Disciplining Gabrielle might take a lifetime, but Felix certainly didn't mind the effort. Not with her.
******
"I won't."
"You will."
"I won't." Gabrielle resisted the urge to stomp her foot. Or burst into tears. Or any other number of useless gestures that would get her nothing but a stern look and threat of a red bottom from Lord Dunbury. Her guardian. Her stepmother's husband.
Her stepmother was a lucky woman. Everyone loved her.
And no one loved Gabrielle. Not even the man who was going to marry her.
Tears stung at the backs of her eyes, and she blinked rapidly, her chin going up. "You can't make me."
"I most certainly can," Philip said, his tone going cold. Inwardly she quailed, although she didn't give any visible sign of it. Gabrielle would rather be spanked than have Philip turn off his emotions towards her. She hated it when he looked at her with impatient disgust. She especially hated it when Cordelia would try to intervene.
Life would be so much nicer if she could just hate her stepmother. Did the woman have to be so bloody perfect? Someone should nominate her for sainthood. It was an example Gabrielle could never hope to replicate. Cordelia was patience, sweetness, and light, no matter what happened to her. She saw the best in everyone and every situation. It was like she had sunshine glowing from her very pores. By comparison, Gabrielle felt like a squat toad.
She knew she was beautiful. Men liked her because she was beautiful. But that was an empty kind of admiration. A lonely way to be appreciated. On the inside, she was ugly. Especially in comparison to Cordelia.
"The papers have been signed, Gabrielle. You put yourself into this position, and you should be grateful that Felix was willing to do the honorable thing and put himself forward."
"I'd rather have Fenworth."
Absolute honesty, that. Gabrielle didn’t even have to twist the truth. Of course she’d felt a bit relieved when he’d first run off, but if it came to a choice between him and Mr. Hood… Better to be married to a man who wanted her for her money than to a man who would actually tear into her heart day after day after day. The only reason she'd wanted to be married and away from this house was to avoid him.
"Fenworth isn't an option. You'll marry Felix, today." Philip looked at her, and something in his countenance softened. Just a bit. Cordelia must be getting to him too, Gabrielle though bitterly. She was the kind of wife men wanted, the kind they were willing to change for. "He'll take good care of you, Gabrielle."
Perhaps this was karmic justice, after all her years of being a fairly terrible step-daughter, Gabrielle was going to marry a man who was in love with her stepmother.
It seemed that no matter how she tried to escape it, Gabrielle was destined for a life of unhappiness.
The rest of Gabrielle & Felix’s story is coming soon in Gabrielle’s Discipline
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About the Author
About me? Right… I’m a writer, I should be able to do that, right?
I’m a happily married young woman, no kids so far, and I like tater tots, small fuzzy animals, naming my plants, hiking, reading, writing, sexy time, naked time, shirtless o’clock, anything sparkly or shiny, and weirding people out with my OCD food habits.
I believe in Happy Endings. And fairies. And Santa Claus. Because without a little magic, what’s the point of living?
I write because I must. I live in several different worlds at any given moment. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story… and don’t forget, the best thing you can do in return for any author is to leave them feedback!
Stay sassy.
Titles by Golden Angel
Bridal Discipline Series
Domestic Discipline Quartet
Birching His Bride
Dealing With Discipline
Punishing His Ward
Claiming His Wife
Venus Rising Quartet
The Venus School
Venus Aspiring
Venus Desiring
Venus Transcendent
Stronghold Series
Stronghold
Taming the Tease
On His Knees
Pieces of Stronghold
Breaking the Chain
Poker Loser Trilogy
Forced Bet
Back in the Game
Winning Hand
Poker Loser Bundle (Three books in one!)
Big Bad Bunnies Series
Chasing His Bunny