He laughed at his own words. “And now, I’ve committed myself to taking on a sub totally new to the scene, for what, twelve more days? Am I crazy? What the hell is going to happen then? She just gets back on a plane, and that’s it. Fuck yeah, I’m crazy.”
Guy got up off the couch and went to stand at the window, staring moodily out at the darkness, knowing he had entered into something that could only end unhappily.
“Not necessarily,” Andy said. “Yes, things have happened rapidly between you, but sometimes, that’s what happens in our lifestyle. If I were you, I’d take it one day at a time and enjoy every minute you can. In my experience, things don’t always go the way you think they will. Sometimes, they go in the completely opposite direction.”
Guy turned and gave his friend a grin. “Not everyone gets as lucky as you did, my friend.”
Becky had come into Andy’s life quite by accident—literally. She’d been visiting her grandparents in Suffolk and decided to go for a spin on her grandmother’s old bicycle. When she’d stopped along one of the narrow country roads near their house to watch some deer, this “lunatic” as she’d described him came hurtling over the little humpbacked bridge just near to where she was standing and knocked her bicycle. It went flying, causing her to jump backward and stumble into the ditch at the side of the lane.
The lunatic in question had been Andy, and after screeching to a halt, he had leapt out of his car and pulled Becky, furious and filthy, from the ditch. She had called him every name under the sun, and he had decided, there and then, that this tiny, feisty blonde bombshell was going to be his.
He fixed her bike and visited her every day for four days at her grandparents’ house until she finally relented and went out with him. When she’d called him a jerk for driving too fast, he’d pulled her over his knee, guessing, after spending time with her, that she was a natural submissive and just not realized it yet.
After her reaction to the spanking, they’d never looked back, and in less than a month, she had moved in with him at the old inn he was renovating.
Guy grabbed his own beer and had a drink. “You’re right, though. One day at a time is all I can do. If she leaves, it’ll be her decision, and not because I tried to push her into something she’s not ready for.”
“Let’s just see what happens, eh? I saw the look that passed between you two.”
The two men watched the rest of the movie, and then Andy gently lifted his sleepy sub into his arms and walked to the car, placing her in the passenger seat and wrapping her coat securely around her.
“I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
The two men shook hands and Guy watched as Andy drove down the driveway and disappeared round the corner. Taking a long breath of the cold night air, Guy went back indoors and shut the house up for the night.
*
* * *
Guy studied Gina in the dim light that he’d left on in the en-suite bathroom, just in case she’d woken up and wondered where she was. She had not moved at all under the dark blue duvet, and all he wanted to do at that moment was to get in beside her and hold her soft, warm body against him.
He turned the bathroom light off, stripped his clothes off and quietly got in beside her. To his surprise and delight, she sighed and turned over, her breasts pushing against his chest and her curvy hips meeting his waist.
He longed to take her again but knew that she needed to rest now, to get rid of any last jetlag she had and to recover from the evening’s exertions. He smiled at the way things had unfolded during the evening.
Just one day at a time—he had no choice but to accept that.
After a couple of minutes, he gently turned her over and moved in close behind her. One of his hands held her around her waist, enjoying the feel of her bottom against him, and the other cupped her breast possessively. It was a long time since he had had a woman in his bed, especially one he wanted to hold, and he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the feelings of warmth and contentment.
For the first time in quite a while, sleep came quickly and easily.
Chapter Seven
Bells were ringing from somewhere close by. Gina made herself open her eyes and rolled over in the massive bed. Where the hell was she?
A few seconds later, her brain kicked in, and she realized that she had spent the night at Guy’s house. After looking around her, she realized two more things. She was not in a guest room, and she had obviously overslept, because it was way too bright in the room to be early morning.
She could tell that Guy had slept beside her; the sheets were still a little warm and the pillows dented. It seemed eerily quiet, though, and after a minute, Gina decided to get up and see where her host was.
Her shoulders were still a little sore, as was her pussy, and she felt her cheeks flush as she recalled the previous night’s events, one by one. She groaned out loud when she remembered how Guy had thrust her down on his cock, right in front of Andy and Becky. How would she ever face them?
Getting up out of the warmth, she used the facilities and then pulled on the black robe she found hanging on the back of the bathroom door. It was several sizes too big, but until she found her clothes, it would have to do.
Her reflection in the bathroom mirror caused her to cringe. All she could do to tame her thick dark hair was run her fingers through the tousled mass of tangles. Smudges of eyeliner lined her dark blue eyes. She rubbed the worst of it off and then washed her face in warm water. Shrugging, not able to do any more to improve her appearance, she left the bathroom and walked to the bedroom door. Opening it, she jumped back in surprise. Guy was standing there, his hand stretched out toward the door handle.
He smiled and drew her toward him immediately, pulling her into a bear-like hug. “Good morning, sleepy head. I think my robe looks better on you than on me. How are you feeling this morning?”
“I…I’m good, thank you, Sir,” she replied in a muffled voice, still caught up in his embrace. “I was just going to look for my clothes.” He loosened his grip, and she glanced up and down the upstairs hallway, trying to get her bearings. “I think they’re in one of the bedrooms down there,” she said with a frown.
Guy laughed. “Yes, it is a bit of a maze; that’s the trouble with these old houses. If I help you to find them, do you think you could be ready to leave soon, or are you one of these women who need an hour to get dressed and made up and ready for the day?”
“Don’t worry,
Sir,
I can be out of your hair in moments. I wouldn’t want to be in the way.” Gina yanked herself out of his arms and stalked off down the hallway, feeling hurt at his obvious need to be rid of her.
Large hands gripped her upper arms, and she was spun around. Her Dom’s aggravated face said it all, and anxiousness washed over her. Maybe she should have kept her comments to herself.
“Bend over and put your hands on the wall, sub,” he ordered.
“But it’s you who…” The words died on her lips as she took in his expression.
She turned and faced the wall, anger and humiliation washing over her, but knowing that she would not be able to defy his command. She was his submissive, and she had just been rude to him.
She placed her palms flat against the wall as she was told, and when he lifted his robe up over her ass, she knew she wouldn’t even have that to buffer the punishment that was coming her way.
His voice was hard, but controlled. “I am not trying to get rid of you at all. I was about to tell you that I wanted you to accompany me on a visit somewhere pretty special this morning. Now you will get a spanking to teach you not to presume that you know all the facts and not to be insolent to your Dom.”
Holding the robe up in one hand, the other came down hard on her bottom. Not waiting for her to draw breath, he spanked her again and again, each swat coming hard and consistently.
Both cheeks were soon hot, and her eyes filled with tears, not just from the pain of the punishment, but also because she knew that she had let him down again, this time by jumping to conclusions.
He stopped after ten spanks and let the thick, black robe drop down over her ass cheeks. They burned and stung, and when he helped her upright, she couldn’t look him in the face.
“I’m so sorry, Sir,” she said through her tears. “I just thought you wanted me out of the way.”
Guy lifted her chin so her eyes made contact with his. “Why would you assume that so easily?”
Just by her irritated reaction to his words, he could see that she had obviously experienced more than her fair share of rejection in the past. From what she had said about her parents, it certainly wasn’t them, so it had to be either friendship or lover’s rejection.
“Who pushed you away and made you so paranoid about being wanted?” he asked, deciding to cut right to the chase.
Gina sighed and then answered him in a small voice, “Every time I let the walls down and allowed someone in, they ended up making me feel like a freak, you know, like I was some type of doormat who wanted people to walk all over me. The last guy I was with hurt me physically and emotionally, and I guess I tend to think the worst way too easily. I get overly defensive as a means of self-protection. If I lash out first, they won’t get the chance.”
She paused and then added, “I really am sorry for snapping at you, Sir.”
Gina looked so demoralized. “You’re forgiven, little one. It is something that we’ll have to work on for the next couple of weeks, though.” He took her hand and led her down to the room that she and Becky had changed in the night before. “Five minutes in the shower, then dry off and come in here.” It was an order but was said in his normal voice.
When Gina returned, pink and fresh from the warm water, Guy had to restrain himself from bending her over the bed and taking her there and then. She really was beautiful with her soft curves and rounded hips. Luscious breasts spilled over the top of the towel, and he went to her and pulled it off, watching her flush almost as red as her bottom had been under his scrutiny.
Gina spied the tube in his hand and instantly took a step back in alarm.
Guy took in her expression and smiled at her. “Relax, sweetheart. You have to learn to trust me. I would never even attempt what you are thinking without discussing it with you first. Now, hurry up and bend over the bed.”
Gina bent over as he asked, forcing herself to relax so she could show him that she did actually trust him with her well-being. For one awful moment there, Gina thought he was going to try and take her from behind. It was the one thing she was truly afraid of. Her ex, John, had attempted it not long after they had moved in together, and it had been such a humiliating disaster that she vowed never to do it again.
She heard Guy right behind her and involuntarily braced herself for whatever was coming. The next thing she felt was a sting on her already sore bottom. She flinched, trying to scoot away from his hand, and then let out a yelp when he slapped her thigh.
“Be still, this will help.”
Grimacing, she allowed him to rub the lotion all over her ass.
After pulling her to her feet, he smiled. “Give it a couple of minutes, and you’ll feel the soothing effect, I promise. I’m doing this because you apologized so beautifully and then were totally honest with me, and that makes me proud of you, Gina. Now go and get dressed, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen. We’re leaving in ten.”
She didn’t need telling twice. Her clothes were laid out on the bed, together with her bag. She was surprised he’d taken the trouble, but to have someone care for her that way felt so good. She laughed inside, thinking about her previous relationships. No one had ever bothered to take the time to make her feel protected or taken care of, let alone cherished.
How was it possible to have those feelings when she had just been spanked? But they were definitely there, nonetheless. Oh well, she would have to figure it out later, unless she wanted to be bent over another piece of furniture for keeping her Dom waiting.
It was a good thing she had decided to keep the miniature deodorant, toothbrush and moisturizer in her bag together with her makeup basics. She had her mother to thank for that piece of advice.
Dressed and ready to go, she rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Within minutes, they were in Guy’s car, traveling down some gorgeous country lanes lightly touched with frost that made everything glitter in the morning sunlight.
“I’d seen pictures like this online and in books, but they just don’t do the reality justice at all,” she commented.
“Do you like horses, Gina?”
Guy drove over a humpbacked bridge, meeting a car right on the other side. Guy waved at the driver, while Gina wondered how on earth they hadn’t collided. Not only was the steering wheel on the wrong side and they drove on the wrong side of the road, but these kinds of bridges meant that you couldn’t see who was coming on the other side.
Trying to keep her heart from pounding, she replied. “I love horses. I used to ride as a child, until I was about fourteen. Then I guess boys, makeup and music took over.
Guy laughed. “A typical teenage girl then. Do you know anything about Newmarket and its history?”
“I read up on it a little before I left. It seems mostly famous for its horseracing, right? Hundreds of years of racing thoroughbreds—it’s amazing. You’re so lucky over here. Everything is so steeped in history and tradition.”
“You’re right about the racing. And today is a special day for me. At this very moment, a foal is being born not two miles from here, and if we hurry, we might just get to see his or her entrance into the world.”
Gina’s eyes were wide with shock. “See a real live foal being born? Oh my God. Do you own horses, Sir?”
“A couple, yes. The mother-to-be happens to be a thoroughbred my father and I own. This is her first foal, and I got the call early this morning that she would deliver in the next few hours. That was about the only thing that would force me to leave your warm body, little sub.”