“Back to work. We’ve got dinner soon. And Miles, I’ll handle the glaze, but you better clean up after yourself, if you know what I mean,” Chef said.
She turned again, well aware her trouble was just starting.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Macon closed the door behind him without looking over at Ally. He wasn’t angry, but he needed to make a few things plain to her. She’d put herself in harm’s way. She could still be there. Elise’s father was a lawyer. He wouldn’t be surprised if Ally didn’t find herself being served papers in the next few weeks. They would deal with it, but things would have been infinitely simpler if she’d done as he’d asked her to.
The door locked with an audible snick.
“Macon, are you mad at me?” Now she managed a soft voice, her accent coming out like sweet syrup.
He crossed over to the closet where he knew damn well Sean kept some necessary items. By telling him to “clean up” after himself, Sean had been giving him permission to use his office for the very necessary disciplining of his submissive.
He was about to find out if she could really handle what he needed her to. Being with Allyson had made it clear to him this was absolutely what he wanted.
“No, but we’re going to have a talk about what it means to be a couple.” Ah, there it was. A nice long length of jute. He pulled it out.
Her eyes widened at the sight, but she didn’t protest. “I didn’t like the way she touched you. She didn’t have the right to kiss you.”
He unrolled the rope, getting a feel for it. “You’re right. She didn’t and I can’t tell you how good your possessiveness makes me feel, baby. I want this to work both ways. I’m never going to like another man looking at you, much less actually laying a hand on you. Take off your clothes.”
“What? I thought we were talking.”
“Yes, we’re going to talk with you naked.”
“And the rope?”
“Naked and tied up,” he clarified.
She sighed but started to work out of the T-shirt she was wearing. She dragged it over her head and folded it before unclasping the bra she really didn’t need to wear. Those breasts were two of the perkiest, prettiest things he’d ever seen. It was a shame to bind them up. “I know I lost my temper, but she kissed you.”
And that had driven his sweet girl absolutely insane. She’d been right. She really had lost her shit and now everyone at Top knew Macon had a girl who would defend his honor against all threats. “Now the pants. And I understand, but I could have handled it. I’m worried you’ve opened a nice-sized can of worms.”
She folded the jeans and stood in front of him completely naked, her hands on her hips as she glared up at him. “I’m not apologizing, Macon. She touched your leg.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle about that. He would bet she’d been more pissed about Elise’s hand on his quarter leg than she’d been about the kiss. “I understand, but it would have been better for you if you’d done as I asked. Her father is a highly litigious man. He lives for nuisance lawsuits. She’s very likely on the phone with him right now.”
She shrugged, tossing her hair back in her sassy way. “Bring it on. I seriously doubt she’s going to find it worth her while. I don’t have any money. Besides, I didn’t even hit her.”
He felt bad about explaining the full situation to her, but she needed to understand he hadn’t given the order for his health. He’d actually loved watching her go a little crazy. She’d wielded that damn umbrella like a deadly weapon. It had been satisfying to see Elise duck and run.
“Sean didn’t hit her either, but she could potentially sue Top.”
The color drained from her face. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Yes, I realize that, but I did and that’s why I requested you go into the kitchen and let me handle things. Were you worried I was going to cheat on you?”
Tears filled those perfect eyes, and it took everything he had not to scoop her up and hold her close. “No. I didn’t think you would cheat. If you were going to go with her, you would have broken it off with me first. Did I really get the restaurant in trouble?”
At least she trusted him. He was still worried she’d taken Elise’s words to heart. The woman had always known how to get under an opponent’s skin. It was her superpower. “I don’t know, but we’ll handle it. There were plenty of witnesses who will likely say you behaved in an appropriate manner, but that’s not the point. I won’t ever put my foot down unless it’s important, Allyson. We have to figure out how we’ll work as a couple, but I can tell you when I finally do put that foot down, I expect to be obeyed. Did you understand what I wanted you to do?”
She sniffled, but he was pleased with how comfortable she was with her nudity. The first few times he’d required her to chuck her clothes, she’d been self-conscious, but it seemed she’d gotten the idea that he appreciated her body. “Yes. I knew what you wanted and I knew what would happen if I didn’t. I knew you would need a session. I didn’t know you kept rope lying around though. That was a surprise.”
“Oh, baby, I don’t need rope to discipline you. I can always find something. The kitchen is a veritable store of things I can use to swat your pretty rear. Put you hands together and hold them out.”
She put her wrists together and held them toward him. “Are you going to spank me? I can handle it.”
He’d figured her out a bit. She would always be a mystery to him. There would be small spaces inside her that weren’t open to him, but he could deal with that. He’d learned she could handle some loving discipline as long as he was affectionate with her afterward. “I’m going to spank you. I think you’ve certainly earned twenty smacks and then you’re going to take care of me. When I tell you to, you’ll get on your knees and you’ll suck me dry. Is that understood?”
He worked while he talked, moving the jute up and over and around, forming a pattern that would sit on her skin for a while after he’d removed the rope. It wasn’t too tight, but he wanted her to sit at dinner with the marks as a visible reminder of his possession. It wasn’t simply about reminding her. There was a part of him that wanted the rest of them to see he was properly topping this woman.
“Let me make something clear. I have no intentions of leaving you. Why would you think about that?”
Her eyes were on the rope, watching as he moved the pattern up. Had she been a bustier girl, he wouldn’t have been able to tie her this way, but Allyson was particularly flexible with her arms. They’d played with ropes over the last few nights. He liked this pattern. It made her look vulnerable.
“Macon, some of the things she said were true.”
“Which ones? The one about how my losing a leg was really the hardest on her? Or how running off with my brother was probably my fault because I’d left her alone while I was fighting a war?”
Her eyes flared. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack, baby. You weren’t listening to her. I would never fall for her shit, but I’ve learned that unless I let her have her say she won’t stop. I was going to listen and then explain in no uncertain terms that my life is here now and it’s with you. She’s not welcome here. I want to be right here with the right job and the right woman.”
“But she’s wasn’t lying about me. I’m not well bred. My only family connections are currently in the Georgia penitentiary. I’m a liability to a man like you.”
“That’s another ten swats. And what do you mean by ‘a man like me’? Bend over.”
She leaned over Sean’s desk, her bound arms forming a base to balance from. It would be difficult. She would have to think about not falling to one side or the other. That was exactly what he wanted. He looked down and stared at that luscious ass of hers. The cheeks were plump and perfect, and he adored the twin dimples on the small of her back.
“You won’t always want to be a pastry chef at a small restaurant,” she said. “Eventually you’ll need more. You were raised to be ambitious. You came from a wealthy family.”
He ran a hand over her cheeks. They’d played at light spanking, nothing serious. Even as he let his palm explore he knew he wouldn’t go too hard on her. Even this was mostly play. Spanking her wouldn’t correct the behavior. Knowing that she could have hurt Sean would correct the behavior. This was about allowing him to feel like he was in control and he was deeply grateful to have found a woman who understood. “Let me know if this scares you, baby.”
He brought his hand up and then down with a satisfying smack to the center of her backside. She gasped and then settled in.
“That’s not so bad. I told you. I can handle this, Miles.”
He slapped her ass again, harder this time. “That’s two. I might come from a wealthy family but I never enjoyed the money.” His hand moved, forming a pattern across the fleshy part of her ass. “Three. Four. And I wasn’t raised to be ambitious. I was raised to be a soldier. It’s what Miles men have done for generations. I was supposed to be a general like my father and my grandfather. Five. Six. I was supposed to marry the right woman. Seven. I was not supposed to get my leg blown to hell and get involved in potential scandals. Eight. Nine. Ten.”