‘Other business’? What ‘other business’? Unless… her palms moistened and her breath caught, was she about to find out exactly what her ‘punishments’ were going to be? What could he possibly have in mind? As a child, punishments to her had mostly been not being allowed to watch television or have dessert. Somehow, they didn’t seem at all likely.
Her thoughts were interrupted as he returned and led her to the stables where their horses were waiting, the two children still watching over them.
Danny watched admiringly as he thanked the young lad and his sister, slipping them each a coin for their services. He unhooked King’s reins and led him out of the stables, and Danny followed with Bella. Once again, he insisted on giving her a leg-up onto the saddle and again she accepted it without comment. After a final ‘thank you’ and a wave goodbye, they headed back up the drive toward the road.
“We need a little privacy, I think. Perhaps the woods we came through, unless there’s somewhere else?”
The dark woods, this man and a punishment waiting for her felt to Danny like something she really should want to avoid, so why did it excite her so? Still, being excited was one thing, putting herself in the way of goodness knows what, quite another!
“There’s a lake not far away. I swam there last time I was here. It’s down a path off this road. And there’s a path from there that goes back around to Henry’s. It’s actually a bit shorter than the way we came,” she suggested hurriedly.
The lake was well lit and not especially well hidden so wouldn’t offer complete privacy, plus it was quite likely there would be other people around. There certainly had been last time she was there, but she wasn’t going to tell him that! Let him find out for himself. No way was she going to follow him back into the woods!
“The lake it is, then. You ride in front. I’ll be right behind, watching you. The horses are cool, and we can’t waste too much time, so you are to trot, but no faster!”
She didn’t answer.
“I said you are to trot but not go any faster. Did you hear?”
“Yes,” she had to reply or just be plain rude.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, Jones. I will trot but not go any faster.” She couldn’t keep the hint of sarcasm from her voice.
“Right,” he replied gruffly, tension in his voice. “Let’s get on with it then.”
They didn’t speak again until, a little over ten minutes later, Danny led them off the road and down a bridle path through another small wood and out at the lake. It was secluded enough to not quite be visible from the road, but Danny was still counting on there being other people around, it being a hot Saturday morning and the lake a popular local swimming hole.
Danny felt the same pleasure seeing the lovely expanse of clean, clear water as last time when she’d stumbled on the lake by accident. She was glad she’d found it again. It was even more beautiful and inviting than she remembered.
Dismay overtook her pleasure, however, as it quickly became clear they were alone; there was not another soul anywhere in sight. Last time there’d been a family swimming and picnicking, and some other boys who’d come on bicycles playing in the lake. She’d been certain there’d be people here today, but the place was deserted. Apart from Bella and King, they were alone.
“Looks like there’s no one else here,” he said, quickly scouring the area around the lake noting the benches, bins and obvious signs of it being quite a popular local spot. “I hope you didn’t bring me here thinking there would be?”
“No,” she lied uncomfortably.
“Well, too bad if you did and lucky for you there aren’t.” He grinned. “This is perfect. Let’s get moving before anyone else turns up. Off you get. Tie Bella here.” He dismounted and looped King’s reins over a thin branch and loosened his girth.
Danny followed his example, but more slowly, unsure what was coming.
“Come here,” he called when she had secured Bella. He was standing by a sign that read: ‘Warning. Deep water. Don’t swim alone’. He nodded at the small wooden pontoon secured in the middle of the lake. “You’ve swum here before, you said?”
“Yes, but only once.”
“Out to the platform?”
She nodded, avoiding his eyes.
“Excellent. That’s just what I feel like. We’ll swim out there.”
“No.” Danny shook her head and wrapped her arms protectively around herself. “I can’t. I don’t have a costume. Or a towel. Or…”
“Nonsense. You’ll be fine,” he dismissed her protest. “You can swim in your underwear. I’m sure they cover as much as a bikini. And you’ll dry so quickly you won’t need a towel. Or I can rub you down.” He rubbed his hands and chuckled when Danny blushed.
“But what if someone comes?” She was starting to wish she hadn’t mentioned the lake. Her plan was backfiring horribly.
“What if they do?” he asked with an infuriating lack of concern. “Quickly, take off your clothes. Unless you’d like me to give you a hand taking them off,” he added with the grin Danny was beginning to find as disconcerting as the fact that, while talking, he had stripped down to his own small shorts which were straining against the obvious bulge they barely concealed.
Without his shirt, his tanned body, covered lightly in perspiration, glistened in the sun. Black curls covered his chest and flowed in a line down to disappear below the band of his shorts. His forearms and strong, lower legs sported the same black hair, but less thickly.
Stuck between having to stand in front of his almost-naked, lean, hard body and argue, or rip her clothes off down to her underwear and jump in the lake, she decided the second option was the lesser of two evils.
Standing on the back of her left boot with her right boot, she pulled her foot out, then stripped off the sock and placed it in the boot, then repeated the process with the other foot. Figuring her best option was to get under cover of the water as quickly as possible, she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and started to pull it over her head.
“Uh uh, slow down.” He stopped her. “I want to savour this. Put your shirt back on and undo the buttons.”
Danny pulled it back down to cover herself but bit her lip and gave her head a little shake.
“No?” His right eyebrow tilted up to punctuate the single word. “Let’s get one thing straight,” he went on, moving closer and taking her gently but firmly by her upper arms. “Look at me, Daniella,” he demanded as she tried to avoid his eyes. Her bottom lip quivering, she looked up. “I gave you an option earlier, didn’t I?” he said brusquely. “And I told you that if you chose to continue our ride together, you would be punished twice?”
Under his demanding stare, Danny had no choice but admit it was true. Her head nodded almost imperceptibly, as a wave of sensation flowed down through her chest and belly to pool hotly between her thighs.
“A swim in the lake is your first punishment. You disobeyed me when I told you to go no faster than a trot, so this will be a lesson in obedience. You will take off your clothes slowly so I can enjoy watching you, down to your underwear. Then you will hold my hand and walk with me into the water. Okay?”
She nodded again, her mouth dry, her hands trembling.
“And the lesson will end when I say so. Until then, you will obey me instantly without hesitation or dissent whatever the command. Is that clear?”
She tried to turn away, but his firm grip on her arms, prevented her.
“Well?” he persisted.
“Yes,” she whispered, her throat so dry she could barely swallow.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, Jones.”
He gave a small nod of acknowledgement.
“Right, then let me see you take off your clothes.”
Her heart pounding, unconsciously chewing on her bottom lip, she undid her jeans and reluctantly slid them down.
Conflict raged within her. She knew he was watching and while one half of her was embarrassed and terrified he would be disappointed by her bare leg
s – would he think them too long? too pale? too thin? – the other half was getting pleasure out of stripping for him, revelling in being the focus of his attention.
Sneaking a peek at him from under her eyelashes, she saw he was leaning back, watching her through half-closed eyes, obviously thoroughly relishing her performance or perhaps her discomfort; she wasn’t sure which.
Taking a deep breath, she undid the buttons on her shirt and slipped it off. He was right; she was as fully dressed as she had been on a beach in a bikini, more so even, but she didn’t feel like it. She felt naked and vulnerable, but thankful at least she was wearing sensible boy-leg pants, not lacy bikini knickers, and that her full, heavy breasts were completely enclosed in a sports bra instead of spilling out over a sexy, frilly half-cup.
Running his eyes lazily over her body, he paused to admire her voluptuous breasts, her gently rounded belly, the small mound at the apex of her thighs, and her long slender legs. A low whistle of admiration as his eyes travelled back up to her face accompanied the raw, sexual desire in his eyes and the rock-hard erection in his shorts. Goosebumps sprang up instantly over her uncovered body and she shivered despite the warmth of the day and the heat in her own pants.
“Very nice,” he murmured, holding out his hand for her to take, then leading her to the lake’s edge. “I think we both need to cool off a bit.”
“Oh,” Danny squealed as she stepped into the water and then jumped back. “It’s freezing.”
“It’ll do us good,” he said with a laugh. He tugged on her hand, pulling her deeper into the cold water. “Come on. You can race me to the platform and then lie in the sun to warm up.”
Danny, sure she didn’t stand a chance against the muscular body of the man offering her a head start, took a deep breath, dove under the water and set off, determined to provide him with as much competition as she possibly could.
She loved swimming and had even swum competitively for a while during her school-years, but she was still no match for her opponent who, despite the lead he had given her, stayed right behind, cruising easily past at the last minute. As she arrived at the pontoon, he was already aboard leaning down to give her a hand up. Nonetheless, he appeared genuinely impressed with her prowess in the water, complimenting her on her style and grace.
“Perhaps you were a mermaid in a previous life,” he teased gently as Danny lay down on her front to dry herself on the warm wooden boards.
“Well, you certainly made short work of me,” she snorted, disappointed he seemed to be patronising her.
“Maybe in a sprint like that, but I might find it harder over a longer distance,” he said easily, surprising her with the sincerity in his voice.
Danny felt an unfamiliar flutter in her tummy. He was being completely genuine. The knowledge that she had been able to impress him gave her a strangely exhilarating, if somewhat disturbing, thrill. She loved how easily he could compliment her without feeling it might compromise his own masculinity.
“Take your bra off.” His firm voice and unexpected words jolted Danny from the dreamy reverie into which she was allowing herself to slip.
“What?”
“Instant obedience,” he said firmly. “No dissent. Remember? Take your bra off. Quickly now. I don’t want to have to ask again.”
She had agreed to obey him; she couldn’t deny it. Breaking that promise now would risk his contempt.
Keeping her back to him, Danny managed to slip her sports bra over her head and lie back down quickly, sure he’d been unable to catch more than the merest glimpse of her naked breasts. But any comfort that gave her was short-lived.
“Kneel facing me.” The command was delivered in a low, thick voice.
She had no choice. She’d committed to doing as he said, and as vulnerable and embarrassed as she might feel, she wasn’t afraid.
She rose from her lying position and turned to face him as he had ordered.
“Put your hands behind your head.”
Again she obeyed, aware her actions had drawn her breasts, each tipped with a hardened, rose-coloured cherrilet set in a pink pool, up to their full splendour. He swallowed hard and licked his lips.
Despite the cold water, his erection had returned and was threatening to burst over the top of his shorts as he knelt in front of her, bewitched by her feminine beauty and submission. Holding her eyes with his and using only one finger, he gently drew along the line of one creamy mound to its tip. His tongue flicked out again to wet his lips in response to her body shuddering as his finger reverently circled the nipple.
The tension was so great, the spell binding them so strong, neither noticed the hardness of the pontoon on their knees. The rest of the world disappeared, and Danny was aware of nothing but the man opposite setting her body on fire with his eyes and his touch as his finger circled each pink rosebud in turn.
She silently begged him to close his big, strong hands around her proffered, aching breasts and gently squeeze them, to ease the torture of his teasing. Hearing her whimper softly with longing, he took his hands from her breasts and stroked her cheek.
“Put your bra back on,” he ordered her. “Though it’s a crime to cover such truly magnificent breasts. But from here on,” his eyes narrowed, and his face hardened, “no man, and I mean no man, sees your breasts but me unless I hear about it first and give my permission. Do you hear? They are mine now.”
He had said ‘mine now’. He had taken ownership of her. It seemed this strong, gorgeous, sexy man wanted her as much as she wanted him! Life was perfect. He was perfect: an ordinary, down-to-earth, hard-working man who didn’t put on any airs and graces but was just happy to be himself.
This was a man she could trust with her whole heart, she thought happily. She was no longer afraid of what he might ask of her. She knew he would never deliberately harm her. He would cherish and protect his woman; he’d said that over coffee.
He stood up, dipping his knees as he adjusted the long, hard bulge in his shorts. “That is the end of your first punishment – and your lesson in obedience. Next time you disobey me so wilfully, though, I shall not be so lenient. Come on, quickly,” he smiled ruefully. “I need some cold water again.”
Like a mesmerised doe released from a headlight, Danny sprang to life as he turned away from her. Snatching up her bra, she struggled back into it then stood up too. Her skin warmed by the sun, her body hot and aching from the previously unfelt desire he had stirred within her, she was as grateful as he for the sobering chill of the water as they swam quickly back to shore.
To Danny’s relief, the lake was still deserted but for them. She didn’t want strangers to see her in her underwear, and she blushed at the thought of anyone else having seen her on the pontoon, kneeling and brazenly baring her breasts to a man, even without them knowing she’d only met him the previous evening!
Snatching up her shirt, she slipped it on over her wet bra and quickly did up the buttons, while her companion pulled on his jeans. But when she, too, reached for her jeans, he put out a hand and stopped her.
“Leave those off. There’s still another punishment due. Just wait there for a moment. Stay in the sun and you shouldn’t get cold.”
She watched him walk away, peering at the trees nearby, disappearing briefly behind bushes, clearly searching for something although she couldn’t think what.
“Ah,” she heard. Whatever it was, he had apparently found it. He reappeared and took her hand. “Come with me.”
Danny had no choice but to accompany him a short distance to a tree which, to her, was indistinguishable from the others.
“And now we are going to address the second reason you are going to be punished,” he said grimly turning towards her. “Disobeying me by going faster than a trot after I had expressly forbidden it was bad enough. I’m prepared to accept, though, that you hadn’t fully realized that I don’t tolerate disobedience, and now you’ve had a lesson in that, I trust it won’t happen again. The other matter, though, is much wor
se, and must be dealt with more severely.”
Completely at a loss as to what to expect next, Danny held her breath, her heart feeling like it had stopped too. She didn’t like being scolded. She wanted him to go back to admiring her and playing with her breasts, but his expression was stern and impenetrable.
“What?” she managed to squeak.
“Your reckless and irresponsible behaviour,” he explained. “Charging off like that, endangering yourself and Bella, and, as it turned out, even me and King as we had to come to your aid when things got out of control. It was entirely unnecessary, and you were simply behaving like a wilful, spoiled brat.”
Danny could scarcely believe what she was hearing. No one had ever spoken to her in such a manner. She prided herself on being independent and more than capable of taking care of herself, and here she was being spoken to as though she was a naughty little girl. She wasn’t sure she liked it. She pouted defiantly but he simply chuckled and pulled her closer to the tree.
“Pouting and sulking aren’t going to help you, missy,” he said. “In fact, it will just make things worse, and you may not want to do that.”
Something no-nonsense in his voice, and the way he was pulling her closer to him, rang alarm bells. Something was about to happen, and Danny was fairly sure she wasn’t going to like it.
“This punishment, hopefully, will teach you a lesson in thinking before you act, not being reckless, and taking the welfare of others, like Bella, into consideration.”
“Put your hands on that branch,” he ordered. Standing with her against his left hip, he put his left arm across her back and tucked her into him, then bent her forward. Danny realised what was special about this tree as she overbalanced and had to reach out to steady herself on a low branch.
She struggled and tried to stand but was firmly held against him and bent over in an embarrassingly undignified position.
“Keep still,” he growled. “You know what’s coming, don’t you.” It was not a question.
Although this was the first time Danny had ever been in this position, she could think of only one reason he would be holding her down with her bottom in the air and him facing it. But he couldn’t… he wasn’t… he wouldn’t…
Danny’s Secret Desire Page 6
