Special Places, Excitement, and Discipline in The Rancher's Woman
So what’s it like to be on a Williams family cookout? Chance hasn’t told me much.”
“Yeah. They like to keep it a surprise, but there’ll be different events. Breakfast trips and evening cookouts. The weekend is filled with fun challenges. There’re all types of combinations. Men vs. women. Older generation vs. younger. Kids vs. adults. The ones I love the most and reckon you will too are the couple challenges, but the first event of the weekend is an early morning trip to a waterfall, so we’d best get our sleep.”
Sure enough, the women were wakened before dawn by Chance and Wes. It was an amazing ride starting in the dark. As she sat in front of Chance on his tall, tawny-covered, good-natured stallion, he took her on a sensual amble and then a short, exciting gallop to the thundering cascade. After sitting nestled against him as the spray erased any remnants of sleep, they joined the whole group to sit far enough away to enjoy the sight with a mellowing of the roaring sound. The sun lit them with its morning fire while the men cooked a pancake breakfast for the women.
“Tribute to the daily meals you grace us with each day.” Clint Williams, Chance’s father, laid the plate piled with blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns, and a generous dollop of syrup in front of his wife, Martha, with such loving tenderness, Tessa had to look away.
Just as Janey claimed, there were loads of challenges, but like Janey also claimed, Tessa loved the couple’s ones the best. Then she was with Chance, working with him in an exciting intimacy that thrilled her. The one that was the most exhilarating was the fishing challenge. It was the last one of the weekend on Sunday afternoon.
It was a sparkling afternoon as she fished with Chance by the swift running river in the secluded cove nestled in the mountains. The water was so sparkling clear, she could almost smell it. The sound of it tripping over the rocks and the sight of the trout jumping in the sun made her feel like she’d stumbled back into another old cowboy movie. It was always so fun to fish with Chance, although his indulgence over her refusal to bait her hook with the squiggly worms he declared were the best bait ever was not in evidence this time. “No way, woman. This is a competition. You’ll use the damn worms.”
“Forget it. I’m not baiting my hook with those.” Tessa disgustedly indicated the squiggly creatures in the pail at Chance’s feet.
Chance flashed her his tilted smile. “Fine. I’ll do it for you, but it’ll cost you. A soul-searing kiss for every worm I place wriggling on your hook and an orgasm for every fish you catch.”
Late Sunday afternoon as Tessa looked down at their massive catch she was now gutting, she was glad the lion’s share was down to Chance. Otherwise she’d be comatose with orgasmic pleasure.
“Oh, gross! I can’t believe you actually enjoy doin’ that.” Janey wrinkled up her nose in disgust as Tessa efficiently gutted the heap of fish. Preparing them to take to the communal fire pit as their contribution to the fishing challenge, Tessa was delighted because she was certain that the fish were more than enough to put them at the top to win the fishing challenge. They were down by the creek with the other women preparing their fixings while the men stood over by the fire poking it and acting all macho proud of themselves after firing up the array of charcoal ovens and grills around the large fire pit and cooking area on the Williams’ land.
The setting was magnificent. Nestled in the valley amidst the tallest foothills of the mountains, the rest of the Williams’ land was as outstanding as Chance’s ranch. Tessa took a swig of the ice-cool cider Chance had made sure she had a decent supply of before he went to join the other men, and laughed at her friend’s disgust over her ability to gut fish. “I don’t enjoy it. I enjoy fishing and I’ve learned to get over my squeamishness about this part of it. I use fish remains as fertilizer at the nursery, so I’ve gotten used to them that way as well.”
“You stink, girl!”
“Look who’s talking. You stink of horses!”
Janey laughed. “Guess we both need a dip in the creek. Too bad there isn’t enough time between now and chow to head up to the hot springs.”
“There are hot springs around here?” Tessa’s eyes lit up. “I was hoping I might get to enjoy that part of the mountain environment, but no one has told me about them.”
Janey shrugged and looked a little belligerent. “Yeah, well, that’s because they’re kinda out of bounds.” She looked down at her muddy cowboy boots and then mischievously back at Tessa. “Not that I let that stop me.”
“Out of bounds? What do you mean?”
“Not sure exactly. The area has recently been put under a protection and no-go order. Wes won’t give me all the details, but I reckon it’s over some land dispute. I’ve been going there since I was a kid. I don’t see why I should stop now.”
Tessa looked doubtful. “Maybe you should find out the details before you go again. It might be unsafe.”
Janey rolled her eyes. “Look who’s talking, Ms. I Have Prowlers I Refuse to Tell My Boyfriend About.”
Tessa paled at Janey’s mention of that fraught issue. The fun over the weekend had managed to push it out of her mind. She blurted out her regret and change of heart immediately. “I should never have kept it from him! It was stupid, especially as it’s gotten worse.” Tessa told Janey about the hole on Friday morning.
“Really? Why didn’t you call me? I thought we were sleuthing this together?” Janey pouted, aggrieved at being left out.
Tessa shook her head. “This isn’t a game anymore, Janey. If it wasn’t for this weekend, I’d have told Chance on Friday, but I didn’t want to spoil this. It was too important, but I’m telling him next week. First opportunity I get.”
Janey was not impressed at the prospect of losing the entertainment value of Tessa’s prowlers. “God, you’re such a goody two-shoes. No wonder you’re everyone’s darling.”
“Hey, Janey. Play nice. Give Tessa time. She’s bound to slip up sometime and get in trouble like the rest of us. ’Course she’ll have to work real hard to keep up with your tally.”
The good-natured jibe came from Steph, the eldest of the Williams wives. Although the eldest, she was married to Cole, the youngest of the four brothers. At thirty-four she was over nine years older than her husband of five years. Tessa was impressed that at the tender age of twenty, Cole had fallen for Steph and persuaded her to marry him in a little over two months. Mind you, Tessa reckoned if he’d even half of Chance’s charm, his success was hardly surprising.
Janey shrugged, answering Steph’s teasing. “Ahh, hell, Wes is just like his cousins. A protective, demanding, and overbearing ass, but hey, he is my protective, demanding and overbearing ass.” Janey beamed. Love and affection for her fiancé was clear in her look and tone. “Still, that doesn’t mean I intend to let him rule the roost the way you let your men. I do what I like and suffer the consequences.” She shrugged again. “If that means I run up my tally, so be it. No way am I buckling under to his whims just because it earns me a sore butt.”
Tessa choked on the cider she was enjoying, spewing it out all over her shirt. She could hardly believe what she just heard. Cally, the wife of the second eldest brother, Tyler, thumped her on the back none too gently and asked her laughingly, “Hey, come on. Janey didn’t shock you, did she? You really so goody two-shoes that Chance ain’t tanned you yet? What’s it been? Four weeks? Ty’d already spanked me loads and whipped me at least twice by then.”
“That’s because you’re such a brat. You almost got yourself killed riding that stallion when everyone warned you how dangerous he was.” This offering came from Suzy, Kyle’s wife. Like Tessa and Chance, there was only a year or two between her and her husband. With Cally and Ty, there was the same age difference as Cole and Steph, only in reverse. At nineteen and a newlywed of only a few months, Cally was irrepressible and constantly challenging her new husband.
Tessa mopped at her blouse and looked helplessly at Suzy. “Is this for real? Are you guys actually casually talking about Wes and Ty spanking Janey and Cally?” Her voice sounded panicked even to her own ears, probably because she was too embarrassed to admit Chance had already spanked her and terrified that her face would reveal it.
Cally piped up, indignantly countering Suzy’s reprimand, firing at her sister-in-law. “Well, at least I didn’t almost burn down Grandma Anne’s old house.” Turning her attention to Tessa, she added. “Are you serious? You think Chance has let you off with that? He’s just biding his time. He’ll choose his moment to heat up your ass over it for sure!”
“That’s enough, Cally.” Steph’s voice was even as she ushered a petulant Cally away from a dazed Tessa. “Ty will heat up your ass if he hears you talk to Tessa like that. Give her and Chance space to ease into their relationship and stop shooting off your mouth about yours. Learn some discretion.” Calling over her two children—Simon, aged four and Sheba, two—she handed Cally a platter of fish and smaller bags of prepared vegetables to the two children. “Here, you two. Help Aunt Cally take these over to the cookout.” Turning back to Cally, she adopted a tougher stance, fixing the younger woman with a sharp glare. “Smarten up or Ty will hear of it.”
The admonishment worked. Cally made a show of flouncing off, but just before she left, she turned to Tessa with a softened look and voice. “Sorry, Tessa. Don’t mind what I say. I shoot my mouth off too much. We all really like you and want to make you feel welcome. Chance is crazy about you. Don’t worry. He won’t do a thing that’ll cause you any harm. None of the Williams boys would to any of us. They just have old-fashioned notions about how they deal with their women.” She paused and then a mischievous smile lit her face as she fired her parting shot in a lowered whisper. “You’ll get to like it, I promise.”
Tessa blushed furiously at the younger woman’s innuendo. Cally’s talk of discipline revived how she felt when Chance had spanked her, how ambivalent she was about the whole concept. She’d come to wonder over these last weeks if his disciplining of her that day was an aberration. If it turned out that wasn’t true and it happened again, she’d told herself she’d put a strategy in place, come up with a plan to nix his alpha male spanking mode. Only here she was in the middle of the Williams women listening to blatant testimony that indicated there was every possibility the practice was deeply ingrained, not just in him, but in his entire family. In fact, it was beginning to sound like meting out discipline to recalcitrant wives, fiancées, and perhaps even girlfriends was as much a Williams family tradition as their cookouts.
Tessa shifted awkwardly, mortified by the tingle in her nipples and buzz in her jeans brought on by the thought of her trip over Chance’s knee. After almost four weeks, she managed to convince herself that she’d hated everything about the spanking. Now Cally’s comment was burrowing into her fear surrounding her arousal over it. Cally could very well be right. She could get to like it. That’s what bothered her the most. How on earth could she like the idea of a man spanking her? It went against all her principles. She objected to her brother and cousin trying to verbally control her. How much more should she protest when a man physically laid down the law?
So how come the idea made her hot? How come more than once these past weeks had she caught herself running her fingers rhythmically over her wet pussy lips, imagining the feel of his punishing hands? She could understand her sexual reaction. She’d read enough to know that spanking was a turn-on for a lot of people. The buttocks were an erogenous zone, so physical attention was bound to cause arousal. Unless someone was truly against the practice for personal or moral reasons, it was understandably erotic.
What Tessa didn’t get was how much her stomach flipped and her pulse raced at the disciplinary aspect of it. It wasn’t the thought of pleasure that excited her. The turn-on was rooted in real discipline. In how much it hurt and how chastised she felt. Humiliatingly, she got hot whenever he rolled up his sleeves, the action burned in her brain as a prelude to a spanking. The times he’d warned her, she’d felt not just fear but excitement as well. She was deeply affected when he told her off with a strict look and stern tone. Her heart raced at the image of him pulling her across his knee. The fact that she feared it enough to alter her behavior, that the threat held that much power was exhilarating. It wasn’t just the spanking. His whole disciplinary stance and attitude thrilled her.
It was all too confusing! She was an independent woman. She wasn’t supposed to like a man taking charge, especially not in such a way. A way that made her feel like a naughty little girl in the care of a strict man. Only now she was surrounded by women who were treated that way and liked it! Well, not all of them. Surely Steph and Suzy were not subject to their husbands’ discipline? Firing them both an embarrassed look, Tessa hoped her face was not as red as it felt.
Looking at her with concerned faces, Steph and Suzy tried to reassure her. Running her hand over her eight-month pregnant belly, Suzy told her earnestly, “Cally may be a brat, Tessa, but she’s right. It feels outrageous at first, but you do get to like it. Not the actual spankings, they hurt, but being taken care of that way. Having a strong man who’s not afraid to take you in hand is deeply satisfying.”
