Second Time Lucky (Club Decadence Book 5) (7 page)

He also insisted she call for an escort or walk out with other staff at the end of her shift. After six years without incident, Mara thought he was being over cautious, but Sean put his foot down. It was the first time he’d ever been truly stern with her. He was being protective and was concerned for her safety, and because it was something simple she could do to ease his worry, she went along with it. Walking out with someone after her shift happened most nights anyway. Most nights being a defining point.

Mara had been running non-stop since coming on shift at four o’clock. No dinner, not even a bathroom break until the next shift arrived at a quarter of midnight. By the time she finished charting and was ready to punch out, it was going on two o’clock. All of her co-workers had long since gone.

She thought about texting Sean again, having done so at midnight saying she was going to be late, but with him due to get up in four hours for work, she didn’t. She made a quick call to security. Unfortunately, they were having a busy night too, and she was told it might be as long as an hour before an officer was free. Already dead on her feet, Mara thought about the six years she’d been incident free. Knowing if Sean found out he’d be pissed, she packed up her gear and headed out, pepper spray in hand—Sergeant O’Brien provided, needless to say.

Her rubber soled shoes barely made a sound on the concrete as she walked briskly through the half-empty garage. When she came in before work, nearly every spot had been taken and she’d had to park at the far end of the mammoth garage. People were supposed to leave the first two rows open for the night shift, though no one ever did.

Footsteps echoing hollowly on the concrete floor behind her put her on alert. Being vigilant, as Sean had instructed, she glanced back once and saw another nurse, no one she knew but she could tell by the scrubs. When she peeled off down the sloped ramp to the lower level, Mara expected the resonating treads to fade, yet the heels striking cement kept on. Mara picked up her pace. Probably another employee on overtime, she told herself as she hurried along. The hair suddenly stood up on the back of her neck. Something definitely wasn’t right. At a near run, she flipped the lid on her pepper spray as the footsteps grew louder and faster, turning to rapid, heavy thuds right before she was shoved from behind as a strong hand ripped her tote from her shoulder.

Screaming, she fell to the ground as the guy took off. She assumed it was a guy being bigger and stronger. And faster, she added as the dark figure speedily darted around the few other cars, merging quickly into the shadows of the dimly lit garage.

“Shit!” Everything was in that bag, her wallet with her cash and debit card, her employee ID and all her nursing equipment. At least she had her keys in her hand. She frantically searched her pockets, heaving a sigh of relief when she found her phone and a way to call for help.

First, she ran to her car. Once inside she flipped the auto door lock then visually checked to make sure they engaged. Next, she dialed security who escalated her to priority. She glowered when she hung up thinking if she’d have been a priority fifteen minutes ago, this likely wouldn’t have happened. Her third call was to Sean. In the middle of dialing, his number popped up on the screen.

“Lucky?”

“Mara. Where are you? It’s 2:30 in the morning.”

“It was a really hectic shift and I’m afraid it’s going to be a bit longer before I’m home. I sent you a text.”

“That was two hours ago. What happened?”

She gave him the run down quickly.

“Where was your escort while this was going on?”

“Uh… there was some kind of emergency and they didn’t have anyone avail—

“So you walked out alone in a dark parking garage at two-o’fuckin’-clock in the morning.” He exploded in an angry tone she’d never heard before. Then calmer he asked, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” Her reply was wobbly.

Despite his reaction, hearing his voice settled her a bit, although she noted a rapid clicking by her ear, which made it hard to hear. Determining it was from her phone rattling against her earring, she realized she was trembling furiously. She put him on speaker and clasped her hands together.

“You don’t sound okay, baby, are you sure you aren’t hurt?”

“I’m scared, shaking and my palms are scraped from where I fell.” She could hear the rising panic. “I want to come home, but I have to wait for a guard to make a report. He got my wallet, Lucky, with my debit card, all my cash. I had about $75.”

“Deep breaths, Mara,” he ordered gently, waiting and listening as she took shuddering, stuttering gulps of air. “All of it can be replaced. I’m just thankful he didn’t hurt you.” There was a long pause. “We’ll talk more about it when you get home. Right now, I want you to get somewhere safe.”

Not listening well, she asked, “Are you mad at me?”

“Yes.”

Well, that was plain enough. “You should go back to sleep. I’m safe in my locked car.”

“Call security back and tell them you’re driving to meet them. Pick a well-lit area somewhere there are people. I want you out of that garage; the asshole could still be around.”

Instantly, she scanned the rearview mirror, continuously searching as she turned the key. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I didn’t say it to scare you, baby, though it’s a possibility. Call me back when you get where you’re going.”

“You should be asleep. You’ve got to be up in a few hours.”

“I’ll go back to sleep when you’re safe at home. Now, do as I say and get to a safe place.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Mara.”

“Love you too, Lucky. I’ll call you back in a minute.”

When she disconnected, she called security back and drove to the ER parking lot where she filed her report.

* * * * *

The clock in the living room read 3:37 when she let herself in and slumped against the door in exhaustion.

“Mara?” Sean called from the hallway.

“I’m home,” she called needlessly as he rounded the corner at the end of hall. Striding quickly toward her, she was in his arms the next second.

“I’m glad you’re home, nightingale. You had me worried.” His big hands cupped the back of her head and he kissed her, hard. His mouth opened over hers and his tongue dove inside, robbing her of breath and thought. When he lifted his lips several minutes later, he buried his head in her hair and held her in a crushing embrace. She clung to him, her legs weak and rubbery. If he hadn’t been holding her, she would have crumpled to the floor. Shaky in the aftermath, his strong arms were going a long way in easing her anxiety.

As the embrace went on, she glanced at the clock again. 3:43. He’d been holding her for six minutes without saying another word.

“I’m okay, Sean, really,” she assured, squeaking a little as the iron bands around her chest tightened. He must have realized he was squishing her, because his arms eased. “I’m exhausted and need a shower before bed, babe.”

“Good idea. It will help relax you for sleep,” he murmured against her neck.

“I’m sorry I worried you. I should have waited for an escort. It was pretty dumb, huh?”

His head came up. She could read the relief on his face, although the tightness of his jaw, the gathered brows and downturned lips told her he wasn’t happy with her in the least. Like a parent whose child had bolted out into the street without looking, he appeared unsure if he wanted to hug her more or throttle her.

“Um, no need to answer that,” she replied.

He tucked her under his arm and together they walked to the bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, fresh from a hot shower, Mara walked out of the bathroom, switching off the light. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark bedroom. When they did, she saw Sean sitting up in bed, his back against the headboard. A swath of moonlight from the window cut across his chest. It was bare and she could make out the top of his ripped abdomen, but not his face.

She walked toward him, ready to listen to the lecture she knew was coming. As she slid in beside him, his arms came around her and anchored her against his chest.

“Feel better?”

“Mm, hm.”

“Ready to go to sleep?”

“Not really. I should be, but I’m wired. Adrenaline I guess.”

“We’ll have our little chat now and get it over with then.”

She didn’t say anything, just sucked in a deep breath.

“You’ve already admitted you should have waited for an escort. That you didn’t was reckless and as a result you were victimized. Fortunately, it was a stolen wallet and not something worse, much worse, which scares the ever-loving shit out of me.”

“I won’t do it again.”

“I should hope not. I’d think that you’d learn from this, but there’s nothing to stop you from blowing off the rules the next time you have to work late and security is busy. I know it’s inconvenient to have to wait when you’re already tired. What happened tonight is exactly why you do.”

“I’ll definitely remember this the next time, and I promise not to blow off the rules again.”

“I’m going to give you a little more incentive to help you keep your promise.”

“Um, what kind of incentive?”

“Remember when we talked about a correction? You’ve earned one.”

Her head came up and she pushed against his chest, wanting to sit up and see his face, but he didn’t let her go.

“You mean you’re going to spank me?” Her voice rose in pitch with the question. He’d done it before when they played, especially when she was up on all fours or bent over the back of the couch or over the counter. Giving her a whack or two… or ten in the heat of the moment was something they both enjoyed. Regrettably, she didn’t think a playful spanking was what he had in mind.

“Yes, I’m going to spank you as punishment for your recklessness, Mara.”

“You’d think getting robbed, shoved to the ground and terrorized, would be punishment enough.” She muttered this quietly, though she knew he heard. She regretted the smart-ass comment within a second of it leaving her imprudent mouth. Doubly so when he flipped her face down across his lap as if she weighed nothing.

“Now is not a good time to get lippy with me.”

“I’m nervous, Sean. You know how I get.”

“I’d expect you to be nervous over your first real spanking, but mind that tongue. It won’t help your cause.”

“I know and I’m sorry.”

Once she was belly down, backside up and positioned to his liking over his solid thighs, he lifted her nightgown. It wasn’t difficult since the short flippy skirt barely covered her curves. If she knew this lie ahead, she’d have worn heavy flannel, better yet, freakin’ armor. Instead, the thin nightie and miniscule matching panties that he’d picked out as a gift, so naturally it was pink—the man really had a thing about her wearing pink—was all the protection she had.

In an instant, even that barrier was eliminated as he released the side ties with a tug and bared her behind. Knowing he was staring down at her uncovered cheeks ready to smack them to a bright hot pink, filled her with both dread and excitement. The former was ruled by her brain, spurring rational thought and feelings of self-preservation as it concerned itself only with the future state of her derriere. At the same time excitement ruled her lust-filled body, which roused her clit and awakened a response in various other girl parts signaling them to wake up, heat up or get wet, whatever the case may be because something interesting was about to happen.

Oddly, this methodical approach to a spanking turned her on more than when he smacked her butt in the heat of passion. She supposed it was because it was new, a bit taboo and he had taken complete control of the situation having physically put her where he wanted her. The slow undressing, unwrapping her like a present and exposing the body he considered his to touch, love and punish as he saw fit, was also a rush. He did it without asking her opinion or consent, obviously expecting her full cooperation, which she was giving 100%.

His hand smoothed over her bottom rubbing in warm circles. As he caressed and squeezed her, as if testing the pliability and resilience of her ass, the initial response she’d felt earlier became a full-blown blast of heat and desire between her legs. His fingers dipped between her thighs and she was certain he was going to explore the wetness he’d created. Instead, he pulled the loosened material of her G-string out from under her.

“Do we need to go over exactly why this is happening?”

“No. I think you already made it perfectly clear.”

While his hands squeezed and massaged her cheeks they separated allowing cool air to waft across her damp and aroused skin. “This isn’t play, Mara. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, but I’m nervous. You’ve only given me an erotic spanking before.”

“I spank hard for punishment. If you earn a correction, I want you to know it and to keep it with you for a while as a reminder. Any questions before we begin?”

“I don’t know what to ask. What if I don’t like it?”

“I wouldn’t expect that you would. You’re about to be punished.”

“What if I want to stop?”

“This is one of those times I told you about. Where I make the decisions and you follow the rules. Since you didn’t and placed yourself in danger, you have earned a correction. Do you remember the conversation?”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts, I told you a correction would come by my hand. Do you remember your reply?”

Remembering every minute of their interaction in vivid detail, she hesitated.

“Mara. You’re going to have to trust me to know what I’m doing because this is happening. You don’t really think I’d give you more than you can take or injure you in any way, do you?”

“No….”

“I’d cut off my arm before harming you, Mara.”

“I know that and I do trust you, Sean.”

“Then tell me what you said about a punishment spanking.”

She sighed, the air rushing out with resignation. “It was doable.”

“Have you changed your mind about me being in charge?”

“No, Sir.”

“Good.” He patted her behind softly. “Let’s get on with it. I think the waiting is worse than the actual spanking.”