Chapter 1 #2
What Mikayla probably didn’t remember was that after I got my paramedic license, I’d been deployed overseas and trained to be a combat medic. It gave me an advantage in emergency situations and put me in a good place to intercept mid-way between the town and the local hospital.
She nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. “Bonnie thinks I’m getting in on Friday morning.” Changing the topic, she shut her eyes tight as I injected the anesthetic around the wound.
“Deep breaths, honey,” I said, waiting for the numbing agent to work. After a full minute I spoke again, hoping to keep her distracted. “With this storm, you’ll probably be trapped here until then, so you’ll be right on time,” I teased, and then focused on pulling the thread through the needle.
“I’m not sure I should stay here.” She blinked her eyes open and shifted to look at me. “Aren’t you married?”
I bit my tongue to avoid saying something I shouldn’t. “I divorced Crystal years ago.”
My ex-wife had cheated on me, numerous times and stupidly—with people in town, as if I wouldn’t find out.
She had been fooling around with other people since our wedding night.
She’d even had the audacity to have sex at our reception with someone’s out of town date.
I’d had more than a few relationships since then, but no one long term.
It figured that the one woman I thought about most would be the one to pop up on my doorstep in the middle of the night, needing to be rescued.
I’d always been protective of Mickie but as I sat there patching her up, I realized it was more than that. If anyone in the world could use a Daddy Dom of her very own, it was her. After all this time I wondered if she’d be willing to embark into a relationship with me.
Her presence tugged a memory to the forefront of my mind.
The night before her graduation, I’d found an envelope with a letter on my doorstep.
It had been after I’d dropped her off at home and addressed her reckless behavior at Vern’s.
She’d acted upset, but I hadn’t received it until much later and Mikayla hadn’t brought it up.
The letter was torn to pieces, but the fragments were big enough for me to piece together.
She’d written paragraphs in her sweet cursive handwriting explaining her emotions and feelings.
I never figured out when it had been delivered, only that she hadn’t wanted me to read it.
Maybe she’d lost her nerve after she put it there.
Circumstances beyond our control had forced us apart after that since she’d moved away shortly after.
Whatever chance we might have had was lost to distance.
I hadn’t fought for answers back then, not when I figured our age gap of fourteen years was an issue.
Looking back, I should have. If I had pursued Mikayla it would have been a better relationship than anything with my ex-wife.
In her letter, Mickie explained that after the first time I punished her with a spanking—something I had threatened often—she’d thought of ways to get my attention to earn another.
She’d given me her submission because I’d played the role of her disciplinarian for years.
But our dynamic never moved beyond that, even when she’d told me that she loved me.
Fate had now brought us together again and I’d be damned if I’d let her leave town without a proper conversation.
Moving up the length of the cut slowly but steadily, had me lost in the movement and my memories.
Finally, I glanced at the sweet woman allowing me to take care of her.
I wanted to ask what she’d been up to, how things had been going, if she had anyone special in her life.
Instead I kept quiet because what I wanted to do—once she was feeling better—was tug her across my lap and spank her for being so reckless.
If I mentioned it now, she would either brat more to make the spanking happen sooner or run for the hills.
Let her run. A nagging voice in my head said. Then fucking chase her. I agreed with my inner self.
If Mickie ran this time, I’d chase her all the way across the world if I needed to, toss her over my shoulder and spank her bratty ass all the way back home.
“I really don’t know what to say, Sam. I’m sorry you and Crystal went through a divorce. Was it amicable?”
“No, sweetheart. Nothing about my marriage or my divorce was amicable. Though I certainly tried to make it that way.” I sighed. The closeness of her body, the sadness in her eyes, and the soft cadence of her voice made me want to wrap my arms around her and never let go.
“Are you dating anyone, Sam? I’d hate to hear about some random chick being locked up with my boyfriend, you know?”
“No, Mickie, I’m not,” I stated firmly, unable to think of why my relationship status mattered to her unless she’d been thinking of me even after she’d left town. “Are you?”
“No, I’m not dating.” She shook her head, then coughed back a groan. “Ugh. My stomach feels like it’s trying to escape my body.”
“I don’t want to give you pain meds because of your head, but I have something to calm your stomach if you need it.”
“Is it a shot?”
“Unless you’d rather have a suppository?”
“That’s not funny,” Mikayla snipped, but her eyes looked scared rather than irritated.
“I’m not joking.” I tugged the last thread through and knotted it, taking care to apply antibiotic ointment before bandaging the area. “I know you don’t love needles. If your stomach is that queasy…”
“A shot then,” she interrupted before I could offer any further explanation. “Please,” she added as I moved toward the back of the room.
I rifled through the cabinet until I found the tetanus vaccine and searched for an anti-nausea medication. I plucked the vial, syringes, and needles from their spots and prepped each one. “I’ll find something for you to wear once your stomach calms down.”
“I changed my mind…” She eyed the items in my hands, and tears began to well up in her eyes again.
I wiped the alcohol pad horizontally across her arm. “Tetanus is deadly. This one isn’t optional.” I administered it quickly and without warning, then covered the spot with a Band-Aid. I knew she wouldn’t like where the other shot was going, but it would relieve her symptoms immediately.
“I’m sorry I just barged in here and didn’t…”
“It’s fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it.” I lifted the blanket up and rolled her slightly to the side to pinpoint the large muscle in her backside, then repeated the action with the alcohol pad. “Big pinch, big sting. Just breathe.”
“Sam…” She wiggled her butt as if trying to distract me for a moment, but I pressed my free hand lightly on her lower back to keep her in place.
I inserted the needle quickly and she whimpered. I hated causing her additional pain and took care to push the fluid slowly so it wouldn’t sting as much. Once all the liquid was in, I withdrew the needle and helped her sit back up.
“I’ll be right back.” I patted her shoulder before disposing of the syringe.
“There’s a bathroom in the hall if you need it.
Had one added a while ago.” I rushed out before she could reply, trying to shake off the memories that were invading my mind.
I smacked my hand into my bedroom door to open it, wishing I had a punching bag to release some of my agitation.
I should have contacted Mickie, especially after she lost her Gran.
My sudden anger was at myself for dropping the ball more than once.
The wake and funeral had been brief, and she barely stayed in town—no more than two or three days.
But my ex-wife Crystal had clung to me like a cheap cologne sticks to skin, and I missed the opportunity to reconnect with Mikayla.
Crystal and I had gotten embroiled in a confrontation as if Mikayla had come home to pursue me rather than bury her dear grandmother.
A thought popped into my head, one that never occurred to me before.
Had Crystal found that letter and ripped it to pieces?
That night she’d been waiting for me at home wearing nothing but a tiny negligee and a smile.
We’d been casually dating, and I foolishly asked her to be my girlfriend that weekend.
She would have had access to Mickie’s letter.
Crystal acted like I planned on having sex on top of the coffin at the wake, instead of supporting my longtime friend. Six months after the funeral, we were divorced.
“Hey, I found some clothes for you, sweetheart. Do you need help getting them on?”
Mikayla blushed adorably. She shifted slightly, bunching the blanket up and off her legs. “Yes, please. I managed to clean myself up. Brushed my teeth, gargled with mouthwash but my arm is so sore.”
The way she sat, her long auburn hair draped loosely over her shoulders, caught my eye in a way it never had before. Shades of cinnamon and blond shimmered through the strands, softening her edges. She was still bratty as hell, but now she was a woman too, and I was seeing her in a whole new light.
I swallowed hard, trying to think about dark, cold things to avoid an inappropriate reaction, but I found myself growing hard.
She squeaked when one of my fingers accidentally tickled her thigh, and I hurriedly tied a loop in the string to tighten the pants.
“Sorry. I’m trying to be a gentleman and not look.
” The shirt was next, and I watched as she let the blanket fall away from her shoulders.
I had a very hard time focusing on just her face, but I managed to guide her arms through each hole without jostling the injured one.
I smoothed the shirt down, but then she suddenly moved, and my hands brushed completely across her breasts and nipples.
I dropped my hands to my sides, ready to apologize, but she suddenly wrapped her legs around me to pull me closer and kissed me squarely on the mouth.