by Kara Kelley
“Give me your hand.” She shook her head. “Now, Avery.” Again, she refused. He took her wrist and placed it against the small of her back while she struggled.
“Enough!” He punctuated his final word with a meaty spank that targeted the middle of her bottom over both cheeks, hard enough that she swore.
“No more, damn you!” He just kept on spanking her and hard. She cursed him and tried her damnedest to twist and turn herself off his lap, but he only tightened his grip on her and laid into her bottom more fiercely. She clenched her jaw and set her mind to accept what he gave but damn it, she wasn’t giving in. She took the burning spanks, and tried to relax her body and hold back her angry tears. He continued a few more sharp swats before speaking firmly.
“You will never again try to control a spanking I’m giving you, whether you asked for it or not. Do you understand that, little girl?” She didn’t answer, so he swatted her again three times, making her howl angrily. She wanted to swear, curse him, and cling to him and bawl all at the same time, but anger was easier than vulnerability.
“Yes! Fine! Don’t ever expect me to ask again though!” She made an angry, indignant huff and he stood abruptly, catching her before she could fall onto the floor. She’d kicked her pants and panties off, but he didn’t care. He took her firmly by the upper arm and yanked her toward the cabin door. Her eyes widened as she figured out where he was taking her and she dug her feet into the floor. He dragged her, and she hollered.
“No, please. I’m sorry. Please, Daddy. I was upset. I didn’t mean to act out. I swear.” He only shot her a look so dark that she threw herself onto her knees on the floor. He was in complete control though and scooped her up and continued out the door toward the woodshed.
“Oh, you are in so much trouble, little girl. You’ve needed this since the moment I walked through the door.” He set her on her feet once they were next to the sawhorse. “Over.” He pointed, and she shook her head. “Maybe you’re testing me. Maybe you want to see I can take control no matter how bad things get, I don’t know, but if you don’t get yourself over that bench, I’m going to cut a switch for when we’re finished here.” He crossed his arms, and his jaw tightened. “Last chance.”
She stamped her foot once, growled, and bent over the horse. With her ass on the line, she hated that he was right. Why was she testing him, pushing him? He came around the front, shook his head and pointed to two pegs sticking out of the bottom. “Hold your hands there and don’t move.” She bit her wobbling lip, slowly reached down, and put her hands on the pegs.
“Stay.” He left her there, and as soon as he stepped away, shame hit her. Why was she acting like this? He walked back in the room. She heard his footfalls and dread rolled inside her. He touched her back and leaned over her.
“Get up.” She did and looked at him with watery eyes. “I’m sorry. I just feel so out of control.” She looked down and saw the blanket in his hands. He touched her face with his right hand, wiping the two tears that slipped from her eyes. Then he put the blanket over the bench. He nodded his chin at it, and she looked first at it and then him. She straightened, gathered her breath, and turned to lean over it. She knew this was what she needed. She needed him in control. She’d asked for this. He was right; she needed to know he could take care of her—handle anything that came at him.
“I don’t want it to dig into your hips,” he said, his hand still warm and firm on her back. “You know this is for you.” She nodded. Any words she might have wanted to say stuck.
“Never doubt that I’ll follow through with what you need, honey. I won’t let you down. I swear I won’t.” His hand left her back, and she heard the whisper before she felt the splat and bite of leather on her skin. She sucked air through her teeth, absorbing the sting and then stiffened when she heard the next lick coming. She wanted to move away to avoid it, but she was done fighting him. They were in this together.
The next landed, and she gasped softly, the tip of the strap flicked around the swell of her bottom and nipped the tender flesh. It hurt so badly she released the peg wanting to rub the spot, but she stayed strong and put her hand back. He switched to her other side, and she felt relief knowing the tip wouldn’t bite the same spot again, at least for now. She didn’t know how long he’d spank her, but she did know he was doing it for her. She wouldn’t make it harder on him. The next thwack made her straighten her spine sharply and cry out. They were starting to overlap, and the burn was fierce. A torrent of tears threatened behind her lids, and she knew she was close to breaking. She willed them to come.
The next two licks were fast and across the lowest part of her cheeks so she couldn’t absorb one before the next fell. It was exactly what she needed to overwhelm her ability to take the pain. Her feet rose and dropped and the tears broke through, like a rainstorm after a drought—it felt amazing. He pulled her up and kissed her wet face. “I will protect you. I will give you whatever you need even when it hurts me. I won’t screw this up, too.”
Too? Her eyes widened, but he scooped her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Their mouths met with crushing force, and while one arm held her in place, the other plunged into her hair to control her while he went for her neck. And all thoughts of what he’d meant were gone.
He carried her back to the cabin, pausing on the porch steps to press her against the post and unbuckle his belt and jeans. His hands worked feverishly while hers were buried in his hair, ecstasy lacing every panting breath between them. Her eyes squeezed tight as he balanced her on his knee so he could both work his pants and her shirt open. She tore at his buttons simultaneously.
His hot mouth found her nipple and his free hand tugged at her hair again; she called out, abandoning her efforts and instead just clung to his shoulders. He pulled her off the post, spun so his back crashed into the door and he released her hair long enough to turn the knob. He stumbled, kicking off his dirty boots, and threw her onto the sofa. He tore at his clothes before falling onto her. His arm banded around her lower back, yanking her hips with force against him so that he could shove into her with an animalistic grunt. His deep pumping hit with slamming vigor and made her call out and bite down on his salty shoulder. The depth of his punishing penetration brought her to the edge fast. Her body tingled and tightened with the sensations of their friction, and her release tore through her faster than she’d ever experienced. Pressing his fingers into the tender flesh of her ass, he pumped hard. His final plunges were rough with abandon and she felt him tense as he spurted inside her.
He slumped against her, their skin, sweaty with exertion, pressed together.
“What did you mean, too?” she whispered in his ear, satiated but now remembering her last cognitive thought. What had this amazing man screwed up before? Was that the burden she’d been seeing on his face? And did it matter? Like he’d accepted her past, she would accept his. As he’d said, they were in this together. He lifted himself up slightly so she could see his face. They were both still out of breath.
“Goddammit, Avery Trent, I love you.” He bit his lip and emotion made his eyes shine. “I screwed up. I failed her. I failed them all, but I won’t fail you.”
Who did he fail? Ella? The other girl in the picture? Who else could there be? He’d shut down the last time she’d questioned him about them, but this time she wouldn’t let him. He needed to release his burdens just as she had.
“Tell me, Daddy. Please, tell me about Ella.” He sat up then, across from her, his knees still between her thighs.
He entwined their fingers, pulled her up, and leaned his forehead against hers. “We were just kids, friends with raging hormones, I guess. She got pregnant, but things were already over between us by the time she found out. I didn’t want to ruin my kid’s life or hers, so I proposed. We thought with a child between us we’d grow to love each other.” He gathered a breath, and she saw he was struggling to continue. “I already loved the child growing inside her.”
He pulled his he
ad back, and his eyes were shining with emotion.
“She was twenty-seven weeks along when they couldn’t find the heartbeat. She had to deliver our stillborn son before we’d even been married a month. Maybe if she hadn’t been so lost after she would have left me and moved on, but she didn’t. Years passed, and we drifted farther apart, but we were friends—if nothing else we had that.” Avery tilted slightly, kissing his lips in encouragement. Her gut was dense with sorrow imagining what they’d gone through. Was there anything worse than losing a child? By the anguish on his face, she knew his story wasn’t over. She nodded to encourage him.
“I was always away on the road, hunting dangerous fugitives, and she was busy building her real estate business. I think we purposely kept our lives hectic to avoid dealing with anything other than friendly cohabitation.” He swallowed and looked away, but she saw the flash of guilt in his eyes.
“She started seeing someone else. I only found out because I came home early one weekend—my team and I had a great lead, and I was in a celebratory mood. I was sure we were going to get our guy within the week. I stopped downtown to get a pizza from our favorite restaurant and a bottle of wine. And there she was holding hands across the table with my old partner, Mark Hardwick.” Mike looked back at Avery, and his face looked bright for a second.
“She looked happier than I’d ever seen her.” Mike looked thoughtful, not pained as Avery might expect a man to look speaking of his wife’s betrayal.
“I guess I stood there staring for a while. It made me realize how unhappy we’d been all those years.” He glanced down at their hands still entwined and rubbed his thumbs over her skin. “No, not unhappy. We lived like friends, so there were lots of great memories, but no passion.” Mike reached his hand to cup Avery’s cheek before he continued.
“Nothing like what I’ve had with you, sweetheart.” She leaned into his palm, closing her eyes a moment to soak in his words.
“I went to a hotel to sleep that night, intent on telling her the next day that we should get a divorce—that I wanted her to be happy with Mark. I finished the bottle of wine myself, part celebration and part dealing with the end of the only adult life I had ever known.”
Avery shivered, thinking of her unhappy marriage. Mike pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“The next morning, when I went to the house, I found her—dead.”
Avery gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth. “Oh, my God, Mike!” He pulled back, and she reached for him, putting both her hands on his face. “That must have been awful.”
He scrutinized her eyes, and his expression changed from one of torment to anger. “Not as terrible as when I was arrested for it.”
She was taken aback, but she didn’t let go of him.
“W-what? Why?”
“It’s always the husband, Avery.” Mike’s head fell, knocking her hands to her lap, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Witnesses that saw me staring at them through the window of the restaurant and no one saw me all night after that.”
“What about the guy she was with? Her lover?”
“My ex-partner had an alibi. He was home with his sister all night.”
“Who else could have done it then?” Avery felt panic rising even though it was in the past. Mike wasn’t a killer and the thought that anyone could ever think that tore her to pieces.
“Exactly, Avery. Exactly.”
“What happened?”
“They didn’t have enough evidence, but they charged me anyway. When it went to trial the Crown attorney—that’s like your prosecutor in the states—had a witness who’d seen a man about my height and build watching the house that night, but it was too dark for him to say for sure if it was me. During the cross, my lawyer got him to admit he’d seen this man there a few times over the course of the week, and I had been in Montreal until the night of the murder. They called witnesses from the restaurant and someone who thought they saw me leave the hotel that night but couldn’t be sure, but in the end, the jury didn’t feel the Crown proved my guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“You must have been so relieved it was all over.”
“Avery, that didn’t mean people believed I was innocent. In fact, they thought the opposite.” He closed his eyes and shoveled a hand through his hair. “They were even angrier then that I’d gotten away with it, especially Mark. We’d been friends for years, and he hated me. I lost everything. Ella was gone, and Mark was convinced I’d killed her out of jealousy and had a PI on me constantly. He was obsessed with proving I killed her. Most of my other friends and coworkers, all jaded by the legal system, believed the worst and refused to associate with me. The few that stood by me understood when I chose to leave. I retired, with the offer to return or be transferred. Kids threw eggs at my house, old ladies gave me dirty looks, clerks at stores ignored me. I was a leper.” He drew in a breath. “So I left it all behind. No more people, no more society. I wanted nothing to do with anyone again.” He took her hands.
“Avery, I didn’t kill her.” He pleaded with his eyes for her to trust him and her eyes welled at his pain. She had never trusted anyone more than she trusted her mountain man daddy.
“Anyone that knows you—really knows you, could never believe you did.” She launched herself into his arms.
Chapter Twelve
Mike didn’t have to go to Annie’s. A forensics team and several cops, including Officer Riley had surrounded the Jeep. He only had to ask, and Riley was pointed out. He hated being around the group. There was nothing but bitterness left in him about his time with the RCMP. But this wasn’t about him, it was about Avery, and he’d do anything to protect and keep her safe.
“I’m Officer Riley,” the young cop said, pulling a card out of his breast pocket. “You’re Mike Hunter, right?” the officer asked, but it was clear to Mike, he needn’t have. He knew exactly who Mike was. Mike nodded.
“I need your help,” Mike said skipping the small talk. He held his breath, waiting, reading the young officer’s face.
“You look a little different with the beard and long hair, but I’d recognize those eyes anywhere.” The officer’s next words surprised the hell out of him.
“You were the best the RCMP ever had. Here I was coming to you for help, and you’re asking for mine.” He held out his hand, and Mike took it. “I’ve got a trail of bodies all the way from the US border to your mountain. I think whoever stole this Jeep is a serial killer. And I believe serial killers are your specialty.”
* * *
She waited alone at the cabin while Mike walked down the mountain to the swarm of police. Going to Annie’s was unnecessary when the cops were already on the mountain. Her anxiousness intensified every minute that Mike was gone—even Rocky seemed to sense her emotions. He paced on the porch, slumping down in front of the steps every ten minutes only to get up again. The cabin felt like it was closing in on her. Mike had ordered her to stay inside, as he’d locked every window and door, but she couldn’t breathe now that he was gone.
“They won’t risk sticking around with the cops everywhere, babe. You’re safe,” he’d said.
“Then why are you locking this place up like Fort Knox?”
He’d only shot her a dark look, before settling her on the sofa with a cup of tea.
When she stepped outside, Rocky rolled to lie his girth on her foot. She wondered if Mike had trained him to sit on her if she tried to run.
“I’m sure glad you’re here, Rocky.” The bear groaned and scratched his face by rubbing it against his massive paw.
It was even warmer than she expected, and with the sun strong she didn’t need the jacket she’d thrown on. She was amazed that it was only a week ago a spring storm had buried them. She walked to sit on the porch step, and Rocky followed. They hadn’t had much contact, but she knew she was safe with him. She rose and picked his tire up off its side with both hands. Rocky watched her with curiosity.
“Wa
nna play?” she asked, and he turned his head slightly. “Come on. I’ll roll it just like your buddy, Mike.” She sent the tire rolling with as much power as she had, but it didn’t go far. It rolled a few turns then flopped flat on its side. Rocky looked at her, then the tire, and she swore he guffawed at her inability to move the thing with any power, but then he hopped a little on his paws and hit the tire, so it bounced up. He swatted it then, and she laughed at the little spring in his step as it began rolling.
“Showoff,” she murmured and he chuffed. Though he was an animal and couldn’t possibly have the intelligence for showing off, she believed that was his intent. The yard around the cabin was more of a level landing before it went down to another relatively flat area. The tire made it to the next flattened part, and Rocky rolled around beside it, clawing and chewing. Avery smiled and picked up Mike’s ax. “I might as well make myself useful, Rocky. You sure know how to cut a game short.” The bear growled playfully and continued to roll around. The ax was sharp. She took a small log and set it on its side. She lifted the ax high and brought it down fast. It stuck in the dirt beside the log. She tried again, and it wedged in the log but didn’t split it. She put her foot on it and yanked but only succeeded in falling on her butt. She rose then, dusted off her pants and with a curse, picked up the ax, log and all, and slammed it down on the chopping block. It made a satisfying crack and split in half. She was out of breath from one chop. It was no wonder Mike was in such good shape.
She did a whole pile, and when she decided she couldn’t do even one more because her arms were more jelly than flesh and bone, she set the ax by the block and looked around for Rocky. He had abandoned his tire and she couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Thanks for bailing on me, buddy,” she yelled down the hill.
“Hello there!”
Avery’s head shot to her right where an older man stood in a ball cap. He had a backpack on, a bottle of water in one hand and a walking stick in the other. It was the second person she’d seen in two days and only three days ago she had been naked tied to a tree with her lover’s face between her thighs. The thought made her blush.
