Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Tanner leaned against the bar at The Red Barn, Wilder’s only kink club. Downing the contents of his glass, a restless energy coursed through him. It did nothing to erase the irritation of not being where he really wanted to be. At least not with who he wanted to be with anyway.
Three different women had already approached him.
All beautiful, all eager. Once, he would have taken at least one of them up on their offer.
Now, he couldn’t even pretend to be interested.
None of them was the woman he wanted. Not that he’d find her in a place like this.
The very thought was so preposterous it was funny.
He scanned the room again, looking for trouble and wishing he was with Junie. But he wasn’t the kind of man who broke promises, and it was his turn to be a dungeon monitor. If not for that, he wouldn’t even be here tonight.
He was just signaling for another water when a familiar, overly sweet voice slithered up beside him. “Well, well. If it isn’t Tanner Daniels.”
Cherry slid onto the stool next to him, crossing her legs slowly so that her skirt rode up on her thighs. Her dress was tight, her smile practiced, and her eyes held that same calculating gleam he’d seen in her since she was a mean little girl in pigtails.
“I was hoping I’d run into you down here,” she purred, leaning in so that her top gaped wide open, putting her boobs on display. “A big, strong Daddy like you all alone? That seems like such a waste. I’d be more than happy to keep you company tonight. I can be a very good girl when I want to be.”
Tanner didn’t even turn his head. His jaw tightened as he stared straight ahead, fingers drumming once on the bar.
“You’ve got some nerve, Cherry.”
She laughed, a light, practiced sound. “Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. I know how to play. I know exactly what a man like you needs. I can take whatever you want to give me.”
Tanner finally met her eyes. His gaze was cold, flat, and utterly unimpressed. The Daddy in him—the one that had already claimed Junie in his heart—rose up hard and protective.
“Let me make this real clear so there’s no misunderstanding,” he said, voice low and edged with steel.
“I wouldn’t play with you if you were the last woman on earth.
I know exactly what kind of person you are.
The way you’ve treated Junie for years? The bullying, the rumors, the petty little stunts?
That shit doesn’t fly with me. You’re mean, spiteful, and small.
And I don’t want small anywhere near me. ”
Cherry’s smile faltered, then cracked. Color rose high in her cheeks.
“Why would you want to be mean to me, when all I’m offering you is a good time?
” she cooed, totally unabashed, transitioning her expression from angry witch to wounded fawn in the space of about half a second.
She trailed a finger up his arm. “You don’t want to hurt my feelings, now do you? ”
Tanner’s expression didn’t change. “Woman, if I’m being honest, I don’t give a shit about your feelings. Now hear me. Stay away from Junie with your poison, or you and I are going to have a problem. Now get the hell away from me.”
Cherry stared at him for a long second, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Then she slid off the stool with a huff, flipping her hair as she stalked away.
Tanner watched her go, jaw still tight. Good riddance.
He had no patience for people like Cherry on a good day, and tonight he had even less.
The only woman he wanted anywhere near him was a certain peach-haired baker who was currently driving him out of his damn mind and was safely at Rainbow’s Edge with Belle.
His friend Roman Midnight, owner of The Red Barn, leaned against the bar beside him and chuckled. “That was smooth. You know, Tanner, you always did have a way with the ladies. You should give lessons.”
“Cherry Winters is no lady. She’s nothing but trouble, and if you know what’s good for you and your club, you’ll keep an eye on her.”
Roman never lost his grin. “Speaking of trouble, I just got a call from Ren. Seems three new Littles are here tonight as initiates and marked everything on the preferences section of their application. Ren’s pretty sure they don’t know what the hell they’re doing, but they all picked green wristbands.
Keep an eye out for them so they don’t unintentionally cause a riot. ”
Great. Just what he needed tonight was three Littles running wild in the club. What the fuck had Ren been thinking? “They marked everything as yes? Everything?” Roman nodded. “Well, that’s just great. And they all came in by themselves, without Daddies?”
“That’s right.”
Unbelievable. “Fuck. I’ll take a look around and see if I can spot them.”
Tanner held up a hand and pointed at a man approaching the bar. “Look who else is here.”
Seven Midnight pushed the barstool aside and stood by Tanner. Tanner lifted his glass in greeting. “What brings you out tonight, Seven?”
Seven Midnight was a personal friend of the Daniels family. He’d helped them through a couple of problems in the past few years. He’d recently bought a sizeable piece of land near Wild River Ranch, including the property that The Red Barn occupied. He’d stepped in as Roman’s silent partner.
Tanner and Boone were still trying to track down what that might mean, since Seven was head of the Seattle Cosa Nostra.
Seven signaled the bartender for a drink before answering Tanner’s question. “I’m here to oversee the installation of the new security system. I think you know about it.”
Of course Tanner knew since Wild River Security had designed it. Tanner nodded. “How’s it going?”
“Good. System should be fully operational by next weekend. Thanks to Griff, we’ll have cameras in every corner, upgraded keycard access, and the new panic buttons are discreet as hell.”
Tanner whistled. “Sounds like he did you up right.”
Roman tapped the bar for another round of drinks. “I, for one, can’t wait. The last thing this place needs is another incident like the one with that asshole from Peirson’s Cross last month.”
Tanner nodded, trying to focus. His eye had wandered over to the spanking benches where a naughty Little was getting her ass blistered.
He couldn’t help picturing Junie strapped to that bench, her pretty ass up and waiting for him. Or better yet, the bench in the playroom attached to his suite back at the ranch.
He could almost see her. Her wrists bound, her thighs trembling, that soft, needy little whimper she made when he dragged his hand over her skin before lighting her up.
Fuck, he wanted her here. Wanted her on her knees for him.
Wanted her calling him Daddy while he reminded her exactly who she belonged to.
He was so caught up in the vision that he didn’t notice Roman had stopped talking. Instead, his friend was staring hard at something over to the right of the spanking bench, jaw tight.
That’s when a woman’s angry voice cut through the low thrum of the club.
“I said no!”
Roman’s eyes narrowed. He shook his head and sighed. “Well, that took even less time than I expected. If you’ll excuse me—”
Tanner put a hand on his friend’s chest, already pushing off the bar. “I’ll take care of it. I must be losing my mind sitting here because that girl’s voice sounds a lot like Junie.”
Roman’s face took on a knowing expression, and he laughed. “Wouldn’t that be funny?”
“Fuck no,” Tanner said, “I’d better check it out. I’d put money on it being one of those new initiates.”
Tanner loved being back in Wilder, but he missed the adrenaline rush he got riding the rodeo circuit. Still, a good fight, when the situation warranted it, came close enough. That was always a possibility when someone couldn’t take no for an answer.
Whatever the problem was, as dungeon monitor tonight, it was his job to fix it.
“I’ll tag along. Just in case,” Roman said. “Seven, you might find this interesting, too. We can watch the master in action.”
When they reached the large man, who’d begun shouting at his play partner, he understood Roman’s concern. The guy was obviously a tourist with some serious anger issues. No way should he have even made it past the front door.
Someone Tanner couldn’t quite see yet was getting the brunt of the man’s abuse, and from the angle of the man’s chin, it was clearly a woman.
Tanner’s protective instincts surged hard. “Problem here?” he asked, voice low and edged with warning.
Ignoring Tanner, the man reached out, grabbing the woman’s waving arm.
Oh, hell no. Tanner gritted his teeth. With that move, this fucker had crossed the line. Now Tanner would get to teach him the error of his ways.
A female voice rang out, clear as a bell, kicking the Daddy inside him into high gear. “Get your hand off me!” she screamed.
Junie?
Tanner shoved the man to the side, blood roaring in his ears. Sure enough, there she stood—dressed in a short pink dress that screamed Little, eyes wide with fear and embarrassment.
And that dick tourist had his hand on her wrist. Tanner’s world sheeted red.
He stepped to the man’s side, grabbed him by the hair, and jerked the man’s head enough so Tanner could look him in the eye. Exercising every ounce of his self-control, he managed not to immediately punch the guy in the face.
Doing his best to contain his fury that this asshole had his hand on his Junie, Tanner issued the only warning the dick was going to get. “If you want to keep that fucking hand, you better take it off my Little girl. Now!”
One look at Tanner’s face had the man’s anger morphing into fear. He let go of Junie and froze, “She said she wanted to play.”
Tanner shifted his grip to the man’s collar. “That is a fucking lie, asshole. And even if she had, everyone here has the right to say no at any time.”
Roman gripped Tanner’s shoulder. “I’ve got this, man. You might want to try to handle your Little girl.”
Tanner’s jaw flexed as he shoved the tourist, forcing the man to stumble back into Roman’s grip. “I need to know this asshole understands me first. Believe me, I’ll deal with my Little girl in a second.”
Roman smirked, his gaze flicking toward the stairs leading back up to the main bar. “No doubt, my friend… if you can catch her.”
What the fuck?
Tanner followed Roman’s line of sight, and his stomach dropped like a stone.
Junie was on the run.
Peach-apricot hair flew behind her as she ran full tilt toward the exit. The sight of her trying to escape him sent a hot surge of possessive determination roaring through his veins.
The hunt was on. She was fast, but he was faster. Just before she reached the door, he caught up with her.
This time it was his hand closing around her wrist, firm but careful, pulling her back against his chest in one smooth motion.
“Let go of me!” Junie yelled, the same words she’d thrown at that asshole earlier, without looking back to see who had her.
Tanner’s grip tightened just enough to let her feel his control. He leaned down, his mouth brushing the shell of her ear. “Not a chance, Cupcake. You came into my club, dressed like sin, begging for trouble, and then let another man put his hands on what’s mine. You’re not going anywhere.”
She relaxed into him the second she heard his voice and shivered hard in his hold, but she still tried to tug free. “Tanner—”
“Daddy,” he corrected, the word rumbling against her ear like a promise and a warning all at once. “In this building, I’m Daddy. And I’m about to teach you exactly what happens when a naughty Little girl doesn’t mind her Daddy.”
He didn’t give her time to argue. In one fluid motion, he bent and scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. Her surprised squeak went straight to his cock.
Tanner carried her back through the club toward the private playrooms, one big hand resting possessively on her ass. Passing Roman again, he said, “I’m on break until further notice.”
“Understood,” Roman said, his grin going wider. “Have fun.”
Tanner’s cock pulsed, and he took a deep breath. That type of fun would have to wait. This was about dealing with a Little girl who had earned a long, hard spanking. Though he’d admit, he was going to enjoy every single second of delivering it.