Her Protector (Boston Doms Book 3)

by Jane Henry

  Tony swung his gaze back to his work station, and stared hard at the empty counter. Was it really that easy? Hope surged in his gut, seized his chest, made it hard to breathe.

  “The kink aspect alone!” John continued as he filled puff pastries, unaware of the revelations Tony was having. “The spectrum would astound you. Whips and chains don’t work for you? Well, me neither. Your two most effective implements are attached to your wrists.”

  John squirmed uncomfortably, as if remembering something.

  Tony squirmed too, for a different reason. “Dude, you don’t need to share.”

  “Same goes with the rules,” John continued, oblivious to Tony’s discomfort. “Most of the time, doms establish certain standards of behavior that are usually in the sub’s best interest. You’re only into safety rules? Great. You don’t mind her sassing you? Well, lucky Tess, because some of us get punished repeatedly for failing to learn that one, and I mean with the fucking paddle, which is no joke.”

  “Jesus, John! Enough!” The mental pictures Tony was getting of his friends could never truly be bleached away.

  John turned his head to look at Tony and sighed. “Fine, fine. Essentially, I’m saying there’s no Dominant Club that’s gonna revoke your membership for not doing things a certain way. And no dominant worth his salt would join one, if there were such a thing. It’s all about you and your girl. You trust her to follow your lead, she trusts you to lead her, and no one else gets a damn vote. You get me, Sparky?”

  Tony snorted. “Yeah. I get you. I also totally get how you keep getting punished for sass. Watch it,” he warned, pointing a finger at John sternly.

  John nodded quickly. “Not a real dom, my ass,” he muttered under his breath. In a louder voice, he said, “You’re taking care of her, Tony. You’re worrying about what she needs. You’re letting her be who she needs to be, and supporting her the whole way. That is what a dominant does. And Tess recognizes it. A woman as strong as Tess wouldn’t submit to you if she didn’t.”

  Relief flooded him, making him fucking lightheaded and filled with new determination.

  “Thank you, John,” he said sincerely. “Really.”

  John smiled. “You’re welcome, Tony. Really.”

  “But, John?” Tony added, with just a touch of menace in his voice. “If you ever tell anyone the specifics of what we discussed? I’ll kill you.”

  John rolled his eyes. “You totally killed the happy moment we were just sharing! Did you think I was going to take out a billboard and announce it to the world?”

  If Tony had thought that, he wouldn’t have shared in the first place. But it was worth ensuring.

  “Not kidding, John.” He folded his arms across his chest.

  John huffed. “Bite me, Tony.”

  “Jesus. You really don’t learn.” Tony shook his head.

  “Well then it’s just as well you’re not my dom,” John told him smugly. “You’re Tessa’s.”

  “That’s right,” Tony agreed, grinning hugely as he felt the truth of the statement flow through him. “I am.”

  Chapter Seven

  Tessa cranked up the music as she drove to work, bopping along with the windows rolled down. It was normally chilly in Boston this time of year, but fall was unpredictable. Some days would be chilly and brisk, and others sunny and warm. Today was a warmer day than usual as the sun shone. Her mind wandered as she remembered what Tony had done the night before.

  All day, all day long, at Cara, he’d flirted with her. Frankly, she didn’t know what had gotten into him. He locked the door to her office during lunch, and drew her onto his lap for a make-out session, until a knock sounded on the door. She had Tony go answer it while she frantically threw a plastic container of paperclips on the floor, just so she could pretend to be stooped over and pick them up, avoiding looking John in the eye when he asked about the amount of pastries needed for the event they were hosting that evening. Nora needed a ride in the afternoon, so Tony had tagged along with her, joking around with Nora as they picked up shakes at a drive-thru. When Tessa had arrived back at Cara, she teased him, and before she’d entered the restaurant, he’d delivered a teasing, but pointed swat on her ass, causing her to spin around and stare at him, wide-eyed. He’d merely shrugged. “Act the part of a brat, get treated like one,” he said. It didn’t help that they were in such good company at Cara. Hillary, Heidi, or John would think nothing of a smack being delivered as she entered the restaurant.

  Or would they? She wondered how much their friends picked up on things. They’d given up keeping their relationship secret. Tony insisted there was no need. But still, they had to maintain the bare minimum requirement of professionalism.

  By the time he’d gotten her home that evening, she was primed, and they had a fun night together, complete with him blindfolding her and making her come until she screamed his name. She sighed. It had been delightful.

  With a frown, she realized she’d been so caught up in her memories of the evening’s festivities with Tony, that she’d completely missed her turn. She’d bypassed the intersection where Cara was, and instead had arrived in an unfamiliar place. It was surprisingly more run-down than where she’d usually gone. Several houses on one side of the street looked dilapidated. One had a car in the driveway with flat tires and an overgrown lawn. Several had boarded-up windows, and to her right, a passel of teen-aged boys was passing around something that looked like a joint.

  Where the hell was she?

  She drove down one street, certain that if she took a turn somewhere, she’d be able to find her way back to the main intersection that would take her to Cara. But the further she drove, the more lost she became. Finally, huffing out a breath as she glanced at the time on her dash, she pulled to the side of the road. She took out her cell phone, enabling GPS and punching in the address for Cara, when something immediately outside her window made her freeze. Blonde hair that hung about her shoulders in waves. An hour-glass figure in a skin-tight skirt and midriff top.

  The profile and view from where she sat looked exactly like her mother.

  Tessa’s palms grew sweaty, as she blinked. Her mother was older now, her hair cut shorter, and clothes hung limply on her instead of hugging her curves. This couldn’t be her mother. And as the woman turned to Tessa, she caught her eye. She was a complete stranger. Tessa had never seen the woman in her life. But as she marched to Tessa’s car with purposeful strides, Tessa began to panic. Before the woman could reach her window and asked for whatever it was she needed—a light, a drive, or maybe some money—Tessa was gone She’d floored it.

  She fiddled with the GPS until she found her way back to Cara, but the situation was strangely unsettling, like she’d somehow accidentally ended up in a sort of weird time warp. Her hands shook as she removed the keys from her ignition. Shutting the car door, she removed her bag and stepped outside.

  Tony was just exiting the back door with a large trash bag and some boxes in his hands.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he crooned, giving her a chin lift.

  “Hey,” she responded. She needed to get inside.

  It wasn’t the only thing she needed.

  God, she needed a spanking. It’d been a few days since she’d gone over Tony’s lap, and she hadn’t been to The Club in weeks. Her hands shook. But she put on a brave face, accustomed to ignoring her needs. She didn’t want Tony to see that she was about to lose her shit because she got lost and saw someone who reminded her of her mom. Seriously, who did that?

  So while she blew past Tony, bent on keeping her head in the game, she ignored him. He followed behind her, but she didn’t want him to see her hands shaking, or hear her voice quavering if she spoke. A minute later, she heard the heavy door to Cara close, and Tony was talking to some of his employees in the kitchen. Making a beeline to her office, she turned to shut the door behind her, but Tony was already there.

  “Hey! Whoa, babe, you’re like a bat outta hell. What’s going on?” he asked, as he held
the doorknob, followed her in, and shut it gently.

  Tessa shrugged. “Nothing. Just having a weird morning.”

  He took her by the hand and pulled her into him. The hug felt nice. But it wasn’t what she needed.

  How could she tell him she was creeped out by the odd accidental spin down an unknown street? How could she tell this sweet, loving guy that what she needed from him wasn’t a hug, or a similar gentle gesture, but a long session over his lap? It wasn’t necessarily the pain of a spanking, but submitting to him—a strong, capable, loving guy—that made the stress melt away. It was the buzz she got from feeling his strength, and the hormonal release and erotic jolt from a good spanking.

  She stiffened as he hugged her, then gently pried his hands off of her and walked to her desk.

  “Gotta get shit done, Tony,” she finally said. He frowned.

  “Tess, why are you getting all weird on me?”

  “I’m not getting weird on you,” she responded, feeling rising anger. What the hell? “Don’t you have ravioli to cut or something?” She pulled out her ledger. It was time to do some serious accounting. They were in good shape, but needed to stay that way. She leaned under the table and grabbed a can of Diet Coke, and when she sat back up again, she jumped. The ledger had been snatched up, sitting in Tony’s lap, while he sat in the chair across from her with his arms across his chest.

  She swallowed. His eyes narrowed on her, his jaw set, his large arms crossed uncompromisingly. She wasn’t getting away with the old “tell him everything’s fine” line. So much for thinking Tony wasn’t really dom material.

  “What?” she said. She could feel her lips turning down in a scowl. “And give me my damn ledger.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  He leaned down across the table, both hands planted firmly on her desk. “No. And I’m bigger and stronger, so I get my way. Woman. Spill.”

  “It’s nothing,” she said. “For God’s sake, Tony, give me my goddamned ledger.”

  He continued to gaze at her before he replied. “Now I see the appeal of the whole spanking thing.”

  She swallowed. “You want to spank me?”

  He shrugged. “Do you need a spanking?”

  She slumped in her seat and buried her face in her hands. “Yes. Yes. God, I need a spanking so bad.” Her voice shook a little as she spoke. “I was on my way into work and I was… sort of reliving everything we did last night. I took a wrong turn and got lost, and it was fine because I just pulled it up on my GPS. It was only a few turns in the wrong direction. But I saw this woman, Tony…” She lifted her face from her hands and looked at him. He still looked stern, but now placid, compassionate even. “I saw this woman who looked just like my mother. She was… younger. It couldn’t have been her. But she looked just like my mom did years ago, and it freaked me out. It was like… seeing a ghost. A not very nice ghost.”

  She closed her eyes. She could still feel the dread pooling in her stomach as she walked up the stairs to her home, wondering if today she’d be alone, or with her normal mom, or with the mom who would hurt her.

  She felt Tony grasping her hand, and opened her eyes.

  “Baby,” he said gently. “Have you thought about going to see someone?”

  Tessa sat up, the moment gone, as she yanked her hand back from him. “Like a shrink? Geez. Way to kill a moment.”

  His eyes grew stern. “Like a therapist, Tess. And no need for you to get all mad at me for suggesting it.”

  She glared at him. “You think I’m damaged goods. Just like all the other guys I dated, you think I’m some sort of freak. Too fucked up to handle.”

  “No.”

  “You do!” she said, rising to her feet, conscious enough of the fact that their employees were on the other side of her office door, so she kept her voice to a low hiss. “Don’t even lie to me. Just tell me the truth. You think I’m crazy!”

  He crossed the length between his chair and her desk in two long strides, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her over to where he was. He sat, tugging her onto his lap as she pushed against him.

  “You sit here like a good girl and listen to me.”

  Or what? Her mind asked. You’ll spank me?

  Would he? Oh, how she wanted him to.

  She pushed back against him. “And what if I say no?” she hissed. “What if I don’t want to listen to you?”

  She yelped as he twisted her over his lap and spanked her, one hard smack she felt straight through the thin fabric of her skirt. It shocked her, and she fell silent.

  “You will listen to me because I’m the guy who cares about you,” he said hotly. “You will listen to me because you need to talk, and you also need to listen. And you will listen to me because I’m not letting you off my lap until you do, and I don’t care what you try, I’m bigger than you and you won’t get away.”

  She sat meekly on his lap. She was beginning to feel a bit more relaxed. It felt nice sitting on his lap. He was a big guy, and feeling him all around her made her feel like she was special to him.

  “Are you going to be a good girl?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Good. Now listen up. First, I’m suggesting you go to a therapist, yes. Not because you’re crazy, but because you’re hurt. Wounded. And a good therapist merely gives you the tools to help you fix what’s broken, and move on with your life.”

  “That’s what everyone says,” she said, feeling her anger rising again.

  “I don’t care what everyone says,” he said. “I went to a therapist when my parents died, and it was the best thing I ever did.”

  She looked at him in surprise, her voice soft when she spoke. “You did?”

  His eyes met hers squarely while his hands flexed around her. “I did. Not because I was crazy, Tess. Because I didn’t have the tools I needed to sort through what I was experiencing, and I wanted to go to someone who knew better. And it helped.”

  She spoke quietly. “It did?”

  He nodded. “Yup.”

  She’d been to therapists before, and knew the potential for helping her was there. It was the suggestion from him that she go that was pissing her off.

  “Just something to think about. No making decisions today. Just think about whether or not it will help. Now come here, baby.” Gently, he pushed her head down on his chest. “Hold my hand.”

  She held his hand, her head on his chest, and they sat quietly, not speaking for a while. Gradually, her pent-up emotions began to seep out of her. She felt his heartbeat under her chin.

  “See? I’m happy to give you a spanking if you need it. You know that. But I want you to be able to come to me and talk to me first. I know spanking over things like that works for some people, but not us. You get me?”

  She nodded. “I do,” she whispered.

  “Now, tell me. Do you need me to spank you?”

  She swallowed. “I do. Please. But we can’t here…”

  He pushed her off his lap and stood to standing. “Right. You and I are taking a quick lunch break.”

  “But I just got here!”

  “…and we’ll swing by our place, grab sandwiches, then come back,” he continued, as if she didn’t just interrupt him.

  Had he just said our place?

  “I have work to do!”

  “And unless you want me to do something else, like… I dunno, send you to bed early or something, you’ll move your ass now.”

  She was staring at him incredulously.

  “You’re crazy,” she whispered. “I can’t just—leave work, and—”

  He nodded soberly, arms across his chest. “Right. Maybe you should ask your boss first. Oh. Wait.” He leaned in and his voice dropped. “I am your boss. Now unless you want me to spank you here where we are very likely to be overheard…”

  “No!” She was grabbing her bag and moving toward the door. “Okay, okay, I got it!”

  His eyes narrowed at her as he watched her scurry to the door, but hi
s lips twitched.

  “Geeez,” she muttered under her breath, but still, her heart was soaring. He wouldn’t punish her, and she was okay with that. He was going to take control of the situation, and that was what she needed most.

  But as she pushed the door of her office open, and Tony followed behind her, her cell phone rang.

  On auto-pilot, she answered.

  She heard a strangled cry. Tess frowned, listening harder, as her pulse spiked and her palms grew sweaty.

  “Tess!”

  “Nora? Nora!” The other line clicked off.

  She spun around to look at Tony. He was frowning, as he reached for her phone, and redialed.

  “Nothing. Voice mail. Where would she be?”

  “My mom’s,” Tess said. “She told me she was going to swing by there after school to get some books before she came into work.”

  He was already instructing his employees with what they needed to do in his absence, as he marched to the door to the parking lot, with Tessa trotting to keep up with him.

  * * *

  Later, she would think to herself that it was a damn good thing Tony didn’t spank her when she acted out. If that was part of their arrangement, the way she handled him taking over the car situation when they got to the parking lot would’ve earned her one helluva spanking.

  He’d insisted on driving.

  “You mean to tell me Nora called you, crying, is likely with your very unpredictable mother and her asshole, drug-addict boyfriend, and you think I’m going to let you just drive on over there? And furthermore, you think I’d let you drive upset like this? Get in the passenger seat of my car, now.”

  She ignored him. She wanted to be the one to drive in her car, and she wasn’t about to let him railroad her. He wouldn’t drive fast enough.

  “No way. I’m driving. Come if you want, but I’m handling this myself.”