by Paige Tyler
Swearing again, he walked back to the hothouse and knelt down to pick up what was left of the nightcrawlers.
Chapter Five
Kendall didn’t sleep well. No surprise there. How could she sleep when all she could think about was the spanking and her body’s reaction to it?
She’d heard about women who got turned on by spanking, of course, but she’d never been one of them. How could any woman like getting manhandled like that? When Jason had held her down and spanked her, she’d felt helpless and submissive, like he could do anything he wanted to her and she’d be powerless to stop him. There was nothing sexually exciting about that.
Heat pooled between her thighs, making a liar out of her.
She ignored it and leaned back in the wooden Adirondack chair, propping her feet on the railing as she gazed out at the lake. It had been a mistake to come back to Copper Canyon. This wasn’t her home anymore. It was past time she stopped running away from her life and went back to Los Angeles.
Even though the decision was the right one, she felt a pang of regret. Not at the thought of leaving Copper Canyon, but at the idea of leaving Jason. She’d only been on the one date with him, and yet for some ridiculous reason, breaking up with him was even more painful than breaking up with Keith had been. Maybe because she knew what she could have had with Jason would have better than anything she’d ever had with Keith.
She gulped her coffee, not caring that it was still too hot. God, she sounded stupid. Jason had spanked her not once, but twice because she’d done something he didn’t like. But he was also sweet and funny and gorgeous a sin. Not to mention one hell of a good kisser.
She groaned. No doubt about it, she was definitely making an appointment with a therapist when she got back to LA.
The sound of footsteps on the wooden deck made her jump, and she quickly sat up to see Jason standing there. He was wearing jeans and an Outdoor Outfitters T-shirt today, and she bit her lip to keep from moaning at the way the material stretched across his muscular chest. Dammit, why did her body always betray her every time she was around him?
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “I knocked on the front door, but I guess you didn’t hear me. I saw your car out front and figured you might be back here.”
Kendall got to her feet, tightening the belt on her robe with suddenly trembling hands. “What do you want?”
“About last night. I wanted to—”
“If you’re going to say you wanted to apologize for spanking me, forget it. I don’t want to hear it.”
A hurt look crossed his handsome face, but disappeared just as quickly. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry.”
She folded her arms. “Fine. You said it. Now you can go.”
But he didn’t. Instead, he ran his hand through his hair and looked out at the lake as if he wanted to say something else, but couldn’t figure out how. After a moment, he turned his gaze back to her.
“I know the last thing you want to do is work for me, but do you think you could at least come in tomorrow for a few hours?” he asked. “I’m taking a group of tourists up into the mountains to do some fly-fishing, and I was wondering if you would mind watching the store until Nicole and Darren come in.”
She blinked. Was he serious?
“I won’t be there, so it’s not like you’re going to have to talk to me,” he added.
Kendall didn’t answer. Working at the store—even for a day—would mean having to see Jason again, and that would only make things more uncomfortable for them both. But for some reason, she found herself nodding.
“Okay. I suppose I could do that.”
He sighed. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
Jason gazed at her for a long moment, his blue eyes filled with something that looked like regret mixed with a touch of sadness. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kendall waited until he’d left to sink down on the Adirondack chair. What had she been thinking, agreeing to mind the store for him? It was like she was looking for an excuse to be around him. Which was just plain stupid on her part because he’d be out fly-fishing and wouldn’t be there anyway. And when he returned, she was walking out on him and his damn store and not looking back. Then she was packing her bags and leaving for Los Angeles.
* * * * *
When Kendall got to Outdoor Outfitters the next morning, there were more than a dozen very eager fishermen milling around the front entrance. Giving them a smile, she worked her way through the crowd to the door and let herself in. Jason was behind the counter, and he looked up when she walked in.
“You’re here. Good.” He grabbed his keys from the counter. “I’ll be back before closing, but Nicole and Darren will be in this afternoon, so you won’t have to hang around.”
Even though she knew that would be for the best, she shook her head. “I don’t mind staying.”
Jason looked taken aback by that, but he shrugged. “I’ll see you this afternoon then.”
The urge to tell him to be careful on the tip of her tongue, and Kendall bit back the words as he left. Jason wasn’t her boyfriend. And after today, he’d be nothing more than a memory.
That should make her happy, but for some reason, it only made her heart ache.
The store was quiet most of the day, which sucked. Without a steady stream of customers to occupy her time, her mind kept wandering to Jason. When she was at the counter, she was reminded of that first day at Outdoor Outfitters when he’d taught her how to work the cash register. When she went in the back to get something, she’d walk by his office and picture Jason seated at the desk. When she passed by the rack of red and white fishing floats, all she could think about was the day she’d knocked it over and what had happened afterward.
The thought of Jason spanking her brought a rush of color to her cheeks, and she fidgeted on the stool where she sat behind the counter. Why did she keep thinking about him spanking her? The more she tried not to think about it, the more vivid the images became until she swore she felt her ass cheeks tingling.
Thank God Nicole and Darren showed up for work when they did, or she might actually have locked herself in the restroom and fingered herself to orgasm.
UPS brought a delivery shortly before closing, and after Kendall signed for it, she brought it back to Jason’s office. As she turned to leave, her arm brushed against a pile of folders and knocked the whole stack on the floor.
As she knelt down to pick them up, she couldn’t help but imagine what Jason would say if he walked in on her right then. She could just picture his scowl as he surveyed the mess she made. His brows would draw together and he’d fold his arms across his broad chest, demanding to know why she was so clumsy. He might even accuse her of doing it on purpose, just to distract him from his work.
Of course, Kendall would deny such a thing. But maybe, just maybe, somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d wonder if he was right and she had done it deliberately. She’d never own up to it, though. Which would only make Jason even more determined to take his wayward employee in hand.
He’d stride across the room and take her arm, hauling her to her feet. Her breath caught as she pictured those gorgeous blue eyes of his clashing with hers before he bent her over the desk to give her the spanking she so richly deserved.
Kendall’s hands tightened on the papers. Why in heaven’s name was she having such thoughts? But even as she tried to figure it out, her imagination kicked into gear again and she was back in her fantasy world.
She wouldn’t struggle to free herself, or even attempt to push herself upright, but Jason would put one hand on her back to hold her in place anyway. He’d then rest his other hand on the curve of her jean-clad ass warningly while he explained to her why she was getting this spanking.
Then finally, after he was satisfied he’d lectured her enough, he’d begin.
At first, the jeans she wore would be sufficient protection against the barrage of smacks he gave he
r, but as his hand came down harder and harder, she’d feel them more and more. But she knew that would be nothing compared to what it would be like when he pulled down her jeans.
Kneeling on the floor beside the desk, Kendall blushed as the fantasy played out. Pussy tingling, she imagined Jason reaching around to undo the buttons on her jeans. He’d slide them down with almost agonizing slowness, and then, once they were bunched around her knees, he’d run his hands back up her thighs to caress her panty-covered ass.
Kendall closed her eyes, her breath coming faster and faster at the thought. If she concentrated, she could almost feel his strong hands on her, imagine him squeezing he stinging ass through the thin material of her panties. She let out a purr.
Would he let her keep her panties on as he continued to spank her? Or would he take them down and start right in on her bare bottom? Liking the idea of keeping her panties on for a little while, she pictured him giving her another round of hard smacks before he finally decided it was time to administer a sound spanking to her bare ass.
Never having gotten spanked before the other day, Kendall could only dream about what a spanking on the bare would feel like, but as she imagined Jason’s hand connecting with her upturned ass, it was all she could do not to unbutton her jeans right then and there and touch herself.
The scene in her head abruptly changed. In it, Jason was unbuttoning his jeans so he could slide his hard length into her wetness as he gripped her freshly-spanked ass.
“Kendall?”
Startled, she jerked her head up to find Nicole standing in the doorway. Face hot, Kendall reached up with a trembling hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. “What is it?”
“Everything’s locked up,” Nicole said. “I just wanted to make sure it was okay if Darren and I go ahead and leave.”
Kendall glanced down at her watch and was surprised to see it was already ten minutes past closing time. “Yeah, of course.” Straightening the folders into a neat stack, she got to her feet and set them on the desk. “Is Jason back?”
“I haven’t seen him.”
Kendall frowned. Jason said he and the fishermen would be back before closing time. Had the fishing been so good they’d decided to stay in the mountains a little longer? She didn’t know much about fishing, but she supposed that sounded reasonable.
Wanting to be sure that he got back safely, Kendall waited at the store for another two hours. Damn. It was past dark and Jason still wasn’t back. He might know these mountains like the back of his hand, but that didn’t mean something hadn’t happened to him. For all she knew, he could be lying in a ditch somewhere.
Kendall grabbed the phone and dialed the sheriff’s office.
“Deputy Martin.”
“This is Kendall Merriweather. Is the sheriff in?”
Back in LA, she probably wouldn’t have gotten higher than a desk sergeant if she called the police, but in a small town like Copper Canyon, talking directly to the sheriff wasn’t a big deal.
“This is Sheriff Atwater. How can I help you?”
“This is Kendall Merriweather over at Outdoor Outfitters,” she said. “Jason took a group of fishermen into the mountains this morning to do some fly-fishing. He said they’d be back before the store closed, but they haven’t come in yet, and I’m a little concerned.”
“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, Ms. Merriweather,” the sheriff said. “The fish probably weren’t biting as good as the tourists would like, so they persuaded Jason to stay up there, figuring they’d have better luck tomorrow.”
Kendall chewed her lip as she considered Atwater’s words. “I don’t know. Jason assured me he’d be back this afternoon. He wouldn’t just agree to stay out there simply because some tourists complained the fish weren’t biting.”
On the other end of the line, Atwater sighed. “I’ll tell you what, Ms. Merriweather. If Jason isn’t back by tomorrow, give me a call and I’ll send some men up to check it out. How does that sound?”
Kendall would rather the sheriff send men up there now, but she supposed it was the best she was going to get from the man. At least right now.
“Okay. Thank you.”
She waited at the store for another hour. When Jason still didn’t show, she decided to go home, only to spend a restless night tossing and turning in bed worrying about him.
* * * * *
Kendall woke up before the clock went off the next morning. Taking a quick shower, she put coffee in a travel mug and grabbed a granola bar, then practically ran out the door. The store wasn’t due to open for another hour, but she raced over there hoping Jason would already be in. When she got there, thought, the store was empty. Praying he’d gotten in late the night before and was still at home, Kendall tried his cell phone, but there wasn’t any answer.
Trying to quell her rising panic, Kendall forced herself to wait until mid-morning before she called the sheriff again.
“Jason still isn’t back,” she said as soon as the man came on the line.
“Okay,” Atwater said. “I’ll send some men up to check it out.”
His tone of voice made Kendall think he was only doing it to humor her, but she didn’t care. She had to know if Jason was okay.
“It will take a few hours for them to get up there,” Atwater continued, “so I won’t know anything for a while.”
She could interpret that clearly enough. What he meant was, “Don’t call me, I’ll call you.”
Kendall tried hard to keep her mind on work the rest of the day, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Jason. What if something really had happened to him? What if he’d gotten injured and was unconscious, and the fishermen couldn’t find their way out of the mountains without his help? What if he’d been attacked by a bear or a mountain lion? Even worse, what if one of the fishermen was a psycho killer who’d only joined the group so he could murder everyone?
Stop it. This wasn’t some horror movie, for heaven’s sake. There was probably a perfectly logical reason that Jason wasn’t back. She just couldn’t think of one right now.
On top of everything else, clouds had been steadily moving into the area since yesterday. By afternoon it started raining and she couldn’t see most of the mountains through the heavy overcast. Telling herself that fishermen didn’t fish in the rain, Kendall was convinced Jason would be back soon, but her heart plummeted when the door opened and a grim-looking Sheriff Atwater walked into the store half an hour later.
Kendall hurried around the counter and walked over to the tall, gray-haired man. “Did you find Jason?”
The man took off his hat, and regarded her with compassionate gray eyes. “You’re Kendall Merriweather, I take it?”
She wrapped her arms around her middle and nodded. “What about Jason?”
Atwater sighed. “We weren’t able to locate him yet. And with the bad weather moving in, my men had to turn back. I had to call off the search for tonight. As soon as it clears up, I’ll have my men back out there looking for him.”
Icy cold fingers wrapped around her. Search. The word echoed in her mind. They had upgraded it to a search already. But that meant…
“It’s only rain,” she protested. “Surely your men can go out in that.”
He gave her a rueful smile. “It may be raining here, but it’s snowing in the mountains, Ms. Merriweather.”
She hadn’t thought of that. Which was stupid, since she had grown up here. Weather on the mountain was completely different than what the town experienced.
“But Jason didn’t bring anything with him other than some fishing equipment. He and the others could freeze to death in a snowstorm.”
Atwater’s brow furrowed. “Jason grew up in those mountains. He knows how to take care of himself. When this storm clears, I promise I’ll get my men up there to look for him.”
Kendall wanted to plead with the man, beg him to send a search party back up into the mountains right then, but something told her it would do no good. Atwater wasn’t about to s
end his men out into a snowstorm, no matter how much she begged.
Wanting to be there in case Jason came back, Kendall hung around the store after she’d closed up. Now that the weather had turned, she was even more worried about him than she’d been before. Regardless of what Sheriff Atwater said, Jason wouldn’t have stayed in the mountains with those tourists simply because the fish hadn’t been biting. Something must have happened. And the thought of what that something might have been worried the hell out of her.
She tried to keep herself occupied by straightening up and checking inventory, but after two hours, she gave up. Restless, and unable to think about anything but Jason, she wandered into his office.
Standing in the doorway, she surveyed the room and caught sight of the plaid shirt on the back of Jason’s chair. A small smile curved her lips as she realized it was the one he’d worn the day she’d come to the store looking for a job.
She walked around the desk and ran her fingers lightly over the soft material. Taking the shirt off the back of the chair, she held it to her nose, inhaling deeply. Earthy and masculine, it smelled exactly like the man who wore it, and Kendall closed her eyes. On impulse, she slipped her arms into the sleeves, then went over to the couch against the wall and sat down. Hugging Jason’s shirt more tightly around her, she curled her feet beneath her and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Six
Kendall woke up the next morning to find herself still curled up on the couch in Jason’s office. Running her hand through her hair, she yawned and glanced at her watch. Just after seven-thirty. Since she’d spent the night on the couch, that meant Jason still wasn’t back.
Trying to ignore the worry nagging at the back of her mind, Kendall lay there for a long moment before finally pushing herself into a sitting position. With the store due to open in less than half an hour, she couldn’t just lie there.
