“Thanks, Grayson.” Caden hung up the phone and pushed away from his desk, unaccustomed worry settling like a rock in his gut. His friend’s call bothered him as much as Sydney’s absence from the dinner table earlier and galvanized him into leaving his paperwork to confront her. He couldn’t believe how much hearing from the sheriff that something, or someone had upset her bothered him. For Grayson to take the time to express concern for her distraught appearance in town, she would have had to appear noticeably overwrought. Later, he would need to delve deeper into why the thought of Sydney in distress caused a tightness in his chest he’d never felt before over a woman.

When he found her room empty, a plate of untouched food sitting on the nightstand, and couldn’t locate her anywhere else in the house, anger mingled with worry as he went to scout around outside. Damn it, she knew the rule about wandering around outdoors after dark. It took him almost twenty minutes of fretful searching, but he finally found her in one of the barns, propped on a stack of hay bales, halfway through a six-pack of beer.

“What are you doing out here, alone in the dark?” he barked. Only one small, overhead light offered any illumination and the meager glow left most of her in shadows. But he could see well enough to notice the slight stiffening of her body, her sudden, indrawn breath another clear sign whatever happened in town was still affecting her.

“I was talking to the dogs, but they have this bad habit of not talking back. What’re you doing out here?”

“Looking for you, wondering why you’ve broken yet another rule.” Striding forward, he snatched the beer from her hand before it reached her mouth. “You’ve had enough. Tell me what’s upset you. Did someone harass you in town?” The instant panic crossing her face drew a surge of protectiveness Caden didn’t know he possessed and an undeniable urge to strike back at whoever was responsible for that look. Reaching down, he clasped her upper arms and pulled her against him with a ‘need to know’ demand. “Tell me.”

“No… I mean, it’s nothing,” she stammered with an evasiveness unlike her.

Caden had seen her teasing grin, her frown of irritation and her green eyes glow with pleasure, but he’d never seen her afraid, or hear her lie, and neither sat well with him. Instead of shaking her, like he was tempted to do, a better plan came to mind. Grabbing her wrists, he backed her toward a low rafter, snatched a coil of rope off the wall and made short work of tying her wrists together.

Sydney tried to pull away from him as he lifted her hands above her head and looped the end of the rope around the beam. “What are you doing?” she squealed, yanking on her arms, her pale face reddening either from the slight exertion or the flare of excitement reflected in her eyes. Both were better than the fear.

“Making sure you don’t fall when I do this.” He slid his hands under her shirt, shoved her bra up and scraped his thumb nails over her already turgid nipples. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

She shook her head, her wild, red hair flying around her shoulders even as she arched her back and pushed her breasts into his hands. “I promise; it was nothing. Just a little… misunderstanding. Oh God.”

Small white teeth sank into her lower lip when he tugged on her nipples and then drew the tips out, elongating them with a tight pinch. “I can keep this up all night, darlin’.”

A flare of resentment tightened her face. “I’m not on the clock now, boss. You can’t order me to talk.”

“No, you’re right about that.” Releasing her nipples, he kept his eyes on hers as he slid his hands down to the waist of her jeans. “But I can punish you for disobeying another rule by coming out here alone after dark. Same safeword applies here, by the way.” Caden yanked her jeans down along with her panties, the narrow strip of pubic hair drawing his gaze straight to the enticing view of delicate, plump bare folds already damp with arousal. He wasn’t sure how far he would take this, he only knew he couldn’t stand to see her hurting or hear her evasive replies to his inquiries.

“Caden, please.” A hint of desperation laced her whispered plea and he fought against caving to both it and the way her hips shifted toward him in silent supplication.

“Are you going to tell me what I want to know?” He lifted his hands to release his belt. Her eyes widened as he pulled the soft leather through the loops, but if he wasn’t mistaken, and he rarely was, the sudden increase in her breathing had nothing to do with fear.

“I told you, it’s nothing. I’m over it already.” Since she averted her eyes with that statement, he doubted the truth of it.

With a quick twist, Caden spun her toward the wall and didn’t pause before snapping the belt across her quivering buttocks. “Like I said, I’ve got all night.”

Sydney’s head buzzed, and not just from the beers she’d downed on an empty stomach. Caden hadn’t struck her hard. Instead, the stroke of leather over her butt induced tiny, pinpricks of pain that disappeared fast, too fast, and left her aching for more. Right now, she’d take any diversion from the decision she needed to make, more than willing to accept anything he would give her at this point.

“Nothing, huh?”

She heard the swoosh first, felt the burning sting second. This time he’d struck a little harder, and the heated pain zipped straight down between her legs, increasing the moisture already seeping from her pussy. Shaking her head, she gave him a non-verbal answer and held her breath as he delivered a blow a little lower.

“Fuck, but you’re stubborn,” he groused.

Any other time, before she’d gone into town, she would’ve relished the frustration in his voice. But all she yearned for now was to forget the threat of a stranger and the lonely weeks ahead of her if she left and to bask in the heated throbbing spreading across her butt and filling her sheath. “Fuck me, Caden,” she begged, keeping her eyes pinned to the wall so she couldn’t see his rejection.

He answered her plea by delivering three, quick slices across her quivering buttocks, leaving behind a more painful burn and deeper throbbing. She both heard and saw the belt drop at her feet before his hands came to her hips. Her breath caught as he slid one hand between her legs and cupped her soaking flesh while he squeezed one, warm pulsating cheek with the other. An unprepared for, deep, three-fingered thrust into her pussy brought her up on her toes with a gasp, the invasion accompanied by the startling probe at the entrance to her back hole.

Taken off guard, she stuttered without looking around, “What… I’m not sure about…”

“Are you saying red?” A small prod with his wide, calloused thumb breached her sphincter and sent a riot of new sensations spreading up that untried orifice.

“No, it’s different, is all,” she panted, struggling to acclimate to the new sensations and surprising pleasure while wondering if there was nothing he could introduce her to that she would shy away from trying.

“Good,” he returned smugly, satisfaction coloring his tone. “I like knowing I’m going where no man has been before. Deep breath, darlin’.”

Caden brushed her clit while thumbing her ass with short, jabbing prods, the dual assault driving Sydney to the precipice within seconds. Just as the small tremors heralding an orgasm began, he frustrated her by pulling back. Leaning against her, his mouth at her ear, he uttered the four words she’d been pining for since meeting him. “I’ll fuck you, Sydney, not because you asked, but because I can’t hold back any longer. But make no mistake. This isn’t over.”

Everything he said after ‘I’ll fuck you’ barely registered through the roaring in her head and the surge of hot blood straight to her groin, swelling her vagina. She heard him sheathing himself then held her breath as he grabbed her hips again and kept her still for his possession. One deep thrust, and every delicious inch of his thick girth slid in a smooth glide through her slick channel and lay embedded deep inside her, leaving her to relish the burning pleasure of being jammed full. Feeling as if she’d been waiting forever for this, Sydney moaned in protest of his withdrawal and then embraced the next forceful plunge with a soft cry. His tight grip prevented her from moving, which increased the heat building from his pumping rhythm. Every rub against swollen tissues, every brush against her clit inflamed the sensitive nerve endings until she threatened to combust.

Arching her head back, she closed her eyes and begged, “More, please, don’t stop.”

Caden had reduced submissive women to pleading before, but none of their pleas affected him as strongly as Sydney’s soft, achingly desperate voice. The urge to take, to stake a claim by pounding into her until she splintered apart and then revealed what had upset her, wouldn’t let up. He’d never wanted to go after someone with such anger as he did the unknown person who’d left her troubled. How the hell had she gotten under his skin so fast, and so deep?

Digging his thumbs into her red-striped buttocks, he spread the plump globes to gaze upon the puckered opening into her ass before sliding his thumb back inside the tight orifice. Wet as a dewy morning and giving off as much heat as an Arizona desert, her pussy gripped his shaft with small clutches sure to drive him over the edge way too soon. His lust turned into a greedy bitch, clawing at his balls with a voracious need, hardening his cock into a tortured demand. He pounded into her with jackhammer thrusts, Sydney’s small grunts followed by soft mewls egging him on. Her cry of release echoed in the cavernous barn as she spasmed around his girth so hard he had trouble pulling away from the tight clutches. Then his brain fogged as his climax spewed forth, nearly driving him to his knees with the powerful ejaculations and mind-numbing sensations.

It took Caden several blind moments to return to earth and loosen his tight grip on her hips. “You good?” he breathed in harsh inquiry as he pulled with slow reluctance from her snug, still spasming clasp.

“More than,” she admitted with her usual candor, followed by a small laugh and full body shudder.

Disposing of the condom in the corner trash, he zipped his jeans then bent to pull hers back up. “I’m glad to hear that. I was rough.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, turning her head and flipping him one of those cheeky grins he enjoyed, the shadows in her eyes replaced with a sated glow. “And I liked it. Now, aren’t you sorry you made me wait?”

Shaking his head, Caden released her hands and slung his arm around her shoulders as he led her out of the barn. “You’re incorrigible. I think I need to work on that. You’ll accompany me to The Barn tomorrow night as my sub.”

“Gee, Caden,” Sydney drawled. “You have such a sweet way of asking a girl out.”

“Who the fuck’s asking? I learned just minutes after meeting you that doesn’t work.”

The weekend, that’s all I want. Sydney kept telling herself that all day on Friday while trying not to read too much into Caden’s announcement that she would go to The Barn tonight as his sub, or the thrill it had given her. He’d come to mean a lot to her in such a short time, and God, every time she thought of leaving her stomach cramped and her eyes filled with tears. Telling herself this wasn’t home, that she had a life in Missouri that she loved didn’t work, regardless of how much she missed her family and job. Last night, while lying in bed enjoying the pleasurable aftershocks of submitting to Caden, she’d fretted over what she should do about this recent threat to her happiness. Maybe she should head back home on Sunday, drive at a snail’s pace to allow her more time to think of an excuse for taking off like she had that would sound plausible to her grandmother and uncles. As long as she stayed away from Uncle Mike, refused to be alone with him, she should be able to avoid a repeat of the way he’d come to her apartment on the pretext of making amends and then drugged her to force her hand. Hiring that thug proved how desperate he’d become for cash though, and if her shares continued to be his best option, avoiding him would only work for so long.

Her last option might be to come clean with her other two uncles, relying on their genuine love for her and stable home lives to come to her aid while sparing her grandmother the heartache of learning about her youngest child’s duplicity. “Between a rock and a hard place,” she muttered as she went through her limited wardrobe searching for something to wear tonight. Caden mentioned he liked the skirt she’d worn last week and considering how fast he had talked her out of it, she decided it didn’t much matter what she wore. Of course, his succinct command, ‘No panties or bra,’ was another hint she would be stripped naked soon after entering his club. Donning a light-weight, fall sweater that buttoned down the front, she ran trembling hands down her sides as she replayed last night.

What was it about the way Caden simply took her over, just like last week in the club’s loft, that was such a freaking turn-on? Granted, there had been something missing from her previous sexual encounters, but that hadn’t kept her from enjoying the time she’d spent getting sweaty between the sheets with her partners. But nothing compared to the off-the-charts responses her sexy boss could evoke. No climax had ever come close to rivaling the heights he’d driven her to with his painful swats, penetrating blue eyes and deep-voiced commands. She savored every second under his dominant control, longed for more and despaired over where that would leave her once she left the ranch, and her Dom rancher.

“Sydney, let’s go,” Caden called out, his impatient voice spurring her on. She didn’t know what had occurred to change his mind about her and wasn’t about to ask. If only he hadn’t insisted on keeping his distance those first days, she’d have that many more memories to keep her warm at night after she left. If only the circumstances that brought her here weren’t the same ones driving her away. If only this were her home. If only…

“Connor let you slide on a few things last week since you were a guest. Tonight, you’ll need to observe all the rules,” Caden stated while holding open the door to The Barn for her.

Sydney shivered, but not because of the cool, night air. His look alone was enough to keep her warm, but the sounds of BDSM play seeping through the entry door into the club as she stepped inside the large foyer also helped dispel any cold she might feel from walking around without panties. The air wafting up under her skirt teased the sensitive skin of her bare labia and heightened her awareness of her near-naked state, keeping her on that tantalizing edge of sexual anticipation.

When she’d accompanied Connor last week, she’d been too excited, as well as anxious over Caden’s reaction to discovering her here, to take much notice of the foyer. Now, Caden filled in the blanks by pointing to a row of large cubbies then nodding at her feet. “You can store your shoes in one of those.” Opening a door opposite the cubby slots, he showed her a huge, walk-in closet. “This is where we hang the coats come winter. Remember to address me as Sir, or you could face consequences you’re not ready for,” he warned in a mild tone.

Slipping off her shoes, she smiled up at him with a raised brow. “Is that supposed to scare me, boss?”

Her deliberate use of boss instead of sir drew his scowl before he shook his head, clasped her hand and opened the door into the club room with a smirk. “If you want to start racking them up, then by all means, do so.”

Probably not a wise idea, she admitted even as her heart rate picked up speed as she peeked inside the playroom. The same as last week, the sheer pulse of the place seeped under Sydney’s skin the moment she stepped inside. A good crowd already filled the space, and as Caden drew her toward the bar, he stopped to say a word or two to friends and to introduce her. She didn’t try to keep track of names, or even say much in return to the friendly greetings and welcomes. What would be the point of making new friends when she might be leaving soon? Another pang tightened her stomach, but she shoved it aside in favor of getting the most out of Caden’s attention as possible.

Sheriff Monroe beckoned them over to the bar as he nudged a stool out, and it took Sydney a moment to stifle a flare of resentment over the way he’d tattled to Caden after his keen observation locked on to her upset state yesterday. She understood the two of them were close, but that didn’t lessen her disgruntlement. Connor manned the bar, his Stetson tipped low, shielding his eyes, but the tight set to his jaw revealed he wasn’t in his usual, light-hearted mood tonight.

“What’s wrong?” Sydney asked him before Caden distracted her by pulling her in front of him on the stool, his arm coming around her waist to draw her back until her buttocks nestled against his groin.

“Let me guess,” Caden drawled above her head, his voice carrying a hint of concern. “No Annie again tonight.”

“We’re no longer seeing each other,” Connor clipped, his tone discouraging further inquiry. “What can I get you, sweetie?” He held out his hand for the punch card that would limit her to two drinks.

“A beer, anything light, please.” Even though the previous night’s excess kept her from wanting to indulge again tonight, Caden’s fingers toying with the top button of her sweater until it popped, prompted her to order something with a kick.

Conscious of both Grayson and Connor’s eyes on her, Sydney peered up at him with a quirk of her mouth. “You’re not wasting any time, are you?”

“You’re the one who addressed me improperly right after I told you the correct form of address.” Caden kept his eyes on hers as he slipped open the next button and brought his beer to his mouth.

“I have a feeling this one will keep you on your toes,” Grayson commented as Caden released the third button.

“She’s run me ragged for two weeks, and now she’s keeping things from me. What should we do with you, Sydney?” Caden murmured in a low, seductively conversational tone. The last button popped free and he spread the sweater open, exposing her bare breasts, when one word registered with a fiery response between her legs.

“We?” Sydney’s gaze flew to the sheriff’s, and his stern frown didn’t bode well for what they planned for her. Yet, instead of becoming leery, she thrilled to the prospect of another new experience. She didn’t lust after the other man, not the way she had Caden from the moment she clapped eyes on him through the window. But she doubted there was a woman alive who didn’t fantasize about two men doling out double the pleasure.

Running a rough finger over one turgid nipple, Caden replied, “You also refused to come clean with Grayson, so I thought it only fair he takes part in your punishment.”

With a nod from Caden, Grayson leaned forward and plucked the beer from her hand. She didn’t get a chance to ask why before Caden leaned her back, over his arm. With a glint in his eyes, he slowly tilted his beer bottle over her up-thrust breasts, leaving her just enough time to suck in a deep breath before the cold trickle drew a startled gasp. The sheriff leaned forward, shackled her wrists in one hand and dipped his head to lap at the spilled alcohol, stroking everywhere except over her aching, rigid nipples.

Caden bent to her ear. “Isn’t it nice of him to clean up my mess, Sydney?”

Nice? Not when he continued to avoid two of her most sensitive areas that throbbed for a touch. Connor’s low chuckle earned him a glare from her. “You too?” she asked, her face heating even though she couldn’t resist the urge to shift her torso toward Grayson’s lips. The not so innocent maneuver brushed one nipple against his stubbled cheek, the abrasion sending sizzling sparks of pleasure straight down to her core.

“I always enjoy a good punishment scene.” Connor thumbed back his hat, his look both caring and disapproving.

Caden delivered a sharp slap on her thigh, diverting her attention with the quick, painful burn. “It looks like we have to restrain more than her hands, Grayson, since she can’t be still.”

Lifting his head and licking his lips, he nodded in agreement. “She did make it difficult for me to concentrate.”

Bemused, turned on and a touch miffed, Caden caught Sydney off guard again when he righted her, slipped off the stool and tossed her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing, one arm wrapped in a tight band around her legs. But her mortification and indignity didn’t stop there.

“Here, let me,” the sheriff offered, flipping up her skirt.

“Caden!” The only thing her squealed protest earned her was another sharp slap on her thigh. Adding to both her embarrassment and arousal, he brought his free hand between her legs and teased the entrance to her pussy with light strokes while they ascended the stairs to the loft. Sydney kept her flaming face down, her eyes on Grayson’s jean covered legs as he followed them.

When they reached the upper floor, Grayson caressed her buttocks, saying, “I’ll pick out something that’ll decorate this pretty ass nicely.”

“Meet us at the Wheel of Misfortune,” Caden said.

Sydney refused to ask him what that was, instead closing her eyes as he walked across the loft, stopped and lowered her to her feet. Blood rushed south then swept back up to her face as she opened her eyes and saw a large wagon wheel hanging a few inches off the floor. All but four spokes had been removed, these spread wide enough apart to provide large spaces in between. A smaller wheel with writing along the spokes and a flap attached in the center sat propped next to the bigger apparatus.

Turning questioning eyes up to Caden, he spoke before she could voice her misgivings about the contraption. “You have me worried about you, and I’m not used to fretting over a woman. It’s your fault you’ve come to mean so much to me, and your fault for pushing until you ended up in this position. Remember the safeword and either say it or strip.”

He didn’t look happy about his feelings, and neither was she. Not because he too meant more to her than she’d planned for, but because she knew better than him this couldn’t go anywhere. Removing her clothes, she avoided looking at Grayson when he returned carrying a round leather paddle that made her buttocks clench. She would deal with the repercussions of her feelings when she left. Tonight, she yearned for as much attention from her rancher as she could get.

Caden looked at Grayson and nodded toward the smaller wheel. “You can do the honors while I prep my sub.”

The sheriff removed the toothpick from his mouth and slipped it into his pocket. “Glad to.”

Grabbing her hand, Caden tugged her next to him and cupped her breast, his thumb strumming her nipple. “He’ll spin the wheel and whatever position the flap lands on will be the one we’ll restrain you in on the wagon wheel. Don’t worry, the spokes were sanded smooth to negate the risk of splinters. Now, bend over and grab your ankles. Any time you want to tell us what happened yesterday, say so and we’ll stop.”

Humiliation heated her face, but Sydney refused to utter red, no matter how much that order tempted her to. She didn’t know which disconcerted her the most, bending over or the different prospects awaiting her with the apparatus. Grabbing her ankles, she was grateful for the way her hair shielded her face from what they were doing. She heard the small wheel spin then held her breath as Caden spread her buttocks and inserted a row of greased, cool balls inside her. Unable to hold still against the strange invasion, she swayed her hips, the move rolling the foreign objects against the tight walls and ultrasensitive nerves along her rectum.

“What the heck are those things?” she gasped as Caden helped her upright, her entire body quaking from the tiny sparks of pleasure the anal toy produced.

“Vibrating anal beads, but I haven’t turned them on yet.” He glanced at the smaller wheel as the fast twirling slowed and then stopped. “It looks like you’ll be starting in the ideal position.” Caden and Grayson exchanged identical smirks, leaving her to wonder if the sheriff hadn’t taken liberties with his spin.

Sydney didn’t protest when they bound her facing the wheel, stretching her arms up and out along the top spokes before cuffing her wrists and then doing the same with her spread ankles. She had little time left with Caden and planned to soak up every minute of his attention she could get before she moved on, even if she trembled inside over what they might do because of her silence about her troubles.

“Perfect.” Caden stepped in front of her and her heart turned over at the tight set to his mouth. With her arms bound on the two spokes, her breasts were thrust forward, aligned just right to it make it easy for him to tug on her nipples.

“Ca… Sir,” she corrected when he scowled. “What…” She broke off with a startled cry, the smack Grayson delivered with the paddle catching her unaware. Hissing in a deep breath, she struggled with the burn before the painful pleasure took hold.

“The paddle is worse than my belt, but not as bad as a flogger, or cane. We can switch to one of those if you don’t tell us what we want to know.” Caden reached into a pocket and in the next instant, small pulsations rippled up and down her rectum as the beads set up a vibration against sensitive tissues she could feel in her sheath through the thin membrane separating the two orifices.

“Oh… crap.” Sydney’s low moan followed the next swat, both cheeks now throbbing along with her rectum. Caden’s fingers plucked at her nipples, adding to the bombardment of sensations slowly robbing her of cognizant thought. She averted her eyes from his rugged face, not trusting his probing gaze, or her ability to resist giving in to him.

“Talk to me, darlin’,” Caden insisted before bending and drawing one beaded tip into his hot mouth.

She could feel the strong, suctioning pulls on the tender bud all the way to her toes, the warm pleasure overridden by the next, painful smack of the paddle. “Please, I… can’t,” she pled, wishing different circumstances had brought her to the Dunbar Ranch, and to her rancher.

“Why?” Grayson nipped the soft spot where her shoulder and neck connected, his hand caressing her heated buttocks.

Shaking her head, Sydney fought off the desire to share her burden and remained silent. They couldn’t help her out of her dilemma back home. Despair dampened her eyes and need threatened her determination to keep from revealing her uncle’s machinations. That need increased when Caden swore and delved between her legs to tug on her swollen clit and the sheriff delivered yet another blistering blow to her ass, and her sanity.

“I just can’t… Caden, Sir, please.” Unable to voice her concern over her plight or the desperation to lose herself in the pleasure only he could drive her to, she yanked on the restraints and looked into his eyes. “Please.”