospital."

Caroline tapped her pen on the desktop and mused silently for a minute. "Have you ever heard of the Graythorn House?"

"No, I haven't. What is it?"

"The Graythorn House is a rehab facility for children who are trying to recover from any number of different health issues. It's just about forty minutes away from your farm. They care for children who have had accidents, surgeries, cancer, pretty much anything you can think of. They specifically take in children who live in circumstances where their parents don't have the resources to put them in the care they need. They are in desperate need of donors or organizations to raise money for them. I'm familiar with your children's hospital, and I think Graythorn is just the kind of place you'd like to help."

Renata had straightened up in her chair. "That sounds like exactly what I'd be interested in."

"Then how about if I make an appointment for you to visit them and get the scoop directly from them, let you see their facilities, meet some of their kids. I'd also like to see you set some of that money aside in a safe investment in case you have children of your own someday to send through college. If it doesn't happen, you can always use the money for something else."

"Yes, I'd like to do that. Visit Graythorn, I mean. And I'm sure it would be wise to set some of the money aside too. After all, there's plenty of it there."

Caroline was looking on her laptop for Graythorn's phone number. "Do you have the check in a safe place?"

"Yes, it's in the safe along with my jewelry."

"Okay, at your convenience, if you decide to go this route, we'll have a lot of accounting details to work out, tax issues and so forth. But let's start with getting you to Graythorn."

By the time Renata left the office, she had an appointment with Graythorn's director and their address and phone number. She felt lighter as she walked to her new SUV and found herself humming and smiling at nothing in particular. She liked the sounds of the description Caroline had given her of Graythorn; it was exactly the kind of place she would really love to help. And, a few days later, when she kept that appointment, she knew she had found her calling. It was a bright, happy place where the staff was wonderful with the kids, and the kids touched her heart just as they had at the children's hospital. Graythorn was going to be a passion for her. She knew it from the moment she walked in.

Caroline had been right; it took a tedious amount of time to get all the paperwork done, but Caroline and her staff took good care of everything and soon it was all arranged. And before long, Renata was making regular visits to the facility, talking with kids, reading to them, taking them little gifts to reward the hard work they had to do toward their recovery. She could see fundraisers in her future and welcomed the idea. Gabe and Renata's love affair deepened and grew, and she particularly appreciated the interest he showed in her children's clinic and her work on their behalf. Everything was going well, and Renata was busy and happy. She had never shared her interests with Logan, especially since his only interests outside of sex had been in himself, and she loved sharing them with Gabe.

So it took her by surprise when she found herself growing oddly restless and out of sorts a few weeks after she started her work with the clinic. She couldn't put a finger on what was bothering her, no matter how hard she tried to figure it out. She snapped at Gabe several times and then had to apologize to him, finding that his patient understanding was even irritating to her. They spent about half their nights together, and their lovemaking was as good as it had been from the start. And yet, Renata found herself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with an odd feeling of dissatisfaction after they made love. Gabe sensed her tension and pulled her closer.

"What's wrong, darlin'?"

Renata sighed and said, "Nothing's wrong."

"You're awfully tense. That kind of tells me that something's wrong."

His reasonable statement irritated her, and she snapped, "Nothing's wrong! What could be wrong? Everything's going perfectly, so what could be wrong?"

Gabe propped himself up on one elbow. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me exactly how you're feeling, and maybe we can figure it out."

"I don't know how I'm feeling. I know how I should feel, but I'm not."

Gabe hid a smile. "That doesn't really tell me much. So how should you feel?"

Renata shifted restlessly. "I don't know, happy, fulfilled, maybe…satisfied."

"And you don't feel satisfied?"

"Yes, of course, I do. I mean, we just made love. It was so good; it always is. But I don't know, there's just something." Renata was frustrated at her inability to explain.

"Renata," Gabe said, choosing his words carefully, "do you remember the night you told me about your life with Logan?"

"Of course, I do. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. What does that have to do with this?"

"You were honest enough and brave enough to tell me about the things that turned you on, aroused you, even when you had the idea that you should be ashamed of them. You don't have to be ashamed. If you have a sexual need, you should feel free to satisfy it, to ask for what you need. You're a strong, complicated woman; I love everything about you. I think you have a side that needs to be dominated, and that totally turns me on."

Renata was startled. "Being dominated by someone who genuinely loves me," she said slowly. She felt a thrill of desire shiver down her spine.

"I think we should explore how we satisfy our more savage appetites. What do you think?"

"I think I like that. How do we start?"

Gabe said, "We start by talking about what we want and don't want, what our expectations are, what our boundaries are, how to be safe. So do some thinking, and then we'll have a good, long conversation."

Renata grinned at him and snaked her arms around him. "This could be fun."

Gabe laughed and said, "Don't get too cocky. I've got a strong arm and a hard hand."

Renata's voice was husky. "We'll see about that. Sir." Her dreams were very interesting that night.

***

Renata and Gabe ended up having several long conversations, and Renata found herself anxious to put their agreement into action. She was still hesitant to simply come right out and tell Gabe what she wanted, so she found herself goading him, a bit like a naughty child. She discovered that she enjoyed playing the brat. She'd never been able to indulge her playful side before, so it was a new experience for her.

"Gabe!" Renata called. "Where is that book we were looking at last night?"

"I don't know, last time I saw it, you had it."

"No, I did not. I handed it to you so you could read the part I was telling you about. You know, the part about fundraising ideas."

"Renata, you read that page to me. I didn't have the book." He had just settled down on her couch with the newspaper and she flounced over and plopped down beside him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I sat right here and pointed out where it began and watched you read it." Renata hid the mischievous smile that wanted to pop out.

Exasperated, Gabe said, "Are you trying to drive me crazy? I know you remember reading it to me because you stopped in the middle to point out why one of their ideas is not very workable."

Renata stared at him as he went back to reading the paper, not realizing that he was ignoring her on purpose. Debating what to do next, she cuddled close to him and began to nibble at his earlobe. Gabe let out a yelp when she nipped it hard. "Ow! That hurt. What are you doing?"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to." But she immediately bit his ear again, and he dropped the paper on the floor and pulled her into his lap, pressing his mouth to hers in a bruising kiss. Renata responded by biting his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Damn! All right, you've got my attention and I think you need a lesson in what happens to brats."

Renata found herself facedown across his lap and gave a yelp of her own when his hand came down hard on her bottom. She squirmed as he smacked her butt relentlessly, proving that he'd told the truth about his strong arm and hard hand. The heat building in her butt was almost equal to the heat building between her legs, and she squirmed harder, rubbing her swollen nipples against his leg.

After several minutes of spanking her, Gabe stopped and pulled her up to sit on his lap. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were dark with arousal. He stood her on her feet and said, "I want you to take your skirt off."

Breathing hard, Renata stared him in the face and then slowly reached behind herself to unzip her skirt. She pushed it down over her hips and let it drop to the floor. Gabe reached out and hooked his fingers under the waist of the lace panties she wore, pulling them down until they were at her feet. He pulled her forward a step, and she stepped out of the garments. He turned her sideways and stroked her warm cheeks with his hot hand.

"Oh, now, this gorgeous little ass is barely pink. I'm going to have to take care of that." He pulled her down across his lap again and said, "I'm going to spank you now—really spank you. And after I'm done spanking you with my hand, I'm going to give you a taste of my belt."

A shiver ran down her spine as she squirmed on his lap before she'd felt the first smack, anticipating the sharp slap of his hand. Gabe's arm rose and fell, and he spanked her bare ass hard, all over her butt and the tops of her thighs, making her kick and cry out at the burning pain. He didn't stop until her bottom was a hot, fiery red. She could have stopped him with a word, but when he slipped his fingers between her thighs, it was obvious how aroused she was. She cried out when he stroked her and cried out, again, when he took his hand away.

"I'm not nearly done with you yet, darlin'." He pulled her to her feet and then got up, pulling her top off over her head and filling his hands with her breasts. He reached behind her and unfastened her bra, pulling it off so she stood there, naked. Next, he unbuckled his belt as she watched his every move, her nostrils flaring and her eyes darkening when he pulled it from the loops. He doubled the strip of soft, supple leather and held it while he reached out and took one swollen nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it and leaning forward to taste it.

"I promised to show you what happens to bratty little girls, didn't I?"

"Yes," she said breathlessly.

"Have you been a brat?"

"Yes, Sir."

"So what happens now?"

"I get spanked."

"That's right." He took her by the arm and led her to the bedroom, where he placed a stack of pillows on the end of the bed and bent her over them.

Renata waited breathlessly for the first snap of the leather across her bare behind. She gasped at the sharp line of fire that blazed across her bottom, followed only a second later by another one, just below the first. Gabe laid the leather across her beautiful ass until it was striped and then moved down to the tender spot at the tops of her thighs. She cried out at each stroke of the belt, especially when it snapped across her thighs and she felt the moisture trickle from her swollen center. When she shot up, clutching at her welted cheeks, Gabe judged that she'd had enough. He dropped the belt and pulled her close to him. She melted against him, pulling at his clothes and ravaging his mouth with hers.

He stripped his clothes off and pushed her down on the bed, plundering her breasts with his lips, teeth, and tongue. Renata spread her legs wide and reached for him, frantic to feel him enter her. He impaled her with his rock hard cock, driving deep inside her as she arched her back up to meet him. He rammed into her, and she met every thrust, wrapping her legs around him as they rocked faster and faster, racing to a shattering climax. They shuddered and spasmed together as the waves of pleasure swept over them. Renata was sobbing his name with each breath, and they lay together while little tremors shook them, slowly coming down from the peak. Gabe stroked her hair and held her close to him while she tried to cuddle even closer.

"I love you, Renata Wakefield," he murmured to her.

"I love you, Gabe Fletcher, more than I ever knew was possible."

"How do you feel, darlin'?"

Renata stretched a little. Her bottom burned and throbbed and the rest of her body felt wondrously, completely satisfied. She gave a little laugh. "I feel fabulous!"

Gabe grinned at her. "I aim to please."

"You do a damn good job."

As Renata drifted off to sleep, she thought about the whole evening and marveled at the fact that what they'd just done was not the least bit like what she had done with Logan during their marriage. Her body was totally satiated, in a way she had never experienced with Logan. She fell asleep smiling.