by Bale, Sarah
“I’m going to spank you, Daisy. Eight lashes for disobeying me at the bridge. And you’re going to count them.”
Her lips twitched. “Only eight?”
I squeezed her hip. “Now you can cry. You can scream. You can even curse me. But don’t you dare try to run from me.”
Air hissed between her lips and she whispered, “Yes!”
I grinned as she dragged the word out into multiple syllables. I knew exactly how she was feeling. I moved her so her stomach was flush against my thighs, holding her in place with my free hand. When I lifted the belt, she glanced over her shoulder at me with a hooded expression. I struck her across her butt and then rubbed the sting away.
“One.”
I spanked her again, this time on her upper thigh.
She moaned. “Two.”
The leather came in contact with her skin harder this time, but, again, I rubbed the sting away.
“Three.”
When I had done this the first time, she had cried after her third strike. This time she reached between us, cupping my cock through my pants. Her smile was nearly my undoing as she stroked me.
I struck her and she moaned out, “Four.”
The fifth one left her thrashing for me. Her skin was red and pink and so fucking sexy.
“Five.”
I caressed her ass with the pad of my thumb. And then I spanked her again. Her throaty breaths filled the room.
“Six.”
The next one left her bucking against me. I knew that if I put my hand between her legs that she would be soaked.
“S-seven.”
Sweat rolled down my back, but I wasn’t the only one. Her entire body glistened in a light sheen of sweat. I wrapped her ponytail around my fist, tugging her head. Her nipples scraped over my jeans as I raised the belt.
“Eight,” she cried out.
I dropped the belt and ran my fingers through her folds. As I suspected, she was drenched.
“You took your punishment so well that I’m going to reward you.”
I rubbed her clit in a circle. She thrust against my hand. When I slid a finger inside, she moaned.
“Does my dirty girl like that?”
She breathed out, “God. Yes.”
I slipped in another finger and worked her pussy and clit until she cried out in pleasure. Watching her shatter was so fucking beautiful. She rode my hand, enjoying herself and I loved it. I worked her until she stopped shaking.
She stood and said, “Pants off. Now.”
Grinning, I did as she said, not even taking my boots off. She pushed my chest and I fell back onto the bed. She straddled me and slid onto my cock. Her movements were slow and torturous as she rode me.
Holding onto her hips I asked, “Is this my punishment?”
She grinned and did a swirl motion with her hips. “Maybe.”
I groaned. “Then punish away.”
She ran her hands over my chest, leaning forward to kiss me. I kissed her back. For the first time in a very long time everything felt right.
“Play with my breasts.”
I cupped her full breasts, running my thumbs over her nipples. The dusty rose peaks hardened as I toyed with them. She was always so responsive and I loved it. Her movement became frenetic and her skin flushed. Reaching between us, I rubbed her clit until she cried out. Her own orgasm set me off and I came, filling her until I had nothing left to give.
Sighing happily, she rolled next to me.
“Damn. I missed this.”
I kissed her. “I did, too.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Can I tell you something?”
“Always.”
Her gaze met mine. “It worries me every time you come inside of me.”
“What?”
I thought I heard her wrong.
She went on. “I’ve watched Kat and it scares me thinking what could happen if I got pregnant.”
I couldn’t blame her for being worried. Childbirth was dangerous before the apocalypse. Now, it was more so.
“Do you want me to pull out?”
She shook her head. “No. I like the way you feel when you come inside of me.”
And I loved coming inside of her warm depths, but I would do whatever it took to make her feel at ease.
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I’m not sure what you want me to say, Daisy.”
She replied. “There’s nothing to say. I love you. And I love when you come inside of me. I just want you to know that the thought of having a baby scares me.”
“I hear what you’re saying. I can try to find condoms to use.”
It would be hard, but I would try. Everything was picked over at most stores, including contraception.
She shook her head again and sighed. “No. I don’t want that either. I guess what I’m saying is how do you feel about it? About a baby?”
Ah. So that’s what this was about.
I replied, “I hadn’t ever thought of kids until I met you.”
“Me either. Obviously.”
Because she had been a virgin when we met.
I went on, “I told you once before that if things were different that I could see us having a kid together. I meant it, too.” I kissed her. “But I can see us having a kid now. I think we’d be great parents.”
Her cheeks flushed. “So, you would be okay if it happened?”
My heart missed a beat in my chest. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
She replied, “God no! Nothing like that. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
I said, “If we have a child it might be scary, but I think it will be worth it. I’m not in any rush, but if something were to happen, I would be happy.”
She relaxed. “Good.”
I kissed her again. “Good.”
She snuggled into my embrace and said, “I’m so glad we came here.”
“Me, too.”
And I was. We’d only been back for two days, but it felt so damn good, like this is where I was meant to be.
8
Daisy
The next morning I awoke to an empty bed, unsurprisingly. Elijah had tossed and turned all night, so I had known he would get to work as soon as the sun rose.
After dressing, I went outside and found Elijah and some of the men working on the well. Elijah’s shirt was tossed to the side and sweat glistened on his skin, even though it was still early out. He shot me a grin that made my heart do funny things in my chest. I waved and then went inside to see what chores I could find for the day.
The first thing on my agenda was getting rid of the spoiled food in the kitchen. Jo, Kat, and Coop agreed to help me.
Coop gagged at one point. “God, this might be worse than cleaning up after biters.”
He wasn’t wrong. The smell was so awful that I wondered if I’d get my appetite back.
Kat screamed when she discovered a rat’s nest in one of the drawers. We all ran, squealing, until Grey came and took care of the problem.
He laughed at us, saying, “Y’all are a bunch of sissies!”
Kat replied, “That thing was as big as a damn cat.”
“Means this winter is going to be bad,” Grey replied with a frown. “Too bad there aren’t any persimmon trees around. Then we’d know for sure.”
I said, “My dad used to look at the persimmon seeds to gauge what kind of winter we’d have, too.”
He would let me get the persimmon fruit so that he could slice it open. Then he’d take the seed, cutting it vertically. The shape inside of the seed would determine what kind of winter we’d face. We used to get such a kick out of the seed’s prediction. The funny thing was it was usually right.
Cooper said, “If you find one, bring me the persimmons. I can stew them and make jam.”
Grey nodded. “Will do. Now, if you babies are okay, I’m going to finish digging this well.”
We laughed as he left, the mood feeling lighter. We took the spoiled food out back, making a
burn pile. Then we went to work on cleaning the cafeteria. By the time lunch rolled around, we were working on the hallways.
Jo asked, “Are there really enough rooms here for everyone?”
We’d only been able to clean a few rooms yesterday, but by the end of the day everyone would have their choice in rooms.
“Yeah. They’re spacious, too. Apparently, this used to be a privately-owned orthopedic surgery center. Elijah said they were big on treating patients like VIPs. Said each person deserved the best and it didn’t matter how much money they made.”
Places like that were rare. Before the outbreak, most hospitals did whatever it took to make the most money. The funny thing was that the rich got off with better deals than the poor. Elijah said it hadn’t been that way here.
Coop said, “I can’t wait to have my own room. Even at Lilly’s I never had my own space.”
“After we eat you can pick your room.”
The men came inside, dirt covering their clothes, but they, too, were in good moods. Elijah kissed me as we went to the cafeteria.
“Damn. You’ve been busy.”
I replied, “We’re just ready to have things in order.”
I told him about our plan for the rest of the day.
“Hopefully everyone will be in a room by tonight.”
His lips curved in a frown. “Just don’t overdo it.”
“We won’t.” I paused. “I just have this feeling that we need to get this place in shape as soon as possible.”
It felt like we were racing an unknown force and the loser wouldn’t survive. I hated feeling like that. Before the apocalypse I suffered from bouts of anxiety that left me feeling the same way. My heart would race for no reason. I’d feel restless or like something bad was about to happen. And my stomach would churn if I wasn’t busy. It was everything I’d felt since getting back to Oklahoma.
Elijah touched my arm. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll have this place livable sooner than you think.”
I nodded, but didn’t respond. It wasn’t fair for him to make promises like that. We didn’t know what was going to happen from day to day.
Sighing, I went to the table where Cooper had laid out our lunch. Today we were eating canned meat that we’d found at the base and canned veggies.
I took a bite, moaning. This was literally the best thing I’d consumed since leaving Texas. The room was silent as everyone ate. Grey closed his eyes, sighing as he took a bite.
Elijah said to me, “Never thought I’d be excited to eat canned meat. My dad used to fix it all the time growing up.”
I smiled. “We ate it, too, when my dad would cook. Mom used to say it’s because it was so easy to prepare.”
“That’s probably why my old man would fix it for us.”
I took a bite and asked, “Was he around much?”
“Not really. Drove my mom crazy, but we managed.”
I wanted to ask more, but he finished eating and stood. “Tell Coop to fix something light for dinner. We’re going to be out there until the sun goes down.”
I nodded as he left. Jo came over, sitting next to me.
“Sounds like they’re making progress on the well.” She smiled. “I can’t wait to take a hot shower.”
“Yeah, that’ll be nice.”
“Is everything oaky?”
I asked, “How well would you say you know Norm? I mean, about his life before the outbreak.”
She replied, “Pretty well. He’s always telling stories about being on set and everything he did before. Why do you ask?”
“Does he talk about his childhood?”
“All the time. He was raised by his grandmother. She took him and his sister in when they were young. Never had any pets because she was allergic. That’s why he got Percy. It was his first pet ever.” She paused. “Is something wrong between you and Elijah?”
I sighed. “No. It’s just me being… me. He doesn’t talk about his old life. Like ever. I feel like I don’t know anything about him.”
“Have you asked him about his old life?”
I replied, “I’ve tried. We just don’t get very far. I couldn’t even tell you his parent’s names.”
She said, “Try not to look too much into it. Maybe it makes him sad thinking about the past.”
That made sense. I know when I thought about how my parents used to be versus how they ended up it made me very sad. It was kind of like the time I’d gone to an open casket funeral as a child. My great aunt was a warm, friendly lady with rosy red cheeks. After seeing her in the casket, that image of her was burned into my memory and not how she used to be.
“You’re right.” Standing, I said, “Let’s go clean some rooms.”
By the end of the day we’d cleaned enough rooms so that everyone now had a place to stay. Jo and I moved the baby items we’d found in Lawton to Kat and Grey’s room. Kat supervised and I remembered just how bossy she could be.
“No. Move the crib a little to the left. A little more.” She clapped. “There! That’s perfect.”
Jo, whose back was turned to Kat, made a face. I held back a laugh.
“Need anything else?”
Kat shook her head. “This is great. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
She rubbed her growing stomach, smiling. But then her eyes moved from item to item in the room and I got the feeling we were about to be stuck helping her move things around. Again.
I said, “I’m going to head to the cafeteria. See if Coop needs anything.”
Jo quickly said, “Me, too.”
We left Kat in her room. Jo shook her head as we walked.
“If we moved that crib one more time I think I would have screamed.”
Laughing, I replied, “I think it’s sweet that she wants everything perfect.”
“I get wanting it to look nice, but moving the crib one inch doesn’t help anything. At all.”
We reached the kitchen, where Cooper was standing at the stove cooking. He had a towel thrown over his shoulder and looked like he’d been working there all his life. He would have gotten along wonderfully with Juan. My chest ached at the thought.
Coop grinned when he saw us. “You guys, I found some apples out back. We’re having cinnamon glazed apples!”
He lifted the lid of the pan and the sweet scent drifted our way. My stomach growled in response and we all laughed.
“It’s like a grown-up version of applesauce,” he said.
“Don’t knock applesauce,” I laughed. “That was my favorite snack back in the day.”
Jo asked, “Where did you find an apple tree?”
“Along the wooded area south of the fields. The apple trees aren’t very big yet, but I managed to get enough for dinner.”
I said, “I think there’s berry bushes out there, too, if the birds haven’t got them all.”
Cooper replied, “We should check it out tomorrow.”
Jo said, “I’m down.”
We went to the cafeteria and sat at a table while we waited for the apples to finish simmering.
I asked Jo, “How are you holding up without Faith?”
She frowned. “Does it make me a horrible person if I say that part of me is glad she’s gone?” She quickly went on, “Of course I miss her, but we weren’t getting along very well toward the end.”
I could understand how she felt.
“It doesn’t make you horrible at all.”
She said, “Faith just couldn’t get over her crush on Norm, which I totally get because he’s amazing. But her feelings for him put a strain on our friendship.”
I replied, “She broke girl code. I get it.”
Jo smiled. “Does girl code still apply in the apocalypse?”
Norm entered the room with a few of the men. He waved at Jo before going to a bucket of water we’d brought it so they could wash up.
I said, “You tell me.”
“Okay. It does. I know some people are okay sharing their love
rs, but I’m not one of them.”
My eyebrows rose. “Is that really a thing?”
She chuckled. “I forget sometimes that Elijah is the only man you’ve been with. Yeah, it’s a thing. My cousin was into multiple partners.”
“How did that even work?”
“They took turns with each other, so no one felt left out.” She grinned. “Used to drive my mom and aunt bonkers at holiday gatherings.”
I grinned. “That’s pretty badass.”
Jo said, “I always thought so.”
Norm came over and said, “I’m so glad we’re done for the evening.”
He sat heavily in his chair, rubbing his temples.
Jo said, “My poor baby. Still having a hard time with manual labor.”
He grinned. “These hands weren’t meant to dig. They were meant to be used for art.”
I couldn’t help but to say, “Just look at it as the role of your life.”
“Well, I could look at it that way, if my feet weren’t covered in blisters.”
Jo said, “You need to wear a second pair of socks. It’ll help.”
I agreed with her. “That’s what we used to do at the farm.”
“Guess it’s worth a shot.” Norm looked around. “Where’s Elijah?”
“Wasn’t he with you at the well?”
Norm shook his head. “No. He and Grey went off and I didn’t see him after that.”
I did a quick scan of the cafeteria, searching anxiously for him. Grey stood in the doorway with Kat, but there were no signs of Elijah.
I said, “I’ll be back.”
Crossing the room, I made my way to Grey.
He said to Kat, “The room looks great, baby. You did good.”
Kat blushed. “The girls did most of the work.”
Grey said, “Fine work you did in our room, Daisy.”
“It was no problem.” I paused. “Do you know where Elijah went?”
Grey’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Uh. Yeah?”
Before, I’d gotten a funny feeling when I didn’t see Elijah. After Grey’s response that feeling was now full-fledged worry.
“Where is he, Grey?”
“Went to talk to Bobby. Said something wasn’t sitting right with him.”
My stomach dropped. “You let him go? Alone?”
