His hot breath sent a spark through her like a lit fuse, fizzing and jumping as it gathered momentum. She had no words. Her system was on hyper alert with tension, either nervous or sexual, probably a little of both. He took her hand and they started walking toward the house. Chelsea jumped as a little girl came running up to Josh and threw her arms around him.
“You’re home!” she squealed.
“Hello, princess!” he said, scooping the little girl into his arms.
Who was this? Did he have a child?
“Who are you?” the little girl asked, clinging to Josh’s neck.
“I’m Chelsea. What’s your name?”
“I’m Amy. Your hair is a mess.”
“Well, I’m very happy to meet you, Amy,” Chelsea said with a smile. “You’re right, my hair is a mess.”
“And you smell bad.”
“That isn’t very polite, Miss Amy. Apologize to Chelsea,” Josh said with a frown that tried to be stern.
“Sorry,” Amy said.
“Amy is my housekeeper’s granddaughter. She shares the house out back with her grandmother.”
“Amy?”
Chelsea turned to follow the voice of the woman who was calling the child. She assumed it was the housekeeper.
“Amy!”
A woman who looked to Chelsea to be about forty came into view, but at that point she only had eyes for one person, her granddaughter.
“I didn’t know where you were.” She looked at Josh apologetically. “I’m sorry, Josh, I didn’t know you were back, or that you had company.”
“It’s fine, Anita, relax.” He plopped Amy back down and lifted her chin. “But you, young lady, need to mind your grandma. You can’t be down here by the pool on your own, it’s dangerous.”
“But there’s a fence,” the little girl said carefully. “And anyway, I have swimming lessons. I can swim real good.”
“Amy, no arguments,” Josh said. “That’s the rule. You know what happens if you break that rule again?”
“No,” Amy whispered.
“No swimming.”
“Sorry, Josh,” Amy said.
“That’s ok. We don’t want anything bad to happen to you, now do we?” he said with a soft smile. He turned back to Anita. “Anita, this is my girlfriend. She’ll be staying with me for a while.”
“Good. About time you had a bit of company,” the woman said with a giant smile. “We’ll talk. You’ll have to tell me what you like to eat.”
“I’m not fussy. I’ll eat just about anything,” Chelsea said with a smile. She was staying for a while?
“Anita, you can take the rest of the day off. We can fend for ourselves.”
“If you like, honey, but I haven’t even started dinner yet.”
“That’s fine, we’ll manage. Won’t we, Chels?” He nudged her gently. “Chels?”
Chelsea blinked, realizing everyone was waiting for her answer. She’d just seen a spark of what Josh would be like as a daddy and it shook her, in a good way. “Oh, um, yeah, Josh’s right, we’ll be fine,” Chelsea added, hoping that was true. The guy was busy trying to clear the house out so he could spank the daylights out of her in private. Lordy, lordy, she wished those butterflies in her tummy would settle down.
“Ok, then,” Josh said as they walked away.
“I guess.” Chelsea watched as the older woman took the little girl by the hand and led her inside, stopping to point to the pool; probably reiterating what Josh had said about the dangers of being outside by herself. She had a feeling she was going to like Anita and Amy very much.
* * *
“I wondered who Amy was,” Chelsea said. “She’s very cute.”
“Yes, she is,” Josh said.
“How come she lives with her grandmother?”
“Her mom died in a car accident. She was a single mother; young, wild.” He looked at her.
“This isn’t the same,” she said, as Josh tugged her straight through the kitchen and down the hallway toward the bedroom. “I wasn’t being wild.”
“I know, it was still wrong and dangerous.” Josh kicked the door shut behind them.
“How many times do I have to say that I wasn’t driving?”
“You can say it until you’re blue in the face, but that won’t change a single thing. People don’t make their best decisions when they’ve been drinking. What do you think you would have done when you woke up from your nap and you needed the bathroom?”
“I don’t know.”
“You wouldn’t have assumed that you had slept your little drinking spree off?”
“Well, no.”
“You don’t know that for sure, do you?”
“I…”
“How long would you have needed to stay in the car to make certain that you’d be under the required limit?”
Chelsea wished she could come up with a smart answer, but the truth was, she didn’t know the answer to any of his questions. That didn’t mean she was going to give up without a fight. “I don’t think it’s right for you to spank me for something that might have happened.”
“Then we’ll just go with all the decisions you made that led you up to the point that landed you in jail.”
Chelsea folded her arms in protest. Lame maybe, but it was the best she could do without actually throwing herself on the floor in a full-blown tantrum.
“And your less-than-perfect attitude. Unfold those arms. If you’re in trouble, miss, you have no one to blame but yourself.”
Josh’s voice held a tone that Chelsea hadn’t heard before. Her arms dropped to her sides. “I had a bad day,” she said with a trembling chin. When Josh tugged her into his arms, she started to cry.
“I know you have. If you want, we can get something to eat and we can get an early night.”
“Really? I have learned my lesson, I promise.”
“You’re still getting punished, honey. I was just suggesting that we can deal with all this tomorrow.”
Chelsea sighed. She should have known he wasn’t going to just let this go. “No, if you have to do it, I’d rather get it over now.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded. Frissons of nervousness were sparking all over her body and her mouth was so dry she didn’t think she’d be able to speak.
“Fine by me. First things first though. You go take a shower. Do you need anything to eat or drink?”
“Water maybe,” she answered. They’d gone through a drive-thru on the way home, so she wasn’t hungry. That and the fact that she was feeling decidedly seedy.
Josh kissed her forehead. “Go take a shower, but don’t bother to put on any clothes.”
Chelsea’s eyes widened. “No clothes at all?”
“None.”
“I might just put on a T-shirt or something if that’s ok.”
“It isn’t.”
He was gone and Chelsea stood looking at the bathroom door. She hadn’t moved. Josh would never force her into this, she knew that. She could walk away now and go back to her folks and he wouldn’t stop her, couldn’t stop her, but if she wanted to stay here with him, this is what was going to happen. Her first step toward that bathroom would also be her first step toward her submission to this man. Is that what she truly wanted? Did she trust him that much? Love him that much? She shrugged off her clothes without hesitation and went to have her shower.
* * *
“I think you’re clean, Chelsea. Time to come out,” Josh said. He guessed she needed some time, so he’d given it to her, but enough was enough. The door cracked open a little and she peeked out at him.
“How would you feel about a towel?”
“Nope, now move it or I’ll come in there and get you myself.”
She opened the door and stepped into the bedroom, covering herself with her hands.
“No hands either,” he said, crossing his arms and watching her inch across the room.
“This is harder than I thought,” she whispered. “It’s so embarrassing.”
/> “If it was easy, it wouldn’t be much of a deterrent, now would it?”
“No.”
“No, sir.”
“No, s-sir,” she stuttered.
Her face flushed and he wanted to kiss her, but he resisted the urge. “I don’t think you really get the seriousness of this situation, Chelsea. You broke the law and got arrested. Although you’re out on bail, you still have a court case pending and yet, you still believe you’ve been treated unfairly. We haven’t even touched on the fact that your phone wasn’t on. That is extremely dangerous in itself when you’re in the middle of nowhere. I better not ever catch you with your phone off again. I think a few minutes in the corner to think about what could have happened might help you to come to terms with that.”
“You want me to stand in the corner like a child?”
“Yes, I do.”
“But I have thought about what you said.”
“Go stand in the corner, please,” he said.
“Really?” Chelsea asked.
The slap he landed on her naked rump was enough of an answer to her question that she crossed the room in record time, her nakedness seemingly forgotten. “Stay there until I call you.”
She nodded rapidly.
* * *
“Chels, come on over.” He watched her walk with interest. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and he knew that she had finally given some real thought to her actions.
“I am really sorry,” she said. “I just didn’t think things through. It was stupid.”
“Let’s do this,” he said, holding out his hand. She took it and he bent her over his knee, adjusting her position until he felt she was comfortable and at the right angle. “I’m only going to use my hand because it’s your first time. It’s a once only, get out of jail free card.”
“Pardon the pun,” she giggled nervously.
“Very funny,” he said, tightening his hold on her body with his left hand. He brought his hand down with a hard slap in the center of her bottom, the force flattening her soft white flesh. She squealed loudly and he almost faltered. He knew though that he couldn’t. He had to follow through, for them both. He smacked her hard several more times on each cheek, every slap as hard and fast as the last.
“That’s too hard!” she yelled, clutching handfuls of the bedcovers and drumming her toes on the plush carpet. “Please.”
When her hand shot back to cover her bottom, he grabbed it and held it snugly against her side. Her pale skin was turning a darker shade of pink with every swat and he wasn’t surprised that she was fighting him. He held tighter and stepped up the pace. There was no enjoyment in this. The panic in her voice was nearly his undoing.
“Stop, please stop. It hurts!” she wailed.
“Good,” he said, hoping the sound of his voice held more control than he was feeling. “I want you to keep this spanking fresh in your mind so the next time you decide to pull a silly stunt, you’ll remember just what will happen.”
“I will, I will,” she quickly agreed, her legs once again drumming rhythmically on the carpet.
He pressed her legs open a little and slapped the tender spot where her bottom met her thighs and she squealed before bursting into tears. The whole of her bottom was bright red and her thighs were pretty much the same. He felt her go limp and he knew that she’d had enough. “It’s ok now. The spanking part of your punishment is over.” He rubbed her back, soothing her while she sobbed. She’d let go of the bedcovers and was now clinging to his leg.
The crying paused. “The, the sp-spanking part?”
“Yes, honey, there’s one more thing you have to do.”
“I don’t wanna do anything else!” she whined with a hitched breath.
“You don’t have to do it now,” he said, smoothing her now tousled hair. “After dinner when you’ve calmed down will be fine.”
“I can’t eat, I think I’m dying.”
“You are not dying,” he said, a smile creeping to the corners of his lips at her dramatics. “Come on, stand up and let me cuddle you properly.”
“I don’t think I can move.”
He took her arm and helped her, first to stand and then to sit on the edge of his knee, although he did make sure her bottom was hanging over to make her a little more comfortable. He lifted her chin to make her look at him. “As adorable as that pout is, you need to knock it off. You had that coming.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just I thought that the spanking was the punishment and now you’re telling me there’s more.”
“I have my reasons.”
She sighed. “What are they?”
“There’s a chapter in the driver’s handbook that I think must have escaped your notice. I want you to read it, and then copy the contents of the whole chapter down. Chapter Ten: How Alcohol and Drugs Affect Your Ability to Drive.”
“The whole chapter?” she said, shocked. “I can’t write that much standing up! Couldn’t I just type it?”
“No.”
“No fair,” Chelsea grumbled under her breath.
“Pardon?”
“Only joking.”
“I’m sure.”
Chapter Nine
It had only been weeks since the incident, but the time had gone quickly while they waited for her court date. Chelsea could hardly remember a time when she hadn’t lived with Josh; this rambling mansion had become her home. What had seemed like a cold and sterile place on her first visit seemed a lot warmer now, especially when Amy’s laughter rang through the house and the smell of Anita’s delicious cooking wafted through the large hallways.
Mark even stopped by quite a few times with Josh for dinner after work; occasionally he’d bring a girl. She got on great with Josh’s housekeeper Anita. The woman was lovely. After all she’d been through, she was glad that this gentle woman had found a home here for herself and her granddaughter. Josh was a kind and gentle soul and very generous. He had never said a word, but Anita told Chelsea that Josh had offered to pay for Amy’s education, with no strings attached. Against Anita’s protestations he set up a trust fund. That had made her love Josh even more. Amy had wiggled her way into her heart as well. In fact, the little girl had become her closest companion while Josh was at work.
Today though she was feeling less than warm and fuzzy. Josh was insisting on them going to visit her parents. It would be the first, since that night.
“I don’t see why we have to go at all,” Chelsea whined. She’d woken up in a bad mood anyway and the thought of lunch at her parents where they would rehash her arrest and the events that led up to it was not making her feel any better.
“You have to see them eventually. I know you spoke to them on the phone, but they want to see you, you’re their child. They want to know that you’re ok.”
“But they’re going to go over and over how immature it was to drink in the car and how I should have gone to them because they’re only there to help.”
“They’d be right.”
“They’re not always right.”
“They’d be right about that. Now stop complaining and get ready, we’re going.”
* * *
That had been the start of the day and she should have known it would get worse. She just hadn’t been in the right frame of mind, but in what seemed like no time at all, she found that they were standing at her parents’ open front door and her feelings softened a little.
“Hi, mom,” Chelsea said, returning her mother’s warm hug.
“Oh, I’m so glad to see you looking so well. I think you’ve gained a little weight.”
“Gee, thanks, mom.” And her lukewarm feelings turned cold.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that you looked well. You always looked a little thin to me when you lived by yourself at that place.”
Chelsea gave her mom a thin smile.
“You be nice to your mother,” her dad said, coming out from the garage. “She’s been worried sick.”
�
�I was being nice, dad, she’s the one who called me fat.”
“Oh, Chelsea, you know I would never call you fat.”
“That’s not what your mom said,” Josh said. “I could really do with a cool drink, how about you, Chels?”
“Yeah, sure,” she said. “Do you have any Diet Coke, mom?”
“I think I do.”
Josh held on to the back of Chelsea’s T-shirt so she had no choice but to wait until her folks had walked into the house.
“Simmer down,” Josh said. “You’re being oversensitive.”
“I’m trying,” Chelsea said, tugging out of his grip and walking into her family’s home. Surprisingly, her uneasy feelings did settle as she walked inside. It was true that her mom and dad stirred irritating feelings in her at times, but home was home and she loved this house and them.
Chelsea sat at the table and Josh sat beside her. Her dad was looking decidedly grumpy and the air was thick with tension.
“Well?” he demanded.
“Rick…” her mom said to her dad.
“I’m sorry, Mavis, but I’m just gonna say it. Chelsea, what in the hell were you thinking?”
“And it starts,” Chelsea said with a roll of her eyes. The hand that Josh had on her knee tightened a little, although he looked toward her father.
“Not a lot, apparently,” he said. “I think she was too upset to be objective.”
“That might be so and with good reason, but girl, I don’t understand why you didn’t come ask for help. I would have stopped that little weasel in his tracks.”
“Yeah, right. Like you’ve always been on my side.”
“When haven’t I been on your side?” Rick asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, let me see,” Chelsea said, ignoring the hand that was squeezing her knee a bit harder. “The time in the fifth grade when I was accused of cheating and you took the teacher’s word over mine and grounded me for a whole month! I stayed home from camp!”
“You wouldn’t talk to me. I begged you to tell me what happened.”
“I wouldn’t tell you because I didn’t want to get my best friend in trouble. It’s called loyalty. Something you wouldn’t know anything about. You should have just known that I wouldn’t do a thing like that.”
The Billionaire and the Waitress Page 12