by Sue Lyndon
She gave him her best death glare and punched his arm playfully. When he shot her a mock angry look in return, she blushed deeply and Ed’s desire for her stirred. Last night had changed everything.
“So does this lake have a name?” Ella asked when she finally caught sight of the small body of water surrounded by rocks and lush vegetation with patches of orange spotted touch-me-nots. An old, magnificent weeping willow tree stood across the lake, its soft green branches cascading to the ground.
It was Ed’s favorite place on the mountain.
He shrugged and laced his fingers through hers, loving the feel of her silky-smooth hands. “No, no name. It’s at the edge of my property line, and this is the middle of nowhere, you know.”
Her light smile melted his heart, and he realized his grip on her hand had intensified, as if he never wished to let her go. After the intimate night they’d just shared, there was no awkwardness between them, but Ed felt a strange sense of possessiveness for the girl he’d only known for three days. Her acceptance of the two spankings he’d given her was surprising, and he found himself admiring her all the more. His last girlfriend had called him a caveman and threatened to call the cops, but Ella admitted that she deserved what he gave her last night.
They walked around the lake once before finding a soft patch of earth under the weeping willow tree.
Ed often found it difficult to hold a conversation with someone for longer than five minutes, but this wasn’t the case with Ella. She was the easiest person to talk to that he’d ever met. He wrapped an arm around her, and to his delight she rested her head against his chest, as if listening to the beating of his heart.
“Ella?”
“Yes, sir?” she asked playfully, wrapping both arms around Ed to snuggle closer. Her hair smelled like lavender and her skin like honey.
“Is your bottom still sore?”
He felt her tense in his arms, and knew the unexpected question had caused her a degree of embarrassment. “Um…well…yes. Trust me, I learned my lesson. It still hurts.” She sat up and they locked eyes. “But I’m glad you did it.”
Something inside Ed gave at that moment, and a rapid flood of warmth for this woman filled his heart to the point of bursting. “Why Ella? Why are you glad I did it?” He had to know.
She studied his face and pressed her hands against his chest. Tears formed in her eyes. “Brandon has always been a control freak. He gets mad at me for the stupidest things, and he always berates me, tells me I’m worthless. He’s just plain cruel.” Ella paused and took a deep breath. “But you only got mad at me for a good reason, and you didn’t yell insults at me like Brandon would have. I’ll admit you shocked me the first time you spanked me, but the second time… I knew I deserved it and then…the way you held me afterward…” Her voice trailed off and she reached an arm around his neck, shifting even closer.
Ed didn’t need her to complete the sentence. He knew what she couldn’t finish saying. That the way he’d held her afterward made her feel safe and loved.
It angered him that Brandon Andrews had hurt her so badly. He leaned down to place a gentle kiss upon her lips, as if that simple act could heal the pain in her heart. It wasn’t long before the kiss became urgent, and their bodies pressed firmly together, hips rocking back and forth as their passion built.
“I would never hurt you like that,” Ed said breathlessly against her ear.
Ella kissed his neck and pressed her center against his erection. “I know. I trust you.” Her profession of trust touched Ed’s soul. He wanted to possess her body and mind right here, to make love to her under the swooping branches of the weeping willow tree in broad daylight.
“Did it turn you on when you did it?” Ella asked, leaning back to pull her tank top off. She rested her hands at the front clasp of her bra. “When you spanked me, I mean. Did it turn you on, even a little?” God, this woman was full of surprises. Of course it had turned him on, but he didn’t want her to think he’d punished her to satisfy his own sexual fantasies.
He reached forward and brushed her hands away, unfastening the front clasp of her bra. Her breasts spilled out, round and firm and white. Her nipples were pink, hard peaks, and he gently twisted one until she moaned.
“Yes, Ella, it turned me on when I spanked you.
But that’s not why I did it. I did it because I wanted you to behave for me. When you disobeyed me, I had no choice but follow through with my threat. I am a man of my word.”
A shadow fell over her face, and she leaned back into Ed’s chest, hiding as she spoke. “Even though it hurt, and even though it was rather embarrassing, a little part of me was excited. It was so…beyond intimate.”
Ed knew this confession wasn’t spoken easily, for she had just admitted an embarrassing secret to him.
He forced her to meet his gaze by firmly cupping her face in his hands. He’d never wanted a woman so badly in his life before, so great was his need to take Ella. But her admission had just presented an opportunity that he wasn’t about to pass up.
“Do you really trust me, Ella?” he asked.
She nodded, her expression slightly bemused.
Wordlessly, Ed guided her over his lap. To his delight, she didn’t protest, though he saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes just before lowering her head. He pushed the bottom of her cotton shorts and underwear up, revealing the sweet curve of her recently punished buttocks. His cock shifted at the sight, and he trailed his hand over her flesh. Ella shivered, but remained in place.
He raised his hand up and delivered a sound smack to her bottom, prompting her gasp. Ed leaned down and whispered, “This isn’t a punishment, Ella.
This is just because I want to. I want you to be a good girl and submit to this spanking. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Her voice was high and breathless, and Ed knew she was as aroused as he was.
He began slow, warming her up for the harder slaps to follow. Once her flesh was a beautiful deep pink, he moved his attentions to her thighs, smacking each one several times before returning to her bottom.
Ella gasped and squirmed as he built his momentum, but she didn’t attempt escape. She gasped again when he slipped a finger inside her panties, probing the gathering moisture between her secret folds.
Instantly, Ed knew the spanking had indeed aroused her, even though it had obviously caused a level of discomfort. She was slick for him, ready for the merciless pounding he intended to give her. When he slipped two fingers into her warm tunnel, she moaned and arched back, begging for more.
Ed couldn’t wait a second more. “On your hands and knees,” he commanded.
Ella obeyed, and he helped her into position on the soft grass. With her breasts exposed and her reddened bottom high and inviting, she was a vision to behold. Ed quickly lost his pants and moved behind her. He gripped the fabric wedged between her buttocks and yanked upward, teasing her with the friction. She whimpered and bucked backward, and Ed yanked the fabric up twice more. She met his gaze from over her shoulder, her face flushed with need. Ed smiled wickedly, pulled her shorts and panties down, and thrust his length inside in a movement so swift she cried out in surprise.
This woman was made for me, he thought, pounding her ruthlessly as he gripped her hips so hard his knuckles turned white. He was lost in a sea of pleasure, barely aware of the world surrounding them. There was only Ella and his consuming desire for her. A light sheen of sweat covered both of their bodies, and Ed’s heart pounded in his head as his rhythm increased. God, he was like a beast, functioning on some primitive, animalistic instinct he’d never known he possessed.
It was a morning unlike any other.
* * *
Ella stared out the bay window of Ed’s living room as the sun rose up over the tree line, a hot cup of coffee between her hands. Two glorious days had passed since her time with Ed under the weeping willow tree by the lake. She refused to think about the future right now, refused to think about what would happen on day
seven. Instead, she planned to focus on the here and now with Ed. Whatever happened in the days to come, at least she’d have these memories of Ed Peters to hold onto.
The whole situation was mindboggling, Ella realized with a light smile. She’d run away from Brandon only to fall straight into the arms of a stranger who incited more passion in her than she believed humanly possible. She loved everything about Ed, his rustic voice, his piercing blue eyes, his musky scent, his kindness, his firm discipline. He was the flame, and she was the starved moth who’d spent years in total darkness.
“Penny for your thoughts?” The deep voice interrupted her musings.
Ella turned as Ed strode in from the hallway, his presence filling the room as it always did. He was already dressed in jeans and a form-fitting blue T-shirt, his biceps bulging under the sleeves. It was hard not to stare.
“Good morning, Ed,” she purred, moving forward to place a kiss on his cheek. “Can I make you breakfast?”
He snorted, but his eyes twinkled with laughter.
“Are you telling me you know how to cook, but not how to use a dishwasher?”
Ella narrowed her eyebrows, but it was hard to be mad at Ed. He did have a point. And really, there wasn’t much in the kitchen she could do. Suddenly, she realized she would have to learn if she wasn’t going to marry someone as rich and pampered as Brandon. Maybe there would be no future with Ed, but if there was even the slightest chance…
“I’ve already got some eggs going,” Ed said, wrapping an arm around her waist to guide her toward the kitchen.
Breakfast took over an hour, because neither Ed nor Ella would stay quiet for more than two seconds.
She realized with a pang of sadness that talking with Brandon had never been so effortless, or enjoyable. Ed seemed to value her thoughts and ideals, and he never once interrupted or berated her for anything she said. They talked about politics, science, travel, movies, animals, friends and family members, and everything in between.
The remainder of the day was spent much like the others. After breakfast, they took a long walk through the forest and around the lake. Ed reluctantly permitted Ella to make them sandwiches for lunch. To her delight, he ate the whole thing and claimed it was the best turkey sandwich he’d ever tasted. She suspected he was fibbing, but she wasn’t about turn down such a nice compliment.
When a thunderstorm rolled in shortly after lunch, they decided to spend the afternoon in the bedroom. As if they needed an excuse! Ed was very much in charge in that department, dominant to the bone. He enjoyed spanking Ella until she squirmed and taking her frantically from behind. Other times, he captured her wrists above her head in one hand and lightly slapped her breasts before raising her hips to claim her roughly.
Ella loved it. Sex with Brandon had always felt like a chore, something she did to keep his insults at bay. But she wanted to have sex with Ed, and she would burn up if he went too long without touching her. She craved his touch, both gentle and rough. All it took was a certain look from Ed to turn her legs to jelly and her set her desires aflame.
In the evening, they sat on the front porch steps with glasses of wine. The night was alive with chirping crickets and shouting locusts. The lingering storm clouds had finally blown over the mountain, so the stars twinkled bright and lovely around the high crescent moon.
Ed seemed pensive, but Ella didn’t dare ask what bothered him. She was too worried about what would happen when the seven days ended, too worried about facing reality after saying good-bye to this temporary, perfect world. Perhaps Ed was brooding over the very same problem. It hurt her deeply that Ed might still return her for the reward money, and she kept pushing the thought into the back of her mind with every other unpleasant thought she tirelessly worked to avoid.
Maybe I should tell him how I feel, she thought, resting her head against his shoulder as they shared their first moment of awkward silence. But how did she feel? She cared for Ed, but did she love him?
Could she love someone after only knowing him a few days?
Ella’s heart fluttered when Ed pulled her closer.
He kissed the top of her head and softly ran his fingers through her long locks. She listened to the beating of his heart for what seemed like hours. That night in bed, for the first time since they’d begun their unusual relationship, Ed made love to her slow and gentle, silently holding her eyes in his magnetic gaze for the duration until his climax. It was the closest she’d ever felt to anyone, though no words were spoken.
As Ella drifted to sleep, she prayed for the courage to confess her feelings to Ed. Prayed that he cared for her. Though he hadn’t said I love you, she at least thought he harbored tender feelings for her. Oh God, she begged. Please let this work out somehow.
Please don’t let this end badly.
Ella awoke several times that night, her mind too restless to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time.
She watched the steady rise and fall of Ed’s broad chest, and a sudden thought riddled her with fear. He was in his forties and had never married. Maybe he didn’t want a lasting relationship with anyone.
Maybe she was a fool and he was using her. Maybe she shouldn’t trust him.
Uncertainty ate at her until her mind was spinning like a whirlwind. She decided against confessing her true feelings to Ed, even if she managed to find the courage to do so. Brandon had made a fool of her far too many times, and there was no way in hell Ella would allow another man to make a fool of her. If Ed didn’t reciprocate her spoken endearments, the role of the fool would be hers again.
No, she would wait for Ed to share his feelings with her first, and only then would Ella open her heart up all the way and speak aloud the three little words on the tip of her tongue.
She hoped Ed wouldn’t sense her worries over the next few days. She pushed her troubles away for the thousandth time, vowing not to allow Ed to notice her lapse in happiness.
If he really cared for her, he’d tell her before returning her to her family. Satisfied with her logic, Ella managed to catch two uninterrupted hours of sleep, though her dreams were haunted by images of her worried family. She saw her mother and father crying, but when she spoke to them, they disappeared into thin air.
As the specifics of the dream faded, fingers of sunlight stretched across the bedroom. Ella snuggled against Ed and remained at his side until he awoke.
The day passed just as wonderfully as the preceding days, but neither of them spoke any endearments aloud.
The clock was ticking.
Chapter Five
Ed pulled the covers over Ella and kissed her forehead. She was already sound asleep in his bed.
And it was only 9:30 p.m. He smiled. Some night owl.
Their evening walk around the lake had exhausted her…along with a few other activities afterward in bed.
As he walked around the house, checking the windows and doors before setting the alarm, the phone rang. It was Randy. Ed hadn’t heard from the whiz kid in four days.
“The reward just shot up to $50,000, boss,” Randy said breathlessly. “I can’t believe it! Fifty big ones!
Five, zero, zero, zero, zero!”
Ed’s gut twisted. The deal, the reward money, the impending trade. He felt rotten just thinking about it.
Ella couldn’t leave. She just couldn’t.
Ed ended the phone call with Randy politely enough, and holed up in his study with a glass of whiskey.
During the four days since Ella’s attempted escape, they hadn’t discussed the deal in any detail at all. Unspoken, the topic seemed taboo. An ugly problem lurking in the shadows of their temporary bliss.
Of course, their deal had been for Ella to remain with Ed for seven days. She would escape marriage to Brandon Andrews as Ed waited for the reward to increase. And increase it had. Fifty thousand dollars was a lot of money, but Ed didn’t want one penny of it. Not even if Ella wished to honor the deal and see it through to the end.
At the time, five days ago
, the deal had seemed like a good idea. An easy way to make money and help a stranger out at the same time. At the time.
Ed downed the rest of the whiskey in one huge swallow and poured himself another glass. A renegotiation was in order. The deal as it stood now was void as far as Ed was concerned. He finished the second glass of whiskey and headed to bed.
Tomorrow he would broach the subject with Ella.
And if the past few days were any indication, she would be receptive. They’d made love countless times. They’d gone on walks, watched movies, cooked together, and spend hours talking about anything and everything.
Ella was a wonderful girl, kind and sweet beyond measure. She wasn’t the spoiled brat he’d initially taken her for, although she had her moments, moments he knew how to handle over his knee. He’d punished her a third time for cursing just this morning, although it hadn’t been as harsh a spanking as the first two times.
But despite her shortcomings—the propensity to use foul language and a short temper—she was the perfect woman for him.
Sure, she was a little young, but age was only a number—a number that meant little in the grand scheme of things. Love was love. And Ed Peters loved Ella Emerson, truly and completely.
He just hadn’t told her yet. I love you seemed like such a silly thing to say out loud, especially considering the short time they’d known each other.
At least to Ed. And a difficult thing to say as well. Not once in his life had he spoken these words to any woman, nor had he felt so intensely about another woman before. Tomorrow, he thought, and joined the woman he loved in bed. Tomorrow.
* * *
The next morning, Ed awoke to the rich smell of pancakes. He found Ella in the kitchen, humming happily and cooking away. His spirits soared at the sight.
“Should I call the fire company ahead of time?” he joked, hugging her from behind.
“I helped my college roommate make pancakes a few times. This I know how to do.” She kissed his cheek.
