Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
“Hush now,” he crooned. “You’re a good girl. What a very good girl.” He held her until she was breathing steadily, calm again, then he planted a kiss on her forehead and stood her up. “Now, little girl, I want it clear. You know why I spanked you?”
She nodded, swallowing, as he continued. “And you know that little bit at the end was your reward for taking your punishment like a good girl?”
Though her eyes cast down, she nodded again.
“Very good. Will you obey Daddy like a good girl now?”
Her eyes were softer when she looked at him. Could they be… trusting?
“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered.
He could’ve shouted with glee. It was almost too easy.
Chapter Nine
Long is the way and hard, that leads out of Hell to light. ― John Milton
Patricia leaned in and gave Aida an impulsive hug before she left. Aida kissed the woman’s cheek and traced her hand on the tiny head of her sleeping baby, her hand trembling a bit. It both unnerved and panicked Aida that the only woman in their company was leaving, before Aida had even had a chance to get to know her. She hadn’t confided a thing to her, and Patricia would likely remember Aida and her ‘husband,’ as well as the rest of the crew, fondly.
At her home, she’d mourned the loss of her tutor and friend, Lucille, though she hated to think of Lucille seeing her now. But it was when she was alone like this, in the quiet of night, or on the endless hours upon horseback, that she remembered with fondness Lucille’s soft laugh and sweet instructions. Aida’s mother had died at childbirth, and Lucille had been the only woman Aida had ever known as mother and friend.
Sadness descended on her as Patricia took her leave. The irony burned. The very men who’d taken her had rescued the woman who now roamed free.
Cole and Preach had a hushed conversation before Preach walked away. The large man heaved Patricia up on his own saddle, behind him, so she held tightly as he picked up the reins. Aida did her best to feel nothing. Allowing herself to feel numb emotionally was a skill she’d learned long before she’d ever met Cole.
She watched as Cole came back to their small group, his hands hitched in his pockets as his dark eyes darted back and forth, from one side to the next, taking it all in. Her heart thumped in her chest. It infuriated her that her body refused to submit to her angry protestations. No, she didn’t want to feel safe when his arms wrapped around her at night. No, it wasn’t right that being intimately strewn over his lap had felt darkly erotic. What kind of a woman was aroused by being spanked so harshly? How could she have let him bring her to ecstasy over his knee, the man who’d taken her from her home, an outlaw running from the law? The man who’d whipped her? It was wrong, so very wrong. Yet when he came to her side and his warm, rough hand engulfed hers, she stepped instinctively closer to him. He squeezed her hand, then held on tightly as he gestured for her to hoist herself up on his saddle. He followed suit.
“Y’all know what awaits us at the next stop,” he said, as he rounded his horse and his dark eyes took in each one of his men. “I want every one of you focused on my instructions. You know the next town over who we meet, and y’all know it ain’t unlikely our faces are plastered on Wanted posters. You know what to do. You know where we meet if we get split.” He paused. “You know where your allegiance lies.”
His speech left more questions than answers.
You all know.
She sure as hell didn’t know. What did her father owing them money have to do with heading into the next town? She didn’t realize she was looking at Cole questioningly until his dark eyes met hers and warmed. Leaning close enough to her so that she could smell the leather and smoke that’d become a familiar scent, he whispered in her ear, “You don’t worry about instructions, honey. You keep your eyes on Daddy.”
Daddy.
She clenched her jaw and looked straight ahead, giving a small nod to show she’d heard him, furious that her heart tripped in her chest and her body pulsed with heat. “Simply perfect,” she muttered, now overcome with anger that Patricia and Preach were gone and she was left hopelessly attracted to a sadistic son of a bitch who made her call him Daddy. Excellent.
Cole gave her a sideways glance over his shoulder. “Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, Aida.” His voice dropped as he leaned back and whispered, “Careful, darlin’. You know what happens to naughty girls.”