AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know what’s going on, what was I supposed to say?” she returned, licking her suddenly dry lips as he pulled the belt off.
“You were supposed to say, Master Dan, strange things keep happening, and I don’t have an explanation for them. Pull down your pants and bend over the bed.”
Heady excitement kept her from arguing, the ache to lose herself in the pain, to let it take her mind off her insecurities and fears, to turn herself and her problems over to him couldn’t be denied. She didn’t argue, didn’t hesitate. With fingers that shook, she pushed her jeans and panties down, turned and went to her elbows on the bed.
“I’m disappointed in you, Nan.” The first lash landed with a snap and a burning strike across both naked cheeks. “I thought you trusted me more than that.” The next hit right below the first and pulsating heat bloomed in its wake. “We agreed to work together, I offered, and you accepted my help, agreed to my terms.” The third sliced along the under curve of her buttocks and as the pain throbbed, Nan quivered in relief.
“I’m sorry. Please, Sir,” she begged on a tortured breath.
“Please what?” he asked, trailing the leather over the stinging stripes.
“Please don’t stop, not yet.” The needy plea didn’t embarrass her; instead, she relished the blistering snap of the next strike, cried out on the following one and whimpered as he delivered a last blow across her straining thighs.
“That’s enough,” he insisted, helping her up. Dan reached behind and palmed her throbbing ass, pressing her against his hard body. “I won’t let you push yourself too far in order to escape.” With a few squeezes that pulled a moan from Nan, he released her and tugged up her panties and jeans before returning the belt to his waist. “Now,” he stated in an implacable tone she knew well, leading her back into the living area and pointing to the couch, “sit down and tell me when all this began, and don’t leave anything out.”
Dan paced in front of Nan as she told him about the odd incidents, her burning backside helping to keep her calm and focused, because, God help her, she yearned to believe this temporary arrangement between them could become permanent even though he’d offered no hints he was leaning that way.
“Wait a minute.” He stopped pacing and held up his hand as she wound down. “All of this started after your purse went missing at the library?”
She frowned and nodded her head. “Yes, but I told you, my purse was there all along. Someone must have kicked it back in the corner where I couldn’t see it at first.”
“But, and just hear me out before you argue, what if someone snatched it long enough to make a copy of your keys? Doesn’t the library still have that minute key kiosk in the back?”
Nan stilled as the slow burn of anger took hold. “Shit, you’re right. But who would do that, and why? Everybody likes me, or used to,” she insisted without conceit.
“Bored kids most likely, just screwing with you. I’ll check with Grayson, see if there’s been anyone else who has reported harassment. I can see that makes you feel better.”
“It does,” she replied, praying he was right and letting go of the anger. Changing her locks would be a huge weight off her shoulders, more so if the unexplained incidents proved to be from kids pulling pranks and stopped. So why, when Dan offered to install a new lock after dinner, and they headed out to spend another evening together, did she think that explanation was too easy?
Chapter 12
Nan left for Dan’s early Wednesday afternoon, no longer able to wait to see him again. She knew she had only herself to blame for insisting on staying alone at her apartment after he had put on the new lock. At the time, she thought it best to distance herself from him, and her growing feelings that were escalating at a rapid pace after spending the night in his bed. Who knew how pleasant waking to a man’s hard arms and legs wrapped around her could be? But, as she pulled into the drive at his house, she gave herself a stern lecture on keeping her wishes for this to continue to herself. Without a sign he would be open to making the temporary change in their relationship permanent, she refused to risk more pain to cope with.
As she slid out of the car, she looked around but didn’t see anyone. The Dunbars and Grayson and Avery were invited to Dan’s impromptu barbeque this evening, but she was over an hour early and didn’t expect their friends for a while yet. She assumed Dan was working and headed to the corral where she spotted Belle grazing with her mama. Holding her hand out over the rail, she tried bribing her baby with a sugar cube, smiling when the filly recognized her and didn’t hesitate to trot over.
“How’s my girl?” she crooned, stroking Belle’s silky nose, laughing when she nudged her arm up, searching for another treat. “Too many sweets aren’t good for you, right mama?” Nan gave the mare some attention, enjoying the ripple of muscles as she stroked her neck.
“Are you spoiling her again?” Pete smiled, coming up behind her. “The little one has really taken to you.”
“That goes both ways. I adore her already. You weren’t able to help the tabby, were you?” She could tell by the way he averted his eyes he had bad news.
&n
bsp; “No, I’m sorry.” Pete hesitated, shifting his feet before asking, “Did you see anything harmful in the trash bin, something that could be poisonous if swallowed?”
Nan thought back but couldn’t remember anything except smelly trash. The large container was used by all the shop owners on that block and was always half full. “No, but I didn’t look. The last thing I dumped was a container of yogurt that was rancid. Oh, God, I hope that wasn’t it!”
He shook his head, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder in reassurance. “No, that wouldn’t have hurt him. He did show signs of poisoning, but it could have been any chemical not meant to be ingested, and he was malnourished to begin with. Strays don’t tend to live long, so don’t feel bad. You and I both tried, right?”
“Yes, but I’m still sorry. That must have been difficult for you.” She knew Pete suffered a drug addiction at one time and that Dan had hired him upon his parole from a military jail sentence. His face still bore the ravages of his addiction and whatever trauma he had witnessed or endured while overseas that led him into it. After her own ordeal, her empathy for him, and the other young men Dan had tried to help over the years had skyrocketed.
“It’s harder to watch them suffer. Dan is out in the west pasture unloading the cattle he purchased from the neighboring ranch. I can saddle Zenia for you, if you’d like to ride out to meet him.”
Excitement shot through Nan with an electric zing that teased her senses. Both the prospect of a ride on the beautiful Appaloosa and a chance to observe Dan in cowboy mode galvanized her. “I would. Thanks, Pete.”
Nan was glad she wore jeans as she mounted Zenia, Belle watching them with longing. Laughing, she reached down to tug on one ear. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll be riding you before you know it.” With a wave to Pete after he pointed her in the right direction, she urged the mare to take off at a brisk gallop.
The afternoon sun warmed her head and back, the breeze cooling her face as the ground below whipped by in a blur of spring grasses and bright field flowers. Tall Ponderosa pines separated the grasslands from the Douglas-fir forests, and if she looked closely, she might glimpse an elk or caribou. But it wasn’t the vigorous ride and never-ending scenery that caused her heartbeat to thump wildly, but the anticipation of seeing Dan again, which told her how bad she had it for her sometimes Dom and long-time friend. Even though they’d spoken on the phone Monday and Tuesday, him calling to ask if anything untoward had occurred since Sunday, he’d been wrapped up in legal work in his home office until late in the evening the past two nights.
