Her Hero

by Jane Henry

  Chapter 7

  I love you, Grace Diaz.

  The moment the words left his mouth, he’d almost wished he could call them back, not because they were untrue, they fucking weren’t, but because of the way Grace’s face changed when he spoke them. She leaned up on one elbow and stared at him, her big, brown eyes liquid in the morning light, as if he were some Prince Charming or a fantasy come to life. Nothing could be further from the truth.

  Fuck, he wished he were worthy of that look.

  But it was too late to grab the words back, just like it was too late to undo what they’d done.

  He’d taken her virginity.

  Something fierce and primal rose up in him as he acknowledged that even if it could be undone, he wouldn’t. He’d known exactly what he was doing when he took her, claimed her, marked her as his. She belonged to him now; not to Mikey, or Chalo, or any other “better” man, and she was stuck with him forever. God help her.

  In the heat of the moment, he’d told her no less than the truth. There was a dark part of him that pulsed with the need to inflict pain on a willing partner, that took satisfaction from knowing that they enjoyed the pain, too. But hurting Grace was a concept that was entirely foreign to him. And he resolved then and there that no part of his darkness would ever touch her. For her, he’d push that desire down into nothingness.

  She clearly enjoyed the spanking and the discipline that he provided her, and even that was a thousand times more than he ever would have hoped for with her… If he’d ever allowed himself to really imagine a life with Grace in the first place. So that would be enough.

  “Donnie?” she asked, still watching him with those big eyes, but hesitant now as though his silence had made her uneasy.

  He smiled broadly and cupped her cheek with one large hand, brushing aside the moisture that remained there.

  “You ready for part two?” he asked with a wink.

  Her eyes widened and she bit her lip, before glancing down his body. “Really? Can we do it again already?”

  Donnie threw back his head and laughed. Oh, FUCK, but he loved her.

  “Eh… not quite yet, angel,” he told her, feeling his cock twitch in a way that let him know his body was definitely interested in following her line of thought. “Better to wait. You might be a little sore.”

  She moved, flexing her muscles experimentally, and frowned at him. “I think you read too many romance novels, honey. I feel fine.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, threading his fingers through her hair and pulling her face to his.

  She broke into a wide grin and nodded, making their lips bump. “In fact, I’m thinking maybe I need to make up for lost time.”

  He gave into temptation and took her mouth more fully with his, cradling her jaw in his palm as their tongues tangled, but just as her cool hands began to roam across the hard planes of his chest and her breathing ramped up, he eased her back.

  “We will definitely get back to this later. But you’ve got a birthday to celebrate, so up you go. Now, Miss Diaz,” he told her when she pouted.

  “Or maybe this could be my birthday celebration?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes hopefully. Her eyelids were at half-mast, her eyes cloudy with arousal, and her lips were swollen and rosy from their kisses. He bit back a groan, and instead reached down to smack her bottom with his other hand.

  “Donnie!” she complained, jumping slightly. “That part of me is sore, and I don’t see you showing it any consideration.”

  Donnie snorted before leaning over to steal one last quick kiss and then moving her gently away from him. “Nope. When it comes to that fine ass of yours, Gracie, you’ll find that I’m a big fan of natural consequences.”

  “Natural consequences,” she repeated, leaning her head down on her folded arms and watching him as he grabbed his clothes and began to tug his boxers and jeans back on.

  “Yep. The more disobedient you are, the more your ass will throb.” He held out his hands like weighing scales. “Better that you learn this lesson sooner than later, baby. If you don’t like the pain, don’t disobey.”

  She watched him closely for a moment, her gaze serious and unmoving. “And what if I do like the pain?” she asked softly.

  His breath hitched.

  The woman had no idea what she was asking, of course. And no idea that her simple words were making the blood pound in his veins.

  “Spanking can be fun, angel. But it can also be serious. You don't want to disobey me, now, do you?"

  She squirmed, and he remembered the way she’d cried when he'd spanked her for real. No. No, she didn't like letting him down, and she'd learn to do as she was told.

  He forced himself to stand up, buttoning his jeans as he calmly turned the conversation. “I remember what you like, and it could usually be found at the Panaderia Marquez.”

  She blinked. “At the… you mean the little Puerto Rican bakery over in The Heights? But that closed down years ago.”

  Donnie nodded. “But I found a little shop just like it not two miles from here. Perfect place to get your favorite birthday cake.”

  “Tres leches?” she breathed, her eyes wide.

  He couldn’t help the grin that rose to his face. God, his girl was sweet, nearly as sweet as the whipped-cream-topped cake she loved. “Yup,” he confirmed. “Get cleaned up while I take care of a couple things in the office. I’ll come back for you in a bit and we can go.”

  She pushed herself up to a seated position, tucking the sheet under her arms to cover herself, and Donnie grinned. As fiery as his girl was, he didn’t foresee that modesty lasting too long, so he’d let it stand… for now.

  He tugged his shirt into place.

  “And don’t forget what comes after that,” she teased. “Something good to drink?” He rolled his eyes. “And then something just for me.”

  “Hmmm.” He took a step toward the bed and leaned over her, so his face was inches from hers. “I thought we determined that you already got what you wanted,” he argued.

  Her smile was blinding. “But it wasn’t really just for me, was it?”

  He shook his head. Man, he was a sucker for this woman. He opened his mouth to retort, eager to see how she would respond and the light that would flash in her eyes, but before the words would come, the blaring sound of a fire alarm assaulted his ears.

  Shit. Not again.

  “Let’s go, princess,” he yelled above the screeching, grabbing her clothes from the floor and dropping her shirt over her head.

  “Donnie! I need my bra!” she protested as he tore back the sheet and glided her panties up her legs. He almost snickered. Seemed he’d be challenging her modesty even sooner than he’d anticipated.

  “No time,” he told her, knowing that his amusement was likely visible on his face when she narrowed her eyes. “I’m almost sure it’s a false alarm. Stupid system’s been glitchy for a coupla weeks. But we’re not taking any chances.”

  “But I…”

  He wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her bodily off the bed before placing her on the floor so she was flush against him.

  “Did I somehow indicate that I wanted you to argue with me?” he demanded, his mouth against her ear.

  “No, but—”

  “And you do remember what happens when you disobey my orders and put your safety at risk, yeah?” He kept his tone even, but it was clear that he was one hundred percent serious.

  She was silent as he took a step back. She grabbed her pants off the bed and stepped into them, but the way her eyes locked on his and her cheeks flushed with irritation told him that she was not pleased.

  He felt his cock harden and his palms sting with the need to melt her anger. Instead, he bent over to grab her shoes, then he pulled her out the door and down the stairs.

  As they passed the second floor, Connie and the head bartender, Andy, walked out of the office, their heads still bent together over a clipboard Connie held. Likely, they were reviewing the order form
for the following week. But as they reached the stairs, they looked up and saw Donnie, and then followed his outstretched arm to where Grace trailed behind. Both of them stopped short.

  Donnie swore under his breath.

  Through sheer luck, he’d managed to keep Grace’s presence in the building from becoming general knowledge among the staff. No one seemed to have noticed her presence the night that she’d snuck downstairs and watched his demonstration, and she hadn’t been downstairs otherwise unless The Club was deserted.

  It hadn’t occurred to him that he and Grace would attract much notice as they exited the building, either. But maybe it was too much to expect his employees not to notice that their boss was holding hands with someone who had very clearly been up in his apartment with him… especially since neither of those things had ever occurred before.

  “Move along,” he told them, ushering them down the stairs before they could ask questions. They made their way out to the rear parking lot, and joined the small cluster of employees and construction workers who’d left from the other exits.

  Donnie reached into his back pocket for his cell and called Villi, who answered on the first ring. “Tell me you’re inside the building right now shutting this thing down, man,” he demanded over the sound of the alarm.

  “Ah, shit. The alarm again? I leave the building for one minute to walk down the street and grab a coffee, and you light the place on fire?” Villi joked.

  Donnie was not amused.

  “I’m about done with this shit, man,” Donnie told him, wrapping his arm around Grace’s shoulders as a chilly breeze from the nearby harbor blew over them. “You’d better drop the coffee and hustle.”

  “We’re hurrying,” the other man agreed, before yelling at his assistant. “Come on, Gib!” Then to Donnie, he explained, “I already started working on the problem. Looks like there’s a malfunctioning sensor above the stairway, and I’ve gotta order a replacement. Might take a day? Two at the most. Got us disconnected from the central system temporarily, so at least you won’t have sirens rolling down the street.”

  “Is that legal?” Donnie demanded.

  “Of course!” Villi said, annoyed that Donnie would suggest anything else. “You’re not required to be hooked up to the system. You are required to still have the alarms, which obviously you do.”

  “Obviously,” Donnie agreed dryly. “Since they’ll be ringing in my damn ears until you get back here.”

  “Right,” Villi confirmed apologetically. “Listen, I’ll walk you through the system today, and show you how you can reset it yourself in case it happens again.”

  Donnie pulled Grace more closely into his body and sighed as he disconnected and slid his phone into his back pocket.

  “Villi will be here any minute,” he told Andy and Connie. “And he knows we need this fixed yesterday.”

  “Another false alarm?” Andy asked, pushing his hand through his sandy hair.

  “I don’t see smoke, so it seems pretty likely,” Donnie confirmed. “And Villi says he’s been working on the system. But let’s give him a chance to check it out before we go back in. Besides, it’s even louder inside.”

  Andy nodded. He’d grabbed the clipboard from Connie and now tapped his pen against it, studiously avoiding looking at Grace, who had wrapped her arm around Donnie’s waist and burrowed her face into his chest. Connie didn’t hold back. She pushed her dyed-black hair over her shoulder, glanced meaningfully at Grace, and raised an eyebrow at Donnie expectantly.

  Donnie smiled. “Con, Andy, this is Grace. She’s…” He hesitated for just a moment as vocabulary failed him. What was Grace to him, exactly? Guest, friend, girlfriend, submissive? He shrugged and hit on the truest, simplest thing. “She’s mine.”

  “Yours?” Connie repeated skeptically, but Donnie paid no attention. Grace’s arm had tightened around his waist and she lifted her head to give him a blinding smile that made his gut clench with need.

  Damn the alarm, he wanted to get her back inside immediately. He blew out a breath and made himself finish, “Grace, this is Connie and this is Andy.”

  Grace exchanged smiles and nods with each of the others. Connie, correctly sensing that Donnie would not be giving her any additional information about Grace, excused herself to go and chat with some members of the cleaning crew.

  “Well, hey again, stranger,” another, all-too-familiar voice said from behind him.

  Donnie turned his head to find Julie breaking away from the other group, just as Connie joined them.

  Julie. Christ. That’s just what he needed.

  But as Julie got closer, he saw that she wasn’t looking at him at all. Her attention, and her wide, warm smile, were focused on Grace. A shiver of unease worked its way up his spine.

  “Honey, you look chilly,” Julie told Grace in concern.

  What the hell? When had Grace and Julie ever spoken? Unless Grace had strayed from the apartment again, after he’d spanked her and… He felt a spurt of anger in his belly. The woman knew better than to disobey him, but he’d be happy to give her another lesson in natural consequences.

  “Oh, hey! Julie, right?” Grace said, returning Julie’s smile. “Gosh, you’re working again already? Late at night and early in the morning, too? Doesn’t this guy ever let you leave?” She smiled up at Donnie, and then frowned uncertainly as she caught sight of his face.

  “When did you two meet?” Donnie asked. He could hear the thread of displeasure in his voice, and saw Andy frown in his direction, but didn’t care. He wanted the truth from Grace.

  “L-last night,” Grace said, staring up at him in concern. “You sent me up to the apartment while you checked your email, and Julie was still working. We passed in the hall, and she said she liked my jeans.” Grace shrugged and gave Julie another small smile. “I told her I’d take her shopping sometime and show her how to find the bargains.”

  Julie nodded.

  Grace’s explanation was matter-of-fact and absolutely believable, but it did nothing to quell his sense of disquiet. Something about the situation seemed off. The hand not wrapped around Grace’s waist clenched into a fist as Donnie turned to glare at Julie. “And what were you doing here last night?” he growled.

  Julie licked her lips nervously, and seemed to cower before him. “A-andy asked me to come and check all the supplies in the restrooms and demo rooms. He wanted me to inventory the stockroom, too, so that he could place an order today. But I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, so he said it was okay if I went last night,” she whispered, clearly upset by Donnie’s tone.

  Andy stepped forward to put protective hand on Julie’s shoulder. Though he was several inches shorter than Donnie, he was stocky and muscular, and his hazel eyes narrowed as he glared at Donnie. “That’s right,” Andy soothed Julie, before telling Donnie, “If you have a problem with her being here last night, blame me, boss.”

  Donnie sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Mikey and Salazar, Grace reappearing and dredging up ghosts from his past; it had all set him on edge. Now he was jumping at shadows. Shit. Yeah, so he’d gotten a weird vibe from Julie in the past… some unrequited crush of hers. But he’d told Julie the score, laid it out for her straight. Had he been misreading the situation? Had he been misconstruing her eager, helpful attitude for something more sinister? Were his instincts that off?

  He shook his head at himself and squeezed Grace’s waist, just as the breeze kicked up again, making Grace shudder.

  “I apologize, Julie,” Donnie said. “This alarm is bugging the crap out of me. Not your fault.”

  She nodded and gave him a brilliant smile, then turned to smile at Grace. “I have a sweatshirt in my car,” she offered, nodding at a small blue Ford parked just a few feet away. “I think it’ll fit you.”

  “Villi should have this turned off in no time,” Donnie began, but Grace glanced up at him again and bit her lip hopefully.

  “But in the meantime, maybe I could just borrow her sweatshirt?” Grace
pleaded.

  The wind was ruffling Grace’s long hair, and goose bumps had broken out across her arms.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “That’d be great. Thanks, Julie.”

  Julie beamed with pleasure and held out a hand for Grace, who unlatched herself from Donnie’s side and followed. The place where Grace had pressed against him felt chilly and empty and he had to force himself to stuff his hand in his pocket and look away from her.

  “What’s up with that?” Andy asked, nodding toward Grace.

  Donnie shrugged. “Grace is an old friend. We recently got reacquainted, and now we’re together.”

  Andy shook his head and scowled. “Yeah, great. I’m happy for you, man. But I meant what the fuck is up with the way you’re treating Julie. She’s been a godsend; you know? She works a million hours unpaid, she’s always looking to take on more responsibility, she’s great with customers and happy to demo when we need her to, and she’s a total sweetheart! Every single day, she’s up on the third floor, bringing the construction guys iced coffee and pastries, swapping stories with them on their breaks. The other day, she was down on the floor with one of the electricians, helping him install something. She’d build the place up from scratch for you, if you asked her to. She’s eager to please.”

  Inside the building, the fire alarm cut off sharply, and everyone in the parking lot breathed a sigh of relief as they shuffled back inside.

  Donnie was momentarily stunned. He’d never had a problem with Andy in the past, but he wouldn’t tolerate the other man’s defensiveness when Donnie had done nothing more than question an employee. Clearly Julie had managed to wrap the man around her finger.

  “Listen, I know you mean well,” Donnie told Andy, eyes narrowed in warning. “But security is a very real issue at The Club. I’d prefer that employees stick to their regularly scheduled shifts, or at the very least, that you email me to let me know a change has been made.”

  Andy looked immediately contrite. “Yeah. Yeah, I shoulda sent you an email. Sorry, Don. Just… remember Julie’s a good kid, okay?”