Page 137 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

“Never mind.” Stryker snatched back his cup and went for the last dregs at the bottom of the pot.

He grinned. “Sorry, I took the last.”

Jacob shrugged. “I like fresh coffee better anyway,” and he made another pot.

“I like him, Stryker. Can we keep him?”

Stryker grumbled good-naturedly. “Don’t forget who you belong to, woman. I haven’t smacked that ass in a while.”

“Not at the office, Stryker,” she answered with irritation and teasing.

Jacob burst out laughing. Yeah, he’d missed his family.

Jacob drove twenty minutes into the little town of Ridgeline, the stop right before Buffalo, where he knew Sage worked. He wasn’t as familiar with this community, but he’d learn it if Sage lived here. As Jacob pulled out of the drive onto the main road, he thought about the knot in his stomach as he headed toward what he hoped was his future.

Even as he told himself he was done messing around with his plans for a family he needed a wife. The thought of having Sage in his life was exciting, but he knew she might have moved on. He’d kept tabs, a little like stalking, on any mention of her. There was the odd community event that she seemed to like to participate in, but no weddings, or funerals, except her grandfather’s from cancer a few years ago.Jacob had connected with the older man. He’d contemplated coming to pay his respects, but he was still running from the idea of meeting up with Sage at that time.

His mind had to push back the old familiar shame of his past, thinking that the plans for him were to right the wrongs of his ancestor. He thought he would wreck those plans by following his heart. At seventeen, his rational self had informed his emotional self that following his heart meant giving up too many of his dreams. And besides, he’d reasoned, Sage had a whole life that his teenage self just knew she didn’t want to spend with someone from such a disreputable background.

That was then, and this was now. He’d spent a year in therapy in college, eradicating the need to rectify the past. Also, with a decade between that time and this, he knew he’d given up. No, that wasn’t right, Jacob wasted the first chance with Sage, and it was a mistake he would carry with him for the rest of his life. But he was going to make another run at the gold.

Oh sure, there were other women, there were plenty of other women because no Red Eagle was hard on the eyes, and he had a practiced charm that helped. Thanks to Richard, he was very confident, but he’d never forgotten Sage. He’d never forgotten the look on her face, the confusion, the rejection, and then the anger when, two months after he’d compromised their relationship, he’d left for college.

That was on him and not his ancestor. He could and would atone for that. Even if she wouldn’t have him, he could apologize for his massive disrespect to her.

If she wouldn’t accept him or allow him to make amends and prove that he was the man she needed, that she wanted, then Jacob would have to understand. He’d have to find someone else and settle for some of the same passion he’d felt with Sage and still felt with the mere memory of her.

If she took him back after a decade, he expected that he would be doing some groveling, probably a lot of ass-kissing. It would be worth every smack of his lips.

Jacob walked into the feed store that Sage’s father owned, and there she was. His heart lurched in remembrance, and his cock began to stir. Sage was more beautiful than he remembered. Her blonde hair was a mixture of sunshine and honey. Her lips were fuller, as were her hips. She was slender, yet not thin. And heavens above, she’d grown into her bras.

How she smiled at the stocking clerk put his entire system in danger of shutting down, and his mind went into overdrive. His fear that she had a significant other screamed at him. She was so beautiful. How could she not?

Her teeth bit her lip just as they did in school, and her jeans caressed her backside like they were made just for those luscious cheeks. Jacob’s hands tingled with the memory of the warmth of her body, of her generous ass when he spanked her and caressed her skin. Then she turned, and the look of a deer in the headlights came to his mind. She was freaking gorgeous, not in a virginal way, but in a mature woman way who knew what she wanted and settled for nothing less. Damn, he wanted that to include him.

He nodded in her direction, and she continued to stare before she said in a tone he couldn’t identify, “Hello, Jacob.”

It had been a long time since he’d heard his name in her sexy tones. All he could do was nod as though that would fill all the blanks and years. Hell, what’s the matter with you, man? She was the best thing that ever happened to you, and that’s all you can do after ten years?

“Sage. Hello. How are you, sweetheart?”

“I’m good now.”

She smiled a little sadly. It was a tentative lifting of the corner of her lip as though she wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Before he could respond, she slid past him to remove something from a shelf behind him. She handed it to a customer, leaving her perfume of wildflowers and green meadows to assail his senses and deepen the wanting even more.

“Sage?”

“Yes?” She turned as she finished with the customer. Was that a hopeful look on her face? He wanted it to be optimistic.

“Um, I’m visiting the family.”

“I figured. It’s been a long time.” Her voice was now unsure. “Where’s your wife?”

That question confused him. “Wife? I don’t have one of those yet. Husband?”

A cloud came over her expression, and then it was gone. “No, no husband.”

The tension eased from my body. The first barrier was behind him. “I heard you were still here and thought I might get a glimpse.”

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