Chapter 2

Katie put some distance between them deliberately. The backroads were mostly traffic free at that time of night, and she knew where the police were likely to lurk, watching for speeders, so she could avoid them. When she got home, she left the front door unlocked, and used those extra minutes to jump into the shower and sluice off the sweat from a night of lifting cases, moving kegs, and slinging drinks.

People had no idea how difficult being a bartender was. They thought she just stood behind the bar serving drinks with a smile, but there was a lot of physical work involved too. And on the weekend nights, when things were so busy, she was usually left feeling sore and grimy by the end.

She used to put off the shower until morning in favor of just falling into bed, even though she always felt lazy for it. That had changed since Nick. They'd settled into a routine now, and he came over most Friday nights, and sometimes Saturdays, depending on his schedule.

And there was no way she was crawling into bed with a man while she was gross and smelly. Despite Nick assuring her that she was never either of those things, she knew better. To his credit, he didn't seem to mind when she smelled sweaty, but it felt… uncomfortable. Dirty, and not in the good way.

So she hurried home to shower, and sometimes she wasn't fast enough and he joined her. That wasn't a bad thing. She'd learned that shower sex really was possible; very slippery, but also exciting in a way she couldn't explain.

It did mean she'd learned to wash fast, because once Nick got in… well, getting clean left the agenda. Tonight she managed to finish up before he arrived, though she was tempted to stay in the hot water and wait for him.

She opened the bathroom door, and there he was with a broad grin curving his sensual mouth. He'd lost his hat and his shirt. His jeans were still in place, but the belt was in his hand, as he looked her up and down. "What was that about you needing a hard spanking?"

"I might have exaggerated a bit," she said, clutching the ragged old bath towel to her chest. She was suddenly incredibly aware that her backside was uncovered and still damp from the rushed shower. If only she'd taken a moment to wrap it around herself, but it was too late now—and really it wouldn't have mattered much anyway.

The first thing Nick did was snag the end of it and drag it out of her hands. He tossed it aside, and then took her by the shoulders and turned her toward her bedroom. "Oh, I doubt that, darlin'," he said, as he sent her hurrying ahead of him with a solid smack to her ass.

Nothing stung more than a slap on wet skin, and Katie had to bite back the yelp when a second, and then a third landed to encourage her steps. Her hands flew back, covering her vulnerable backside as she scooted into the room.

Katie spun around to face him and put her hands on her hips. "I was only teasing. What kind of cowboy can't take a joke?" It was all dramatics, just part of the game. She liked winding him up, and she liked it when he got rough with her.

That thrill of excited fear did things to her body. Right now her clit was pulsing with need. Her pussy clenched and she was wet in a way that had zero to do with the shower she'd just taken. Her need to push him warred with the part of her that was afraid of going too far.

"I can take a joke, Katiegirl, but can you take the consequences of teasing me all night?"

"Yes, yes I can." She made her tone firm, although the fluttering of nervousness inside warned her she might end up getting more than she'd bargained for.

"You sure about that?" He took a step closer, looming over her.

She swallowed hard. This was her chance to back down. They'd probably get to the pleasure faster if she did, but she didn't want to make love. Slow and gentle wasn't what she needed tonight. She needed it hard, rough, and she wanted it to feel like she wasn't in control.

The way he'd stepped up to take on a whole tableful of men, ready to fight them all because one asshole had grabbed her—she didn't want to love it, but she did. There was something hot about a man defending those he loved, but it was more than that. She'd been watching from across the room. She'd seen the wildness that was barely contained when he faced them down.

She saw glimpses of that side of him at other times too. Times like this. Like right now.

"I'm sure… Daddy." Her voice dropped low and throaty on the last word. It was her signal to let him know she was submitting to whatever he wanted to do.

She never called him Daddy in public. It would be too embarrassing if anyone heard, but in private she'd gotten used to calling him that most of the time. But there was a way of saying it that implied more… that demanded something from him. He knew exactly what it meant.

His eyes narrowed and his mouth tilted up at one side. "If you say so, sweetheart." His hand snapped out and grabbed her ponytail, right at the base. He used it as a leash to drag her close.

It didn't hurt, but the power behind it made her gasp anyway. She fell into him, her bare breasts pressing against his naked chest. He stared down with an intense look that seemed to pierce her straight to the core. Her pussy spasmed in response.

"You've been poking the bear all night, Katiegirl. I think it's about time you learn what happens when the bear pokes back."

This would have been the time to be silent. She'd never been great at keeping her mouth shut and tonight was no exception. "Is that a promise?"

His black eyes glittered wickedly. "Oh yeah, sweetheart. It's a promise."

He pulled her to the bed and bent her over the end of it. She trembled a little, more from anticipation than fear, when he planted a hand in the center of her back to hold her there.

"Spread your legs, darlin'. Let's see if that pussy is as wet as I think it is."

When she didn't immediately comply, his free hand swept down, peppering both cheeks with a brisk series of slaps, with no sign of stopping until she obeyed. She got the hint and quickly moved her legs apart.

He chuckled. "Still got some attitude in there huh? We'll see if I can fuck that out of you." His hand slid between her thighs and parted her pussy lips to find her dripping. "Just like I thought. You like being a bad girl, don't you, sweetheart?"

Katie didn't answer.She couldn't even if she'd wanted to, because his fingers had slipped easily between her folds, stroking, teasing, and finally playing with her clit. Forming words after that was impossible and she lost herself in the pleasure. When she began moaning and whimpering, pushing back for more… he stopped.

"You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you? Do you really think attitude is going to earn rewards with me?" He snorted and pulled his hand free. A second later it smacked down on her ass, hard enough that she could feel each individual fingerprint. "You stay right there. Bury your face in the blanket and don't move."

A soft moaning whine escaped her as she felt him move away, but a second later she heard a drawer opening. That meant he was getting out the toys, and she was so tempted to sneak a peek.

The bottom drawer of her dresser used to hold a couple cheap vibrators and some smutty books with all the best scenes marked so she could flip to them quickly. Nick's amusement when he saw that had been embarrassing, but she'd gotten over that… mostly.

It still held the vibrators, but the books had been moved to a shelf in her closet, to make room for a collection of toys and implements that she'd acquired in the months they'd been dating. Some of the things he'd bought. Some they'd picked up together in town fairly recently.

The one adult store in the area wasn't fancy. It was nothing like the superstores of pleasure she'd visited during college, and it catered mostly to generic sex needs. Cheap lingerie, vibrators, massage oils and lube made up the bulk of their inventory. But in the back, there was one lonely row of kinky stuff.

Before Nick, she'd only wandered through the store once, out of curiosity, and had barely given the kinky stuff a glance. But when they went in together, she led him right to that section and searched the row eagerly for exciting new things to try with him.

Most of it was so cheap that Nick just rolled his eyes. "This would fall apart the first time I used it," he commented, holding up a braided leather whip. He snapped it through the air, and it made a weak flapping sound that wasn't sexy at all. "We'd be better off going to the tack store and getting the real thing."

The place wasn't entirely useless, Nick picked up a set of butt plugs and some lube. She'd blushed all the way to the truck. The bag was nondescript, and no one was going to know what was in it, but somehow it felt like all eyes were on her—judging her for wanting things in her butt.

And the embarrassment, combined with the excitement of trying something new, had her panties soaked by the time they were parked at the ranch supply store. As Nick had promised, the leather quality was a lot better there. They'd picked up an assortment of interesting items, most of which she hadn't gotten to try yet.

All of them, along with some other things he'd provided, lived in that bottom drawer now, and each week he would introduce her to one new thing. If it had been up to her, they would have spent a whole weekend trying it all, but Nick refused to let her move as fast as she wanted to.

"No need to gorge yourself on a kink buffet, darlin'. That's how you burn out. We're going to take things nice and slow, so you can enjoy each new experience fully."

It was frustrating, but it made sense the way he'd explained it. If his desire was to add to her anticipation of their nights together—it worked. Each week she would wait eagerly for him to open the drawer. Sometimes he did it right away… sometimes he made her wait.

The wondering kept her on edge, and full of needy excitement. For tonight, when she was already wound up, it was almost too much to stand. If she'd thought sneaking a look would be possible without getting caught, she probably would have risked it, but she knew she wouldn't see much from this angle anyway.

And before she might have talked herself into trying, Nick had returned. There was a clatter as he dropped some things next to her, and she twitched when something cold rolled against her bare thigh. She might have looked then, just on instinct, but she was distracted by Nick's order to put her hands behind her back.

Katie knew what that meant. Her face had been pillowed in her arms, but now she shifted so she could reach them back behind her. A little shiver of excited nerves rolled through her body, as he tied her wrists together at the small of her back.

Nick tugged at them to make sure they weren't too tight against her skin and then she felt him at her ankles, wrapping the rope in slow coils around each one. He pointedly did not tie them together as he had her wrists, not that she expected him to. Instead her legs were spread even wider, and they were tied open for easy access.

The tugging and struggling, just to see if she could get loose, was automatic. She couldn't and the helpless vulnerable feelings that rushed through her were somehow both frightening and unbearably sexy at the same time. She loved those feelings.

"You ready, sweetheart?" His mouth was right up against her ear, and somehow, she hadn't known he was so close.

She started to raise her head, but a firm grip on the back of her neck stopped that.

"Uh-uh. Keep your head down. You don't want me to have to blindfold you."

She actually would have preferred it to fighting the urge to look up constantly. She was about to tell him so, when he added, "There would be a penalty for that mercy."

Oh."I'm ready, Nick."

His hand came down hard on her ass. "What did you call me?"

Oh.Right. "Daddy! I'm ready, Daddy," she blurted.

He smoothed his hand over the stinging mark he'd just left. Not rubbing, so much as feeling. "That's better. Not so sassy now, are you sweetheart?"

She wasn't going to dignify that with an answer because if she did… she'd get herself in more trouble. But she'd forgotten that Nick's normal easygoing demeanor was rarely in play during their scenes. When he asked a question, he expected an answer.

His hand slapped down on the other cheek, with more force and she cried out. "I asked you a question, Katiegirl."

She drew in a deep breath, hunting for self-control and patience. It took almost a minute and another burning swat, before she could make herself answer. "No, Daddy."

He chuckled. "Liar." The word tickled her ear, and then he straightened. "Don't forget your safeword. Use it if you need to."

"I will, Daddy." She squirmed a little, making herself comfortable and trying to keep her muscles loose. It was difficult to relax when she wasn't sure what was coming, but he wouldn't start until she did.

Nick didn't remind her of her safeword every time. It wasn't necessary, and she'd proven that, stubborn or not, she would use it when she needed to. So she took the reminder to mean that he'd be doing something new, or maybe he was going to be harsher than usual.

Well, she had challenged him.

It turned out to be both.

His hand went straight to her pussy, and she moaned. He swept his fingers between her folds with long strokes up the middle. Each time the tips came teasingly close to her clit, without actually stroking her the way she needed him to.

She tried to push back, tried to lift her ass to give him better access, but she was too well tied. "Please, Daddy. Please?" The soft begging cries only made him laugh.

He swirled one finger in a wide circle around the base of her clit and she could feel the tightening as it stiffened into a hard little peak that demanded his attention. He gave her just enough to keep her on the edge, but never enough for the climax to build.

No matter how she strained, trying to impale herself on his fingers got her nowhere. Finally she snapped. "Damn it, either fuck me or hand me a vibrator so I can do it myself."

The moment the words left her mouth, she knew she'd just gotten herself in deep trouble. She was a brat; she could admit that. She enjoyed testing her limits and pushing him to tame her. It was a major part of their dynamic… but it was only common sense to behave when you were literally tied down with your ass in the air.

Nick was silent. His fingers stopped all movement, and then a second later they left her entirely. She tightened her backside reflexively waiting for the spanking to start, but he had another idea in mind.

"Darlin', I took you seriously when you said you wanted it rough tonight, and I'm working up to that. But if you don't lock that mouth of yours down, I swear I'll blister your ass and then go to bed with you spread wide and dripping. That hungry little pussy of yours will stay hungry." His voice was cool and calm as always, but there was an edge to it, as if she'd stepped over a line.

She swallowed hard. "Yes, Daddy. I'm sorry. I just need you so badly." The apology was so low it was almost a whisper.

"I get that, but don't let that need kick your common sense out the window, or you'll regret it." He paused, and she tensed for a smack, but he only added, "You're already going to regret it."

He went back to the drawer and a second later something cold and metal brushed against her skin. He spread her pussy with his hand, but there was nothing sexual about it. And then something closed around her clit, trapping it.

"What's that?" she asked. Her nervousness had to be obvious.

"That is a clamp." He was still messing with it, and it went from just holding her clit, to tightening slowly with a pressure that quickly began to hurt.

"I don't… I don't think I like that, Daddy." She couldn't help the whine in her tone. It wasn't unbearable but it could easily get there.

"No? Well, let me know when you're sure." He sounded unconcerned as he tightened it somehow, just a little more, and she caught her breath.

"I'm sure," she blurted, struggling to close her legs again. All she managed was some tightening and flexing that had to look obscene.

"Good."

Instead of immediately taking away the awful clamp, he straightened and that was when she realized that the clamp was attached to a chain. The cool links jiggled between her spread pussy lips and then pulled tight as he gave the chain a little yank. She screeched.

It wasn't even that it hurt that bad. It was more that she knew it could. He had control of the most delicate and vulnerable part of her body, and he could make her pay for every bratty thing she'd done all night.

Katie trusted Nick with her safety, but this affected her on a primal emotional level that she couldn't really control. Logically she knew he would keep her safe. But she couldn't stop the fear reflexes that had her trembling and struggling against the ropes that bound her.

"Katie." His voice snapped.

She stopped and realized she was panting a little from her exertions. "Yes Daddy?"

"Do you need to safeword?"

She gave it real thought, but just the fact that he'd asked was a reminder that she could. It helped. "No Daddy. I think I'm okay." And as she said it, she realized it was true.

"Good girl." He gave the chain another soft tug and a spike of pain went through her.

She concentrated on it, testing the sensation against other things he'd done, and realized that it really wasn't that bad, aside from the location. More importantly, her clit had swollen, pulsing in time to her heartbeat, and it was a distraction from the pain. If anything, it had increased her need to be fucked deep and hard.

"Now, Katie, I'm going to give you one warning. You are going to be my very very good girl for the next little while. Because if your sass gets away with you again… I'm going to take the crop and spank that swollen little clit of yours until you cry."

Her breath caught in her throat. A small whimper escaped her. That was horrifying… and hot at the same time. Her pussy spasmed just thinking about it and she thought she might actually climax on the spot.

"Right now you're going to use that mouth in a more productive way, and then we'll see if you deserve to be fucked after. You understand me?"

Her mouth worked soundlessly, unable to form words. She couldn't remember ever feeling this turned on in her whole life.

This time he didn't pull the chain to get her attention. He flicked his forefinger against the trapped little nub instead.

Fireworks went off in her head, and not the good kind. Or maybe it wasthe good kind. The sensation was so powerful she couldn't really tell. "Ouch! Yes. Yes, I'll be good! Please, don't do that again." The words burst from her, but she was careful to make sure her tone wasn't demanding.

"So you can learn… that's real good, sweetheart." He patted her flank like she'd pleased him.

If anyone else had said that to her, she would have been insulted. It would have come off as patronizing and misogynistic, but Nick got a pass because when he did it in the bedroom it made her pussy run like a river.

It helped to know it was part of the scene, part of the game.

He dropped the end of the chain into her cupped hands. "Hold that for a second," he said.

Not that she had a choice with her hands crossed at the wrists and tied in place, but she tightened her fingers around it anyway. She didn't want to know what devious penalty there would be if she let it go.

A second later she felt something dripping between her cheeks. The cool oozing liquid surprised her, and she gasped, but it warmed fast enough when he used it to prime her back hole. First one finger, and then a second slippery digit worked their way inside her bottom.

She'd learned to enjoy being fingered there. The dirty taboo feelings that were wrapped up in that kind of play, just made it extremely sexy. But tonight he was all business. He wasn't playing with her; he was preparing her for something.

Her anal virginity, if there was such a thing, was still intact when it came to actual sex, but Nick had gotten her used to anal play with his fingers and with the plugs he'd bought. She couldn't take the largest one yet—not without pain anyway, and he said he wasn't going to claim her last hole until she could, because he was a lot bigger.

She hoped that wasn't on the agenda tonight… and she kind of hoped it was.

It wasn't. Instead something cold and smooth was slowly pressed into her, through the ring of muscle, until it was completely lodged inside. "What is that?" It definitely didn't feel like a regular plug.

Suddenly there was a whirring sensation inside of her. "Ahh! What the fuck!" But almost as soon as she said it, she realized it felt good. No, it felt fucking amazing. It was a vibrator, but for her butt!

"It's an anal egg, darlin'. A little surprise I picked up a few weeks ago. Enjoy it… but don't come. After your attitude tonight, you don't deserve to come first." He did something and the vibrations changed. They slowed, but some weird pulsing was added.

"Oh my god…" Not coming was going to be a problem. Those vibrations were rolling through her entire body, but they seemed especially aimed at her pussy and she wasn't sure how she was going to stop the rapidly rising pleasure. Maybe she could hide it if she did come.

"Don't."

It was almost as if he'd known what she was thinking. He did that a lot and sometimes it made her wonder.

Fuck.

"I'm not sure I can stop myself," Katie admitted.

"Well, let me see if I can help with that."

Uh-oh. Now why does that sound so ominous?