Chapter Nine
Quinn
I’m flipping through an ad set mockup one of my designers handed me earlier when my phone starts buzzing. Without checking to see who it is, I answer, with a distracted hello.
“Blakely,” a gruff, familiar voice greets. “It’s McMahon.”
I smirk and abandon my file. “Well I’ll be damned, Rick. How in the hell are you these days, man?” About ten years ago he and I worked on a Homes for Humanity project together. I like the guy and over the years we meet up for drinks or bowling from time to time.
“Honestly,” he says, a smile in his voice, “never been better. I heard about you and Sammie. Real sorry to hear that.”
I grit my teeth, my mood quickly souring. “She’s going to be a movie star,” I utter dryly.
“Is that right?” He snorts. “Listen, I hate to call you out of the blue like this and not have better news but I just picked up your boys.”
My blood runs ice cold. “What?”
“I was patrolling through town when I saw Eddie Acres’ kid hauling ass in that ’Stang they rebuilt,” he says, a little jealousy in his tone over the car. “Anyway, you remember Eddie? Dumb as a bucket of rocks but a nice guy. Well, his kid isn’t too damn smart either. A bit of a troublemaker if you ask me. I’ve pulled him over too many times to count for speeding. You’ll never believe who he was toting around.”
“Anthony and Aiden?” I ask, fury building in my chest. I’m already rising from my chair and slamming my laptop closed. So much for working late.
“Yeah,” he says. “And they had a sweet little girl with them claiming she was their babysitter. I didn’t call them out on their lie but—”
“Ava Prince. She is their babysitter,” I snap. Not for long. Fuck.
He laughs. “Well, I’ll be damned. Babysitter? You do realize both them boys are as big as you and me both.” Another chuckle. I’m glad someone is amused because I’m fucking livid. “Anyway, I scared the poor girl half to death. Started bawling her eyes out when I looked at her. Her momma’s Judy Prince. You remember her? Pretty little thing I went out with a few times but she’s kind of a bitch. Daughter seems sweet though.”
My blood is bubbling over with rage. I’m pissed at her for taking a ride with that Acres boy and bringing the twins along with. What was she thinking?
“Where are they at now?” I demand as I charge out of my building.
“The boys went on inside the house. I’m parked out front. Poor girl is still crying her eyes out sitting on the front steps. I don’t know what the fuck’s wrong with her.”
I grit my teeth. I know exactly what’s wrong. She knows she screwed up and the wrath of Quinn Fucking Blakely is about to be brought down upon her. “Thanks, Rick. I’ll be there shortly.”
* * *
Once Sheriff McMahon drives off, I storm over to where Ava sits with her face buried in her hands. Her whole body trembles as she cries. You’d think her cat had been run over or some shit by the way she’s carrying on. I want to be pissed at her but truth is, my chest aches a little to see her so upset.
I don’t have to punish her because she’s already punished herself.
But she needs to know this isn’t acceptable.
“I’m not going to fire you,” I grumble as I come to stand right in front of her.
She sniffles and jerks her head up. God, she’s so fucking beautiful with the afternoon sun catching the golden strands in her hair making them sparkle. She’s pulled her glasses off and her face is splotchy from her tears. The poor thing is vulnerable and broken. It kills me seeing her like this.
“I’m sorry,” she sobs.
Another tear races down her cheek. Scowling, I drop to one knee in front of her and swipe the tear away with my knuckle. “For someone so mature, you really didn’t use your head with that one.”
Shame flickers in her eyes. I hate the look. I hate the fact I gave her that look. Letting out a sigh, I grab her clammy hand and bring it to my mouth, making sure to kiss each knuckle. Her swollen red lips are parted in confusion.
“I’m pissed. Furious as fuck.” My tone causes her to wince. “But it’s my fault.”
Her brows crash together. “W-What?”
“I promised you I’d sort out the transportation and I failed. You were simply trying to get my boys home. I get it.”
“Okay...” Her brown eyes search mine for a hidden agenda.
There’s one fucking hiding all right.
“But.”
Her lip wobbles. So goddamned sexy.
“But,” she mimics.
“But everyone is still getting punished.” My tone is firm.
“It’s not their fault,” she yelps out. “Don’t punish them for me.”
I shrug and shake my head. “They know all it would have taken was a phone call to me. They didn’t have to get in that car. They wanted to. So now they will be punished.”
She frowns. “You’re so strict.”
“I have to be. If I want them to turn out right and not run off to fucking Hollywood at the first sign of trouble, I have to be.” I don’t mean to snarl at her but this all points back to Samantha. She made me this way.
“How will you punish me?” she whispers, her eyes fearful.
I love the fact that she knows she is getting punished. It’s not if, it’s when.
“Well I can’t take away anything you do for fun, because you don’t do anything for fun.” I grunt. “I’ll make the boys do some yard work but that doesn’t seem like a fitting punishment for you.”
She bites on her lip again, worry flickering in her eyes. “And you won’t fire me?”
I kiss her hand again. “You need this job. I’m not going to fire you.”
“So what then?”
An image flits through my mind, fast and dirty. One of her bent over my knee with her bare ass in my face. My cock jolts in excitement.
“To my office,” I order in a husky tone.
When she stares at me for too long, I bark out, “Now.”
* * *
As soon as I hear the lawn mower and the weed eater going, I close my office door and turn the lock. Our eyes meet. I know my gaze is predatory and she looks every bit the terrified mouse caught in a trap. Today, she’s cute as fuck in another one of her nineties grunge outfits. This time, the No Doubt shirt she wears under a new flannel is just short enough that I can see a strip of her flat stomach any time she lifts her arms. Her jeans sit low on her narrow hips and have so many holes I can’t tell if it’s the style or if they came from years of use. To some, she might be seen as frumpy or tomboyish. I see past the clothes and right to her.
She’s fucking perfect.
From her small button nose down to her tiny-ass feet.
A little girl who likes taking big cock.
My dick aches in my slacks as I stare at her with a cool expression. We only had sex the one time but I certainly have thought about it a fuck ton. This girl is an addiction I’ll probably die from because I can’t seem to quit her. She’s carved herself inside my head.
“What now?” she squeaks.
I love when she seems afraid.
When she’s timid and unsure.
I love that her inexperience is every bit as much a part of her uniform as her eclectic wardrobe.
It’s what draws me in and has me salivating for her every second of every day.
“I don’t understand what’s going on between us,” she says in a wobbly voice, although she lifts her chin in a brave way. “But it confuses me. It scares me. Talk to me.”
I love when she shows sparks of a hidden fire too.
I smirk and sit down in my office chair. Threading my fingers behind my head, I lift a brow at her and lean back. “To be honest, I don’t know what the hell we’re doing but I’m not ready to stop.”
Her cheeks redden. “You’ve sort of ignored everything that happened the past two days. I’m not sure where that leaves me.”
“As long as I’m putting my dick inside you, you’re mine,” I snap.
Her eyes widen at my fierce proclamation. “Like friends with benefits? Chad’s my friend—”
“And you’re mine.”
She shifts uncomfortably in the chair across from my desk. “Yours how?”
I lift a brow. “You want clarification on the definition of ‘mine’?”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Do I look like I’m joking about anyfuckingthing right now?”
She swallows and shakes her head. “I’ve never had a lover or whatever you want to call this. I wouldn’t even know what to do with one.”
My lips turn up on one side. “He’d know what to do with you. Is that what you want, mon petit oiseau? To put a label on us?”
Her shoulders lift up as she shrugs. “Maybe.”
“There is no maybe where I’m concerned. It’s yes or no. Do you want to be fucking mine?”
She huffs and cocks her head at me. “Anyone ever tell you you’re mean?”
Smirking, I nod. “All the damn time. And you,” I point a finger at her. “Get turned on by it.”
“I do not,” she lies as she squirms in her seat.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” I assure her with a wolfish grin. “I think this is why I can’t stop thinking about you. Your eyes plead with me. They speak to an alpha part of me that begs to dominate you. You want someone to take care of you, don’t you?” My eyes skim along her slender throat to her perky breasts hidden beneath her T-shirt. Breasts I know still wear my mark. I dart my gaze back up to hers. “You want to be conquered. You want to be mine.”
She scowls but presses her lips together to keep from speaking.
“Come.” My demand is quiet but firm.
Like the good little girl she is, she stands despite the frown she’s wearing. Slowly, she walks over to my side of the desk.
“Take your jeans off.”
Her eyes widen but her small hands immediately set to unfastening them. My dick jolts in my slacks. I love how compliant she is. See, this is why Sammie and I didn’t make it. I crave to control things—people, my company, my family, finances. And she couldn’t fucking take it.
But mon petit oiseau?
Ava wants to be caged by me. She wants to feel safe and loved. To be coddled and adored.
Jesus, do I fucking adore her.
Her jeans fall to the floor because they’re baggy as fuck. She kicks them away along with her shoes. The pink knee high socks she wears are so cute. I definitely want her to leave those on. When my gaze skims up her creamy thighs to her panties, she clasps her hands in front of her to hide them from my view.
Silky but plain white.
So innocent.
“Let me see them. Are they wet?” I swivel in my chair to face her and spread my thighs apart. She lets out a yelp when I grab her hips to haul her closer. Her palms rest on my shoulders as I stare at her. I reach between her legs and am satisfied to discover her panties are drenched. All this shit turns her on just as much as it does me.
“Take off my belt,” I order, my voice husky. “Take it off and give it to me.”
Her nervous brown eyes meet mine but she clumsily sets to undoing my belt. My cock is painful. Everything in me craves to take over her slow movements so I can whip my cock out and take her. She eventually manages to undo the belt and slide it from the loops around my waist. Her nostrils flare when she hands it to me. I can tell she’s equal parts terrified and turned on.
I grip my belt in one hand and tug her to sit on my knee with my other hand. Gently, I palm her thigh in slow circles.
“I’m going to have to punish you so you know not to take rides with bad boys,” I explain in a firm tone. “It’s going to hurt when I whip you.”
“You’re going to spank me?” Her eyes widen as she stares at me so fucking innocently. “I’m scared.”
“I was scared when I got that call from the sheriff. Fucking terrified something had happened to you and the boys,” I grit out.
Understanding washes over her features. “I’m sorry.”
“I know, baby,” I murmur. “But you’re still not getting out of your spanking.”
She lifts her chin. “I’m ready to get it over with.”
Before she can think it over too much, I manhandle her until she’s lying across my lap with her ass right in front of me. She whimpers and squirms. I’m sure she can feel how hard she makes me because my erection is poking into her ribs. I grab the back of her panties and wrench them down her hips just past her porcelain ass. When I drag the leather of my belt across her smooth skin, she shudders.
Whap!
Whap!
Whap!
I spank her hard and fast. Three times. That was always how many I’d spank the boys when they’d done something rotten when they were younger. Anything more, in my eyes, felt like abuse. Three was enough to get the painful point across.
A loud, horrified wail rips from Ava, effectively breaking my heart in the process.
Her ass smarts with three crimson stripes. It’s beautiful and sad all at once.
“Come here, mon petit oiseau,” I coo as I pull her up against my chest.
She sobs and I cradle her small body. My hands—the same ones responsible for her pain—smooth over her to comfort her. I hold her tight, hugging away the hurt.
“Are you going to take rides with people anymore?” I ask in a firm tone.
“No,” she breathes, her hot breath tickling my throat.
“Are you going to be a good girl who lets her man take care of her?”
Her head tilts up so she can look at me. “Yes.”
“Remember what you are to me?”
She bites her bottom lip and lust swims in her gaze. Her normally innocent features are gone. Sweet Ava gets turned on by a good ass whipping.
Noted, sweetheart. Fucking noted.
“Yours?” Her word is breathy and her lips quirk up on one side in a sexy smile.
“Yes,” I reply, pleasure in my voice. “Mine.”