Queenie Valemont stands at the sun-baked fence line, her quick tongue already testing the limits of Samuel Vesper's patience as the first light catches the scar across his chest. Every challenge she throws his way pulls her closer to the moment his hands will strip away her defiance along with her skirts, delivering the spanking that both humiliates and claims her as his.
In the root cellar beneath their cabin, Samuel draws her across his lap with the same steady strength that protects their land. The echo of his palm against her bare skin could reach the neighbors who already watch their claim too closely, turning private correction into public ruin.
She fears the abandonment that would follow discovery, yet the structure of his discipline is the only thing keeping her from shattering.
