Captive, Mine (6 page)

Her eyes narrowed, and enraged, but unintelligible, squalling erupted from behind the tape, two utterances sounding suspiciously close to “asshole.”

Not a quick learner, this one.

He found he rather appreciated that — but first it was time to get the beautiful woman’s attention. Sliding toward the middle of the rear bench seat, he deftly unlatched her belt. She moved instantly, trying to lunge forward. He threaded his fingers into the rich, silky weight of her hair then clenched his fist. She froze, her eyes squeezing shut with a pained grunt.

Yanking roughly, he pulled her down, drawing her over his lap. Her cuffed hands pushed at his lap as she tried to rise, but he grasped them by the chain linking her wrists, and hauled her hands out in front of her. He yanked her blouse from the clutch of her dark jeans, rucking it up to expose the satin paleness of her lower back.

She kicked out, hard, her heel connecting against the door with a loud thud, and she pushed against it with surprising strength. He twisted his fist in her hair further, and she squealed once more. Pulling one leg from beneath her struggling body, he laid it over the back of her kicking legs, clamping down on them until only her feet drummed against the door. He leaned over her, his lips at her ear.

“You’ll lie still, or it’ll be worse for you. Nobody knows you’re out here.
Nobody
. Be good, and this’ll be quick.”

Though he wanted this lesson to get through to her, part of him hoped very much that she’d defy his order.

Of course, she struggled and squirmed, no matter how fruitless it was. He allowed himself a grim smile at her fire, knowing it was going to make things all the harder — but knowing it made things all the more interesting too.

The jeans she wore hugged her figure well, and up close, he got the first good glimpse at it. Despite her petite build, her ass was actually quite generous, plump and round, the jeans displaying its curves enticingly.

Survival first, Lake. Then you can indulge yourself.

But that wasn’t quite true. She needed to learn — and the faster, the better — that doing what she was told was vital for her, for her very survival — and it was vital for the comfort of that little bubble butt she’d been hiding too.

He’d teach her a lesson, but there was nothing wrong with enjoying himself while he did it.

Pushing her head down steadily, he held her by the hair at the base of her skull, not allowing her an inch of movement. He brought his hand down on her jeans-clad ass once, then again, harder. The rough fabric stung his palm.

She froze, a puzzled little sound coming from behind the tape. Then, as if a switch had been turned on, her entire body writhed in every direction, her hips rising and falling as she struggled against the iron grip of his legs. He felt his cock stir as she moved against him, the feeling of overpowering her with his strength speaking to something deep inside himself he hadn’t known was there.

Kidnapping her wasn’t enough? Are you planning on adding rapist to your rap sheet too?

He didn’t even answer such a ridiculous question, didn’t need to. All he intended to do was teach this spirited little woman what happened when she defied him. His fingers insinuated under the waistband of her jeans, the smooth, soft flesh against the back of his hand. He hauled on them, trying to pull them off, but they hugged her hips too tightly. She screeched again, struggling even harder.

“Oh no. I’m not going to fuck you, Lily. Not yet.” He reached around her hip, fingers searching for the button in front, undoing it. “But your jeans are giving you way too much protection.”

A lost whimper escaped the tape as he worked the jeans roughly down, exposing more of her pale flesh to his gaze. Then he saw the little dark swatch of fabric between her buttocks and laughed.

“A thong? You little slut, Lily.” The black lace had worked partially off as he’d pulled down her jeans some more. He yanked the jeans fully clear of her ass, letting them bunch where his thigh clamped down on her legs. His fingers snatched up the lace, and he ripped it down her thighs too, leaving it in a tangled bundle with her jeans.

Her bottom was even more beautiful than he’d imagined: soft, smooth, but its contours surprisingly broad and lush for so slight a frame. Between the tense, trembling thighs, the dark slot below her buttocks invited, hinting at the hidden sex, calling to him despite how wrong this all was.

Get it done, Lake.

“I’d never have guessed you were hiding an ass like this. Little thing like you?” His hand smoothed over the curve of one hip, and she grew very still at the touch of his hand to her warm, bare skin. “That’s better. Lie quiet now, and we’ll get this over with, Lily.”

He palmed the soft curve of her buttock, enjoying the feel of her for just a moment. His cock was fully at attention now, and he tried to ignore it — there’d be time to think about what to do about that later.

Then he began.

He slapped her bottom slowly at first, getting a feel for how hard he needed to smack. Each spank rang out crisply in the confines of the quiet cab, her body vibrating with each blow. He watched the way her white bottom jiggled at each slap, the rich flesh wobbling as he smacked one cheek then the other. He covered each cheek thoroughly with slaps until the flesh glowed a uniform red. His palm rested over the fleshiest part of her bottom.

“What do you think we’re up to here, Lily? Do you understand how much danger we’re in?”

She snarled unintelligibly behind the tape, arching up, her feet kicking the door.

He spanked her faster then, landing hard smacks in a methodical fashion, making sure the whole of one cheek burned, the color deepening to scarlet, then marching another flurry of smacks up and down the other cheek. He traced a finger along two raised welts left by his blows. Her thighs trembled under his leg, her cries growing more plaintive.

“The first thing you need to learn is to
listen
.” He landed a harsh blow where her plump buttock met sleek thigh, the flesh bounding, the scream muffled by the tape. “When I tell you to do something, you
do
it. You don’t argue with me. Ever.”

His palm cracked down on the same spot three times in quick succession on the lower part of her far bottom cheek, the flesh blazing under his hand, wrenching more cries from her.

“You’re not Daddy’s little girl out here. You’re lost at sea. And I’m your only hope of making it home, Lily.” He landed two smacks to the tender flesh of each thigh, and she reared up, shrieking again. “Get it through your head, Ms. Cross. I’m all you’ve got, and if you don’t start acting like it, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with a very sore ass.”

Truthfully, he was going comparatively easy on her, but she didn’t need to know that. Once he got her to their destination, he’d be able to deal with her more effectively, more strictly — how he really wanted to go about demonstrating her new role in life. As pleasing as this little spanking was, she had a lot more — and worse — to look forward to once he finally got them to safety.

There, she’d finally understand she’d been dropped into the deep end of the pool.

He tightened his grip on her hair, pausing to stroke her bottom, the heat radiating from her skin like a furnace. He laid the comparatively cool back of his hand across her inflamed buttocks, and she tensed, whimpering. The feel of her flesh made his cock throb, the hard bulge pressing to her naked hip. He knew he shouldn’t let her know this was turning him on — he wasn’t quite sure what that meant anyway — but getting her through this, getting this message across was more important.

Landing loud blows across those burning, clenching cheeks, he varied the timing, smacking her once, then waiting, only to land a flurry of hard blows when she least expected it. Concentrating most of the spanks on a narrow band at the base of her buttocks and the tops of her thighs, he kept at her until her keening was continuous, her bottom a deep, swollen crimson, a crazy patchwork of darker welts and handprints over the flushed canvas of her plump buttocks.

Stroking her scorched cheeks, he loosened his grip on her hair. “Now, your punishment is done, as long as you start doing what you’re told. Do you think you can do that?”

She dropped her head as far as his grip allowed, her back hitching.

“I’m not doing this because I want to, Lily.”

I’m sure the fact your cock is hard as a rock against her hip doesn’t make that a lie right?

“I’m doing this because you need this. You need to learn the truth of things. And I’m going to show it to you.” He eased her thong back up, slower than he needed to, enjoying the view a little longer. He seated the black lace tightly between the blazing, enticing bottom cheeks, then pulled her jeans back up, leaving them unbuttoned. He brought her upright, moving her to the sit next to him, her flushed face downcast, eyes brimming tears, dark curls plastered to her forehead.

“Look at me, Lily.”

The coffee-brown eyes locked with his, their liquid depths making his heart twist. He saw hurt there, of course, but he saw something else, something that cut deeper than he’d ever expected.

Hatred.

Why the fuck does it matter, Lake?

It didn’t — not right now, anyway. The only thing that mattered was that she understood.

“I’m going to take this tape off and wipe your face.” Tears, snot, and runnels of dark mascara had made a mess of her much-too-potent beauty. “I’m not going to hear a peep out of you am I? One word, and it’s back over my lap. Got it?”

She nodded quickly, more tears welling from those pretty eyes. He didn’t want to think about the fact that her tears somehow aroused him even more. What the hell was it with this woman?

Maybe you’re just a sadistic fuck.

There didn’t really have to be an explanation for it. Maybe it didn’t matter anymore.

His thumb stroked through a crazy smear of mascara down her cheek. “It’s all done, Lily. As long as you behave.”

Fingers pulled the tape away as gently as he could, though she still winced, her eyes closing tightly. She worked her mouth as he balled the tape up in his hand. He reached forward, flipping open the center console storage area and retrieving one of the red shop rags he kept there, thankful he had a couple that were still clean.

He wiped the mess from her face, her cheeks flushed scarlet, her gaze sliding away from his.

“Now, I’ve still got a ton of driving to do. I need to know you’re going to behave yourself back here while I do it.” He threw the used rag up onto the front passenger seat then scrubbed his chin with a hand. “Can I trust you to stay quiet? Stay where you are? I might be able to release those cuffs if you can prove you’ve earned it.”

“I won’t — I won’t do anything. Just don’t hurt me.”

Lake felt a flare of anger and a little twinge of guilt.

“I’m not here to hurt you, Lily.”

All evidence to the contrary.

He looked out the side window at the hunter-green boughs of the cedars swaying in the wind. Then he grunted, shaking his head. “Believe it or not, I’m here to keep you in the drug dealer’s daughter business.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her voice dropped, and she drew a shaky breath. “I mean, I don’t get what this is. Why — why are you doing this?”

Lake opened the door and slid out, turning in the doorway to face her. “What is this? This is us trying to stay alive, Lily. We’ve got a shit-ton of hurt looking for us now, and we need to get to safety so I can figure out what to do next.”

He ran a hand roughly through his hair, his palm noticeably sore from spanking Lily’s luscious little ass.

“Now, for
why
I’m doing this? I haven’t a fucking clue.”

Chapter 5

I
buttoned up my jeans as quickly as I could and looked out the window as Lake drove back onto the highway. The car was quiet; I was quiet. I had nothing to say, I had to process what the hell had just happened, what he’d done to me. I glanced at him, at the side of his head, but when his eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, I quickly dropped my gaze to my lap where my hands rested, still linked together. My nail polish was peeling. With my thumbnail, I scratched it off completely from my fingers, all the while thinking, trying to understand.

He had spanked me. He had taken me over his knee, pulled down my jeans and panties and spanked me. It felt strange,
I
felt strange. I tried to make myself smaller, make myself disappear. When I inhaled, my breath hitched and I could feel his gaze on me again in the mirror. I wasn’t going to cry. If he was expecting me to cry then he was going to be disappointed.

The afternoon sun had disappeared now and it was full night. The window felt cold against my head but I laid it there, watching cars drive by, trying to keep track of the exits we passed but unable to after a while.

Had my father really hired Lake Freeman to guard me or had that been a lie? How had he known our safe word though? Nobody knew that. Hell, I barely remembered it. That was why I had gone so willingly with him. Although I hadn’t trusted him, I trusted my dad and if Lake knew those words, then I figured my dad had told them to him.