Not Really the Outdoor Type (9 page)

When he stopped mid-spank to squeeze her ass this time, Kendall was all set to beg him to fuck her, but as Jason pressed his lips to her stinging cheeks, the only thing that came out was a moan. His mouth felt deliciously cool against her hot skin, and she moaned again as he scraped the stubble on his chin against her freshly spanked ass.

She groaned in protest as he lifted his head. But instead of spanking her some more, he slid two fingers deep into her pussy to tease her G-spot. At the same time, he used his other hand to caress her tingling ass.

Kendall clenched the sheet in her fists with a low, guttural moan. The feel of his hand on her stinging skin sent shockwaves through her body, making her pussy clamp down on his fingers. That was all it took to transport her to la-la land. She writhed on his lap, screaming with pleasure as she rode out the orgasm coursing through her.

Afterward, she went limp across his thighs. She’d never come so hard before. And to think, she owed it all to the newfound world of spanking, Or rather, to the man who’d introduced her to it.

Pushing herself back onto her heels, Kendall leaned forward to kiss Jason long and hard on the mouth. When she finally came up for air, it was to find him regarding her intently.

“See what you do to me,” he said gruffly.

Kendall followed the direction of his gaze and saw that his cock was hard as a rock and clearly ready for round two. A smile curving her lips, she leaned forward, and with her red-hot bottom in the air, took him in her mouth. It was the least she could do to repay him for that wonderful spanking.

Chapter Seven

Over the next several weeks, Kendall spent her days working in the store and her nights sleeping with Jason. And though her bottom had never been so red—or so sore—she’d never been happier. The frequent spankings he gave her had a lot to do with that. She’d finally taken Jason’s advice and stopped trying to overanalyze her submissive side and simply enjoy herself. Which not only resulted in some fun over-the-knee spankings, but some of the most incredible sex she’d ever had as well.

Not that she totally attributed the great sex to the spankings alone. Jason was an amazing guy, and she strongly suspected the reason making love with him was so wonderful was because she was falling in love with him. Which made her wonder what the heck she was going to do about her plan to go back LA. While the answer was obvious, Kendall wasn’t sure if she could see herself living in Copper Canyon for the rest of her life. On the other hand, she couldn’t see herself ever leaving Jason. Either.

Kendall sighed and snuggled closer to Jason. They’d just spent the day fishing and were now lying on a blanket in front of the fireplace in his living room. Actually, she corrected herself, Jason had done most of the fishing, although she’d managed to catch a few. It had been a lot more of fun than she thought it would be. Then again, maybe that was because he’d spanked her again.

She smiled as she thought back to how it had happened. When she’d agreed to go fishing with Jason, she’d done it with the belief that they’d let the fish go after they caught them. Jason laughed at the idea and told her that whatever they caught was going to be dinner. When he saw her horrified expression, however, he told her they could throw back whatever fish she caught.

That had mollified her somewhat, but when it turned out that Jason was an expert fisherman, the bucket kept filling up with fish. Unable to bear the thought of eating the poor things after she’d seen their faces, Kendall “accidentally” knocked the pail over, dumping the fish in the lake. She’d been very apologetic, but Jason hadn’t bought her act for one minute. Instead, those blue eyes of his glinting dangerously, he’d told her she’d be getting a good sound spanking when they got back home.

He would have put her over his knee the minute they’d walked in the door, but she talked him into letting her take a shower first. She should have known something was up when he not only agreed, but grinned. While the hot water wiped off any trace of fish odor, it also made her skin hyper-sensitive, something she found out first-hand when Jason spanked her.
Ouch!
Half an hour later, her bottom was still stinging from it. Although that might have something to do with the fact that Jason made sure her freshly spanked ass had been facing the heat the whole time she’d ridden him to orgasm afterward. Not that she was complaining. In fact, she might just have to take a hot shower before every spanking.

Beside her, Jason’s soft voice interrupted her thoughts. “I was thinking we could go camping next weekend.”

Kendall smiled. She’d never been camping before, and for good reason. She had serious issues with nature. The thought of walking around in a dirty, bug-ridden forest, not to mention sleeping in it, gave her the creeps. Jason seemed determined help her get over her phobia, though. With Jason there to protect her from the big bad bugs,  she was willing to give it try.

“You mean with a tent and everything?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Yeah, and everything. Marshmallows, too, if you want.”

She kissed him. “I want.”

Kendall knew right then that she was going to be staying in Copper Canyon because that’s where Jason was. Grinning, she snuggled back down against him and let herself drift off to sleep, thoughts of sleeping bags and backpacks dancing in her head.

* * * * *

Kendall was in the store straightening up the shelves a few days later when she sensed rather than saw someone coming down the aisle toward her. Figuring it was a customer, she turned to ask if she could help him, only to stare in astonishment. Standing there looking like he’d just stepped off the golf course was the last person she’d ever expected to see in Copper Canyon—her handsome, blond ex-boyfriend.

“Keith,” she said after she’d finally managed to find her voice. “What are you doing here?”

He smiled. “I came to take you home.”

The way he said it made it sound as if that should have been obvious. As if he expected her to fall to her knees and thank him for coming to rescue her.

If Keith had followed her to Copper Canyon a month and a half ago, she would have gone running back to LA with him faster than you could say Idaho potatoes. But that had been before she’d met Jason. Now, the idea of getting back together with Keith made her want to laugh. She hadn’t known it at the time, but she’d been with him for all the wrong reasons. After being with Jason, she now knew what she’d had with Keith had been a pale imitation of the real thing.

Keith frowned. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”

“I heard you.” She folded her arms and leveled her gaze at him. “I’m just wondering which home you’re referring to. Not yours I’m guessing, since you pretty much tossed me out of it five minutes after I moved in.”

He ran his hand through his perfectly styled hair with a sigh. “Look, I made a mistake, Kendall. Things were just moving too fast between us, and I got freaked out.”

Kendall blinked. “Too fast? You were the one who wanted us to move in together, remember?”

“I know. And I was a jerk to ask you to move out. But I want you to come back. I want us to try again.” He took a step toward her. “Even my therapist thinks it’s a good idea.”

“Well, maybe I should move in with your therapist then.” She shook her head. “On second thought, I don’t think so. I’m happy where I am.” She turned back to the shelf she’d been straightening. “You’ve wasted your time coming all the way up here, Keith, because I’ve decided to stay in Copper Canyon.”

Keith didn’t say anything for so long she almost thought he’d left. She should have known better.

He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “You can’t be serious. There’s no way you could want to live in this Podunk town.”

The customers on the other side of the shelf glanced their way, and Kendall felt herself flush with embarrassment. She’d called Copper Canyon a Podunk town on more than one occasion, but hearing him say it made her furious.

She jerked her arm away. “I grew up in this Podunk town in case you forgot.”

He looked taken aback for a moment, as if unable to believe she could possibly be from a small town like Copper Canyon. “You may have grown up here, Kendall, but you sure as hell don’t belong here. You belong back in LA. With me.”

“I already told you, I’m not going back.”

Keith’s eyes narrowed. Guess she’d pissed him off. Too bad.

“Is there a problem, honey?”

Kendall half turned as she felt Jason’s arm go around her waist. Keith’s mouth tightened into a harsh line as he took in Jason’s plaid shirt and blue jeans.

“I get it now,” he said coldly. “He’s the reason you want to stay in this one-horse town, isn’t it? You’ve been slumming with this wilderness-channel reject.”

Jason’s arm tightened around her before he dropped in and took a step toward Keith.
Oh, crap.

“Excuse me?” Jason said.

All around them, people were staring, watching as the two men squared off. Kendall quickly put a hand on Jason’s arm. Not that she didn’t want to punch Keith herself, but she didn’t want Jason getting into trouble.

“Keith and I used to go out together back in LA,” she explained. “He came to save me from what he thinks is a fate worse than death—living in Copper Canyon.”

Jason lifted a brow.

“Come off it, Kendall,” Keith snapped. “You don’t fit in here with these…” he waved his arm around, “hicks any more than I do. What are you going to do, work in this crappy store for the rest of your life?” He exhaled sharply. “Look, you made your point. You came here because you wanted to get back at me. I get it. But moving back here permanently is carrying things too far, even for a drama queen like you.”

Who the hell was he calling a drama queen? What had she ever seen in this jackass? “I’m not going back to LA, Keith. I told you that. Now, stop making a fool of yourself and go.”

Keith’s gaze went from her to Jason, then back to her. “Just come back to LA with me so we can talk about this.”

Beside her, Kendall felt Jason stiffen. “We’ve already talked about it, Keith. I’m staying here, and that’s the end of it.”

“Dammit, Kendall—”

Jason cut him off. “Kendall asked you to leave, so this conversation is over. You need to go. Now.”

Keith glared at Jason. “Stay out of this, mountain man. This is between Kendall and me.”

“There’s nothing between us anymore, Keith,” Kendall said.

“Maybe not,” he said. “But you’re coming with me anyway. I’ll save you from this backwater town, whether you want me to or not.”

Keith reached out to grab her arm, but Jason stepped between them, knocking his hand away as he put Kendall behind him.

“Don’t touch her,” Jason said warningly.

Everything happened so fast after that. One minute Jason and Keith were glaring at one another, the next her ex-boyfriend was throwing a punch at Jason.

Kendall opened her mouth to warn him, but Jason had already blocked Keith’s punch and was landing one of his own. The blow knocked Keith backward into a rack of fishing poles, and he hit the floor with a thud, the rod and reels bouncing off his head and shoulders as they fell down on top of him. He stayed where he was for a moment, cradling his jaw in one hand and glaring up at Jason.

“You bastard,” he snarled, moving his jaw back and forth as if testing it. “I think you broke it.”

Jason returned her ex-boyfriend’s glare with one of his own. “Doubtful, since you’re still talking. But maybe now you finally got the message to get the hell out of here.”

Keith slowly got to his feet, but kept his distance from Jason. “I’ll sue you for this. And have you arrested for assault.” His gaze swung to her. “You’re my witness, Kendall.”

Her lip curled. “No, I’m not. But by all means, try it. You took the first swing. Everyone here saw it. If that’s not good enough, the store’s security cameras will be, and you’ll only look more foolish than you already do when you try to press charges.”

Keith looked around the store, as if trying to find the cameras she was talking about. Outdoor Outfitters didn’t have any cameras, but he didn’t know that.

After a moment, Keith’s turned his attention back on her. “Fine! Stay here in this Podunk town and work in this place. But when you get tired of cutting fish bait and banging the mountain man here, don’t think I’m going to take you back when you run home to LA, because I won’t.”

Kendall stepped in front of Jason as he lunged for Keith again. Thankfully, her ex-boyfriend turned on his heel and headed for the door at a very fast walk. Jason started to follow, but she tightened her hold on his arm.

“Don’t,” she said. “He’s not worth it.”

Jason hesitated. She knew he’d like nothing more than to go after Keith and rearrange his face for making those nasty comments, but he nodded.

Kendall sighed with relief. “I’m sorry.”

Jason shook his head. “You have nothing to be sorry about. He was the complete ass, not you.” He looked around. Everyone was still watching them. “Let’s go in the office.”

He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the rear of the store. Once through the
Employees Only
door, he led her into his office and closed the door.

“I really am sorry about that,” Kendall said, turning to face him. “I had no idea Keith would come looking for me.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I ever went out with that jerk.”

Jason reached out to cup her cheek. “Did you mean it? About staying in Copper Canyon?”

She’d actually decided a few days ago. She just hadn’t told him yet. “Yes, I’m staying.”

Kendall would have told him that he was the reason she’d decided to stay—that she was falling in love with him—but he bent his head to cover her mouth with his, effectively putting a stop to further conversation right then. Not that it mattered. Their lips said plenty without ever saying a word. And besides, there would be plenty of time for talk later.

* * * * *

That weekend, she made her move to Copper Canyon official by driving down to LA with Jason to get her stuff out of the storage unit she’d had to put it in when Keith kicked her out. She’d been so sure everything would fit in his SUV, but when they got there, she discovered she was wrong. Not only did she have boxes of clothes, shoes, and knickknacks, but furniture as well, including a small loveseat she absolutely didn’t want to part with.