by Bella Juarez
Anna resumed her stare out the window as her shoulders sagged. She was really nervous when the plane landed at Reagan International.
* * * *
“You did what?” Jack asked sharply.
“I had Liz call Anna and they’re flying in together,” Mac repeated.
Jack looked away. Mac was really starting to piss him off with all his interfering. Mac explained that the women would arrive at the hotel any minute because they’d caught a cab from the airport. Jack took another long drink of his double scotch. Anna had tried to call, but he hadn’t called her back because he didn’t fight with her over the phone. He was thinking about the move he would make to end this game for good when Mac’s phone buzzed on the bar.
“They’re in the lobby,” Mac said.
Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the key card to his room. He handed it to Mac.
“What the hell is this?” Mac asked, annoyed.
“Tell her the room number.” Jack took another swallow.
“Rock, I don’t give a shit how pissed you are. She’s still your wife. Get up and go meet her,” Mac said, throwing the card onto the bar.
“I’m still drinking, Mac. I’m sure she can figure out how to get in the room.”
“Get up off this barstool and get your ass into that lobby before I kick it off this planet, Captain,” Mac said seriously. Jack gave him a deadly look. “Don’t fuck with me, Rock. You know I’m one of the few people that can kick your ass.” Jack took another drink. “Rock, get over there, get into your room, and work this out with your wife. That’s what you do when you’re married.”
Mac turned and left. Jack shook his head and paid the tab as he stood. Mac was right. He was being just as immature as Anna right now. This was one of those difficult situations he knew would be eventual and they had to work it out. If things didn’t work out he may be back for the bottle and drink himself into a coma. He caught up to Mac, who was almost at the lobby.
Anna was standing with her back to him when he walked into the lobby. As Jack drew closer he unconsciously inhaled and felt himself start to involuntarily relax. My Anna. He wanted to kick himself for being so easy when she was around. It was much easier to hate her when he was alone and drinking. He steeled himself, determined that he wouldn’t make it that easy for her this time. They needed to come to an understanding and quick.
“Hello, Anna,” Jack said.
Anna turned around and tentatively looked at Jack. She was unsure and that was a good thing because he wanted her off her game, for now. Mac and Liz made their exit as Jack and Anna stood staring at each other.
“Shall we go?” Jack asked formally.
“Yes,” Anna answered.
* * * *
Anna walked into the room and twitched when she heard Jack close the door. She’d never in her entire life seen anyone so angry, and it was all directed at her. Jack screaming at her the way she’d witnessed with Colonel Spivey would have been easier to handle than this hostile silence he maintained. She held her breath as he walked past her. She stayed rooted near the door. She felt like she’d just been thrown in with a live tiger.
“Why did you come?” Jack asked with his back to her.
“Because this is where I should be.”
“You think so?” Jack asked, not looking at her.
“Yes, I do,” Anna said cautiously.
“What are you hoping to accomplish here?” Jack asked in a low, dangerous tone.
Anna exhaled. “Jack, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
Jack finally turned around and looked at Anna and she almost took a step backward. He had a way of conveying his feelings through his body language without saying a word. Right now, he was beyond angry because she saw him bristle in the dim light. It was the first time she was actually afraid of what he might do.
“What will you do next time I need to leave and it’s inconvenient for you?” Jack asked.
“I’ll deal with it.”
“How?” Jack stalked forward toward her. “Am I coming home to an empty house, Anna?”
“No. I know what I’m in for, and I’ve made up my mind that I’ll deal with it. I’ll be there every time you come home.”
“Am I coming home to a tantrum because you couldn’t have your way again? Do you think I wanted to leave when I did?” Jack demanded.
“No, Jack.”
Anna was thankful when he turned around and walked back to the middle of the room. Jack was so much less intimidating when she didn’t have to look at him and answer him.
“You’re right. It’ll never happen again. You were the one person I thought would understand me. I was wrong. You shouldn’t have come here,” Jack said.
Anna felt has if she’d just been stabbed. Worse yet, she felt as if she deserved it. Her temper and ego had really made a mess of things this time because Jack was just as temperamental as she was, but this time she’d been wrong, very wrong. She should’ve at least listened and gotten herself under control before she’d said anything to him yesterday. She understood full well what he was saying. Thankfully, she’d booked an open ticket for a return flight.
“All right, Jack. When you get home we’ll decide what to do and how to end this,” Anna said, reaching for her bag.
Anna turned around and opened the door. It quickly slammed shut in front of her. She was always amazed at how silent and quick he could be. Anna looked up slightly and saw Jack’s hand on the door.
“The next time you ask me to choose between you and my career, give me a gun so I can shoot myself. That will be a much easier choice for me. I love you both and I can’t choose,” Jack snarled close to her.
“What do you want me to do, Jack?”
“You are not walking out on me. Understand something right now. When the Navy asked me to choose between you and them, I chose you!” Jack leaned in closer.
“What else?”
“I don’t want you to make me feel like I’m choosing my job over you. I need you to be a little more understanding.” Jack growled dangerously.
Anna turned around and looked up at Jack’s menacing expression hovering over her. Close up, Anna could see Jack wasn’t angry, he was wounded. For a man like him, wounding him was worse than making him angry.
“I understand, Jack. It’ll never happen again.” Anna took his face in her hands. He flinched when she touched him. He looked inconsolable as he closed his eyes. The pain she’d caused him brought her to tears. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
* * * *
Jack was shaking with rage when he slammed the door shut in front of Anna. If she thought she was walking out on him she had another thing coming. He couldn’t stop himself once he started speaking. What he said and what he’d planned on saying were two different things entirely. It no longer mattered because she knew how he really felt, and if she took advantage of it again, there would be no forgiveness.
When Anna touched him, he almost stopped her. As he felt her hands on his face, he closed his eyes and went liquid at the sensation of being close to her. He inhaled and started to calm down. When she apologized for the second time, he opened his eyes and looked at her. She seemed more genuine, and her apology reached him.
“Jack, please forgive me,” Anna said. He couldn’t say anything. He’d forgiven her the second she touched him. “I need to hear you say it,” she urged.
“I forgive you, Anna,” Jack whispered.
The relief on her face was evident. She seemed to relax, and Jack felt as if a weight had been lifted. When he said those words, it released the rejection and hurt that he’d been harboring over the last day. He needed to say those words out loud as well. Jack bent down and kissed Anna.
“I forgive you, and I love you,” Jack said.
“Thank you. I love you, too, and I don’t want to lose you.”
“Let’s stop. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Jack took Anna’s hand and led her away from the door.
* * * *
> Jack and Anna returned to the room after dinner with the McGuire’s. Anna unpacked for a shower. He sat down and idly channel surfed while she got ready for bed. When she finished, she plopped down on the small couch next to her husband. He put his arm around her and pulled her to his chest. She held him tight because it was good to have peace between them again. Jack kissed the top of her damp hair.
“You always smell so good,” Jack said as he inhaled.
“Do I?” Anna asked.
“It was the first thing I noticed about you. I opened the door for you when you moved into the building. That was the first time I noticed the way you smelled.”
“No, you didn’t!” Anna said, lightly punching him.
“You didn’t even notice me! I held the door open for you at least five or six more times after that and I held the door to the break room open for you a couple of times,” Jack said, hugging Anna.
“I noticed you.”
“No, you didn’t! I could’ve been part of the wall for all you knew!” Jack exclaimed, pushing Anna onto her back. “You couldn’t avoid me after you ran into me. I could smell you all day after that.” Jack tickled her ribs.
Anna squirmed and put her arms around Jack’s neck and kissed him.
“I noticed. Every woman who walks past you notices you! And it was four times,” Anna said.
“What are you talking about?”
“You opened the door to the building for me four times. Mac opened it once when he was with you. Chief Walsh opened once, the week we moved in.”
Jack started laughing because Anna couldn’t keep from having the last word. He pulled her up and cradled her in his lap. She leaned into his neck and snuggled.
“Why do you always need to argue with me?” Jack asked as he rubbed his chin on her forehead.
“I don’t know. I guess you push my buttons. You can be so arrogant sometimes.”
“Arrogant? Me? If I’m arrogant, you’re a spoiled little brat.”
“No, I’m not. And if I am it’s because you spoil me and all these tantrums are your fault,” Anna quipped.
“Anna, seriously? Who’s acting like the ten-year-old now?”
“Whatever will you do with me? Spank me?” Anna teased.
“I can certainly oblige you,” Jack said narrowing his eyes. “I don’t know if I want to. You might like it.”
“You never know,” Anna teased.
Jack narrowed his eyes. Maybe this is the way to handle her. Hum…
Jack cupped Anna’s face and gave her a slow, steamy kiss. He felt her go liquid and wanted to smile. He held her close and continued kissing her, firmly but tenderly. He opened his eyes and looked in front of him. He shifted and pushed the coffee table in front of the couch a little farther away with his foot. He broke from her momentarily and smiled at her.
“Stand up, baby,” Jack said sweetly as he parted his knees to accommodate Anna.
* * * *
Anna stood in front of Jack as he slowly undressed her. He kissed and licked her belly as he slid the pajama bottoms from her waist and down her legs. He grabbed her ass through the lacy panties she was wearing and massaged her cheeks as he continued his licking and nipping around her belly button. He reached under her T-shirt and cupped her breasts. Anna purred and moaned as his fingers came into contact with her nipples.
Jack’s caresses were making Anna go weak so she reached for his shoulders and steadied herself. He took her hands and laced his fingers into hers. She threw her head back as she enjoyed the sensual stimulation he was giving her. Suddenly Anna found herself looking at the floor. It took a few seconds to realize he’d swiftly forced her over his thigh and had her hands restrained in the middle of her back. Her ass was up in the air in a perfect apex. She started to struggle.
“Don’t move!” Jack ordered and Anna went still at the commanding tone of his voice.
“What the hell are you doing?” Anna demanded.
“This was your idea, baby. I’m giving you what you asked for. If you want to act like a spoiled brat, I’ll spank you like one.”
Anna’s eyes went wide at the sudden implication of his words. She started to struggle as if her life depended on it. But it was useless, Jack had her pinned securely. His powerful thighs held her legs trapped in between them like a vise. One of his hands was holding her wrists effortlessly at her back, and she knew with his upper-body strength there was no way she could break his hold. She couldn’t kick, claw, or hit him. Anna was horrified. She was completely at Jack’s mercy. Worse yet, Jack knew it.
“Settle down and listen up. I want your full attention,” he ordered.
Jack was addressing her as if she were one of his troops who had really fucked up. His commanding military tone left no tolerance for disobedience or question. She was to shut up and take what was coming? Like hell!
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Anna yelled.
In one swift motion, Jack yanked down her panties and landed two perfectly placed, hard blows to Anna’s upturned ass. She couldn’t believe the heat that radiated through her.
“Listen up!” Jack snarled. His voice was dangerous. Anna said nothing as angry tears started to sting her eyes. Smack!
“‘Yes’ or ‘no’ would be the correct response. Am. I. Clear?” Jack demanded once more.
“Go to hell!” Anna cried.
Anna had just made a huge mistake. Jack started spanking her and she counted at least five licks before he stopped. She was squirming all over his leg.
“Anna, we need to talk. Are you listening?” Jack taunted.
“Yes! I swear! Jack, let me go or I’ll kill you!” Anna screamed.
Four more perfectly placed blows to her ass as tears of angry frustration ran down Anna’s face. She started to struggle again.
“Stop moving,” Jack said. “You aren’t moving until I say you can move!” Anna fought as hard as she could.
Smack! Smack!
“Stop and listen!” Jack demanded. She went still. He waited a moment before speaking again. “Do not ever threaten me. Is that clear? You will not walk out on me, and I will never leave you. You will never get a divorce out of me. You are my wife and this is forever!” Smack! “Is that clear?”
In her lifetime, there had been only one other man that had done this to her and she worshipped him. She recalled a similar incident in her life when her grandfather had beaten her for not answering him. She’d been in the barn and climbed into the hayloft.
Anna had been spending spring break at her grandparents’ Kingsville ranch and was ten at the time. Welito had come into the barn and called for her. She didn’t answer, choosing to lay up in the hayloft and listen to the radio that was playing softly in the background. Her grandfather and seven of his ranch hands scoured the ranch trying to find her. Anna decided to show herself at dinnertime.
Anna’s grandparents had been frantic. When her grandfather asked her where she’d been, she told him. He spanked her with his belt for what seemed like an eternity. When it was over, he cradled her in his lap and she could tell he was crying with her. She had been a little brat then and was being a brat with Jack now.
Jack’s sudden smack to her butt brought her out of her memories. Anna understood herself and knew she was charming and cunning, getting away with so much throughout her lifetime by simply outwitting someone. Jack wasn’t that easily fooled and now he was making damn sure she understood that her flippancy would not be tolerated. She needed to be a little more thoughtful about what she said and how she said it.
Anna’s senses slacked and went hazy and she started to relax. She squeezed her thighs together and her pussy clenched. She couldn’t believe how much this was turning her on. Smack! Smack!
“When I ask you a question, answer me!” Jack demanded.
“Yes,” Anna whispered as she nodded her head.
“If you try to leave me, I will find you, and I will bring you home. Don’t fuck with me! Don’t ever take advantage of my generosity again!�
� Smack! “Is that clear?”
“Yes, Jack,” Anna whispered.
* * * *
Jack looked down at Anna’s upturned ass over his lap. It was angry red. He could tell by her limp body that his point had been driven home and it was time for him to stop. He lifted Anna gently and cradled her in his lap. He lifted her chin and saw her face was wet. She laid her head into the crook of his neck and closed her eyes. She looked serene. He felt bad for what he’d done and quickly shoved the feeling aside because they needed that little exercise.
Anna rubbed her cheek against his neck and sighed. Her reaction wasn’t what he expected. He fully expected her to come up fighting. Instead she was tranquil and quiet. He carefully watched her for any signs that he may have hurt her and waited for her breathing to return to normal. She relaxed in his arms as if she were falling asleep. He moved and she lifted her head as her eyes fluttered open. She lazily blinked as she looked up at him. He effortlessly picked her up and carried her to bed. He gently deposited her slack body into their bed and walked to the bathroom. Running the cold water, he took a hand towel and let it soak. She was in a light, tranquil sleep when he returned.
“Turn around, baby,” Jack whispered as he kissed her.
Anna opened her eyes and shifted onto her stomach. Jack placed the cold towel on her red rear. She flinched at the sensation and then relaxed. He gently rubbed her back and shoulders as he flipped the towel to let its coolness bathe her irritated skin. He continued his caresses and got up a couple of times to refresh the towel. She remained still and he hoped he hadn’t gone too far and smacked the fight out of her. Despite what he’d done, he still loved her smart-ass ways and almost wished she’d ask to do this again.
Jack looked down and noticed that Anna was sleeping soundly. He removed the towel and lifted her sexy panties around her bare butt and hips. He pulled her T-shirt down as she shifted onto her side without waking up. He quickly changed for bed and snuggled next to her, pulling the covers around them. He hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, and after all the fighting he was just as exhausted as she was.
