Bunny and the Beast [Divine Creek Ranch 22] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic)

by Heather Rainier

  Capping the water bottle, she took a second to look at the house. Joseph stood at a tall window in what must’ve been in his office, since she saw a desk and a seating arrangement through the window, about one hundred feet from the tower.

  His jaw was rigid, and he didn’t smile when she waved. He didn’t smile much, come to think of it, especially not when she was around.

  Well, honey, do you give him much to smile about?

  Nope, but I sure do enjoy trying.

  He’d called her a brat and had used that other foreign name. It didn’t sound like an insult, and even though brat probably didn’t have the best connotation, she didn’t mind it all that much.

  Pulling her glove back on, she began the slow process of descending the tower. A tingle ran up the backs of her thighs and along her spine, and she glanced at the window to find him still standing there, watching her.

  You scared him. Shame on you.

  It’s probably good for Mr-King-of-His-Universe to be troubled by mortal emotions occasionally.

  You scared him.

  She ignored her inner voice, feeling a little guilty. Lots of people had a hard time showing emotion, and she’d purposely been tweaking him. But common sense had to prevail in that instance. She couldn’t climb back down just to reassure him. She was in good health to climb, but it was not a task she wanted to do twice in one day if she didn’t absolutely have to.

  She was within ten feet of the ground when he spoke. “Do you have any idea how tall that tower is?”

  Not looking at him, she continued descending at a slightly faster pace now that she was so close to the ground and didn’t need to keep her harness hooked to the tower anymore. “Yup. One hundred feet, of which I climbed about eighty-five.”

  The muscles in her legs and arms trembled a little as she relaxed with her feet planted on the ground. Removing the tool belt from her hips, she turned to find him nearly nose to nose with her.

  “You delight in provoking me.” His eyes were dilated as he leaned in to her, and she breathed in his masculine, clean scent. She probably reeked from sweating while she’d been working, but there was nothing wrong with good clean sweat. Maybe it might ward Mr. Bossy off.

  “You were keeping me from doing my job.”

  “If I’d known your job would include climbing that structure, I wouldn’t have asked you to do the work.”

  “Then why did you have me come out here? You could’ve had any of the guys from Grogan come out to fix the problem. They probably wouldn’t have done as good a job as me, but you’d have signal, more than likely. I’ve climbed your tower before, you know.”

  “No, I didn’t,” he said in an exasperated manner. Shifting his stance, he gently wrapped his hands around her upper arms. “I’m not a sexist or a chauvinist. You scared me, fiammetta.”

  Disconcerted by his softer tone, she looked down and held up the safety straps of the harness that had heavy-duty locking hooks at the ends. “I was safe the whole time, Joseph. I would never climb freehand, and heights don’t bother me at all. I actually enjoy them.”

  He tilted her chin up as he drew closer. “I nearly had a heart attack when I looked out my office window and saw you shimmying up that thing.”

  Wanting to somehow reassure him, she patted his upper arm. “I always climb responsibly, and I don’t take risks. I can climb as well as any of the guys working for Grogan. I’m sorry for shooting the bird at you.”

  “Yes, about that middle finger of yours.” One eyebrow arched as he spoke, as though he’d enjoy putting her over his knee right then and there.

  “But I was your wingman the other night, remember?”

  “And a lovely wingman you make, fiammetta, but then you bit me.”

  “Uh! I apologized for that! Crap. Put it on my tab?” she asked with a giggle as a pleasant little thrill rippled up her spine.

  “Count on it. And watch your language. One of these days, Bunny…”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said as she backed away and bent over to pick up her tool bucket. “You still think you’re gonna get me over your knee. Every guy has to have a dream.”

  She bit her lip when she heard another growl behind her. That was what she got for bending over in front of him, she supposed.

  “Master?” a female voice called from the corner of the mansion.

  Bunny spotted a tall blonde, but not the same one as the last time she’d been inside the mansion. Her name had been Mona. This was someone different. Bunny squinted to get a good look at her, but the blonde backed away with eyes averted. Probably waiting to serve him in any manner he desired. The sting of jealousy unsettled her as she glanced at him.

  “We’ll continue this conversation inside when you’re done, Bunny. You will check in with me before you leave? I have something for you.”

  “Sure, sure. You better hurry. Your subbie needs you. Maybe she’ll let you spank her since I won’t.” Gosh, shut up, girl!

  “One of these days,” Joseph said, not quite masking the amusement in his tone as he backed away. “And she is not my submissive.”

  “Neither am I.”

  “As you said, every guy has to have a dream,” he repeated, his tone a little lighter as he strolled away.

  That idea shouldn’t have as much appeal as it does. Not the spanking, beating, or getting tied up part, but being his?

  She sighed as she unbuckled her harness and slipped it off. He was gone from view by the time she slung it over her shoulder and lugged her tool belt and bucket back to her truck. She still had work to do, and daydreams didn’t earn her a paycheck.

  Chapter Three

  Joseph’s palm itched as he imagined wrapping it around Bunny’s thick braid, the way her fiery windblown tresses would look framing her face as he tilted her head back and took her mouth.

  Drawing a deep breath, he walked away from her across the lawn, back toward the house and the life he was comfortable with, and understood. Letting her go would undoubtedly be best for both of them.

  “Master?” Jade said, waiting for him as he rounded the corner, where he knew she would be, ready to serve.

  “Jade, I’ve told you before. You are not obligated to call me Master. Did you reply to the e-mails I forwarded to you?”

  With eyes averted, Jade shook her head and then, remembering herself, said, “No, Mast—No, Sir.”

  “Have you at least looked through them?”

  “Yes, Sir. I have.” He heard the resistance in her tone. Persistent sub.

  Bunny had the mistaken notion that subs were easy to push around. In Jade’s case, he almost wished that were true. She was unquestioningly obedient, playing with the Doms he introduced her to at the club, some of whom he had thought would be perfect for her, but she’d ultimately claimed incompatibility in each case. Of all the subs he’d seen enter the doors of Hazelle House, she was the one he was most concerned about.

  “And?”

  “I—um…”

  “Yes, you, Jade. This is about what you want and what you need in a healthy relationship.”

  Defeat rounded her shoulders. “I will look at them again, Sir. But that’s not why I came out here. Beckett is looking for you.”

  “Did he say what he needed?”

  She shook her head. “No, Sir. The last time I saw him, when he asked if I’d seen you, he was in the North Tower.”

  “Thank you,” he said, patting her shoulder. “Have another look at those e-mails, and each Dom deserves a polite and honest reply to their inquiry. I’ll understand if you are not interested in meeting some of them, but if you refuse all of them, I will be disappointed.”

  Jade glanced up at him, her eyes unfathomable green pools. No other sub shook his confidence in his abilities to match a sub with a Dom the way she did. A hard nut to crack, his father would’ve said.

  “Sir?”

  “Yes?” he asked as he walked toward the garden. He heard her soft steps directly behind him.

  When he turned back, she had her
eyes averted again. “That woman?” She pointed at the corner of the mansion, where he’d just come from.

  “Miss Carrigan?”

  She nodded, and he saw the way her brows drew together. “She was disrespectful, Sir.”

  Joseph surprised himself by smiling. Jade didn’t know the half of it. “She isn’t a submissive, but she is very good at her job. Because of her, you’ll be able to send all of those e-mail replies I expect you to work on today.”

  Jade seemed satisfied by his response and nodded. “I have a lead on an apartment in Morehead.”

  “That’s good to hear. A fresh start will be beneficial for you.” Donald, her previous Dom, an older man she’d adored, had passed away of a massive heart attack. Being Donald’s friend, Joseph had let her know she could count on him for any help she might need as she grieved. As if that weren’t enough, the small house she’d been renting had been heavily water-damaged in a flash flood earlier in the summer. Without a Dom at the time, she’d faltered, and he’d stepped in. Questioning his better judgement, he’d extended the invitation for her to stay at the mansion while she got back on her feet and secured another place to live. In exchange, she performed simple administrative duties at the direction of his personal assistant, Beckett Herbold.

  “Yes, Sir. I’ll get right on those e-mails, unless there is something else I may do for you?” She was wringing her hands, and he could tell from her stance that she wanted to kneel. Her offer had no limits, but he couldn’t give in to make her feel more comfortable.

  He’d gotten to know her in the intervening months, and he sensed her desire to submit to him. He’d worked with her on her issues, talking them out with her, but he’d never had the inclination to go beyond the role of an advisor with her. He wasn’t interested in a twenty-four-seven Master-slave relationship, and she was adamant that was what she needed. It hadn’t been easy finding Doms he trusted who wanted the same thing, and she’d yet to find one she was willing to serve permanently. But she’d made it clear she’d willingly serve him.

  “Thank you, Jade. That’s all. Be well.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  Perspiration trickled down his back as he went in search of Beckett. The late summer heat was increasing as the afternoon progressed, promising storms in the dark clouds billowing on the horizon. He was relieved Bunny was done with climbing for the day…or at least he hoped she was. She’d said she didn’t climb in unsafe conditions.

  Joseph assisted Beckett with his problem in one of the suites in the North Tower. It seemed someone actually had tried to swing from the chandelier in their room during the fantasy weekend.

  After spending several boring hours in his office, brightened by the occasional “Bunny sighting” as she flitted about both inside and outside, he finally gave up trying to focus and went in search of her. Because he needed to know if she’d completed her work.

  Keep telling yourself that, Hazelle.

  Her voice, effervescent with her spirit, had carried down the halls, breaking his concentration and distracting him and keeping him on edge. He glanced at the tissue-wrapped book in his hands and decided to leave it on his credenza. He wanted to give it to her in private, not out in the hallway where anyone could see them. This was between the two of them.

  He was on the stairs when his butler, Hughes, approached from the front foyer.

  “Mr. Hazelle, if I could have a moment of your time?”

  “Sure,” Joseph said, tilting his head to beckon Hughes to walk with him toward the back of the mansion. Shoving his hands in his pants pockets, and in a more cheerful mood, he said, “What’s up, Hughes?”

  Balding and dignified, Hughes put his hands at his back as they walked and talked, discussing the need to replace two workers in the household who had recently given notice. After the necessary course of action was settled on, he once again set out in search of Bunny. He thought he heard her voice in the upstairs corridor and turned back, wondering if she would consider him using GPS to track her down an invasive tactic.

  “Mr. Hazelle?” the chief gardener called from behind him, near the doors at the rear of the house, and he sighed softly and spoke at length with the man about what he needed.

  The sun was making its descent, and the muggy heat had seemed to increase while he’d stood outside discussing the plans for a new landscaping project. As he re-entered the cool house from the veranda twenty minutes later, Bunny’s laughter greeted his ears, and he smiled at the cheerful sound.

  “Sir?” one of the housekeepers said as he pulled the door closed behind him.

  “Yes, Regina?”

  “Mrs. Hernandez was looking for you earlier. She asked me to tell you she needs to talk to you. I think she’s back in the kitchen by now, preparing your supper.”

  Pausing, he said, “Do me a favor?”

  “Of course.”

  “Ask her to set two places.”

  “In your dining room?”

  Considering that for a moment, he decided to go with his gut and shook his head. “No, this is what I want you to do…”

  Two minutes later, he was strolling down the main corridor, feeling quite pleased with himself, when he turned a corner and noticed Hughes, standing with hands on hips, looking at a pair of statues positioned near the wall.

  The two Italian marble statues were arranged in the corner, a life-size nude male, standing proud and fiercely erect, in more than just manner, and a lovely female kneeling before him. The male statue was impressive, gazing down at the female with hand outstretched, but it was the woman, on her knees and beaming serenely at her partner as she reached out to touch him, that had sold him on the duo. The pairing had embodied the essence of submission, to him, but had been entitled Adoration by the artist. They’d come at a dear price at an art auction, but they were among his favorites.

  “Well, now,” Joseph murmured as he crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed at the short-trimmed beard on his chin.

  “I think someone’s played a practical joke on you, Mr. Hazelle.”

  “I have a pretty good idea who, too.”

  As if on cue, he heard her voice, and it sounded as if she was trotting.

  “Okay, sweetie! I’m in Morehead, so it will take some time for me to get home. Can you put Grinnie on the phone for me? Hi! It’s me. I still have to finish up. Is he okay? Good. No, don’t wait for me if he’s hungry. I’ll see him before bedtime. I’m glad he’s okay. I love you, too, Grinnie.” She had her eyes on her phone as she rounded the corner, and he caught her as she collided with him.

  “Oh! Sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going—”

  He had to close his eyes, his senses reeling, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around her and squeeze her. This was what he’d been craving all day, a repeat of their embrace from the fantasy weekend hidden from view in his private stairwell, only this wasn’t private by any means.

  Compartmentalize, man.

  “We were blocking the corridor. It is we who should apologize, Ms. Carrigan,” Hughes said, dignified as ever, but Joseph saw the good-natured sparkle in his normally staid butler’s eyes. It would seem Bunny had won over a comrade on the Hazelle House staff.

  Bunny giggled, a sound that shouldn’t have been as thoroughly disarming as it was. “Well, it’s probably not a good idea for me to text and walk, much less text and drive, Mr. Hughes.” She turned her gaze up to Joseph and smiled. “I was just looking for you. I didn’t mean to crash into you.”

  His tingling dick was ever so happy to crash into her and would’ve gladly taken more, but he set her on her feet with reluctance and replied, “I was looking for you, too, when we found…this.” He pointed to the male statue. “Care to explain?”

  “Uh,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “why do you automatically think I did that?”

  “Intuition,” he said as he pointed at the tumescent cock on the male statue, which was currently adorned with a pink condom.

  “I thought it was a positive m
essage to send to your visitors. Safe sex is a good idea,” Bunny said, her voice trembling with laughter before she bit her lower lip. “I think the pink is a nice touch on the white marble. Really makes it pop.”

  The only thing he wanted to pop at the moment was her luscious, rounded derriere. She smiled up at him, her turquoise blue eyes sparkling with devilry, and he nearly forgot what he’d planned to tell her.

  Removing the condom with a tissue, Hughes said, “If you’ll excuse me, sir, I need to see if all is set for your supper. I’ll dispose of this for you.”

  After Hughes left, she said, “I’ve been looking for you for the last fifteen minutes. I guess we’ve been going in circles, missing each other.”

  “I could always put a bell on you, fiammetta.”

  His abdominal muscles tightened at the thought of her in a collar with a bell, and he had to breathe deeply, glad he’d put his suit coat back on. Otherwise, she would’ve seen that he was erect—again.

  “What? Like a dog?”

  “No, a kitten. Come with me.” He masked the fact that he was biting his lip by turning and leading her behind him and grinned as she hurried to catch up and walk beside him. What pleasure he’d take, not in forcing her to walk behind him but in her doing it willingly, to please him. As they passed an adjoining hallway, he spotted Jade in the shadows. She pulled up short, and her jaw dropped before she caught herself and stepped back, averting her eyes, but not before he saw the heat in them.

  His inner sadist smiled, thinking it was good to see a sign of life, a little spunk, in Jade. In her view, Bunny should probably be walking behind him with eyes downcast. It was healthy to grieve a loss, but she needed the reminder that she still lived in the real world. He needed to get her into the right Master-slave relationship so she could find happiness on her knees, as well as on her feet.

  “What’s her problem?” Bunny whispered with a hand on his elbow once they were down the hall.

  “It’s a complicated, private matter.”

  In his peripheral vision, he noticed when Bunny frowned and missed a step and then sped up. “Well, listen, I’m done for today, and I’d like to be on my way. You said check in with you, so I’m doing that now. I’ll get out of your hair so you can deal with your…stuff.”