by Maren Smith
Hooded Man locked the apartment door. “You want a beer or something? I don’t have much, but I do have beer.”
“Shocking,” she said with a deliberate sneer. “No, I don’t want a beer. And you know what? I don’t even want to know why you have this ridiculous idea that I’m some kind of freak. I just want to go to work and forget this morning ever happened.”
She started to brush by him, fully intending to open the door and walk out and never see him again. But he grabbed her arm, stopping her. A chill raced down her spine at the firm grip.
“Not happening, sunshine.” Scowling, he pulled her towards the couch. “Sit down.”
She had already taken two steps with him before she realized it. Her cheeks burned with the knowledge that she’d been so ready to obey. “No.” Stopping in her tracks, she tried to pull her arm from his grasp again, but this time his grip on her barely budged.
“Fine. We’ll do this the hard way.”
Before she had a chance to ask what the hard way entailed, her hooded kidnapper dragged her to the couch and sat down. He yanked on her arm, making her lose her balance. She fell forward, sprawled across his lap in an undignified heap. A second later, his hand connected with her ass and pain exploded across the assaulted spot. This wasn’t like the two quick swats he’d given her in the street. Those had shocked her into compliance, but more from the act itself than any actual discomfort. This went far beyond discomfort and well into actual pain.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Her voice was high and shrill, just adding to the embarrassment of being facedown over a stranger’s lap, getting her ass smacked.
“You really think this is a good time to be swearing at me, little girl?”
Oh no. Her insides did not just turn to a pile of goo because some Neanderthal called her little girl. “Let me go!”
He did not let her go. Instead, his hand connected with her ass again, and Lainey squealed at the burst of pain. “Stop this right now!” She struggled against his hold, but her hooded captor easily held her in place. He spanked hard and fast, each swat connecting with a different part of her backside until the entire surface burned and throbbed. “Why are you doing this?” she screamed, kicking her legs up in a vain effort to block the blows.
“To teach you to listen.” He paused long enough to shift her forward before he renewed his assault, this time on the lowest curve of her bottom.
“It hurts!”
“It’s meant to hurt, little girl. Have you learned your lesson yet?”
“Fuck you!”
The asshole had the audacity to laugh at her. “Guess not.”
She felt a tug on her skirt and panic tightened like a vise around her chest. “No!” She began to fight with every bit of energy she had left in her. “Don’t touch me!”
“Relax, sunshine. Naughty girls get spanked on their bare bottoms if they can’t learn their lesson.”
The relief at knowing he wasn’t going to violate her momentarily overshadowed his words. Until his hand connected with her bare skin, igniting a fire unlike anything she’d felt so far. For the first few swats, she was stunned into silence. When the shock wore off, she bucked over his lap, screaming and swearing and calling him every name she could think of.
But her captor never missed a beat, his hand falling and connecting with her bottom over and over in a steady tattoo until she finally collapsed over his knee, panting. He delivered a few more solid swats to the underside of her bottom, but she didn’t have the energy to do more than whimper in response.
“You ready to listen now, little girl?”
Lainey groaned and nodded. Hooded Man easily lifted her until she was perched on his knee, like a child on Santa’s lap. She sniffled and wiped at the tears trickling down her cheeks.
“Here’s the deal. You have powers, whether you’re ready to admit it or not. There are some very bad men who would like nothing more than to get their hands on you, so they can perform experiments on you and learn about your powers, and then eventually kill you.”
Arguing with him hadn’t gotten her anywhere, so she shifted gears and sent him a sympathetic smile. “Look, I know you think that. And I can appreciate you trying to protect me. But I don’t have powers.”
“Bullshit.”
The terse response had her blinking in surprise. “What?”
“That’s bullshit, sunshine. I don’t know what your powers are yet, but I do know that you should already be dead. Uglier Mug was holding you right up against him when he got struck by that lightning bolt. You should have fried right along with him. And yet, not a scratch on you. Shit.” He snorted and tugged on her blouse. “Even your clothes are fine.”
The comment reminded her that she was sitting on his knee with her underwear around her knees and her skirt hiked up around her waist. But she was too tired to feel more than mildly embarrassed by those pesky details. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for that.”
“Right. Like maybe you put up some kind of forcefield. I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out. Until we do, and until we can figure out how to keep you safe, you’ll stay here.”
Lainey rolled her eyes. “I appreciate the offer but I’m not staying here.”
“Wasn’t an offer, sunshine. You’re stuck with me until further notice.” He slipped a hand under her bottom and squeezed one abused cheek, sending a flash of pain through her. “Do I need to demonstrate what will happen if you try any funny business?”
Self-preservation finally won out over stubbornness. “No. I get it.”
“Good girl.”
God, that gruff voice shouldn’t be so sexy, especially when he was being such a brute. But damned if she didn’t have to squeeze her thighs together to try and relieve the ache between them. Leave it to her to be turned on by having her life threatened and being rescued by a bossy jerk. Focus, Lainey. “Well, if you’re going to be keeping me captive here, can I at least know your name?”
It was somewhat satisfying to see the wariness creep into his eyes. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“What? Why?”
“Plausible deniability, sunshine.”
She huffed out a breath and glared at him, but his expression never changed. “Well what am I supposed to call you, then? Oh, I know!” She smiled brightly. “Asshole! How about I just call you asshole? It fits.”
In the blink of an eye, she found herself over his knee again, with a new round of lightning fast spanks reigniting the pain in her bottom. “Since you’ll probably be spending a lot of time here,” he began, punctuating his statement with two extra hard swats that had her squealing, “you can just call me Daddy.”
“You can’t be serious.” But despite her scoffing, her pussy throbbed at his words. Jesus, she really was fucked up.
“Serious as a heart attack, sunshine. You don’t need to know my name. All you need to know is I’m in charge, and if you don’t listen, I’ll punish your pretty little bottom however I see fit. So, it’s Daddy to you. Consider it a nickname.”
“I like asshole better,” she grumbled.
“Eh, I’ve been called worse. But it’s Daddy, unless you want to be eating soap for dinner.”
“Fine!” Tears of defeat and frustration burned in her eyes. “Can I get up now, Daddy?” She spat the word with as much sarcasm and animosity as she could muster, but it didn’t seem to faze him.
“Sure.”
He released her and Lainey scrambled up off his lap for the second time. This time, she didn’t take any chances. Stumbling backwards away from him, she yanked her underwear back up, hissing a little when the rough fabric brushed against her raw skin. Daddy – God, she couldn’t believe she was really calling him that – grinned up at her.
“Sore?”
Lainey crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I’m fine,” she lied.
“Good. Want to order a pizza? I seem to have worked up an appetite.”
Chapter Three
D
onovan
Donovan couldn’t help but laugh at the stunned look on his charge’s face when he didn’t react to her petulance. With her waterfall of blonde hair, round cheeks, and those eyes, she was fucking adorable. And it hadn’t exactly been a hardship to have her sweet, round ass bouncing under his hand. Too bad she obviously hated him. Under different circumstances, they could’ve had some fun together.
“No, I don’t want pizza. I want to go home!” She stomped her foot, which just added to the adorable little girl vibe.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen, sunshine. I’ve already explained why. Do I need to explain again?” To illustrate his meaning, he flexed his hand.
Her cheeks colored, turning almost the same shade of pink as her bottom. “No, no, I understand. But what about my stuff?”
“Stuff?”
The way she rolled her eyes had his palm positively itching again. “Clothes? Makeup? Tampons? I need things, um…” Her bravado slipped a bit, and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Daddy,” she finished in a whisper.
He hadn’t expected to enjoy hearing his new nickname from her lips as much as he did. His cock hardened and twitched, and he shifted to relieve some of the pressure of his jeans against his erection. He also hadn’t considered that she might need things from her apartment. That presented a little bit of a problem. Taking her out was too risky, at least until he’d done a bit of recon. Fuck. He’d have to go to her apartment and grab some supplies.
“Where do you live?”
“What?” The look of shock on her face was almost comical. “I’m not telling you that!”
Donovan shrugged. “Then you can wear my clothes, though you’ll pretty much be swimming in them.”
The struggle played out, clear as day, on her pretty face. He saw the moment she gave in. Her bottom lip pushed out and her shoulders slumped. “Fine.” She rattled off an address within walking distance of his apartment.
“Keys?”
“In my…” She groaned and closed her eyes. “In my fucking purse. Which I dropped when those ugly motherfuckers grabbed me off the street. Great, I can add canceling my credit cards to my list of shit to do tonight.”
Donovan was no stranger to swearing, but hearing the coarse words in her sweet, smoky voice grated on him. “Do you always talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like a sailor on goddamned holiday, that’s what.”
The little brat had the nerve to smirk at him. “I do when I’m being held against my will in a stranger’s apartment.”
The fact that she had a point just irritated him further. “Well, just watch it, little girl.”
“Yes, Daddy,” she replied with no small amount of snark. “Are you going to go get me some clothes, or what?”
“Yeah.” Donovan pushed himself to his feet and strode over to his apartment door. He turned and pinned her with a glare. “You do not leave this apartment for any reason. You do not open this door, or so much as a window until I get back. Understood?”
She glared right back. “You’re being ridiculous, but whatever.”
“I mean it, little girl. If I find out you so much as looked out the peephole while I was gone, you’re going to feel Daddy’s belt across your sexy little ass. Got it?”
It was impossible to miss the widening of her eyes and the slight hitch in her breathing. Interesting. Maybe the whole Daddy thing got to her the way it got to him. If that were true, she might be worth the trouble she brought with her after all. He dropped his voice to a tone he knew commanded obedience. “Daddy asked you a question, little girl.”
“What?” She shook her head and stared at him like she’d just noticed him standing there.
“Do you understand what will happen if you disobey me?”
“Yes.”
He could just leave it at that. But fuck it, if he had to babysit the little brat, he might as well have some fun. “Yes, what?”
“Yes… Daddy?”
“Good girl. Lock the door behind me.”
He didn’t give her a chance to respond, just opened the door and walked out, pulling it shut behind him. He waited until he heard the snick of the lock, then grinned at her loudly muttered, “Asshole.”
He’d let her have that one. Let her think she was winning. It would make his defeating her all the sweeter.
Feeling surprisingly good considering the day’s events, he jogged down the stairs and out the front door. The December wind sliced through him the second he stepped outside, and he shoved his hands in his pockets in defense against the cold. Somebody needed to figure out what the fuck was up with this weather and fix it, pronto.
He turned and headed down the street in the direction of her apartment, his long strides eating up the sidewalk. The upside of the sudden change in weather was most of the city seemed content to stay inside where it was warm and toasty.
It took him twenty minutes to reach her building. There was a code on the front door, one she’d neglected to mention. If he had to stand outside much longer, he’d take it out on her ass when he got back home. The thought of her over his knee again entertained him while he waited for someone to come open the door.
Luckily for her, a short man in an ill-fitting suit came hurrying up to the door less than a minute later. He gave Donovan a nod and a polite smile before punching the code in the door. Donovan slipped in behind the man, who scurried off toward the elevator without so much as glancing back. Donovan snorted and shook his head. So much for security. His little girl had no business living in a place like this.
Whoa. He paused at the bottom of the stairs. Where the hell had that come from? She wasn’t his little girl. A thorn in his side, that’s what she was. Shaking off the unease at the direction his thoughts had taken, he took the stairs up to the third floor two at a time.
Stopping in front of the door for 3B, he casually glanced around to see if anyone was coming. Satisfied he wouldn’t be caught, he pulled a couple of small tools from his wallet and went to work on her lock. He’d gotten into the habit of keeping said tools on his person as a teen, and he’d never outgrown it. The door swung open in a ridiculously short amount of time and Donovan just shook his head, stepped inside, and shut the door behind him.
The apartment was like her – bright and colorful with a little dash of elegance. He had no doubt she’d be more comfortable here than at his place, but he couldn’t risk it. If Rose Corp knew enough about her to attempt a kidnapping, they most likely knew where she lived.
Shrugging off the twinge of guilt at her circumstances, he moved to the bedroom. The fact that the bed was perfectly made didn’t surprise him, but the ruffled bedspread did. He’d expected something more along the lines of her living room furniture with its sleek lines and bold colors. But here, in her inner sanctum, pastel colors and soft, fluffy pillows ruled the day.
And was that a teddy bear? He walked over to the bed and picked up the strange stuffed creature. It took a moment for him to process what it was, and he barked out a laugh when he realized he was holding a stuffed platypus.
Platypus in hand, he went to the closet, relieved to find neat rows of clothing. At least he wouldn’t have to paw through her things. A quick search of the closet turned up a duffel bag, and he threw a few pairs of jeans and various tops in the bag. God only knew what the fucking weather was going to be like over the next few weeks, so she’d need a little bit of everything.
He was just about to zip up the bag when he remembered underwear. Shit. Now he really did feel like a perv. “Suck it up, Carter. Girl needs clothes. She asked you to do this, remember?” Steeling himself, he pulled open the top drawer of the antique white dresser. “Jackpot,” he muttered to himself. Without taking time to check what he was grabbing, he stuffed half the contents into the bag.
She’d asked for something else. What was it? Right, girl stuff. The bathroom was just outside the bedroom, so he shoved the platypus into the bag and carried it to the bathroom. He walked st
raight into chaos. His heart skidded to a stop when he surveyed the mess. Fuck. Maybe some of the Rose Corp goons had already been here.
The longer he studied the mess, the more he realized nobody had been here but Lainey. Bottles of various shapes and sizes were scattered across the counter. Should he grab those? What the hell did they do? Surely, she didn’t need all that.
But since he had no clue what he was looking at, it was all or nothing. Fuck. He opened the duffel and swept the contents of the countertop inside. Then he opened the cabinet below and shook his head again at the mess. There was, thank God, a box toward the front labeled “tampons” so he grabbed the box and stuffed it into the bag with the rest.
He was two steps from the front door when the handle began to turn. Shit. Had he forgotten to lock the door? He didn’t have time to dwell on it, so he backtracked to the bathroom and quietly closed the door.
“She ain’t here, man. I told you, we’ve been watching this place all morning. Saw her leave, but she never came back.”
Donovan closed his eyes and bit back a groan. This was the last goddamned thing he needed. He pressed his ear to the bathroom door to try and make out the rest of the conversation.
“Well, she didn’t make it to work, either. And the collection team is MIA. Let’s see if we can figure out where she might have gone.”
The sound of glass breaking made Donovan wince. On top of everything, her home was being destroyed by the people who wanted her dead. The crashing sounds coming from the living room solidified his decision to keep her at his place.
The minutes ticked by with him locked in the bathroom while the thugs ransacked the place. It felt like hours before the noise stopped and Thug One spoke again.
“Ain’t nothin’ here, man. Let’s go.”
“No, we should check the bedroom, too.”
Donovan held his breath as they passed the bathroom. He had no doubt he could take them, but his shoulder was still healing from the fight in the alley, and he had no desire to take on two jacked up thugs for the second time this morning.
When the crashing started in the bedroom, he slipped out of the bathroom and down the hall, freezing when his foot pressed against a creaky floorboard.
