by Ava Sinclair
Lily Mae averted her gaze nervously. “Sure,” she said. “I don’t have it with me, though. It’s… um… in my other purse. I’ll call you with it.”
“No,” he said. “If we’re going to handle this, we’re going to do it my way.” He took out his cell phone and began to dial.
“Who are you calling?” She could hear the nervousness in her own voice.
“Sheriff’s office,” he said. “We need to make an accident report.”
“No, wait…” She reached out, putting her hand over his. “Don’t.”
“Why not?”
Lily Mae opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out.
“Why not, Lily Mae?” He paused. “Answer me!”
She jumped at the abruptness of his tone and then sank back down onto the sofa, overcome by a wave of nausea and fear. When she answered, her voice was barely audible.
“I don’t have insurance…”
“Why not?”
“Does it matter?” The words sounded petulant, even to her own ears. Lily Mae sighed. “I ran into some, um… money troubles last year.”
“How bad is it, Lily Mae?”
She kept her eyes trained on the floor as she answered. “Bad. Real bad. But I put mom’s house on the market, so hopefully that’ll turn things around pretty quick.”
She felt the couch sag beside her as he sat down. “I don’t know how to break it to you, but houses in town aren’t moving. There are two in your mama’s neighborhood right now that have been on the market for over a year. Lily Mae, in case you haven’t noticed, this is the kind of place people leave.” He paused. “Unless they come back for something they need.”
Lily Mae felt a flush creep over her face. “You think that’s why I showed up here last night?”
“Isn’t it?” There was no accusation in his tone; somehow that made her feel worse. She felt a vulnerability creeping in, a softening. And then, just as quickly, anger.
She stood, whirling on him. “That’s so fucking like you, Jace Whitaker,” she hissed. “So fucking like you to assume you know exactly what I’m thinking, exactly what I need. Well, guess what. You don’t. You never did. You’re just an arrogant asshole…”
“Watch your mouth, young lady,” Jace warned calmly, standing to face her. “You’re in my house now.”
She stepped up until inches separated them. “Oh, yeah, cowboy?” She glared at him. “Why the fuck should I care?”
“Because,” he said. “In this house, there are consequences.”
He sat down on the couch, pulling her across his lap.
“Oh, no, you don’t, you sonofabitch! Not again!” Lily Mae’s hands flew back, determined to stop him this time, but he was so strong, stronger even than she remembered.
An electric current of fear ran through her as Jace’s large hand worked the hem of her tight dress up to the small of her back. Lily Mae heard a ‘plunk’ as one of her heels flew from her kicking foot and hit a nearby chair.
“Noooo!” she screamed, looking back in disbelief. Was he really taking her panties down? Oh, god, he was! She found feel the tiny black undergarment worked across the full mounds of her bottom and down her legs until they were gathered around her ankles. She kicked harder, dislodging the panties along with her other heel.
“Let me go!” she screamed. “If you spank me, I swear to fucking god I will call the police and have you arrested.”
“And I’ll let you,” he said. “Then we can sit in jail together after you explain to the sheriff why you were drunk driving with no insurance with one DUI already on your record!”
Lily Mae was about to ask Jace how he knew that, but he didn’t give her a chance. The next thing that came out of her mouth was a scream as his large, work-callused hand came down hard on her bare bottom.
She saw stars, the pain driving away the effects of the hangover to leave her with a burning clarity of her situation.
“Stop! You’re hurting me!” Her hands flew back in an attempt to stop the spanking, but he merely caught and restrained them without faltering in his punishment of her bottom. The blows were unrelenting—heat building on heat, sting on sting. He was thorough, almost measured in his intent, striking one cheek multiple times until she was screaming before repeating the action on its twin before peppering her bottom with random slaps that had her bucking on his lap like a wild pony.
And this was before he started on her lower buttocks and thighs, driving Lily Mae beyond tears into a protracted, infantile bawl interrupted by unintelligible pleas and apologies.
Then suddenly and abruptly, it was over, and Lily Mae found herself on her feet, dancing the ridiculous dance of a soundly spanked woman, her hands cupping her injured bottom as she gyrated.
“Lily Mae Slater, have you learned your lesson?” His stern voice cut through her cries, and she tried to answer, tried to focus on his handsome face. But when she did, she realized he wasn’t looking at her, but at her inner thighs, and she moaned in shame as he ran a finger up through the trail of arousal evident there and answered his own question. “You know what? I don’t think you have.”
He stood and picked her up then, cradling her like a child in his arms.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Giving you the second part of your lesson, Lily Mae. I was a damn fool for not seeing what you needed years ago. And you were a damn fool for running away once you got it.”
He kicked open the door to his bedroom and laid her on the bed, his body covering hers. She could feel his cock hard against her thigh, pushing against the denim of his pants. Lily Mae groaned in spite of herself. His eyes were on hers now, and she realized he knew her secret.
He was giving her what she came for, what she’d craved since she’d walked out of his life seven years earlier, that nameless thing she needed, the absolute physical and sexual domination by a man who loved her.
Jace caught her face in his hands and stared down at her.
“Lily Mae Slater,” he said. “You’re a walking disaster. And I’m going to fix you. I’ve already spanked you, but that was just part one. Now I’m going to fuck you until you can’t stand up. And you’re going to love every minute of it. Understand?”
She moaned her reply, deciding that a mere ‘yes’ was insufficient to describe her dread desire for what she was about to endure.
His mouth found hers as his hands reached up to rip her dress from neckline to hem. She moaned against his plundering tongue, and then tore her head away and cried out as his mouth blazed a trail down the bare skin of her neck to the swell of her breasts. There was a snap as her bra strap popped free. The feel of his wet, insistent mouth on her nipple had her crying out in pleasure and then pain as his teeth scored the hardened tip.
Seeking to gain some control of the situation, Lily Mae snaked a hand between their bodies, fumbling for the fly of his pants, thinking if she could just get his cock in her hands she could stop the wave that threatened to engulf her.
But it was not to be. Jace had flipped her over now, and was suddenly standing behind her. Lily Mae felt her feet being kicked apart. She looked back to see the swell of her own bottom arched toward him, could see him undoing his jeans and withdrawing—with some difficulty—the long, thick penis wedged within. It sprang free, jutting toward her almost hungrily. Lily Mae could feel her pussy clench in expectation.
She didn’t expect him to ram into her without preamble, but that’s what he did. It had been nearly a year since she’d had sex, and her tight pussy was suddenly and deliciously stretched with an exquisite pain that had her crying out. When she tried to pull away, Jace gripped her hips with his hands and then slapped her bottom one, two, three times. The immediate orgasm nearly took her breath away. She could feel her pussy milking his cock, drawing on him, inviting him to join her in release. But he was holding back, holding her hair and pulling it as he spoke hotly into her ear.
“You liked that, didn’t you, bad girl? You liked it seven years ago. You
ran away because you knew I had your number, didn’t you, Lily Mae?”
“Oh… yes!” She cried out her response, both ashamed and elated at being so thoroughly understood. “Oh, god… Jace… fuck me! Fuck me hard!”
He let of her hair, gripping her hips again as he slammed into her, his cock relentless, his balls slapping her pubic mound with each brutal thrust. Lily Mae twisted her hand in the bedclothes, feeling helpless to the tension that built and broke again. This time, she was still coming when Jace pulled his cock out and replaced it with one and then two fingers, pushing in and out before inserting the slickened digits into her ass.
The invasion was unexpected, painful even. But the utter control of her body caused pleasure to override the discomfort. She could feel the trail of juices sliding down her legs, could smell the tang of her excitement in the air.
“Jace!” she cried.
“I’m here, baby.” The dominant voice was soothing now. “Tell me what you want.”
She knew what she wanted, even though he’d fucked her so thoroughly that her legs were shaking and her pussy was sore.
“Fuck me!” she answered in a voice hoarse from screaming, and he obliged, shoving his cock back into her as he slid his hands underneath to roughly pinch her nipples. Jace moved in and out with hard but controlled strokes. The uphill climb was slower now, but sweeter. And this time when Lily Mae came, she could feel his balls tighten against her, could feel his cock twitch and pulse and then release, filling her with thick, warm spurts of cum that cascaded against her womb. It was both their cries that filled the room now, and when it was over, the only sound was that of the rooster crowing in the distance, and the gentle gasps of their own breathing.
Chapter Five
Jace was frying bacon when he heard the water come on upstairs. Lily Mae was showering—she still felt comfortable enough to enjoy the amenities of his sprawling ranch house without asking. Good. Fifteen minutes later she came downstairs wearing one of his plaid shirts. Better.
“I hope it’s okay,” she said. “My dress…”
“Of course it’s okay,” he said, and they both fell silent. He was sure they were both reflecting on why she needed his shirt. He’d torn her dress off. Damn. He’d never done that to a woman. Then again, he’d never had a woman turn him on like Lily Mae.
The bacon was done. Jace walked over to heap some on a platter already holding fluffy scrambled eggs.
“Have a seat,” he said.
“Can I have a pillow or something…?” She was rubbing her backside.
“Right.” He put the pan back and went to the living room to fetch a throw pillow. Lily Mae thanked him and positioned it on the chair before gingerly sitting down.
Jace heaped the plate in front of her full of food before filling his. He was famished and immediately started in, but noticed right away that Lily Mae didn’t even pick up her fork.
“You need to eat,” he said.
“I don’t know if I can,” she said sadly.
“Talk to me, Lily Mae.” He put his fork down.
“Look,” she began, her voice quavering. “I don’t know if last night meant anything to you, but if it didn’t, tell me now. Because the last thing I need in my life is more complications.”
“I know you don’t,” he said.
“You don’t know the half of it,” she said. “But I’m not about to go into it.”
“You don’t have to,” he said. “I already have a good idea. After I moved your vehicle last night, I decided to fetch your insurance information. I thought you might have one of those policies with twenty-four-hour service where you can file an automated claim, get the ball rolling.” He paused. “I went into your glove box looking for it.”
Lily Mae covered her face with her hands. “Oh, no…”
“Tell me what’s going on, Lily Mae. I can’t help you if I don’t know.”
“It’s not your place to help me, Jace,” she said, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“Well, I disagree. Because last night meant everything to me. I love you, girl. I’ve always loved you. And I made up my mind before you opened your pretty eyes for the second time this morning that you weren’t going to ever leave me again. You’re mine now, like it or not.”
She was staring at him, her expression sad.
“Oh, Jace. Please don’t say that until you know what’s going on with me.”
“So tell me.”
She took a ragged sigh before beginning. “Please don’t think I’m blaming you for any of this, Jace, because I’m not. But I never got over you. I’ve thought about you every day since I left. At first I dealt with it by putting all my energy into working hard, getting good grades. I was determined to prove to myself—to prove to you—that I was the adult I said I was. And it worked for me. I was a good student. I worked hard. I saved my money. I took design in school and got a good job.”
Lily Mae closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. “It wasn’t enough. I still felt like something was missing. I still felt alone, so I tried to fix it. My job opened up a whole new world full of guys like I’d never met back home. Fancy, rich guys in suits. Guys who spent more on their hair than I did, guys who got manicures and took me to fancy restaurants and sent five dozen white roses to my office the next day.”
Jace could feel his jealousy flare, but told himself to cool it. He had no right to be possessive of the woman she’d been in California.
“Every one of those guys eventually left. They all said the same thing—that I couldn’t be satisfied. But I knew in the back of my mind it was because to satisfy me, they’d have to be you.” Lily Mae dabbed her eyes with the napkin beside her plate. “So I decided to fill that unhappiness with other things. Material things. It was easy to justify it. My job was all about image, so allowing myself to indulge in things I never would have considered buying was a nice change. And it worked. Buying things made me feel better, at least until the credit card statements started racking up…”
“Is that when the drinking started?” he asked.
She nodded. “I never could hold my liquor, but that didn’t stop me from trying. It always seemed like if one drink made me feel better, three might finally make me feel great. It never did, and it seems like I almost always do something stupid when I drink, like buying a four-hundred-dollar purse online instead of paying the rent…”
“Or driving drunk.”
Lily Mae sniffled sadly. “That was the worst. It cost me a really good job when it came out in the paper. I went freelance after that for some of my regular clients, but at a fraction of the income. And with my bills…”
“How bad is it?” he asked.
She flushed now, and he could tell the admission she was about to make was not an easy one.
“Let’s just say that not all the bad news will fit in a glove box. I got an eviction notice right before I left.” Tears started running down her cheeks. “So before you talk about wanting me back, let me make sure you know just what you’re getting. I knew mama was sick, but I couldn’t afford to come see her as often as I wanted. And when she finally died, I was sad because she was gone, then relieved because I figured she had a life insurance policy I could use to bail myself out with, and then pissed with her when I found out she only had enough of one to cover the funeral.
“So before you say you want me back, understand that you’re not getting that feisty little cowgirl who used to race you on horseback or gloat over catching the biggest bass down at Miller’s pond. You’re getting someone who’s fucked up her life on just about every level.”
“And you think all this is going to scare me away?” he asked.
“It’d scare me away if I were you,” she said.
“Well, you’re not me. I still want you, Lily Mae. But I’m not going into this with my eyes closed. Both the spankings I’ve given you ended in sex, but there’s more to it for both of us than a turn-on. You need somebody to jerk a knot in your pretty tail from time to time. It’s w
hat’s been missing in your life. If we’re going to be together, then you need to understand that you might find yourself with a sore ass if you go having temper tantrums, or if I catch you doing anything I consider self-destructive. And you need to understand that there will be times when it’s not going to be followed by sex, either. So now I need to know: does that scare you away? Because as much as I love you, I can’t have you here unless you recognize right away who wears the pants in this house. Is that something you can live with?”
Her eyes met his then, and for the first time Jace saw the shadow of the girl he’d grown up with. “Live with?” she asked with a small smile. “I’m thinking it’s something I can’t live without.”
Chapter Six
Lily Mae could tell that Jace wasn’t comfortable lying.
“It was dark and she didn’t see my truck.” He was helping the man from Lloyd’s Towing and Auto Body Repair hook up her SUV, which he was paying to have fixed.
“Insurance?” the man asked.
“She’s a friend and I don’t want her premiums going up because of an accident that could have been prevented if I’d put that security light up like I planned to, so this is on me.”
The driver shook his head. “It’s going to cost a pretty penny. And your truck needs fixing, too.”
“Like I said, it’s on me,” Jace had replied, and Lily Mae could tell that his word was as good as cash now.
Of course, it made sense. After she’d agreed to Jace’s terms, they’d enjoyed a long breakfast and more conversation in which he filled her in on his life. When he’d gone away to school, he’d not been sure he wanted to come back and run the ranch. Lily Mae’s departure had left him longing for a change of scenery, and possibly more. So he’d gone back to school to study economics and finance and was even considering a career requiring a suit and tie when his father had suddenly died of a heart attack.
Settling his remaining parent’s estate had made Jace realize how much his father had put into the ranch, so Jace had decided to use his economic education to run the place like a successful business. He’d grown up knowing more about cattle than he could have learned in school, and he fell into ranching with more ease than he could have imagined. Now, between profits from cattle and careful investments, Jace Whitaker was a millionaire, even though he still worked shoulder-to-shoulder with his ranch hands.
