Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

J ohn entered the US Marshal’s bureau two days later to find Mac sitting in his office.

“You’re rolling in a little late this morning. I take it things are going well with the fetching Ms. Adams?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Mac. Mandy and I ran into each other this morning and grabbed coffee and a bagel. But, yes, things are going quite well. In fact, if you like, you can go with me to Equinox sometime this week.”

Mac looked at his friend quizzically. “Equinox? The high-end jeweler?”

“The very one,” John said, hanging up his jacket and sitting down at his desk.

“And what would you need with a high-end jeweler?”

“I want to start looking for Mandy’s ring.”

“Ring?” Mac came forward in his chair. “Whoa, that’s fast! Who is this girl? What do you know about her?”

“I know she’s the one. We’ve spent quite a bit of time together. She’s smart, fun, tough, loyal, sweet, and all kinds of sexy.”

“Don’t get me wrong. If she’s the girl, I’m happy for you, but you only met her night before last, and you’ve been working.”

“And when I haven’t been working, I’ve been with Mandy. It’s as though we’ve known each other forever. Everything is just easy. She’s got a stubborn streak, a naughty side, and will need a firm hand, but nothing I can’t handle.”

Mac laughed. “And nothing you won’t enjoy handling.”

John chuckled. “You got that right. I figure she’s going to be a handful at first, but once I get her taken in hand, I think she’ll settle down, and we’ll live happily ever after.”

“I glad for you, John. Envious as hell, but happy for you.” Mac stood from his desk chair. “I’m up for ring shopping whenever you want to go.”

M andy had been busy all day. Willa was getting ready to take a group out the next day, so it was a myriad of last-minute details. With smaller groups, Willa took a packhorse and did everything herself. With a large group, such as this, they had a whole team. Mandy was responsible for ensuring everything was coordinated, everyone got to the right spot on time, and it appeared to be seamless to those who had paid to enjoy their vacation. She loved it!

Having just hit send on an email to the guests, outlining everything from the schedule to what they could expect, she was just about to switch over the phones to the answering service when a last-minute call came through.

“Reynolds Wilderness Rides. This is Mandy. How can I help you?”

“You can agree to go to dinner tonight,” John said.

“Hey, you!” she responded, her voice brightening at the sound of his voice. “I’m not sure about dinner.”

“Too many last-minute details? I could bring something over to the office.”

“No,” she seductively, “everything here is done. I’ll need to check in with Willa tomorrow morning, but my work is pretty much finished for the day.”

“Then why aren’t you sure about dinner?”

“Well, there’s this really sexy lawman I’ve been seeing. I think I’m doing all the right things, but so far, I haven’t gotten anything more than a friendly hug… and I do mean friendly. Not even held close enough to figure out if he’s interested in more.” Mandy was surprised at how easy it was to be bold with John. It wasn’t that she lacked self-confidence, she just didn’t have Willa’s in-your-face way of dealing with men.

John laughed. “I can assure you, Ms. Adams, I am interested in far more than just a friendly hug. I was trying to be a gentleman, so you didn’t know from a hug, just how interested I am.”

“If that’s the case, I’d love to have dinner with you.”

“How about I pick you up at your place?”

“Since I have the rest of the day off, why don’t I cook dinner? It’s my turn to treat you. Is Italian okay?”

“Italian is great, and I’d like that. Say about six?”

“Six works.”

Mandy hung up and considered her options, weighing showing off her cooking skills versus not wanting to prepare anything too heavy. If she had her way, the marshal would be dessert. She shook her head. John Hampton was sex on a stick. Every time he gave her a friendly hug, her arousal lit up like the Fourth of July. He was also a bit on the old-fashioned side. If he didn’t take the initiative tonight to move things along… she would.

Mandy settled on spaghetti with asparagus, smoked mozzarella, and prosciutto. It was something she could do the prep work, then once John was there and wanted dinner, she could simply cook the fresh pasta and have dinner ready in no time at all.

Once she was home, Mandy put together dinner before running upstairs to her bedroom to get ready. Deciding what to make for dinner had been easy—deciding what to wear was another matter entirely. Wanting to strike a balance between inviting and pushy, she finally settled on a pair of jeans that showed off her curves and a simple peasant-style tunic with an under-bust corset, so she could wear the blouse off her shoulders and not have to worry about a bra. She opted for bare feet and was just adding her earrings when the doorbell to her townhome rang.

She trotted down the stairs and opened the door, smiling brightly.

“Right on time!”

John smiled at her. She loved the way the angles of his face changed when he smiled.

“Yes, ma’am. I try to be. Sometimes, the job gets in the way, but I pride myself on not being late.”

“I often have a far looser relationship with time than I should. If it’s job-related, you can literally set your clock by me. If not, well, that’s a whole other story.”

“You’re going to need to work on that,” he chided gently. “If you’re late, I’m going to worry something happened. If I don’t get a phone call, explaining why you’re late, we’re going to have to have a discussion about why.”

There was something about the authoritative tone of his voice that made Mandy shiver deliciously inside. Everything about John spoke to her on her deepest level. There wasn’t a thing about him that wasn’t commanding, and even though she wasn’t submissive, something about his dominant ways made her feel all gooey inside. In the short time she’d known him, he’d insisted on opening doors, walking on the street side of the sidewalk, and paying for everything.

A s usual, her casual, sexy attire took his breath away. He had been serious when he told Mac he thought she was the one. In the brief time he’d known her, she’d shared both silly and meaningful things about herself, reaching a part of him no other woman had. He tried to let her know his feelings were deepening, but she had a way of redirecting the conversation when it came to emotions.

“Oooh, Marshal Hampton, you aren’t going to arrest me and put me in handcuffs, are you?” she teased.

“I doubt I’ll need restraints to deal with a desperado like you.” He chuckled. “I have other methods far better suited to teaching a naughty girl to behave.”

“Me? Naughty? Never… unless it was with Willa, and there was a good time to be had,” she said, her eyes dancing with merriment.

“I think there’s a side of you that likes being a wild child and misbehaving, just to see how people will react,” he said soberly, shaking his head.

“Maybe. How will you react?”

He leaned down and kissed her mouth with restrained passion.

“It will depend entirely on what you did, and if I’ve warned you about it before.”

M andy was intrigued by his change in demeanor and the kiss itself. It hadn’t been overly passionate or tentative, more sensual and exploring. It was disquieting, and Mandy hated to feel unsettled. Emboldened, Mandy reached up to draw his head down.

“I haven’t been waiting so long for you to kiss me to settle for that,” she said before capturing his mouth with her own and wrapping her arms around his neck.

His response was everything Mandy could have wanted. He quickly took command of the kiss, putting both of his hands on her ass, lifting her up, and molding her to his strong frame. She had to stifle her urge to giggle. The hard cock hiding behind the fly of his jeans was proof positive, the marshal had more than a friendly hug on the agenda for the evening. She was looking forward to seeing and feeling it more intimately.

John pressed his lips against hers and probed her mouth with his tongue. There was something about the way he did it that fanned the flames of her desire. It wasn’t an invasion of her mouth, more an invitation for her tongue to dance with his while he still kept control.

She opened her eyes to see his blazing back at her with lust and something more. She didn’t know if she wanted the something more, but she was definitely interested in the lust. His gaze dropped from her face to her chest. She blushed, knowing without a bra, he could see how stiff her nipples were through the thin cotton of her blouse. Just as she was congratulating herself on her dinner plans, her reverie, not to mention her libido, was cut short by his hand swatting her backside.

“That’s enough, Mandy. I think that answers your question about how I’d like to see this evening's progress. You want to put that motor on idle and behave yourself?”

“That hurt!” she accused, trying to push away from him.

He cupped her ass with his hands and held her tight.

“Not as much as it will if you don’t settle down.”

Struggling in his embrace, she realized just how strong he was when he tightened his hold on her buttocks, and she couldn’t move.

“Let go.”

“No,” John said patiently. “We need to sit down and talk.”

“I’m not sure I want to talk to you.”

“Not your call,” he said, his voice deepening. “I wasn’t planning on having this conversation quite so soon, but I’m not sure it can wait. Let’s sit on the couch and talk about things.”

“Seriously, Hampton, you don’t get to dictate to me in my own home.”

“Whether or not I dictate to you isn’t really the question. The consequences of what happens when you don’t mind me are what we need to discuss. Now, we can either do that with both of us sitting…”

“How the hell else would we do it?” she demanded.

“With me sitting and you facedown over my knee.”

Despite the way his words made her arousal spike, her nipples harden that much more, and desire pooled between her legs. She couldn’t believe he’d just said that. Was he really threatening to spank her?

“Who the fuck do you think you are?”

He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and leaned down to kiss her again. She hated the fact that instead of bringing her knee up between his legs or at least trying to push him away, she melted into him.

“I think, Mandy Adams,” John whispered against her lips, “I’m the man who’s going to lead in this relationship, and you’re the one who’s going to follow. You have far too beautiful a mouth to fill it with such ugliness, so watch your language.”

She rolled her eyes. “You are so full of shit. Ouch!” she said as his hand reconnected with her ass, cutting her off.

“That’s enough, Mandy. Now, do you want to sit down and talk or keep pushing to see if I’m making idle promises?”

“Threats, you mean.”

“No, I mean promises. For the record, I won’t ever promise to do something I won’t do. Face-to-face or facedown? Your choice.”

This time before he could kiss her again, she kicked him in the shin since she couldn’t bring herself to knee him in the nuts. His face took on a look of resolve, though a somewhat softened version of the one she’d seen that first night when he’d come to her rescue—the fact she didn’t need rescuing wasn’t the point.

“Facedown it is,” he said with resignation.

Before she could absorb his meaning or react, he led her to the sofa, sat down, and pulled her across his lap. She was completely unprepared for the strength of the swat to her buttocks.

“Ouch!”

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Mandy couldn’t believe when he spanked her. This was not some half-assed erotic spanking from some wimpy-wristed boy. This was a man taking her to task as he’d promised. She had often enjoyed a bit of slap and tickle with other boyfriends. This wasn’t that, yet she could feel her arousal increasing.

John’s hand warmed her seat quickly. The heat factor wasn’t being helped by her jeans, keeping it contained. Mandy struggled and squirmed, but John had her firmly under his control, the hand not actively spanking her, holding her in place. She began to kick her legs, trying to somehow loosen his hold.

“That’s enough, Mandy,” he said as laid down a steady rhythm of blows to her backside. “I warned you, but instead of choosing to behave, you decided kicking me was a better option. I mean to correct the error in your reasoning.”

She bucked again and felt John’s legs open. She brought her legs down, so they could almost reach the floor. Just as she realized she wasn’t quite tall enough, his outer leg closed on the back of hers, neatly trapping her as he adjusted her on his one knee and resumed her spanking. She kept trying to find some kind of leverage, but nothing seemed to work.

“Until you settle down and accept my authority, I will continue to spank your pretty bottom.”

“Stop it, John!”

“No. Your learning to mind me starts now. You want me to stop? You quit fighting me.”

She bit her lower lip to keep from crying. Her ass was really beginning to hurt—heat and pain blossomed across it. Finally, she lost her fight with herself, ceased struggling, and started to cry. The instant she went limp, he gently settled his hand on her backside.

“That’s better,” he said soothingly. Mandy noted his tone wasn’t angry but resolute. “I’m going to let you stand, then I’m going to bare your backside to finish this.”

“John…”

“You show me you can behave, and it’ll only be a few swats. You don’t, and I’ll make you wish you had.”

John’s legs released their grip on hers, and he helped her to her feet, then reached up to unbutton and unzip her jeans, tugging them down past her hips and thighs. She saw him smile appreciatively at the skimpy red lace panties she had chosen to wear. Hooking his finger, he took them down to her knees as well. She could see him take in how hard her nipples had become.

“Back over my knee, and let’s get this done.”

Mandy wanted to protest, wanted to tell him to go to hell—wanted to want anything other than to do what he was telling her—but she didn’t. She’d never been more turned on in her life, not from the pain radiating off her backside, but from the man who had inflicted it. She didn’t struggle when he helped her back over his knee, gently closing his legs, so hers were once more between them.

She had just about convinced herself this might not be so bad when she heard the harsh sound of his hand connecting with her now bare flesh at almost the same time as she felt the sting in her backside increase to a new, more painful level.

“John,” she wailed quietly as her crying intensified.

“That’s a good girl,” he crooned. “You need to learn to yield and cry when you’re punished, so I know I’ve gotten through to you.”

He swatted her only another half dozen times, but each blow landing on her already bruised bottom was far more painful than it had been over her jeans. John stopped and rubbed her backside soothingly. Tracing his finger down the crack of her ass, he stopped momentarily to play with the puckered entrance to her darkest sheath before sliding his hand between her legs.

Mandy sighed and parted her legs to his touch. John ran his finger past her pussy up to her clit, circling it before taking it between his fingers, rubbing and massaging. Mandy’s breath became arrhythmic as she felt herself drip onto his jeans. His hand moved to the entrance of her core, parting the petals of her sex before dipping in her pussy and lightly stroking.

“That’s much better than getting your bottom spanked, don’t you think?” he said silkily.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“When you’re facedown over my knee, you answer with yes or no, Sir. Understood?”

“Yes,” she said, closing her eyes. She yelped as his hand delivered another sharp slap to her painful behind.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, I’ve never… I mean, no one has ever…”

He chuckled, but not in a way that made her think he was making fun of her.

“I thought that might be the case. Now you know, and you’ll do better, won’t you, sweetheart?”

“Yes. I mean, yes, Sir.”

“Good girl. How about I let you up? You can kick those jeans and panties off and sit on my lap while we have a little chat.”

“Uhm, okay.”

Again, he helped her to stand, and she leaned on him as she removed her jeans and panties, folding them carefully and laying them on the coffee table. He closed his legs, so she could have a place to sit. She inhaled sharply as her painful derriere made contact with his muscled, jean-clad thighs, catching her breath as he circled her waist with one arm, making her feel safe and secure while the other hand rested on the inside of her thigh, just barely but not quite touching her clit.

“I need you to understand that I don’t normally just put a woman across my knee without knowing her a whole hell of a lot longer than we’ve known each other.” He waited until she nodded. “I meant for things to proceed a lot slower than they have, but I need you to understand this isn’t casual for me. I feel things for you I’ve never felt before. I want to build something lasting with you, but for us to build that, we need a strong foundation. For me, that means both of us know our roles in the relationship and what we can expect from each other.”

“Okay,” she said quietly, trying hard not to panic. She prayed he wasn’t going to use the L-word. She hated the L-word. Nothing good ever came from hearing the L-word… at least not for her.

“Do we need to spell out those roles?”

“No, I think you’ve been very clear about what you expect. As you said—you lead, I follow. The unspoken part was if I don’t, I can expect to get spanked.”

He smiled. “That’s one of the things I love about you. You’re so smart.”

Oh God, he’d said it. How did he expect her to respond to that? Maybe he didn’t mean love as in love with a capital L, maybe he just meant it in a far more casual way.

“I have news for you, Marshal. Explaining that to me by spanking my ass brought home the message pretty damn fast.”

“Mandy, you mind your language with me, especially when you’re already sitting on a bruised bottom. Damn may be acceptable in some circumstances but isn’t necessary in this one. If I hear foul language from you again, you’ll get your mouth washed out with soap, and if that doesn’t work, you’ll get spanked as well. Clear?”

It was curious he didn’t seem angry or apologetic, merely laying down the law and letting her know what he intended in a very matter-of-fact way.

“Yes, John. Is… is that okay instead of sir?”

“Yes, baby.” He pulled her close and kissed the side of her head. “John will work in place of sir.”

“John?”

“Yes?”

“Wouldn’t you like to get naked and fu… uhm, scr… No wait, that’s probably not right, either.” She searched for the right terminology. “Have sex?” she offered. “Because I’d really like to have sex with you,” she said, nudging his hand back to where it could do her some good.

“That’s a rhetorical question. You’re sitting on my lap, and you aren’t stupid. You can feel just how much I want to fuck you. And for the record, you can use that term if you’re referring to the act itself, but not any other time, okay?”

“So, is that a yes? You want to fuck?”

“Yes, Mandy.” He slid his hand back between her thighs, which seemed to open wider of their own accord, rolling her clit between his fingers.

Bringing her hands up to shimmy her blouse further down her arms, she revealed her swollen nipples. Seeing him smile made her blush all over. Leaving her clit to finger her pussy, he leaned down to take one of her pert nipples between his lips, nipping it lightly before sucking it and laving his tongue around it.

Mandy moaned appreciatively as John used his mouth in concert with his hand to make her body respond wildly, both to his physical action and the seductive way he had advanced their relationship. She’d never been with a man who was as clear about his expectations and the consequences she could expect if she didn’t follow his rules. It didn’t escape her notice that not once did he talk about leaving her. Spanking her yes, but not leaving. A bad break-up with a first-year associate at her last law firm had put her off committed relationships in general and lawyers in particular.

In the position he held her, there was little Mandy could do to reciprocate John’s fondling, so she cradled his head to her breast and reveled in his attention. As much as she had disliked being spanked, she thought she could learn to like this kind of attention from John a great deal. There was nothing tentative or questioning in the way he handled her body. This was a man who knew how to give pleasure as well as pain. She was close to climax when he stopped and brought her face to his to kiss her deeply.

“John?” she asked a bit desperately.

“Oh no, little girl, you don’t get to finish until we’ve had dinner, and I get us both naked and in your bed.”

“You jerk,” she laughed. “And I expect you to take note, jerk wasn’t the term that necessarily came to mind.”

“Duly noted.” He grinned. “Let’s get you up and get that corset off, then you can feed me before I take you upstairs and have my way with you.”

Standing, Mandy reached for her panties, but John’s hand closed around hers.

“If I took them off or had you take them off, you don’t put them back on until I say.”

He unfastened the corset, allowing her breasts to swing freely and the tunic to become a bit longer. “That should cover you up well enough for now… though you might want to pull your blouse back up to cover your beautiful tits.”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “They don’t hurt as much as my ass, but my nipples being this hard is uncomfortable.”

“Trust me,”—he guided her hand to the bulge at the front of jeans—“I’m well aware of how uncomfortable it is to be hard. I’ve been hard for you since the first moment I saw you. It’s difficult to believe it’s not even been a week.”

“Why, Marshal Hampton, you do say the sweetest things to a girl.”

He chuckled. “I’d watch sassing me, Ms. Adams, when I’ve already lit a fire in your backside for misbehaving. A second spanking on an already sore bottom is not something you want to experience.”

Mandy went into the kitchen while John took up residence on one of the bar stools at her expansive island. They opted to fill their plates and eat dinner on the sofa since it would provide Mandy with the maximum amount of cushion for her bruised backside.

Once they were finished, John guided her back into the kitchen, where he placed her and a pillow on one of the barstools while he cleaned up. She was fascinated watching his strong hands make short work of putting things back in place. Remembering how those hands had felt when he was spanking and fondling her, she imagined how they would feel when they had sex.

Worry nagged at her. She hated admitting it, but she knew tonight wouldn’t be a casual, getting-to-know each other fuck, but the start of something far stronger, deeper, and more intimate than she had ever known. Her brain reminded her she didn’t want that, but her pulsing pussy told her brain to shut the fuck up.