“You may not say that in a couple of days when your over my knee,” he muttered, “now go to sleep.”
I don’t care, I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Luke stared down at the empty fields and smattering of trees around the home of Tyler Anderson. It had only taken him about fifteen minutes to make the ride over the low hills and across the few paddocks that separated the main compound from the hunting lodge, and with plenty of trees for cover he had no concerns about being spotted.
He knew Tyler would be in town at his father’s office. The family operated other businesses besides the ranch, and the small empire was run from a modest building in the center of town. Tyler was second-in-command to his dad, but Luke had serious doubts that Tyler’s ability matched that of his entrepreneurial father.
As Luke meandered Ghost closer, keeping a sharp watch for anyone approaching or any movement inside the house, he felt a growing doubt, unsure if Tyler had either the guts or the brainpower to pull off such an elaborate scheme.
You’ve been chasing Tess for years and you sure weren’t happy when she started up with me, and yep, I seem to recall Patty sayin’ you were close friends, but you’re not savvy; it would have taken a slick, conniving man to work out all those details. Then again, maybe I don’t know you as well as I think. Maybe you are that clever!
“If it wasn’t you, who was it?” Luke mumbled as he rode Ghost to the back door of the house.
Sliding off his horse he wrapped the reins loosely around the hitching post, though Luke knew needn’t have bothered; Ghost wouldn’t go anywhere, and even if he did a whistle would bring him running back.
“I won’t be long,” he purred stroking the horse’s neck. “You keep a look out.”
Grinning at the thought of Ghost whinnying if someone approached, Luke moved to the back door and tried the handle, not surprised when it turned easily in his hand; he knew there’d be no reason for Tyler to lock up his house. The compound was secure, and Tyler would never think that someone would come riding in from the back fields.
Stepping stealthily forward he paused, listening; the only sound was the loud ticking of a clock.
“Man, that’d drive me crazy,” he murmured as he headed deeper into the kitchen.
The house was sprawling, tidier than he’d thought it would be, and hastening his step he searched out an office, or a den, a room where Tyler might keep his important papers, and hopefully a diary or appointment book.
He found it off a wide hallway, and moving quickly behind the desk he couldn’t believe his luck. Sitting in the middle of the dark green inlaid leather desk was a Month-By-Month calendar. Taking the thin piece of red ribbon hanging out at the bottom he opened the leather-bound book and found himself looking at Tyler’s appointments for the day.
“Thank the Lord,” he muttered, “someone else who doesn’t use a smartphone. I thought I was the only person left who used a regular diary like this.”
Reading through the notes it appeared Tyler had meetings until early afternoon. Though still nervous about snooping around the house, the information gave Luke a semblance of reassurance, and he began flipping back through the pages to the date that had turned his world upside down; the date that he’d met Patty Jamison and poor old Nate had been attacked and robbed.
He could feel his heartbeat tick up as he reached the right month and his eyes scanned the small boxes showing the days. When his gaze fell upon the date he began to read, and his heart sank as he read the notes written in the small space.
Dinner - 6:30 - Red Lion - poker - back room with Doug, Will, Jeb, Johnny and Bob. $10k Min.
“Poker? He was at a poker game?” Luke mumbled. “Still, this is no guarantee he went to the game, but if he did then…could he have hired someone?”
Dropping into the desk chair he let out a heavy sigh; he didn’t believe for a minute that Tyler would have paid someone to attack old Nate, he wasn’t the type.
“If it’s not you, Tyler, who the hell set me up?” he grumbled.
Staring around the room he saw photographs of loved ones, of girlfriends past, and the celebrity visitors who had been guests at the ranch.
Standing up he ambled across and studied the smiling faces; standing in the background in one of the photographs was Patty Jamison.
“Patty, dare I risk talking to you?” he mumbled, staring at the attractive girl looking back at him. “You hold the key. I have to get the information from you, there is no-one else.”
He ambled from the den and back through the house, and as he walked outside and up to his horse he took a long deep breath.
“Where do I go from here, Ghost?” he asked swinging himself into the saddle.
As he rode back towards the hunting lodge he was perplexed. While he’d had some doubts about Tyler’s guilt, outside of Patty, who seemed incapable of doing something so nasty to old Nate, Tyler was the only person he could think of who had any kind of axe to grind. By the time he reached the lodge he knew he had to verify that Tyler had been at the poker game; only then could he completely rule him out.
The morning was clear, and Luke decided to risk putting Ghost in a small paddock near the house. With his white coat the horse blended in with the thin layer of snow still covering that side of the house, the long shadows from the trees having prevented it from melting. As soon as Luke removed the saddle and bridle, the happy horse began bouncing around, bucking and playing, happy to be free.
“Hi, you’re back!”
Luke turned and saw Tess standing in the doorway. With no clothes other than what she’d been wearing when he’d found her, she’d dressed herself in a large black wool shirt she’d discovered in one of the closets.
Walking towards her he broke into a smile; it was so good to see her standing there, and as he reached her he picked her up and swung her around.
“You look so much better,” he declared.
“My ankle is hardly bothering me at all,” she replied. “The cut hurts a bit, but I don’t have a headache. I think I’m fine.”
“I knew you would be,” he remarked as he placed her gently back on her feet. “That breakfast you cooked up this mornin’ told me you were feelin’ better even if you were a bit bleary-eyed.”
“I was starving,” she sighed, “and I can’t believe there’s so much food around here. I thought no-one came out here during winter.”
“I’m startin’ to worry about that myself. Used to be no-one did, but findin’ that milk and those eggs in the refrigerator in the garage was a bit of a shock.”
“Should we stay here?” she asked, a worried look on her face. “Maybe someone is using it and they’ll come back.”
“I’m worried about that too,” he nodded. “Last night we had no choice, but now…”
“We could always go back to my place,” she suggested. “With Dwayne there no-one would think for a minute you’d be staying with me.”
“You might be right,” he nodded. “I’ve done what I came out here to do, and you can’t stay sick forever.”
“What happened at Tyler’s” she asked.
“It was almost too easy,” he grinned.
“It was? That’s great,” she said excitedly. “Tell me what you found out.”
“According to Tyler’s diary he was at a poker game that night,” he grimaced, “all I have to do is make sure he was there.”
“Oh, my, gosh!” she exclaimed, “I’m such an idiot.”
“Yep, you proved that yesterday,” he frowned, “but what are you talkin’ about now?”
“I just remembered, Jeb won a bunch of money off him that night. He was telling me about it when he got the call about Nate the following morning.”
“Damn, girl, it sure would have been helpful if you’d thought about that sooner,” he sighed.
“Sorry, there’s just been so much going on,” she groaned. “You coming back was so shocking, and then everything that’s happened since, I sh
ould have remembered when you first mentioned you thought Tyler was involved. Shoot, I’m really sorry, I just forgot.”
“Hey, not to worry,” he assured her putting his arm around her shoulder. “Better late than never, and now I don’t have to figure out how to confirm he was there, you just did that for me, but where do I go from here?”
“Seems to me there’s only one person who can tell you what you need to know, the person who got you up to the lake, and then lied about what you did while you were there,” she remarked.
“Patty Jamison,” Luke groaned.
“Yep, Patty Jamison,” she nodded.
Moving across the room with her and sitting on the couch, he leaned back and closed his eyes.
How the hell am I gonna get Patty to tell me who persuaded her to call me out that night?
“You want some coffee?” Tess asked dropping down beside him and leaning into his chest.
“Yeah, maybe, in a minute,” he replied. “Just need to catch my breath.”
“I really like this shirt,” she smiled running her hand over the thick, black wool. “I’m almost tempted to take with me.”
“Now there’s a smart idea,” he said sarcastically. “Steal a shirt from our hide-out.”
“I was only kidding,” she quipped, then looking at him soulfully she asked, “Aren’t you glad I’m here? I mean, you wouldn’t have had that great breakfast, you’d wouldn’t know that Tyler was at the poker game right now, you wouldn’t-”
“I wouldn’t be sittin’ here worried about gettin’ outta this place before someone comes along and finds us,” he retorted, “and the chance that you could you end up with your cute butt behind bars.”
“Oh, well, yeah, I guess that’s true too,” she admitted, “but isn’t it worth it?”
“I don’t have an answer to that yet,” he said firmly. “When this is all over, if you’re still out wandering the streets then yeah, but if you’re sittin’ in a jail cell the answer will be a resoundin’ no.”
The sound of his burner phone broke into their conversation, and he grabbed it from his pocket.
“Hey, Robbie, what’s the latest?” he asked urgently.
“It’s good news,” he declared. “Dwayne just called me, and I guess they think you jumped from the train somewhere between here and Longville.”
“That is good news,” he agreed. “It would’ve have been an option if I’d wanted to break my leg.”
“They had a big talk about that, and decided you must have done it when it slowed to go through one of the crossings in the small towns. They’re all leavin’ to go hunt for you.”
“I wish them luck,” Luke laughed. “Tell Dwayne Tess and I are comin’ back there. Someone has been at this lodge recently and they might come back. We’ll be at my barn tonight.”
“Don’t wait too long,” Robbie said. “I’d get outta there now.”
“Maybe, but I’m not sure I wanna ride up to my property in broad daylight,” Luke remarked. “Leavin’ now is a risk, like stayin’ is a risk.”
“Call me when you’re on your way and I’ll make sure I’m there,” Robbie said. “I’ll see you when you get here.”
Ending the call and placing the phone on the coffee table he turned and picked up Tess’s hands.
“Young lady,” he said firmly, “you and I have some unfinished business.”
Tess immediately knew what he meant; she was about to get spanked.
“Uh, shouldn’t we, uh, get out of here?” she stammered as the heat crossed her face.
“Like I just said to Robbie it’s a risk either way, and I think movin’ back to my place in the dark is the safest bet. It’s the middle of the week, and if someone is usin’ this lodge it’s probably durin’ the weekend, so I’m gonna take care of you right now.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
She had protested, she had cajoled, she had even begged, but Luke was unmoved, and when he’d looked her directly in the eye and asked her outright if she deserved a spanking, lowering her eyes and with a deep sigh she’d nodded her head.
Now prone over his lap, the black wool shirt having been promptly removed and thrown across the back of the sofa, Tess was feeling the thick denim of his jeans against the top of her thighs and behind her calves, the latter from his heavy leg holding hers in place. He had tied her wrists with his belt so she couldn’t throw her hands behind her, and with the spanking his hand was about to deliver he had no doubt, were they free, that’s exactly what would happen.
“Do I need to scold you any further?” he asked.
“Uh, yes,” she bleated.
“I expected that,” he replied, “another attempt to put off the inevitable, but if you feel you need to be reminded about why you’re in the position you’re in, I’m happy to oblige, but I’ll do it while I’m whippin’ your ass.”
“Luke, wait,” she wriggled.
“Nope, no more waitin’, and if you try to put me off one more time you’ll get ten extra swats at the end. Understand?”
“Yes,” she whimpered.
“Yes, Sir,” he said sternly.
“Sorry, yes, Sir,” she repeated.
His large, rough hand had been resting on her right cheek, and raising it in the air he sent it down with a hard swat.
“You not only broke your promise, you broke it twice,” he declared lifting his arm again, “and you put yourself at grave risk and that’s not allowed,” he finished, landing his hand in the same area with considerable force.
“OW, OW,” she wailed.
“Shush, you are a very bad girl,” he continued, smacking her quickly, “and now you’re going to learn what happens to very bad girls.”
“OW, I’ll keep my-”
A flurry of slaps transformed her attempt at speech into cries of pain and enthusiastic gyrations as her hips moved from side to side to avoid his stinging palm. Her legs were no match for the strength of his under which they were pinned, and though she attempted to lift her body and pull her hands from the belt, it was to no avail. As his hot hand flew from cheek to cheek, swatting with abandon, her skin began to turn bright pink, and it was only when she was beseeching him to pause, to wait, to stop, and the stain under his hand was transforming from pink to red, did he grant her wish.
“Ooh, Sir,” she wailed, “it burns. You’ve spanked me so hard!”
“You think this is over?” he growled.
“Ooh, Sir, please,” she begged, “I can’t take anymore.”
Rubbing his hand over her bottom he considered her words.
Hmmm, this is the first proper spankin’ she’s had, maybe I should leave it at that, but if I do I’ll run the risk of her thinkin’ she got me to stop, and I can’t let that happen.
“So you think you’ve learned your lesson? Is that what you’re tellin’ me?”
“Yes, yes, I have, I swear,” she gasped. “Really, I have.”
“Why do I think you’re sayin’ that so I won’t spank you anymore?” he frowned.
“Well, I guess I am, but I have learned, I promise,” she swore urgently, “I’ll do what you tell me from now on.”
“Do I need to smack this red butt anymore?”
“No, no, you don’t.”
“That just doesn’t sound quite right to me,” he said thoughtfully, continuing to roam his hand over her scarlet skin. “If you’d said somethin’ like, if you think so, Sir, or perhaps, it’s up to you, Sir, but what you just said, that ain’t sittin’ right, kinda like you won’t be sittin’ right when I’m done with you.”
“Ooh, Sir,” she whimpered.
“Let’s try that again. You think you’ve learned your lesson?”
“If you think so, Sir,” she quickly replied.
“Hmmm, do I need to spank this red butt anymore?” he continued.
“Ooh, Sir,” she mewled, “that’s up to you.”
“See there, didn’t it feel better when you put it like that? Isn’t that respectful, do you see how that might satisfy me
?”
“Yes, Sir, I do.”
“Then let’s make it stick. I’m gonna spank you some more so you understand that asking me to stop, and tryin’ to convince me you’ve learned your lesson won’t get you anywhere. You understand me, Tess?”
“Yes, Sir, I understand,” she bleated, and though she was tempted to add, please don’t make it too hard, she held her tongue.
Shifting her hips further across his lap, pressing his leg firmly against the backs of hers, and tightening the grip around her waist, he sent his hand below her seat cheeks and sliced it upwards, catching the underside of her bottom with a stinging blow.
“OWWWW,” she howled.
“Keep it down,” he growled.
Repeating the action on the opposite side drew a hiss between her teeth, and as he continued, whisking up three times in succession on each side, the tender virgin skin quickly turned color
Clenching her teeth Tess wondered when this second round would end. His flying hand was kissing her with fire, and no amount of wriggling proved effective. His hold around waist was like a vice, and she couldn’t move her legs an inch. Dropping her head into the sofa cushion she began to wail as the relentless hand continued in its punishing work. When it returned to her cheeks, the zing where he’d just finished was a hot, burning prickle that she could feel even more than the fresh spanks now being dispatched to the center of her backside.
“So,” he said loudly, “are we done? Have you learned your lesson?”
“If you think so, Sir,” she gasped.
“Do I need to spank you anymore?”
“That’s up to you, Sir,” she panted.
“Good, much better. I know your ass is real sore right now, but I want you to listen to me and listen good.”
“I’m listening, Sir,” she promised.
“If you disobey me about something so important again, I’m gonna have to smack your bottom even harder. Next time, what I just did to you will be a warm-up for my belt. Are we clear?”
“Ooh, Sir, yes, Sir, I don’t want your belt.”
“You just stay like you are for now, I’m gonna rub you for a bit.”
The Wanted Cowboy (Cowboys After Dark Book 5) Page 8