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Do I have concussion? I don’t think I banged my head.
“I can find no sign of head injury. Her pupils are normal size but this has to be your call, Max.”
He must have nodded an affirmative because the next thing she knew Marcus was preparing an injection and Max had shifted her to aid her grandmother in pulling her pants and panties down below her hips. There was a stinging scratch then Max settled her back on his lap. Nicky wrapped a throw about the pair of them.
Max tucked it around her while he cradled her in his arms. “Sleep, get some rest, honey. You are safe now,” he told her gruffly. She felt him kiss her forehead, and closing her eyes with a sigh, she drifted off.
Chapter 11
Max watched as she awoke the following day. They’d slept in the guest bedroom at her grandparents’. He sat beside her upon the side of the bed, already fully dressed, and held out a plate of toast and a cup of tea for her.
“How d’you feel?” he asked, waiting until she’d scooted up and could take the tea before handing the mug to her and setting the toast on the nightstand.
She waggled her foot under the covers. “Ouch! Other than my sore ankle I feel fine.”
“Good. You frightened your grandparents and me half to death! Why didn’t you call me to come collect you?”
“My phone died and before you say anything, I know I should have checked it but with the flood and everything, I just forgot. I’m sorry.”
He patted her hand. “Yeah, it has been pretty full on around here but you could’ve gone back inside and used the Medical Center’s land line.”
Surprisingly complacent, she agreed with him and began to drink her tea. He was in a quandary. Was it fair to punish her? After all, ithadbeen chaotic but surely she needed to learn to be even more vigilant in a crisis and make certain her phone was fully charged?
“When we are settled in our new house we are addressing this issue and don’t expect me to go easy on you, Josie. You need to learn to take safety measures seriously; you could have been killed yesterday.” He watched the conflicting emotion flit across her face. He could tell she didn’t like the idea of punishment but he could see that she felt guilty and he knew that a spanking would absolve her of her guilt.
“All right,” she agreed in a small voice.
“Good girl. I am going over to 101 with your grandfather. Brent has arranged for some neighbors to help me carry the heavy stuff from the old place down to our new home. We might even be able to move in there this afternoon. Your grandmother said to tell you that she’d be up shortly to help you bathe and dress.” He stood up and leaned in for a kiss, which he was gratified to find was the clinging kind and deeply sensuous. He gently removed her entwined arms and tapped her nose. “Eat all your toast and stay off that ankle! See yer laters, baby!” He chuckled as her infectious giggle reached him. She was well aware that he wasn’t a ‘laters babe,’ kind of man.
By mid-afternoon everything had been moved into 101, their new home. Max had ordered pizza for the men who’d helped them move and Nicky insisted that he and Josie eat supper with them before they went back to their new home to sleep. Nicky aided Max with making up the bed before they left the house, so there was nothing to do when they got back.
* * *
Each day Maxexamined Josie’s ankle until he was finally satisfied that she was well enough to face the consequences of her negligence. His timing had to be spot on because she would need a day of rest after experiencing what he had planned for her. He knew once she was able to move about she would return to work, so while her ankle was tender but healed was the perfect moment for her to atone for her foolishness.
She stared at him wide-eyed after he’d finished his examination of her ankle. He ordered her to change and go commando while dressing in sweats and a loose top.
“Why, where are we going, what are we doing?” she asked curiously.
“You’ll see,” he told her, being deliberately cryptic. By the time she’d changed, he had changed too—into black leather pants and a black tee.
As he drove he could feel her gaze on him. She kept peeking at him sideways. He kept his eyes firmly on the road and his countenance stern. He could feel her growing anxiousness as she squirmed in her seat beside him. Good. She should be nervous. She’d been really testing him as her dominant ever since he’d arrived in Corbin’s Bend. It was time to reveal Josie’s inner self to her while at the same time giving rein to his dominant persona. Max grinned wryly. Yes, sir-ree, it was show time!
He pulled up and parked outside the Dome. When he opened the door for Josie she looked more relaxed, perhaps she assumed that they were meeting someone here. He guided her inside and when she walked toward the stairway leading upwards, he caught her elbow and directed her sideways across the way to a door. Removing a key from his pocket he unlocked it, revealing a set of downward steps. He flicked on a light switch and indicated Josie should descend.
When they reached the floor below he watched her face as realization dawned. This was a playroom, and not built for children. No, this space was full of toys for adults. In pride of place in the center of the room sat two padded spanking benches complete with straps. The room wasn’t exactly a dungeon, there was no St. Andrew’s Cross, for instance, but there were padded benches and a rack of spanking implements set up on one wall. He watched her and saw her notice his holdall placed on a chair, all ready for his use. He knew that Josie was aware it contained most of his ‘toys’.
“It’s time to pay the piper, girlie. Strip!” He watched narrow-eyed as she fought against her own inner turmoil. He saw the moment her submissive side won. “Good girl,” he murmured huskily as she swiftly removed both her top and sweatpants. Bundling her clothes, she placed them on a chair set against the wall. He crooked a finger at her and she padded naked over to where he waited next to the nearest spanking bench. She stopped before him, hands by her sides. He reached out and lifted her chin, gazing sternly into her eyes.
“Why are you here, girl?” he asked.
“Because you ordered me here and you are my dominant, Sir,” she replied demurely, sending a bolt of delight directly to his loins.
“You are here for a punishment because you didn’t make safe choices. You didn’t look after yourself. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.” He noticed her shiver. He knew it was excitement rather than cold that caused her trembling. He placed her over the end of the bench and strapped her wrists then her ankles into the four leather cuffs. Her legs were spread wide, leaving nothing to his imagination. She was helpless and bared to him, just as he liked her to be. He went back over the restraints a second time to ensure they were not too tight, nor loose enough to chafe her skin.
“What’s your safeword?”
