Page 15 of House Divided
Chapter Three
Once again, Madeline was awoken by delicious smells.
I could get used to this.
She poked her head out of the tent and saw Enoch crouched over the cooking unit.
“If that’s really coffee, we’re getting married, just so you know,” she observed.
Madeline saw his broad shoulders shake with a laugh.
“Just tell me the date, so I can buy a nice suit,” he replied. “And yes, it is coffee. And some rehydrated oatmeal.”
Madeline slipped her boots on and left the tent. “Not sure I want to know aboutthat, but for the love of Tarma, please pour me some coffee.”
Enoch poured her a cup and handed it to her. “Careful, it’s still hot.”
Madeline took the cup from him gratefully, sipping cautiously at the hot caffeine.
“You know, the red kind of grows on you,” she said, surveying the sweeping grasslands.
“I’m not sure I agree, but I was happy to see these.” Enoch pointed to the ground around the tent. Madeline peered down and saw the tracks of small animals crisscrossing around the tent itself.
“So we had little critters last night?” she asked.
Enoch nodded. “And where there are little critters, there’s water,” he explained. “I’m hoping that we find a water source today. Eat your oatmeal; we need to get moving.”
Madeline looked down at the unappetizing bowl of goop in front of her. “Yerch,” she said in disgust.
“You’ll need the energy,” said Enoch curtly. “There’s good protein in there.”
“I’m not hungry,” replied Madeline, putting the bowl down.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You need to eat. We’ve got a long day ahead of us, and I’ll not have you passing out by midday.”
“I’ll be fine,” insisted Madeline. “I’m sure we’ve got some kind of energy bars or something I can snack on.”
“Madeline, we’re rationing food. This is what I made for this morning. Eat your food, or there will be consequences,” Enoch growled.
“What? Do you think you’re going to spank me again?” Madeline demanded.
“That is exactly what will happen if you do not eat the breakfast I made for you. You can eat it now, or eat it on a sore bottom.”
Madeline shook her head angrily. “Just when I was starting to think you mightnotbe a total asshole.”
“Think what you like,” he replied. “But eat your food.”
She looked at him, made sure they had eye contact, then flung her bowl away.
It was astonishing how quickly Enoch moved. With one hand, he snatched the bowl out of the air, and with the other, he gripped her upper arm. By the time Madeline could even think of running away, it was already too late.
Enoch set the bowl down then sat down on a flat stone, pulling Madeline over his lap as he did so.
“No, no, NO!” she protested.
“You had more than fair warning,” he responded calmly, tugging her clothing down and baring her bottom.
Madeline hated the fact that her fury was tinged with excitement and arousal. Once again, she was facedown with her bottom high, bared to this man’s discipline. She knew what was coming, but there was a part of her that seemed toneedit.
