"Lies? I said I was sorry."
Trey nodded. "Right after another lie. You said that there were no photos, but we all know there was one, a very harmful one."
"There was? I don't know anything about it."
Liv stomped her foot, splashing a little mud on Gabriella's hem. "Stop it! Stop lying! We've seen the photo. You know what it was!"
Trey put his hand on Liv's shoulder, encouraging her to calm down, then he turned to Gabriella. "It was a spankin’ photo, and we were told that you wanted it published immediately in order to sabotage Liv's career."
"I…uh…Jerry lied. I didn't know."
"Come on, Gabriella. Why would he lie?" Ace said.
"You don't know me," she responded, her voice shrill. "I wouldn't do something like that!"
"You've been trying to undermine me for months. You're not fooling anyone, Gabby."
Trey looked at Gabriella, his face set in stern planes. "You're mighty naughty, li'l girl."
"I'm going to make sure you never get another job in this business again, Gabby," Liv told her.
"No!" Gabriella's face fell and tears formed in her eyes. Liv couldn't tell if they were sincere or not, but the girl looked panicked and unhappy. "Please don't! Please! This is the only thing I know how to do! Please don't get me blackballed!"
Trey spoke up. "You know you deserve it, Gabriella."
She was crying, her eyes red and pouting lips turned down. "Isn't there some way I can make it up to you? I promise, promise, promise not to do it again!"
"I have a proposition for you, Gabriella," Ace said.
"Anything! What can I do? Tell me!"
"You can submit to a spankin' like the one that the photographer caught Liv and Trey doin’."
"Sp-spanking?" She sniffled and tears dripped off her cheeks. "Are you kidding?"
"It's appropriate," Liv said. "You deserve it."
"Do I get to pick who spanks me?" She looked mournfully at Trey. If only she knew.
He shook his head. "Not me, Gabriella." Trey nodded toward his brother. "Ace."
The young woman stepped back half a pace. "But I don't know him. He might hurt me."
"I guarantee it'll hurt, sweetheart," Ace interjected. "But that's the point, isn't it? I won't harm you, though. You have my word on it."
Gabriella wiped her eyes on her sleeve, a picture of crushed innocence in the white nightgown. She looked at the three of them, then focused on Trey. "Do you give your word, too?"
Trey nodded. "Yeah. You have my word. This is my brother. I know him better than anyone, and I know he wouldn't harm you. But it's for punishment, Gabriella. You won't like it or find it excitin'."
"Bare bottom, but no sex," Ace told her. "I won't take advantage of you."
"And then it'll be over? I can keep working?"
"It'll repay your debt to Liv. But, if you ever do somethin' like that again, Gabriella, Liv is goin' to make sure your career is done." Trey's expression was implacable.
Gabriella broke into tears again. "I did this to myself. I knew better. But Liv has had such a good career. I just want to be like her."
"I didn't get here by stabbing other girls in the back," Liv pointed out.
Nodding, Gabriella took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it." She turned to Ace. "When? Where?"
"In the old house—the Boot Camp conference center," Ace told her. "There's a BDSM group stayin’ there, and they won't be shocked or worried if they hear you cryin’."
Gabriella covered her red face with her hands and sobbed. "Oh God."
"She can't go back into the trailer like this," Liv said. "You ought to do it and get it over with. I'll make excuses for her."
Ace gestured toward the truck. "I'll take you there now."
"I should change."
"Your rear is gonna be just as bare, no matter what clothes you have on," Trey said.
"Yes," the girl said miserably. "I guess so. Okay."
Liv watched them walk off, Gabriella with her shoulders sagging, and Ace with his usual swagger, seemingly unaffected by the girl's distress.
"I hope this works," Liv told Trey, snuggling up into his arms.
"Me, too, darlin'."
* * *
Ace took Gabriella's hand as they entered the old house. There was a little group of people in a seating area past the foyer, and Ace greeted them genially, even while he was briskly pulling her toward a back room.
He paused to talk to one fellow, a tall man with glasses. Gabriella wondered who he was and why Ace stopped. "A little punishment spankin’, Mark. Don't mind the noise."
Mark looked from Ace to Gabriella and then back again. "Okay." He nodded at Gabriella. "She okay?"
"Tell him," Ace said.
"I'm okay. I deserve it. It'll be alright." Gabby hoped to heaven she would be alright. Her stomach was nearly heaving with fear and dread. She didn't know Ace, hadn't had a spanking ever in her life. The whole situation was a nightmare, one that wouldn't go away upon waking.
Mark’s lips turned up at the corners. "Good enough."
"'Scuze us," Ace offered, then pulled Gabriella away.
She tugged, but he didn't loosen his hold. "Who is that guy?"
"Dungeon Master."
Gabby's eyebrows lifted. "D-dungeon?"
"It's a term of art, Gabriella. He's basically overseein’ things so that the women here aren't abused. He's good at it and very trustworthy."
She looked back over her shoulder at the man. He was watching them walk away and nodded at her.
Ace unlocked a door toward the back of the room and pulled her in, closing the door behind them. "Let me tell you somethin', sweetheart. I don't like to give punishment spankin's. I volunteered to do this because you deserve it and my brother isn't in a position to do it himself. I won't go into that. But, I want you to know that, even though I usually find spankin's sexy, doin' it to the extent I plan to do with you isn't my usual style."
She took a step back. Her heart was beating at a wild rate. "You promised not to harm me."
He nodded. "And I won't. But neither of us is gonna like it." Ace gestured toward a chair in the corner of the little office. "We're gonna do it there. I'm gonna use a strap."
"Oh God," she moaned. "A strap! Can't you use your hand?"
"Not this time." He walked over to the desk and withdrew a leather strap from a drawer.
Gabriella eyed it, then Ace. "You're scaring me."
"Do you want to stop and face the consequences?"
She thought about it hard, but the idea of never modeling again broke her heart. She couldn't go there. "No. I'll take my punishment. What do I do?"
He sat in the chair and patted his lap. "Put yourself over my legs."
Although she knew she should get it over with quickly, she dragged her feet. Eventually, she got to Ace and lay across his thighs. The humiliation had barely begun, though. He lifted her nightgown and pulled it up to her waist, then pulled down her micro-kini panties to her knees. This was not like being naked in the dressing room of a fashion show. This was much more intimate and exposed. Tears began in her eyes again.
Ace heaved a sigh. "You're a pretty girl," he told her. "Your butt is gonna look good with a bright blush."
She didn't want her butt to have a blush! She wanted to be home in New Jersey, with her cat, Sonny, and her mother nagging her. "Just get it over with. Please?"
He didn't answer except with the strap. It snapped loudly as it struck her ass and she yelped.
"Ow!"
"Best to relax, sweetheart. Tensin’ up will only make it worse." He applied the strap a few more times, and her butt screamed like she wanted to do. The pain was awful. It was the worst pain she'd ever experienced in her life. The spanks came one on top of another and she couldn't help herself, she screamed in agony.
"Almost over," he told her, applying several more strokes, these concentrated on the place where her bottom met the top of her thighs. It was excruciating
. Finally, she went limp. She had no more screams, only tears.
"That's a good girl," Ace said, his low voice soothing as he dropped the strap on the floor.
"It hurts! You hurt me!" She cried, sobbing, but she cuddled into his arms as he pulled her against his big body. Her butt stung and throbbed where she sat. Ace gently pulled her wadded up nightgown down around her legs. It was a little late for modesty, but she was grateful nonetheless.
He thumbed a big tear off her cheek. "It's over now, sweetheart. Over and done. Hopefully, you'll never need that again."
"No way," she told him. "I'll never do anything so stupid again."
Ace chuckled. "Never is a long time."
She squirmed against him. He wasn't a bad man, even though he'd punished her. He held her gently, spoke softly in her ear. In many ways, he seemed sorry that he'd had to spank her so harshly.
"You're not mad at me anymore, are you?"
"I was never mad at you to begin with. It wasn't my fight."
"But, you were sticking up for Trey and Liv."
He nodded against her hair. "Yeah. They're good people."
That was honorable. She sniffled as the last of her tears brimmed. "I really am sorry."
"Yeah, I know."
"Can you and I be friends?" She said it before thinking. Did she truly want to be friends with Ace? He was much older than her. However, in many ways, he was like a stern father-figure. She'd grown up without a father. Maybe that was her problem. She'd dated older men preferentially, she realized.
"I hope so, sweetheart," he told her. "I'd like to see some of your smiles rather than your tears."
That sounded pretty good. She snuggled into his chest and breathed deeply. He smelled like Old Spice; it made her smile.
* * *
Chapter 9
Trey took Liv out to dinner in Sonora again. They hadn't much time left together—only two days—and Liv was anxious to make the most of it. She couldn't remember ever feeling as good about being with someone as she felt with Trey. Nor could she remember feeling as bereft at the thought of that closeness going away. He'd never mentioned taking things beyond the week, so Liv knew he intended it to remain a temporary thing. A fling. Like an extended one night stand; mutually pleasant, but limited.
She tried to put aside the sadness that thought produced so she could enjoy the time they had together.
They spent a few hours at Carlos' Carniceria, reprising the location, but not the abrupt ending. Trey picked out her dinner for her, and she felt cared for and relieved by the gesture.
"Dinner's okay?" he asked, his brown gaze divided between her half-filled plate and her face.
"It's wonderful. I can't remember when I had such good enchiladas."
"Good."
"I can't finish it all, though."
His eyebrow rose. "Because you're afraid to, or because you are actually full?"
She smiled. He was trying to understand her issues and it made her heart soften toward him even more. "I'm full."
He went back to his food. "That's alright then. No one should eat past bein’ full, but bein’ afraid of the food isn't healthy."
"It's a hard habit to break, unfortunately."
"We'll work on it."
"We will?"
A frown crossed his face for a moment, then disappeared. "Do you want some after-dinner coffee?"
She tried not to let her disappointment show. "It might keep me awake."
He grinned boyishly. "I hope so."
Laughter burbled up from deep inside her. "Major Journey, are you propositioning me?"
"Yes, ma'am, I am. Are you acceptin'?"
She pretended to think about it, but her whole body wanted to shout "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"Yes, sir, I am."
His eyes sparkled as he leaned toward her and whispered. "Tonight, you're gonna get everythin’ you deserve, darlin'."
Her face went hot. She hoped she deserved a few hours of heated lovemaking. "You, too." He deserved her undivided attention; he'd been so good to her. She planned to give him head like he'd never experienced before, for one thing. The idea made her wet, and when the coffee came she wanted to drink it fast and get back to the ranch.
They made a brief stop at the main house. Liv waited in the truck until Trey came out, toting a small backpack. It was only a few minutes before they got to her cabin and closed themselves in for the night.
He took off his hat and Liv slid off her shoes then turned to him, smiling.
Trey put a hand up, discouraging her from coming toward him for a hug and kiss. "Before we go any further, darlin', I'd like you to take a look at what's in this backpack." He offered her the bag.
She had little patience for his game, but smiled and went along. "Okay." Liv opened the main compartment zipper where there was a lot of money in neatly banded bundles. "Oh!"
"Yeah, 'oh.'" He took the pack back, zipped it up and put it near the chair. "If you haven't guessed yet, that's the money I was supposed to pay Wazneusky."
Her heart did a little drop. "Well…um…"
"You have somethin’ to tell me, Liv?"
Crossing his arms over his chest like that, he looked huge, and more than a little intimidating.
"I…um…I paid for the photo this morning while you were in the shower. Wire transfer."
"Yeah, and so I went through all the motions of getting’ this money out of the bank for nothin’. And, of course, that says nothin’ about the danger of draggin’ $50,000 around for the day."
She couldn't look at him. She knew he'd be pissed about it when she did it, but she could afford the payment more than he could, so she ought to be the one to pay. It was stubborn, macho pride that kept him from accepting her money. At that thought, she straightened her shoulders and stiffened her spine. "It was the right thing to do. Now you can buy your house and stick to the plans you worked so hard to achieve."
"I told you I was gonna pay, Liv. You acted like you were agreein’ to that." His jaw was tight.
She might be presenting a strong front, but she couldn't look at him. She didn't like him angry at her; it made her a marshmallow inside. All she wanted to do was please him. "It was important to me, Trey. I can afford the money."
"Turn around and look at me, Liv."
She shook her head, stubbornly presenting her back.
"You're just getting’ yourself in deeper trouble, li'l girl."
Sighing, she turned. His face was set in stern lines. She was in the soup.
"Here's somethin' you may not have thought about, Liv, when you were plannin' on deceivin' me: if he hadn't dropped the news that he'd already been paid, I'd have handed over the cash. He'd then have made $100,000 on the photo."
The blood rushed out of her face. She was almost fainting. "Oh my God! It never occurred to me! I am sorry. I'm so sorry." She hurried over to him and rubbed his tense upper arms. He didn't relax a whit. "Please forgive me. I was so stupid!"
"I won't call you stupid, Liv, but I will say that you did somethin' really foolish. You didn't think through the consequences. You acted impulsively and could have cost us both a bunch of money. It was also important to me to pay—I was the one who ordered you to the truck, to punish you. I take the consequences of my orders very seriously."
As she looked up at his set face, tears began to flow. He wouldn't forgive her. She'd been unforgivably idiotic. He was going to walk out and never come back. It was over, and she'd killed it. A little sob escaped her. "I-I can't say anything to mend it, can I? I'm very sorry, Trey. You'd be right to turn around, take the damned money and leave me here."
He appeared to think about that for a minute. To Liv it felt like an hour, but he finally spoke. "That might be the way some men would handle it, and there's nothin' wrong with the idea. It's temptin'. But I'm not ready to walk away yet."
Hope sprang up like crocuses in spring. "You're not?"
He shook his head and dropped his arms, giving her a little shake. "That doesn't mean you're
goin' to get away with your bad behavior. It's time for that punishment spankin' you've been hankerin' to have."
She cringed. "I suppose I deserve it."
"You called me an asshole this mornin’, too. I didn't forget."
Her head dropped toward her chest. He was going to take his pound of flesh. Dread made her shiver, though the room was warm. "I'm sorry. I can't seem to help but fuck up lately."
"Somethin' tells me that you behave impulsively like this more often than just lately."
"I dunno. Maybe." She thought about it. "Yes."
He released her arms and took a step back from her. "What do you think you deserve?"
"I…um…a spanking?"
He nodded. "Anythin' else?"
She tried to lighten up the moment; it was incredibly tense. "A muzzle? So that I don't say such stupid things again."
He snorted. "Nope. I plan to use that pretty mouth. Think again."
"I dunno. What more can you do to me, save beat me into a pulp?"
"You know I won't do that. I wouldn't harm you. Not ever, no matter how pissed off I am."
She sighed. "I know."
"Go stand in the corner." He pointed to an empty corner on the other side of the room.
"You mean like a kid's time out?"
He nodded. "You behaved childishly. Go on."
The look on his face was calm but firm. He wasn't furious at her; he had decided on what he wanted and was going about getting it. His cold determination was more frightening than a temper tantrum might have been. Dragging her feet, she moved to the corner.
"Pull your pants down."
She turned back to him abruptly. "You have got to be kidding."
"No, I'm not kiddin’. This is part of your punishment."
"It'll be humiliating!"
"Yup."
Her temper flared. "You're being mean, Trey Journey."
"Nope. You deserve to be punished. This is for callin’ me an asshole this mornin’."
She'd done it. Guilty as charged. And actually, this was a lesser punishment than what he'd threatened in the morning. She turned toward the corner and unfastened her pants, then pulled them down to her knees.
"Panties, too."
Liv groaned inwardly. It was humiliating to stand there with her pants and panties around her ankles. But she cooperated. Cool air from the air conditioner wafted over her behind and legs.
Liv's Journey Page 11
