#6BestHop - The Code of the West

Welcome to my blog for the Six of the Best blog-hop. It's been ages since I participated in this blog-hop so it's great to be part of it once again and share a snippet out of my erotic spanky Western - The Code of the West. 

The Code of the West is the stand-alone sequel to The Ways of the West and is where Mr Jordan, the ruggedly handsome, stern trail boss, finds love. 

Both stories have been combined into one paperback volume: The Heart of the West

Mustering all the strength she could, she stood up, stretched, and crept over to the remuda. The horses were all line tethered, and she could see the night hawker right at the very end. He didn’t look to be very alert; she was safe. The horse at the close end of the line was a bay mare she’d ridden many times before, a solid horse with plenty of stamina and enough speed to put a good distance between herself and the camp, before she was discovered. As quickly and quietly as she could, she threw the saddle over the mare’s back and was tightening the cinch when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped.

            “What do you think you are doing?” Davey growled. He spun her around to face him and shook her gently. “You can’t take off in the middle of the night like that!” he scolded.

            “Let me go,” Jed snarled. “I don’t have a choice, don’t you see? Cal and Neil will be back. And next time, they’ll kill Mr Jordan. I have to leave – it’s the only way for me to keep him safe!”

            Davey didn’t let her go. Instead, he hoisted her over his shoulder. “You’re coming with me. You can explain your logic to Mr Jordan. I think he deserves an explanation, don’t you?”

            “Put me down!” she hissed. She pounded his back with her fists and kicked her legs as hard as

Inspiration for Mr Jordan

she could but he held her fast.

            “Stop that!” he told her sternly. When she didn’t comply, his hand crashed down hard on her backside.

            She yelped, but didn’t stop fighting. In fact, she fought more desperately, pounding her fists against his back again and again. She’d always respected Davey - he was a kind and patient man; why couldn’t he understand her desperation now? Davey stopped walking. She felt his body tense up as he prepared to put all his strength into spanking her again. Too late, she stopped fighting. His big hand crashed hard against the seat of her pants three more times, setting her backside on fire, and she went limp over his shoulder, sobbing quietly. She was beaten, and she knew it. She’d barely mustered the courage to follow through on her decision to leave – there was no way she could do it now. Not now that Davey was delivering her into the arms of the man she loved.

            Davey kept one arm wrapped securely around her legs as he edged aside the canvas cover at the back of the wagon. When he’d made a space, he set her down gently inside.

            “Boss!” Davey called quietly.

            Slowly, Mr Jordan sat up. “What’s going on?” he asked, his words slurred, his pain etched with pain. “Can’t a man sleep in peace?”

            “You might want to hear this,” Davey told him, standing right at the back of the wagon blocking Jed’s escape. “I found her trying to run away,” Davey explained. Then he looked at Jed. “How about you tell him why?”

            Jed gulped. Her reasoning had seemed sound, when she’d convinced herself she was doing the right thing. But now that she was standing there in the wagon with the man she loved, she couldn’t believe she’d been willing to go through with it.

            “I wanted to save you,” she explained.

            “By running away?” Mr Jordan asked.

            “Yes. No! Well I wanted to stop Neil coming after you and the only way I can see to do that, is for me to leave, and to go back there. Neil’s an alcoholic – Cal is his ticket to remain that way. And Cal hates losing, so he’ll be busy plotting something right this minute. They’ll be after you – they’ll kill you! I couldn’t let that happen!”

            Mr Jordan propped himself up on his good arm, wincing at the effort. “So instead of coming to me with your fears you thought it best just to leave? And break my heart?”

            “Break your heart?” Jed looked confused. “I didn’t think of that.”

            “Thank you Davey,” Mr Jordan looked at his scout. “You can go now.”

            Tipping his hat to her, Davey strode off, back to his position on night hawk, watching over the remuda.

            “Come here, lie down.” Mr Jordan winced again as he moved over a bit, making room for her beside him on the makeshift bed. She snuggled up against him, being as gentle as possible, but he still groaned in pain.

            “This is a really bad idea,” she told him, sitting up. “I’m hurting you.”

            “Lie back down,” Mr Jordan ordered. “You deserve a spanking for trying to sneak off like that,” he growled. “You’re lucky I’m too sore to give you one.”

            “Davey did,” she told him, as she lay back down, taking more care this time not to hurt him.

            “Davey spanked you? For running away?” Mr Jordan sounded disbelieving. “Mild mannered Davey?”

            “Well, no, technically he spanked me because I wouldn’t keep still. He was bringing me here to you and I was fighting him. So he walloped me a couple times. It hurt, too! My bottom still hurts.”

            Mr Jordan chuckled then groaned. “It hurts to laugh,” he moaned. “So you still deserve a spanking for trying to run away, then. I’m glad he found you.” He reached for her hand and entwined his fingers tightly around hers. “You know, there is another way to stop this: I could marry you. If you were my wife, your brother would have no choice but to tell his friend to leave you alone. And I did take quite a beating for you – the least you could do would be to marry me!”

            Jed sat up again. “That is the most unromantic proposal I’ve ever heard!” she exclaimed.

            “I’m a trail boss, not a romantic.”

            “Are you serious?” Jed asked him. “Do you really want to marry me?”

            “I want to marry you.”

            “But why? I’ve got nothing to offer – I’m homeless, destitute … I’m not even pretty anymore, not since cutting off all my hair. Why would you want to marry me?”

            Mr Jordan squeezed her hand. “Because I love you,” he said simply.

            “I love you too, Weston.” Snuggling back down gently beside him, she lay back, her small hand clutching his big one, listening to the wheezey rasping of his chest as he struggled to breathe. And within minutes, she was asleep.

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Blurb:

In the years since the tragic death of her parents, Jedda-Lyn Cross has given everything she has to keep the family ranch running. She has grown accustomed to getting no help at all from her alcoholic brother, but when his violent, sadistic friend tries to make Jedda his wife against her will, it is the last straw.

Her attacker is the son of the richest family in town, and with the corrupt sheriff ready to do his bidding Jedda is desperate to leave town in a hurry. With no money and no horse, her best chance of making her escape comes in the form of a soon-to-be-departing cattle drive led by the famous trail boss Wes Jordan. But a young woman has little hope of gaining employment on a cattle drive, so drastic measures will be required…

Wes is none too pleased when he discovers that the new drover he hired is actually a beautiful twenty-two-year-old woman disguised as a boy, but after hearing Jedda’s story he promises to protect her. As he quickly realizes, however, that will be easier said than done. Jedda is sassy, headstrong, and in serious need of a good, hard, bare-bottom spanking, and when her reckless disregard for her own safety finally pushes him too far, Wes takes her firmly in hand.

After a painful, humiliating punishment from the handsome trail boss, Jedda is left with her bottom burning and her mind set awhirl. In spite of everything, she aches for Wes to take her in his arms, and when at last he does the pleasure of his skillful, passionate lovemaking nearly takes her breath away. But with her obsessed former suitor and his hired guns still after her, can she bring herself to accept the fact that, for a man like Wes, risking his life to protect the woman he loves is just part of what it means to live by the code of the west.

Publisher’s Note: The Code of the West is an erotic romance novel that contains sexual scenes and spankings, including domestic discipline in a historical setting. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Don't forget to check out snippets from the other talented authors sharing in the #6BestHop this week!