by Jane Henry
She was so wrong.
But I’d convinced her.
“Then do you agree?” I prodded. I would not detail my expectations of obedience. She was on the cusp of agreeing. It was time for me to close the deal.
She inhaled and exhaled once, twice, three times before she lifted the glass of wine to her lips and drank deeply, her eyes closed, until she’d finished her drink as well. She removed it from her lips. “I agree.”
Chapter Five
Annabelle
I watched him from where I sat, as if in a trance. I would be a fool to pass up an opportunity to help my family like this. Not only would I no longer owe him anything, but I’d have nearly my entire year’s salary at my disposal. What I could do with that money…
As I watched him pour himself a second drink, I wondered, though. What really went on inside the mind of Sawyer Gryffin?
What exactly did he mean when he said he expected me to obey him? He hadn’t really given me any instructions yet. And a little part of me wondered still… did the virgin in me agree to this proposal because of the way he affected me? The very idea of being close to this man for a month not only had my pulse throbbing between my legs, but the way his voice chided me, the deep timbre of it riding over my body, caused a hum of desire to wind its way low in my belly.
As I contemplated, I watched him. His dark hair fell over his forehead as if he couldn’t be bothered dealing with it. His eyes focused on something across the room but I did not know what. He swirled the glass in his hand, the ice tinkling as his jaw worked.
“I would prefer you not go back to your home to fetch your possessions. Rather, I will have whatever you need purchased and brought here.”
I blinked. “Why can’t I go back home?”
His eyes narrowed, then, and his jaw tightened. “I want you here with me,” he said. “If you are to pretend to be my wife, and you’re running back home to fetch things, it appears that you’re not happy here.”
Was that the real reason? I frowned, but did not question him. The truth was, I didn’t even want to go back to my home. I liked the idea of one month off from the responsibility that had been weighing down on me for so long. I liked not having to worry about there being food in the fridge, and the bills being paid. For the first time, I was almost glad my mother likely wouldn’t remember to ask for me or wonder where I’d gone.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said. “If it makes you feel any better, I will pay you a full half of your compensation up front. That way you can see I am a man of my word, and you can take care of whatever it is you need to beforehand. Call your sister, and make the arrangements.”
Do this. Call her. Do that. Obey me.
Did he ever say please?
“Yes, I’d like to call my sister,” I replied.
“Excellent. And while you do so, I’ll have your first deposit wired directly to your account.”
I gaped. That easy? He was going to pay me that much money as easily as someone might make a cup of coffee?
“May I step onto your balcony to speak to my sister?” I asked. His jaw tightened again, and his eyes flitted to the balcony before coming back to mine. What in the world?
“You may,” he said. “But see to it you speak no longer than ten minutes. We have much to go over this evening.”
I got to my feet, but something came over me then. It was odd, how this dark, commanding man affected me. I had never experienced anything like his enigmatic pull my entire life. I was not a submissive woman by any stretch of the imagination, but as he instructed me I could not help it. Automatically, I responded to his commands. “Yes, sir.” His eyes warmed, and it felt nice. All of it. The approval in his gaze and the words yes sir.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and stepped to the balcony, inhaling.
Melody was going to freaking flip.
"You what?” she hissed into the phone. “Annabelle, did he slip you something? Tell me you didn’t eat or drink anything while you were there.”
I snorted a laugh. “Um, Mel, he didn’t slip me anything. I’m perfectly sane. Honestly, you would turn down this incredible offer?”
“That much money to live in the lair of Satan?” she asked. “Are you kidding me? You couldn’t pay me enough.”
I laughed harder. “Oh for God’s sake, Mel, he isn’t Satan. In fact, there’s something about him I almost like.”
“You don’t even know him!”
“Nor do I have to. He’s already paid half the money up front. I can transfer you what you need already. He says I don’t even have to stay near him, but will have my own room with my own clothes and everything. It’s just a month, honey, and I’ll have nearly my entire year’s salary.” I had to do this. We had no car. Melody’s book fees would need to be paid soon, as did our electric. And I knew for a fact all we had in the house for food was a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and leftovers from the night before. “Honestly, Melody, something tells me he’s not going to hurt me. Let me do this for us.” Though I pleaded with her, I’d already agreed. I was not going back on this now.
“He’s sending someone here to help with Mom?” she asked in a small voice. Despite her vehement protests, I knew she wanted this as much as I did. It was hard caring for our mother, and the idea of a professional coming to help was every bit as enticing as the money he offered.
“Yes.”
“And you said he’s already given you money?”
“It’s already in my account.”
She sighed. “Be careful, Annabelle. Please. If what they say about him is true…”
“I don’t think it is, Mel,” I whispered, eyeing Sawyer through the glass door that separated the balcony from his study. He stood, his arms folded across his chest, eyes focused on the clock on his mantle. “And I have to go. He said I only had ten minutes, and I’m past that now.” Good. I wanted him to know that he wasn’t in complete control, but if I were honest…if I were really honest…I wanted to know. What did he mean about obeying him?
What would happen if I didn’t?
“Ten minutes! He’s timing you? I don’t know, Annabelle, I—”
“It’s going to work out. Love you. Bye.” And with that, I clicked the phone off, and shoved it in my pocket. Then with trembling hands, I pushed open the balcony door, took a deep, enervating breath, and went inside.
“I spoke with my sister,” I began, but his harsh voice cut me off.
“You’re late.”
I glanced at the clock. “Am I?”
“I gave you ten minutes. You took twenty. This is not how we will begin things, Miss Symphony.”
Though I’d agree to play the part, I needed to see what he was really all about.
“Oh? Did I? I didn’t know you were watching the clock, Mister Gryffin. I am sorry I was late.” But I wasn’t. Not really. I wanted to stoke the fire within him, see his eyes flame. I needed to know what he would do.
“Come here, please,” he said, his hands anchored on his hips.
My stomach flipped. Had I taken things too far?
But I obeyed. Shuffling over to him, my heart thundering in my chest, I could feel my panties dampening between my legs. I had never experienced anything like this in my life, desire stoked with fear. Something about the way he commanded made my nipples pebble, a fine sheen of perspiration dotting my forehead as I dragged my feet over to him. When I stood in front of him, I suddenly realized that he was far, far bigger than I’d thought. Just a foot away from me, I took in all of Sawyer Gryffin. He was dressed in black slacks and a white dress shirt, the collar unbuttoned, revealing a stark white vee of a t-shirt. The breadth of his shoulders dwarfed me, the thick muscles of his neck barely hidden beneath the fabric of his shirt. His chest loomed in front of me, his enormous hands placed on his hips, his fingers alone four times the size of mine. Standing in front of him, I felt tiny, the top of my head barely above the middle of his chest. I couldn’t breathe. I forgot how to even think, as my gaze trav
eled the length of his body and upward, craning my neck, feeling the pull along my spine as I lifted my gaze to his.
To my surprise, his lifted his hand and cupped my chin, the warmth of his touch making me quiver a bit. I swallowed. He spoke softly, as we stood so close, his voice as deep as a chasm, raspy. His question shocked me. “Did you have a father, Annabelle? Did you know him?”
I swallowed. “Yes, sir, I did, but he died when I was a young girl.”
One nod. Acceptance and sympathy in his gaze, but sternness. “Did your daddy ever spank you?” If he hadn’t been holding my chin, my jaw would have dropped open.
Oh my God.
Flames galloped across my chest and I couldn’t breathe. I’d played with fire, and now I was about to be burned.
“No,” I whispered, and then, “I was a good girl.”
His eyes wrinkled at the edges as he smiled, but something lurked behind that grin, something wicked. “That’s right,” he said. “Good girls don’t deserve spankings. Do they?”
My breath came in rapid gasps. “No, sir,” I managed. “They don’t.”
He still held my chin in his hand. “But do little girls who don’t do what they’re supposed to deserve to be spanked?”
He was asking me?
What if I said no?
But…I couldn’t. He made me feel things I’d never felt before.
“I…I don’t know,” I whispered, not wanting to tell him no, but too weak to tell him yes.
His eyes narrowed, darkening, his grip still firm on my chin. I could not look away.
“I believe naughty little girls who disobey should face consequences,” he said, leaning forward and whispering in my ear, his breath moving little wisps of hair on my neck, goosebumps raising along my neck and arms. “Maybe Daddy needs to spank you, to teach you to mind.”
Oh God. I closed my eyes, growing dizzy at his words, so aroused I could come just like this, just from his whispered words in my ear. Like a moth to flame, I could not turn away, but my pulse was beating a tempo so intense I could not reply. It was then that he released my chin, and pulled away from me.
“Lean over my desk, please,” he instructed, waving a finger toward the desk that stood several paces behind us. In a trance, I obeyed, the shining desk pushed up against my belly, my hands splayed out in front of me. “There’s one thing you need to know, little girl. While you’re here, you’ll do what Daddy says.”
Oh fuck.
What had I gotten myself into?
With his huge hand at my waist, I shook like a leaf, my hands grasping the edge of the desk, and before I knew what was happening, his huge palm cracked against my bottom. “Ten minutes late? Ten spanks. The correct response is, Yes, Daddy.”
I was going to fly out of my skin. Moisture gathered between my legs, the scent of my own arousal permeating my senses. I swallowed, licking my parched lips, and I whispered with my eyes closed, “Yes, Daddy.”
Oh my God. It was so wrong but utterly delicious to call him Daddy.
I gasped as another swat landed, then another. It hurt like hell, his huge hand on my thinly-clad backside, but it wasn’t unbearable.
Shit.
I liked it.
And then he was done. I was still fully clothed, and one more touch, one more whispered word, and I was going to come, right here, pushed up against the desk of a man who could have been a murderer, this beast of a man who demanded obedience. Fully clothed, and I was more turned on than I’d ever been in my life.
I gripped the edges of the desk as if they would somehow anchor me. I could not understand how his bossy, domineering ways turned me on. Wasn’t attraction built on intellect, good looks, humor…or something? What was this animalistic attraction I had to this man? It made no sense.
Did it have to?
“Come here,” he said. I could feel him standing behind me, and when I turned he stood, arms across his chest, eyeing me curiously. Did he wonder how I would react? If I would call the police, or my sister, or somehow freak because he’d just…spanked me?
I didn’t know how to respond. We were already so far beyond what was normal or natural, that I didn’t really know what to do with myself.
He cocked a brow, and his lips turned down at the edges. “Annabelle?” he said, his voice lowering, chiding. “I said come here. So soon after being punished you’d disobey me?”
When I was within a foot of him, he uncrossed his arms and reached for my chin, once more tipping my gaze to meet his, the dark of his eyes burrowing right through me as he stared. “Are you going to be sure you obey me?” he rasped. “You do realize that was only a warning, don’t you?”
A low pulse in my belly responded before I did, my mouth dry. There was something in his eyes…no, it would not do to be getting soft for this big bear of a man.
Something told me, though, this man could not have murdered anyone. Anger, yes, that much I could see. He liked being obeyed and had little patience. But impatience did not make him a cold-blooded killer.
I nodded dumbly, not knowing what to say. My ass still stung from the heavy fall of his hand, but he’d only given me ten smacks. What would more be like?
Did I really want to find out?
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
He gazed at me thoughtfully, as if deciding something, then he pulled me to him briefly, his arms around me comforting, sweet, chaste, and all too soon he let me go.
“I will see you to your room.”
Chapter Six
Sawyer
It was much harder to restrain myself than I thought it would be. I’d fantasized about pulling her over my knee, draping her across my lap and smacking that cute backside of hers until she begged me for mercy. There was something about her pert little nose, the defiant, vibrant eyes, and her boldness that made me want to teach her who her daddy was.
I was a sick son of a bitch.
But I wondered if a part of her needed to know I meant what I said. Did she test me? She’d kept an eye on the clock and shown no surprise when I told her she was late. The only surprise came when I bent her over the desk.
I had no regrets.
I did not have her here so that I could take advantage of her. No. I’d pay her handsomely for playing the part of my wife, getting me off the hook with the media. For now, we’d play the part, and I was happy to pay her to do so.
I shoved open the door of the office, and gestured for her to walk through, as if we were just two old friends and I hadn’t just pushed her up against my desk and spanked her ass.
My staff was waiting in the corridor. A part of me wondered if they’d heard anything. She had not cried out when I spanked her, and they knew to keep their mouths shut. After all, this was my house.
“Annabelle will be staying with us for a while,” I said. “As far as all of you know, she is my wife. She has been for some years, but we keep our relationship under wraps. No one is allowed to answer questions posed by media. For your own purposes, we were married overseas in a small chapel. Should account for no record.” I would get in touch with my contact who would make sure to have the proper paperwork on file if need be.
“She will be staying in the gable room in the east wing.” I turned to Annabelle and fixed her with a stern look. “You are not to go in the west wing at all. That is where I have my private office, and even my staff does not step foot in my personal area. Do you understand me?”
She frowned, and her pretty eyes flashed at me, but she did not respond. Her gaze traveled to the huge marble stairs where the stairway split, one to the left and one to the right. The door that led to the west wing was locked, and even my staff did not have access.
“Fine,” she huffed. I barely tempered a growl. Perhaps I hadn’t spanked her hard enough. She’d learn to respond more politely.
“Would you like me to see her to her room, sir?” Millie asked.
“No, thank you,” I said, walking up to Annabelle and taking her by the elbow. “Seems our guest i
s fairly curious, and I’d much prefer to show her to her room and lay down the ground rules myself.” She tried to yank her arm away from me, but I held fast.
“Allow me,” I said with mock politeness. I turned to Millie, whose wide eyes watched my interaction with Annabelle in wonder. “I would like you to order Miss Symphony whatever it is she needs. This evening, she will need something to sleep in, and whatever toiletries she is accustomed to using. Anything she wants, she gets.” Wide eyes and silence followed my pronouncement, as I continued marching her up the stairs.
“You can let me go,” Annabelle hissed at me. “I’m not going to run away like a scared little kitten or something.”
Scared little kitten.
The lady doth protest too much.
“I can let you go,” I said, “But I’d rather not. I much prefer having you by my side like this.”
“Will you simply manhandle me when you don’t get your way?” she asked from between clenched teeth.
“If you give me reason.”
“That was not part of our agreement.”
“Excuse me,” I said, tightening my grip. “Obedience was.”
We walked in silence up the large marble stairs. She tried to pretend like she wasn’t staring at my home as if we were in a museum. When I caught her looking at the marble stairs, detailed chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, and elaborate paintings on the walls, she’d look away, but when she thought I wasn’t looking, she’d gape again. The ornateness of the place almost embarrassed me. I had not been the one to choose the furnishings, and couldn’t be bothered with changing it all now. This was not a mansion or palace but my prison. Who cared what it looked like?
“This is a large home for only one person,” was all she said.
I merely grunted in response.
“Do you…ever want to move?” she asked. “To a smaller home, perhaps? Something with a bit more of an intimate setting?”
I did not respond at first, because they were details I didn’t share freely. The townspeople were under the mistaken impression I was bound here by law. I was not. I chose to stay here, in this home of mine where ghosts haunted me even in my waking hours. Still, her incessant chattering aggravated me.