His by Valentine's Day

by Starla Kaye

  His By Valentine's Day

  By

  Starla Kaye

  (c)2010 by Blushing Books(r) and Starla Kaye

  Copyright (c) 2010 by Blushing Books(r) and Starla Kaye

  All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by Blushing Books(r),

  a subsidiary of

  ABCD Graphics and Design

  977 Seminole Trail #233

  Charlottesville, VA 22901

  The trademark Blushing Books(r) is registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

  Kaye, Starla

  His By Valentine's Day

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-60968-589-8

  Cover Design by ABCD Graphics

  Blushing Publications thanks you whole-heartedly for your purchase with us!

  There are plenty more stories such as the one you've purchased from Blushing Books! Visit our online store to view our might selection!

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  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

  Chapter One

  Shawna couldn't remember being this mad in a long, long time. But she was absolutely furious with Cade Calloway and she'd just finished letting him know it in no uncertain terms. He didn't take her opinion well.

  Even as she tried to calm down--not that she intended to apologize for anything she'd said--he looked briskly around the large, heated stable. Then he grabbed her wrist, making her drop the rake she'd been using to clean the stalls before he'd suddenly walked into her world. In the next second he tugged her with him toward a hay bale beside one of the stalls. She didn't like the strength in his grip, the tension in the air.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she questioned while trying to pull her arm free.

  The man who was the epitome of spotless GQ to her dirty ranch wear simply sat down and jerked her over his finely pressed chinos. "Didn't I just say that you were in desperate need of a spanking?"

  She looked frantically toward the open doorway twenty feet away. Even though none of her ranch hands were in the barn or should even be anywhere close by at this time of day, she was still anxious about this humiliating situation. She braced her hands on the hay bale and attempted to push her way up. "Didn't I just say you wouldn't dare?"

  For a fancy city boy he sure had muscled thighs and she really didn't want to be lying here like a naughty child over them. She'd noticed his manicured hands, big hands. She suspected they could deliver quite a swat, and she'd rather not find out for sure. "Let me up! This is ridiculous." She wiggled like a worm desperate to get off a hook.

  Cade just tucked her closer against him. He smelled of leather from his expensive jacket and seductively tempting from whatever woman-luring cologne he had on. It irritated her that she even noticed those things, considering her position. Even more, considering what she feared he intended to do. She squirmed again. "You're only pushing my buttons, right? You don't really mean to..."

  The hand not holding her in place briskly found its way to her denim-covered bottom. "No, Ms. Donley, it's you who pushed my buttons. And, yes, I really mean to teach you some manners."

  She reached back to try and keep him from attacking her bottom again. "Then buy me a damn Anne Landers or whoever's etiquette book."

  Impossible man that he was, he grabbed her hand and held it on her back. "I think a lesson delivered quickly and smartly will be much more efficient."

  He didn't waste time with additional rebuttals to her immediate attempts at disagreeing. To her amazement, the man who had arrived at the Rolling Hills Ranch less than an hour ago, announcing that he was the new owner, and announcing that he intended to re-sell the ranch to one of the ranching corporations as soon as possible, went straight back to business. The business of clarifying that he didn't appreciate his ranch manager--whom he had thought was a man--yelling at him about his decision. And making it clear that he definitely didn't like his employee calling him names.

  "Idiot isn't really much of a bad name," she protested as his hand landed again, and again. She could have called him many more colorful names, which had also entered her mind during his brief explanations about his intentions.

  "Not the point, Ms. Donley." He spanked her a half dozen more times. He might be city-boy to the bone, but he had a dedication to task that she admired. Well, sort of. She would if he weren't spanking the daylights out of her.

  "Okay, okay, I apologize," she grumbled, wriggling uselessly once more. "You can stop now. I apologize." The words were hard to say because she didn't really mean them. He was an idiot for even thinking about selling the ranch. This was one of the few ranches that consistently ran in the black, and a lot of that was due to her management skills. She knew her way around ranches, but apparently--from the continued lesson he was delivering--she needed to brush up on her etiquette skills. Mainly, don't boldly state the truth by calling your idiot boss an idiot. Sugar coat it instead.

  "Do you spank all your female employees who disagree with you?" she bit out, trying to look back at him only to be hit in the face by her nearly waist-length braid.

  He stilled his hand on her burning bottom. "You're the first."

  "Should I feel honored?" She felt the tingle--alarmingly sensual--from his hand almost as much as from the spanking he'd delivered. And that irritated her.

  "What you should feel is glad that I swatted your cute little butt instead of kicking it off my ranch." He lightly squeezed one throbbing cheek.

  Heat welled within her and she snapped, "Are you done swatting my cute little butt? Are you ready to talk reasonably now?" She didn't want to even think about being kicked off the ranch. This was her job, her home.

  To her surprise, he helped her get up, although he didn't look the least bit apologetic for what he'd done. Actually, he was watching her in a serious way that she couldn't get a handle on. And there was a touch of amusement in his dark brown eyes.

  "You find this funny?" She reached back to rub her tender bottom.

  He rolled his eyes. "Drama Queen, that wasn't much of a spanking."

  She sputtered, "Drama Queen! Drama Queen!"

  "I only did that to get you to stop ranting and going nuts on me. And, of course, because you called me a name." He stood up and brushed at the wrinkles in his slacks she'd made by squirming around.

  Yes, she had gone slightly postal, but then his news had been devastating. "You could have called ahead to warn me you were coming. You could have been a little more tactful in delivering news that would destroy my life."

  The movie-star handsome man with his oh-so-sexy five-o'clock shadow at least looked uncomfortable at that comment. "I had no intention of destroying your life, Ms. Donley. Hopefully, whoever purchases the ranch for the long run will keep you and the men."

  "Like you really care," she grouched. "You with your gazillion bucks, houses all over the country, women begging to have you bed them..."

  One of his dark eyebrows rose. "Watch it, Ms. Donley. No matter what you may think of my lifestyle--and how do you even know about my lifestyle--I am still your boss. I sign your paychecks."

  "I've got Internet. I know how to research." She narrowed her eyes. "And you don't sign our paychecks. Some peon in the accounting department of Calloway Enterprises does."

  He stepped toward her, towering over her by almost a foot, looking really ann
oyed. She glared right back at him.

  "I could fire you on the spot for your behavior. Should fire you." Their gazes met and something besides annoyance seemed to spark in his eyes. He looked shaken by the reaction, and she felt shaken enough that she moved backward.

  "You won't, though," she said, crossing her fingers behind her back. She really liked her job, and she was good at it. Most importantly the men who worked under her respected her. Of course, she'd worked hard to earn their respect for the last three years since she'd taken over the job.

  He flicked a piece of straw from his leather jacket sleeve. "Just how did you get the foreman position anyway? I thought ranching was a good old boys kind of situation. Macho males, that kind of thing."

  She raised her chin. "Normally it is, but I inherited the job, basically. And I've proven myself to the men. They respect me as much as I respect them. We're a team." They were, and the men were going to be as upset about Cade's news as she'd been. Okay, they wouldn't stomp their feet and call him names to his face like she had done. It had been a gut reaction, a bad reaction.

  His cell phone rang and, while she tapped her boot in annoyance at having their conversation interrupted, he pulled it from his inner jacket pocket. "Cade speaking." He turned away in a meager attempt for privacy, which she, of course, ignored. "Yes, I'll be there tonight, Amanda. Have the doorman let you into my apartment. Yes, I'm looking forward to the weekend."

  Shawna listened as his voice turned husky, warm, and sensual. He'd been commanding and demanding with her almost from the first moment they'd met in the barn. Yes, she'd been in the middle of cleaning the stalls because it was her turn and she really disliked the chore. Yes, she'd been in a sour mood because she'd broken off with her latest boyfriend the night before. Making nice wasn't something she was up for right then. Cade's curious disgust that she'd been a woman instead of a man had irritated her. His announcement that he planned to look for a corporate buyer for the Rolling Hills Ranch as soon as possible sent her way beyond feeling irritated. He'd only bought the ranch a month ago and never set foot on it until today. His callous attitude rubbed her really wrong, made her careless--okay, more careless than normal--with her words.

  She continued to listen as Cade lowered his voice and talked about wine, ordering in, and about some new satin sheets. She curled her hands into fists. How dare he go all hot-to-trot male with another woman while she stood here all but drooling over him herself! Stupid as that was! He was Mr. Super Stud on the phone to some strange woman, and Mr. Burn Your Butt with her. So unfair.

  Shawna tried not to listen--okay, barely tried. Just minutes ago she'd told him off in some pretty bold words. And he'd warned her that she needed a good spanking for acting like such a child. She'd been stunned by his statement, unwise, too, because she'd all but dared him to try it. He'd taken up the challenge and hauled her over to the hay bale. Then he'd jerked her over his knee and spanked her. She'd never admit it out loud--or to him--but she'd kind of gotten all warm inside at his going all Alpha male. She was used to getting her way. It had been years since her father had tried to tame her wild ways. She was a redhead and she had a spirited personality that went with it, she knew that. But she also had a sensual side that liked a man who could keep up with her; unfortunately she had trouble finding such a man. She suspected Cade Calloway had that kind of potential, not that she would ever find out. Still, she'd have liked hearing him go all husky and seductive with her.

  As he put his phone away, she said slightly testy, "Hot date?"

  At first she didn't think he would respond, and then he said, "Real hot." He started to walk by her on his way out of the barn, but stopped to gently move a strand of her hair behind one ear. "Bet you'd be hot, too, Red."

  She blinked, her heart sped up. "Something you'll never know, Mr. Calloway."

  "Never say never, Ms. Donley." His gaze heated and it looked for a second like he was going to kiss her. Then he straightened and gave her a stern look. "We'll discuss the ranch business further at another time." His glance slid lower to where she'd gone back to rubbing her bottom. "It might be best if we talk over the phone, though. Otherwise, I suspect, I'll end up turning you over my knee again."

  "Like I'd let you," she snapped.

  He grinned and the twin dimples that appeared on the sides of his mouth melted her insides. "You let me this time."

  Because she realized she probably could have stopped him from spanking her, Shawna chose not to respond to that. "Before you decide to destroy the ranch by selling it to some big, cold ranching corporation, let me talk to the men. There might be another way to save the Rolling Hills."

  His brow furrowed. "It's a business decision, nothing personal. It's what I do. I buy and sell businesses, some businesses I keep as investments, but not a ranch."

  She was getting angry again, which meant her temper could easily get her in trouble if she didn't work hard to control it. "It's not personal to you maybe, but it's very personal to me. All I'm asking is that you don't make a quick decision without talking to me again."

  He started walking and she scurried to keep up with him. "I'll think about it, but not for very long."

  They walked in silence to his little black Porsche. Her mind was spinning with the desperate need to find a way to save the world she knew and loved. She had an idea, but the chances were so slim...

  Interrupting her thoughts, he reached down and grabbed her by the shoulders. As she watched in surprise, he lowered his head to kiss her. Boy could he kiss! She sizzled all the way to her toes.

  All too soon, in her opinion, he released her and grinned. "I'm not apologizing, Ms. Donley."

  "Did I ask you to?" she snapped, blushing when he chuckled.

  Annoyed with him all over again, she spun on her boot heels and marched toward her house, listing all of his wrongdoings: Stop in unexpectedly and dare to announce the pending destruction of her life, go all caveman-in-charge on her, spank her, and then kiss her. The man had a lot of nerve!

  "We're not through yet," he called out to her before climbing into his car.

  She didn't know what he was talking about. And she didn't have any more time to think about him...other than figuring out how to save her ranch.

  * * *

  "If we each put in our winnings from National..." Shawna began to the six men seated around the dining table in the bunkhouse.

  Alan, her slightly shaggy blond right-hand man, shook his head and patted her hand, stopping her from the same speech she'd been giving them for the last week. "Honey, we all want to keep this ranch. We've told you that over and over."

  "But it's damn unlikely we're going to bring in the kind of money needed to buy the ranch from Calloway," Scott added, looking distressed. He was always the more serious, more black-and-white thinker amongst the group. But she could see that the possibility of letting her down was worrying him.

  Shawna swallowed against the sadness that seemed to have taken root in her ever since Cade's disturbing announcement. These men were not only who she lived and worked with but also her friends. Beyond that, they often traveled the rodeo circuits together, taking turns with who stayed behind to watch over the ranch. They were all in the top ranks of their individual rodeo fields. Her proposition to them to jointly purchase the Rolling Hills Ranch was a good one for them all. None of them had anywhere else to go. None of them would be physically able to keep competing for much longer. They needed this investment in their futures.

  "With what we could, hopefully, make and with what we've already put back..." she tried again.

  "We might come up with the down payment, maybe even a hefty chunk of the sale price. But certainly not all that the ranch is worth or that Calloway is asking," Alan finished.

  She stood, her stomach filled with tingling nerves. The idea of losing the only home she'd really ever known was wearing her down. She hadn't been able to eat, to sleep, really to even concentrate on either the ranch business or the barrel racing practice before she lef
t tomorrow for the first day of the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. She'd been at the top of her game this year, but the pressure now may just be too much for her.

  Tears threatened and she hurried across the room toward the door. "We can do it, guys. I know we can."

  * * *

  By the time Shawna accepted her second place title and the winnings that went with it on the final day of the NFR, she was sore everywhere. The competition this year had been tough. She'd done extra practice sessions, and she'd taken more spills and bumps against barrels than ever before. Sloppy. She was gravely disappointed in herself, but she blamed Cade Calloway. If she wasn't so desperate to keep the ranch, she wouldn't have been so distracted. Darn him.

  "You did real good, honey," Alan soothed, joining her as she walked out of the arena with her award and wounded pride. They both knew she should have taken first.

  "I cost us all. I let you down." She battled back the tears so near the surface. She'd have to try calling Cade again to see if he'd lower the selling price. So far he'd been unwilling to negotiate, but he hadn't found a buyer yet. So there was still hope.

  Alan draped his arm around her shoulders as they walked out. "None of us did as well as we should have. Just not our year, I guess."

  Only Tom had taken first place in bareback riding. The other five men had a mixture of seconds and thirds. But she'd tried not to let them see her disappointment. With or without the ranch, she loved them all like brothers.

  "I have another idea, maybe a couple of ideas. We're not giving up yet."

  She could draw money from her grandfather's trust fund, but it still wouldn't be enough to make what they really needed. She could ... Could what? Offer herself to one of the most sought after bachelors as some kind of love-slave in exchange for the ranch? Yeah, so not going to happen for any number of reasons. First being men--other than her friends--were scum in her book at the moment. Two being why would he even for a second be interested in a short, scrawny redhead with a quick-flash temper? He'd already seen a bit of her temper and not been impressed. No, the whole love-slave thing was OUT. Shame, though. She'd bet he was pretty hot in bed.