Chapter Five

Chastened

Ella

"So, that's it?" Her head was ready to implode with frustrated fear. "You're just going to take me, and damn what I think?"

Glaring at him, it was all so clear. How had she ever hoped for an alternative outcome when a man as strong and capable as Tucker now seemed to hold all the cards in his hands?

She had no chance.

No chance…

The evaluation resonated deep within her. She could try to fight all she liked, but ultimately, Tucker would do as he wished.

And get whatever he wants…

"Pretty much." His brow rose fleetingly before his other hand settled on her left hip.

"Take your hands off me." She pushed her bound hands into his abdomen but noticed how he didn't even flinch at the pressure.

The swilling emotions inside her shifted like quicksand. His presence had once been overwhelming, then terrifying, but as she stared at his arrogant expression, she was furious. How dare he behave this way? How dare he touch her? She couldn't abide this, couldn't let there be any way he thought this was okay.

"No." His tone was even as his gaze speared her. "I need to get you home, and you can't walk with your ankles bound."

"Then release me!" Christ! Wasn't the answer obvious?

"Again, no." His tone was clipped. "We do things my way."

He pounced in a flash, grabbing both of her hips and hoisting her from the sleeping bag and up over his shoulder. She screeched as she went, ludicrously vulnerable as he balanced her in position and turned from the tree.

"Put me down!" She hoped her rage was obvious but assumed the way she pounded her fists against his back conveyed her true feelings.

"Stop that." His arm tightened around her thighs, holding her in place as he stalked away. Her new position was dizzying. All she could see as he marched on was the back of his dull plaid shirt and, if she cast her eyes to the ground, the passing roots of the latest tree.

Briefly, she was grateful that she'd been wearing joggers when her father had arranged for her to be taken to the woods. The attire at least meant that she wasn't exposed to the elements as he stalked to who knew where.

"No. Bloody. Way!" She punctuated each word with a fresh smack to his back. "You can't do this."

From over his shoulder, she viewed the passing landscape of dried leaves and earth, her stomach twisting as she realized just how high up she was. How much would it hurt if she slipped out of his grasp, and would that fate be worse than whatever he had in store for her? As the blood rushed to her head, she couldn't make up her mind which outcome she dreaded the most.

"I am doing this." His free hand swatted her upturned backside, eliciting another yelp from her lips. "It's time you learned your place."

"Don't strike me!" Lips stretched wide, she couldn't believe the indignity. The man had just spanked her—in broad daylight! What sort of person thought that was acceptable? "How dare you do this!"

"Settle down." His voice was deeper, reminding her of an animal's growl. "This is your last chance, Ella, or I'll make you regret it."

Regret it?

The threat pinballed in her head, each of his pummeling footsteps jolting through her body and ratcheting up her alarm.

"Wh-what will you do?" She couldn't believe she'd asked, but the question rebounding in her head had slipped past her lips before she'd had time to process the choice.

"Stop talking." His large palm spanked her again, the swat harder this time and momentarily taking her breath away. " No more questions."

"Stop!" she hollered, incensed that he dared to act so brazenly, even after she'd told him to halt. "I was only asking you—"

Ella never finished her sentence. Moving with the same agility and speed Tucker had shown when he'd swept her from her feet and over his shoulder, he eased her down the length of his body. As her feet hit the ground, he threw her forward over his lap.

Time, dashing in spurious pockets, sped up as the approaching ground neared. She was going to land flat on her face, and even with her bound hands to break the fall, it was going to hurt.

She screamed, closing her eyes as the looming apocalypse neared, but just as she braced for the pain, his arm snaked around her middle and prevented the impact. Winded by the abrupt standstill, she blew out a breath.

"What the?" Her eyes flew open to find herself only inches from the hard ground, her fingertips breaking the skin of her palms as she eyed the leaves she'd feared might be the only things left to break her tumble. Somehow, she'd avoided the plummet she feared might do her some serious damage. Relief flooded her senses. "What's happening?"

"I'm giving you something to regret."

Regret. There was that word again. She heard no malice in his voice, but neither was there glee. Tucker sounded almost matter-of-fact as he settled on the ground and arranged her sprawled body over his.

Whatever relief she'd experienced evaporated when his hands clawed at the top of her joggers and yanked them down to her thighs. She gasped at the change of tack, conscious first of the cold, then how displayed and vulnerable she was without the protection of her clothing.

"What are you doing?"

Writhing to be free, she yelled so loud that a tiny part of her hoped someone might hear her protest and come looking for her, but it was a futile prayer. Wherever this forest was, her father wouldn't have been stupid enough to drop her where there would be witnesses. He was cruel but not inane.

"You have to start listening." Tucker's reply sounded as if it had been hissed through his teeth, but she couldn't understand why he was so upset. He wasn't the one stretched out over the forest floor with his ass exposed to the chilly air. "I'm giving you something to regret."

His palm rested on her bared behind, squeezing her cheek in a manner he had no right to do. Kicking at the ground with her fettered ankles, she leaned on her forearms and attempted once again to shuffle away.

"You can't do this!" she muttered as he promptly dragged her back into place and proved the precise opposite point. "Stop it, Tucker. Stop it!"

Pushing down on her back with one hand, he answered her with one sharp swat to her uncovered ass. The strike was so intense, it stole Ella's breath, time once again lengthening as she grappled to process what was transpiring.

She'd never been physically rebuked in her life. Even as a child, her mother had never spanked her, and now this stranger was doing so, exposing and striking her in the middle of the woods!

"I'm only going to say this one more time." His hand rose, peppering her vulnerable cheeks with repeated spanks as he spoke.

She froze at the onslaught, half of her desperate to scurry away and yet the other half working out what the effort would earn her.

"You're coming with me. The only issue is whether you conform or need to be chastised every mile or so." He laughed, the sound contracting the anxiety in her tummy as it echoed around the trees. "Although I won't look favorably upon the delay."

"Oh God."

Her head fell as his palm rained down the blows. Each swat hurt, and she could only imagine the red hue they'd leave on her perfectly exfoliated skin. Why had she only donned a thong the day before? The flimsy fabric did nothing to shield her cheeks from his ambush, no matter how much she squirmed to try to get away.

Stretched over him and forced to accept the swats, she realized something else. It wasn't only the brunt of the pain that kept her head down but the weight of her shame.

He's spanking me!

At twenty-six, Ella was prone and powerless to resist the thug who was treating her in such a base and unjust way.

"Stop it." She mouthed the words, too afraid to speak them aloud as the nightmare continued. He was too strong to push away. That much had been effectively demonstrated already, and the more she complained, the more his palm seemed to react. All she could do was suck up the blows and wait it out. Perhaps he'd tire of painting her backside with his palm soon and would move on?

How can I ever look him in the eyes after this?

Her toes curled as the humiliation swelled. A part of her wished the ground would just open and swallow her whole. Whatever happened, she could never live an embarrassment like this one down.

"Okay," he resolved.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, his hand paused, resting over her heated cheeks. She imagined how red and swollen her backside was.

How am I ever going to sit down, let alone live this down?

"That's enough for now."

For now?Was the guy clinically insane?

He could be.The thought did little to reassure. I don't know anything about him. Alexander might have passed me onto a psycho.

"I'm going to let you up, then we're carrying on with the journey."

She swallowed at his edict, unsure what she was supposed to say. Should she be grateful that he'd stopped hitting her? Thankfulness wasn't exactly her first response, especially since he'd already promised he wouldn't hurt her.

"Up you get." He lightly patted her now sore rump, chuckling as she attempted to scramble to all fours despite her bound wrists. Fighting to catch her breath, she yanked her joggers back into place as best she could, turning away from his no-doubt smug expression. "Erm, did I tell you to get dressed again?"

She froze at his hard tone. "What?"

She couldn't have heard him correctly. He could not just have said what she thought he did.

"You heard me." His clipped timbre sent a shiver racing along her spine as he climbed to his feet. She couldn't believe how much taller he was than her now that she was left kneeling in the dirt. "I just spanked you to give you a lesson. That example will be much faster learned if your beautiful derriere is on display for the rest of the journey."

"You can't be serious?" She glanced back in spite of her resolution to avoid eye contact, her jaw falling open as she realized he was entirely serious. The determination in his eyes told her that, as did the way he folded his arms across his muscular chest.

"Deadly serious." One of his dark eyebrows rose, as if daring her to disagree.

"But this is ridiculous." Her thoughts scattered as she tried to reason with the brute whose will seemed to be made entirely of iron. "I don't deserve this."

"Let's agree to disagree." He sighed, motioning behind her. "There's a long way to go, and fun though it is tanning your backside, we need to get moving again."

Fun? Had he just described her assault as fun?

"Now shrug down those joggers to your thighs before I consider starting round two." His voice was firmer as he took a step toward her. "Do you need help?"

Without further warning, he reached under her shoulders and jerked her to her feet.

"No!" She spat the word, her bound feet shuffling to create space between them.

"You mean, no, thank you." His steely gaze assured her that was what she meant, although no fiber of her being concurred.

"No, thank you." Her heart hammered as she summated her limited options. To defy him again would surely end in more pain and ignominy, yet she couldn't even contemplate lowering her pants for him.

The whole situation was horrendous.

As if he read her mind, he scoffed as he approached. Sensing what he intended, she squealed, her attention darting right and left as she looked desperately for a way out but to no avail. Before she could even hobble away again, he was on her, his two gigantic palms reaching for her waistband and hitching the material south.

"There."

She clenched at the conceit in his tone.

"That's better." As though the point required validation, he made a quick circuit of her body, patting her backside self-assuredly.

"Stop that!" Her bark resounded between them as he paused in front of her, and for one protracted moment, their gazes met as they stood face-to-face in the small clearing.

He, the monster who'd agreed to be her captor, and she, the woman who was bared, chastened, and fit to explode with anger.

She thought she might burst into tears again, the emotion spurred this time by her furious shame, but as his stare drilled into her, her back straightened.

Fuck this.Defiance resonated as she returned his glower. I'm not crying! I won't give the bastard the satisfaction.

"Come." Standing over her, his blue gaze had lost none of its intensity. "We're leaving."