Page 138 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

“Um, okay. I’m glad you did.” They stared at each other like gangly teenagers, tongue-tied and shy.

“Nice seeing you again. Maybe...”

“Yes?” Thank goodness. Maybe his Sageapple had missed him, too.

“Maybe we could catch up while I’m here.”

“I’d like that. Can I give you my number?”

Sage had thought she’d missed her chance all those years ago, but she didn’t. She hadn’t been the one who left and not returned. Jacob had gone to college and had forgotten her. His cousin Renee was now a good friend of hers. They had bonded over the oldest boys leaving. Her overly protective brother, Stryker, Carter, who Sage knew Renee had an eternal flame burning for, and Jacob, who hadn’t returned.

He was some fancy consultant now who also worked with tribal members and some prestigious men and women in the ranching world. She knew that because she’d stalked him in a non-creepy way. He was easy to find on the internet and always single. Jacob must be good at what he did because he was worth a lot of money.

She watched Jacob as he walked through her dad’s feed store. Their community wasn’t large, but it was the type in which most people helped each other. If there was one person Sage should have tried to avoid at all costs, it would have been Jacob Red Eagle. She’d been so angry at him. She’d had the most humiliating experience of her life when she was a freshman in high school, but he’d helped her get over it. That is, after he’d spanked her for jumping out of the truck to walk home.

It had been a stupid teenager move, but she was only fifteen. Later, when he’d finally claimed her, she’d been unable to completely get over Jacob ending things with her before he went to college.She probably never would. So why would she give him another chance to engage her heart again? Because she couldn’t let him go if they had even a slight chance of being happy together.

No matter how hard Sage tried to forget, whenever she saw Jacob during his college years, there was a twinge of pain and a pang of regret. Jacob of high school didn’t look anything like the Jacob of today. He was a man of confidence. She could hear that deep tone in his voice that wasn’t hesitant, wasn’t like the boy of his youth. Which made it even harder for Sage to forget the memory. She still longed for his infectious smile and his gentle, possessive touch.

What she didn’t long for was his discipline. All Red Eagles were disciplinarians. They were gentle in their loving and demanding in expectations. How was she to find a guy that met all the needs that Jake aroused in her? And damn if it didn’t make her clit throb with need with the mere thought of him. He ruined her for anyone else.

Flynn came to mind. Her lack of insight about men was epic. She thought Flynn was so much like Jacob that he would be a perfect second-best replacement for him. She’d been convinced she could learn to love him, but he’d ruined that by being demeaning and self-serving. His love was demanding, and his expectations were confusing. She had never felt as safe with him as she had with Jacob.

He was jealous, and yet he didn’t want to touch her. When he did, he was rough. He couldn’t find her clit under a magnifying glass with a spotlight, nor was he interested. And raising his education level on how to care for a woman was a wasted effort because it was soon evident that Flynn Walker did not care for anyone but himself.

They weren’t married. They weren’t engaged, but Flynn told others differently. When she finally could kick him out, he threatened to kill the next person she was with. Now that Jacob was in town, Flynn would think Jacob was the reason that Sage was leaving him, putting Jacob in danger. The Jake she’d once known would have taken control. He still would if she gave him the slightest indication, but Sage couldn’t risk his safety that way. She’d work it out herself.

Jacob came back to the place she was standing in the store. “Sage?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes?”

“Your phone number, sweetheart. I can see you’re busy.”

Sage stared at Jacob for a moment and then said, “Honestly? I’d love to go out, but I don’t think I can risk it.” She turned and walked into the office and waited until Jacob left before calling his sister Renee and swearing her to secrecy. Their friendship matured after Jake left for college.

After talking for a few minutes, Sage said, “Don’t you dare tell Jacob about Flynn.”

“You’re still with him?” asked Renee.

“No, but he won’t leave me alone. Now he’s threatening people I might go out with. So I can’t risk anyone.”

“Especially Jacob.”

She nodded into the phone uselessly. “Right. So you can’t tell him.”

She took the call into the back storage building. Renee told her about the family background and how Jacob carried that with him like a mantle of shame. Sage tried to make it sound noble as though it was honorable, and Renee laughed bitterly.

“That’s not noble. That’s asinine. He knows we all make our own choices, but I don’t know how much he still carries. He’ll ruin his life trying to make up for others’ mistakes, which will be his biggest mistake.”

Renee’s voice grew sad. “Except for giving you your freedom from him. That was probably his biggest mistake.”

“I never told you what he did when he stopped us from having sex that first time.”

“What do you mean?” Renee’s tone said she was ready to pound her cousin for untold atrocities. “What did he do?”

“You can’t tell anyone.”

Renee grew quiet in grim expectation. “Oh, Sage. What did he do?”

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