Read Liv's Journey for Free Online Page B

eyes turned to Trey, and Liv didn't miss it. She had a feeling that she'd stepped in a mud puddle wearing her best shoes.
    " I should think before I talk?"
    Liv turned back to her salad bowl, and prepared to take a bite. She had no reason to demur; she'd only given her viewpoint. "Yeah. You can go back to your planning now. I can figure the rest out for myself."
    The gazes went from Trey to Liv and back again.
    "Thanks," he said. "But your permission isn't necessary. Nor is your disrespect. If you wanted a spankin', you could have just asked for it."
    Liv swallowed a lump of lettuce that tried to stick in her throat. A frisson snaked down her spine. "Spanking?"
    "Yeah, you heard me right. Go out to the truck."
    "But I'm eating my dinner."
    "And you can finish your dinner after."
    Liv put her fork down and glanced at Laura, Mark and Rosaria. They were all wide-eyed. When she turned back to Trey, his look made her feel like a naughty little girl. Her father used to look at her like that if she'd done something stupid. But that was a long, long time ago. No one else had ever looked at her like he was ready to teach her a lesson.
    "You can't be serious, Trey!"
    He nodded, his look tight, despite the slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. "Oh, but I am. Go out to the truck."
    If she cooperated, she'd be spanked, as sure as the moon shifted the tides. If she didn't cooperate, she'd close off any possible relationship with Trey. And, that was really the bigger question than the spanking. The spanking was like a commitment to submit to him. She'd be giving up control. And a lifetime of control was a hard thing to overcome. The experience would be humiliating, announced so publicly here with his friends, but the fact was, she'd enjoyed the swats she'd had from Trey before.
    She looked at his brown eyes, so focused on her. He waited patiently, turning once to sip at the tequila he'd hardly touched, but then shifting back in his chair to look at her.
    Liv tossed her napkin on the table and rose stiffly from the chair, forcing her back ramrod straight, holding all the dignity she could muster in the rigidity of her shoulders. As she marched out, she heard the scrape of Trey's chair and his assurances that they'd return to the table in a moment. Mark murmured a response, but Liv couldn't make out what it was.
    She considered her options.
    As she approached the door to the truck, Liv examined her attitude. Yes, she'd been snippy at Trey. Maybe even disrespectful. He hadn't said anything particularly offensive, after all. She'd been uncomfortable and she'd taken it out on him. Not nice and not bright.
    She'd gotten herself into this situation. As she saw it, there were only two choices: submit to the spanking and find out where it led, or go back to the ranch and wave goodbye to Trey. The thing was, she liked him, really liked him. He was fun and interesting, polite, intelligent. And, even though she had to return to New York at the end of the week, she had a romantic dream that he'd want to continue the relationship. If so, they'd work it out.
    But, she'd have to submit and give up some control.
    Maybe the spanking could be used as a test of her tenacity. If she got through the spanking without calling the cops, then maybe, maybe she could give up more significant control. Maybe even explore one of those x-frames or sub comforts. Orgasms as rewards—she have liked to get some of that with their last encounter.
    Trey unlocked and opened the back passenger door for her. She climbed in. The truck was a large one, with a cab that could hold five grown men. Trey slid in beside her.
    It was dark and she couldn't see him too well in the light of a blinking neon sign, but she heard him perfectly when he said, "Pull down your pants."
    It seemed abrupt. "No lecture? No reprimand?" His eyes narrowed and she knew she'd made things worse.
    "You’re a clever girl, Liv. You already know what you did. So mind me. Or we can call it a night, I’ll