“Like I had a choice,” she muttered under her breath.
Rafe raised a brow as he walked to stand in front of her. “Still have a bit of an attitude, I see. I’d hoped the day without panties would help with that.”
He took her arm firmly and led her to the corner. “Can’t we just get this over with?” she asked.
Rafe’s left brow shot up. “In a hurry? I think a little corner time with your bottom on display will help get you in a better frame of mind to deal with your discipline, young lady.”
Max sighed loudly but allowed him to place her in the corner with her skirt rucked up around her waist. She stood there fidgeting and worrying how long all this would take. She glanced nervously over her shoulder at the clock on the wall.
“Somewhere pressing to be, Maxine?”
“I kind of have a date,” she said softly, embarrassed to be discussing her love life while standing bare-bottomed in the corner with the man who planned to spank said bottom thoroughly.
“You have a what?” Rafe growled.
Max jumped, totally unprepared for the volatile reaction. She dropped her skirt and spun to face him, where he stood angrily a few feet behind her.
“A date,” she whispered, almost afraid to say it out loud again.
“With another man?”
Max blinked. “Well… umm… we aren’t…”
“The hell we aren’t!”
Inexplicably, tears began to gather in her eyes. “But you never said we were anything and I didn’t think the possibility even existed and Ted seemed nice enough and I didn’t want to be alone anymore and… and…” To her horror Max was suddenly sobbing.
The anger seemed to drain from Rafe’s face as he scooped her up and carried her with him back to his big desk chair where he sat cuddling her close as she sobbed into his chest. “Honey, I’m so sorry. I should have made myself clear. I always meant to claim you for my own.”
Max sniffed and leaned back to glare up at him. “Claim me? That’s a tad nineteenth century, don’t you think!”
He grinned as he leaned down to kiss the tip of her very red nose. “I feel a tad nineteenth century when it comes to you, honey, and make no mistake, when I take you it will be a claiming. I plan to leave you in no doubt whatsoever who you belong to.”
Even though heat filled her loins, Max was a bit affronted by the machismo oozing from his pores. “I belong to myself, Rafe Jennings!”
“Be fair, honey; if I’m going to belong to you, shouldn’t you belong to me?” he asked with a fake pout.
Silly man! Max knew she’d just been caught hook, line, and sinker, chauvinist pig or not, but a tiny niggling doubt still tied her tummy in knots. Fixing her eyes on a shirt button, she softly asked, “You really want me that way?”
Rafe tilted her face up to his and showed her the quickest way he knew, by kissing her senseless. It took only seconds for Max to melt into him as his tongue stole into her mouth to duel with her own.
She sighed deeply, leaning forward for more when Rafe set her gently away from him, “You’ve been tying me in knots for months, Maxine.”
“I have?” she asked breathlessly.
“You have,” he grinned, before lifting her to stand in front of him and firmly meeting her gaze. “To the corner with you, young lady.”
“The corner? But I thought…”
“That’s exactly why I haven’t started this conversation with you yet. I didn’t want you to think it would get you out of a well-deserved spanking and I’m telling you right now, it won’t… ever.”
Max blinked up at him again. “Oh…”
“Yeah, oh!” he said with a firm swat to her bottom urging her back to the corner. “Get that bottom bare, young lady, and don’t you move a muscle while I’m gone.”
“Where are you going?” she asked from her position in the corner; suddenly it was a lot more bearable now that she knew he actually cared about her.
“I need to go tell our mailroom Casanova that you won’t be free tonight or any other night.”
Max took heart from the vehemence in his voice; he really, really wanted her.
* * *
Rafe was back in record time, leaving a brokenhearted Ted in his wake.
“Was Ted okay?” Max asked from her corner.
“He’ll get over it. He can find his own girl; you belong to me,” Rafe said before placing the straight-backed chair in the center of the room and calling her to him.
Max came quietly, placing herself across his thighs without hesitation.
“Why are we here, Maxine?”
“I’ve been reading at my desk instead of working,” she answered honestly, eager to get this behind them.
“Are you ever going to do that again?” he asked as he ran one broad palm across her upturned bottom.
“No, sir,” she said softly.
“Let’s make sure,” Rafe said, firmly tucking her in tight, his hand slapping down immediately. He spanked her hard and fast from the very beginning, leaving no room for doubt that this was a punishment spanking.
After the tenth swat, the intense sting and heat had quickly built in her bottom and Max gasped and started kicking.
Rafe left not an inch of skin free from his attention; he brought her bottom from pink to red and then from red to crimson, leaving her limp and sobbing across his lap before he stopped and brought her up to sit once again on his knee.
Max winced as her roasted bottom came in contact with his pants, finding it really difficult to sit there with tonight’s spanking resting on top of the thorough spanking from last night.
Rafe cuddled her close and rubbed her back as she calmed. “That’s my good girl. You took your punishment very well, baby, I’m proud of you.”
Oddly enough, those words gave her a sense of pride. She could take a well-earned spanking like a woman. Like Rafe’s woman.
Chapter Five
Max didn’t demure as Rafe followed her up the stairs to her apartment. She was over the moon, even with a flaming backside. Rafe Jennings wanted her! Would he make love to her tonight?
She sure hoped so… she’d waited forever for a man to come along who brought forth more than a lukewarm response.
Rafe stirred a virtual inferno to life within her veins and now she could explore it to her heart’s content, as long as she played her cards right.
Max walked into her apartment and dithered around the entry way, out of her depth and unsure how to proceed with her plans to thoroughly seduce the big man. “Umm, would you like a cup of coffee or something? I can make dinner…”
Rafe leaned against a wall and stared at her intently, watching her where she stood playing nervously with the end of her scarf. He hadn’t said anything since they left the parking garage and even then he’d only instructed her to fasten her seatbelt.
She sucked her lower lip between her teeth. Had she already done something to make him angry again?
As if he’d reached a decision, Rafe nodded and straightened from the wall, walking toward her with intent written clearly in his eyes.
Max felt her eyes widen as she backed away from his advancing figure, suddenly panicked and unsure if seduction was a good plan. She didn’t know what she was doing!
All the sex manuals and romances in the world did not really give one applicable knowledge of how to put anything into action. Surely it went beyond the mechanics? Would it be instinctual?
Her face heated as she kept backing across the room. Rafe continued to silently stalk her across the floor until her back came to rest against the wall between the living room and kitchen. The feel of the cool wall against her hot bottom through the thin material of her skirt reminded Max she still wasn’t wearing any panties.
A throbbing heat sprang to life between her thighs and she felt her face flush anew, but this time it was with need.
Rafe still said nothing as he moved to cage her against the wall between his arms, his big body resting inches away from her own.
&n
bsp; Max swallowed as she looked up into the eyes staring so intently into her own, her small tongue darting out to lick her suddenly dry lips.
His head swooped in to cover her trembling mouth with his own. It was a soft whisper of a kiss, the barest touch before he cupped her face gently in his hands and moved back a few inches to study her some more. “Are you ready, Maxine?”
“Ready?” she squeaked breathlessly, the tension between them palpable.
“Ready to become mine? Be sure because I warn you, once you give yourself to me, there will be no going back. I won’t ever let you go.”
She smiled up at him shyly. “Who said I wanted you to let me go?”
Then she was in his arms, pressed tightly against his hard body as he kissed her deeply and thoroughly. Max gasped as his big hands found their way beneath her skirt and cupped her tender bottom to lift her tight against his erection.
The hot sting in her bottom seemed to spread through her veins, wringing a soft moan from her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and instinctively brought her legs up and around his waist, suddenly wanting to be closer to him than it even seemed possible and whimpering when it wasn’t enough.
“Shhh, baby, I’ve got you,” he soothed her as he carried her into the bedroom and stood her in front of him as he began to unbutton her blouse.
Max couldn’t be still; she pressed soft kisses against any bit of skin she could reach, hardly noticing the absence of her shirt or the skirt that quickly followed. Her hands skimmed beneath his shirt, trying to shove it up over his head as she felt her breasts fall free from her bra.
Rafe dropped to his knees in front of her, taking one pouty nipple into his mouth.
She shuddered, cradling his head to her breast as he sucked her deep. One hand held her to him as the other skimmed her round bottom, caressing and palming it before giving it a lightly stinging swat.
Max gave a soft mewl of shocked pleasure as he continued to rain swats across her bottom, reawakening the sting from earlier. All the while he continued to nibble and suck at first one nipple then the other, leaving Max awash in sensation. When his fingers skimmed once again across her bottom and then delved between her legs to seat one long finger deep inside, her knees buckled. Only the firm arm at her waist kept her upright.
“So hot and wet. Is this for me?” he asked.
She didn’t answer, writhing against his invading finger, lost in the need building inside her. The delightful finger was gone and a much sharper smack fell on her unsuspecting bottom. Max gasped, her hips bucking in response.
“I asked you a question, young lady.”
“Wh-what?” Max asked breathlessly. Her head fell back on her shoulders as that wicked finger came back to play along her slick passage.
“I asked if this was for me.”
“Yes… please…” She begged for something that seemed just out of her reach.
Rafe moved quickly to spill her backwards on the bed and hooked her legs over his shoulders, opening her fully to his gaze.
“Rafe?” she asked, suddenly unsure.
“So pretty, how could I resist a taste?”
Max didn’t have time to decide if she wanted this or not, because before his intent had time to completely register, his mouth covered her, his tongue taking her masterfully.
She cried out and pressed her hips helplessly up to his marauding mouth, feeling like she would explode at any minute. When he circled her sensitive nub with his tongue as he pressed his thumb into her with a circular motion, she came with a scream of surprise, trying to pull away from the intensity of what she was feeling.
Rafe allowed no such retreat, holding her fast as he continued to work her with his talented tongue and fingers. Incredibly she began to build toward another orgasm immediately and when he sucked her between his lips she skyrocketed off again, yelling his name.
Max lay boneless with her legs hanging off the edge of the bed, panting for breath. Her eyes widened as Rafe stood and began to remove his own clothes. She blushed as she realized he’d been fully clothed while he’d brought her to completion twice.
When he peeled his pants and underwear from his body and his erection sprang forth, she eyed it with a little trepidation. It seemed huge, long, and thick. Max wondered if perhaps she should mention she’d never actually done this before. Suddenly everything she’d read seemed anatomically impossible.
“Rafe… I haven’t exactly…”
He gave her such a look of tenderness it almost stole her breath and chased away most of the uncertainty. “I know, baby, it’ll be okay. Trust me?”
Max nodded, then looked pointedly at his erection. “What if it doesn’t fit?”
He laughed and then came down over her, easily getting her caught up in their mutual desire again to take her mind off the mechanics involved.
She groaned, surprised how good it felt to have his weight come down over her, pressing her deep into the mattress. He began to nibble along her neck, making her shiver in response, his fingers coming between them to stroke her back into readiness. Soon she was writhing against him again, opening her legs in shameless invitation.
Rafe fitted himself to the opening of her body and stilled, looking down at her.
Max frowned and tried to move, but he held her fast. “Please,” she moaned demandingly, her body clamoring for the satisfaction it knew he could provide.
“Look at me, Maxine.” At his firm tone she opened her eyes and looked up into his.
As soon as she made eye contact he thrust home, seating himself to the hilt. Max felt uncomfortably full at first, but there was no real pain, and after a moment she was eager for more. But Rafe remained determinedly still.
She watched the play of emotions over Rafe’s face as he waited for her to adjust to him. Her brow puckered in a frown and she tried to wriggle and force him into movement as he groaned. “Wait, Maxine, give yourself a minute…”
“I don’t want a minute. I want you to move… now…” she said in sudden demand as she grabbed his face and pulled it down to her own to kiss him aggressively, sliding her tongue against his.
Rafe returned her kiss almost desperately as he began to move, riding her slowly, pulling out inch by inch almost all the way before sliding back into her just as slowly.
Max groaned and wrapped her legs around his hips, trying to bring him back more quickly, but Rafe was determined to set the pace. She wanted to scream as her need built and built but the same maddening rhythm continued, then when he pressed a finger lightly between them in just the right spot, she catapulted over the edge once again.
Then he started moving faster and harder, taking her deeper, as deep as her body would allow. Max met him thrust for thrust, enjoying the increasing strength of his movements. When he once again palmed her backside to help arch her into him, she exploded once again.
Then he began to pound into her, taking his own satisfaction, grinding against her with a groan as he came and bringing her with him yet again.
Max felt like a puddle of melted wax when he sank down onto the bed next to her and pulled her tight against him.
“That was… wow,” she said softly, her hand playing lightly with the hair on his chest as she snuggled even closer.
Rafe laughed and kissed the top of her head. “I can live with wow. Just so long as you realize you now belong irrevocably to me.”
Max kissed his chest. “Yep, and the same goes for you, buddy,” she said with a yawn followed with a soft snore.
* * *
When Max woke, she wriggled her body experimentally against Rafe’s larger frame; he merely snored louder and pulled her tighter against him in response.
She smiled, the satisfied smile of a woman well loved. Her body was deliciously sore in unexpected places and she could still feel the gentle thrum of her climaxes pulsing between her legs.
Rafe had done exactly as he’d promised her. His possession had been ruthlessly thorough, and even now in his sleep he clutched her tig
htly as if to prevent her escape.
His claim made her feel so complete, she almost felt branded. With a sigh, Max touched his cheek, softly wondering if it truly went both ways… knowing if it didn’t she would be emotionally eviscerated.
Max wanted to believe in the happy ending as much as the next girl, to give herself completely… trusting Rafe was the real deal, but did it have to feel like jumping off a skyscraper without a safety net?
Chapter Six
Max floated on air the next day at work and soared through the skies with Rafe as her guide the next night. He made love to her throughout the night, not letting her fall into an exhausted slumber until it was almost dawn.
She was amazed by the energy pulsing through her body when she got up for work even with so little sleep. Max grinned saucily up at Rafe as she passed him on her way out of the bathroom. “They should bottle you and send you out for mass marketing! That morning drag getting you down? Who needs energy drinks? Just take a Rafe all night long and you’ll be in fighting form when you wake ready to face the day!”
Rafe growled under his breath, giving her a light slap on the bottom to propel her out the bathroom door.
Max turned in the doorway with a pretend look of surprise. “Feeling under the weather, sugar? I guess I wore you out, perhaps we should get you some vitamins or you should eat some Wheaties… noooo!”
Max screamed with laughter as he suddenly tossed her over his shoulder, tickling her all the way to the bed, where he dropped her unceremoniously with mock sternness. “Get ready for work, young woman. None of this tomfoolery!”
“Spoilsport!” she yelled as he went back into the bathroom to take his own shower.
Max sighed wistfully. If he weren’t such a stickler for being on time, she would join him in the shower and… “Uh-oh… two nights and I’m a nympho!”
Laughing to herself, Max finished getting ready for work. She decided she didn’t care if she was a nympho; no woman would with Rafe Jennings in her bed.
Unacceptable Behavior Page 4
