Don't Tempt Me (7 page)

"No... you aren't going to get out of the spanking you earned, Mrs. Cole."

"Will, please, I'm too tired to argue with you tonight. I stayed here so I could get some sleep," she insisted, walking over to the bed and getting between the sheets once again.

"You are not going to sleep on me, Jenna," Will was determined. He walked over to where she was settled on her stomach and gave her rounded bottom a smart spank over the blankets. "Get up."

"Noooooooo!" She covered her head with the pillow only to have Will pull it away. That sparked her temper, and suddenly she was on her knees, glaring at the stern man. "I'm mad now, William Cole. I was sleeping peacefully until you came barging in here. How rude is that? I told you
not
to come. What is it with you? Did you expect to find me with someone else?
Or what?
Just what am I supposed to be doing that is so awful? I am working on a case that needs my attention. I don't need you coming up here and telling me how to do my job. I managed just fine on my own for forty-two years, buster, and I'll be damned if I'm going to kowtow to your every fucking whim. We might be married but you, by God, do not own me. Got that? Now, I am going to try and get some sleep, and you can either go to bed and shut the fuck up or get your own damn room! Leave me alone, William Cole!"

His response was to pick her up, sit down on her side of the bed, and flip her over his lap, shove up her long tee, and start spanking her naked bottom. "Your language is terrible when you get mad, and I've told you several times how much I hate to be called 'buster'. You hung up on me, Mrs. Cole, and that is something I will not tolerate."

Jenna kicked and tried to get away, but Will held her down and continued to set her poor bottom on fire while he scolded her for her language, her bratty attitude over the telephone earlier, and for practically daring him to drive up here to deal with her behavior. He kept up the spanking until she was crying hard and lying limp over his lap and the bed. His hand was burning furiously, too, and he felt like taking off his belt and using it to scorch her backside even further, but with her sensitive skin, he knew she'd had more than enough to make her bottom sore... especially since he'd spanked her the night before! What was going on with her? What was she hiding from him? And she
was
hiding something. He knew it as sure as he knew his name was William Cole.

"Jenna Suzanne, you pull yourself together right now. I'll give you ten minutes in the bathroom to calm down, and then you are going to tell me what you are trying so hard to hide from me. Don't you dare pretend with me, either. I know when I'm being lied to, young lady."

"I am not going to tell you, Will," Jenna declared. "It is privileged information, and you have no right to expect me to divulge the facts of this case." She marched into the bathroom and closed the door.
What did she do now?

Chapter Five

"Jenna, you have been in that bathroom for well over twelve minutes now!" She heard Will's voice through the door. "Are you going to come out of there and talk to me now, or do I need to spank you with my belt this time?"

Will was at the end of his patience. He was tired, grumpy; he didn't have dinner, and the drive was miserable. But worse than all of those things put together was the fact his lovely wife was hiding something from him! Secrets within a marriage were disastrous. The door to the bathroom opened and Jenna walked out. It took him less than two seconds to realize the spanking had the opposite effect on her that he intended.

"I am furious with you right now, William Cole. Your lack of trust and faith in me is more than I can tolerate and I want you to leave immediately. I won't share my bed with you tonight... or any night... until you apologize for driving up here like a madman hell-bent on discovering me doing something wrong. I will
NOT
be quizzed about my case. As a Judge, I am sure you understand all about client/attorney privilege. Now, I am exhausted, and I am going to sleep. You can either get yourself another room or go home; frankly, at this moment, I don't give a damn which. Just get out of my sight!"

"Jenna, you don't know what you are saying!" Her tone of voice was so cold and full of anger that he was stunned.

"Maybe that is because I was sound asleep when you barged in here, Will. How would you like it if I did this to you? Where is the basic trust in our marriage? Are you so rigid I need your permission to make a decision to sleep over because I am tired and need to sleep? If that is so, then our marriage is done. I might love you, William Cole, but I survived on my own for over forty years without you telling me how to function on a day to day basis, and I do not need this! Get out...
NOW
!" She turned her back to him and Will felt about an inch tall.

"I'm not leaving you right now, Jenna." He spoke with quiet dignity. "I know you are hiding something, and I know it has to do with this case. You're upset. Come to bed now, and we'll talk tomorrow. If nothing else, you can chew me up over breakfast." He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. "Spanking you tonight was a huge mistake... Please forgive me."

Jenna felt tears well in her eyes. She loved William Cole more than she'd ever loved anyone or anything in her whole and entire life, and he was right... She was hiding something from him. Using her temper to keep him away simply wasn't going to work. She had to tell him the truth, but how could she do that? She moved closer and rested her head on his chest. "Please forgive me for all the hateful things I said; I didn't mean them, Will. I'm overly tired... and you are right, I am hiding something from you. I just want to protect you, darling, because I love you."

"Protect me? From what?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her to hold her reassuringly. She was actually trembling, attesting to the fact she was genuinely upset. "If someone is giving you a hard time, I want to know."

"You are going to have to trust me, darling. I can't speak about this situation right now. It would be inappropriate and unethical." Her blue eyes implored him to understand. "I promise I will share everything with you when I come home tomorrow evening." How she would find the words, she didn't know.

"I'm not leaving you here alone, Jenna," Will said in a firm tone of voice and she knew he meant it. He wasn't going to go home without her, no matter what. All she'd accomplished by asking him to leave was to ensure he would stay and remain under foot! "Now come and lie down with me, and tell me what has you so upset. I give you my word I won't do one thing to upset your case."

"Will, I know you. You won't be able to help yourself," she said with absolute certainty. "Please go home and trust me to do my job!"

"Jenna Suzanne Fields Cole, I am not going to go home! Talk to me right now, or so help me I am going to take off my belt and stripe your very sore butt." Will was at the very end of his patience. He needed to know what was happening so he could protect his sweet wife. She might think he needed protecting, but if she was so upset, then
she
was the one who needed
his
protection.

Jenna knew by his strained tone of voice that Will meant the words. If she didn't talk to him, he was very likely going to take off his belt and use it. She was simply too sore to bear another spanking! "Will, dear, you are not going to be happy, but you need to hear me out completely. Will you do that? And will you remember that I love you...?"

Will felt a stab of fear. Jenna was seriously afraid to tell him what was going on and he wondered what kind of mess she'd involved herself in. There were so many criminals masquerading as businessmen these days, and it was entirely possible she was in over her head through no fault of her own! It was, however, a time to remain quiet and hear her out, and then he would fix the problem. "I'm listening, honey." He was going to take apart anyone who was responsible for upsetting his wife!

"The young woman I am defending is named Nadine Warner. Her husband is Craig Warner, and a very nice young man. He loves Nadine so much, and she loves him, too. She is completely innocent of these charges, Will," she spoke firmly.

"All right."

"When I met Nadine, something about her struck me as familiar. Will, Nadine is using her middle name now..." She watched as he slowly realized what she was trying to tell him. Emotions played across his face, but concern was the most prevalent.

"My Katy is in trouble?" he demanded, his entire body tensing. Even though he hadn't seen her since Cathy's funeral, he still loved her, and he would see to it she was protected.

"Yes, Will. But she
is
innocent, and I think I know who is trying to frame her. I was going to tell you everything once I cleared her name... I knew how upset you would be..." The look in his eyes was foreboding now, and Will was obviously very angry and trying to control his temper.

"Upset that she didn't call me and ask for my help? You are right about that, Mrs. Cole. Upset that you didn't tell me the minute you knew... Again, right! Upset that she is married to some jerk I've never even set eyes on? I'm going to paddle the daylights out of her!" he promised.

"You are being unreasonable, darling. She's a grown woman and old enough to choose her husband, with or without your approval."

"I'm still going to paddle her!" he exploded.

"Will, you can't do that. She's already too sore to sit down!" The words slipped unbidden from her mouth.

"What?" The shocked look on his face would be comical if the situation wasn't so darn serious. "Are you telling me that someone already spanked her?" Will didn't like that one little bit.

"Nadine is really upset over this case, darling, and Craig decided to snap her out of the pity part she was having for herself, and he took his hand and a ruler to her. And, please don't say anything! I was eavesdropping!"

"Jenna Suzanne!" Will was exasperated with her.

"I know... embarrassing. Craig's father caught me, and we hid in his office until it was over because we didn't want to embarrass Nadine. Craig loves her, Will. He's a fine young man. And, her father-in-law called me in because he believes her innocent. He wants the person caught."

"What do you have that clears Katy?" Will was all lawyer now, and Jenna sighed. There was no way he would leave this solely to her now. Reluctantly, she flipped on more light, and went through the highlights. Will was full of questions, and by the time they finally laid down to try and sleep, it was only a few hours before Jenna had to be at Warner Values Exemplified. Will had discussed strategy with her until he was convinced that Jenna knew precisely what she was doing.

Jenna didn't sleep well, and neither did Will. She reached for his hand and simply held it, wondering what he was thinking. He turned to her and she offered him comfort in the most elemental of ways. He showered first, and by the time she was finished in the bathroom, and dressed in her new business suit, he was dressed and holding her briefcase in his hand.

"Oh no! Will, you don't seriously expect to come with me?"

"Katy is my daughter. She needs to know that I believe in her, and yes, Jenna, I am coming with you. No arguments, now."

Jenna knew it was pointless to argue with Will. His mind was made up, and if she refused to ride with him, he would simply get the address and show up. He was tenacious. "Very well, but you had best remember whose case this is, Buster!" He gave her sore bottom a hard smack as she preceded him through the door.

They arrived early, and Frank Warner was in the outer office, looking for a file. "Good morning, Jenna." He greeted her with a friendly smile on his face.

"Mr. Warner, this is--" Jenna was cut off when the door opened and Nadine and Craig walked inside, hand in hand.

"Daddy!" Nadine whispered. "You're here?" She was shocked.

"I would have been here sooner if you'd called me, Katy," Will said, picking her up to hug her tightly.

"I wanted to call," she admitted, tears streaming down her face.

"Then why didn't you, sweetheart? I would have come right away."

"I was so awful to you, Daddy, and I was afraid you'd hang up on me if I called," she admitted. "And, even worse, I was afraid you'd think I was guilty!" Nadine was openly crying now, and Jenna had tears in her eyes, too.

"Your Mom and I raised you not to lie, and you would never do something like this," Will said with supreme confidence. "Jenna is going to prove you innocent and clear your name."

"How did you know to call Daddy, Jenna?" Katy Nadine asked curiously.

"Jenna is my wife, sweetheart. She recognized you from old photos. Now, then, suppose you introduce me to your husband? Jenna has said nice things about him," Will said with a smile, neatly turning the focus off of his marriage to hers.

Jenna was pleased when Will seemed to genuinely approve of Craig, and Frank Warner made no secret of the fact that he was delighted to have Nadine's father on her side as well.

"Nadine," Jenna asked for the younger woman's attention when it was obvious the other office workers were starting to arrive and were staring at all of them. "I think we need to speak privately now."

When both Will and Craig followed, Jenna shook her head, but gave up on the idea of a 'private' consultation with her client. They went into the same conference room Jenna used the day before. Jenna noticed that Nadine made no attempt to sit down, and she silently sympathized with her since sitting was something she was trying to avoid as well. Jenna pointedly ignored the two men and asked, "Nadine, what can you tell me about Megan Marshall?"

"Megan?" Nadine seemed surprised. "She seems fairly competent at her job. I don't know her outside the office, but she is usually pleasant enough if I need to work with her. Why?"

Jenna handed her some papers, and watched Nadine's eyes widen as she read. "Craig, it was Megan!" she whispered. "Look, honey. Look at this!" She pointed to different parts of the page. Then she looked at Jenna to ask, "Are you sure about this, Jenna? Is it possible she was framed, too? I don't want to point the finger at someone and put them through the hell I've been living unless we are certain...?"