Sophie Oak - Siren in Bloom

Wolf didn’t have to ask out of what. “Almost a year since I got the boot.”

Holder shrugged. “Your career doesn’t have to be over. I’m always looking for good men, and I don’t give a shit that you have a plate in your leg. I think there’s a lot of good time left in you, Wolf. Give me a call. We can talk. Shelley, nice to meet you.”

Holder nodded and walked away.

“Is that man what I think he is?” Shelley asked, her eyes trailing after Holder.

“He’s a soldier of fortune, if you want to use a romantic term. I would call him a mercenary.”

“And he wants you to be a mercenary, too. Wolf, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Oh, so the little sub wanted to put her two cents in? He took a step forward, crowding her. “What happened?”

Her eyes flared for a minute, and then she backed up. “Just what I said. I was on the train and this little punk jerk-face stole my briefcase. The idiot didn’t even have a good eye. There was a $2500 Versace bag right in front of him. My bag was worth crap. I sincerely hope he enjoys my crappy laptop and all the things he’ll find inside. He must really have needed emergency tampons and cinnamon gum. And my energy drink. I just bought that.”

Wolf followed her inside, not giving an inch. He was satisfied that she seemed deeply aware of him finally. “Did he take your phone?”

She backed up a bit, her legs finally meeting with her coffee table. “No. I was lucky. I had put that in my purse. I’m glad I kept them apart today. I went to lunch with Kitten earlier, and I didn’t want to haul my laptop bag around so I brought my purse today. He didn’t get my wallet, thank god. Just my computer, which good luck with that, buddy. It’s on its last leg. I bought that sucker from a pawn shop because…”

She stopped, her face flushing.

“Because the feds took yours?”

She nodded. “They haven’t seen fit to get that back to me. Anything, really. I guess this isn’t my first time getting robbed.”

“But it is your first time getting robbed with a contract in place. Would you like to explain to me why you’ve already violated our contract not three hours after we signed it?”

“What are you talking about?” Shelley asked, her voice going low. “I didn’t do anything.”

And that was the problem. He leaned in. She didn’t have anywhere left to go. Her chest brushed against his. “The emergency clause. In the event of an emergency, the submissive will make every attempt to get herself out of immediate danger by calling the proper authorities, but the submissive will call the Dominant the first chance she gets in order to give the Dominant every opportunity to perform his main role—to protect and shelter the submissive.”

Her lip trembled. “I forgot.”

“Yes, you did, thereby taking away my right to perform my main duty.”

“To protect and shelter me?”

He could feel the heat of her body, but he wasn’t about to give in and do what he wanted to do. They had a few things to work out. “Yes. Instead, I discover you here hours after the crime was committed. And I find you with another man.”

She shook her head. “But he just wanted to stay with me when I talked to the cops, who, by the way, were fairly useless. And then I was still a little shaky, so he walked me home.”

All things that should have been Wolf’s responsibility. “Thereby taking away my right to perform my main duty.”

“Crap.” Her face fell. She looked down. “Am I in trouble?”

Finally she understood. “Oh, yes. Unless, you’ve changed your mind and you don’t wish to be protected and sheltered. If you want me to leave, tell me to go.”

Her eyes widened. “Wolf, that’s not fair. I’m just finding my feet with this. I want to try it.”

He took a long step back, giving her the space she would need. “Then we begin as we mean to go. Pull down your pants and lay your hands flat on the coffee table, ass in the air.”

“Why would I do that?” The question had an air of hushed horror to it.

“The better to spank you, my dear.”

She frowned. “Big, bad Wolf, huh?”

“That’s me, sweetheart,” he shot back. “And I’m not happy right now. I’m very much pissed off that you didn’t even think to call me.”

“How is spanking me going to fix that?”

“Well, first off, it will make me feel infinitely better. Second, it might serve as a reminder that the next time something bad happens, you’re supposed to call your Dom right away.”

Her mouth pouted in the sweetest, sexiest way. “I know I should have called you. I’m sorry. I’m just not used to relying on someone.”

She batted those big brown doe eyes. It wasn’t going to work on him. Oh, he wanted to haul her in his arms and promise everything would be okay, but that wouldn’t make his point. “It’s a count of ten right now. Would you like to go for twenty, sweetheart?”

“Damn it, Wolf. I’ve been through a lot today.” She practically stomped her foot.

“Twenty it is, then.”

She pushed at him, and for a minute he thought she would shove him out of her townhouse and tell him to go hell. But she frowned and her hand went to clasp of her pants. Her eyes teared up a little. “Can I go change first?”

Odd request. “No. Pull them down.”

A little sniffle. “I’m not wearing anything pretty. I…I have a girdle on.”

He checked his laugh. She was worried about that? “Do you need help getting out of it?”

Her mouth firmed in a stubborn pout. “No. I think I can handle it.”

Her hands went to the waistband, and she unbuttoned her slacks. They fell to her ankles but she wasn’t on display yet. A nude colored form of underwear covered her from just above her waist down to her thighs. She hooked her thumbs under what looked to be some feminine torture device. She pushed at the spandex that wrapped around her waist.

“Stop.”

She stopped, her eyes widening. “You don’t want to spank me anymore, do you?”

He was going to have to work on her self-esteem. He could see the red marks the way too tight girdle left on her skin. He reached into his boot. “No. I simply don’t want to watch you try to wiggle out of that for the next five minutes. Why are you wearing that thing, woman? I’m pretty sure we used something like that on Taliban prisoners to get them to talk.”

He pulled a knife out and flicked open the blade.

“What are you doing?” Shelley asked.

“Helping you.” He pulled at the band and made quick work, filleting the girdle off of her.

She sighed in relief and then frowned. “That was not cheap, Wolf.”

He traced the lines the device had left on her skin. Angry-looking red marks covered her hips where the seams had bit into her flesh. “It doesn’t matter. You’re not allowed to wear it again. No more, Shelley, not while our contract is in force.”

“Wolf, I need it,” she argued. “I’m not exactly slender.”

He didn’t want her stick thin. He’d seen enough women in the world who were starving. He wanted her gorgeous and healthy. “You’re beautiful. And I find these marks vulgar. No more. You’re a gorgeous woman with amazingly sexy curves, and I don’t want you hiding them.”

“My pants won’t fit,” she said stubbornly.

“I’ll buy you new ones.” Why was he arguing with her? Because she didn’t seem to notice that he could see her pussy. Pretty little pussy. Fuck . How was he going to keep his dick out of her? He allowed his hands to trace the line of her hips. “You don’t need that thing.”

She put her hands on his shoulders as though she needed some balance. “I don’t really like it anyway, but I want to look nice.”