by Megan McCoy
Silence for a long few seconds then Molly started in, “Mandy wore Joe’s jacket home from their date and they were in there and we thought we’d try them since we’re going away to school and everyone there probably smokes, and we didn’t want mom to know and…”
He cut her off. Yeah. That explained everything and he’d be talking to young Joe next time he saw him, but right now, Molly would be the first over his knee, and then he’d explain to Miss Mandy, who was in full denial mode, a thing or two about life.
“Quiet!” he commanded. “Molly, to the bedroom.”
“But, daddy! I told you the truth,” she wailed, but obediently dropped her nightgown and headed on bare feet to the bedroom. Their mom had already pulled the big wooden chair out to the middle of the room. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the pile of clothes that usually draped over them. Today the chair wouldn’t be used as a closet, but for something just as practical. He sat down in the chair and saw she just noticed the hairbrush he held in his hand.
“Not the hairbrush, daddy! I’m sorry. I really am. I won’t do it again!” She took a step backward as he pointed to his side, she dropped her eyes again, and shuffled as slowly as she could over to where he pointed. She’d done this so many times in her life, she probably could do it in her sleep. One of these days it would be her husband’s job and not his anymore to make sure she behaved. He hoped whoever it was did a good job of it. She needed a firm hand and a hot bottom, often.
Once she was in place, standing by his side, he grabbed her arm and tugged her over his lap. He could feel her hands scramble, one grabbing the chair leg and the other on the floor. Her toes didn’t quite reach the floor on the other side, but that didn’t matter. She’d be kicking those long legs in just a few minutes.
“Please, daddy, leave my nightgown down, it’s so embarrassing,” she almost whispered as he pulled it up and out of his way.
“I don’t care. You’ve been spanked on your bare bottom since you were five and I’m not changing the rules now.” She didn’t protest nearly as much as she had at twelve and thirteen when puberty hit, and she managed to do without a spanking for almost two years simply because behaving was better than him seeing her developing bottom. But then she reverted. Girls just had to have fun. He’d heard it in a song.
“Look at you. Do you feel like a cool college student now?” he asked placing the first hard smack of the hairbrush down where her thighs met her bottom and was rewarded with a hard jerk, a bright red mark that faded quickly and a loud wail.
“When I get done with you, you are never going to want to smoke again, and you’ll be thinking a long time about how stupid you were to have fire in the barn,” he brought the hairbrush down several times in a row. He didn’t intend to stop until her bottom was hot, red and she’d remember this for days. He had no intention of doing anything but delivering a severe and thorough blistering.
“Once I’m done, you go send your sister in, and then go show your mother your punishment and ask her if you deserve anymore. I hope for your sake she isn’t out cutting switches,” his words brought another loud wail of protest from his errant daughter, and he half smiled. He’d seen the welts those switches made on his girls’ thighs and he almost hoped for their sakes his wife wasn’t out there cutting them. The spanking he intended to deliver would be good enough. But that was up to his wife. She grew up with four sisters and knew things about raising girls.
He began a barrage of fire on her bottom…..and Joy shuddered to orgasm.
Man, that was good, she thought. Sometimes it took her to the first smack, and sometimes till whichever twin he picked was crying and begging while the hairbrush relentlessly fell, and sometimes the daughter was dancing to the mother’s switch before she came. But, it always worked. It was a magic fantasy.
Lying back in the bed, panting, she sucked in air and tried to slow her breathing, her hand covering her wet moist area that throbbed still. Strong one. Joy wondering if anyone else gauged theirs by strength and time of the throbs. This felt exceptional. Didn’t match a male who would manage this little issue for her but worked till she found one.
In the aftermath of her orgasm, she thought of Jericho. His strong, handsome self, his stern determined manner, and suddenly vowed to not let the two weeks go by without seeing, tasting, and feeling all his glorious self for herself. A girl needed goals, she reminded herself. Then sighing, she wondered if he didn’t already have a girl. Just because his wife died didn’t mean that he was still sitting around enjoying himself by himself like she did. She wasn’t going to intrude into an ongoing relationship, and really, tall, dark, handsome and rich man obviously had to fight them off with a stick. Well, if he was in mid swing, she’d take advantage, she decided. If there were someone, she’d just be stuck with her fantasies for the duration. But Joy really hoped she’d have a few good memories to tide her over on some long cold nights back home. Other people did things like this all the time! It wasn’t bad or wrong, just a part of being young and single. And holy smokes, the man exuded hotness. No one could blame her for trying.
Two days. Two nights, then she was going to go wandering to his bedroom after Russ fell asleep and see what could or might happen. A plan!
Worst-case scenario – she’d read a long time ago to figure out the worst-case scenario in a challenging situation or whatever you were worried about, and then decide to accept it, and how to deal with those consequences. Worst case was that he’d fire her and send her home. He’d still pay her for a few days’ work, so it wasn’t a horrendous consequence. Second worst case, he’d laugh in her face and send her shamed, back to her room. She’d done the walk of shame before, though not often. She could handle that. What else?
Eyes finally closing, she decided that was all she could deal with tonight, but she could handle both of those situations. And his glorious body would be worth it, if she could get it. Two nights of frustration. Two days of figuring out if he was otherwise involved. Two nights of plotting and two days of planning how to best seduce the sexy male. This goal would be met.
Chapter Three
Joy shivered in her pajamas. It wasn’t cold; the house was quite comfortable despite the ninety plus degree weather outside. It always seemed just right inside the house though. Nope, she knew what it was. Nerves. It was night two. Or three. How ever you were counting, but two nights from the night she’d planned to seduce her boss.
The days had been good. The dogs, of course were easy. All she basically was doing with them was refresher while Jericho and Kane searched for a replacement for Kerrie. Kane told her they needed someone full time with Russ, who liked the dogs and could make decisions while Jericho was gone for work.
“You need a wife,” she’d teased Jericho while Kane had been on the phone with a new applicant.
“Sadly, there’s no one applying for that job,” he told her. “I’m hard to please, I hear, and kind of a bossy britches.”
Joy couldn’t help but giggle. “Bossy britches?”
He raised his eyebrows at her, “That’s what Lori used to call me, bossy britches.”
“And are you?” she asked.
“I’m just usually right,” he said. “Not my fault some people need their butt blistered to realize and accept that.”
Her mouth fell open. Had the man been invading her dreams at night?
He’d smiled. He rarely smiled, so she couldn’t help but smile back, “Just the ones who deserve it. Your cute butt is safe. For now,” Forcibly she shut her mouth. Was he making a joke? No way no how had he said what he’d just said.
Two minutes later Kane, of the purple Mohawk, had wandered in with his ever-present tablet in hand, wanting some documentation gone over and approved, while she retreated to the yard with the dogs. Every time she walked outside, the air took her breath away. Dry heat was really totally different than her humid Illinois weather. No matter what anyone said ‘but it’s a dry heat’ it was still really hot. You literally couldn’t touch th
e car door handles without gloves. How did people live here? Why? Well, she knew Jericho’s reasoning. They’d moved here from Minnesota so his son could recover. The doctors had told him that the dry heat would help, and he’d told her that Russ’ lung issues were basically resolved. Now all there was to do was get him back on his feet. Unlike some other spinal cord or back injuries, the doctors told him, that eventually, with a lot of work Russ could – would- walk again. But it wouldn’t be a quick or easy fix and it would be a lot of work over a long amount of time.
Sometimes the boy got depressed and discouraged, and the dogs helped with that. That was good, yet, she didn’t want him to rely on them for things he could and should be doing for himself.
She took Lovey and Thurston out to the agility course that Jericho had purchased and set up but no one had used yet. Wishing she had the money to spend on unused equipment, she put Lovey into a down stay and took Thurston out to play on the low hurdles. Then they’d work with the weave poles. These dogs not only needed more focused mental work to do, but they also needed some new things learned. The more they were taught, she was convinced, the more they would learn to think on their own, and figure out what Russ needed. She would have preferred to just work with one, but had made the business decision a long time ago, to work with what the clients brought to the table, circumstances or breed of dog. Many trainers made the household fit their mold. She went the other way.
Well, usually that worked out best, but one time, there was the older lady who used a walker and had fallen in love with a Husky pup. She’d lived in a very small apartment and told her ‘I just wanted someone to love me’. It was a sad situation, but by the time the dog was three months old it was going nuts with pent up energy. Joy had convinced her to rehome that dog to a lady who trained for marathons, and wanted a companion on her runs, and found that lady a five year old rescued Brussels Griffon. Everyone, dogs and people were much happier.
But, as she put Thurston through his paces, her goal was to decide which dog would be the ‘main’ dog, and focus her training on that one. She’d still work with the other one, but that would work out for everyone better. That’s why they were paying her the big bucks, to do what she thought best for the dogs.
As Kane walked up to her, she smiled at him, and let the dogs have a break. “Where’s the Professor?” she asked him.
“He’s taking a break to play some video games before the physical therapist arrives, and destress a little before the doc stresses him,” Kane said, leaning on the fence to watch the dogs bounce around.
“Any progress on finding a replacement for Kerrie?” Joy asked and hoped there was. She didn’t want to have to rush to train the new person in just a few days. This entire situation seemed like a train wreck waiting to happen.
“I’ve got feelers out to all the agencies,” Kane said, “Plus I’m trying to get hold of a cousin of mine who’s between jobs and might be able to fill in till we get someone. He always needs money to support his habit.”
Although he’d said it matter-of-factly, Joy’s head jerked. “Habit of what?” she asked, equally as coolly as he’d said it.
“Habit of hitting a little ball with a stick. He golfs and hasn’t picked up many endorsements yet. It should be his hobby, but he thinks it’s his living. So,” Kane shrugged and smiled. “He takes side jobs once in a while, then picks up some sponsor and he’s off again.”
“You think he’d be a good care taker for Russ?” He sounded pretty flighty to her.
“Not long term, but if Jericho offered him enough, he’d stay a month or two so we could get someone else trained.”
Another person here a few months, then gone, she thought.
Her eyes followed Kane’s as he watched the dogs roughhouse. “Are they going to be any real help for Russ?”
“Yes, they can be very good emotional support and if we get someone in here to help him with them, they can be a help with some physical things, too,” she said. “But he’s twelve. You need someone here full time who is totally involved with Russ and the dogs. Otherwise, honestly, I’m just not sure how well the dogs are going to work out.”
Kane swore softly under his breath. “Jericho is hard to work for. He’s gone a lot, and people do everything themselves and make all the decisions. Then when he comes home, he micro manages. I’m used to it, but a lot of people don’t get him, and feel disrespected at best.”
“At worst?” Joy wondered.
“They do what Kerrie did and walk out. Kerrie was about the fifth caretaker in the last year. That’s not good for the dogs and it’s really rough on Russ.”
“Imagine it’s not a walk in the park for you, either,” she commented. “Haven’t you been here ten years? Why do you stay?”
“Yeah, I started not long after Russ was born. I was Lori’s assistant first, then after she passed away, I actually trained Jericho in a lot of the little things he didn’t know. He knew the big picture, but he’d only worked on the design part of the business, not the actual business part. He was a banker though, so he understood business,” He paused and smiled at her, “Plus, boss man is a quick learner and usually gets what he wants done, accomplished.”
“Except when it comes to keeping someone for his boy.” It wasn’t a judgment, she told herself, just a statement of fact.
“Yeah, that’s a lot of complicated,” Kane agreed. “He feels guilty, overwhelmed and tries to hide it all.”
Joy walked back to the dogs as Kane headed back to the house, thinking. The confident, assertive man she met sure didn’t seem like he felt guilty and insecure. But really, you never knew about people did you?
But she wanted to know about this mister boss man, as well as get in his pants.
So she now shivered outside the door to his bedroom in the middle of the night. He was asleep. She should be asleep. Raising her hand to knock, she tried to remember all the reasons she thought this would be a good idea.
She wanted laid.
She wanted him to do it.
And….that was as many as she could remember right now. Instead of knocking should she just open the door and walk in? Sneak in his bed and see what happened?
Suddenly she heard the bed creak as he either moved or –oh no, what if he was getting up? What if he was going to the kitchen for a midnight snack? While he was probably just going to the bathroom, her feet fled before her brain realized what happened.
Almost giggling she felt like a naughty teenager out after curfew. What would Daddy do when he found out? Hoping her bare feet kept him from realizing she was out and about, she slipped quickly into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. Nothing bad going on here, she bit down another giggle, just looking for food!
Jericho entered the kitchen just a few seconds later and saw her bending over in front of the open refrigerator door. The long t-shirt she wore barely covered her panty-clad rear. A surge of lust struck him hard and he had to stop and take a breath before he could walk into the kitchen. While he usually slept naked, he always had a pair of sweat pants to slip into in case the kid needed him or he wanted to leave his room. He hitched them up with one hand and hoped they were baggy enough to hide the reaction he had to her.
Slowly, she turned and looked at him, rather guiltily, he thought. He sought to reassure her. “You hungry, too?”
“Yes.” She shut the refrigerator door and took a few steps toward him. Though he was quite certain he wasn’t a ham sandwich, he felt devoured by those raking eyes.
“Can I make you something to eat?” he asked.
She licked her lips, and shook her head.
He wasn’t a stupid male. He knew what she wanted. Beyond a doubt. He knew what he wanted too. He figured it wasn’t a good idea, but hell, they were both single, both needy, and why not. Her adorable nose crinkled at him and he couldn’t help reacting. Holding his arms out to her, she rushed into them and nestled against his bare chest as if she belonged there. He thought about throwing her on top of the granite
island but decided a door that locked would be best the first time.
Picking her up, he quickly retraced his steps and vaguely wondered why he’d gone to the kitchen in the first place. Food? Drink? Who cared? His body seemed perfectly content with the package he was taking away from the kitchen.
Joy tried not to freak out and hoped she wasn’t too heavy. None of the women in the romance novels she read ever seemed to worry about that. Of course they all weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet and worried about not eating enough. Not on her radar. He didn’t seem to think she was too heavy, though, because he strode down the hall as if he couldn’t wait to get there. Her body thrummed with desire and she reached over to the handy male nipple next to her head and gave it a small flick, then ran the other hand up and down his semi hairy chest. So glad he wasn’t all shaved and naked like the guys on TV. She liked a guy to look like a guy. Then suddenly fought down a slight feeling of panic as she realized that she looked like a woman in her nether regions. She’d shaved for a guy before, but why bother when it was recently just her and her fingers that didn’t seem to care about a bit of blonde fuzz? No reason. Why was she even thinking of this? Didn’t she have plenty of other things to think about right this very minute?
No? Then she’d give herself something to think about.
Jericho shifted her so he could shut the opened door behind him, and she felt him flick the knob to lock it and stood her on her feet.
Oh, no way was he getting away from her now. Flinging her arms around his neck, she lifted her face for a kiss and he obliged, tongue overpowering and demanding. He tasted of male and strength and power and she wanted to melt into him. He held her firmly, tightly as his lips nipped, teased and then took. Her knees shook and she held on as tightly as she could as the wave of lust grabbed her and shook her hard.
At one point he stopped, and held her face in his hands as he said, “If you want to stop, say Don’t. Not stop or no, but don’t. Understand?”