Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (18 page)

Jenny awakened to Josh nuzzling her ear. "Go away, I can't move!"

"You have to move," Josh said, but she heard the humor in his voice.

"Don't make fun of me!" Jenny moaned.

"I wasn't the one who decided to ski down Highline," he reminded her.

Jenny smacked at him with a pillow. "Why didn't you stop me?"

"I tried. You were adamant. It was too steep and too dangerous for you, and you knew it. You are damn lucky you went down in the snow, and not into tree or a rock," Josh said pulling off the covers and hoisting her to her feet.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

He bent down, lifted her over his shoulder, carried her into the bathroom, stood her on her feet, and flipped her flimsy tee shirt over her head. Then, he lifted her into the Jacuzzi tub so the swirling jets of hot water could soothe her aching muscles.

"Five minutes alone, and then I'm joining you," Josh warned. He came back a few minutes later with an ice bucket, glasses, and a bottle of orange juice.

"So romantic," Jenny murmured.

Josh smiled as he pulled off his clothes and joined her in the tub. "Not romantic, practical. Tyrell and Violet can have the hangovers; I think both of them will have one this morning." He sat down beside her. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, but the pain will resume as soon as I get out of the hot water," Jenny whined.

"More than muscle pains," Josh said while his hands stroked and massaged her thighs, and he worked his way down her legs. He worked on her arms, moved around, pulled her over so her back was to him and dug his fingers into her sore shoulders. Soon, he lifted her again, this time to bend her over the edge of the deep tub and smacked her bottom hard.

The wet slap stung and Jenny squealed, "Josh!"

"This is for not listening to me," Josh said firmly. "I told you not to do the Highline run, you ignored my warning. Now, you will pay for it in more ways than one."

His second spank was harder, and Jenny realized this was not foreplay, but discipline.

The evening before, they had all taken the lift to the top of the mountain at the Highline run. Josh and Jenny intended to look at the view, take the lift back down, and wait for Violet and Tyrell at the Lodge. Violet had teased them about not wanting to attempt the expert slopes. When Jenny countered she could do it, Josh had interjected with a firm, "No!" Something in Josh's voice challenged Jenny. When Violet kicked off, Jenny followed her. She was skiing down the steep run almost before realizing what she was doing. Instantly, she knew the advanced slope exceeded her skill level. Tyrell pushed off as soon as he saw she was having problems. He skied over to her and stayed beside her until Josh caught up with them. She and Josh then proceeded down at a much slower pace.

She knew Josh was upset the night before, but he had gone along with their plans for the evening as they had gone to dinner and tried out a few clubs. He had not acted angry, but then again, he wasn't one to rant and rave. He was a thinker and reviewed issues before taking action. He was not angry now, but he intended to discipline her for not listening to him.

That she was warm, naked, and wet was not going to stop him. There was no preparing for it. He slapped his hand across her ass with whack after painful whack. He took turns swatting one butt cheek, then the other. The heat built up until her bottom burned, and then he applied more spanks to her tender sit spots.

She cried, as he calmly explained how she deserved every single smack. They had agreed the week before when they had gone to Purgatory for practice that they would not attempt expert runs until he felt confident she could handle them. Josh had taught her how to ski and took her safety seriously.

"I love you Jenny, but sometimes your common sense flies out the window!" Josh scolded sternly, laying several severe spanks to her already tender backside. "You will not take another irresponsible chance like this again while we are here! Is it understood?"

Jenny was crying because Josh followed nearly every word with another smack. She was almost dancing as she tried to squirm away from the pain. Oh! She wanted this to end! "Yes," she exclaimed, "Yes."

"Good!" Josh wrapped his arm around her middle and lifted her out of the Jacuzzi. He stepped out behind her, wrapped her in a towel, briskly rubbed her dry, carried her back to the bed, and tucked her in. "Get some rest. I am going to call over to the main lodge and see if I can get you in for an appointment for a professional massage."

When Josh went to the kitchen, Tyrell and Violet were already sitting in the glassed part of the breakfast room. They were enjoying coffee and the view of an overnight snowfall at the top of the mountain. He poured himself a mug and joined them.

"Is Jenny okay?" Violet asked. "I was teasing yesterday. I didn't mean for her to take the last run."

"Her muscles are sore, but she is okay," Josh shrugged. "She will miss out on skiing today. I am going to see if I can get her an appointment for a massage. We will probably spend time in the pool and Jacuzzi. She still has tomorrow for more skiing."

"I'll make the appointment," Violet offered, quickly glancing in her husband's direction. "I might get her into a hot-rock massage, which would probably be the best. Let me go apologize and see what she wants. We might have some time girl time together. Today will be on me. You and Tyrell can take on Prima Cornice or Rasputin's Run."

As Violet left the table, Tyrell leaned forward. "I nailed Violet last night for challenging Jenny. She knows better, but she is so competitive."

"It was not Violet's fault, challenge or not. Jenny and I agreed to intermediate slopes only on this trip. It takes time to work up to the expert level again. She is a decent intermediate skier, but I have never let her go on black-diamond trails unless I was with her. She is not an aggressive skier and it takes aggression to run those trails."

Tyrell nodded. "So what are we doing if the gals are at the salons today?"

"Violet doesn't have to sacrifice her day. I will stick around for Jen."

"Violet won't be comfortable herself on the lifts today," Tyrell admitted. "She has been pushing the limits lately. Last night, I pushed back."

Josh looked across the table at his brother and their eyes met. He nodded. "Jen, too, this morning. I say we let them pamper their sore parts today. I would not mind a couple of runs down Prima Cornice, I hear it is great."

"I also want to do Rodgers Run or Genghis Kahn while I'm here," Tyrell said.

Josh shook his head. "Not me, those are beyond my level. I might get to a higher level again next year, but I haven't been on skis for a while. I can't punish Jen for irresponsibility if I do the same. I want to be around to raise my kids."

Tyrell gave a nod to his head. "I guess you are right. This swank place is cool. It will give us an excuse to come more often. Not having to pay for accommodations cuts half the cost of the trip. If we save our frequent-flyer miles, we could do these trips for almost nothing. I do appreciate it, little brother."

"You can afford to come here without being a penny-pincher," Josh teased.

"Your wife doesn't shop at Neiman Marcus, or wear Oscar de la Renta or Armani… yet," Tyrell grumbled.

"My wife isn't one of the top twenty female lawyers in the country, either."

"Yeah, well she might take a break for a while," Tyrell grumbled. "She wants another kid."

"Then she will probably get it," Josh said laughing.

"Probably," Tyrell groaned. "Maybe she will go for the nanny idea this time. This is your fault, you know, making us come to your house and be around Adam. I have to keep her away from babies when she gets in these moods. It does something to her mommy hormones."

Josh laughed. "Let's see what they decided. Maybe you will get lucky and have twins the next time."

"God forbid," Tyrell groaned.

* * *

"Can I see?" Mila yelled impatiently from around the doorway to the kitchen.

"No! I'll come and get you when we are ready!" Kevin shouted, "Out!" He came through the kitchen door as Mila disappeared out the front door with Buddy fast on her heels. He shook his head and went back to work.

Mila moved as fast she could considering her girth. She went back to the guesthouse, checked on the kids, and collapsed into a chair. She could no longer lie down because it was too difficult to get up from the bed.

Kevin would not let her into her own house. They had finalized the plans and his cousins had gutted her small kitchen in all of two hours. Kevin had refused her entry for the last day and a half. It drove her crazy not to see the progress. She had watched his cousins carry in cabinets, appliances, and mysterious boxes. They even brought in the countertop wrapped in paper so she could not peek.

He had introduced her to his cousins, Wayne, and Lee Taylor, telling her unless she knew sign language, she would have to communicate with them through him. They were both deaf from birth and communicated with sign language, although Wayne could lip-read a bit. He proclaimed they were the best carpenters in his shop. Wayne was his second in command and in charge when Kevin worked on a site. His shop, which Mila had not seen yet, employed all three of the male cousins of his generation. Joe Gibson, his third cousin, staffed the front desk and handled orders. Kevin had six additional full-time employees along with two part-time seniors, who liked to stay busy and earn a little extra cash. Everyone in his employ was required to learn sign language.

Josh and Jenny would only be gone one more day, and Kevin promised Mila he would complete her kitchen before their return. His crew worked late into the evening. When the trucks pulled out, he finally came over to knock on her door.

"Have you finished?" Mila demanded.

"You are worse than a kid," Kevin said with a grin. "Sometime tomorrow morning, it will be done."

"Spoilsport," Mila griped.

* * *

Kevin flipped from his back to his stomach, trying to settle, and get some sleep. It was not easy on the uncomfortable and lumpy couch in Mila's place, and he was plagued with the same recurring dream. He had dreamed it so often that he remembered quite a few details. It did not take a genius to figure its meaning. The problem was there was nothing he could do about it since Mila still kept him at a distance. He couldn't blame her. The timing was lousy. It had not been long since she lost her husband, and she was only a month from her due date.

He looked at the clock and realized it was three a.m., not a time he usually observed in his daily life. He was old school, early to bed—no later than eleven—and early to rise. He closed his eyes, but they sprang open when he heard a knock on the door.

He jumped to his feet to find Mila standing outside in a robe, holding her stomach.

He pulled her inside, "What is it?"

"Something is wrong," Mila whispered, fear evident in her voice. "I'm having pains."

"Regular? Have you been timing them?" Kevin demanded.

She shook her head. "Intermittent, but they are getting harder. Should I go to the hospital?"

"Yes! Has your water broken? Has there been any blood?" Kevin demanded.

"No, and no."

"Hold on," Kevin grabbed clothes and boots, yanking them on any which way. He took her back to the guesthouse and left her sitting on the couch while he ran upstairs to grab her suitcase and bring it down to her.

"Let's get you dressed first, something loose, and warm. I have to wake the kids."

"I'll be okay, get the kids, and throw some diapers into the diaper bag for Adam. Bring him down, and I will get him into his snowsuit while you get Emmie ready."

"They can go in their pajamas."

"You still have to change Adam's diaper," Mila yelled.

"I know! I have twenty-three nieces and nephews, remember," Kevin said over his shoulder. "Yell, if you get another pain."

Mila did not yell, but she did have another pain. She was scared. Something strange was happening. Her vision was blurry, her ears were ringing, and she could feel her heart beating faster.

Kevin ran down the stairs with Adam in his arms, along with a diaper bag and several tote bags. He went back for Emmie. He dove into the refrigerator, threw bottles of water and juice, and several pieces of fruit into one of the bags. "We will take my truck, but I have to put the safety seats in the backseat for the kids."

"We can take Jenny's Land Rover," Mila suggested.

Kevin shook his head. "If you didn't notice, it's snowing again. The Land Rover might have four-wheel drive, but my truck is safer. Even if I have to drop the snow plow, we will get there."

Mila nodded as he rushed outside.

He came back a few minutes later mumbling, "Someone needs to invent a safety seat to install in seconds! Let's get you dressed." Kevin grabbed a larger coat of Josh's and put it around her. "I will help you to the edge of the decking. From there, I will carry you to the truck. I'll come back for the kids. I already started the engine to get the heater going." He called over his shoulder, "Stay, and watch the house, Buddy," then he was back out the door.

Kevin gently sat Mila in the passenger seat and tucked a blanket around her. He hugged her when another pain came and she sucked in her breath. He held one hand on her shoulder, and the other on her stomach. "That was definitely a contraction. Hold on, I'll get you to the hospital."