pulled from the loops of his jeans, and the rattling of the buckle as he folded the belt in half and anchored the ends in his hands. He pointed to the bed. “Over those pillows. You will be receiving twenty strokes with my belt. Come on, the sooner you obey, the sooner it will be over.”
I froze again, unable and unwilling, to comply. My body was still shaking uncontrollably from the pain inflicted with just his paddle-like hand.
With a frown at my disobedience, Jace grabbed my earlobe and forced me into position, holding me in place with his left hand pressed to the small of my back.
The whooshing sound of the belt, followed by the crack against my flesh, elicited a terrified and painful scream from my throat. In the back of my mind, I knew he was not being as harsh as he could be, but I could not ignore the instinct to flee as the belt caught my hand as I tried to block it.
Concerned with the possibility of harming me, Jace once again hauled me to the ‘safety zone’ over his knee, pinned my legs with his right thigh and held my hands out of reach. My punishment ended when I was limp and sobbing, completely drained of strength, and willing to do anything he asked of me. But he asked nothing as he sunk to the ground and simply pulled me into his lap to rock me like a child in his strong arms. When he sensed I was able to listen, he spoke to me very softly.
“You have no idea how much I have grown to love you, Baby. You are my special treasure and I don’t want anything to ever happen to you. Do you understand why I was so severe in your spanking?”
I nodded, staring at the floor, knowing he was waiting for me to answer him as part of my lesson.
He patted my thigh, “From now on, I want to hear yes or no sir. Now talk.”
“Y-yes, sir. Y-you want me to s-start thinking things through before I hurt myself or someone else,” came my sniffling response. “Even though all of you are pigs.”
Jace released an affectionate chuckle and squeezed me tightly with a kiss to the top of my head. He leaned back against the side of the bed, still cradling me, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “We have a long way to go together, Kiddo. We’ll get through it even if it means my hand being sore and your bottom being blistered.”
“Your hand’s sore?” I asked, pleased that he at least felt some of what I did. Of course, his answer soured it.
“Not as sore as my heart, Baby.”
“Oh, the guilt,” I moaned.
Jace kissed my head again. “Whatever works, Doll.”
I melted in his strong, warm arms, inhaling his scent. He was right. Despite the terrible pain to my bottom, I accepted that I finally had a chance to be happy. I also realized that I was falling in love with this man… my guardian.
Chapter Three
Viva Las Vegas
“Please, please, please let me go with you! PLEEEEEEEASSSSE,” I begged as Jace packed for his big Vegas gig.
He rolled his eyes and looked at me. “For the last time, I said no. It’s not a place for a kid to be without a chaperone.”
“For God’s sake, I’m not a kid . I’m eighteen! I’ll stay in the hotel room. I PROMISE,” I pleaded.
Jace was immune. “Do I need to repeat myself?” he asked, pushing up his sleeves.
“No, Sir,” I relinquished, not missing the look of shock on Jace’s face. He recovered quickly and went back to packing. I sat heavily on his bed and watched. “This is the first time you’re leaving me since I got here.”
“And I am trusting you to keep out of trouble. It’s been one month since that last little talk we had. It would behoove you to stay on that path,” he commented, tossing some shirts into the suitcase. I took them out and folded them neatly, inhaling his cologne and holding back unexpected tears. “Celeste, honey? Is that what’s bothering you?” he asked suddenly, “That I’m leaving? I’ll be back in one week.”
“No, I just have nothing to do,” I lied, not wanting him to know how dependent I was