by Maren Smith
“But you’re sentient…”
“In some ways it feels a bit odd, but in others like I’ve always been here. I don’t want you to worry about that. I will ensure that you are safe, which leads me to another rule.”
“Pfft… you and your ru…”
Her statement was cut off when his hand connected with her backside in a hard swat.
“My rules, little girl, are to be followed. Deviation from the rules gets you spanked or more. Now, as I was saying before you interrupted me… Until further notice, you do not leave this room or open that door without my permission. Understood?”
Sage nodded but didn’t say anything.
Another harsh smack. “You answer with words when I ask you a question. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she said sullenly.
Thwack!
“Yes, what?” he barked. “Watch the attitude, little girl. If you need a spanking in order to behave, you let me know. Do you?”
He hid his grin when she backed off. “No, Daddy, I don’t need a spanking, and yes, Daddy, I understand.”
“Better,” he said, idly petting her bottom. “Aren’t you supposed to be taking a shower?”
“I don’t remember you being so bossy.”
“And I don’t remember you being you so sassy. When you get showered, we’ll have breakfast and lay out the rest of the day.”
Sage
Sage stood under the shower, letting the hot, steamy water pelt down on her. The shower in Roark’s suite was nothing like the one in hers. For one thing, it was larger and had all the high-tech, pulsating jets anyone could ever want. She didn’t know the Savoy offered this kind of bathroom. She’d written it into a book.
A book? How the hell could this be happening? Was this all some crazy dream? Had she died? If so, was this heaven or hell? Maybe she was just in a coma and would wake. But what if she didn’t want to?
Regardless, it seemed she had no choice but to keep moving forward. Stepping out of the shower, she was drying herself when she heard the sound of breakfast being delivered. She donned what she assumed was Roark’s cashmere robe; it, too, was exactly as she described in the books. She wandered back into the living room suite.
“Thank you, Mr. Samuels,” said the waiter. “Will the young lady be staying long? I can have additional towels brought up.”
Sage watched him peel off several large denomination bills.
“Actually, if you could go to Sage Matthews’ room and bring her things down here, it would be much appreciated.”
“Will Ms. Matthews be needing a separate room?”
“No, she will be with me.”
The man looked around conspiratorially and lowered his voice, “Are we expecting trouble, sir?”
Oh my God… that must be Felix—the fictional concierge who often works with Roark.
“Maybe. If you see anything, let me know.”
“You wouldn’t know anything about that killer they found, would you?” asked Felix.
“He was trying to kill Ms. Matthews…”
“Thus, why she is with you.” Felix looked up to see her. “Good morning, Ms. Matthews. You couldn’t be in safer hands.”
“Yes, I know,” she said, fascinated to be talking to another of her characters. This must be a dream or a coma. Any minute she expected the theme from the Twilight Zone to start playing.
“Felix, Ms. Matthews will be with me from now on.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll see that the hotel extends her every courtesy,” Felix offered before leaving the room.
Roark removed the cloches. “Eggs benedict, bagels and lox, strawberry blintzes, broiled grapefruit, scalloped potatoes and bacon… lots and lots of bacon.”
“I didn’t think the Savoy served breakfast.”
“Only for special guests… just like in The Corpse Stalked the Dawn.”
“I need to wake up. Seriously, this is weird.”
“What you need, little girl, is to come sit down and have something to eat.”
“I’m not big on breakfast… or sitting down this morning.”
Roark chuckled. “You may use a couple of pillows, but you will eat either sitting on the pillows or impaled on my cock.”
“So, you know something about the man who tried to kill me?” she asked, crossing the room before grabbing an extra pillow to sit on while at the dining table.
“Not much. He was an assassin for hire, but not a particularly good one. Think! Have you written something in a book that I don’t know about? Have you crossed anyone? Any threatening mail?” he said, joining her at the table so they could share their first meal.
“No. Honestly, Roark, I have no idea why that guy tried to kill me. Couldn’t he just be a random sociopath looking to get his rocks off?”
“The man isn’t a sociopath, he’s a hired killer who wouldn’t go after you without being paid. So, we need to find out who wants you dead.”
“I hope that scowl isn’t directed at me,” she said quietly.
He chuckled. Sage was falling in love with the sound of his voice as well as his touch, his arrogance, his protective nature. The fact was she was fast losing her heart to Roark Samuels. Was he right? Had she created him to fulfill her own fantasies?
“Not unless you played with yourself in the shower.”
She leaned across the table. “No, I was Daddy’s good girl.”
“The scowl is because when I was in the book, I could directly connect with other systems. I’m going to go back through your emails and financials.”
“What do you mean, back through?’
He stood up and kissed the top of her head. “Baby girl, there isn’t much about your life that I don’t already know. If it’s ever been electronic, I’ve seen it. Besides, keeping secrets from me will get you spanked so fast it’ll spin your head around.”
She laughed. “I have written so many scenes where you said that to heroines, and the mere words made butterflies go off in their bellies. I never thought it was true. I mean, I read the literature and I’ve been to a couple of clubs, but…”
“You, my sweet girl, have always wanted to be submissive.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head, “I haven’t. I’ve always been a feminist, never wanted to answer to anyone.”
“That’s what you tell the world. But when you pleasure yourself, you long for a dominant man to take charge, to watch over you, to care for you, to demand the best of you, to enforce his will over yours…”
“No,” she whispered, frightened that it might be true.
“Then why, oh why, little girl, did you write me to fulfill every fantasy you’ve ever had? It’s all right, Sage. I’m here now.”
“But what happens if you disappear just as quickly?” she asked, acknowledging her true fear.
“Then I will move heaven and earth to return to you. I was as much a captive of my fate as you. But when your life was in peril, the need to protect you and save you from your own foolishness gave me the strength to break free—and that was before I had a taste of the reality that is you. Can you not imagine what I would do to remain with you? To revel in the exquisite carnal and other pleasures I find in your arms and between your legs? As I was able to do so before, believe me when I tell you nothing will keep me from your side.”
“Promise?” she said in a small voice filled with longing and need.
He smiled. “I do indeed. And neither the badass Roark nor daddies ever break their promises. While I’m reviewing things, why don’t you start your next novel?”
“What do I write? I mean, I don’t think I can write you with other women.”
“That makes me happy to hear that. I like your idea about the cowboy shifter brothers. Why don’t you write that?”
He made himself comfortable at the desk while Sage set herself up with his laptop.
Chapter Five
Roark
Roark began poring over all of the financial data available. He looked over to see Sage frantically po
unding the keyboard in a way she hadn’t in years.
“Having fun, pet?”
She looked up, grinning. “Yes. My readers are going to love this.”
“I’m going down to chat with Felix. He may know a way for me to get to better information. Sage?”
“Yes?”
“How acrimonious was your split from Gail Vincent?”
“She wasn’t happy, but she wouldn’t let me write anything but you.”
“Was that the only reason you left?”
“Mostly. Why do you ask?” she said, closing the laptop and swiveling in the chair.
“Something in your financials seems a bit off to me. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it doesn’t seem to add up the way I think it should.”
“You know, I asked her about that once, and she told me the formulas were too complicated.”
“Nothing about financials should be complicated, not unless it’s set up that way to deliberately confuse and deceive someone looking at them. You go back to work, or take a nap, or watch television. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“I might pop downstairs to the third floor for a swim.”
“Really? And how would you expect to do that without opening the door to our suite or leaving the room?”
“Come on, it’s the Savoy for heaven’s sake. What could happen?”
Roark walked back to her and leaned against the table.
“I knew that when I made the rule. Break the rule, little girl, and I can assure you that you won’t like the consequences.” He chuckled. “That’s not completely true. You won’t like part of your punishment and you won’t like that you liked the rest. Don’t do it.”
He kissed the top of her head and left her in their room. Roark walked briskly down the hall and took the lift down to the main floor. He asked the front desk if Felix was on duty and if so, was he available. He was only a little surprised when the staff seemed to know a man who only existed in Sage’s books, and when Felix himself appeared shortly after being asked for.
“Mr. Samuels, how may I be of assistance?” Felix asked, coming from the Savoy Grille.
“Felix, let’s you and I go for a walk…”
“Do you think we can leave the hotel. I’m a bit concerned about being away from whatever may be anchoring us to this place.”
“So, you know?” asked Roark.
Felix dropped his voice. “That until sometime yesterday we only existed in the pages of Ms. Matthews’ books?”
“An odd feeling, isn’t it? And everyone seems to know us.”
Felix smiled. “Very,” he said as they walked outside. “How can I help?”
“Someone tried to kill Sage and I need to figure out who. Trying to access the dark web from out here is a lot more difficult than when you are inside and connected.”
“I may be of some assistance. I don’t suppose you remember that hacker from The Pensive Corpse?”
“A Frenchy, right? Edouard?”
“He prefers Eddy.”
“He’s here?”
“No, he managed to stay in the book, but he can get word to you. What is it you need?”
“Everything he can find on an American publisher, Gail Vincent, and the hired killer.”
“Do you think your need to protect her is what caused this?”
“Probably. It’s weird though, isn’t it?”
Felix smiled. “Very. I’ll see what Eddy can find.”
Roark headed back to their room, smiling with how quickly he had accepted not only his new reality but that he shared his life and everything in it with Sage. Stepping into the lift, he looked at the buttons. Hoping against hope, he pushed the button for the third floor. He knew her sometimes better than she knew herself. He entered the atrium that housed the pool. It was empty save for a lone swimmer. He stealthily approached the end of the pool she was swimming toward.
When she reached the end of the pool, Roark grasped the top of her head so she could neither see who it was nor break the surface. He pushed down, preventing her from coming up for air or swimming away. Sage’s hands flailed. He could almost feel her panic and desperation as she tried to break free. He held her under the water long enough to scare her, but not long enough to hurt her. When he released her head, he grabbed her by the ponytail she had used to pull her hair back. He hauled her above the surface of the water, waiting until she saw it was him and had placed her feet on the bottom of the pool. Silently, he dragged her toward the steps and helped her out of the pool, handing her a towel and starting back toward their room without releasing his hold or saying a word.
The minute the door to their suite latched behind them, he let go and propelled her toward the bed.
“I can explain,” she started.
“So, can I. You thought you’d just go do what you wanted with no thought to your safety or the rules. The first isn’t unexpected, but I’d thought I’d made more of an impression on you. I’ll make sure you understand the depth of my displeasure with your behavior. Strip.”
“Roark…”
“Strip, Sage. Now,” he commanded.
He watched the struggle play across her features. She was at war with herself. He knew part of her desperately wanted to submit, but it battled with the part convinced it was wrong to do so. He, too, battled—he wanted to hold her in his arms and assure her everything would be fine, but she needed to follow the rules regardless of whether she wanted to or not.
“You broke the rules and put yourself in danger, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but I just wanted to go swimming.”
“No, what you wanted was to see if you could disobey me and not have me punish you. Guess what, princess? That’s not going to happen. And you don’t want it to, do you?”
Tears began to well in her eyes and she shook her head.
“That’s my good girl. Come put yourself in position over my knee. You know Daddy’s going to spank you, don’t you?”
She nodded and started toward him. She halted, her eyes pleading, but he wasn’t sure for what and doubted she knew either. He patted his hard thigh and waited for her to accept what she already knew in her soul to be true. With a stifled sob, she assumed the position every female with a dominant partner had been taking since the dawn of time.
Roark was so proud of her. He knew what those few steps had cost her. Knew that his proud, defiant little girl had made the decision to submit to him and trusted he would safeguard her heart. He meant to humble her but planned later to tell her that in that moment he felt humbled, too, that giving herself to him was everything.
He raised his hand and brought it down sharply, beginning the flurry of hard swats across her upturned rump, first one side and then the other. With harsh slaps he spanked her, encompassing her entire bottom, overlapping them so their distinctiveness disappeared, and her derriere turned from ivory to pink to red.
Sage tried to wriggle off his lap, but he clamped his leg across the backs of hers so her efforts failed. He didn’t hold it against her; he understood it was all part of the ritual. He knew she had to resist, especially as the pain intensified, but he would never consider stopping until she completely capitulated to his dominance.
Over and over, he spanked her, focusing at first on the fullest part of her bottom, staining it a dark red. Every so often he changed it up and landed a few targeted blows to the juncture of her ass and the top of her thighs.
The longer and harder he punished her, the more engorged his cock became. The bulge in the front of his jeans had been growing since he fished her out of the pool. What he really wanted was to stop, toss her over the end of the bed, and hammer her pussy until she was raw and sore, but right now her need to be disciplined superseded his need to dominate in an entirely different manner.
In order to focus on her needs before seeing to his own, Roark redoubled the strength and fury with which he swatted her, causing her to yowl in response. He meant to ensure that while she might find walking difficult immediately after he fin
ished fucking her, she would feel the after-effects of this spanking for the next several days. He meant to bring home the lesson each time he slammed his hips into her bruised and swollen backside as he thrust forward, ramming his cock to the end of her sheath.
Roark wanted her to be as aroused as he was when he let her up, so he began splaying his hand and deliberately catching the tender spot between her legs. Her sharp inhalation of breath let him know he’d found his target. He wanted her sore… and soaked. Every time he struck her labia, his fingers came back baring the evidence of her arousal. Sage’s sobs of pain began to be overshadowed by moans of pleasure.
He rested his hand on the inside of her thigh and reached forward to tickle her swollen nub, letting her writhe. Roark trailed his fingers along the lips of her wet, swollen labia, stroking and parting them to tease the entrance to her sheath, a gaping opening begging to be filled. He landed several open-handed swats squarely between her legs, making her wail in distress and need.
“Roark, stop. I shouldn’t have done it. I won’t do it again!”
“If it had been the killer who found you alone in that pool, you’d be dead. You’re going to learn to mind me and follow the rules.”
Sage
Thank God he stopped. I almost came when he was spanking me. She took deep lungfuls of air and began to breathe a bit more easily when he released the vice grip with which his legs had trapped hers. He helped her to her feet, fisted her hair, and led her to the corner. It wasn’t unexpected. What did catch her off guard was that instead of moving away from her, he moved behind her, unbuttoned the fly of his jeans, and released his cock, throbbing in need. It was all she could do to stifle her own needy moan. If he needed to fuck her… she needed him to do it even more. She knew this was punishment sex, pure and simple, but her pussy pulsed to the same rhythm.
He ran his hands lightly up and down the side of her torso, alternating between fingertips and knuckles. Her body shuddered in anticipation and advanced arousal. He caressed her bottom with one hand, guiding the head of his hot staff to her wet sheath. He paused just outside her opening. For the love of God, what was he waiting for? She pushed back to try and engage his cock. The crack across her derriere was loud and harsh.
