Scold's Conquest (Worship Series Book 5) Read online

  Scold's Conquest

  Worship Series Book V

  By

  Marie Hall

  2016© Blushing Books® and Marie Hall

  All rights reserved.

  No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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  Marie Hall

  Scold’s Conquest

  EBook ISBN: 978-1-68259-900-6

  Cover Art by ABCD Graphics & Design

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books' or the author's advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

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  Table of Contents:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  About the Author

  EBook Offer

  Blushing Books Newsletter

  Blushing Books

  Chapter One

  Xavier dropped his head and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to stop the growing headache. For three days, relative ease. This morning appeared to be another day of the same. Only after Io consumed a meal, washed her face and smiled at everyone, she refused to get in the wagon. This morning, with dark clouds looming and a stiff cold wind blowing, his wife demanded to walk.

  "She does not have shoes, you cannot let her," Jon said in a ground out whisper.

  "He needs to let her make these choices." Gerald worked to keep his voice low as well.

  Before, he'd have declared her stubborn and forced her to get in the wagon, likely with a few good smacks to her rump. Now, he tried to give more consideration to things Io said or did. If this was a challenge, he couldn't say. If she only wanted to stretch her legs after three days in the small wagon, he wouldn't assume. He'd been told Io needed to have periods of exercise to help her heal from the miscarriage. Xavier's concern was more that she'd exhaust herself out of spite.

  She didn't want to return home. She'd agreed but she wanted to be as far from him as she could get. It hurt knowing his own wife hated him. And it confused him because he sometimes caught her looking at him the way she'd done before he'd failed her so completely.

  "…and the weather is turning again, this will slow us down," Ian grumbled.

  Xavier heard the arguments why he should deny Io. None of them stood against the one reason he shouldn't. She wanted this. He'd spent the entirety of their relationship telling her she could have whatever she wanted that was his to give and then denying her time and again for no reason better than it was inconvenient to him she should have it. His wife no longer trusted anything he told her; she assumed he never considered her in any matter, regardless of how small. Dropping his arms and forcing his hands to relax out of fists, Xavier headed to where Io waited leaning against the side of the wagon he'd taken special effort to make comfortable for her.

  His steps faltered when her expression became one of distrust and fear. He watched her tense and step back. The vehicle behind her kept her from going far and Xavier reached her before she chose which way to run. To her credit, she straightened her posture and pulled back her shoulders the same time her chin came up to meet his eyes. She could still do that. She could meet his gaze directly, so few could. This woman could look him in the face even when she was afraid of him.

  "Io," he started.

  "Am I not allowed to walk? You will not let me?" she interrupted with a sneer.

  "Io, it is not about what I allow." Xavier folded his arms across his chest to prevent reaching out and pulling her against him like he wanted. "You wish to walk, there is no danger in doing so." He tipped his head a bit to the right and saw a bit of her stiffness slip. "I would that you allow if you tire or if the weather grows worse…" He looked up at the sky and knew it would rain. His eyes came back to hers. "You ride again."

  "I am not stupid," she snapped.

  "I know, Io. I also know you often become willful when you think you have something to prove." It wasn't the conversation he wanted to have. He was weary of every conversation becoming an argument. It seemed they couldn't do anything except argue or ignore each other. They needed to be able to speak,
honestly, without anger or fear.

  "What do I have to prove," she asked, sadly. "I have been declared a failure."

  Xavier inhaled sharply, ready to deny and rebut her statement. Then realizing that would lead to yet another fight between them, he made the conscience choice to ignore it. "You have nothing at all to prove, Io. You have never had to prove anything to anyone." He stepped back so she might feel free to walk away. "We should be on our way."

  He headed back to where the men waited and signaled everyone to mount. Seeing Io start down the road, turn, look back before picking up her pace, Xavier set his foot in the stirrup when Gunther rode up.

  "You know she tends to be… talkative when she walks," he said, giving Xavier a pointed look.

  Again Xavier looked at her moving down the road. "She does not want to talk to me." He again made to mount.

  "She also tends to be willing to listen," the man added.

  He was correct. If Xavier didn't start trying now, then when? He pulled his foot from the stirrup and drawing the reins over the horse's head he started, on foot, after Io. As soon as the animal realized this, he nearly trampled Xavier to catch up with her. Xavier came alongside his wife, stumbling and red faced. And he almost kissed the beast when he caught sight of Io trying to hide a smile.

  He reined the horse back and cleared his throat. "Do you care if I walk with you?"

  She gave him a hard look. "Do you intend to strap me the whole way?"

  He bit his tongue. He deserved that. Without a word, he pulled the horse to a stop. Removing his sword from his side, he secured it behind the saddle and made a show of pulling his heavy belt from around his waist and stuffing it in his saddle bag. He patted down his person and pulled the small knife out and put it in with the belt. Tugging his oilskin cloak down, he folded it over his arm as he took the reins and stepped up beside Io again.

  Her eyes stayed on him the entire time and he caught the unguarded surprise at his actions. She hesitated when he took the first step forward then fell in beside him. They walked in silence for a while, but needing an opening Xavier did something he wasn't accustom to doing.

  "Io, I want to apologize. I was wrong to take my belt to you." He kept his eyes forward as he spoke but he felt her staring at him. "I did not hear you out about why you left the house and I certainly did not ask your reason for not wanting to ride. If I had, perhaps we might not be here now. So I say again, I am most sorry."

  He looked at her then. Her head was down and she picked at her nails. "It was too late, my reason then, for not wanting to ride," she said softly.

  "We did not know. I should have asked. I was impatient and tired and I did not give you so much as a basic courtesy." He still didn't understand how something as important as Io's mare being sent to slaughter was done without his consent, without him being informed of the act. He'd enough time, trying to catch up with his runaway wife, to conclude the control he had in his home was diminished. Expecting Io to have any when his was lacking, was a miscalculation that cost them both dearly.

  They walked awhile more in silence and Xavier thought perhaps that was all the progress he'd make today. She'd listened to his apology; it was a start. He could think on it more and maybe tomorrow he'd have something more to say.

  "You are angry with me," she said, dropping her hands to her sides and taking her bottom lip between her teeth.

  "No, Io, I am not angry with you." The look she gave him prompted him to clarify. He needed to be as honest as possible if he was going to regain this woman's trust. He took a deep breath. "I am angry. I am angry and disappointed and… hurt. I am those things. But I am not angry with you. I am angry with myself. I was very sure I was doing things as they needed to be done."

  "You were…" Io interrupted.

  "No," he cut her off hoping she'd hear him out. "No, I placed you in my house and gave no other thought to it. I placed a large burden on you then did nothing to support you in carrying it."

  "And I failed." She sighed and again started picking at her nails.

  "You were undermined, Io. I believe eventually you would have mastered everything. Unfortunately, time was not on our side after Charlotte." His mother was a weakness he didn't know how to handle. His habit of biting his tongue and letting Charlotte do and say what she wanted caused Io more distress than he knew possible. As much as he wanted to continue to respect his father's wife, he couldn't keep doing so at the expense of his own. "You were outnumbered and undefended," he went on.

  "And if I had done things the way they were meant to be done, I—"

  "Io, you could have done everything just as Charlotte would have and still have not pleased her. You did… do things your way. Those ways are acceptable. I could say it leaves you vulnerable, but I should have acted as the shield, that you could act on matters as you saw fit and not be left open to hurt, harm." He chanced a glance sideways and hope flared a little seeing her expression. He knew that look. When she was trying to understand something she'd never considered, she looked that way. Her brows furrowed, her eyes got a bit brighter, lips set in a hard line but shifting to purse before becoming a line again. He went on while she thought about his words. "I failed to be your shield, Io."

  "And this makes you angry?"

  "Of course. Regardless of what else I think I should do, my priority should always be your protection—"

  "I am capable of caring for myself," she said hotly.

  "Yes, Io, you have shown us all you are far more than capable." He could admit had he not gotten her with child and had the pregnancy not turned bad, Io would have reached the coast and kept going. Xavier would still be trying to catch her but for that twisted fate. "It is not that I think you incapable. It is simply a matter of a husband's duty to his wife and family. And I do not speak only of your bodily safety. I speak of protecting your policies."

  "My policies? I do not understand." She stopped walking and he backtracked a few steps.

  "Io, what you set in place in the house and the shires, I had an obligation to enforce. If I found them unacceptable, I had an obligation to speak with you in private and work to resolve issues. Had I done that simple thing, again, we may not find ourselves here." He touched her arm to urge her to start forward again. "I am angry I gave so little effort as to cause you to flee. I am angry I allowed so much discontent to go unchecked."

  "That I fled, you are angry with me for this." She was looking at him now and he held her eyes while he spoke.

  "I am disappointed," he said, and her eyes dropped away. He reached out and lifted her chin so they again looked each other in the eyes. "I am disappointed, Io, but you were not wrong." Her eyes flared wide. "As much as I want to deny it, your instincts were correct. Had you not run, I cannot say things would improve." She pulled away and her eyes narrowed into mere slits. Not knowing the reason, he pushed on. "I am disappointed we did not speak sooner. I do not know when it became acceptable for us to not speak on matters. When I began to accept you hid things from me."

  "Do you accuse me again of lying, my lord?" Her defensive tone rang clear.

  "I cannot. I know you did not speak out because I was not listening. I will be listening now, Io."

  "What is there to say?" She shrugged and looked away. "What difference can speaking make?"

  "Io," he called, moving to step in her path. "If you allow me, I will set this right."

  The wind picked up and the strands of hair that escaped her braid whipped into her face. She struggled a minute to brush them away. He watched as she pulled her shoulders back, took a deep breath and he prepared to hear her rail at him. But as she opened her mouth, a wicked clasp of thunder dropped on them. Before he could react, Io jumped forward into his arms. She clutched at him and he felt her trembling.

  "Io?" He set his hands on her arms and pushed her back. He chuckled a bit when she resisted being set away. "Io? What is it? I have never seen you jump or shake at a storm."

  She didn't get the chance to answer as a second clasp
nearly as loud sent her slamming into his chest. Xavier barely got the oilskin over her before the drizzle became a downpour. Bending he wrapped his arms around her knees and lifted her. She stayed upright, holding the oilskin over their heads.

  Splashing through puddles, Xavier took them to the side of the road where they could wait for the wagon to pull up under the shelter of the trees, setting her down and adjusting the protective covering around her. The thunder rolled over them followed by a sky splitting bolt of lightning. If she'd been one step away, he'd have missed the sob for the pounding of the rain.

  "Io?" When had his wife become afraid of bad weather? He worked his hand under her chin and lifted her face. Her eyes were wide and her face pale. "Io? You are safe." The wagon reached them. Jon and Gunther were quick to open the covering so Xavier could lift Io inside. She scooted back into the pile of furs, pulled them around and over her and lay down without another word.

  Xavier stepped back as the covering was secured and the men again mounted. "Xavier?" Gerald called, holding out the reins for him.

  Xavier mounted and the group took up their regular stations around the wagon. As worrisome as Io's odd reaction, Xavier couldn't dismiss the elation of having her move towards him, leap in fact, when she was startled. Certainly he'd consider that a victory after having to admit she ran from him because she feared him. He needed to know what he'd done to cause the fear—what exactly she'd come to fear about him. But they were headed in the correct direction now if Io was again willing to seek him out when she wanted to feel safe. Settling into the saddle, Xavier urged Cloud into a faster trot towards home. He'd get Io home, get her back where she belonged and be the man he promised her he'd be the first time he took her there. He'd ensure this time she'd never want to leave.

  Chapter Two