Chapter Seven
By damn, Joe must have stolen one of his horses and took off for who knows where.
“I should have left Mr. Snodgrass take his belt to his butt,” Logan muttered to no one in particular.
With determined strides he headed to the barn. A quick inspection revealed an empty stall. The dappled mare was gone. Without a word he saddled the black stallion, Blaze, and led the huge animal out of the barn. “I’m going after him and beat his butt black and blue.”
“Logan, please wait.”
“I don’t want to hear any more excuses, Ella. I’ve reached my breaking point. I offered Joe a chance to redeem himself and he threw it right back in my face. There’s nothing you can say that will change my mind. This time he’s in for a good licking.”
“All I’m suggesting is that you wait a couple of minutes and calm down first.”
“Calm down? Calm down?” Christ. Now he was repeating himself. “I’d need a hell of a lot more than a few minutes to calm down.” He grabbed the reins and swung up in the saddle. The stallion danced beneath his weight. The pleading expression on his sister’s face tore at his heartstrings, but he remained firm.
“Ella, we knew nothing about Joe, but yet gave him a chance and he blew it… twice. You have a kind heart and feel sorry for him, but enough is enough. He needs to be punished.”
* * *
Josephine tossed a quick glance over her shoulder and blew out a sigh of relief when she saw she wasn’t being followed. She slowed the dappled mare to a trot. Taking the horse had been easy and it sure felt good to be in charge of her own destiny again, although it had been done by stealing. Aunt Hedy would definitely not approve.
Tears misted her eyes. She’d been so caught up in all that had happened so far she momentarily forgot her aunt’s death. If Jed had been a decent man she would have gladly stayed behind and helped him, but such was not the case. Last night proved that a locked door would not keep him from getting to her. He’d made his intentions clear.
Josephine patted the mare’s velvety neck. “It’s just you and me, girl. I know it’s wrong to up and take you from your home. I’ve done some terrible things today. I’m so ashamed of my behavior.”
Her thoughts fell to Ella and what she must be thinking. The young woman had defended her without question. “I must find work and pay back everything I stole and make things right.” The horse whinnied softly as if in answer to her musings.
Josephine smiled. The fact that the world stood before her was both daunting and exciting at the same time. A warm breeze caressed her face and she let go of her worries, but only for a moment. The rumble of pounding hooves echoing from behind snapped her back to reality. She reined in the mare and shifted in the saddle just in time to see a man with broad shoulders gaining on her. Here we go again.
“Okay, mare, it’s time to hightail it out of here. Be a good horsey now.” She tapped the animal’s sides and off they went. A sharp, piercing whistle split the air and the mare immediately slowed to a trot then stopped altogether.
“No, no, please don’t stop.” Josephine coaxed and pleaded, but the animal wouldn’t budge. Damn.
As soon as Josephine slipped to the ground, the mare took off in the direction of the ranch. “Traitor,” she mumbled and broke into a run. If she could reach the distant tree line she could hide.
Suddenly her feet were peddling nothing but air. Her belly hit the saddle with such force it knocked the wind out of her.
“Let me go.”
“No way, you little horse thief.”
Horse thief? This was it. In no time she’d be decorating a cottonwood for sure.
Josephine’s life flashed before her eyes. “Are you going to hang me?” Her stomach rolled. She imagined her body dangling from a tree and vultures picking apart her dead carcass.
“No, Joe, I won’t hang you. Once I find a nice sturdy log you’re going over my knee for a bare bottom spanking.”
“Like hell I am!” A complete stranger looking at her ass? No way. She’d throw herself from the horse before she’d let him spank her. With a burst of adrenaline she wriggled and writhed.
“That’s enough.” The whack to her backside shocked her and she went still, giving Logan time to rein in the big horse and drop to the ground. He plucked her from the saddle.
“Put me down!”
“Nope.”
Pinning her to his side once again, he carried her to a fallen log.
Josephine’s eyes widened. This was truly happening. He intended to spank her. Out in the open. Right now. She slapped at his legs.
“No, no, you can’t do this.”
“You deserve this, Joe, and you know it. You’re in dire need of a bare bottom whipping and I aim to see it done.” He sat down and tossed her over his lap.
Realizing that her virtue was about to go up in smoke along with her behind if she didn’t stop him, she sank her teeth into the back of his leg. Logan yowled, but didn’t loosen his hold.
“Please don’t do this, I swear you’ll regret it.”
Her wrists were caught and secured at her lower back. “Regret it? Not on your life. You just bit me, you little shit.”
Josephine giggled hysterically. Dear heavens, she was losing her sanity.
“You think it’s funny?”
* * *
Furious, Logan yanked down her pants. When he got a closer look at his intended target, blood rushed to his cock. These pale rounded cheeks and pink flesh in between did not belong to a boy. Damn! Joe was a dang female. This deliberate transgression was far worse than lying about her age.
Even though his hand itched to throw caution to the wind and deliver what he’d promised, Logan tempered his anger.
As fast as her pants had been peeled to her ankles, he pulled them back up as far as he could and pushed her off his lap. The brat let out a startled squeak and sat in the dirt with her legs spread. Logan caught a glimpse of blonde curls before she scrambled to her feet and hid the captivating view.
“You are a brute.” Her chest heaved with each breath.
Logan’s gaze dropped to her chest. Nothing to see. The bulky shirt hid the size of her bosoms. Big tits or small, he didn’t care. A nicely rounded spankable ass was more to his tastes.
She certainly looked ready for a fight. Fists clenched tight, eyes snapping blue fire. Matching him stare for stare. Lust slammed him in the gut. The thought of her kneeling on all fours with that ass high in the air while he fucked her from behind made him break out in a sweat. He shook his head vigorously. No use. The tempting image remained.
Logan slowly got to his feet. He regarded the impudent young lady standing a few yards away from him and couldn’t decide whether to throttle her or kiss that luscious pink mouth.
Christ, three times in one day he had tackled her to the ground believing he’d been putting his hands on a wet-behind-the-ears young boy. Never before had he manhandled a female in such callous disregard. His father would have taken a stick to him.
Logan propped one booted foot on the log and crossed both arms over his knee. “I may be a bully, but you, little girl, are a brat. You have no idea how much trouble you’re in, do you?”
She tossed back her head, refusing to answer.
“But first you’re going to tell me why you felt the need to disguise yourself as a boy.”
Her chin tilted in defiance. In a way she reminded him of Ella when she got in a mood, but the current dilemma in his pants had nothing to do with brotherly love. Joe was not his sister and his cock had reacted instantly to her charms.
“You got a pretty ass, Joe,” he snarled.
At least she had the grace to flush.
“What’s your real name?” he asked sharply.
“Josephine.”
She should be terrified right about now. His grim demeanor would’ve had his ranch hands shaking in their boots, but not this slip of a girl. Someone needed to be taken down a peg or two or three.
“Listen here, brat, I will not tolerate belligerence on your part and don’t think for one minute you’ve escaped punishment because you’re a girl.”
She stamped her tiny foot and he almost laughed out loud.
“Who are you to threaten punishment and demand answers? My life is my own, you oversized bully.”
Logan smacked his chest for the sake of emphasis. “This oversized bully kept your ass out of jail. You owe me big time, Josephine, and I intend to collect. Sass me again and I’ll lock you up myself.”
Dang smarty pants. She had made a complete fool out of him. He’d kick his own ass if he could reach it. Why hadn’t he seen through the disguise from the beginning?
Through hooded lids, he examined her from the top of her head right down to her booted feet. Her hair resembled a bird’s nest tossed about during a storm. At least he could see her face. She sure was a beauty. High cheekbones, button-like nose, and rose-tinted lips. But it was those eyes that had captured his attention from the onset. A deep blue, almost violet.
“What’s your last name?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Logan growled. “Must you always be impertinent?”
“Must you always be so bossy?” Josephine sighed. “It’s Bolton, okay?”
He rolled the name over and over in his head. “Don’t sound familiar. Where you from?”
“Pleasant Valley. It’s not that far from here. Look, this isn’t getting us anywhere. I know what you must be thinking.”
“You do now?” Like hell. If she had even an inkling of what he was thinking she’d be running for the hills. Images of ramming his cock deep inside her dark hole eclipsed any rational thought. His sanity was barely hanging on a thread.
“Oh, and for the record books,” she added curtly, “you were the one who assumed I was a boy. I just went along with it. Seemed like a grand idea at the time.”
“Why did you lie about your age?”
She shrugged her shoulders.
Logan cursed beneath his breath. Just ripe for the picking and here she was traveling on her own. Obviously she had no idea what could happen to a lone female without a male escort. Mean hombres scoured the hills and mountains. She could’ve easily been captured by one man or a group of men, raped, and left for dead.
Frustrated at this unexpected turn of events, he scrubbed his face with both hands. It’d be better to continue this conversation back at the ranch.
The sound of another rider drew close. Logan looked and saw Sully heading toward them at a fast trot.
“Sully must have gotten alarmed when the mare arrived without you.” Logan picked up the reins. “Come on, you’ll ride with me.”
“I’d rather walk if you don’t mind.” With head held high, Josephine brushed past him, but his reflexes were too quick. He reached out and grabbed her arm.
“As a matter of fact, I do mind.” He picked her up and deposited her none too gently on the saddle. In one swift move he swung up behind her. “Behave,” he whispered close to her ear and pulled her against him.
She stiffened. “Go to hell.”
“Some days I think I’m already there, brat.”
“Hey, boss, you okay?”
Logan nodded curtly. “Where’s Ella?”
“Back at the house stewing over the way you took off. The mare showed up without Joe so I thought I’d check and see if everything was all right.” He cast a concerned look at the small form huddled in front of Logan. “He okay?”
Logan almost laughed out loud. Okay? Far from it if he had anything to do about it. Little Miss Bolton was going to have a very sore bottom. One she richly deserved.
“Let’s get on back to the house and I’ll fill you in.”