“They're good. Most of them are in the game room; three headed for a cabin.”
Logan had heard the bed creaking in cabin three.
“Want a beer, bro?” Jake asked.
A beer would go down good, but no. Logan's jaw tightened. “I have things to do that require a clear head.”
“Ah.” Jake gave him an understanding nod. “Don't be too hard on her. She meant well.”
“She almost got herself killed.” Bad enough that she'd be leaving to go back to the city. The thought of finding her body…all the stubbornness, the humor, the warmth gone, her eyes blank. He knew just what traumatic death looked like. His gut twisted, and he turned on his heel.
Once upstairs, Logan walked into the bedroom to find Rebecca reading a book that would have had to come from the bookshelf across the room. She'd been up on that ankle. Trying not to growl, he leaned against the door frame.
So pretty. Her hair waved over her shoulders in the colors of the sunset. Her flannel nightgown reminded him of the ones his mother wore, yet the outline of her full breasts under the soft material made his cock harden. He shoved his lust to the background of his mind.
First things first.
The master in him was furious that she had disobeyed him, disregarded safety rules, and endangered herself. Over the past few days, he had been a Dom to her, and he would continue to teach her, even though the relationship would end soon.
So far, she had learned the easy, fun stuff and had received a taste of light discipline. Would she still submit when he took it a step further? “Becca.”
She started; then her sweet lips curved up, her eyes lighting in a way that made his heart melt. “Logan. Did you get a chance to eat and rest?”
“Enough.” He'd grabbed some food but had been too pissed off to rest. “How's your ankle?”
“It's much better. No pain unless I try to walk on it, and even then, I can put some weight on it.”
“Didn't I tell you to stay in bed? To yell if you needed something?” He walked over to the bed and stared down at her.
Chapter Fifteen
The growl in Logan's voice sounded more menacing than Thor's best effort. Rebecca set the book on the nightstand, then gave him a wary look. “I wanted to-”
“Now there's the problem, Becca,” Logan interrupted. He sat beside her hip, the mattress compressing under his weight. His eyes, more gray than blue in color, sent unease trickling down her spine. “If I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed.”
Her eyes narrowed. “If this is that domination stuff, you said it applied only in the bedroom.”
He tilted his head, his eyes never leaving her face. “True. In a way. I'm a dominant, Becca, and my nature doesn't change. Outside the bedroom, you can disagree with me, and we'll work out a compromise.” He took her hand, and the calluses on his fingers felt almost threatening as he rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. “What happened today, more than once, is that you agreed to obey my orders, and then you disobeyed.”
Disobeyed? “Logan, I'm not a child,” she said, shocked when her voice came out hoarse. A shaking started deep inside her.
“No. You're very much a woman,” he said with a faint smile. “And you're also a sub. My sub-for the moment-”
He continued, “Which means I have certain obligations to you, ones that preclude letting you think you can get away with disobeying your Dom.”
His firm words, the look in his eyes, increased the shaking until her fingers trembled in his grasp. She stared at her hand in horror. What was happening to her? She wasn't scared-not exactly-
“Becca, look at me.”
She raised her eyes.
“We can handle this in two ways. If we are just friends and nothing more, I'll lecture you about safety and go back downstairs.”
The thought hurt her chest and tightened her throat. “And the other?” she whispered.
“If I am your Dom for the rest of your time here, then you will be punished as a sub, and we will go on from there.” His free hand stroked her cheek, the gentle touch making her feel as if she were being split in two parts. “A Dom/sub relationship, however short or long, exists only if there is trust and honesty between both parties. So this is your decision, little one. Your answer is either, 'Let's be friends,' or 'I submit, Sir.'”
His hand on her cheek warmed skin that had gone cold and kept her from turning away. His eyes penetrated her, gazed deep inside. She knew he could feel her tremble.
He nodded, no expression on his face. “So be it.” He took her hands and held them firmly. “So I'm clear, this punishment is because you went hiking alone. You didn't even tell anyone where you were going.” His voice roughened. “Another hour, and we wouldn't have found you. More rain is due tonight… You'd have died.”
“Wh-what are you-”
“You do not have permission to speak.”
Oh God, what had she done? Yet the feeling of his hands thrilled her, at least until he pulled her facedown across his legs. She ended up with her head and shoulders hanging down, her hips over his knees, and her feet still on the bed. Head spinning, she put her hands flat on the small rag rug and tried to raise herself. When he lifted her nightgown up and cold air brushed across her bottom, the awful understanding came swiftly.
“A spanking? No way.” She tried to push herself back on the bed without success, then tried to drag herself forward off his lap. Her nightgown was caught on something-probably his fist-trapping her. A hand pressed down on her lower back. “Let me go!”
“This will hurt less if you relax,” he said, as if she hadn't spoken, as if she weren't struggling to escape.
“You son of a-”
“Ow!”
He paused. “Let me know when you feel sorry for what you did. Otherwise, I'll simply continue until my hand gets tired.” A pause.
“Damn you!”
“I hate you, you bastard.”
“You're sick. Sadistic.”
With each blow, his hand came down brutally, stinging worse than she could have imagined until her whole bottom burned.
“B-bast-” Her voice broke as a sob escaped, and tears spilled from her eyes. She hated him.
His hand stroked over her bottom gently. “You scared me, sweetheart. If we hadn't found you before dark…”
She gritted her teeth, trying to keep the sobs back. Trying not to beg.
He continued as if they were having a conversation. “Even Thor wouldn't have been able to keep you warm enough, especially since you couldn't go searching for someplace dry.” A pause.
