Finding Teagan

by R J Gray

  "Wait for her to get the shit beat out of her again? Fuck that." Jason turned to leave the room.

  "Stop right there, Petty Officer," Luca ordered.

  Jason stopped, tension evident in every muscle of his body.

  "What time tomorrow?" Jason asked through gritted teeth.

  "0800," Octavius said.

  "Fine. But we had better come up with something quickly. I won't just sit by and let him hurt her, Luca."

  "I hear you, Jason. We will figure this out, together. You have my word."

  Jason simply nodded before leaving the room.

  Octavius turned and motioned Ro to him. "Come on, sunshine, we are taking our leave as well."

  "Don't be too hard on her, Luca. She's never been spanked before," Ro said, following quickly behind Octavius.

  "Ro!" Teagan said for the umpteenth time that night, a blush spreading across her face.

  "It is not, however, your first time getting a spanking, now is it, sunshine?" Octavius took her hand and pulled her out of the room.

  Chapter 10

  Luca walked back and forth in front of Teagan, making her mighty uncomfortable. Every time she tried to speak, he glared at her until she shut her mouth.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was, realistically, more like five minutes, he turned to her and asked, "What am I going to do with you, darlin'?"

  "I think you mentioned hugging and kissing me tonight," Teagan said quietly. Luca laughed. Teagan's tension drained some at the sound, her shoulders relaxing. She was suddenly hit with a feeling of pure exhaustion. Luca stopped in front of her and reached for her, pulling her into his embrace. He held her there, resting his chin on the top of her head. Teagan wasn't about to question his actions; she'd take the hug over the ranting and raving he had been doing, or worse, the silence and anticipation of things to come.

  "Tim is going to bring your car around at the end of the shift. We both know you can't get into your house without it, so I'm taking you home to my place. I'd like you to spend the night again, but I won't force you. What do you say?"

  "Okay." Just like that. She didn't think about it. She didn't hesitate. She didn't give herself the opportunity to run. That was all the confirmation he needed. Like Octavius had done a moment before with Ro, Luca took Teagan's hand and headed out of the building, only stopping to get their coats off the chair they had dropped them on. He held hers open for her, and she quickly bundled up, knowing the temperatures outside had to have dropped. He picked up Trident's leash and opened the door. Teagan was right. It was frigid outside.

  It only took a moment for the car to warm up, and they were on their way. Neither said anything on the drive, but it didn't feel like the ride from Sleazy's to S.E.A.L. The anger wasn't boiling underneath the surface anymore. It was a calm atmosphere, sizzling with sexual arousal. The electricity between them was constant. Once in the garage, Teagan sat patiently and waited.

  Luca came around, leaned over, undid her seatbelt and helped her out of the car, just as he had two days before. How had it only been two days? Teagan thought. It felt like much longer. Two days. The amount of time Luca had allotted to her for a decision. Two days. It wasn't long, but if Teagan were to be honest, they had been playing the flirting game for two months. He was a fine man. He was honest, hardworking, and respectful. They had laughed a lot, and she had grown comfortable with him. There was no denying his character or his sexy body.

  "Let's go into the kitchen and get something warm to drink," Luca said. She was getting used to him giving orders. She hadn't liked it at first, but now it was growing on her. He pulled out the bar stool that was tucked into the kitchen island and motioned for her to sit. Trident came and sat on her feet.

  "Trident's a great judge of character," Luca said, bending to scratch the dog between his ears.

  "He's lovely. I've always liked dogs more than people."

  "Growing up on a ranch, I spent more time with animals than people. Animals are great. They don't judge you. If you treat an animal right, you have a friend for life," Luca agreed as he took out a saucepan.

  "What are you making?"

  "It's too late for coffee. I'm going to make up a batch of my famous warm milk with chocolate."

  "You mean hot chocolate?"

  "Something like that." He winked at her. She watched as he expertly mixed cocoa powder, sugar and a dash of salt in a small bowl. He poured some water into the pan, brought it to a boil and added the ingredients. After stirring, he moved the pan off the heat and poured in the milk. Without measuring, he dashed some vanilla before getting down two mugs.

  "Marshmallows or whipped cream?"

  "Both!" Teagan exclaimed, clapping her hands.

  "You are adorable, darlin'. Both, it is." He topped her mug with mini marshmallows, pulled out a can of Reddi-Wip and sprayed the top.

  "Thank you! This is delicious," she sighed happily, a whipped cream mustache appearing above her upper lip.

  "Almost as delicious as you," Luca said, leaning in and licking the whipped cream off her lip. "Come, let's go sit in front of the fire."

  She set her hot chocolate on the end table and curled up on the corner of the couch, tucking her feet underneath her. Luca handed her his mug before sitting next to her. She handed it back once he was comfortable and picked up her own. She watched the fire dancing in front of her in the gas fireplace, surprised by the warmth already radiating off of it, and drank her hot chocolate.

  "You are beautiful," Luca said. Teagan felt herself blush.

  "Thank you."

  "I'm glad you decided to take a chance on us, Teagan. I had hoped upon hope you wouldn't say no to me. I told you what I would expect out of you and your behavior, did I not?"

  Teagan startled at the change in Luca's demeanor. "Yes, I guess you did."

  "How about, yes, Daddy?" Luca said. "It might be strange at first, but it'll come naturally. I think you were close to saying it the other night, weren't you, darlin'?"

  She had been. She had started to say it; it was rolling off of her lips when he'd tucked her into bed, but she had stopped. She simply nodded as an answer to his question.

  "No, darlin'. When Daddy asks you a question, he expects a verbal answer every time. Open and honest communication is a must. A headshake can be misinterpreted. Now, I just told you how I wanted you to answer. I don't much like repeating myself. You were about to call me Daddy the other night, weren't you?"

  "Yes, Daddy." It was awkward.

  "How did that feel? Be honest."

  "It was awkward. A grown ass woman calling a grown ass man Daddy doesn't feel natural."

  "I'll give you a pass on the swearing tonight, but I won't be so nice next time," Luca said, scowling at her.

  "You asked how I felt."

  "I did. I wish you wouldn't use quite as colorful language to describe it. I understand this isn't natural to you, darlin'. I hope it will become that way, though." He gently stroked alongside of her jaw with his palm.

  Teagan laid her face into his palm. "I'm scared," she whispered.

  "What are you scared of, darlin'?"

  "Loving you."

  "Why does that scare you?"

  "Every man I have ever loved has hurt me."

  "I can't tell you that I won't ever disappoint you. There might be times when I fail. I am human. I can tell you that I will always own my mistakes, I will take responsibility for my actions and if I do something to disappoint you, I will make up for it. However, what I won't ever do is betray you, lie to you, or cheat on you. If I hurt you, it would never be intentional, and it would never be deep enough to break our connection. I can promise you that." He never broke her gaze as he made his fierce promises to her.

  "I believe you. I'm scared of you changing your mind."

  "Changing my mind?"

  "About wanting me, loving me. Everyone thinks they love me, and then, one day they wake and realize they never really loved me. They had just convinced themselves that they had,
and they leave. They always leave." Teagan couldn't meet his eyes as she spoke. She hadn't vocalized these feelings out loud. She had thought about it often; hell, she had obsessed over it.

  "Look at me, darlin'," Luca said gently.

  She couldn't. She didn't want him to see the vulnerability in her eyes. She was strong. She didn't show weakness and definitely not this soon in a relationship.

  "Teagan Anne, your Daddy has given you an order. Do I need to speak to you while you look at the floor?"

  "No, Daddy," she said. It felt a bit better this time, not as awkward.

  "I won't fall out of love with you. I don't believe in that; I think it is a load of crap."

  "But, I'm unlovable." There. She had spoken the words out loud.

  "No. You are not. I am not about to let my little girl lie to herself." Luca's hand went under her chin and tilted her head up until she was unable to look away, her only option, to close her eyes. She didn't. She met his piercing blue eyes with hers.

  "You are not unlovable, Teagan. I will tell you that every day until you believe it. You have programmed yourself with a lie, and I won't have it. Understand?"

  "Yes, Daddy." Luca dropped her chin.

  "Good girl. We'll talk about rules tomorrow, but I promise you nothing will get Daddy madder than self-deprecating talk. That will be punished every time until you stop. Now, it's getting late, and we're both tired. We have behavior to address from today." Luca's firm resolve had butterflies dancing in Teagan's belly.

  "We do? Couldn't that wait until tomorrow, too?" Teagan pleaded.

  "No, darlin'. I am a believer in meting out discipline in a timely manner. I know you're nervous, Teagan. That is to be expected. I want you nervous. I want you to be apprehensive about being across my knee, or it wouldn't be an affective punishment." Luca stood up, reached for Teagan's hands and pulled her to standing. He embraced her in a brief hug before sitting back down, this time in the middle of the couch. He held out his hands, and Teagan put her cold, shaking hands in his. Moving her to stand between his now spread knees, he looked at her for a moment before speaking again.

  "Why are you getting this spanking, darlin'?"

  "Because I went into Sleaze's house and set up cameras."

  "You snuck into his house, without his permission and behind my back, putting yourself in danger. I can't punish you for keeping things from me because, technically, we weren't together yet, but we are together now, aren't we, Teagan Anne?"

  "Yes, Daddy," Teagan said as she looked at the floor between his feet.

  "Eyes on me," Luca ordered and waited until Teagan was looking at him before speaking again. "In the future, you won't be keeping things from your Daddy, will you?"

  "No, Daddy." It was a barely audible whisper. The butterflies in Teagan's stomach had turned to boulders.

  "For your first spanking, I will explain what is going to happen. Listen carefully; I won't explain again. Normally, I will call you to me and we will discuss why you are being corrected. Then, I will bare you and send you to the corner to reflect on it. When I call you back, I will ask you to tell me what you thought and how you will go about making sure it doesn't happen again. After our discussion, I will spank your bottom. Do you understand what I've told you?"

  "I guess so," Teagan said.

  "Want to try that again?" Luca asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

  "Yes, Daddy, I understand."

  "Your tone tells me differently. What are you thinking?"

  "I…" Teagan trailed off, swallowing hard.

  "This only works with open and honest communication, darlin'. I want to know what you are thinking. Nothing is written in stone around here. I am always open to respectful discussion."

  "It doesn't sound fun. I don't like the idea of standing in the corner and especially without pants on; it's embarrassing! I also don't know how I feel about you baring me. I mean, I can take my own pants off, but can't you just spank me over them?" Teagan pleaded, searching Luca's face for some leniency.

  "The idea of discipline is to make you uncomfortable, Teagan. It is to deter the behavior from occurring again. A pleasant experience wouldn't make a good deterrent. Imagine if you arrested someone and jail was a spa where they got pedicures and massages. That wouldn't work, would it?"

  "No, Daddy."

  "Most of our pre-spanking routine is about headspace. I remove your pants because I am the one in charge. Standing in the corner, without any distractions, gives you the opportunity to think about what you did wrong. It gives me the opportunity to prepare myself for what I have to do as well. More so, it puts you in a submissive headspace. There are many reasons why I won't spank you over clothes. If you have earned yourself a spanking, you are getting one that is going to impress upon you Daddy's displeasure. Also, it is more intimate to have skin on skin correction. None of these things are negotiable, darlin'. Understand?" Luca spoke firmly but with a gentle tone. Teagan nodded her head.

  "Look at me." His tone was firmer with that command, and Teagan snapped her head up to his again.

  "Yes, Daddy, I understand," she corrected herself.

  "I said I would normally do those things; however, it is late, and being that it is your first spanking, I've decided to forego the corner time and get straight to the spanking. Oh, and one more thing, Teagan. I don't blur the line between discipline and pleasure. If we have sex after a spanking, it will be for my pleasure and not yours."

  Chapter 11

  His pleasure and not mine. What the heck does that mean? Teagan was confused. Was she supposed to somehow restrict her body from enjoying sex? How could she even do that? Was that even a thing? Her thoughts raced through her mind, crashing over themselves like two Nascar drivers on a one-lane track.

  Somehow, while her brain tried to make sense of his last comment, Luca had removed her jeans and underwear and pulled her over his lap. The soft fabric of his couch brushing against her face pulled her back into the moment. The heat the fireplace was producing kept her from feeling a chill. Teagan propped herself up on her elbows and looked over her shoulders at the handsome man behind her.

  He looked… focused. That was the word. Teagan realized her bare butt was sitting on top of her handsome… what was he to her, exactly? They hadn't verbally defined their relationship yet. What was a Daddy? A boyfriend? A Daddy friend. Wait, what? No. That sounded terrible. She had to bite back laughter at the thought.

  "Teagan Anne, the look on your face is making me rethink putting you in the corner. What in the world are you thinking about? I can guarantee it isn't how not to put yourself in danger again."

  "Uh,"

  "The truth."

  "I was wondering what we are, exactly."

  "While you are face down, ass up over my lap, you are thinking about what we are? You have to question who you are to me?"

  "I was just trying to figure out our title. It doesn't feel like a traditional relationship with you being my Daddy."

  "It is probably the most traditional type of relationship. Back in the old days, the men led, and the women—strong, independent and intelligent women—allowed them to. I don't like labels. In the lifestyle, I am considered a Daddy Dom, and because you are not into age play of any kind, I don't think I would call you a little. Although, I do think you have little tendencies. You would be considered my submissive. Some might call us a domestic discipline couple," Luca answered. Teagan was confused; he wasn't answering the way she needed.

  "But what do I tell my coworkers?" she asked.

  "You are my girlfriend."

  "Oh."

  "Now." Luca's hand fell onto her butt, a sharp sting that felt very different from the boops he had given her over her jeans previously. "Look forward, grab a pillow and hold on. I am going to demonstrate exactly how a Daddy feels about his girlfriend putting herself in danger." No other words were spoken before his hand rose again and came down, crashing into the meatiest flesh found in the center of her butt.

  Teagan was not prepare
d for how quickly her bottom started to hurt. She reached forward for one of the couch throw pillows and hugged it under her, turning her head sideways, staring at the wall. Swat after swat fell, and the warmth spread, until it soon felt like a fire building. She had a high pain tolerance. At least, that was what she had told herself before Luca started spanking her. She had been in some rough situations and had managed not to cry over the pain. More black eyes than she could count, a couple broken bones, ribs especially, she was no stranger to pain.

  This was different somehow. For starters, she wasn't fighting back. The pain wasn't being dulled by adrenaline. There wasn't something else to focus on—surviving, for instance, or taking down a perpetrator, or winning a boxing match. No, all she had to focus on was the fire dancing in the fireplace and the one he was building in her ass. There was also a sense of intimacy, a connection between them. Pain had never caused her clit to throb the way it was right now. She knew she had to be wet. God, don't let me leave a wet spot on his leg.

  A hand came crashing below her butt, onto the spot where her leg and behind met, the little crease that bent whenever she sat down, and it hurt.

  "Oww! Please, Luca! That hurts!"

  "I don't know how many times tonight I am going to have to tell you to address me properly," Luca said as he peppered her sit spot with a volley of hard slaps.

  "Daddy! Daddy! That hurts!"

  "I've just begun," Luca said as he moved his hand even lower, the sound from the loud smacks filling the air.

  Teagan howled as her upper thighs were pelted with his paddle like hand.

  "Please, Daddy!" Teagan begged.

  "Please, darlin'? Please what?"

  "Please stop!" She threw her hands back and was surprised at the warmth her butt was radiating. She wasn't a crier, especially not in front of anyone. Crying was a weakness. She had swallowed back tears since she was a little girl. She wouldn't let anyone see her hurting. She had taken her fair share of injuries, beatings and emotional wrecks without shedding a single tear. Crying in front of Ro's mom had been cathartic but wasn't something she was willing to do again, and she sure as heck didn't want to do it in front of Luca. She wanted Luca to know she was a strong, capable woman. She had told herself she wouldn't cry from a spanking; a child's punishment wouldn't fell her. There was a burning sensation behind her eyes; he needed to stop before the gates burst open.