Siren in Bloom [Texas Sirens 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

Wolf seriously doubted that. And why the hell was he just hearing about this now? It had been several hours since Shelley had left The Club. He’d walked her out himself, standing on the platform with her until the train had come. He should have driven her home, but he’d had a meeting with Julian.

Holder pulled out a card and held it out to Wolf. “Look, man, I’m sorry. I had no idea you were involved with her. If I had, I would have found a way to call you. Actually, I was trying to get in touch with Leo, but he was in session apparently, whatever that means.”

Wolf took the card. “He’s a shrink.”

“Yeah, I’d heard that he made it through some serious school.”

In an amazing period of time. Leo had gotten the majority of the brains in their family. Wolf could still remember the call he’d gotten when he’d announced he was skipping college to follow his brother into the Navy.

Why the fuck do you think I’m here, Wolf? So you don’t have to be.

“I’ll let him know you’re here,” Wolf said, pocketing the card.

“And I’d love to talk to you, man. How long have you been out?” Holder asked.

Wolf didn’t have to ask out of what. “Almost a year since I got the boot.”

Holder shrugged. “Your career doesn’t have to be over. I’m always looking for good men, and I don’t give a shit that you have a plate in your leg. I think there’s a lot of good time left in you, Wolf. Give me a call. We can talk. Shelley, nice to meet you.”

Holder nodded and walked away.

“Is that man what I think he is?” Shelley asked, her eyes trailing after Holder.

“He’s a soldier of fortune, if you want to use a romantic term. I would call him a mercenary.”

“And he wants you to be a mercenary, too. Wolf, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Oh, so the little sub wanted to put her two cents in? He took a step forward, crowding her. “What happened?”

Her eyes flared for a minute, and then she backed up. “Just what I said. I was on the train and this little punk jerk-face stole my briefcase. The idiot didn’t even have a good eye. There was a $2500 Versace bag right in front of him. My bag was worth crap. I sincerely hope he enjoys my crappy laptop and all the things he’ll find inside. He must really have needed emergency tampons and cinnamon gum. And my energy drink. I just bought that.”

Wolf followed her inside, not giving an inch. He was satisfied that she seemed deeply aware of him finally. “Did he take your phone?”

She backed up a bit, her legs finally meeting with her coffee table. “No. I was lucky. I had put that in my purse. I’m glad I kept them apart today. I went to lunch with Kitten earlier, and I didn’t want to haul my laptop bag around so I brought my purse today. He didn’t get my wallet, thank god. Just my computer, which good luck with that, buddy. It’s on its last leg. I bought that sucker from a pawn shop because…”

She stopped, her face flushing.

“Because the feds took yours?”

She nodded. “They haven’t seen fit to get that back to me. Anything, really. I guess this isn’t my first time getting robbed.”

“But it is your first time getting robbed with a contract in place. Would you like to explain to me why you’ve already violated our contract not three hours after we signed it?”

“What are you talking about?” Shelley asked, her voice going low. “I didn’t do anything.”

And that was the problem. He leaned in. She didn’t have anywhere left to go. Her chest brushed against his. “The emergency clause. In the event of an emergency, the submissive will make every attempt to get herself out of immediate danger by calling the proper authorities, but the submissive will call the Dominant the first chance she gets in order to give the Dominant every opportunity to perform his main role—to protect and shelter the submissive.”

Her lip trembled. “I forgot.”

“Yes, you did, thereby taking away my right to perform my main duty.”

“To protect and shelter me?”

He could feel the heat of her body, but he wasn’t about to give in and do what he wanted to do. They had a few things to work out. “Yes. Instead, I discover you here hours after the crime was committed. And I find you with another man.”

She shook her head. “But he just wanted to stay with me when I talked to the cops, who, by the way, were fairly useless. And then I was still a little shaky, so he walked me home.”

All things that should have been Wolf’s responsibility. “Thereby taking away my right to perform my main duty.”

“Crap.” Her face fell. She looked down. “Am I in trouble?”

Finally she understood. “Oh, yes. Unless, you’ve changed your mind and you don’t wish to be protected and sheltered. If you want me to leave, tell me to go.”

Her eyes widened. “Wolf, that’s not fair. I’m just finding my feet with this. I want to try it.”

He took a long step back, giving her the space she would need. “Then we begin as we mean to go. Pull down your pants and lay your hands flat on the coffee table, ass in the air.”

“Why would I do that?” The question had an air of hushed horror to it.

“The better to spank you, my dear.”

She frowned. “Big, bad Wolf, huh?”

“That’s me, sweetheart,” he shot back. “And I’m not happy right now. I’m very much pissed off that you didn’t even think to call me.”

“How is spanking me going to fix that?”

“Well, first off, it will make me feel infinitely better. Second, it might serve as a reminder that the next time something bad happens, you’re supposed to call your Dom right away.”

Her mouth pouted in the sweetest, sexiest way. “I know I should have called you. I’m sorry. I’m just not used to relying on someone.”

She batted those big brown doe eyes. It wasn’t going to work on him. Oh, he wanted to haul her in his arms and promise everything would be okay, but that wouldn’t make his point. “It’s a count of ten right now. Would you like to go for twenty, sweetheart?”

“Damn it, Wolf. I’ve been through a lot today.” She practically stomped her foot.

“Twenty it is, then.”

She pushed at him, and for a minute he thought she would shove him out of her townhouse and tell him to go hell. But she frowned and her hand went to clasp of her pants. Her eyes teared up a little. “Can I go change first?”

Odd request. “No. Pull them down.”

A little sniffle. “I’m not wearing anything pretty. I…I have a girdle on.”

He checked his laugh. She was worried about that? “Do you need help getting out of it?”

Her mouth firmed in a stubborn pout. “No. I think I can handle it.”

Her hands went to the waistband, and she unbuttoned her slacks. They fell to her ankles but she wasn’t on display yet. A nude colored form of underwear covered her from just above her waist down to her thighs. She hooked her thumbs under what looked to be some feminine torture device. She pushed at the spandex that wrapped around her waist.

“Stop.”

She stopped, her eyes widening. “You don’t want to spank me anymore, do you?”

He was going to have to work on her self-esteem. He could see the red marks the way too tight girdle left on her skin. He reached into his boot. “No. I simply don’t want to watch you try to wiggle out of that for the next five minutes. Why are you wearing that thing, woman? I’m pretty sure we used something like that on Taliban prisoners to get them to talk.”

He pulled a knife out and flicked open the blade.

“What are you doing?” Shelley asked.

“Helping you.” He pulled at the band and made quick work, filleting the girdle off of her.

She sighed in relief and then frowned. “That was not cheap, Wolf.”

He traced the lines the device had left on her skin. Angry-looking red marks covered her hips where the seams had bit into her flesh. “It doesn’t matter. You’re not allowed to wear it again. No more, Shelley, not while our contract is in force.”

“Wolf, I need it,” she argued. “I’m not exactly slender.”

He didn’t want her stick thin. He’d seen enough women in the world who were starving. He wanted her gorgeous and healthy. “You’re beautiful. And I find these marks vulgar. No more. You’re a gorgeous woman with amazingly sexy curves, and I don’t want you hiding them.”

“My pants won’t fit,” she said stubbornly.

“I’ll buy you new ones.” Why was he arguing with her? Because she didn’t seem to notice that he could see her pussy. Pretty little pussy.
Fuck
. How was he going to keep his dick out of her? He allowed his hands to trace the line of her hips. “You don’t need that thing.”

She put her hands on his shoulders as though she needed some balance. “I don’t really like it anyway, but I want to look nice.”

“You look very nice, sweetheart. Very nice.” He stared at her nest of dark curls. It took everything he had not to let his fingers roam down and sink into her pussy, rubbing until he got her cream flowing, until she begged for something bigger than his fingers. “But we need to talk about grooming, love.”

She huffed a little. “I know. I was going to shave, but then jerk-face hoodie guy stole my laptop.”

And they were back to the point of the lesson.
Damn it
. He had a job to do. “You can have a shower after your spanking. Turn around and grab hold of that table.”

She squeaked a little, trying to turn on her heels. He caught her and turned her to properly face the opposite wall. He watched with a smile as she tried to settle down to the right position. She was endearingly clumsy.

Her head turned back, a grimace on her face. “I hope you’re enjoying this.”

“No sarcasm. Five more.”

She grumbled, but didn’t say anything else. Her ass came up in the air as she leaned over.

Heart-shaped. Round. Juicy. That ass was a work of art, and she’d tried to hide it behind punishing spandex. He touched her, needing to show her how gorgeous she was. He ran his hands over her flesh and then did what he’d wanted to do the moment he’d seen her. He pressed his pelvis forward and let her feel the hard line of his cock. “Does that feel like I’m not interested in you? That I don’t find you sexy? Now, I have zero intention of using anything but my hand on your pretty backside, but you need to understand that I greatly prefer you in your natural glory.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He was content with her breathy reply. “Now, pick a safe word. I’m serious about safe words. I don’t want you to be afraid to use it if you’re really hurting or you’re really afraid.”

“I have a safe word. It’s Gucci. I like their bags. I used to have one.”

“I don’t know what that is, sweetheart, but I can remember it.” He stepped back and felt a sweet contentment overtake him. This was their first play together.

Wolf was going to make damn sure it wasn’t their last.

* * * *

Shelley took a deep breath, waiting for the first strike.

What the hell was she doing? Her ass was naked and in the air, and her slacks were around her ankles, and a man she’d just barely met was touching her and making every cell in her body ache for him.

She had to hand it to him. She wasn’t thinking about the theft anymore. She was one hundred percent concentrated on Wolf Meyer.

Well, maybe not one hundred because there was also a piece of her that couldn’t let go of Leo. When she’d chased after the man, one of her first thoughts hadn’t been to call the police. It had been to call Leo. But he didn’t answer her anymore. She had to move on, and god, she wanted Wolf.

Wolf, who was a taunting bastard because he’d left her standing there for what felt like forever, her naked ass in the slightly chilly air.

And then a loud smack roared through her.

Shelley gasped, whimpering at the pain that rushed through her system.

“I need a count, love.”

He wanted her to count?
Asshole
. And yet her mouth opened, and she managed to form the word. “One.”

“Thank you.” He sounded as though he was thanking her for passing the salt not for counting out her own punishment.

A second smack hit her like a freight train. Tears blurred her eyes. “Two.”

She could barely breathe as he continued. Torture? Wolf Meyer seemed to understand the word. He smacked her ass again and again. She thought about using her safe word. When he hit her a tenth time, it was right there on the edge of her tongue. “Ten,” she said, and then she was going to say, “Gucci,” but the word didn’t come out.

“You’re doing amazingly well, sweetheart,” Wolf said. His hand rubbed her ass, and for the first time, she felt something beyond the pain. Heat and languor were starting to sink in, flushing the flesh of her ass with an odd pleasure. His words sank in, too. He talked about how lovely her flesh was, how strong she was.

And she felt it. She could handle this. The pain settled into her bones and somehow she turned it into something more, something sweet. She was in control even as her Dom smacked her an eleventh time.

“Eleven,” she said. “Twelve.” The word was easy now. She gritted her teeth against the pain, knowing all the while that it led to something better. Twelve through twenty-four flew by, each smack pushing her to someplace that was just out of reach. She breathed, letting every sensation flow in and out of her body.