by Maggie Ryan
“May I borrow your pen?”
“My pen?”
“Yes, I seem to have misplaced mine.” The agent handed him the pen and Drake picked up a sheet of labels from the tray. “Son, what do you believe is the weight of the specimen?”
“I’d say close to a pound.”
“Excellent,” Drake said, scrawling the information on the label before looking in the plastic bag. “Aroma and texture look good. Ah, is that an apple core? Excellent. His digestive system is operating properly.” Turning to the agents, he said, “Would you care to see what we are looking for?”
“No… um, that’s not necessary,” the lead agent said, his face showing his disgust at the suggestion.
Drake seemed a bit disappointed but peeled the label from the sheet and adhered it to the bag before stepping back. Keith tucked the bag into the tray, and peeling off the rubber glove, put it in another plastic bag, sealed it and added it to the tray before closing the lid.
“Thank you,” Drake said, walking towards Maddox. Still, it took him asking if the agents were ready to continue to have them moving.
“Oh, yes, your pen,” Drake said, offering it to him.
The agent grimaced as if expecting to find it smeared with horse shit. “That’s all right. Keep it.”
Drake shrugged and tucked the pen into his pocket while the man watched. When it was gone from view, the agent flipped open the last folder.
As if understanding his reaction might be offensive, the agent said, “This is a truly magnificent beast. He is massive!”
“Yes, he is,” Maddox agreed, stroking the stallion’s face. “His name is Malik Alsahra—in honor of the country of his birth.”
“King of the Desert,” the agent translated, his head nodding. “It fits him.” The inspector approached more warily as Zephyr snorted and shuffled his feet. It wound up being a very cursory inspection, which was fine with the Steeles. Once he’d been loaded, Maddox and Keith simply picked up the trunk and moved it onto the plane. The stallions were secure in special stalls, the best available, which would make their journey if not totally comfortable, far better than most. There was a room beyond the stalls and this was where they set down the trunk. It was meant for use by those caring for the cargo and was where Maddox would spend the flight as he’d promised Adira.
Accepting the completed paperwork, Drake thanked the men for their assistance, none mentioning the trunk’s paperwork being absent. After a cursory inspection of their personal luggage, the agent and inspector shook their hands just as a car drove up.
“That’s your crew,” the agent said. “Have a safe trip home, gentlemen.”
“Thank you,” Maddox said.
Drake gave Hadi’s man a tip, thanking him for his help, and pressed several bills into Keith’s hand after he’d loaded the suitcases aboard. He and Maddox climbed the stairs to enter the plane.
“Are you sure you won’t require a steward?” the pilot asked as the copilot went into the cockpit.
“Not at all. I intend to sleep and conduct some business while in the air,” Drake said. “My son will be attending the horses.”
“Of course. The attendant room has been fully stocked as has our galley. Feel free to help yourself to anything. If you need assistance, just knock on the door.” Drake assured him he would. As the Steeles moved down the aisle, Drake gave a soft whistle.
“Quite impressive,” he said, waving a hand to indicate their surroundings. The interior of the plane was luxurious, large leather seats scattered throughout. “I’m afraid you might not be as comfortable as I will be.”
“I’ll be fine,” Maddox assured him as Drake settled into a chair mid-plane. Continuing to the back, Maddox opened a door and stepped through. Returning to the attendant’s room, he buckled himself into the jump seat, keeping his eyes on the trunk they’d secured in place with cargo straps. His wasn’t the most uncomfortable seat on the plane… that belonged to the woman in the trunk. “I’m here,” he said, though he knew Adira was still deeply asleep. Hearing the sound of a whinny, he couldn’t help but think that she would much rather hear that Zephyr was just a few feet away; that she’d have her treasured companion to ride across the Texas plains.
Chapter 9
The sound of a latch opening and the flood of bright light woke Adira from her deep drug-induced slumber. Her body ached and when she swallowed, the sandpaper gravel sensation had her desperate for a glass of water. Her eyelids resisted opening, begging her to simply go back to sleep.
Rolling onto her stomach, she realized that she couldn’t move much more than a few inches, reminding her she had been placed in a god damn box like an animal. That barbarian of a man had drugged her, and forced her against her will into a black coffin!
Who did he think he was? Yes, he had saved her life. Yes, he had been kind and generous. Yes, he had held her while her entire life spiraled out of control and her heart shattered into a million pieces. Yes, he was the only one she had to count on right now. But that did not give this man the right to shove her in a trunk!
Waking even more as her anger built, Adira’s belly flipped when the memory of his last act flooded her mind. He had… he had… spanked her! Never in her life had she experienced nor ever even imagined such an act. His hand had made contact with her ass—more than one time—and yet, it hadn’t been sexual in the slightest. Well, at least not on his part. She, on the other hand, remembered quite vividly how his show of dominance, control, and power had sent a heat sizzling right through her core. For God’s sake, she had her doctorate in psychology and knew better! This was nothing but some aberrant reaction to the unrelenting stress of the past twenty-four hours. But no matter how she tried to neatly diagnose her reaction, all she knew was that the man had spanked her, and although she wanted to rip his eyeballs out, she had also wanted so much more.
Shaking her head, angry with herself for having such thoughts, she pushed herself to her hands and knees, pausing a moment to make sure the movement wasn’t going to cause her to vomit, and then lifted her head. A hand reached in as Maddox squatted down in front of her so she could clearly see he was the one letting her out of her cage.
“I bet you are ready to get out of there,” he said as he took her arm to offer assistance.
She pulled away with as much force as she could in the compromised position of all fours that she was in. “Let go! Don’t you dare touch me,” she spat.
Maddox silently took a few steps back, allowing her room to clear the trunk and then stand fully. It took a moment to feel steady on her feet but she wasn’t about to appear weak. Shooting daggers in his direction, she brushed down her crumpled clothes, situating herself after her captivity. The man actually had the gall to smile!
“You find this amusing?” she snarled. “You think putting me in this box is funny? I’m so glad you are finding amusement in this.”
“Calm down. I’m not finding this amusing at all.” He smiled again and took one cautious step toward her. “I like seeing the fire inside of you, is all. I didn’t realize you had so much fight.”
“You put me in a box!”
“Yes,” he replied simply.
“And you think I should just stand here and talk to you like nothing happened?” She looked around. “Where am I?”
“About seven miles above the Atlantic Ocean,” Maddox said.
She didn’t need to look out a window to know what he said was true. She could feel the slight vibrations beneath her feet, and though the pitch of the engines was faint, she could discern the sound. “The horses?”
“Just through that door,” Maddox said, tilting his head. “They are fine. Your grandfather provides only the best.”
Adira nodded, not really thinking about the horses. They had left Dubai. The plan had been executed flawlessly, and she was now escaping her home to find safety someplace else. Someplace strange.
Some place with Maddox.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“S
orry?”
“Yes.”
For some reason, his apology only infuriated her more. Didn’t he know that it wasn’t as simple as just saying sorry? She was being treated like cargo. Though she rarely touted her wealth and position in Dubai, there was the fact that she was the daughter of a very powerful man, and she was being treated worse than the horses—who were standing in special containers, free to move about at least a bit, not stuffed in some box!
“Go to hell,” she growled.
“Adira,” he said calmly as he walked toward her. “I said I was sorry. I had to do what I had to do.”
She took a few steps back, unfortunately placing herself up against the wall of the plane.
“Is that so? You had to…” She couldn’t bring herself to actually say the word spank. It sounded so childish. “You had to hit me to get inside? I was drugged and you abused me!”
“I did not hit you. I spanked you. It was not abuse and you damn well know it.” He said the word “spanked” so easily. Hearing it roll off his lips lit her face on fire, and she couldn’t look him in the eyes. And he was right, it wasn’t abuse, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that she agreed with him. “And you didn’t give me much of a choice. I had to calm your hysterics however I could.”
“Your logic is fucked.”
His face changed right before her eyes. Gone was the apologetic look, to be replaced by eyes that darkened and a jaw that seemed to turn into granite. “I don’t know the rules where you come from, but where I come from, a lady doesn’t speak like that. Let me remind you that I already gave you a freebie.”
She felt a surge of power knowing that she just found a weakness in his armor of steel. The man seemed to have some old-fashioned values, and with his perception of how a “lady” should act, Adira knew now how she could ruffle his feathers. “Fuck off,” she spat. Though she wasn’t one to speak like that normally, and the words felt foreign on her tongue, she did take a sick sense of pleasure out of watching a small tic appear in the vein of his neck.
His eyes darkened, and his jaw tightened. He took a deep, calming breath and said, “Let’s go sit down and get you some food and water. I’m sure you need it.” He closed the distance between them and once again reached for Adira’s arm.
How could he sound so… in control? Without thinking, and almost as if her body had a mind of its own, she clenched her fist, pulled back, and released with full force, punching Maddox square on the jaw. A sharp pain radiated from her knuckles all the way to her wrist, but she refused to show any signs of the pain.
Quicker than a viper, Maddox seized both of her wrists and pressed her hard against the wall, trapping them above her head.
Fear.
Yes, definite fear threatened to capture the air right out of her body. Fury darkened and sharpened every feature of this man. His hot breath radiated off her lips, and his stare demanded she not look away. Her heart pounded hard against her chest, and the lump in the back of her throat almost choked her. He loomed over her, swallowing up the air between them. His body, so close to hers, blocked any view other than the dominating man pinning her captive.
With his face mere inches from hers, he growled between clenched teeth, “Control yourself, or I will.”
His deep, husky command sent a shiver through her. Huge alarm bells went off inside, warning her that Maddox Steele was not a man to mess with. They banged hard against the walls of her sanity and yet… she foolishly ignored the threats of danger looming.
She didn’t think—again—but she did act. And oh, how she acted. Never taking her eyes away from his, she brought her knee up and out, just at the right angle to come into full contact with his most prized possession. She smiled in delicious satisfaction when his grasp of her wrists released. His eyes that bored into hers with absolute power, were replaced with eyes filled with excruciating pain. And his intimidating body that nearly pressed into her, recoiled back as he hunched over, exhaling a loud breath mixed with a moan.
Adira didn’t have much time to relish in her victory because Maddox’s moan morphed into a roar as he lunged for her. She had unleashed the beast, and by the wrath in his eyes, she knew she would now have to face the consequences—however sinister they may be.
Swooping her up and flinging her body over his shoulder, he marched forward. It took Adira several moments to come to terms with the fact that her feet were no longer on the ground and she was staring at the fabric of Maddox’s shirt. He held her so firmly that no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t wiggle off his shoulder. Hating the helpless position she found herself in, she pounded her tiny fists against his back, the same effect as if she were punching solid granite. She kicked her feet as best she could, but with each struggle, she could feel her skirt inching up higher and higher. If she continued, her panties would be on full display inches from his face. She had no choice but to at least stop moving her legs.
“Put me down!”
Her words and punches were rewarded with a hard swat to her backside that was precariously on full display, being slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Stop!” she demanded.
Again, her words were countered by another swat, and then another. Each one growing in intensity. Maddox continued the stinging blows, ignoring her gasps and squeals. She clawed at his back, hoping to draw blood, anything to regain some of the power. But she failed miserably. Maddox had it all with very little effort on his part.
Finally, the assault stopped when he flung her onto a not-so-cushioned couch. It took a minute for her to regain her senses as the blood rushed back to her head. Tiny silver stars fluttered before her eyes. While she blinked them away, Maddox didn’t give her any time to prepare for a counter attack. He reached for a handful of her hair and with his other hand, flipped her over onto her belly, her face pressed firmly to the fabric. He didn’t pull hard, but had a firm grasp of her long locks as he straddled her body like you would when trying to tame a wild stallion.
She tried to buck him off, writhing her body in whatever direction she could, but to no avail. A rage so strong built with every second Maddox held her down. She wanted to scream, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he evoked such passion.
Yanking her head back, he brought his lips to her ear. His hot breath, the pressure on her stinging skull, and the absolute loss of control sent aching trembles through her body. “Never again. Do you hear me?” He tugged a little tighter as he nipped her ear with his teeth. The devilish yet intimate act of his teeth on her flesh sent a jolt of excitement from her ear to her pussy, awakening something she had never felt before. “You will never dare do something like that again.”
When she didn’t respond, he reached back and spanked her harder than all the times before. A sharp sting vibrated off her ass and moved in pulsating waves to her heated sex. The sensation had her pressing her hips hard against the couch as her confused mind swirled in… arousal?
“I asked you a question.” His hot breath sent chills down her spine, even as her body heated to an inferno. “Do you hear me?”
Again, she remained mute. Was it stubborn pride? Or was it due to a darker, more animalistic need to see what he would do next? To what extent would this man go to get the answer he wanted? An inexplicable curiosity prevented her from responding.
He swatted her again, tugging on her hair once more. He paused, waiting for a response which she refused to give. She would not submit like he wanted. This was her way of having control. She may not have the physical power, but she would hold on to the mental.
“The sooner you realize you cannot fight me, the better,” he said in the sexiest of drawls against the shell of her ear. “Do you hear me?” He spanked her again, this time making contact where her buttocks met her thighs. The jolting pain had her crying out in surprise more than discomfort.
“Go to hell,” she spat.
Did she want to anger him?
Yes.
&n
bsp; Her temper seemed to blur into a heated mess of desire. The line between anger and passion no longer existed. And for the first time since her awful tragedy, Adira wasn’t drowning in suffocating sadness. Fury replaced pain, fight replaced defeat, and she was so very grateful for it. This man, and how he infuriated her so, was saving her from dying of a broken heart.
“I took you for a smart woman, Adira,” he growled. “Was I wrong?”
Without waiting for a response, he repositioned his body and pulled up her skirt, which had already risen dangerously high, and yanked down her panties effortlessly. Her bare bottom was on full display. Her hands were helplessly pinned at her sides by Maddox’s legs so she couldn’t even try to cover herself. There was nothing she could do beneath his weight. She couldn’t even scream or demand for him to stop because the shock of the act had stolen all the air from her body.
SWAT.
The loud crashing sound of his palm on her bare behind echoed off the metal walls of the plane. She thought his punishing blows hurt before, but that was nothing compared to now. As he began a staccato of slaps against flesh, a heat built on her ass, but even more so between her legs. Each spank sent a jolt of electricity to a place never touched by a man. The sexual urge building inside of her was so powerful that she wanted the spanking to stop just so that it would, too. Confusion over such sensations kept her from resisting or demanding he stop. She could only lie there and allow it to happen… wanting it to happen. She pressed her heated face deep into the couch cushions, embarrassed over the fact that with every swat, her pussy throbbed, paralyzing her. She was crippled by her desire for more. It was wrong, and the thought that Maddox would figure out that she indeed enjoyed his punishment, terrified her.
A hunger so deep inside of her grew in intensity. As his palm peppered her behind, Adira only wished for more. When the pain came with each spank, she wanted it harder, and relished how the sting gave her pleasure. The shame mixed with need overwhelmed her senses. How could she like this, yet hate it at the same time?