Page 11 of Jacqueline's Quest

Chapter 2

Jaqueline rubbed the back of her neck as she walked through her home to the security room below. Things weren’t going according to plan. Or, well, Murray’s plan anyway. It had merit. There was nothing wrong with it, except for her. The idea of purposefully hurting someone, whether or not the other person enjoyed it, confused her. It also didn’t agree with her. Earlier, after they’d had breakfast, Murray grabbed his rook sack from the guest bedroom and brought it out to the living room, placing it on the coffee table.

We’re going to play a game...The way the words rolled off of his tongue, made her wish he’d fulfill his rightful role. He had it all. The streak of dominance lacing all of his words also oozed from his pores. She was weak for him. Would do anything for him when he stared at her with those beautiful blue eyes of his.

The game Murray proposed was simple. Pick an item on the table and use it on him. The rules were easy. Don’t hesitate. Watch him closely for signs she was being too rough and respect his safe word if he used it. When she agreed, he retrieved the items he’d meant for her to try. A solid wood ping pong paddle, a bundle of rope, binder clips or what she thought were binder clips with a bit of padding, and a bundle of parachute cord turned into a flogger—she thought that was the name of the implement.

She chose the paddle. It seemed like the easiest thing to use. Little did she know, at the time, how much she’d like it and hate it simultaneously. Murray stood then and went over to her couch. Without a word, he unbuttoned his pants and exposed his ass for her before bracing himself against the back of the sofa.

The firmness of his ass, the tanned flesh, left her speechless. He had no tan lines. Jaqueline had been struck dumb as she stood there staring at him. When he glanced up, the devilish glint in his eyes signaled how much trouble she was in. Yet, she willfully took those few tentative steps toward him. The weight of the paddle reminded her of the item she’d chosen for the exercise.

“What now?” She hardly believed the words fell from her lips. It was almost as though she’d separated from her body.

Murray turned his intense gaze on her. “Now, you spank me.”

Jaqueline gasped. “What?”

“Spank me.” He pointed to the fleshiest part of his rear. “Preferably here. You’re not ready for the other places and I’m not looking to explain why I can’t sit.”

She blinked. This was crazy. Insane. How did he expect her to just spank him for no reason? She closed the distance between them while biting her bottom lip. “I’m not sure I get the point of this.” Her hand shook so bad she worried she’d drop the paddle.

“The point is to have fun,” Murray said in such a blasé tone, she wondered if he even understood what he asked her to do. “And, to show you what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I could always watch porn.” She furrowed her brows. “We could watch it together.”

“As much as the offer is tempting, and itistempting, we’re going to try this approach first. So come on, give my ass a good ‘ol smack-a-roo.”

“You’re so weird. Has anyone told you that?” She arched a brow, inching closer to him.

“Many times. Quit stalling.”

“Hey!” She whacked him on the behind with the paddle. The crack of the paddle against his flesh caused her to jump in surprise.

Murray moaned. His features tensed as he gripped the couch tighter. “There you go. Do it again.”

“Why are you telling me what to do?” She slapped his rear again with the paddle. “I thought I’m the one telling you what to do.”

He chuckled. “You’re doing a mighty fine job of it.”

Fire licked over her skin from exertion as she struck again, this time, pinking up his flesh. She sucked in a breath. Didn't it hurt? How did anyone enjoy this? She glanced up at his face, remembering his rules for their little game. She had to pay attention to him. Jaqueline continued to paddle his ass alternating between cheeks as he told her, however when he hissed and let out a low groan, she dropped the instrument and went to his side. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I-I wasn't paying attention."

“Jaq...” He winced. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

"No, you're not." She let out an exasperated breath before letting loose with a long string of muttered curses in Spanish. Mutual combat was one thing. Taking down the bad guy, okay. But hurting someone for pleasure—both of their pleasure, no. She didn't have the wherewithal to do so. "I can't do this to you, Murray. I shouldn't have started this. I-I need to go." She hurried from the living room toward the backdoor, unable to stomach what she'd done. Stepping out into the early afternoon warmth, she sucked in a deep breath of desert air and fell to her knees.

Maybe this wasn’t the job for her.

Her assessment of the situation rang out in her mind when she came back into the house almost an hour later. The rug on the floor had been pushed aside, and she went down into her security room. Four stairs from the bottom, she spied a photo blown up on the giant monitor over her station. Murray sat in the chair he’d claimed the first day he arrived, staring at the image. He didn’t appear worse for his wares, but it didn’t mean anything, he could be hiding it. “What the hell is that?” Jaqueline winced at her tone. She hadn’t meant for it to be so gruff or rude.

The tension in her neck and shoulders intensified since she’d stepped outside. The only moments where she’d been relaxed was when she and Murray were practicing.Nope, not going there again.But, it was true. She could breathe much easier and her life hadn't felt as though she'd been living under a microscope, constantly watched and experimented on. Murray made it easier for her to focus. It'd been as if he were grounding her in an overwhelming situation.

Speaking of Murray, he glanced up at her. His blue eyes blazing with lust.How? She’d hurt him and he stared at her like she was his everything. It didn’t make sense to her. Instead of focusing on what she couldn’t interpret she pointed to the screen again. Two images were laid out vertically. Both were dark, almost pitch black, but the one on the left had blotches of red while the one on the right had a murky gray-black coloring and what looked like squiggly lines.

“Images of the Emporium.” Murray chewed on a pen or a case for a pen while flicking through images quicker then Jaqueline could even process.

“Those don’t look like an of the images I’ve ever seen of it.”

Murray smirked. “Asher flew one of our Predator UAV’s over the building last night.” He pointed to the photo on the left. “Those are infrared and those—” his hand moved to the right side “—are GPR.”

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