by BJ Wane
The waitress delivered their food and Leslie stalled from answering Kurt by sampling a few bites of the fiesta chicken first. He could tell the moment she came to a decision. Her tense shoulders relaxed and she lifted her eyes to reveal a spark of excitement that outweighed the uncertainty she still possessed. It was the reason for that uncertainty he hoped to eventually root out.
“Okay, I’ll see you outside the club, as well as there, as long as we’re careful so no one can connect us to The Barn. Keeping that part of my life secret hasn’t been easy since my co-workers are the only people I see daily and occasionally socialize with.”
“Is the reason for not expanding friendships something else you don’t want to share?” he prodded.
She pondered her answer for a moment, looking away before facing him again. “Yes, since the reason is the same for not being able to enter into anything serious with you, or anyone else. Please, let it go at that.”
“In that case, no more than a month ought to be enough for both of us to get what we want out of a limited relationship. How’s your chicken?”
Both his time limit and quick topic change caught her off guard, and that worked for him. Keeping her second guessing her own motives and whether what he proposed would be enough for her should work in his favor eventually. At least, that’s what he was hoping for.
Chapter 7
Leslie started second guessing her decision as soon as Kurt insisted on following her home after dinner. Glancing at his truck in her rearview mirror, she wondered what it was about him that enticed her into throwing caution to the wind and going against her better instincts to indulge her physical needs. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t get those cravings met with another Dom. The disappointment she experienced when he added a time limit after she agreed to his proposition didn’t make sense. She should have been relieved he wanted nothing more than a brief affair to work out whatever this was between them and then move on.
“I must be out of my mind,” she muttered, pulling into her apartment complex. She should have asked him for more details on what he expected from her outside of the club. She’d grown comfortable at The Barn after learning what to expect whenever she went. Maybe not who she might play with or the details of a scene, but with the regular members, the public exposure and the different aspects of BDSM that worked for her. The last time she’d indulged in an affair had been almost five years ago, way before her life had been upended and she’d discovered the pleasures and benefits of alternative sex. She’d gotten more from one-time scenes with men she’d just met at the club than during the months-long vanilla relationships with men she’d gotten to know well. Since there was no point in hoping an affair would lead to something permanent, like she used to, she’d never considered seeing any of the Doms outside of the club.
Leslie slid out of the car, pausing as Kurt parked next to her and opened his door with an expression on his face that sent a familiar wave of heated lust rushing through her veins, the same quick response she felt upon seeing him for the first time at the bar and then again last weekend. She hadn’t considered he might want to start this affair tonight, but she thought wrong as he came toward her with a smoldering black-eyed look of purpose. Unsure of herself, and her motives for accepting his proposal, she tried to put him off.
“Thanks for seeing me home. I have to get up early, so…”
“This won’t take long,” Kurt interrupted, holding out a hand for the keys to her apartment.
“So, we’re going to jump into this affair?” She handed him the keys, wincing at his censuring stare. Leslie heard the tartness in her defensive tone as well as he.
“Our affair began as soon as you agreed, but tonight I only have time to mete out your punishment for lying to me.” Unlocking the door, he pushed it open and stood aside to let her enter first.
Leslie expected retribution for that infraction, and as she sidled by him and he brushed a hand over her buttocks, a quiver of combined anticipation and dread tiptoed down her spine. She couldn’t fathom what Kurt desired from this relationship after their two odd encounters, but that hand swipe spoke volumes on what he wanted tonight. And God help her, she yearned for the painful distraction of his punishing hand with an intensity that shook her and had her floundering as she tossed her satchel onto a chair before facing him inside her apartment again.
A taunting smile curled his mouth as he shut the door and stepped toward her. “What’s wrong? You weren’t nervous with me at the club, and since I wasn’t inebriated the last time I was here with you, I remember clearly how you begged for my attention.” Gripping her arm, he tugged her over to the sofa, sat down and pulled her over his lap.
As soon as Leslie’s nervously fluttering stomach landed on Master Kurt’s muscle-hard thighs and he held her down with a hand braced between her shoulder blades, everything inside her settled. Releasing her stalled breath on a whoosh, she braced her hands on the floor as he inched her skirt up over her panty-covered butt. Feeling the need to say something, she looked around with a teasing smile of her own. “Anything I can say or do to change your mind?”
“There’s always the safeword, other than that,” he shoved her panties down, “no.”
“Okay.” She put her head back down, thrilling to the cool exposure of her buttocks and the warm caress of his calloused palm despite the vulnerable unease this position always conjured up.
“No pleas or extra apologies?” He squeezed one globe, the tight grip drawing a shudder.
“I learned long ago never to try and dissuade a Master intent on punishment. And I know when I’m in the wrong,” she admitted in a muffled reply, goosebumps racing across her backside as he released his hold on her flesh.
“You intrigue me, sweetheart.” Kurt swatted her right cheek, hard enough to warm her skin and sting. “You don’t hesitate to admit when you’re guilty of wrongdoing and don’t balk at accepting your punishment.” Another smack generated more heat and a deeper pain that snagged her breath. “But anything personal sends you running.” Two rapid slaps bounced her cheeks, the ache and burn seeping deeper into Leslie’s flesh. “Do you go to the club just to appease your submissive needs?”
Four blistering blows threatened her composure, forced her to tighten her arms to keep from sliding forward and bite her lips to prevent a sob from the throbbing pain encompassing her entire butt. Master Kurt allowed her time to adjust to the discomfort and to answer his question, softly rubbing the abused flesh. Taking a deep breath, she let the pain work in her favor, waited for it to spread down between her legs and warm her pussy. He helped it along by brushing his thumb along her seam, the light stroke enough to draw a damp response.
“Sir?” She shook her hair out of her eyes as she peered up at him and saw his focus on her bare butt and his teasing thumb.
“Answer my question, Leslie,” he ordered without looking at her.
“Yes,” She huffed, annoyed with his persistence, but not surprised.
“Thank you.” Lifting his hand, he added pressure between her shoulders as he braced one leg over her calves and proceeded to spank her in earnest.
Peppering her quaking buttocks with a steady volley of hard swats meant to hurt and redden pulled a tortured sob from Leslie. Responding like always, she slid into a tailspin of emotional turmoil before finding her way to that quiet place where she could float without a care. With the deepening, swelling pain came tears of release, the escalating heat spreading over her cheeks wiped away the ever-present coldness of her lonely life and bleak future. Kurt shifted to land a devastating blow to the under curve of both buttocks before delivering the same to the tops of her thighs. She couldn’t move her legs or shoulders, and the struggle to wiggle her hips to ease the pain soon wasn’t worth the effort. With a shuddering sigh and tears running down her face, she embraced the pulsating numbness starting to cover her flaming backside as she lay limp as a noodle over his lap.
Kurt relished the moment she gave herself over to the hot pain, cou
ld tell when she let go of the tension riding her and landed in that zone where nothing else mattered except her Dom’s attention. Which she had in spades. His palm ached by the time he tempered the smacks to softer taps before halting to rub the trembling bright red flesh that was hot to the touch. She would have a few bruises come morning, and he liked knowing he marked her, and that she would think of him when she saw them and every time she sat down. He’d been hard on her on purpose, letting her know what he would not tolerate over the next few weeks. He couldn’t do anything if she insisted on keeping her secrets, but he wouldn’t accept lying or deliberate deceit.
The glistening slit between her legs tempted him, but he’d have to wait a little longer to bury his cock inside that snug, squeezing pussy again. That’s part of the sacrifice for keeping her guessing while trying to hurdle the walls she’d erected around herself. Turning her over without pulling up her panties, he held her close as she sniffled into his neck. She wasn’t the first woman he’d brought to tears, but somehow, the shaking of her slender frame against him, her soft, trembling sighs and cute, watery hiccups got to him on a level no other sub managed. It had been that way from the moment he rescued her from a street thug and looked into her sad blue eyes.
Kurt placed two fingers under Leslie’s chin and nudged her head up, the look in her drenched eyes sucker-punching him in the gut. She might still appear uncertain of him and his motives but at least she wasn’t pulling away.
“Are you with me, sweetheart?” Releasing her chin, he trailed his hand down her arched neck, over one plump breast and up her smooth thigh until he reached the soft flesh of her bare labia.
“Yes.” She shifted against his cupped palm with a low, needy moan. “Sir?”
“Mmmm, I think you still don’t deserve to be let off the hook for your lie.” He rotated his wrist until her seeping juices coated his palm, unable to hold back a grin when she narrowed those glazed eyes as he wiped the dampness on her thigh. Before he changed his mind, he lifted her off his lap and pushed to his feet. “I’ve got to get back to the ranch and check in on my dad. I’ll call in a few days.” Hauling her against him, he took her mouth in a slow, searing kiss before walking out without a backward look.
Leslie stood there glaring daggers at Kurt’s retreating back until he closed the door behind him, her whole body vibrating with unfulfilled arousal, her buttocks hot and throbbing. And yet, for all her frustration, she hadn’t felt this good in a long time. It still amazed her how a long, hard spanking worked to soothe her rioting emotions. She might still be uncertain about entering into an affair, but not about with whom.
By the time she climbed into bed, wincing before she rolled onto her stomach and took the pressure off her sore butt, she was looking forward to seeing Master Kurt again. With the punishment for her lie out of the way, she figured he would be as ready as she to fuck again next time they got together.
She figured wrong.
Kurt jumped back from the mustang’s rearing front legs, swearing under his breath at the close call his inattention brought about. Yanking back the lassoed rope that missed the irritated stallion’s neck for the second time, he leaned against the rail and gave the agitated horse time to calm down before trying again. Endeavoring to gain the wild mustang’s trust might prove as fruitless as attempting to get inside Leslie’s head. And if he couldn’t quit thinking about her long enough to focus his full concentration on the potentially dangerous task he’d set out for himself then he was in big trouble.
Running a hand behind his sweaty neck, he eyed the now still horse who gazed at him from across the corral, his eyes wary, his dilapidated body quivering from his exertions. Damned if that mistrust didn’t remind him of Leslie. He’d finally succeeded in getting the stallion to take a carrot from his hand that morning, which had prompted him to try catching him for lead training. It was hard not to compare that short-lived success with talking Leslie into an affair, and then admitting he had a long way to go. Usually, he was a patient man, he’d had to be in dealing with his father the past ten years. But seeing the neglect the mustang had suffered tested the patience he needed to restore his health and teach him all people weren’t bad. With Leslie, the moment he’d seen the desperate loneliness in her blue eyes when he’d escorted her home that first night, he’d been drawn to discover the source and erase it for her.
“I am so fucked,” Kurt grumbled, pushing away from the fence. Refusing to give up for the day, he moved slowly toward the mustang, keeping the rope at his side. If there was a way to get through to the animal, he would find it, just as he would come up with something to breach the walls of one stubborn submissive.
With a toss of his head, the stallion trotted along the fence as Kurt neared, obviously still disinclined to allow him to loop the rope around his neck. Determined to give it one more try, Kurt lifted the rope, braced his feet apart, twirled the lasso above his head and waited until the wild horse stomped close enough to let the noose fly. He didn’t know who was startled more by his success, him or the horse. Gripping the rope with both gloved hands, he tightened his stance and arms against the mustang’s surprised, angry reaction of rearing up.
Several cowhands, including Roy, quietly took up guard along the fence as the two of them danced around the enclosure in a battle of wills. Dust flared up as Kurt struggled to stay clear of flailing hooves while maintaining his hold against the strong jerks of the stallion’s head. He might be three hundred pounds underweight but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still a force to be reckoned with given his size.
By the time he managed to calm the mustang enough to stop his agitated rearing, Kurt’s arms ached and his heavy breathing matched the horse’s labored huffs. “That’s a boy,” he crooned, approaching the quivering equine with slow steps. “There, all done. See, no harm done.” With a cautious hand, Kurt slipped the rope off and stepped back as he took off with a loud neigh.
“You’re fucking crazy, you do know that, don’t you?”
Kurt pivoted at the sound of Caden’s amused voice, a grin wreathing his dust-smudged face as he spotted his friend and Connor leaning on the rail next to Roy. “I’ve been told that a lot since bringing that son-of-a-bitch home. What brings you two out here?” Jumping the fence, he joined them on the other side.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you they were stopping by to pick a Thoroughbred for a gift,” Roy said. “I decided to wait to see if you survived that stunt before wasting my breath.”
“Ha, ha. Thanks for having my back, even if you doubted my persuasive skills.” He cocked his head as he eyed the brothers. “A gift? It must be for Sydney since I know Tamara wouldn’t trade her Arabian for anything else, but don’t you have a few to pick from?”
“You’re right, she wouldn’t. We did have one, but by the time Caden talked Sydney into trying a new mount, we’d already accepted a good offer on her. Your inventory has more to pick from right now.” Connor looked at the mustang and shook his head, his jaw tightening with a flash of anger swirling in his blue eyes. “Do you know who’s responsible?”
“No, which is why I’m not in jail for assault, or worse,” Kurt replied.
“Sydney talked me into buying a pathetic excuse for horseflesh last year and babied that animal back to health. Gotta admit it was worth the time and effort she put into the animal.” Caden jerked a thumb toward the mustang. “If you’re half as successful with him, you’ll have a good horse.”
“I think so too,” Kurt agreed. “Come on, I have a few mares between eighteen months and two I think would be a good fit for your wife.”
The perfect opportunity to work on getting Leslie to open up fell into Kurt’s lap as he led Caden and Connor to the stables housing the Thoroughbreds for sale. Opening the door, the scent of fresh hay and horses greeted them, as did the soft whinnies from some of the equines sticking their long, sleek necks over the half gates to their stalls. He stopped at the few he thought Sydney would love, the ones with spirit but easy to control.
“Belle here is my favorite.” Kurt stopped at the stall of a dark chestnut mare with a white star blazoned on her forehead. She butted his arm looking for a treat, which Caden provided by opening his hand with a sugar cube.
“She’s a beauty.” Caden stroked a hand down her neck, eying her size with a frown. “Taller than I was looking for though. With Syd being pregnant, she’ll need to be more careful when riding.”
Connor snorted. “Good luck with that.”
“How about if I hold her until after the baby comes and give her to you as a baby gift,” Kurt offered, not surprised by the caution Caden exhibited with Sydney. The redhead was an enticing trouble magnet whose soft spot for animals amused him and drove her husband nuts when she extended it toward the ranch animals.
“That’s too generous. I’ll split the cost with you and we’ll both give Belle to her.”
Connor smirked at his brother. “In the meantime, good luck dissuading her from coming home with the worst the auction house has to offer tomorrow.”
Seeing the frustrated resignation on Caden’s face gave Kurt an idea. “How about if Leslie and I come along? If they’re busy chatting, maybe Sydney won’t pay as much attention to the auction ring.”
“That might help,” Caden returned as he entered the stall to get a closer look at the mare. Running a hand down her withers, he looked over his shoulder with a small grin. “You and Leslie outside of the club?”
Kurt shrugged, ignoring Connor’s amused look. “We’re giving it a try. She thinks it’s just for sex.”
“It’s not?” Connor asked, surprised. “I never pictured her interested in anything beyond a few scenes at the club.”
“I don’t think she is, and I’m still trying to decide if I am.” He looked at Caden. “Anyway, I could use Sydney’s help, if you think she’d be willing.”
