“Stacie, are you all right? I rang the office when I got back yesterday afternoon, and they said you’d been on sick leave all week. Then, when I tried your mobile, I couldn’t get an answer. I didn’t know what to think, I’ve been out of my mind with worry. I’d have been around here yesterday, but—”
“Jen, I’m fine, honestly—well, almost. I accidentally left my mobile at work, and then I’ve been off with the flu all week. Cam’s been looking after me.” She glanced over at the man in question and gave him a small smile. “I think I’d better introduce you to each other. Jen, I’d like you to meet Cameron Fraser. Cam, this is Jenifer Peterson, my best friend and colleague from work.”
Judging by her expression, Cam concluded that he might well have his work cut out to get Jen Peterson on his side. Part of him was glad that his woman had such a fiercely protective friend to rely on, while another part was busy figuring out how he could get her to stop looking daggers at him. He took the hand she offered and raised it to his lips, stifling the urge to grin at her ascending eyebrows.
“I’m very pleased to meet you, Jen—if I may call you Jen, Miss Peterson?”
She acknowledged him cautiously. Her voice was pleasant enough, but he sensed a certain holding back, as if she were reserving judgment on him.
“Can I get you some coffee? I was just about to make some for Stacie.”
Stacie watched her friend stare at Cam’s back as he headed for the kitchen, wondering what Jen would say when she had the opportunity. She didn’t have to wait long.
“He’s older than I thought he’d be,” Jen whispered. “Forty-something?”
“Forty-four,” Stacie confirmed. “He doesn’t look it, though, does he?”
“I’ll grant him that. He certainly knows how to turn on the charm.”
Jen didn’t sound charmed. Stacie felt her energy flagging again. “Do you mind if we sit down? I still haven’t fully shaken off the bugs—don’t worry, I’m not infectious anymore.”
“Has he really been looking after you?”
Stacie nodded. “I was going to see about returning to work yesterday, but he wouldn’t let me. Please don’t worry, Jen—he’s taking really good care of me. I’ve not had to lift a finger since he got back from Edinburgh on Wednesday night. He came straight here, and he’s only been back to his place once or twice, to pick up his mail and a change of clothing.”
Sitting beside her, Jen glanced towards the kitchen door. “There’s something about him, Stacie…I don’t know what it is, I can’t just put my finger on it, but he’s not like other men. And I don’t mean the kissing the back of my hand business, either.”
Jen really was too perceptive. She was a good judge of character too, when her judgment wasn’t affected by her prejudice against men in the context of intimate relationships.
“Give him a chance, Jen. Get to know him better—you’ll see.”
She could see the doubt in her friend’s face…what she could also see, though, was the first hint of a willingness to give him that chance.
“He really means a lot to you, doesn’t he? You really do love him.”
Stacie checked the kitchen—no sign of Cam returning just yet. “Yes, but I haven’t told him yet. Jen, he’s one in a million.”
“I hope so, Stacie—I hope he’s everything you want him to be.”
If only she knew. The phrase Too good to be true played at the back of Stacie’s mind on a continuous loop. Cam was everything she wanted and more besides, and that was what worried her.
Especially when he made coffee as good as this, she thought a few minutes later. After bringing the drinks from the kitchen, Cam had made himself comfortable in one of the armchairs and immediately engaged in a major charm offensive to win over her best friend.
Stacie tried not to let the spectacle amuse her too much, because it really wasn’t funny, but seeing Jen and Cam weighing one another up was rather like watching two jungle cats circling each other, working out their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and gradually coming to the conclusion that a messy fight might not be the best option after all. By the time Cam was inviting Jen to join him and Stacie for lunch, and Jen was declining the invitation with clear regret and a gentle, slightly sad smile, Stacie was hopeful that two of the most important people in her life might actually be able to be more than barely civil to one another.
And that brought to mind the prospect of introducing Cam to her parents, which was a battle to be saved for when Stacie had acquired the powers of the average superhero…or when she was more certain of how Cam felt about her.
When Jen was ready to leave, Stacie insisted on seeing her to the door, grateful that Cam had been astute enough to pick up on the fact that she wanted a few moments to talk to her friend alone and had consequently taken himself off to the kitchen again.
“Now that you’ve had a chance to talk to him properly, what do you think?”
Jen looked thoughtful for a moment. “He’s a man—therefore, by definition he’s not perfect. But he does seem decent, and I saw the way he was looking at you. I’m not sure if I could be comfortable with a man looking at me that way.”
That puzzled Stacie. “In what way?”
“You’ll probably think I’m being really weird here, but I couldn’t make my mind up whether he was looking at you as if he owned you, or if he wanted to eat you up alive.”
At that, Stacie had to smile. “Don’t stress about it too much, Jen—I sometimes look at him in exactly the same way.”
~~*~~
Cam let her go back to work on Monday, but had said nothing about remaining at her apartment. That being the case, she was surprised to see him there when she arrived home at the end of the day. She was even more surprised to see him wielding power tools and testing what had to be a new lock on her front door…to go with the new bolts and security chain that he’d fitted to the inside.
“Hi, beautiful,” he greeted her, catching hold of her waist and drawing her to him for a bold kiss of welcome.
“Hi yourself,” she smiled back when he released her mouth. “What are you doing?”
He raised an eyebrow, and Stacie got a rapidly sinking feeling in her stomach. That quirk meant only one thing—her backside was about to have a close encounter with Cam’s hand. She was in trouble for something, but she had no idea what it might be.
“Just finishing up, and then you and I are going to come to an agreement regarding your responsibilities as my sub.”
She wasn’t fooled for a moment. There would be no coming to an agreement—he was going to tell her what her responsibilities were, because sure as the sun would rise in the morning, in his eyes she’d failed to fulfil at least one of them. His words, his tone, his demeanour…all three combined almost gave her an instant orgasm as she stood there with his arm holding her close to his hard body. Her eyes automatically fell, focusing her gaze on the v-shaped area of tanned skin between his Adam’s apple and the first fastened button of his open-necked, dark blue shirt.
He continued. “Go inside. Put a cushion on the floor, three feet in front of the centre of the sofa. Strip, kneel on the cushion and wait.”
Her breathing fast and shallow, Stacie knew that this was not a time for playful disobedience. “Yes, Sir.”
She didn’t hang around wondering further what had specifically rattled his cage—instead she focused solely on his instructions, wasting more time as she fumbled slightly with the buttons of her blouse. She assumed the required position, and seconds later, long legs clad in dark-grey trousers came to stand in front of her. The knees bent, and then she was looking directly at Cam’s crotch as he sat in front of her.
Oh shit. She was in so much trouble and still the man could turn her on with zero effort on his part.
“Stacie, there are some things you need to learn, and in this case, you’re going to learn some of them the hard way. These things are important, because they concern your health and safety.
“Firstly, you left yo
ur mobile phone at work and I couldn’t contact you—”
“But I wasn’t well! If I hadn’t caught the flu, I’d have had it with me!” How could he possibly be mad at her for being ill, something over which she had no control?
“I know that, but I had no other means of contacting you, which is something we are going to remedy. In addition to getting a landline installed—which I will take care of—you are going to give me your contact numbers for friends and family.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Stacie, I am not going to spank you for not telling me that you were sick, but only because you didn’t have the means to tell me. If you’d had your mobile phone and not told me, I’d have been disciplining you for that. From now on, you tell me everything—is that understood?”
His voice was stern, but what Stacie felt was the care beneath the strict tone. “Yes, Sir, I understand.”
“But that’s not all, Stacie. What disturbed me even more is the blatantly careless disregard you have for your personal security. A few days ago it took me seconds to get in here—I can only thank God that your ex is an even bigger dickhead than I gave him credit for, given that he didn’t manage to get in here when you dumped him. I’ve fixed that now, but the point is, I shouldn’t have had to, because you should have put more value on your own security a long time ago.”
She couldn’t argue that point—it was one of those things she’d been meaning to do, but just hadn’t got around to it. “I’m sorry, Sir.”
“I know you are.”
The softness of the tone startled her. She looked up into Cam’s face as he leaned forward, hands clasped, forearms resting on his strong thighs. He remained still for a few moments, then his hands parted and his fingers caressed the line of her jaw. “Over my knee. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can put the whole episode behind us.”
Her insides squirmed as Stacie assumed the position he’d ordered. It was downright humiliating, being treated like a recalcitrant child, but at the same time she couldn’t deny that she was turned on by being placed in such a vulnerable position. A large hand flat on her back held her in place.
“Stacie, I’m disciplining you for one infraction. That on its own would earn you a minimum of twenty swats. However, due to the severity of that infraction and the fact that it concerns your personal safety—the safety of my property—you’ll be getting an extra twenty.”
Forty swats wasn’t so bad—she was sure she’d had more when they were playing. His next words, though, made her quiver…and not in a good way.
“And don’t make the mistake of thinking that you’ll enjoy this, Stacie—you won’t. This is for punishment, not pleasure, and it certainly does not please me to be put in a position to have to do it.”
When the first spank landed, Stacie yowled—she couldn’t help it. He was right—there was no way this was an erotic spanking…and she was facing thirty-nine more of those? “Cam…Sir…I’m sorry…please stop!”
It wasn’t her safeword—she had no intention of giving her safeword, because as the hand of the man she now thought of as her Master continued to spank her rapidly burning backside, Stacie found a new place of refuge, in the certain knowledge that Cam cared deeply about her, even if he wasn’t in love with her.
Chapter 11
“Why didn’t you tell me about your birthday?”
Stacie glanced over her shoulder on her way to the kitchen to make coffee. Cam was standing at the mantelpiece, looking at the birthday card from her parents that had arrived that morning—one of the dozen or so she’d received in total. Not a vast number, but she’d always preferred quality over quantity.
She shrugged. “It’s not exactly come up in conversation, and I wasn’t going to make a point of mentioning it. It’s okay, it’s no big deal.”
He replaced the card and picked up another—the one from Jen. “It’s today?”
“Yep—another year older,” she admitted with a self-conscious grin.
The second card went back. “Don’t think of it like that, Stace. Clocking up another year is not the be-all and end-all of a birthday.”
“So how should I think of it then?”
“A celebration,” he replied easily. “Of the day your parents graced us all with your presence.”
Stacie chuckled—grace had not featured heavily in her life when she was a child. Her ballet teacher had despaired, and Stacie had the dubious distinction of being the first—and to the best of her knowledge, only—pupil to be expelled from the school. “So when’s yours?”
“March, but you’re not getting out of it that way.” He moved to sit on the arm of the sofa. “Come here.”
His long legs were braced a foot and a half apart for support, and when she took the hand he offered, he drew her inexorably into the space between his strong, muscular thighs. His arms wrapped around her hips, and when his head was laid against her breasts, she couldn’t help but kiss his hair.
The freedom to give such gestures of affection afforded her a warm glow inside. Her own arms went over his shoulders and rested on his back, fingers splayed to feel as much of the taut muscle as she could. She could stand there for hours, just as close to him as she could get. He had the kind of body a woman just couldn’t get enough of—especially when there was no clothing in the way, when they were skin to skin and he was driving her towards another of the mind-blowing orgasms he delivered so effectively.
When he drew away from her a little, she let her hands slide to his broad shoulders. He looked up at her, the movement slow and deliberate—the electric-blue desire in his eyes stopped her breath. She dipped her head slightly, hinting for a kiss, and in one fluid movement he stood up, taking her completely off-balance but holding her upright with an arm that was a band of steel around her waist. His other hand was at the back of her head, holding her in place to receive the hard pressure of his mouth on hers. She was instantly wet for him.
“We should celebrate,” he murmured roughly. “It’s too late to get a table at a decent restaurant, but I can still get what I need to make it an evening to remember. Give me an hour or two. While I’m gone, you stay here, make yourself even more irresistible—although I doubt that’s possible—and when I get back, I’ll make dinner and we can have a party for two.”
Whatever Cam had gone to do, it took him almost all the time he’d estimated. When she opened the door to let him in again—it really was time she gave him a set of keys—Stacie found herself staring at a huge bouquet of classy, quality blooms that had apparently sprouted a pair of denim-clad legs. The flowers also appeared to be carrying a bag of groceries, along with a metallic cerise gift bag that had a sizeable envelope sticking out of the top.
“Cam, what on earth…?”
“I hope you have something big enough for these,” he declared cheerfully as he went past her.
In the end, it took all three of her mismatched vases to do the job properly. When it was done, with the arrangements placed strategically around the room to give it splashes of vibrant colour, Stacie felt Cam’s arms around her again, and his attention exclusively on her. All of a sudden, she was glad she’d changed into the short, light-coloured dress that made the most of her curves.
“Honey, you look incredible,” he breathed against her cheek. “Happy birthday, birthday girl.”
The first kiss was sweet and tender…the second warm and caring…the third explosive and earth-shatteringly sexy. When Cam finally released her mouth, it was all she could do to rest her forehead on his shoulder while she regained her equilibrium. Boy, could that man kiss a girl clear into the next century. “Thank you.”
Somehow she sensed his smile.
“We haven’t even started with your birthday celebration, honey. I’m just glad tomorrow is Sunday, because I have plans for you tonight.”
The sultry, sensual tone of his voice sent delicious, anticipatory shivers of ecstasy up and down her spine. Stacie had no way of knowing what those plans were, but she felt the overwhelming urge to
kneel before him and offer herself for anything he desired.
She was permitted to open her birthday card, but not her present. The design on the card was just the kind of silly picture she would have chosen herself, but the only message inside the card was the one that Cam had written. The handwriting was as bold and masculine as the man himself—strong, slanting script in black ink. It dominated the blank card the way his personality dominated his environment.
For my stacie…my special girl, my birthday girl…my girl. Master C. There was a flourish after the C that may or may not have been a kiss—it was difficult to tell.
Neither did she miss the way he’d written her name, all in lower case. That, and the look in his eyes, hinted at the nature of his plans. Something told her this was going to be a birthday she’d remember for a long, long time to come.
“You get your gift later, beautiful.” His finger slipped beneath the neckline of her dress, moving sensually up and down against her skin. “What are you wearing under this?”
She’d quickly developed a sixth sense when it came to this man. While changing into the dress, a little voice had suggested that it might be a good idea to leave off the lingerie.
“Something that I hope will please you, Sir,” she replied, the tone of her voice reflecting the mischievous light in her eyes. “As it’s my birthday, I thought it might be appropriate to wear my birthday suit.”
The sudden flare of his nostrils told her that she’d said—and done—exactly the right thing.
“Good girl. I’m going to freshen up—I won’t be long.”
He was only in the bathroom for a few minutes, but when he emerged, Stacie’s mouth watered in anticipation of feeling that magnificent naked torso next to her skin. Now that was a birthday present and a half! He’d stripped down to just his jeans, teasing her with a glimpse of that sculpted line that ran from the top of his hip to the treasure that filled the denim so perfectly, and as he padded barefoot towards her, Stacie doubted that there had ever been a finer example of Homo sapiens masculinus. Or whatever the Latin for the male of the human species was. The long-dead language hadn’t been one of her stronger subjects at school.
Love Is Danger (Club Aegis Book 3) Page 17