Several minutes passed when a thunderous BOOM rattled through the house. I peeked around the top of the stairs to see the group pile into the living room, holding their ears and shaking their heads. Jace, his face dark and clouded with anger, looked up and saw me as I bolted. He stormed upstairs and harshly grabbed my upper arm.
“Did you have anything to do with that?!”
“With what?” I asked innocently, feeling the sweat break out on the back of my neck.
Jace glared at me. “We will talk about this after everyone leaves. You, young lady, are in a heap of trouble. You are to stand in that corner until I tell you otherwise. Don’t even think of defying me.”
Gulping back my fear, I silently obeyed.
After the last car pulled out, and Jace had made a couple of calls, he stomped upstairs to my room. “Celeste Joline, what the hell were you thinking? Thank God we all had our headphones off before plugging in the sound! You could have deafened us. As it is, you blew out my woofers and fried the board! Do you have any idea how expensive that is?”
“You have money, so what? Your friends should clean up after themselves so I don’t have to go down there. And they shouldn’t laugh at me.”
Jace’s eyes narrowed, his lips tightened, and his fingers began to drum. “I’m very, very angry right now and need to cool down,” he growled, “I can’t believe the total lack of respect and consideration I’m seeing from you.” He turned on his heel and left.
My throat tightened, guilt washing over me. If only I had thought it through… I could have confessed and avoided this whole ordeal. My heart began to pound loudly as his heavy steps were heard coming up the stairs an hour later. Jace entered without his customary knock, and looked down at me.
“You know, this is the first time I’ve ever really gotten angry with you,” he said softly, his hands rested on his waist. “So much so that I had to take a walk to calm myself down and think rationally. Why did you do it?”
“I was pissed that your friends were so inconsiderate of your stuff and wanted them to pay,” I whispered.
“Sweetheart, it’s OUR stuff. And you caused me to pay the most. Do you realize how much you could have harmed us?”
“I do now. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would do that. I thought it would just be loud. I’m sorry,” I whimpered again, feeling my lip tremble involuntarily.
Jace sat down next to me, his hand resting on my thigh. “You do know what’s coming, right?”
“I’m grounded?”
“No, I don’t believe in doing that. It takes too long, is miserable for both of us, and the forgiveness factor isn’t there. You know how I believe discipline needs to be administered. On the bare bottom. I am so disappointed in you, Baby Girl.”
“Jace, please, I’m begging you. Don’t spank me! I’m really, really sorry!” The tears already started to flow before he even touched me.
Without a word, he easily pulled me over his lap and slid his fingers under the waistline of my shorts. “I’m sorry too, but you need to learn to think twice before you do things.”
“NOOOO!” I yelped, but to no avail as his strong, callused hand found its target. I squealed, it hurt so much! No time was wasted in warming me up this time as he plummeted his hand with full-force to those tender creases right below my cheeks. Each horrendous spank made full contact and left the impression of his fingers upon my bright red bottom.
No matter how hard I tried, I was pinned and experiencing the consequences of my stupid, irresponsible, and selfish actions. I bawled helplessly into the bed covers as he continued to cover my poor backside with strong, solid swats, not ceasing for a good ten minutes.
When he stopped, I began to slide to the floor, but was pulled to my feet instead. “We aren’t done,” Jace informed me firmly, laying two pillows on the bed and then reaching to unclasp the belt buckle from around his waist.
My stomach lurched at the sound of the leather being pulled from the loops of his jeans, and the rattling of the buckle as he folded the belt in half and anchored the ends in his hands. He pointed to the bed. “Over those pillows. You will be receiving twenty strokes with my belt. Come on, the sooner you obey, the sooner it will be over.”
I froze again, unable and unwilling, to comply. My body was still shaking uncontrollably from the pain inflicted with just his paddle-like hand.
With a frown at my disobedience, Jace grabbed my earlobe and forced me into position, holding me in place with his left hand pressed to the small of my back.
The whooshing sound of the belt, followed by the crack against my flesh, elicited a terrified and painful scream from my throat. In the back of my mind, I knew he was not being as harsh as he could be, but I could not ignore the instinct to flee as the belt caught my hand as I tried to block it.
Concerned with the possibility of harming me, Jace once again hauled me to the ‘safety zone’ over his knee, pinned my legs with his right thigh and held my hands out of reach. My punishment ended when I was limp and sobbing, completely drained of strength, and willing to do anything he asked of me. But he asked nothing as he sunk to the ground and simply pulled me into his lap to rock me like a child in his strong arms. When he sensed I was able to listen, he spoke to me very softly.
“You have no idea how much I have grown to love you, Baby. You are my special treasure and I don’t want anything to ever happen to you. Do you understand why I was so severe in your spanking?”
I nodded, staring at the floor, knowing he was waiting for me to answer him as part of my lesson.
He patted my thigh, “From now on, I want to hear yes or no sir. Now talk.”
“Y-yes, sir. Y-you want me to s-start thinking things through before I hurt myself or someone else,” came my sniffling response. “Even though all of you are pigs.”
Jace released an affectionate chuckle and squeezed me tightly with a kiss to the top of my head. He leaned back against the side of the bed, still cradling me, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “We have a long way to go together, Kiddo. We’ll get through it even if it means my hand being sore and your bottom being blistered.”
“Your hand’s sore?” I asked, pleased that he at least felt some of what I did. Of course, his answer soured it.
“Not as sore as my heart, Baby.”
“Oh, the guilt,” I moaned.
Jace kissed my head again. “Whatever works, Doll.”
I melted in his strong, warm arms, inhaling his scent. He was right. Despite the terrible pain to my bottom, I accepted that I finally had a chance to be happy. I also realized that I was falling in love with this man… my guardian.
Chapter Three
Viva Las Vegas
“Please, please, please let me go with you! PLEEEEEEEASSSSE,” I begged as Jace packed for his big Vegas gig.
He rolled his eyes and looked at me. “For the last time, I said no. It’s not a place for a kid to be without a chaperone.”
“For God’s sake, I’m not a kid. I’m eighteen! I’ll stay in the hotel room. I PROMISE,” I pleaded.
Jace was immune. “Do I need to repeat myself?” he asked, pushing up his sleeves.
“No, Sir,” I relinquished, not missing the look of shock on Jace’s face. He recovered quickly and went back to packing. I sat heavily on his bed and watched. “This is the first time you’re leaving me since I got here.”
“And I am trusting you to keep out of trouble. It’s been one month since that last little talk we had. It would behoove you to stay on that path,” he commented, tossing some shirts into the suitcase. I took them out and folded them neatly, inhaling his cologne and holding back unexpected tears. “Celeste, honey? Is that what’s bothering you?” he asked suddenly, “That I’m leaving? I’ll be back in one week.”
“No, I just have nothing to do,” I lied, not wanting him to know how dependent I was becoming. Dependence on anybody was a weakness, and one that I didn’t want to admit to. “You know that I have no friends, plus Kandace is really stupid. Does
she have to come here? I’m way too old for a babysitter, Jace. It’s so degrading.”
“She’s just coming by to drop off Mark’s car and then to check in and see if you need anything. She won’t be staying for long,” Jace stated, returning to his packing.
“And if she does? She has her eye on the movie theater, pool, and the beach. What if she has a party?”
“Why are you always so suspicious? No, don’t answer. You don’t care for the girl. I get it. How about if I lock up the theater since you have your own TV, and secure the beach gate so no one, including you, can go down. Feel better?”
“Hah, I knew it! You don’t trust her either!”
Jace rolled his eyes. “Give it a rest, Missy. I just don’t want to listen to you harp on her anymore. I will remind Kandace, however, that I don’t want anyone in the house. I’m serious about that.”
“Good, and what if she doesn’t listen? Can I lock her out?” I asked smugly.
Jace beckoned to me and, after a quick kiss, administered three quick smacks on the rump.
“Owe! What was that for?” I demanded, rubbing my stinging backside.
Jace grinned playfully. “Two reasons. One, because you are too full of yourself and two, because I felt like it. Go grab my toothbrush, will you?”
The large tour bus carrying the band members and equipment pulled into the driveway as Jace was getting off the phone with Kandace, reinforcing his instructions. Mark hopped out to load Jace’s stuff, and then approached me with a folder of papers. “This is the rest of your assignment for this week. I expect you to email me the completed work each morning, 'kay? Just like you were seeing me for real.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled, taking the folder. “You’re getting a break from class, why can’t I?”
“No weaseling,” Mark grinned with a strong hug. He had become part of our little family, like a big brother, as well as a teacher and a friend. He and Jace had become inseparable between practicing and recording, watching movies and going on elusive double dates with women who I never got to meet. Jace was trying to talk him into staying in the guesthouse as part of his tutoring benefits.
“Don’t disappoint me,” Mark requested, tugging my hair.
“Never,” I groaned.
Jace came over to say goodbye, and actually looked upset. “Please stay out of trouble. I’m just a thirty minute flight away, but try not to make anything happen that I’ll need to come home. Don’t give Kandace a hard time and remember to do your schoolwork. Call me if anything comes up.”
“Are you sure I can’t come?”
“Are you sure you don’t want a spanking right here in front of the band?” he whispered in my ear.
“Have fun and do good,” I said quickly, shoving him towards the bus.
Once the vehicle was out of site, I tossed my homework assignments on the table in the foyer, grabbed an orange soda and went outside on the deck. Conveniently forgetting about Jace’s instructions to keep the puppies muddy paws off the white carpet, I brought them inside to play and cuddle on the soft leather sofa in the living room that Mark had aptly named the Royal Lounge.
Last thing I remembered was the sound of a snoring puppy on my stomach before being abruptly awakened to the sound of tearing fabric. My two lovely babies were happily shredding a pillow while playing tug of war, and left behind a large pile of poop, a yellow stain and a dime sized hole chewed out of the corner of the Royal Lounge.
“Girls!” I hollered, jumping to my feet. After a useless attempt to look innocent, they were both taken outside to their kennel. I rushed to clean the mess, hoping to finish it before Kandace arrived and started problems. The job was completed, except for the couch… I had no way to hide that damage. A key jingled in the front door and Kandace sauntered in, trailed by two of her friends.
“Why aren’t you in bed, twerp?” she asked.
“Get a life, it’s only 6:30. You’re thirty years old, can’t you tell time?” I answered back, glaring at her. “Why did you bring people over when Jace said not to?”
Kandace threw her stuff on the table on top of my homework and paused to light a cigarette. Of all the nerve! Everyone, including God Himself, knew that Jace enforced a strict no-smoking policy on his property.
“You are unbelievable! I’m telling Jace that you’re smoking!” I snarled.
She shrugged, blowing smoke in my face. “Try it and I’ll tell him I caught you smoking out on the deck. He’d believe me over some delinquent any day and you know it,” she laughed, giving a cigarette to one of her friends who plopped on the Royal Lounge.
“Go for it, loser. He knows I don’t smoke, plus I have proof. See those? Smile! You’re on candid camera,” I gestured to the security cameras scanning the room.
“You little bitch. You’re a waste of time anyway.” Kandace paused and beckoned to her friends, “Let’s get out of here. Lemme grab some booze first.”
“Jace doesn’t drink either, so get lost,” I growled, holding the door for them to leave. I locked the door behind her and returned to my dilemma, which had now grown in size. Not only had one of her friends burned a hole in the Royal Lounge with the cigarette, but I realized that Kandace must have taken my assignments with the rest of her stuff.
I left a message for her from my cell phone, informing her that she needed to return the papers immediately. I also debated calling Mark before deciding I was fully capable of handling the problem without his involvement. Jace’s call later that evening was brief and punctuated with statements that he loved me and would call in the morning when he could talk longer. With nothing else to do, I watched TV for a while and then went to bed.
Kandace presented herself about noon the following day and denied any knowledge regarding my assignments. Unable to get into Jace’s theater, she left after grabbing some food from the fridge, making sure to slam the front door behind her.
The remainder of the week was emotionally uncomfortable as I struggled with this growing sense of guilt. I should have come forward with the truth regarding the situation about my assignments, knowing instinctively that the boys would have understood. But something inside of me, mistrust or perhaps pride, refused to cooperate. I received each daily call from Jace with dread, waiting anxiously for the confrontation, and hanging up with a promise to myself to come clean the very next time we spoke.
Time ticked by slowly as a feeling of loneliness overcame me, leaving me even more miserable than the guilt. It was inconceivable how much I had changed in such a short amount of time. I used to loved being alone! I even slept in Jace’s big bed to feel like he was close by to me. This need I was developing for him was overpowering at times and I hated it. Nothing I could do would make it disappear, and my growing fantasies about life with him compounded my desire for him. Sorrow also gripped me, believing that my feelings could never possibly be reciprocated.
The puppies started barking late Friday afternoon and promptly attacked Jace and Mark as they exited the tour bus. It was finally my turn for greetings and Jace hugged me in an embrace that nearly pushed the breath out of me. “I missed you, you little brat. I have actually gotten used to your antics and life is so boring without them,” he went on.
Yeah, we’ll see about that.
“Hi Kidlet, I missed you too. Hey, I’m so sorry about the email fiasco,” Mark said, tugging my ponytail affectionately.
Fiasco? Hmmm, maybe someone up there was looking out for me after all…. “What exactly happened?” I asked carefully.
Mark explained that his account had been hacked into, deleting all his mail and adding a virus that poisoned all incoming material. He had to take his laptop to the shop for repairs and just received it back before they left the gig. I breathed a sigh of relief. Until….
“I can just look at the originals now. It’ll take some time to catch up, but at least we can do it.”
The choice to be truthful was a tempting one, but, unfortunately, one I was foolishly not prepared to make. “I, uh, thr
ew the originals away. I didn’t have a reason to keep them around.” I said quickly.
Mark scrunched his face. “No problem, they will be in your Sent folder.”
“I don’t save sent files automatically,” I swallowed.
Mark frowned, raising his eyebrow as he studied my face, noticing I avoided eye contact. “That could be a problem. Well, there is always a copy in the scan folder and the temp files. I’ll get them later.”
I was silent. Do I tell him now or Monday?
“By the way, Brat, I convinced Mark to move into the guest house,” Jace happily piped in, coming back from unloading his equipment. “We’re gonna get his stuff tonight.”
Oh goody. I’ll never win. More so, with Mark nearly living with us, he’s gonna know EVERYTHING. I wanted to die. I faked a smile. “Cool, then we can start classes later since you don’t have driving time.”
“Good try,” Mark laughed, walking into the house. Jace dropped his bag next to the stairs and headed straight to his favorite spot, the Royal Lounge. Collapsing on it, he closed his eyes and sighed loudly. “It’s so good to be home. I need to jump in the shower, everything smells like casino smoke.”
Oh damn! I forgot to spray deodorizer over everything. I decided to spill the truth when he was done with his shower.
I jumped when Mark tapped my shoulder. “My, you’re a little edgy. Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Gone was the playful, teasing Mark. This was the serious, no nonsense Mark who missed nothing. He glanced at the couch. “How did that happen?”
I launched into the story of Kandace and her friends, what they had done, and how I didn’t want to call Jace and ruin his gig. Mark listened thoughtfully, sipping from his water bottle. “I see. And the assignments?”
“I’m sorry! Kandace took the folder with her and wouldn’t give it back. I tried to get it, but she kept telling me she didn’t have it! I didn’t mean to lead you on…”
Guardian Domination Page 3
