by BJ Wane
“Okay.” Pressing her palms on the table, Nan pushed to her feet and stated firmly, “That’s it, and now it’s time to move on. I have to return my library books and get out to Dan’s.” She wiggled her eyebrows with a wicked grin. “We’re staying in tonight.”
“You and Master Dan, or you and Dan?” Tamara wanted to know as they all rose to leave.
“I honestly have no idea, but I’ll be happy with either. Now, shoo, and thank you. I mean it.”
“No more secrets,” Sydney admonished with a quick hug.
“No, no more.” Nan didn’t pay heed to the twinge of guilt tightening her abdomen. There was no reason to mention the strange mishaps occurring since she’d returned; she would figure them out soon without embarrassing herself by coming across as overreacting to a few misplaced items.
After locking up, she ran upstairs to grab her books and walked over to the library. She noticed there were only a few browsers still inside as she smiled at Alice behind the counter. “Hey, Alice. I’m glad I got over here before you closed. These are due.”
Alice took the books, her brows dipping as her worried eyes ran over Nan’s face. “Thank you. Are you feeling okay? You look a little peaked.”
The older woman’s voiced concern rang loud enough to draw a few eyes their way, and Nan tried to stifle her irritation by reminding herself Alice was just being nice. “I’m fine, just a little tired. It’s been a busy weekend.”
“Maybe you ate something that didn’t agree with you,” she prompted while cataloguing her returns.
Nan clenched her jaw, getting testy, wishing the other woman would let it go. She felt fine and didn’t think she had looked bad at all when she’d glanced in the mirror before coming over. Reining in her impatience, she tempered her tone as she replied, “If so, it wasn’t anything from my refrigerator. I just tossed several things, and all I’ve eaten today is a sandwich from the bakery, and I feel great. I need to get going.”
“Oh?” Alice beamed, her curiosity switching gears. “Do you have a date?”
Nan wasn’t sure what tonight was, but a date? She and Dan didn’t date, but she wasn’t about to reveal that to Alice. It was doubtful the newcomer knew anything about The Barn, or what went on there.
“Just an evening with a friend. Thanks. I’ll come back this week, when I have more time.”
“Goodbye, dear.”
She waved, fishing her keys out of her purse as she exited the library. Walking into the back alley, toward her car, a soft, pitiful mewl snagged her attention, the heart-wrenching cry coming from the trash bin. Peeking inside, Nan sucked in a surprised gasp as she saw the scrawny tabby frothing at the mouth, trying to stand but falling against the metal side on wobbly legs.
“You poor thing.” Unsure if the sick cat was friendly or diseased, she grabbed a towel out of the trunk of her car and wrapped it around him, trying to be gentle as she carried it to her car. The nearest veterinarian was in Billings, thirty minutes away, but she remembered Pete’s medic skills, and the way he used them to help small animals. Making a snap decision to take the cat with her to Dan’s, she settled him on the floor of the back seat and pushed the speed limit, hoping she didn’t get a ticket.
Luck was with her as both Dan and Pete, along with Bertie, were leaving the stable as she drove up. “What do you have there?” Dan asked, strolling up as she lifted the towel wrapped cat from the floor.
Nan thrust the bundle toward Pete. “He was in my dumpster, in the alley. I don’t know what’s wrong, but he looks really sick.”
Pete pulled the towel back and frowned, taking in the foam still bubbling from the critter’s mouth. “That’s a sign of nausea, maybe even poisoning. No telling what he got into. I’ll try, but he’s in bad shape.”
Dan slung an arm around Nan’s shoulders and Bertie offered an encouraging smile. “Don’t fret. If anyone can help the cat, Pete can. Kid’s got a magic touch with animals.”
“I hope so, but I don’t want him to suffer.”
“Softie,” Dan whispered in her ear as he led her inside.
Nan rose above Dan and sank down onto his straining erection. He’d left the small bedside lamp lit again, and as he surged up into the welcoming clutches of her wet heat, he tried to remember how tender her swollen pussy still was. But hell, if this was how she wanted to set the pace moving forward, who was he to argue? Clasping her hips, he slowed her down, more to keep her from overdoing than to drag this out for him.
Too bad his cock still ruled. Within minutes of her rising and falling on top of him, of her juices easing his surging thrusts, her muscles contracting around his shaft and her mewling cries of pleasure mingling with their harsh breathing, he let go with a body-gripping orgasm.
Rolling to his side, he spooned her soft, damp body and followed her into a deep sleep. When he awoke next, mid-morning sun splashed across the bed, and his first thought was he could wake like this, glued to her, every morning. The idea he could be happy in a committed relationship didn’t send him running; instead, he eased out of bed, slipped on his jeans and padded downstairs to put on a strong pot of coffee feeling quite content. He didn’t know when his feelings for his long-time friend and sometimes submissive partner started to change. He recalled the irritation when she’d first ignored his calls while in New Orleans, followed by concern when her brother answered his texts. The signs of change she portrayed upon her return had set off alarm bells, but it wasn’t until he’d seen her panic attack while with Greg and Devin that he’d experienced the first strange sensation gripping his chest.
Admitting to his feelings seemed to be easy, he mused as he got down two mugs when he heard the bathroom door shut upstairs. Which was surprising considering how content he’d been remaining unattached all this time. Figuring out how Nan felt now, and where to go from here would take some doing. Despite her struggles in coping with the trauma Gerard had subjected her to, his girl still possessed a healthy independent streak he doubted she would ever shed. When not playing, either in the club or anywhere else, that was fine by him; he’d never been drawn towards a twenty-four-seven Master/sub lifestyle. But she hadn’t hinted at wanting to keep the changes his bargain made in their relationship, and given what she’d been through, he couldn’t push her for more right now.
Nan entered the kitchen dressed in her shorts and top again and the memory of his legs entwining with her long, slender ones popped up. The girl walked around on a killer pair of limbs. “Good morning. Do you have time for an omelet before you go?”
“Sure. I don’t open until one on Sundays, but even if time was short, for your omelet, I wouldn’t hesitate to open late.”
“A nice compliment first thing in the morning. You’re in a good mood,” he commented, pulling ingredients from the refrigerator.
“Two uninterrupted night’s sleep in a row will do wonders.” She hesitated as she sat down at the table before saying, “Thanks, Dan. I know it’s silly, but until I can get a reasonable explanation for my lights going out, I’m not comfortable sleeping at home. You knew that.”
He nodded, whipping the eggs and peering at her over his shoulder. “Yes, but I wanted you here, with or without your fears.” Dan could see the tenseness ease from her slim shoulders. He admonished her by shaking a wooden spoon at her. “You should have known that.”
“Are you going to use that on me?” she joked but her eyes lit with a spark of interest.
Shaking his head, he poured the eggs into a heated pan on the stove. “You are incorrigible. No, not today. I have to get to chores if I’m going to have time to check your wiring this afternoon.” A few minutes later, he scooped fluffy cheese and onion omelets onto two plates and carried them over, taking a seat next to her. “I’ll do some investigating while you’re in your shop, then, after you close, I’ll take you to the steakhouse.” The pleasure turning her face pink gave him hope her feelings were slowly turning down the path his had already taken.
Dan pulled his truck behind Nan’s
shop an hour before she closed and, after letting her know he was there, he let himself inside her upstairs apartment and set about checking for the cause of the lights going out the other night. He hated thinking about her waking in fear, of the darkness resurrecting those days she’d spent in such pain and terror. It had been difficult enough for him to sleep just imagining it and he admired her determination to get over the trauma as much on her own as possible even though her stubborn independence could irritate him.
By the time he heard her coming up the stairs over an hour later, he still hadn’t found anything wrong, nothing that would have caused the selected power failure.
“Well?” she asked as soon as she opened the door.
Placing his fists on his hips, he shook his head, his own frustration matching what was reflected on her face. “Nothing, hon. Sorry. It could have been a quick glitch, one we might not find. Are you hungry?”
Nan blew out a pent-up breath and forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Sure. Give me a few minutes to wash up and change.”
As she made to walk by him, Dan snagged her hand and hauled her into his arms. Watching her face closely, he fisted a hand in her hair and tugged her head back, the yank sharp enough to pull on her scalp the way she used to love. Those golden eyes widened and her pulse leaped under his thumb, but she leaned against him and welcomed his mouth on hers, proving those were positive responses.
By the time he pulled back, his own pulse had kicked up a notch and before he gave in to the need riding him to keep pushing, he released her with a swat on her ass. “Hurry up. I’m starving.”
Things were changing so fast, Nan couldn’t keep up. As she dashed into the bedroom for a clean blouse and then crossed the hall into the bathroom, she struggled to get herself under control. This is a temporary bargain, she chastised herself as she leaned over the sink and splashed water on her face. Dan wasn’t giving any hints he was interested in making the change in their relationship permanent, or even wanting to explore the option. Both of them had spent the five years they’d known each other content and happy with their arrangement. He was the perfect Dom to meet her submissive sexual needs, and she counted him as one of her closest friends. She didn’t want either of those things to change but, God help her, she now found herself more than willing to give a serious, one-on-one relationship a try. If only she knew how he felt. So far, other than his usual concern and the new touches of over-protectiveness he’d demonstrated, he treated her much the same.
Reaching for the towel, she dried her face and neck and opened the cabinet where she kept her make-up. Her hand froze in mid-air as she saw the mess a toppled bottle of foundation made. Swearing, she looked for the cap, positive she had screwed it on tight the last time she used it. It was not in the cabinet, and after a thorough search, she spotted it behind the toilet. Picking it up, her palm turned sweaty as she wondered how the hell it had landed on the floor with the cabinet door closed tight. She would never have put the bottle inside opened like that.
“I’m losing my fucking mind,” she muttered, shaken by yet another unexplainable mishap. Grabbing a handful of tissues, she was almost done wiping up the mess when Dan knocked on the door, the sudden rap jarring her already taut nerves.
“Nan, hurry up or we’ll have a long wait.”
She flung open the door, snapping with annoyance, “I’m coming. If you don’t want to wait, leave without me.”
He looked from the wadded up, stained tissues to the cabinet and then back down at her before his damned astuteness kicked in. “Why are you so upset over a little spill?”
He wanted to know? Fine, Nan would spill the whole sordid story and see how fast he stuck around. Jabbing a finger toward the open cabinet, she bit out, “I would not have put an uncapped bottle of make-up back in the cabinet and left the cap on the floor. I put the damn plate in the dishwasher, I left the fucking lights on before going to bed and I did not misplace my inventory in the tea shop’s cupboards. I’m so upset because apparently Gerard screwed up my mind as much as my body!” She flinched when she ended her tirade in a screeching voice but didn’t back down in front of the dark disapproval in Dan’s narrowed eyes.
With slow deliberation, he picked up her hand and yanked her out of the bathroom, hauling her into her bedroom without a word until he stopped by the bed and turned to face her. “All those things have happened since you got back, after we made our bargain, and you didn’t think to mention them until now?”
Now, why did the soft menace underscoring his words give her such a thrill, send her blood rushing in a hot molten flow through her veins? As his hands went to his belt, that wide, black leather she hadn’t enjoyed, licking with stinging force across her butt, in far too long, her pussy went damp and her buttocks clenched with the goosebumps racing across her skin.
“I don’t know what’s going on, what was I supposed to say?” she returned, licking her suddenly dry lips as he pulled the belt off.
“You were supposed to say, Master Dan, strange things keep happening, and I don’t have an explanation for them. Pull down your pants and bend over the bed.”
Heady excitement kept her from arguing, the ache to lose herself in the pain, to let it take her mind off her insecurities and fears, to turn herself and her problems over to him couldn’t be denied. She didn’t argue, didn’t hesitate. With fingers that shook, she pushed her jeans and panties down, turned and went to her elbows on the bed.
“I’m disappointed in you, Nan.” The first lash landed with a snap and a burning strike across both naked cheeks. “I thought you trusted me more than that.” The next hit right below the first and pulsating heat bloomed in its wake. “We agreed to work together, I offered, and you accepted my help, agreed to my terms.” The third sliced along the under curve of her buttocks and as the pain throbbed, Nan quivered in relief.
“I’m sorry. Please, Sir,” she begged on a tortured breath.
“Please what?” he asked, trailing the leather over the stinging stripes.
“Please don’t stop, not yet.” The needy plea didn’t embarrass her; instead, she relished the blistering snap of the next strike, cried out on the following one and whimpered as he delivered a last blow across her straining thighs.
“That’s enough,” he insisted, helping her up. Dan reached behind and palmed her throbbing ass, pressing her against his hard body. “I won’t let you push yourself too far in order to escape.” With a few squeezes that pulled a moan from Nan, he released her and tugged up her panties and jeans before returning the belt to his waist. “Now,” he stated in an implacable tone she knew well, leading her back into the living area and pointing to the couch, “sit down and tell me when all this began, and don’t leave anything out.”
Dan paced in front of Nan as she told him about the odd incidents, her burning backside helping to keep her calm and focused, because, God help her, she yearned to believe this temporary arrangement between them could become permanent even though he’d offered no hints he was leaning that way.
“Wait a minute.” He stopped pacing and held up his hand as she wound down. “All of this started after your purse went missing at the library?”
She frowned and nodded her head. “Yes, but I told you, my purse was there all along. Someone must have kicked it back in the corner where I couldn’t see it at first.”
“But, and just hear me out before you argue, what if someone snatched it long enough to make a copy of your keys? Doesn’t the library still have that minute key kiosk in the back?”
Nan stilled as the slow burn of anger took hold. “Shit, you’re right. But who would do that, and why? Everybody likes me, or used to,” she insisted without conceit.
“Bored kids most likely, just screwing with you. I’ll check with Grayson, see if there’s been anyone else who has reported harassment. I can see that makes you feel better.”
“It does,” she replied, praying he was right and letting go of the anger. Changing her locks would be a huge weight
off her shoulders, more so if the unexplained incidents proved to be from kids pulling pranks and stopped. So why, when Dan offered to install a new lock after dinner, and they headed out to spend another evening together, did she think that explanation was too easy?
Chapter 12
Nan left for Dan’s early Wednesday afternoon, no longer able to wait to see him again. She knew she had only herself to blame for insisting on staying alone at her apartment after he had put on the new lock. At the time, she thought it best to distance herself from him, and her growing feelings that were escalating at a rapid pace after spending the night in his bed. Who knew how pleasant waking to a man’s hard arms and legs wrapped around her could be? But, as she pulled into the drive at his house, she gave herself a stern lecture on keeping her wishes for this to continue to herself. Without a sign he would be open to making the temporary change in their relationship permanent, she refused to risk more pain to cope with.
As she slid out of the car, she looked around but didn’t see anyone. The Dunbars and Grayson and Avery were invited to Dan’s impromptu barbeque this evening, but she was over an hour early and didn’t expect their friends for a while yet. She assumed Dan was working and headed to the corral where she spotted Belle grazing with her mama. Holding her hand out over the rail, she tried bribing her baby with a sugar cube, smiling when the filly recognized her and didn’t hesitate to trot over.
“How’s my girl?” she crooned, stroking Belle’s silky nose, laughing when she nudged her arm up, searching for another treat. “Too many sweets aren’t good for you, right mama?” Nan gave the mare some attention, enjoying the ripple of muscles as she stroked her neck.
“Are you spoiling her again?” Pete smiled, coming up behind her. “The little one has really taken to you.”
“That goes both ways. I adore her already. You weren’t able to help the tabby, were you?” She could tell by the way he averted his eyes he had bad news.
