by Maren Smith
“No,” she admitted reluctantly, lowering her gaze to the scarred wooden table.
“Look, this thing with you and Ethan… I’m not crazy about it, but you’re right. You’re a grownup and I have to let you make your own decisions. But you have to be careful, honey. And if you’re going to be gone all night, text one of us to let us know. You scared the shit out of Mari, Iz.”
The last sentence was like a punch in the gut. “I’m really sorry. I just got so swept up in everything I didn’t even think about it, but I should have. Forgive me?”
“Of course I do, sweetie. Come here.”
She ran around the table and climbed into his lap. Over the past fifteen years, Jake’s lap had become one of her safe places. It was where she’d cried endless tears over her parents’ sudden deaths, where she’d come for comfort when a stupid boy had broken her heart, and it was where she always found forgiveness after she’d messed up. When his arms came around her, she felt some of the ache in her chest ease.
“I really like him, Jakey.”
“I know. Ethan’s a good man. I’m just not ready for you to grow up, I guess.”
“Will you ever be ready?”
Laughing, he gave her another squeeze. “Good point. Why don’t you go upstairs and talk to Mari. You can tell her I said it was okay.”
“Is she in trouble?”
“I’ll let her tell you about it.”
With a loud kiss to his cheek, she hopped off his lap and headed for the stairs. The door to the master bedroom was slightly cracked so she rapped lightly. “Mari? Jake said it was okay for me to come talk to you.”
There was some shuffling, which she imagined was her sister rushing to get dressed after her corner time. When Mari opened the door, her cheeks were stained with pink and her eyes were rimmed with red.
“What happened?” Izzy asked, torn between sympathy and curiosity.
“Jake found out we went to that social a while back. I’d told him we were going into the city to shop, and you know how he feels about lying.”
Although Jake had never laid a hand on her personally, Izzy had heard enough stories from her sister to wince in sympathy. “Poor Mari. I’m sorry. It’s kinda my fault he found out.”
“Because he caught you at Sheriff Clarke’s house this morning and Ethan has a big mouth?”
“Um, yeah. Pretty much.”
Mari shrugged. “It’s all right. I’m the one who lied, so it’s really my fault. I wish you would’ve called or shot me a text last night, though. I was worried, Iz.”
“I know. I’m really sorry.” It was a long-standing agreement between them. Even in high school, when she’d rebelled hard against her sister and brother-in-law, she’d never stayed out all night without letting them know. The walls in their house weren’t thick enough to muffle the nightmares Mari still had on a regular basis about the car crash that had killed their parents. It was the one rule Mari was a stickler for, and Izzy felt horrible for making her worry.
Mischief twinkled in her sister’s eyes. “You can make it up to me by telling me everything from last night.”
Chapter Five
Saturday nights were for the Thirsty Bear, the bar Jake co-owned with one of his childhood friends, Nathan. On Saturdays, they opened up the floor for dancing, and since it was the only place within an hour’s drive that did, it was usually packed.
This particular Saturday wasn’t any different. The bar was shoulder to shoulder with locals, and the curious tourists who trickled out of Atlanta for a taste of “small town life” in the south. From her spot at the bar, Izzy scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar uniform.
“Would you relax? You’re making me antsy.” Beside her, Mari sipped a glass of wine the same deep red as the sweater she was wearing. Unlike Izzy, Mari always looked put together and classy.
Izzy had opted for another short, curve-hugging dress, this time in a deep green that Mari said made the gold in her eyes really pop. Now that she was officially dating him, she was curious to see if Ethan’s disapproval of her wardrobe would continue or if he’d come to appreciate her preference for ‘inappropriate attire’ as he’d often put it.
“He said he’d be here. What if he changed his mind?”
Mari rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he didn’t. He probably had a call or something. You know how Saturday nights can be.”
“I know.” Bouncing red curls caught her eye and she leaned into Mari, dropping her voice so only her sister could hear her. “Look. Annabeth is here. With Joe.”
Confusion wrinkled Mari’s forehead. “So? He is her husband.”
“Right. But she was sneaking out of Ryan Miller’s house two nights ago. The whole town has been talking about it.”
“What? I never heard that!”
Izzy held up two fingers in the time-honored pledge. “Scout’s honor. Tammy came in for lunch at the diner a couple days ago and she was telling me…”
“Ladies.”
Izzy felt the blood drain from her face at the familiar voice. Shit. Plastering on a bright, innocent smile, she turned on her stool. “Hey, Sheriff. Don’t you know it isn’t polite to keep a lady waiting?”
“It sounds like you found plenty to occupy yourself.” Without taking his eyes off of her, he signaled for Jake.
“Problem, Sheriff?” It was impossible to miss the amusement in Jake’s voice. He’d obviously come to terms with the nature of her relationship with Ethan.
“I need to borrow your office.”
“Sure. Here you go.” Jake dropped the keys into Ethan’s outstretched hand before turning to his wife. “Need a refill, kitten?”
Mari’s eyes were wide as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Um, is this really appropriate?” she squeaked out.
Forcing a smile, Izzy patted her sister’s hand. “I’m fine. See you in a minute.” She hopped off the bar stool and led the way to Jake’s office, with Ethan’s hand burning a hole in the back of her dress the entire way.
“Bend over the desk.” Ethan snapped out the order as soon as the door locked behind them.
“Ethan, I…”
“When you’re being punished, it’s Daddy or Sir. Bend over, before I change my mind about not taking my belt to your ass, little girl.”
“I am not letting you spank me here, where everyone can hear us, Sir.”
Fingertips digging into her upper arm, he dragged her over to the desk. “Stay,” he growled after he’d wrestled her into position.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the loud crack of his hand, but it didn’t come. Instead, she felt something slim and firm tap her upturned bottom. Oh god, he’d found Jake’s pointer. According to Mari, it was nearly silent, but it hurt like a mother.
“We haven’t had much of a chance to discuss rules and expectations, but we have at least covered this. When I give an instruction, I expect it to be obeyed. You can whine, you can pout, I’ll even allow for some stomping feet. But if you refuse to do as you’re told, you will be punished. Am I understood?”
“But—”
The pointer whistled through the air a moment before it bit into her backside. Even through her skirt, it felt like it was cutting straight into her flesh. Clenching her teeth together to muffle the sound, she let out a short scream at the fierce, biting pain. Mari hadn’t lied when she’d told her how much it hurt.
“Am. I. Under. Stood?” he ground out.
“Fine! Yes!”
“Good. Five more for not following instructions, and then we can discuss what we came in here to discuss.”
Biting her tongue, literally, to keep from arguing, she allowed him to raise her dress up over her hips and tug her panties down just below her ass.
“That’s a hell of a mark, little girl. It’s a good thing you like to dance, because sitting isn’t going to be any fun the rest of the night.”
Another whistling swoosh, and another line of fire across her ass, just below the first.
It occurred to her,
then, that she’d been completely unprepared for what an actual punishment from Ethan would be like. As much as the birthday paddling and the strapping had hurt, there’d been an undercurrent of playfulness to both that had made it more bearable. But there was none of the playful banter, no teasing tone to his voice when he called her a brat. There was only her Daddy, the weight of his disappointment, and the pain of the punishment he’d chosen to deliver.
Tears filled her eyes at the third stroke, and they were flowing freely down her cheeks by the fifth.
“Are you going to be a good girl and listen to Daddy’s instructions from now on?”
“Y-yes, Daddy. I’m sorry.”
“I know, baby. I know it’s hard, and you’re new to all this. That’s why I went easy on you this time.”
If that was his idea of going easy on her, she wasn’t in any hurry to find out what his idea of a hard punishment might be.
“Now, we need to discuss something else. We may not have gone over this particular rule, but you know how I feel about gossip, Isabella.”
Her stomach dropped to her knees at the thought of another spanking like she’d just received. “I’m sorry. I’ll never talk about anybody ever again, I promise.”
“And I’m going to help you remember that promise. Do you know what an anal plug is, Isabella?”
“Y-yes.”
“Good. You’re going to wear one the rest of the night. It will be slightly uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t hurt. Between this and the lines on your bottom, you should have no problem remembering your Daddy’s expectations.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“Completely serious, little girl. I can be flexible with some things, but your mouth and your obedience I won’t bend on.”
“I’m really, really sorry, and I swear I’ll be good! I don’t need a plug!”
“You do if I say you do. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I’m going to put some lube in your bottom to help you take the plug.”
Whimpering, she did as instructed, drawing in a lungful of air and slowly blowing it out through her mouth.
“Good girl. One more.”
This time when she inhaled, she heard what sounded like a plastic bottle of some kind being opened. A moment later, a thick, slick finger pressed against her bottom hole. She froze at the intrusion, muscles clenched in fear.
“Daddy, please, please don’t do this. I’ll be a good girl, I swear.”
His voice was gentle when he spoke again. “Bear down for me, baby girl. Like you have to use the bathroom. Use your safeword if you really can’t take it.”
She tightened her core, bearing down like he’d told her, and she felt the tip of his finger push past the initial resistance. There was a second of pain, sharp and stinging, but it quickly faded to nothing more than a mild discomfort.
“Good girl. You can do this, baby.”
Panting, she nodded, doing her best to stay relaxed as he pushed further into her bottom. When he was completely inside of her, he pulled his finger part of the way out, then pushed it back in, surprising her with how good it actually felt.
Maybe wearing a plug wouldn’t be too bad after all.
“I’m going to put the plug in now. It’s a good bit bigger than my finger, so it will hurt a little more going in.”
“‘Kay.”
The plug wasn’t just bigger, it was colder and harder, too. And he hadn’t lied about it hurting more going in than his finger had. There was a sharp pinch at the initial breach, but unlike his finger, the plug got wider the further he pushed it in, so the pain never really faded.
“Daddy, it hurts!”
“Almost there, baby.”
Just when she felt like the plug was about to split her open, it slid home, and she felt her muscles close around it. Finally, the pain disappeared, leaving her with only a strange, full feeling.
“Stand up, baby.”
When she stood, the plug shifted inside of her and she felt a rush of heat to her face. “What if it falls out?”
“It shouldn’t. But if you feel it slipping, just excuse yourself to the bathroom and fix it.”
“This is humiliating.” Tears pricked her eyes as she begged. “Please take it out.”
“No.” With practiced expertise, he grabbed the wrist of the latex glove he was wearing and rolled it down over his fingers. “And if I find out you took it out without permission, those lines on your ass will triple before I put it back in. Understood?”
Realizing he wouldn’t be swayed, she crossed her arms and blew out a breath. “I guess.”
Sliding an arm around her waist, he jerked her into him, his lips a breath away from hers. “If you’re a good girl, you can have a repeat of last night after my shift. Sound fair?”
Her core thumped in time with her heart at his promise. “I suppose.”
“Good girl. Let me go toss this glove and wash my hands, then I want a dance with my brat before I leave.”
When he left, she lifted her dress and twisted around to try and get a glimpse of the marks he’d left behind. She could see the edge of a few angry red stripes, but she’d have to sneak into the bathroom later and try to get a better look.
By the time he returned to the office, she’d fixed her panties and dress, but there was little hope for the makeup her tears had smudged. Luckily it was dark enough in the bar so that most people wouldn’t notice. And even if they did, it wasn’t like they would know she’d just gotten her ass spanked and plugged. Well, Mari might guess, but that was Mari.
Back in the barroom, Ethan led her out onto the floor and effortlessly spun her into a dance. Her heart skipped a beat as he twirled and two-stepped her around the room. If it hadn’t been for the plug in her ass, it would have been like the incident in the office had never happened.
The music changed to something slower, but instead of letting her go, he pulled her into his chest. “Speaking of gossip,” he murmured by her ear. “Deputy Johnson informed me there is a rumor going around about a certain sheriff and his best friend’s sister-in-law.”
Butterflies tumbled around in her tummy and for a moment she thought she might be sick. “I didn’t say anything, I swear.”
“Relax, brat. You left my house in the middle of the day wearing a dress usually reserved for nightclubs. It was only a matter of time. However,” he stroked a hand down her spine, and she shivered at his touch. “I’m not a fan of feeding the rumor mill.”
“I know.”
“Only one way I can think of to stop this particular rumor.”
Her heart constricted. After everything, he was going to dump her there in the middle of the bar, with his marks still on her and his plug in her ass?
But before she could voice her fear and outrage, he lowered his head. Right there in the middle of her brother’s bar, he kissed her. And not just some sweet brush of his lips against hers. But the way a man kisses a woman when they’re alone and he wants her to feel every bit of how much he wants her. The type of kiss that bruises lips and leaves both parties aching for more.
“There,” he murmured against her lips when he broke the kiss. “Now the whole damn town knows you’re mine.”
Chapter Six
“That was some kiss!” A very tipsy Mari grinned at Izzy from her spot at the bar. “I might have to go jump Jake’s bones in the back after that bit of foreplay.”
“Mari! Hush!” But her own grin seemed stuck on her face. It had, indeed, been some kiss.
Jake placed her favorite caramel apple shot, a mix of butterscotch and sour apple schnapps, on the bar in front of her and she clinked the glass with Mari’s wine glass before tossing it back. The buzz hit her almost immediately and she giggled when she slammed the glass back onto the polished wood of the bar. “Another!”
“One more, and that’s it for an hour. You know the rules,” Jake warned, pouring her another shot.
“Awww, Jakey. You’re no fun.”
Leaning across the bar, Jake dropped hi
s voice. “If you think I’m no fun, let the Sheriff find you being so flippant about your safety.”
He had a point, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin her night. “Bossy pants. Both of you.”
“I mean it, Isabella.”
“I know, I know. I’ll behave.”
Shaking his head, Jake moved down the bar to tend to his other guests. As soon as he was out of earshot, Izzy looked over at her sister and the pair dissolved into giggles.
“So, when do I get to hear about last night?” Mari asked, taking another sip of her wine.
“As soon as we’re not surrounded by people. Sheriff will have my ass if I tell you anything here, where someone might hear.”
“Well I hope it was worth the welts I have on mine.” Mari shifted on her stool and grimaced.
“So worth it.” Izzy glanced around before leaning in conspiratorially. “By the way, that pointer in Jake’s office is evil.”
“Right! Ugh, I’ve been tempted to burn it.”
“I’ll help.”
“Evening, ladies. Need any refills?” Chad, Jake’s newest hire, grinned at them from across the bar.
Perking up instantly, Izzy grinned at the newcomer. “Yes! Caramel apple shot, please!”
Mari gasped. “Izzy! Jake said to wait an hour.”
With a wink in her direction, Chad flipped the bottle of sour apple schnapps in the air and caught it behind his back. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
“At least somebody wants me to have fun,” Izzy teased, sticking her tongue out at her sister.
“Shit,” Mari muttered before downing the rest of her wine. “Might as well give me one too, while you’re at it.”
“Marisa Callahan. Taking shots in a bar? How white trash of you.”
“Shut up.”
“Bottoms up, ladies.” Chad placed two glasses on the bar, but they were distinctly larger than a normal shot glass. Whatever, if she was going to break the rules, she might as well make it worth the trouble.
After downing her extra-large shot, Izzy grabbed her sister by the arm and dragged her onto the dance floor. Mari wasn’t much of a dancer until you got a couple drinks in her. After that, all bets were off.
