“Is this job that important to you?” Jack stared at her.
“Yes.” She was pleased with the firmness of her voice. Inside, she was shaking. Sam stood beside Jack looking so heartbroken she wanted nothing more than to walk to him and wrap her arms around him. Jack looked…curious.
“All right then,” Jack agreed.
She forced herself to nod. Deep inside, she wanted to wail. She hadn’t expected that he would let her go without a fight. He was letting her walk out without so much as a good-bye, and she should be thrilled. She could leave without a scene. So why did she suddenly want to slap him? Had it meant that little to him? She couldn’t believe it.
It was perverse. She was getting everything she wanted and it left her utterly hollow on the inside.
“Do you need to leave right away?” Jack asked.
“Yes.” A cold feeling was settling in her gut. Maybe he’d offer her a quick lay for old time’s sake. She knew it wasn’t fair, but she was bitter about his lack of feeling.
“Sam, pack a bag. We’ll take the Benz. Call ahead and get us a hotel suite. We’ll go house hunting this weekend.”
“What?” She felt her jaw drop.
Jack shrugged negligently. “If this is important to you, then we’ll go.”
“But the ranch…”
“Juan can handle it.” There was nothing about the expression on Jack’s face that told her he wasn’t perfectly serious. “If Austin turns out to be the place you want to stay, then we’ll work something out. I like working on a ranch. I won’t lie to you. I love it here. But I love you more.”
“So do I,” Sam said quietly.
The world seemed to stop, going silent as their words sank into her soul. Of all the reactions she’d played through her mind before this confrontation, this wasn’t one of them. They were willing to leave everything she was trying to save? She couldn’t let them do it. “No.”
Jack didn’t look surprised by her quiet denial. “No. Why not?”
“I don’t want you to go with me.” She was struggling to maintain her composure. Jack wasn’t reacting the way she thought he would, and it was throwing her off. She decided some very tough love was required. She was going to have to get nasty. “You’re going to make this hard, aren’t you?”
Jack smiled gently but made no move toward her. “I’m going to make it impossible, my love.”
Her heart skipped at the sight of him, but she forced herself to roll her eyes, and her voice dripped with sarcasm. She laid it on thick. “God, Jack, I really thought you were different. It was what attracted me to you. I thought you would be a man I could have some fun with, who would know the score.”
“I didn’t know we were playing a game, sweetheart.” His eyes were almost sympathetic.
Was he not listening to her? She scrambled.
“It’s always a game.” She used her worldliest tone. “It’s been fun. I enjoyed the whole fantasy, two men thing, but it’s not something I want to spend a life doing. I’m bored now. I want to move on. You couldn’t seriously think I would want to live in this pissant town. I hate it here.”
“Then we’ll move,” Jack said plainly.
Tears of frustration welled in her eyes. “You don’t get it, you idiot. I am leaving. I don’t love you. I don’t want you. I stayed here to help my mother, and now I’m leaving. As soon as I can get her packed up, we’ll both be out of here. You and Sam there were a nice diversion, but I’m not living this freaky life with you!”
“You’re embarrassed?” Jack asked the question with an almost clinical detachment.
“Yes,” she hissed, thankful he was finally following the conversation. He still didn’t sound pissed, though. “I’m ashamed to be seen with you.”
Jack looked back at Sam. Abby realized that Jack had been closing in on her. He had been subtly moving closer and closer. “Did she hide her head in shame earlier today when you took her shopping?”
“Hell, no.” Sam frowned. “She held my hand, and she kissed me in front of town hall. When some old lady called her a tramp, she patted my ass and agreed with her.”
Jack chuckled. “Now that sounds like my Abigail.” He looked pointedly at her. “This does not. Are you going to tell me what happened, baby?”
“I’m tired of people calling me a tramp,” she tried.
Jack shook his head. He was standing so close to her, she had to look up at him. She could feel the heat coming off his big body. God, she would miss it. “Try again.”
Abby pushed him away. “I don’t want you.”
She wasn’t able to keep the tears out of her voice. Couldn’t he take a hint? If he kept this up, she was going to break. She couldn’t break now.
“But I want you.” Her attempt at pushing him around had done nothing to keep him away. “Abby, I’m not a fool. I know Sam fucked up somehow.”
“Hey,” Sam protested.
Jack never took his eyes off Abby as he replied. “Did you leave her alone?”
Sam stopped. “Well, I had to help this old woman with her car.”
“That’s when they got to her.” Jack looked at her as though waiting for confirmation.
“No.” She shook her head. She was losing control of this conversation.
“Sweetheart,” Jack said quietly. “Watch what you say. You’ve been lying to me, and you’ll have to answer for it. Now listen to me and listen well. I love you. I don’t know what that old biddy said, but she can’t hurt me. Even if she could, you would hurt me more by walking out.”
She sighed and the tears started to fall. Her hands shook with the force of her emotion. He didn’t understand. Ruby had ruined more than one person because she hadn’t liked them or felt they didn’t fit her idea of proper. “She can hurt you. Please, Jack, I can’t take it. Let me go.”
“I will,” he promised. “If you can walk out the door after you’ve listened to everything I have to say to you, then I’ll let you go.”
Abby nodded. She would listen and then she would go.
“I love you.” Jack forced her to look him in the eyes. “That won’t change because you tell me you don’t love me. My love is not dependent on yours. It’s just there, and I won’t do anything to cut it out of my heart. It’s what I’ve waited for all of my life, and if you walk out that door, I’ll go to my grave loving you, missing you, praying that you’ll come back to me. I will never love another woman the way I love you. I will always be there for you. If you leave, know that my door is open. I will always be waiting for you to walk back through it.”
She couldn’t help it. The tears flowed freely now. Every emotion she’d felt since walking back into this town surged up, a well that had been sprung.
“I can’t hurt you this way,” she sobbed. “She said she would ruin you. She has plans, Jack. She’s going to cut off your access to feed from the feed store. She has friends on the city council. She plans to pressure them to rezone the area the feed store is on. It would force them out of business.”
Jack looked slightly amused. “I assume if they dropped the ranch as a customer, the pressure would be off.”
Abby nodded. He finally understood her. “That’s not all. She plans to try to shut down your packaging plant. She’s going to have city regulators all over you. She’ll bring in inspectors.”
Sam laughed. “Let them in. I assure you, we can handle a visit from some inspectors. As for the feed store, we’re their biggest customer. Baby, you think this town still works the way it did twenty years ago. That old biddy can talk all she likes, but the city council is more interested in the jobs we provide than pleasing a nasty old lady. She’s got money but she doesn’t have a business anymore. She doesn’t provide the community with anything but social authority, and that’s only because no one else challenges her.”
Jack sighed and pulled her into his arms. “You’re the only one who can ruin me, Abigail. And you can only ruin me by walking away.”
“She’ll hurt you.” She cried against his che
st.
Jack pushed her back and shook her slightly. “Would you have wanted Ben to push you away when he found out he had cancer? Would you have wanted him to spare you the pain and heartache? Is that how you view a marriage? Is it something that should work only when no one has to sacrifice?”
“No.” The world was a blurry mess, and only Jack seemed real to her. Where was Sam? Then he was there at her back, as though he could read her thoughts. He pressed himself comfortingly against her. She sighed and wrapped herself around Jack. “No, I wouldn’t have wanted him to do that.”
“This is our fight.” Jack’s hands tightened on her waist. “We stand together. We face it all together. You and me and Sam.”
A deep sense of relief flooded her. She knew suddenly that Jack was right. They were more important than anything else. They could make it through. Abby cried and her men held her, whispering soothing things and stroking her gently. Gradually, she calmed and felt contentment push out fear.
“Sam, I believe Abigail could use a drink,” Jack suggested after a long while. “She likes vodka. I think there’s some cranberry juice in the fridge. I could use some Scotch.”
Sam rushed to do his bidding, and she became aware that Jack was rigid with tension. She hesitantly looked up, and his jaw was tightly clenched. It didn’t take much to figure out that he was angry, and Abby didn’t fool herself about what had gotten him to that state.
“I’m sorry.” It wasn’t enough. The words weren’t going to be enough.
She’d lied to him. She had the best reasons for it, but she had lied, and he wouldn’t take it well. She had forced him into a position where he was afraid and worried. He had given her two rules—submission in the bedroom, and she wasn’t to try to face anything alone. She’d broken the more important of the two rules.
Jack took a step back and sat down in the big arm chair that dominated the living room. Sam rushed back in and pressed the Scotch into his hand. Jack took a long drink. She could tell he was trying to get his temper under control before he dealt with her.
“Fix him,” Sam said under his breath as he handed Abby her glass.
She put it down without a single sip. If she’d broken one rule, she should really follow the other one. Without another thought, she tossed off her clothes. She noticed Jack watching her through hooded eyes. She pushed her jeans and panties off, and when she was naked, she walked to Jack and fell to her knees beside his chair. She sat with her head submissively down, waiting for him. She would stay there all night if that’s what it took.
Less than a minute after she’d assumed the position, Jack’s hand was curling in her hair, pulling her head into his lap. She wrapped her arms lovingly around his leg and sighed as he stroked her hair. He calmly began talking to Sam.
They spoke of completely innocuous things. Jack talked about the work on the fence and cows that were close to calving. Sam seemed to know what Jack needed, and he stayed away from anything that might remind him of what she’d put him through. Abby sat quietly, letting Jack stroke her, hoping it brought him some peace. After a long while, Benita walked in and announced that it was time for dinner. If she was shocked at Abigail’s state of undress, the housekeeper didn’t show it. She announced that roast chicken, potatoes au gratin, and sautéed green beans would be served.
Jack stood up and reached down to help Abby to her feet. She wanted to throw her clothes on but sensed this was a turning point. She was either in or she was out. Jack might have been willing to slowly introduce her to the lifestyle he wanted, but she had pushed him. He had shoved every bit of his pride aside to keep them together, and now she could shove aside something as ridiculous and useless as shame.
Without a word of protest, she took his hand and allowed him to lead her into the dining room. He sat her in the chair next to him and they shared a quiet meal. Jack seemed to relax when he realized she was accepting the situation. After dessert was served, Jack politely dismissed the housekeeper, thanking her for her work. When the door closed behind her, Jack held his hand out and gestured for her to come to his lap. She sat and put her arms around his neck. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to the hard line of his jaw.
“You realize all this sweet submission is not going to save you,” Jack said, speaking to her for the first time in an hour.
“I don’t want to be saved from you.” Abby knew that she was going to get the spanking of a lifetime, and she wasn’t afraid of it. Jack would need it after what he’d been through.
Jack’s green eyes were filled with challenge. “You’ll allow Sam to tie you down?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“You’ll accept my discipline?”
“Yes, Jack.” She gnawed a little at her bottom lip. “Though, if it’s going to be as bad as I suspect, I might need a gag to stay quiet.”
Jack nodded. “When we enter that room, you will speak when spoken to. You will do exactly as I say. I am the Master in that room, do you understand?”
She nodded and didn’t even try to hide the fact that she was already getting wet.
Jack looked at his partner. “Sam, I realize that up to this point I’ve been willing to share power.”
Sam’s eyes turned wary and he frowned. “I understand. You want her to yourself tonight. I can handle that.”
Jack sighed. “Neither one of you lets me get a complete thought out. I wasn’t throwing you out, Samuel. I was changing the rules on you. When we’ve used the playroom before, we shared power over our lover. I was willing to do that because, quite frankly, I didn’t care enough about those women to take full responsibility for them. Now, I am willing to take that responsibility for both of you.”
Sam’s entire body tensed, and she sensed Sam’s expectation. “What do you mean?”
Jack’s smile was slow and sensual. “I mean I know what you need, Sam. Hell, you’re even more submissive than Abigail is. You want discipline. I’m now willing to give it to you. I don’t know how far I’ll go or what I’ll be comfortable with, but I’m willing to explore it.”
Sam looked almost shy. “It doesn’t have to change. I’m not asking anything of you.”
“I know. Somehow, with Abigail here, it all seems a bit more possible, if you understand.” Jack left his reflective mood, and she knew he was ready to move on. “The rules apply to you too, Sam. I am Master in that room. You will obey me. You will not question me or refuse me. If I request something of you that you are not willing to give me, your safe word is ‘red.’ You will say your safe word and everything stops. Is that understood?”
Sam smiled slowly. “Yes, Jack.”
“Excellent.” Jack kissed her on the cheek. “You can start by taking her and preparing her. I want her bathed, bound, and ready for my pleasure.”
Sam eagerly got up, and in a second, she was in his arms.
Jack looked at the clock. “You have half an hour. And, Samuel, she is not allowed to come, do you understand?”
“Yes,” Sam replied. “You don’t want me to play with her or anything.”
Jack laughed. “I didn’t say that. Play with her all you like. Get her soaking wet. But don’t let her come.”
“I think I can handle that.” Sam looked down at Abby with anticipation.
Suddenly, she realized a spanking would probably be the least of her torture.
Chapter Fifteen
It didn’t take Abby long to realize Jack wasn’t the only one she’d hurt. Sam was distant. He’d been like this since they’d left the dining room. He’d smiled at Jack, but the minute they were away from him, Sam had turned into a robot. He had mechanically washed her in the shower and brushed out her hair after drying her off. He’d said not more than one or two words to her, and those had been orders.
Sam had taken her into the playroom from the master bath. She thought the door went to a closet, but had been surprised when Sam opened it and turned on the lights. Two of the walls were lined with floor to ceiling mirrors. There was what looked like an examinati
on table from a doctor’s office, complete with stirrups, and several places in the walls and the ceiling where a submissive could be bound.
Her first thought on entering the playroom was that it was remarkably clean and cozy for a dungeon. She couldn’t hold in her second thought. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s a whipping bench.” Sam touched the device lightly. “Your chest goes here.”
There was a padded board in the middle that formed the center of the bench. It looked like it would run from her head to just above her pelvis. It was tilted slightly at a downward angle so her head would be lower than her ass. She was sure it put her in the perfect position to receive Jack’s discipline. It didn’t take Sam to tell her that the four smaller padded boards were for her arms and legs. These boards were equipped with restraints that Sam would use to bind her down. She would be completely vulnerable.
Sam started to smile, showing his even white teeth, but quickly shut it down. He indicated a flat, padded bench close to a sink. It was covered with a crisp white sheet. “Go lie down, face first.”
“Sam.” She let the ache in her heart bleed through to her voice. “Sam, please.”
His face was harsh as he turned back. “Am I not even worth obeying?”
She gasped, and her arms went around Sam’s naked chest. “How can you say that?”
He stood rigid in her embrace, and she wondered how she was going to reach him. “I can say that because you’re not on the table.”
Reluctantly, she let him go and walked to the table. She lay down on the warmed sheet that covered the comfortable massage table and placed her head in the padded slot designed to let her breathe. She was quiet and entirely subdued as Sam poured warm oil onto her skin and began to rub his hands down her back. He started at the base of her neck and ran his thumbs on either side of her spine.
She didn’t resist him in any way, but she took no pleasure from the ministrations, either. All she felt was a crushing guilt. She had screwed everything up. She thought she was doing the right thing. Protecting them had been all she could think about.
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