He winked, but she didn’t smile.
“I screwed up, Ori. I deserved it.”
“It was an accident, Jonathan. I forgive you,” she countered. “Maybe Jack needs to accept that accidents happen.”
“He knows it was an accident.” Jonathan smoothed her hair and gave her one of his disarming smiles. “He loves you as much as we do. He might not want to admit it, but he does. That was his way of defending you. It was compliment, a testament to how much he cares.”
“Hmm. What else you got in the way of excuses?”
“Had it been him who needlessly made you cry, Jordan or I would have punched him. And Jack would have taken it without complaint.”
“Okay, fine,” she finally conceded. “I won’t hold it against him. But I’ll remember what you said the next time he wants to spank me. If he spanks me hard enough to make me cry, I expect you and Jordan to come to my rescue.”
Jonathan sucked in air through his teeth. “Yeah, about that…” He then looked over her shoulder and nodded furtively. “That doesn’t really count.”
Jordan clasped her upper arm and tugged her backward. “Come, Ori. We have to go to Jack’s room. You need to be in there before he gets back.”
Other than to wrench out of his hold, Oriana ignored Jordan.
She glared at Jonathan through narrowed eyes. “What do you mean it doesn’t count? You’re joking, right?”
“Sorry, hon,” he replied with his usual affable smile. “I said
needlessly
makes you cry. If my brother spanks you hard enough to make that happen, then you probably deserved it.”
“Oh, that’s bullshit.”
He chuckled. “No need to be bitter, love. You lied, you got caught. Accept the consequences and be done with it. It won’t be anything you can’t handle.”
Okay. He was right. But he didn’t have to be so damn chipper about it.
“For your information, I didn’t lie, I
withheld
.” She spun and stalked off toward Jack’s room, Jordan close on her heels.
“Next time, just tell him what he wants to know,” he called out.
Not bothering to stop or turn, she flung her hand back and shot him the bird.
“That’s not very nice, Ori,” Jonathan admonished. “I might tell Jack you did that.”
Smirking in triumph, she entered the hallway. “If you do, I’ll him how you lied about my plane.”
His laughter followed. “Touché.”
Oriana entered Jack’s room and flipped on the light, then stopped short. “Does it matter which corner?”
“No, sweetheart,” Jordan said. “Your pick.”
She went the nearest one and stood in it. “I swear I’m too old for this shit,” she muttered under her breath, crossing her arms and glaring at the wall.
“If it makes you feel any better, Jon and I are in trouble, too.”
She looked over her shoulder to where he sat on the bed still only wearing a towel.
“In trouble for the ‘scaring me senseless—
grrr
’ thing? Or for the ‘
you will respect my authoritah
’ thing?” she asked, emphasizing the latter in her best Eric Cartman impersonation.
“Both.” He gave a small smile and twirled his finger, indicating that she needed to turn around.
Rolling her eyes, she did as he bade. He obviously had no sympathy for her plight, so why was she feeling any for his?
“You know, Jack might go a little easier on you if you took your punishment a little more seriously, and with a little less attitude.”
“I’m the one standing in the goddamned corner, Jordan. Not you. Anyway, I didn’t really do anything wrong to deserve this.”
“First of all, mind your language. Second, the penalties Jon and I will receive are far more time consuming—and expensive. Third, if you didn’t do anything wrong, you wouldn’t be standing there. Jack is not tyrannical, nor does he possess a petty nature.”
Her tempered flared, but she caught her tongue before she laid it into him. She deserved his rebuke. She knew she copping an attitude, being difficult, bratty—her behavior purely petulant just for the sake of being so. In all truth, she should be ashamed. This childish display was beneath her.
Suddenly feeling very tired, Oriana moved closer and leaned forward, closing her eyes and resting her forehead on the converging walls. She mused that Jack would be happy when he came back. Her nose was now in the corner, just as he dictated.
Jordan continued, “The rules are in place to keep harmony among us as well as ensure the safety and wellbeing of every person in the household—on a physical, mental, and emotional level. There are penalties so that the rules are taken seriously. It’s easier to break rules if there are no consequences to be had for breaking them. Part of Jack’s responsibility as head of the family is to manage the household, keep it sustained so that it does not fall into chaos and break apart, and enforce the rules that ensure—”
“The safety and wellbeing of every person in the household on a physical, mental, and emotional level,” she finished. “I was—am—still listening; I’m just resting my eyes for a moment. It’s been a long day.”
Poor guy. He was trying so hard to make her understand, to help her adjust.
“Look, Jordan. I understand what you’re saying. Truly, I do. I’m the one who asked to stay here, and you all were kind enough to let me, so I should respect the house rules and not bitch when I’m penalized for breaking them. I’m sorry if I came off as ungrateful. And you are also right to reprimand me for not taking my discipline seriously. This is obviously very important to you all, and therefore it should be important to me.
“So I’ll accept my punishment gracefully, ponder my actions, regret and repent, make amends the best I can, and try hard not repeat the same mistake in the future.”
“Um, Ori—”
“It’s fine. I’m standing in this corner because I withheld information from your brother. I was worried he’d think I was crazy if I told him the whole truth. But I should have just told him. If he loves me as much as you and Jonathan claim, then it wouldn’t have mattered what I said. It wouldn’t have changed how he felt, right?
“Either way, Jack’s done nothing but encourage me to be open and honest and forthcoming. He told me to be myself. Hell, he even made me promise I would—” A small, vacant laugh escaped her lips, and died just as suddenly. “Well, lookie there. I guess I did lie after all. I said one thing and did another.”
Opening her eyes, she stared at her feet. “I want this to work between us…all of us. So from now on, I’m going to give your brother what he wants. I’m going to be me. Candid. Completely honest and forthcoming… Which reminds me. You and Jonathan need to come clean about the plane thing. The longer you wait to tell him, the more blame he can place on me for not sharing the knowledge. I don’t want to end up in the corner again because of you two.”
“You won’t.”
Oriana swung her head around, but found Jordan was still sitting on the bed.
But didn’t I hear…?
Her gaze darted to the doorway. Unfortunately, she wasn’t mistaken about who had answered her.
With arms folded across his chest, Jack leaned against the doorframe, and he was looking none too happy.
Jonathan, now dressed, stood next to him, displaying the universal sign for “please tell me you did not just do that” —a hand covering his eyes in baffled disbelief and shaking his head in disavowal. She could almost hear his thoughts:
Gee, thanks, Ori. Appreciate that.
“Oh, shit,” she whispered.
Oriana listened to Jonathan’s story with half an ear, too busy shifting positions in the wood seat, trying to get comfortable. But it was useless. Three days after receiving her ‘punishment’ from Jack, her ass was still sore.
“You okay, honey?”
She looked across the dining room table to Jonathan, who was trying to hide a smirk behind his coffee mug. “I’m fine, Jonathan.”
Shaking his head, he tsked at her. “Lying and copping an attitude. Wait until Jack gets up.”
“Ha, ha. You’re so funny.”
“Ha, ha. Maybe I’m not kidding.”
“For your information, I’m not lying. I
am
fine, considering the circumstances. And I’m not giving you an attitude. Not all people are as chipper as you are in the morning. Once I finish my coffee, I’m sure I’ll be in a much better mood.”
“Should I find you a pillow?”
Cocking her head, she bestowed him her most innocent smile. “Shouldn’t you be finding those keys instead?”
“Oh, now that’s just rude. I was actually being genuine when I offered to help. And hey, at least you didn’t have to spend three days scrubbing the tunnel with a toothbrush.”
She expelled a frustrated breath. “I’m sorry. You know I love you, I’m just…uncomfortable right now and it makes me irritable. And while I really do appreciate the offer, pillows are not an option. That would be just too embarrassing for me.”
Though, if she really thought about it, aside from the humiliation of being placed in the corner, Jack’s ‘punishment’ had been anything but. When he’d finally pulled her out of the corner and into his arms, she was already wet and ready. Then he’d drawn her across his lap and delivered a series of smacks that had her screaming and writhing against his hand. All in all, she remembered a lot more pleasure than pain in connection with the experience.
Now Jonathan smiled at her, placing his coffee on the table. “Come here, love.”
She went around to the other side of the table and crawled into his lap.
Jonathan pressed his lips to hers, and she yielded instantly, melting into his embrace as his hand slowly slid up her bare thigh and slipped under the hem of the t-shirt she wore. He stroked her softness as he continued to kiss her, stirring her passion until she was moaning into his mouth and practically weeping for his touch.
When he pulled his hand and broke their kiss, she sighed in disappointment
“You’re going to make me beg, aren’t you?”
“I love to hear you say the things you want me to do to you.”
“I really need to go home and pick up some clothes. I haven’t worn panties in forever. Maybe if I was wearing them, I wouldn’t be so eager to let you touch me at your every whim.”
He chuckled. “Is that a threat?”
“No, I really do need to get clothes. How long am I supposed to wear your stuff?”
“I think you look beautiful in my clothing. And I happen to like that you have no underwear.”
“I have one pair here, but they seem to have disappeared.
Jonathan winked. “I’m sure they’ll turn up.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Did you ask Jordan? Maybe he has them.”
“It doesn’t matter. The point is I have to go home sometime. I have to… I have responsibilities. My father’s business for one, and the clients I’ve been putting off who’ll take their business elsewhere—permanently—if I don’t return soon. I can only use the ‘sorry, my plane is broken’ excuse for so long.”
“Working means a lot to you?” he asked softly. “Running your father’s business?”
“Working as a glorified taxi and delivery girl? No, it’s not exactly my dream job. But I need to bring in an income, and there’s no real market for a vet without a clinic in a city of 6,300 people. So I fly. It pays the bills…which I’ve been neglecting since I’ve been here. I probably won’t have electric when I return home.”
“Jordan has taken care of all that. You’re fine.”
“What?”
“He’s paid the bills for you.”
“Oh, God. Please tell me he transferred the money off my credit card.”
Because if he pulled it from my bank account, I’ll be buried by the overdraft fees alone. Shit, the credit card might not even cover them all.
“No, honey. He paid
all
your bills, including your credit card balance.”
“Let me up,” she said, squirming. “I need to call the bank.”
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you later, after I’ve called them.”
“I’m not going to let you go until you tell me why.”
“Because,” she strained, trying to break his hold. “I need to put a stop to those payments immediately. I don’t have enough money in my account to cover everything.”
“I think you misunderstand what I’m saying.”
It took a moment for the words to register. Oriana froze. “I had better not be ‘misunderstanding’ anything, Jonathan. Because if Jordan paid my bills from his own money, then I
will
be going home today.”
He was carefully considering his reply. That did not bode well.
“Let me up,” she demanded.
“It wasn’t his money,” he said slowly.
“Oh.” She nearly went limp with relief. “Shit. You scared me. I still need to get up and call the bank though.”
“It was our money. From our joint account.”
Oriana rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to remove the tension headache that was forming. “Let me up,” she reiterated quietly.
“Hon, we—”
“—had no right to invade my privacy like that. Now let me up.”