Kept (9 page)

Reed turned her loose, before he totally lost his temper and did what he desperately wanted to do – haul her over his lap and wale the living daylights out of her plump, wonderful, naughty bottom. He didn’t want to frighten her away, but she was probably just about as close to getting a good spanking from him as she’d ever be – Reed frankly didn’t know if he was going to be able to talk himself out of giving her what she so desperately needed. Trish wasn’t looking frightened right now, though, she was looking annoyed. She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about or why he was so angry.

Reed sighed. "Look, what I’m getting at here is why didn’t you get me to do this for you? I would have gladly moved the furniture with you last week, and, hell, I’d’ve taken time off today to go get the computer with you, if that’s what you wanted. Why didn’t you ask me to help you?"

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Trish shrugged, genuinely puzzled at his behavior, still rubbing her offended bottom. "I dunno. Like I said, I called a friend

– "

He literally pounced on that. "And I’m not your friend?"

"No," she answered with the bald truth of the matter,

"you’re my employer. And you were at work, and I don’t disturb you at work. You’re a busy man. I would never ask you to do something like that."

"You never ask me to do anything for you." It was very close to a true statement.

She didn’t know what to say to that. Trish was trying like hell to keep the relationship on as businesslike a level as possible.

She was trying, without much success, to remain separate from him, and as unemotional and uninvolved as she could. It wasn’t long after they’d moved in together that she realized it would be very, very easy for her to fall in love with this man, but that was not what he wanted and was not what she’d signed papers agreeing to. So she was always on guard against treating him too much like the typical "boyfriend", because that wasn’t what he was to her; it wasn’t what he wanted to be.

So she answered him with brutal honesty. "You don’t pay me to be your friend. My friends don’t make enormous bi-weekly direct deposits into my checking account. We didn’t sign legal documents in a lawyer’s office to create a friendship, and I won’t impose on you that way."

He was stunned. He hadn’t realized just how much she was holding herself away from him – she was bound and determined to cram him into the role of Sugar Daddy, and didn’t seem to want much else from him, when he wanted to demand absolutely everything from her. Everything. Reed sank into his desk chair with

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a feeling of defeat unlike anything he had ever felt before. What had he gotten himself into?

His voice was hoarse when he said, "I thought we had the beginnings of a decent friendship. Don’t get me wrong, I adore being in bed with you – we’re dynamite together that way. But I also just like to be around you. I thought you felt the same way."

Hearing the diffidence in his voice made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. It was totally uncharacteristic for Reed Douglas to have even a second of indecision, or a millisecond where he lacked the usual steamroller-like self confidence. "I do like to spend time with you. I just – " Trish’s hands dropped to her sides as she turned to stare out the bow window. "I just don’t know where the lines are drawn in this type of relationship and I guess I didn’t want to assume – "

"You didn’t want to assume that I would want more than just your presence in my bed whenever I demanded it?" She could feel him come to stand beside her, her body already hyper-aware of him and automatically readying itself to receive him if he should want to take her then and there. It was embarrassing how quickly she responded to him – her body recognizing her mate without the advice or consent of her intellect.

Her throat knotted so tightly she was unable to speak, Trish nodded.

He rested his chin on her shoulder and bumped his body up against hers. "Well, let me tell you here and now that you’re completely and totally wrong. I want you to be my friend, and I want to be yours. I want you to use me shamelessly, and not just in the bedroom. I want you to call me at work whenever you feel like talking, and I want to be the one you come to with all of your troubles. Even, shudder, female problems."

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That idea had Trish giggling softly. "You mean the next time I need to borrow some Midol, I should call you?"

Reed turned her around to face him, catching her eye to give her the "look". "You know what I mean. And I don’t ever want to come home again and find out that you’ve had Kell working and slaving at something that you should have asked me to do. Am I making myself perfectly clear, Ms. Barton?"

"Yes, Boss," she saluted smartly, only to receive another good swat on the bottom. "EEeeee – owww! Stop that, I said!"

The same hand that had swatted her now caressed that stinging flesh as Reed’s mouth settled over hers for a passionate kiss. "I don’t think so. I like smacking your bottom. It’s just the right roundedness, and it cries out to be given a good smack every once in a while. And, Lord knows, your behavior fairly demands it, frankly on a longer and much more frequent basis."

Trish wiggled out of his arms, not wanting him to guess that that’s what she wanted, also, and skittered across the room. "It does not! And besides, you told me that first night we went out that you had never and never would raise your hand to a wo – " He was considering her with a frankly dangerous look in his eye that made her begin to back slowly away from him. " – man."

"No, that’s not exactly what I said, Miss Barton." Reed was advancing on her rapidly while she backpedaled through the office door and into the foyer, her hand up in front of her in a futile attempt to ward him off. "I said I had never raised my fist to a woman. And I never would. But that doesn’t mean that I would hesitate to take the flat of my hand to the naughty bottom of a woman who is driving me absolutely crazy with her obtuse stubbornness."

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A delicious shiver ran up her spine at his dominant tone, enough of one that she could ignore the insult for now. "Don’t you even think about doing that to me, Reed Douglas!"

He just kept coming, sauntering ever closer, never taking those sharp eyes off her. "Oh, I think I will. I think you’re way more than overdue for a good spanking, Patricia. And I’m just the man to give it to you – be careful of the stairs!" He warned before the backs of her heels touched the bottom step.

Trish whirled and ran quickly up the stairs, yelling, "You stay away from me!"

As inexorable as the tide, Reed ascended the stairs with deliberate lack of haste, while Trish darted up frantically in front of him, running down the short hall to their room. But there were no locks on any of the doors, and she knew he was going to catch her; it was just a matter of time. So, although she had practically slammed the bedroom door in his face, and was right now leaning all of her weight against it, Trish had already admitted defeat. Hell, he was so damned strong there was no way he wasn’t going to be able to push his way into the room.

And she was right. Reed warned her before he did it that he was going to push against the door, not wanting to hurt her, and told her to get away from it; an order which, of course, she totally ignored. When he got in after pushing very carefully against her –

knowing she was too stubborn to have moved - all he had to do was keep her trapped against the wall with the door until he could replace it with his body and a strategic hand on the wall at each of her shoulders. "Didn’t I tell you to move out of my way, Patricia Barton?" he asked as he kissed her, hoping to soothe the almost frightened look in her eyes. Unless he’d missed his guess, she was extremely turned on by the idea of a little play spanking, and he’d been hard as a spike since he’d given her those little love pats downstairs.

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Trish huffed, her lower lip protruding just a little. "Yes, but

– "

"No ‘buts’. I could have hurt you when I had to barge my way in. That’s another naughtiness that you’ll have to pay for."

Reed felt the shiver of anticipation that she couldn’t quite suppress at his words. He took her hand, pulling her towards the bed. "Come with me and we’ll get it over with right now."

Tricia was leaning as far away from him as his grasp would allow, which, unfortunately, wasn’t very far. "No! Please! I don’t want you to spank me!"

Reed grinned almost evilly, standing her directly in front of him where he proceeded to pull down her jersey knit shorts, then slip his fingers into the waistband of her peach lace panties while she was still trying to pull her shorts back up. "Reed – no! Stop!"

Before she knew it, she was bare-bottomed over his lap, red faced and completely embarrassed to be in this position. Trish could feel his big hand resting on her naked butt, covering nearly all of her at once. She wiggled and twisted, but then his left arm wrapped around her waist, capturing both of the hands she was using to try to dislodge herself from her lap, or, failing that, his hand from her bottom, holding them together against her back.

When she’d been pretty much immobilized, he began to speak to her in a very low, somehow soothing voice. "I think my lady protests waaaaay too much." Oh, God, his hand was moving lower and lower, burrowing between her legs even though she tried like hell to tighten her muscles enough to keep him out. Still, he was more than a match for her, and without hurting her, his fingers found ample proof to support his claim. "Oh, baby, you are soaking wet!"

Trish kicked her legs uselessly, already crying tears of humiliation that her secret was out. This wasn’t something she ever

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planned on telling him. Then the spanking began, and she was given a real reason to cry.

Reed was an experienced spanker, but he had no idea what her pain tolerance was. Hell, he wouldn’t have said she had one at all – a hangnail gave her fits. So although he covered all of her luscious curves, and a little of the tops of her thighs, turning the skin a nice shade of carnation pink, he didn’t go all out by any means. Regardless, Trish was kicking her legs and crying and wigging for all she was worth, even after he stopped, but held her in place. "Now," he began, rubbing that tender flesh. "I want you to understand that I am your friend – "

Her guffaw was automatic, and earned her instant retribution in the form of a volley of five very hard slaps to her already stinging butt. "Ow – ow - oooh – no – don’t!!"

His voice took on a stricter, warning tone, "And that I expect you to treat me as such. Also, that when I tell you to do something – like move away from the door – especially something that is in consideration of your health – then I expect that you will do as you’re told!"

She was still trying to recover from those last five stingers, and her response was unthinking. "Y-Yes, Sir."

"Good girl. I think fifteen more will help you remember."

Reed completely ignored her whining protests, and her tears, as he proceeded to deliver hard, unforgiving slaps that left his hand imprinted like a brand on her bottom.

When he finally let her go, it was only to lift her onto the bed with him so that he could lean against the headboard and hold her while she sobbed onto his chest. This was one of the best parts of spanking a woman – the holding and comforting afterwards.

Reed brushed the tears from her cheeks along with the wet hair that was plastered there, holding her tightly to him. God, he couldn’t

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believe that she had taken a spanking from him! It was absolutely un-freaking believable! He felt like he had just won the lottery –

he’d finally found a woman who fulfilled his needs and wants on every level – even those levels that he kept buried deep within himself.

Trish struggled against his hold until he let her turn away from him, still within the confines of his arms. He wasn’t letting her go anywhere! Her still-hot little bottom was pressed up against the rigid pole behind his zipper, teasing him with its warmth.

Reed’s eager hands found the mounds of her breasts, tweaking and pulling those sensitive tips in just the way he knew she loved until she was writhing and moaning, in much the same way she had while he was blistering her bottom.

He turned her over onto her bare bottom, loving the startled moan that told him she was still tender. The loose white t-shirt was discarded quickly, but he barely got his pants and underwear down before he mounted her, driving into her harder and faster than he ever had. Trish’s legs wrapped high around his waist, opening herself completely to him. She cried out in with each sharp thrust until it and he overwhelmed her with pleasure, even though – or maybe because – her bottom stung every time he drove it into the mattress.

When Reed rolled off her, his teeth were tingling because he was breathing so hard. He kept one hand on her flank, but his other arm was flung over his eyes.

The stark truth occurred to him at that moment that he had found the woman of his dreams – and she didn’t even consider him a friend.

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eed wouldn’t have thought that their sex life could get better, but it did. He naturally took on a more Rdominant demeanor with her, and she responded to it like a flower naturally turned towards the sun. Trish started getting herself spanked quite regularly, and in some cases – like those where she compromised her own safety or deliberately disobeyed him – somewhat harshly. But even after a harder session with the paddle he’d hidden away in the back of his closet, she came to him literally dripping wet, and he was more than willing to assuage her obvious need.