Chapter 14 #2
The heavy thud of boots across the wooden floor was like the sound of the apocalypse approaching her rear end. She considered dropping to her hands and knees and crawling into the kitchen like a scared little mouse, hoping he wouldn’t notice her.
“Junie, I saw you peek from behind the counter. Are you hiding from me?”
She was sure he could hear her heart beating from across the room. Swallowing hard, she slowly peeked over the top of the counter again. The second she saw him, she moaned.
Tanner towered over the counter, his broad shoulders blocking out most of the morning light. His smile disappeared the moment his sharp eyes landed on her face. She smiled back, holding the lid and chastity belt behind her back.
“This oughta be good,” he said, a hint of amusement in his tone.
“Hey!” She tried to sound bright and innocent, even as her cheeks burned hotter. “What brings you into town?”
Tanner crossed his big arms over his chest, one eyebrow slowly lifting in that way that always made her melt. “Just tell me if I need to sit down before you tell me what’s going on.”
“That’s a great idea!” Her voice came out a little too high and squeaky. She shifted nervously behind the counter, still clutching the items tightly behind her back. “You sit down, and I’ll be with you in just a minute, just have to put something away.”
His eyes narrowed, and worse, there was no sign of him sitting down.
“Mm-hmm,” he said. “Show me your hands, Cupcake.”
“Wh-what? Why?” She clutched the lid even tighter, heart racing wildly.
“Because I said so.”
Tanner leaned forward, resting his big, muscled arms on the counter, his sleeves pulling tight around those powerful biceps.
Those were arms that could deliver a very hard, very thorough smack when he decided she needed one.
She’d learned that firsthand, and right now she had zero desire to make him want to repeat that lesson right here in the middle of her bakery, where any customer could walk in at any time.
Facing down his intense stare was no easy feat. She had to do something. She slowly shifted the lid to the hand that clutched the belt, then held out one empty hand, fingers trembling just a little.
“Nothing to see here,” she said, smiling just a little too enthusiastically.
“And the other hand, little girl,” he said.
“What other hand?”
Well, that was about as lame as it could possibly get. He looked on the verge of losing his patience.
“I’m about to lose my patience,” he said.
Looks like you called that one, damn it.
Dropping the lid and belt behind her, she stomped her foot, threw both hands in the air, and yelled, “Ta da!”
The heavy chastity belt hit the wooden floor with a loud, awful metallic clink that seemed to echo through the entire bakery like a church bell. No amount of ta-da-ing or stomping was going to cover that sound.
Well… shoot.
“What was that?” Tanner angled his head to both sides of her, trying to look around her back.
She scooted back and forth, blocking his view as best she could.
“Must’ve hit the trash can or something.”
“Yeah, or something.”
Tanner stepped around the counter, picked Junie up like she was a feather, and set her on the counter.
“You don’t move from that spot,” he said, pointing his finger directly at her feet.
She knew from his tone that there would be no disobeying. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard she felt dizzy. Panic flooded her chest.
The moment his eyes landed on what it really was, his entire body went rigid. His jaw clenched so tight she could see the muscle jumping. When he held the chastity belt up between them, there was a violent fury in his eyes.
“What the fuck is this?”
Junie swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry as sandpaper. Shame burned through her so fiercely she wanted to melt into the floor. Her voice came out tiny and shaky, barely more than a whisper as she stared at his boots instead of his face.
“I… I thought it was just a belt at first,” she whispered, cheeks flaming hotter. “It came this morning.”
“This is a chastity belt, Junie.” His eyes lifted to hers, dark with fury. “You didn’t buy this for yourself, did you?”
Her cheeks burned hotter as she shook her head quickly. “N-no. I wouldn’t even know where to get something like that.”
“Then why don’t you tell me who did buy it?”
His voice was becoming quieter, like a gentle but intensifying wind that foretold a thunderstorm.
The words slipped out before she could stop them, small and shaky. “Well… I thought it could have been you.”
Lying to Tanner was so uncomfortable and guilt-inducing that she knew she was only delaying the inevitable and digging herself a much deeper hole one lie at a time. She just couldn’t help herself.
“Do I look like the kind of man who’d want his woman wearing a chastity belt?”
Heat flooded straight down between her legs in a sudden, throbbing rush. Her core clenched hard at the picture his words painted—all the intimate, wicked things he could do to her that the awful belt would stop.
The thought left her breathless, embarrassed, and achingly aware of how empty and needy she suddenly felt despite the situation.
“Okay, I’m going to tell you something, but you have to stay calm. Promise me you’ll remain calm.”
“Why would I possibly need to stay calm, Cupcake?” His voice was emotionless.
He would never hurt her. She knew that, but Preston? Not so much.
Her fingers twisted anxiously in the front of his shirt as shame and dread tangled together inside her.
This was going to be so bad. She could already picture the disappointment in his eyes, the stern set of his jaw, and the very real possibility that she’d end up over his knee in the very immediate future.
Her voice came out tiny and shaky. “So, today… instead of finding a box on the back step and throwing it in the trash unopened, like I’ve been doing…” She swallowed hard, throat tight. “I, um, well… Preston delivered it in person.”
The confession felt like dropping a heavy stone into still water. She pressed her burning face deeper into his chest, heart hammering wildly, waiting for the storm she was certain was about to break over her.
Why wasn’t he losing control, or yelling, or maybe going to his truck to get his gun to track Preston down and shoot him?
Instead, he wrapped his arms around her.
“You must have been scared, Cupcake,” he said tenderly.
She broke into tears and nodded into his chest.
“It w-was so sc-scary, Daddy,” she said through her sobs.
They stayed like that, him letting her cry herself out for what seemed like forever. It was a miracle that no customers had come in. Breathing deep, Junie leaned back and looked into Tanner’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
Tanner reached over, taking some napkins from the dispenser and wiping her cheeks. Then he took some more and held them to her stuffy nose. “Blow.”
Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment.
Looking into his eyes, she could tell he was having a hard time controlling his anger. It was like watching a tornado trapped in a bottle.
“Aren’t you angry?”
“Oh yes.”
“Are you going to punish me?”
“Without a doubt.”
“Are you….”
Tanner put up his hand.
“Babygirl, your bakery is still open, so we are going to have to wait to have a very thorough discussion about what happened today. I am going to stay right here and make sure that you stay safe until then.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“It’s okay, I’m going to take this gift off your hands. I’ll also need to use your office for a few minutes to make some calls.”
“Yes, Daddy, and can I please ask one more question?”
Tanner blew out a long breath. “Just one.”
“What are you going to do to Preston?”
“Whatever it takes to keep you safe, babygirl.”