“Charlie, things work a bit differently here on Sanctuary,” Kent told her. “Normally, we wouldn’t hire someone from an agency. We have a different set of criteria that we’re searching for when we employee someone. But we were kind of desperate.”
“What kind of criteria? Do you mean the fact that I don’t have a dick?”
“That’s enough crude language from you, little girl,” he growled.
Kent gave him an exasperated look. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, Clint?”
“Nope.” He settled back into his chair and stared at them both.
“Crude language? Really? All I said was dick.”
“And I said I don’t want to hear you using crude language or swearing,” Clint told her sternly. “Last warning.”
“Dear Lord, Clint,” Kent said with a sigh.
“Really?” She arched a brow. Getting braver, wasn’t she? Maybe she felt safe with Kent here. She shouldn’t, he had no qualms about taking her over his knee with his brother watching. However, he needed her agreement first.
And if she doesn’t give it? What are you going to do then?
He wasn’t sure. But he did know she wasn’t leaving.
“That’s a rule that everyone on the ranch follows?” she asked him.
“It’s a rule you’ll follow.”
She watched him. “So, it’s one rule for me and a different one for everyone else? How is that fair?”
“Like I said, my ranch, my rules. And you’re not everyone else.”
Kent cleared his throat. “Perhaps I could explain?”
Clint gave a sharp nod, feeling impatient. He wanted to get on with it.
“Charlie, what I’m going to tell you is confidential. If you don’t think you can work for us after hearing me out then you’re still welcome to stay the night. We’ll pay you for your time and also put you up in a hotel in Wishingbone until the agency finds you another job.”
“That’s really kind of you.” She looked shocked, as though no one had ever shown her kindness before.
He glared at his brother. What the hell was he doing? She wasn’t going anywhere.
“But we don’t want to hear of you spreading any rumors about our life here, understand?” Kent added in a firm voice.
Charlotte’s eyes grew wide but she nodded.
“I’d like to hear a verbal agreement,” Kent said.
“Yes, sir,” she whispered. “I would never spread any rumors.”
“Good. I expect you to keep to your word.” His stern look faded as he smiled at her. “The only reason we went to an agency to hire a cook was because we needed someone straight away. And yes, you were supposed to be a man. We haven’t taken on anyone new in a while. I run Jenson Security International. Our headquarters are further up the hill—”
“And is somewhere you’ll never go,” Clint interrupted. He ignored Kent’s frustrated glare.
“I won’t?” Her eyes widened at his tone.
“No. I don’t want you wandering around and getting lost. Do you know how to ride?”
“Um, no, I’ve never really been near a horse.”
“Where do you come from?” he asked her.
She shrugged. “Here and there.”
“That’s not a satisfactory answer.”
“It’s necessary to know where I’ve lived for me to do this job?” she asked incredulously.
“No, it’s not,” Kent told her with a smile. “However, life on the ranch can mean long hours, cold nights and it’s easy to get lost out here if you wander away from the main area.”
“So, no going to the stables alone,” Clint told her. “No wandering off. And no leaving the ranch without permission.”
She blinked at him. “I’m a prisoner?”
“Of course, you aren’t,” Kent soothed. “What Clint meant to say is if you wish to leave the ranch, we’d just like to know where you are going and when you’ll be back. It’s for your own safety. If you wanted to leave and there was a snow storm coming, then we might ask you to wait.”
“Ask?” he muttered.
Kent just shook his head.
“I can see why you do the human resources stuff,” she told Kent.
“Not sure anyone would ever work here if I didn’t,” he told her ruefully.
“What does Jensen International Security do?”
“We have some Government contracts. But most of our work comes from private businesses who hire us to provide security for their employees when they travel into dangerous territory. We also do some bodyguard work here in the states. But Clint is right. You have no reason to go up there. We often run training ops in the woods and it isn’t safe to wander around.”
She nodded; her eyes wide. “All right then.”
“So, back to our hiring criteria. We have never hired a single female. The only women who live here are either married, or they live with a male family member, like Eden.”
“Eden is the woman from earlier?”
“Our sister,” Clint told her, noting for some reason that she seemed relieved by that. Strange.
“And the men we hire all share our beliefs in how women should be looked after.”
She frowned. “What beliefs?”
“We believe a man should be the head of the household,” Clint told her bluntly.
She blinked. “What?”
“We take the care of our women seriously,” Kent spoke in a gentle voice. “Like I said, life can be harsh. We want our women well protected. Safety is important. Their health and happiness are uppermost in our minds at all times. All the men here would do their best to protect any of the women who live here if they had to.”
“That all sounds rather…unreal,” she said in a soft voice.
“Do you know anything about BDSM?” Kent asked her.
“A little bit,” she said cautiously.
“What do you know?” Clint asked her. “Have you ever been involved with a Dom?” He didn’t like that idea. Which was stupid. She was allowed to have a past. And it would be easier for them if she had some experience.
She blushed slightly. “No. All that I know is from the books I’ve read.”
“So, it interests you then,” Kent observed.
Alarm filled her face. “Are you saying I need to have a Dom if I want to work here?”
“Not at all,” Kent soothed. “Not every man here is a Dom. But all of the women here have a guardian. Someone who makes the rules.”
“And enforces them,” Clint told her.
“So, I need a guardian then?” She licked her lips nervously.
“That’s why this situation is unique,” Kent told her. “A guardian would usually be a family member, most often a husband.”
“And I don’t have that,” she said sadly. She stood. “I’ll leave as quickly as I can.” She looked out the window at the darkness and shivered slightly. She bit her lip. “Do you think someone could walk me to my car?”
“You’re scared of the dark?” Clint guessed.
She squared her shoulders. “No.” She took a step away from the table.
“Sit down, Charlie,” Kent told her, firming his voice.
She froze, turned to gape at him before slipping back into her seat. She obviously hadn’t expected the order to come from Kent. His brother could be sneaky. All charm on the outside, but that hid his dominant core. It was possible he was even more strict than Clint was.
Nah.
“You just lied, little girl,” Clint said in a low voice.
She flicked a nervous glance from Kent to Clint. Then she cleared her throat.
“What did I warn you about lying to me?” he asked.
“Y-you can’t be serious?” she said in a high voice. He shot Kent a look and he nodded. The other man had heard the tone to her voice. Satisfaction filled him. He was certain he was right about her needs.
Too bad you can’t have her.
Fuck it.
“You can’t do that to me.” She tried to give him a
firm look, but she couldn’t meet his gaze for long.
“I can if you agree to our terms,” he countered.
She paled. Okay, that wouldn’t do. He didn’t want her to fear him.
“But I’m willing to wipe the slate clean this once. However, after you have agreed to our terms, there will be no more lenience. Break the rules and you get your bottom warmed.”
“And all the women here agree to this?” Her green gaze flicked between the two of them.
“They do,” Kent told her. “Not only that, but they want this way of life. They’re some of the happiest, most cherished women in the state. They know that their men always have their best interests at heart. Our women always come first.”
“And no one or nothing touches them,” Clint told her.
“And I have to agree to follow the rules or I’ll be…”
“Spanked,” he supplied. “There are other punishments as well—”
“But those don’t apply to you,” Kent interrupted, staring over at him. Yeah, he got it.
Bit of a pity, though. He’d like to see her plugged and standing in the corner with her red bottom on display.
“I’ll only be here a few weeks. Couldn’t I just be exempt from this—from this rule? I mean, would you be having this conversation if the agency had sent a man instead of me?”
“No,” Kent admitted. “But you’re not a man. We’d intended to keep the cook under close observation. No one would have told him what goes on here.”
“So why didn’t you just keep it from me?” she wailed.
“Because you didn’t seem shocked when I said I would spank you earlier if you lied to me.”
“That’s it? That’s the only reason? I’m certainly shocked now.”
“But you’re also intrigued, aren’t you?” Kent leaned forward. “You read about BDSM, so it must excite you in some way, interest you?”
“Just because I read about it doesn’t mean I want to live it.”
Clint narrowed his gaze. “Hmm, I can’t tell if that’s a lie or not. I think you’d like to try it. You just haven’t had the opportunity or maybe you’ve been too scared.”
“But I don’t want to be tied to a cross and whipped or have hot wax dripped on me or any of those things,” she said.
“In the books you read, did the Dom ever take more of a daddy role?” Clint guessed. It was a risk, bringing this up now. But he had to go with his gut.
“I’m going.” She stood up hastily. Yeah, he’d hit the nail on the head.
“Sit down, Charlotte.”
She paused but didn’t sit.
“You don’t want me to say it again.”
She sat, but she wouldn’t look at either of them. Her arms were tightly wrapped around her. He didn’t like how lost she appeared. How alone.
“Baby, no one is pressuring you into anything,” he told her in a soft voice. Had he pushed too far too fast? Probably. That was pretty typical for him.
“Seems like you are,” she said in a small voice.
He stood and moved over to where she sat. She stiffened and he thought she might try to bolt. But she stayed in her chair as he grabbed the one next to her and turned it. Then he sat and reaching over, moved her chair around so they faced one another.
She gasped slightly but didn’t raise her gaze.
“Eyes on me, Charlotte.”
She shook her head.
Kent snorted. “Seems like she might be as stubborn as you are.”
“Doubtful,” he replied. “Charlotte, look at me now.”
She reluctantly raised her gaze. And his stomach clenched at the hint of fear in her green eyes. “Ah, little darling, we’ve pushed too hard, haven’t we?”
“You-you shouldn’t call me that,” she whispered.
“But you are a little darling. Small and delicate and sweet.” He reached out and lightly ran a finger down her cheek. “And I’m thinking that you’ve been taking care of yourself for too long.”
“No one else is going to do it. Besides, I’m a grown woman. I should look after myself.”
“Maybe. But wouldn’t it be nice to live in a safe place, where people look out for each other, especially the women? Where you know no one will bother you? Threaten you? Where you don’t have to worry about where you’re going to sleep or if you’ll be safe?”
Her eyes widened at that but she didn’t say anything.
“We know you’ve been sleeping in your car, Charlotte,” he told her gently.
She stiffened and tried to move away but he kept hold of her chin. “That’s very dangerous and a threat to your health.”
“It’s not like I want to sleep in my car. I had no other choice.”
“Now, you do.”
“If I agree to become someone’s sub while I’m here.”
“No,” he countered. “If you agree to follow the rules. That’s all you have to do. Like I said, no one expects anything more from you than to do your job and obey the rules. But if you don’t, then you also have to accept the consequences.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
“I know this all sounds weird and somewhat scary,” Kent told her. “But we really have your best interests at heart. The rules are to keep you safe. This ranch was set up by our great-great-grandfather to provide a safe place for people who had different views about relationships.”
“He shared his wife with his brother,” Clint told her.
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yep,” Kent told her.
“Do the two of you share?” she asked them.
Clint shook his head. “Nope, I’m too possessive for that.”
She bit at her lip, obviously thinking. “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do?”
“No,” Clint told her. “But you do have to agree to follow the rules and to any discipline if you break them.”
She shifted around on her seat. There was trepidation, fear, but also a glint of interest. She might be denying it, but she was intrigued.
“If anyone ever did try to force you to do something you don’t want to do, you’re to tell me immediately,” he told her.
“And who would be my guardian?” She glanced from one to the other.
“We would share that responsibility,” Kent told her.
He didn’t like it. Not one bit. In fact, he wanted to tell Kent that if he touched her, he’d never touch anything again because he’d slice off his hands. However, he was already too possessive, if he was her only guardian…well, he wasn’t certain that he trusted himself not to take things too far.
“I-I don’t know.” She gulped.
Kent leaned forward. “Charlie, we’re not going to go around spanking you for every little thing. Just the big ones. Health and safety are very important.”
She frowned up at him. “But you threatened to-to spank me for lying. That goes beyond health and safety.”
“Honesty is a big part of taking care of someone,” Clint told her.
“What if I can’t tell you something?”
“Then you tell us it’s something you can’t share. But you don’t lie.” Kent leaned forward. “So, what do you say, Charlie? I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“What are the rules?”
Elation filled him. She was considering this. He started to relax.
“You’ve already heard the rules about where you can go around the ranch and what happens if you want to leave,” Kent told her. “Everyone on the ranch is expected to show others respect. If we learned you were going around causing problems, disrespecting other people or property that would be a big problem.”
“I would never do that.” Her eyes were wide.
Kent smiled gently. “We didn’t think you would. But we want to be clear.”
“You need to take care of your health,” Clint told her. “That means if you feel ill or you’re injured we’re to hear about it immediately.”
She chewed her lip worriedl
y but nodded.
“Same goes if you’re in trouble or danger, you tell one of us as soon as you can,” he added.
“You can come to us with any issues or problems as well,” Kent added. “We’re not ogres. Well, not all of us.” He nodded over at Clint and she smiled. “I know it might not seem like it, but his bark is worse than his bite.”
“It is not,” he protested. “My bite is even worse.”
She started to smile.
“Would you like the night to think about it all?” Kent asked.
“No. I’ve made up my mind. I want to stay.”
“Good.” Clint smiled with satisfaction.
“We’re really happy to have you, Charlie. You’ve saved us from many nights of indigestion.” Kent winked at her and she blushed.
Jealousy reared its ugly head and he pushed it back. She wasn’t his. He didn’t have any right to feel jealous of his brother.
“We have a cabin ready for you to stay in.” Kent glanced at his watch. “Clint will show you to it. I’ve got to get to another meeting I’m afraid.”
“This late?” she asked.
He smiled. “We have clients all over the world, so I have to work to their time zone. I’ll try and catch up with you tomorrow though and make sure you’re all right. Do you have a phone?”
“Yes.”
“Good, Clint will give you our numbers so you can reach us.” He stood and moved around to where she sat then leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. “Welcome to Sanctuary Ranch, little one.” He grinned as Clint gave a warning growl.
6
What the hell had she agreed to? She had no idea what she’d been thinking.
She’d been thinking that she didn’t want to leave. That even though what they told her was kind of bizarre and unlike anything she’d ever heard of outside of fiction, it all sounded rather…nice. Well, not the spanking part.
Uh-huh, like you haven’t gotten all hot and bothered reading about some naughty submissive being taken over her Dom’s knee.
Yeah, but reading it and experiencing were two different things. Damn, she needed her head examined. She should have at least taken Kent’s offer to sleep on it. She was exhausted. She couldn’t wait to climb into a real bed.
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