The threat had come out in anger. He hadn’t meant to say it, but he wasn’t going to retract it now because once he’d said the words, he had to admit leaving was a real possibility. This is what her constant back and forth was driving him to consider. He’d tried and tried to be patient with her. He got what she was going through, and he wanted to be there to support her, but some days she made him feel like he was just a tool to use and then be discarded.
The real bitch of it was he knew she wasn’t doing it on purpose. When they were alone in the bedroom and he stripped away all those protective walls he could see the real girl inside. She was a very different creature. She clung to him and he could see the love and need shining in her eyes. It went beyond physical desire; it was the emotional connection she was craving in those moments.
Despite the tough talk he wasn’t yet at the point of actually leaving. He just felt like if this continued then eventually, he might have to go to save his sanity, but it wasn’t a step he would take lightly. The ranch had been his home for most of his life so leaving would be hard and losing it would destroy Charlie. He didn’t want to do that to her, but if they didn’t get a handle on things it might be the only option.
For both of their sakes he couldn’t let it get to that point.
He let her pull him to a stop, and then turned to stare down at her coldly. “That sounds like a whole bunch of ‘not my problem’, kiddo. I’m not going to stay here and be disrespected in front of my crew, and I’m not going to follow you around like a nursemaid scooping you up out of trouble whenever you decide you don’t want to play by the rules. If you want this partnership to work, you’re going to need to cooperate, Charlie.”
“You’re not my father, Sam! It’s not your job to get me out of trouble and I didn’t ask you to save me!” she protested, her bottom lip wobbling the way it always did when she was upset.
Usually it stirred up an urge to kiss her hard and wipe away the sadness, but he wasn’t going to let himself be swayed by it this time. “I’m not trying to be your father, Charlie, but you clearly need aDaddyto keep you in line and blister your ass for breaking the rules and I can damn sure handle that job.” Truth was that he’d been wanting to take on the role of her Daddy ever since he’d found her on his doorstep looking like some half-drowned waif out of a Dickens novel, and clutching a silly stuffed rabbit to her chest.
There’d been something so vulnerable and helpless about the way she’d trembled there and fixed her big round eyes on him. It had pulled at every protective instinct he had. The clothes that were plastered and clinging to every curve of her body made it clear she was all woman, but despite that there had been this beautiful childlike trust in her eyes. Trust thathewould keep her safe from the big bad storm and all the memories it had dredged up.
Until that moment, he’d never understood what a Daddy Dom was. Weren’t all Doms protectors? That was literally their job, at least as far as he’d understood. Everything he’d read seemed to imply something more, but he’d never been able to figure out the difference. Seeing her like that had inspired anaha!moment and he realized that it was a dynamic he could see himself forming with her.
But after this little stunt he had to wonder if it would work at all. She said she wanted dominance and discipline and her kick about not wanting to use a safeword during punishment, so it would feel more real,wasintriguing. She had a little girl side to match the very sexy, wanton woman side and he loved both. But he just wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to really let go and let him take care of her.
For either relationship to work, personal or professional, Charlie was going to have to let him be in charge. If she couldn’t handle that then he was going to leave. He hated the idea of going. He’d grown up on the ranch, same as she had; he was invested in it, too. And he loved her with everything in him, but he couldn’t sit back and let her stomp all over him and she’d never respect a man who could.
There was defiance in every line of her body. The way she held herself: her arms crossed over her chest and feet apart for balance, but especially the way she glared up at him with her eyes narrowed and her mouth twisted into a scowl. “So, you’re saying if I don’t let you be the boss of me, you’ll let them sell the ranch?”
He shook his head, not even surprised that she tried to go there. “Nope. Not what I’m saying at all. We can run this place as business partners, with you expressing your opinions like an adult,ifyou can remember that I’m the one in charge here, not you. But I’m not going to be your Dominant booty call anymore, Charlie. You’re not going to show up and ask me to whip your butt and fuck you hard and then the next day pretend we’re enemies while you run around doing whatever you feel like. My heart isn’t a game.”
“That’s not what I…”
“Quiet and listen,” he said, cutting her off. He waited until she closed her mouth and then continued. “That’s exactly what’s been happening. I love the nights with you. Having you back in my bed is something I’ve been dreaming about for two years, Charlie. But the mornings are nightmares and I’m not going to keep playing this game. So, you’ve got some choices to make.”
She drew a deep breath in through her nose, nostrils flaring before she blew it out in frustration. “And those would be?”
It amused him that for a second she reminded him of that high-strung horse trotting around the paddock behind them, but he’d probably be able to get Devil settled down and behaving a lot easier than he’d be able to putherin her place. Still, he liked a challenge. “Simple. We keep things to a strictly business partnership. I’m in charge. Stay out of ranch business and behave yourself. Treat me like crap again and I walk. Or…”
Her eyes rolled and she blew out another loud breath. “Or what?”
“Or we make this arealrelationship. I’m still in charge, and you behave yourself but if you don’t…” He paused and laughed as he corrected himself, “whenyou don’t the consequences will be a little different. I won’t leave. I’ll just give you that punishment you’ve been wanting. And we’ll see if your behavior improves after I blister your ass.”
“Why does it have to be one way or the other? Why can’t we just do what we’ve been doing? I already said you could punish me if I deserved it.” She tossed her long ponytail back over her shoulder and bit down on her bottom lip. The fragile look on her face tugged at his heart, but he shook his head.
“Nope, like I said I’m getting tired of being used to fill your fantasies. Maybe you’re looking for afriends with benefitstype situation, Charlie, but that’s not me. We’re either all the way in, or I’m out and this stays professional. Your choice.” He put iron into his words, so she knew he was done arguing about it. He could only hope she made the right decision; the one he knew they both wanted.
She stared at him with her deep brown eyes wide and stunned looking. “But, but Sam…”
“Charlie, let me make this easy for you. I’ll expect you in my office tonight at 7p.m. sharp. Since you asked for punishment, you’ll damn well get it then, and once we’re done you can decide what our relationship will be going forward. That will give you all afternoon to think about it. Until then you can take your ass home because I don’t want to see you until I calm down.”
He turned around and stalked off leaving her standing alone. He didn’t look back, but he could feel her eyes following him as he headed into the barn to get back to work. It was going to be a long day for both of them, and he had no clue how he was supposed to be able to focus on the things he needed to get done, when his mind was going to be filled with images of what he planned to do to her that night.
She wanted punishment? She’d get it. She wanted no safewords? Good, then she’d have to suffer through what she deserved for putting her life at risk over some stupid stunt. His heart was still racing in his chest as he remembered her small form trying to stand up to a massive stallion who could stomp her into the dirt without half trying.
It was about time he took that little girl in hand and taught her a lesson about obedience. And if she decided after that she wasn’t going to give him the relationship he wanted, then at least he’d know and could stop chasing around trying to make things work. Maybe hewouldhave to leave if it came to that because he wasn’t sure he could keep things strictly professional between them.
But at least he’d have the satisfaction of knowing he’d left an impression on her ass, and in more than one way. He still thought she had a fantasy idea of what punishment was going to be like, and he needed to come up with some wicked plans to disabuse her of that silly idea because he had no intention of encouraging her to do dangerous crap just to get punished.
Those things were so much on his mind that he had to give up entirely on the invoices. He just couldn’t keep his mind in the game well enough to deal with numbers. Instead he went out to do some hands-on work, figuring that would keep him busy. He stopped directly outside Devil’s pen, eyeing the majestic stallion with a look of displeasure. After seeing Charlie almost become his latest victim, he was half-tempted to sell the animal off.
Sam sighed, leaning against the fence as he watched the horse prancing around and looking pleased with himself. Devil knew he’d managed to upset things somehow, and on top of it he’d ended up getting his favorite treat. He had such spirit and a pretty good sense of humor for a horse, if maybe a little on the malicious side.
Sam had gotten a decent price because of the work it was going to take to tame the stubborn horse, but was it going to be worth it? His mind flipped over to Charlie and the way she’d stood her ground even though obviously terrified. His heart thumped hard in his chest reminding him of that moment of pure terror when he’d been sure she was about to be crushed.
