by Loki Renard
“I couldn’t begin to imagine sir,” the stuffy, jowled manager replied in a plummy voice that somehow managed to convey a sense of insult at having been asked the question. “Our establishment prides itself on preserving privacy.”
“Well you’ve done a terrific job,” Mattie interjected. “Half the fucking country is here.”
Stationed at the front of the elevator, Miles looked on with stark disapproval. He looked sexy when he disapproved of things; it made the hard lines of his face look even harder than usual. Cash was very impressed with both Miles and Kevin, and in spite of the tumult of photographers she felt completely safe and secure with the two men looking out for her.
Fortunately the floor they had booked was free of photographers, and when they stepped off the elevator, they finally had a chance to relax. The hotel representative presented them with the Queen Margaret suite with all the pomp and ceremony of an architect unveiling his latest wonder. He seemed miffed when they entered without so much as looking at the room, far more concerned with one another than with the furnishings.
Mattie was struggling in Kevin’s grasp, whining and complaining as she had all the way down the hall. “Let me go!”
“I’ll let you go when I’m done with you,” Kevin said. “You cannot kick people, Mattie. You cannot attack anyone, no matter how much they provoke you.”
“You bet I can,” Mattie said, shrugging her jacket off to escape his grasp. “Did you hear what they were saying?”
“It doesn’t matter what they say,” Kevin replied. “You keep your hands, feet, knees, elbows and teeth to yourself…”
Cash was watching the argument with interest when Miles took her by the hand and began leading her toward a bedroom. “Let’s allow them to sort this out between themselves,” he suggested. “You and I need to have a word, Cash.”
Cash’s tummy tingled with excitement as he drew her into the largest bedroom in the suite and closed the door securely behind them. It shut with a pleasing solidity, cutting out Mattie’s stream of profanity.
“I believe we have matters to attend to,” he said, removing his overcoat.
She stared at him. He looked damn good for a man who had just gotten off a twelve-hour flight. His hair was slightly tousled, but that only added to his appeal. Miles looked good mussed up, especially as he was now, looking at her with an expression that could only be interpreted as desire. The world faded away as she gazed into his eyes. She forgot that she was in England, she forgot about the rude paparazzi, nothing mattered but the man standing before her, pointing towards the king sized bed.
“Pants off.”
Cash’s eyes went wide. “What?”
“I’m not going to spank your pants,” he said. “It’s a waste of time.”
Hooking her thumbs in the waistband of her sweats, Cash looked up at Miles under her lashes. “Are you sure?”
“Now, Miss Raine.” His face had gone all hard and unreadable, but she suspected it was because he was trying to hide something. He wanted her. He wanted her just as bad as she wanted him. She grinned a naughty little smirk as she rolled her hips and pushed the waistband of her sweatpants down slowly. Once they were past her hips, she let them fall to the floor and stepped out. The motion left her standing in front of Miles in nothing more than a short t-shirt and a very skimpy pair of pink silk bikini panties.
“Bend over and put your hands on the bed,” he ordered. “Spread your legs.”
“Mr. Rock,” Cash said, playing the coy maiden. “That sounds almost indecent.”
“Assume the position, Miss Raine,” Miles drawled implacably.
“But we just got off the plane.” She pretended to object. In reality she had no objection to bending over in front of him, just the thought of displaying herself that way made her feel quite warm between her thighs.
“Bend over, Cash.”
There was steel warning in his voice. She heeded it. Stepping forward, she bent at the waist and placed her hands on the coverlet, arching her back to display her bottom. She felt him move to stand behind her, then felt his foot pushing one of hers to the side, parting her legs with gentle force.
“You see, in this position there’s no way for you to press and grind yourself against anything. In this position, you get the full impact of my palm.” He smoothed his hand over her tight panty clad cheeks. “It is time, Miss Raine, for you to receive your first proper disciplinary spanking.”
She squirmed her hips and found that he was correct. There was nothing for her pussy to get purchase on. She was already burning with excited desire, but when the first slap landed, it was a shock of pain, not pleasure that went jolting through her body.
“Hey!” She squeaked. “Not so hard!”
“This isn’t hard, Miss Raine,” Miles said. “This is just a warm up.” His hand landed again, bringing with it another jolt of sensation that made Cash want to bounce up and down. She danced on the spot, but kept her hands on the bed.
“Come on, Miles,” she whined. “This hurts.”
“It’s supposed to. And you earned it.”
“What did I do to earn this?”
“The flirting, the teasing.” He slapped her bottom again, this time catching her hard enough to make her go up to her toes. “The refusal to keep our relationship platonic.”
“So you’re spanking me because I like you? How is that fair?”
“I’m spanking you because you’re a naughty little temptress,” he said, his voice slipping lower. “I’m spanking you because you’re impatient, disobedient and because your bottom begs to be spanked.”
His voice made her hold her breath and clench the muscles between her thighs. Her little bud tingled with sensation, super sensitive even to the light motion of fabric.
“Have you been touching yourself since we last spoke?”
“What?” She squeaked the question.
“I asked you if you’ve been touching yourself… here.” He rested his palm on her bottom, then let his fingers drift between her thighs, touching her ever so lightly over the smooth fabric.
Cash arched her back, pushing against his fingers. “I don’t know.”
Another sharp slap made her yelp.
“I suggest you think harder.”
Her cheeks flushed hot red as embarrassment claimed her entire body, she could feel the very roots of her hair prickling with heat. “Yes, I have,” she said. “I… didn’t think you were serious.”
“I was very serious, Miss Raine. You have a tendency to let your sexuality run away with you.”
As he spoke, he let his fingers drift across her soft lips yet again. She bit back a moan, but could not stop her hips from performing an elemental dance. Miles was chastising her for wanting the very thing he was providing, sweet, sweet pleasure. She moved back and forth, pressing her tingling bud across the ridge formed by his fingertips.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped as he swatted her lightly with his other hand.
“We must restrain ourselves, Miss Raine,” Miles said, his voice sounding hoarse and husky. “We must exercise some self control. Do you understand?”
“Mmm hmm,” Cash moaned. She could feel the crotch of her panties growing damp. The restraint and self-control Miles was talking about were mere wisps of an idea. All she wanted was more of his touch, his strong, large hands slipping over her body.
Instead she got a dozen hard, swift slaps applied to the seat of her panties. The quick flurry caught her off guard. She squealed and danced in place, then finally squirmed away onto the bed, catching herself on the soft coverlet as Miles followed, slapping her sore bottom with great gusto. The more Cash tried to wriggle away, the harder Miles spanked, until she was crying out under his hard hand, the skin of her bottom flushed bright red, the tingling between her thighs forgotten as the harsh slaps of his hand overrode all pleasure.
“If you’re going to tempt me, Miss Raine, you must be prepared to take the consequences,” Miles said. “That means a sore bottom for diso
bedience.”
“But you touched me… there,” she gasped, turning on her side to try to avoid more disciplinary swats.
“Because it’s what you want, Cash,” he looked down at her. He was on all fours on the bed with her and his masculine presence made her feel a fresh bloom between her thighs. “Because it’s what you need.”
“I need you to touch me, but not touch myself?”
“It’s part of learning to obey,” he explained, gently running his hand down the outside of her hip. “I want you to be obedient, Miss Raine.”
“I thought you wanted to keep things professional.”
“I did,” he acknowledged. “But things will never be entirely professional between us, Cash, will they?”
“I hope not,” she said, her breath quickening as he slid his hand from her hip over the front of her crotch and pressed lightly over the top of her mound. She turned onto her back and a light grinding motion from the heel of his hand had her spiraling into pleasure again.
“I want to take this slow, Cash,” he said. “Can you agree to that?”
“Yes!” She would have agreed to anything with his hand there, so close to the coiling center of desire.
“I’m a disciplinarian in my relationships too, can you agree to that as well?”
Cash looked up into his face, so sexy, so serious. “What does that mean? Does that mean you spank your girlfriends for not taking out the trash?”
He smirked, his cheek dimpling. “Something like that.” He sat back, releasing her. “Do we understand one another?”
Cash shook her head. “I don’t understand anything about you.”
“That will change as we get to know one another.” He smiled down at her and she smiled back, even though he had slid his hand away, leaving her once more bereft of his touch. “I like you very much, Cash.”
“I like you too,” she smiled. “Even when you’re being overbearing.”
“I want you to know that I like you for who you are, not just for your body, not just for your desire.” He moved away. “And that’s another reason why we’re going to take this slow.”
“So you can tease me until I can’t take it anymore?”
Miles’ smirk grew darker. “I haven’t begun to tease you, my sweet little innocent. And now it is time for bed.”
“No!” Cash formed a fist with her palm and hit the bed. “That’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair,” Miles rumbled. “Your concerts start tomorrow. You need your rest. Get cleaned up and go to bed.” He pushed up and stood looking down at her. “I suggest you change those panties, Miss Raine. They seem to have gotten wet.”
She blushed and threw a pillow at his smirk, then escaped to the bathroom before he could retaliate with more sharp slaps.
*
Alone in the bedroom, the air still scented with faint traces of Cash’s arousal, Miles knew lines had been crossed. He also knew that he could no longer stop himself. Cash wasn’t going to stop pursuing him. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and got it. Besides, after his conversation with Kevin, he was no longer in the mood for being the kind of professional the industry seemed to expect him to be. Cash was much more than a meal ticket. She was much more than a mere client. She was a woman with needs that seemed to mesh with his quite nicely.
Whilst Cash showered, he adjourned to the main suite to talk to Kevin. There he found Mattie sitting in an overstuffed chair looking thoroughly furious. Kevin was working on his laptop, ignoring her.
“How are we doing?” Miles inquired.
“Concert tomorrow night,” Kevin said. “Then on to Manchester.”
“Will I be allowed to perform? Or will I still be stuck in this chair?” Mattie snapped the question.
Kevin looked up from the laptop and pointed at her. “And your time starts again. Ten minutes of silence, that’s all you have to manage.”
“Maybe I like sitting in this chair,” Mattie pointed out. “Maybe I’ll just go on talking and talking and…”
Kevin sighed and shut the laptop sharply. “Mattie! Do you really have to be such a spoiled brat?”
Mattie growled in response. “Goddammit Kev, you used to be a lot more fun.”
“I’ll be fun when you stop getting into trouble.”
“Again,” Mattie said, almost growling. “I never got into trouble. I got jumped. It can happen. It wasn’t my fault.”
“So you keep saying,” Kevin said grimly.
Mattie scowled furiously and stood up, her movements still ginger from the injury to her ribs. “I don’t have to take this.”
“Sit. Down.” Kevin snapped the order, his voice cracking across the room. Mattie sat back down before she even realized she’d done it. Miles had to hide a smile. Kevin hadn’t forgotten any of the old military tricks – including how to get hopped up little troublemakers to back down before they got themselves in serious hot water.
“I am not enjoying this tour,” Mattie began to whine. “This country sucks. I don’t have to put up with this shit,” she said, pushing out of the chair yet again.
“Mattie, if you don’t sit back down, I’ll take a belt to your ass.” Kevin said it casually, calmly, as if it was nothing to him at all.
“Who the fuck have you turned into?” Mattie growled. “You’re a manager. That’s it. If Cash and Muscles want to play kinky sex games, that’s their business, but if you lay a fucking finger on me I promise it will be the last thing you do.”
Kevin stood up and moved across the room to face Mattie, who was so angry she was shaking where she stood. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders and pressed her back down into the chair without saying a word. Then he bent down, putting his hands on his thighs so they were eye to eye when he spoke.
“Mattie, I know you’re a tough little thing. And I don’t want to hurt you, but you’ve already gotten yourself into enough trouble to almost end this tour before it began, and if you can’t follow simple instructions, there are going to be consequences.”
Her face set in a rough, tough, oddly adorable pout, Mattie glared at Kevin. “Fine,” she said. “But can I at least go get cleaned up and go to bed? I’m fucking tired.”
“Sure,” he said, straightening. “Good night, Mattie.”
Mattie muttered something under her breath as she pushed out of the chair and walked away. It sure didn’t sound polite.
“You’re not going to actually try to take a belt to her, are you?” Miles asked the question once Mattie was safely gone.
“Not likely, no,” Kevin admitted.
“You know she’s terrified of being hit, right?”
“I know what I’m doing,” Kevin said, his voice terse. “I don’t need pointers, Miles.”
“Okay.”
Kevin gave Miles a searching look. “As long as we’re asking questions, what were you doing with Cash for so long?”
“I wasn’t impregnating her, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”
The men glared at one another. Miles hated finding himself at loggerheads with Kevin yet again. It was not a position he enjoyed, nor was it one he was accustomed to. He took a seat and stared out the window at the London drizzle.
“What’s wrong, Kevin? Why are we fighting? We’re on the same side. Aren’t we?”
“Sure we are,” Kevin agreed. “I’m sorry, Miles, this tour. It’s the first big one I’ve done, there’s a lot riding on this. I have the label breathing down my neck and Cash has been distracted from the moment you walked through the door. And Mattie…”
“You like her.”
“Yes, I like her. She’s gorgeous. She’s a fighter. She’s… a little pain in the ass,” Kevin confessed. “Like you said she’d be.”
Miles smiled a little. “Well, to give Mattie her due, she’s kept to her part of the agreement. She’s followed all the rules we asked her to.” He snorted. “She even sat in a time out for a minute or two – I’d say she likes you too.”
“You think so?”
<
br /> “You threatened to take a belt to her and she didn’t eviscerate you on the spot.”
Kevin shrugged. “She does have two broken ribs.”
“True,” Miles deadpanned, “they may be slowing her down. Maybe she’ll eviscerate you tomorrow.”
Kevin chuckled and Miles joined in. Just for a moment, all was right with the world again.
Chapter Eight
The moment did not last. The smile soon dropped off Kevin’s face.
“Look. I know you’re getting involved with Cash. I know you’re not going to stop just because I told you to. And heaven knows she seems to be trying to throw her career away…”
Miles stopped him. “Wait, what do you mean she’s trying to throw her career away?”
Kevin put his hands in his pockets and cocked his head to the side. “She’s turned down six new songs. Actually, she’s turned down every new song that’s been presented to her since you started. You know why?”
“Tell me.”
“She says they’re too sexual. She doesn’t want to sing about sex anymore. She wants to sing her own songs. The label isn’t happy. I’m not happy. She’s not happy.” Kevin looked at Miles with a hard, almost angry expression. “She used to be satisfied, she used to know where she stood. Now she’s rejecting everything that made her successful in the first place.”
“Maybe that’s not a bad thing.”
“It’s a terrible thing. It puts her career in jeopardy. It puts my career in jeopardy. Hell, it puts your job at risk, Miles.” Kevin drew a deep breath. “I wanted Cash to hire you because I didn’t know anyone who would do the job better. But I’m starting to regret it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Miles said grimly, swallowing his anger.
“Fuck, I don’t really mean it,” Kevin said almost immediately. “It’s great to be working with you again Miles, it’s just…”
“You don’t like me having this much control,” Miles guessed. “You’re the manager and I’m a lowly bodyguard.”
