by Maggie Ryan
Scott nodded. “I am in full sympathy, but I’m surprised at you, Mrs. Jackson, knowing your love of animals an’ all.” He pulled out a chair so Mae could sit down at the table.
She gave a giggle. “We all have our vices, Scott dear, please, do call me Mae. What is yours, I wonder?” She cocked her head on one side and studied him.
He grinned easily. “No secret there, ma’am, your step-daughter an’ my dog Diesel are my only flaws.”
“Hmm, I’d add arrogance to the list. All fooling aside, don’t give up on Sophie. She might give you a hard time but she needs someone like you in her life.” He nodded.
“Hey, what are you two whispering about over there?” Sophie asked from across the table, as she shook out her napkin and placed it on her knee.
“Scott was telling me that apart from you and his dog he has no other vices!” Mae trilled.
Sophie’s glance flashed to Scott. She blushed as he gazed back steadily, holding her eyes. He wasn’t about to deny it. She reddened, casting her eyes down. She didn’t know how to respond.
Mae’s gaze softened as she watched her stepdaughter’s confusion. She was extremely fond of Sophie and both she and James had been really concerned by Sophie’s inability to move on after Rupert died in that hotel disaster. It was a tragedy that had shaken them all and it would be a good while before she would risk staying at another hotel. James had hoped that by throwing herself into her bucket list, she might find a way to move on with her life, but for some reason, she appeared to be stuck. Scott was a breath of fresh air and had obviously made an impression on Sophie. In Mae’s view he was just the push that Sophie needed to live for herself again. She decided to stir the pot a little bit more.
“So what do you two love birds have planned for the week, huh?” Scott sat back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Sophie. “We are making plans to visit Niagara Falls next month, so I guess we’ll spend the week talking about the arrangements.”
“More bucket list tasks?” James asked his daughter.
“Mmm, last one,” Sophie replied.
“Why should that be the last one?” James looked surprised.
“We-ll, I have nothing else on the list.” She shrugged, picked up her glass of water and buried her nose in her drink.
“Yet…” Scott said firmly.
Sophie coughed and spluttered and James patted her on the back. When she finally got her breath back, the waitress arrived and took their orders. She waited until she’d gone and turned to Scott. “You said ‘yet.’ What did you mean?”
He grinned. “Only that we will write another list, but together this time, one that will take us a lifetime to achieve. Not a list that we can rush through in a year, but a life time of plans made as a couple.”
Mae caught her husband’s eye and widened hers; he nodded, flashing her back a quick smile. This sounded promising. Then both turned in alarm as Sophie suddenly rose, pushed back her chair and dashed out of the restaurant. They swiveled their gaze to Scott, who shrugged. “She’s one stubborn girl but she’ll see reason pretty soon. I can wait.” He pushed back his chair. “Excuse me while I fetch your daughter. Please start if your food arrives before we return.”
He found her outside, pacing up and down the street as though waiting for him. He stood aside, on the pavement, watching her for a moment before he spoke. “That was so rude.” He didn’t intend to beat about the bush.
She stopped in front of him, her foot tapping. “You are pushing me and I don’t like it. Just who the hell d’ you think you are?”
He stepped in front of her and grabbed her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “I’m the man who is going to marry you some day, but right now I’m more concerned with the fact that your father is paying for an expensive meal in honor of you and you’re out here behaving like a bad tempered child. If you don’t lose the attitude, I’m also gonna be the man who will smack your bad tempered ass. So what’s it going to be, Soph? Come eat like a civilized young woman or have your butt smacked here and now like a child, where the world and his wife can watch?”
She pushed his hand off her chin and took a step backward, glaring at him, red faced. “You wouldn’t dare!” she spluttered furiously.
“Care to test me?” He stepped forward invading her space, holding her eyes with his, one eyebrow raised in question. Sophie spun about and stalked back inside; to her chagrin he caught her up with her and hooked his arm through hers. “Right decision,” he breathed in her ear as he pulled her chair out from the table.
“Everything all right, darling?” her father asked.
“Fine,” she snapped. Scott gave a fake cough and she sucked in her breath as his hand squeezed her knee. She turned back to face her father. “I just needed some air, that’s all, Dad, probably a reaction to the dive today. I found leaping out of the plane at that height totally overwhelming.” The hand on her leg patted her knee and was removed. She ground her teeth and glanced over at Scott, the sod looked so smug, then inexplicably, she giggled. He cocked his head questioningly, but she just shook hers with a grin.
A waiter arrived with a bottle of Crystal Blue champagne in an iced bucket. Sophie felt glad that Scott had persuaded her to return to the table. Her father was really pushing the boat out tonight and it would have been churlish to have run off and disappointed him and Mae. After the ceremony of popping the cork and pouring the fizz into tall champagne flutes, her father made a small speech about how proud he was of her achievements and they toasted her, clinking glasses.
After they left the restaurant, Scott drove Sophie home to her parents’ house but not one reference was made to her earlier behavior and his threat. It lay between them though, like the proverbial elephant in the room. Scott switched off the engine, once parked up on the drive and pulled her into his embrace. She made no resistance as he kissed her; she tasted as sweet as candyfloss and felt just as soft. An armful of heaven that he had no intention of letting loose, she was his and they both knew it, she just wasn’t ready to admit it yet, but she would soon enough. As he ended the kiss, she made a sweet little mewl of discontent. Good, he needed to leave her wanting, something for her to think about until he saw her next.
Sophie stood on the door stoop half inside and half out of the hallway. She watched the tail lights recede in the darkness as the truck turned out and disappeared down the road. She was bewildered by her emotions, her feelings of loneliness as Scott drove away from her. He was under her skin and this time she didn’t even want to remove him. She waited for the guilt of Rupert’s death to swamp her but for once the tidal wave of grief didn’t engulf her. With a light step, she closed the door and went inside to wait for Mae and James to get home. She wanted to thank her father for such a lovely evening.
The next day she kept glancing up from her shift at the diner every time the door chimed, marking the entry of another customer. Why hadn’t he showed up yet? Her shift would be over soon. Maybe after her behavior at dinner last night, he thought she wasn’t worth the effort. When he didn’t show at all, she went to her car and drove away, heading out of town, the windows down and music blaring. What did she care? She was going back to England soon; she didn’t need the added complication of a boyfriend in her life. Actually it would make it easier to leave the States if he left her alone.
When she arrived at the animal sanctuary, she parked up and went into the office to see Mae. Her stepmother appeared as soon as she entered the building.
“Sophie, I wanted to be the one to tell you that Kirsty went home with her new family today. I totally understand if you want to take this afternoon off and… Sophie!” Mae called as her stepdaughter turned and ran back toward her car. Mae sighed; perhaps it was best that Sophie took some time alone. She turned back into the center, shaking her head sadly. She had offered to take Kirsty home; it was Sophie’s choice that the collie had gone.
As Sophie opened the door of her Ford compact, Scott’s truck swung into the lot, he jumped out and came toward her with a
grin. Sophie glared at him and leapt into her seat. Putting the car into reverse, she stared to pull away. Scott banged the flat of his hand down on the trunk. “Soph, stop! What the hell’s wrong? Sophie, stop, you’re driving too fast… Shit!” He leapt clear of her car as it passed, nearly knocking into him. Cursing her stupidity, he turned and climbed back into his own vehicle to follow her. As he drove after her, he smoldered; she was driving like a crazy person. If she didn’t kill herself or some other poor sap, he would wring her damn neck when he caught up with her.
Chapter 5
Sophie knew she was driving too fast but she didn’t care; she was angry. She didn’t think beyond her temper, an unreasonable white-hot rage that flowed molten through her veins. The speed of the car and her defiance centered her mood and she went with it. That was until she noticed flashing blue lights in her rear view mirror. At first, she continued with no intention of stopping, but then the police siren whirred into action, and she felt a pin prick of unease, just enough to make her indicate and pull over. She sat and waited until the man in navy stood at her car window.
“D’you know how fast you were going, ma’am?” the patrolman asked with a lazy drawl.
“I have absolutely no idea, Officer Dibble,” she replied, horrified at her own lippy stupidity, as the fool words spilled out. The traffic cop sucked in a breath.
“Have you been drinking, lady?” he asked, steely eyed. Before Sophie could reply, Scott’s truck pulled up in front of both cars and parked. Scott got out. He stayed put and called out, “Can I approach, officer? I’m a cop and that naughty girl there is my girlfriend.”
“No, I am not!” Sophie cried indignantly. The officer shushed her and waved Scott over.
“I’m booking her,” he said tersely.
“Good. I would have if you hadn’t,” Scott replied seriously.
“What?” Sophie screeched.
“Be quiet!” Scott growled simultaneously as the patrolman instructed Sophie to “Quiet down, ma’am.”
Scott held out his hand clutching his badge, the two men exchanged names and numbers. Officer Dibble turned out to be Officer Ian MacKay. Sophie seethed at their camaraderie while she sat in her car, completely ignored. She switched on the ignition and began to drive. The two men quickly jumped clear. Scott bellowed after her.
“You will stop that car right now, or so help me god I will whip your backside raw!” Only officer MacKay heard his further muttered, “but I’m scalding it either way, darlin’.”
Sophie jammed her foot on the brake at Scott’s shout. It had sounded like a warning that she was about to crash. Staring about her, Sophie realized too late that there was no danger; she should have kept driving. The car door was wrenched open and Scott reached across her, unclipped her seatbelt and hauled her out of the car. He slammed her front up against the car body and grabbed her wrists. Officer MacKay stepped in, and before she knew it, she was handcuffed. Then between them they hauled her over to the police car. Scott shoved her inside the back seat and climbed in beside her. MacKay stood outside the window filling in forms. Sophie glared at Scott but quailed under his steely gaze. He was genuinely pissed off, she saw that. A shiver of apprehension ran down her spine. Oh Lord he would tell her father! She slumped forward, resting her forehead on the back of the seat in front. Her arms ached; she was unused to having them handcuffed behind her back. Sophie shut her eyes as the adrenalin rush subsided and left her feeling deflated. The realization of how serious her behavior was, finally sunk in. A tear slid down her cheek.
“Yeah, I see your tears, baby, but self pity in hindsight will not save you from a speeding ticket, or a well deserved spanking.” Scott’s brusque words had her eyes flying wide with shock.
“You said I could choose if I wanted a spanking or not!” she hissed, hoping the patrolman couldn’t over hear their conversation.
“After today’s little prank, I’m putting you over my knee whether you like the idea or not, but to be fair, if afterward you wanna press charges against me, well, then that’s your constitutional right. But, I’ll not let my girl put herself into danger deliberately and not teach her a lesson about making better choices.”
Sophie’s head swiveled toward the window as Officer MacKay made a sound of approval. She huffed, flushing beetroot red. Dear god, the man heard their conversation! She let her head fall forward again with a deep sigh of mortification. She answered all Officer MacKay’s questions in a subdued polite tone and tried not to think about how a spanking over Scott’s hard thigh might feel. Maybe she could get away from him before he caught her? It was a slim chance she knew, but one she would take if she could. Then all chance of escape was scuppered when the officer asked Scott to step outside for a moment. Sophie peered out from the back window.
They walked a little ways from the car, heads together. Mackay talked and Scott nodded, then they shook hands and both men turned to stare at her. Sophie watched with narrow eyes. What were they cooking up between them? MacKay stayed where he was but Scott came back to the car with a look of smug satisfaction on his face. He climbed in beside her.
“This isn’t the time or the place to tell you how much I love you, but I have to tell you that I do, more than anything or anyone in the world. That you would risk your life, driving like a bat out of hell that way, leaves me feeling sick and cold. I intend to make darn sure that you never, I repeat, never, drive that fast again. I’m gonna spank you now and spank you good. It’ll hurt and you’ll likely cry and kick up a fuss but I won’t stop ‘till I feel you’ve learnt a lesson, no amount of begging or threatening me will help. Are we clear?”
Sophie stared at him dumfounded. “Officer Dibble…”
“Will turn a blind eye and make sure no one pulls in and disturbs us.”
“But… but…” He reached for her then and because her hands were handcuffed behind her back, Sophie couldn’t fight him. She was flipped across his knee with ease; she gasped aloud with outraged shock.
Because she hadn’t stopped at the animal shelter, Sophie hadn’t changed out of her vintage work dress, which meant she was wearing a full skirted 1950s frock, one which Scott only had to rack up to get to her butt. Unlike her outer wear, her underwear was very much of the present day, the thong panties left her bottom cheeks completely exposed. As a sharp smack landed on her backside, Sophie realized she was very vulnerable indeed to Scott’s form of punishment.
He was delighted to see that Sophie wore a thong. He had worried about whether he should bare her for this spanking. Something that when they were married he would have no problem with, but he was an old fashioned kinda guy and he wouldn’t have been comfortable exposing her before he’d put a ring on her finger. He gave her some lighter smacks first to settle her and lectured her on her driving before landing some harder spanks that had her swiveling on his knee. Luckily for him she was handcuffed in a confined area. Sophie lacked wriggle room and that meant he could get on with making darned certain she felt his hand. Scott was determined to use this spanking in more ways than one. He didn’t want to have to spank her again if he could help it, and so in order to help lance and release whatever poison lurked deep within her psyche with regards to Rupert, his girl was in for a proper roasting.
“I aim to teach you a lesson that you will never forget, one that you will deter you from driving dangerously ever again.” He lifted his hand high; it was time for her chastisement to begin.
Sophie was uncomfortable but so far it had been okay. In fact, it was kind of neat lying over Scott’s lap while he came over all stern and protective. Not that she’d ever admit that to him, but well, it was quite sexy. Then a slap landed on her behind that had her almost jack-knifing. What the hell just happened? She squealed and another landed; she yelled Scott’s name. He obviously didn’t realize how hard he was spanking her, that hurt! More scalding slaps rained down and she shouted for him to stop. She frantically bucked and churned on his lap, but she was well and truly trapped. She kicked at the door, ma
ybe she could kick the handle and the door would spring open.
“Stop that, you’ll damage the door!” he growled.
“Good!” she yelled and kicked it some more, only to gasp and cry aloud when his punishing hand paddled her tender thighs until they stung and burned. Weeping now, she subsided and began to beg for mercy. Ignoring her pleas, he spanked on until her buttock cheeks felt swollen and singed.
“You are a bad girl, Sophie!” Smack, smack, smack. “You are soo naughty driving dangerously. You deserve this spanking!” He scolded her as he spanked her with rapid-fire smacks. Suddenly his words sunk in and Sophie realized that what Scott said was true. She was a bad girl—a thoroughly wicked girl. She’d let Rupert down and now she’d let Scott down and oh Lordy, she’d let Kirsty down. She was a really bad person!
Scott knew when the damn broke that the boil was about to burst, the poison was finally draining out of her but how long should he carry on spanking? Sophie began to sob that she was bad. Concerned, he argued with her but she wasn’t listening, so Scott continued to spank on until she lay devoid of words, exhausted, drained, weeping. He stopped and rubbed her bottom in slow circles, moving up her back until his hands rested on her shoulders. He gave them a comforting squeeze and helped to drag her up awkwardly. Finally, she was settled on his lap, propped against his chest. He pushed a hand into his pocket and fished out the key to the handcuffs that MacKay had passed to him. Releasing her, she flopped back against his shoulder, curling her aching wrists into her stomach. She cried as though her heart were broken. He wrapped his arms tight about her and crooned gruff nonsense into her ear, in much the same way he had on the night of the balcony disaster when Rupert, Leah and fifteen others had been killed.