Page 17 of Trick or Trouble
“I would have figured it out,” she mumbled, refusing to give him any quarter, although he was right and she knew it.Part of her was pleased that he wanted to keep her safe.Another part of her wondered who would keep her safe from him?The last thing she needed was another man who tried to manipulate her.She crushed that small voice inside her that protested she was accusing him without proof.“How and why did you find me?”
He walked closer to the chair she was relaxing in, his hands fisted casually on his hips as he studied her.
“I was worried about you.And as for finding you, I don’t have to be a detective to figure that out; there were plenty of clues.”
Her eyes challenged him, but the fact that he was worried warmed her a little bit.“Okay, so you found me and returned my property.Thank you.”Her brain was silently asking, 'Now what?'He was still a mindjerk—it didn’t change a thing.
She pressed into the back of the chair when he suddenly moved forward and dropped a big hand on the chair arms on either side of her as he bent in close.“You’re welcome, but now I have a decision to make.”
“W-what decision?”She couldn’t get more than a squeak out of her tight throat.He was in her personal space.
His eyes lazily perused her body once again before dimples settled in the curves of his lips.“The decision whether to give you the spanking you deserve here, or wait until I fix you some dinner at Holly’s house.I have to get back.You decide.”
Seriously?Darcy tried to find a sarcastic comeback, but found herself at a loss for words at the moment.This situation was unique, and most of her practiced quips wouldn’t apply.One thing she didn’t want was another spanking at this man’s hands, but how to get out of it?She grabbed the dinner lifeline.“D-Dinner,” she stuttered.
He grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the chair.After he put the footrest down, he seated himself and pulled her immediately over his lap.The towel tumbled off her head, and her damp hair fell around her face.
“Wait,” Darcy managed to screech.“I said dinner.What are you doing?”
“I’m rewarding you for choosing dinner at my place,” he said, his large hand rubbing her protruding rear over her sweatpants.“Besides, you issued a challenge.You said you would never say yes to a spanking, but I’m going to show you what good girls can get when they behave themselves.”
Darcy clutched the leather chair arm in her left hand and his pant leg in her right.
“You’re a raving lunatic,” she gasped.His hand on her rear was doing strange things to her stomach.He adjusted her slightly, and her toes barely touched the floor on the other side of his lap.It wasn’t an uncomfortable position to be in except for the fact that he was about to rain down pain on her rear end.Should she bite him?He’d said it was a reward, though, so that made her curious.Any thought of biting him melted away when his hand slid into the back of her sweatpants and panties and caressed her bare skin.It was warm and rough at the same time.Teasing.Promising.She couldn’t stifle the moan that escaped her throat.
“You like that, don’t you?”
She could hear the satisfied male smirk in his tones, but couldn’t summon the snark to tell him off.It felt too damned good, and curiosity won out by a landslide.When her lower garments went south of her buttocks, she shivered as his warm palm glided smoothly back up the back of her thighs, leaving warmth in the trail on her skin.
“Logan...please,” she pleaded.She was trying to tell him to stop, that this was inappropriate, that they’d just met, and all the other polite idioms that the situation called for, but all that came out was his name in a fevered whisper of desire.What was wrong with her?
“Your body is telling me what you want,” he crooned in her ear as his fingers slipped into the warm wetness below her buttocks.“You need this, Darcy, and I want to give it to you.If you don’t want it, say so now.”
Darcy couldn’t say anything.He was right, she wanted what he was offering too much to stop now.When his hand left her plump mounds and returned with a sharp swat, she gasped at the sting.Just as quickly, his palm rubbed it away, leaving only a soothing warmth.That wasn’t bad at all.Her body trembled, her insides quaking with excitement.
Over and over, he stoked the fire inside her that was threatening to explode into cataclysmic pleasure until she was mewling and wiggling on his lap like a demented kitten.When his clever fingers finally threw her over the edge of the volcano, the feelings were so intense she couldn’t control her cries, and then she floated down to reality with a satisfied sigh.
“There you go, sweetheart.Now you know what a good girl gets.Maybe that will make you rethink some of your choices.”He chuckled like the evil alley vampire who chased her in her dream.“You can even ask for it anytime.”
Darcy was still floating, his words tiptoeing into her innermost thoughts.She could get used to this.Was it some new form of manipulation?If so, it was better than anything she’d ever experienced.It might be worth it.
When he lifted her noodle-like body and cuddled her in his arms, she softly sighed into the crook of his throat.Then she shuddered as the spell he’d put her under slowly wore off and reality crept back in.Lifting her head, she caught his gaze.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered, feeling the need to get her clothes back in place and her dignity cloak wrapped around her pride.Her cool, damp hair was making her shiver, and she felt unglued in every way.She tried to get off his lap.
“Whoa, sweetheart, let me help you.”He stood her between his knees and pulled her clothes back into place.He placed a gentle kiss on her flat stomach before he pulled her long-sleeved tee back over the waistband of her sweats.Heaven help her.
A maelstrom of emotions shot through her.They hadn’t even known each other for 24 hours, and yet he’d taken liberties that she hadn’t wanted to stop.And for whatever crazy reasons, they felt right.She’d just had the best sexual experience she’d ever enjoyed, and he didn’t seem to expect anything in return.What kind of man does that?Where was the exit door from this crazy world, and did she even want to take it?And most of all, when would the hammer drop?
Because men like Logan weren’t normal, it wouldn’t last.
She jumped when the ridiculous musical tones of the Pink Panther blared in the silence of the room, breaking the spell he’d woven around them.Her heart racing, she stepped out of his grasp and made her way to her spare cell phone on its charging pad in her bedroom, only to frown at the number and decline the call.No matter what happened with Logan, Doug was a thing of the past.She took a deep breath, trying to calm her frazzled nerves.
“The Pink Panther?Seriously?”Logan asked with a chuckle, sticking his head around the doorframe and grinning wickedly.“I love those movies.Peter Sellers did a great job as Inspector Jacques Clouseau.Is that where you got your inspiration to be a detective?Although I’m not sure his car was stripped while he was on duty,” he teased as he walked over to her.
Darcy whirled around to face him, her eyes sparkling with challenge.“Are you saying I’m a bumbling mess?”she asked, trying not to respond to his laughing eyes.The warmth of their camaraderie was sneaking up on her, making her feel bubbly and happy.
“Of course not, I would never do that.”He clasped his hands behind his back with a devilish twinkle in those dark eyes.
