Arrested By Love (14 page)

Kyle shrugged. "Sounds to me like everything went pretty well, so why the frown?"

"I think I've completely taken the wrong path with her. I should have been much stricter with her, instead of just makin' excuses. Except, for some reason, I'm findin' it difficult to carry through with the punishments I threaten her with, and that's just not bein' consistent.

"I've been a Dom for nearly sixteen years, and this is the first time I've met a girl who made me question my motives. She's got sass and vinegar, which I like, but to keep her from bein' a brat, that girl definitely needs a Dom who refuses to put up with her nonsense, and punishes her slips without reservation. Half the time I didn't even scold her for not callin' me 'Sir.' And I had to struggle not to laugh when she made faces at me when I did scold her."

"I've got the same problem with Tiffany," Kyle admitted with a slight grimace.

"Yeah, maybe. However, from what I've heard, your relationship with Tiffany is different. She's not a sub, and doesn't have to follow the guidelines. But with Kelly, hell, I think she's doin' it on purpose, and I'm just lettin' her get away it."

Kyle nodded, pleased with Jim's insight. "I'm sure she is. At least she did with me. I think she pushes for the punishment in order to get the reassurance she needs afterwards."

"Yeah, I suspected as much when I wrapped her up again and cuddled with her a little after I'd gotten her all cleaned up and cleared out by that enema she carried on so much about. Gotta say, she's an affectionate little minx, that one. Soft in all the right places, too.

"So, we settled down on a couch and had ourselves a nice long talk. She was totally open and honest with me and lapped up the attention I gave her like it was water and she'd been lost wanderin' the desert for six months. Anyway, as we were talkin',' I naturally opened up some to her, too, and just happened to let it slip that I worked here with you."

Kyle groaned at that admission knowing exactly what it meant, and Jim nodded.

"Yup. Gotta tell ya, she perked up like a prairie dog poppin' out of its hole once she heard that. Jumped up and gave me a real big kiss as she said she'd like to visit me at work. Of course, I firmly put the kibosh on that idea. Even so, I've a feelin' she's so determined to come here and see me, she's even willin' to risk the painful round with a spankin' paddle I'd promised if she disobeyed me. And I only think she's doin' that because she really doesn't think I'll carry through with it.

"I honestly like her, Kyle, despite all the snifflin' and whinin' she did last night, but I'm not after a sub who needs watchin' 24/7 and clings worse than a bathtub ring. It's just not what I'm lookin' for."

Unfortunately, Kyle knew exactly what Jim was saying. "So, what time do you think she'll show up here?"

Jim shrugged. "If she's foolish enough to do it, it'll probably be around noon or so, when she can get away from work. Frankly, I'm not sure what to do. She clearly needs a strong Dom, who'll be firm with her all the time. But I don't wanna have to run herd on a woman every day to make sure she's doin' everythin' she's supposed to. It's just too damned tirin'"

"I understand completely," Kyle agreed. "We could tag team her if you want. Perhaps with both of us coming down on her, she'll settle down and behave."

"You're dreamin', aren't you, bud?"

"Probably." Kyle waited and when Jim didn't say anything more, he asked, "So, what can I do to help?"

Jim shook his head. "Not sure. Not sure at all. A part of me is thinkin' I should just wait it out and see how far she's willin' to go with me."

"Look, Jim. I know you offered to work with her, except I don't want to saddle you with my problem--"

"That's just it, Kyle," Jim said interrupting him. "I'm not sure she is your problem any more. I think she's mine to deal with now. However, I've a feelin' she may run to you for help when I come down hard on her, and I want to be sure you'll back me."

"One hundred percent," Kyle answered without hesitation.

"She's such a playful thing, I don't wanna hurt her, but I'm gonna have to be real strict if she disobeys me this time, and she's not gonna like that a'tall. I fully expect her to come to you cryin' and beggin' for your protection."

Kyle shrugged. "Fine. If she does that, I'll just hand her back to you."

"Yeah, okay. I think that'll work, although I bet it's gonna be noisy. And I don't like bringin' my personal life to the station."

"I know. I don't like it either," Kyle agreed, knowing he would have punished Kelly, if Jim hadn't taken over last night, for pretty much the same thing. "I doubt the guys would have an issue with us coming down hard on Kelly, but I suspect Sarge won't like it much. I think he's pretty vanilla. And I'm not sure the captain knows about anything except the missionary position."

Jim snorted. "Yeah. They're both pretty straight-laced. I guess we'll just have to take it as it comes and let the rain hit us where it may. I'll do my best to nip her antics in the bud, but I'll need to take a strong stand by makin' good on my promise, or I'll lose all credibility with her. And as much as I hate the idea of hurtin' her as bad as I'm gonna have to, havin' her doubt my word is a disaster I don't ever wanna see happen."

"Okay, I'll try to be here to back you up by noon. Hopefully, it'll be a light day work-wise."

"See ya later, then, bud. Until then, keep those paddles up," Jim murmured with a wave, then turned and walked away.

On duty, Kyle gave out three traffic citations, and arrested a flasher. The guy was off his meds and his family had given up on him, so Kyle arranged for the county hospital to evaluate the poor slob. The paperwork he had to fill out meant he wasn't able to return to the precinct until nearly twelve-thirty, and he could hear the screaming before he'd even stepped through the door. So much for keeping a low profile, Kyle thought.

Upon stepping into Reception, he immediately noticed Tiffany, who was holding a large box-like thing and watching Jim and Kelly's very public argument with wide eyes and an open mouth. Kyle hadn't had a chance to talk with her since yesterday, so this was the first contact they'd had since he'd broken their date. Not good. Not good at all.

Jim stood with one hand clamped on Kelly's arm and the other tightly gripping her hair to bend her head back as he whispered into her ear. Though Kyle couldn't hear what Jim said to Kelly, her response back to him was clear.

"Try it, fucker, and I'll bite your fingers off."

Then Kelly saw Kyle and immediately cried out to him. "Kyle, please! Don't let him--"

Her words were choked off as Jim tightened his grip on her hair. Then she screamed again, in anger, not pain this time. So, Jim straightened his back to put a little more distance between them. Jim's hold might be unbreakable, but he wasn't wearing ear plugs.

That's when Kyle realized that Jim had actually locked Kelly's hands behind her in his official handcuffs. Hard police-issue ones instead of softer Velcro ones they used at the club. Jim's fingers were tight in Kelly's hair and he had his head bent so he could talk directly in her ear, except Kelly clearly didn't like hearing what he had to say.

With tears of anger and humiliation still streaming down her face, the angry sub reacted childishly by attempting to kick her Dom. He responded by yanking up on her cuffed wrists, which Kyle knew from experience really hurt. She screamed again.

When Jim glanced angrily back at Kyle, Kyle could tell the other Dom was close to losing it and Kelly was about to eat dirt the hard way if she didn't settle down soon.

"Kelly!" Kyle barked, pulling her attention off Jim for a moment. "You're behavior is totally unacceptable right now."

Jim used the distraction to strike Kelly's knees from behind with his own so her legs immediately buckled beneath her. Maintaining a tight grip on her hair and arms, the Dom kept Kelly from crashing down as hard as she could have if he hadn't been partially supporting her. But she still let out an "Oof," as her knees struck cement.

Next Jim had her face down with his knee pressing into her back to keep her down. She continued to squirm and struggle--to no avail.

"Let me up, you half-witted moron!" Kelly screamed out.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle could see Tiffany just staring at Jim and Kelly in total disbelief. So, far he could probably explain away everything that was happening, but not if it escalated. And he had a feeling it was about to escalate to the ceiling.

Kyle could see Jim shift his weight, and from the way Kelly started to shift up onto her knees, he knew she mistakenly thought Jim intended to let her up. Except Kyle could tell by Jim's expression that was far from being the case. So, he wasn't surprised at all when Jim brought his hand down hard twice on Kelly's projected rear end, effectively knocking her back flat on the floor again.

With tears streaming down her face, Kelly bucked and screamed.

This time Jim's words were clear. "Settle down right now, sub, or I'm gonna ball gag you."

Lifting up her head, Kelly glared at Kyle. " How could you just hand me over to this cretin, Kyle?" she cried, her mascara running down her cheeks. "You were supposed to be with me last night. You promised to protect me, love me, and care for me. Not give me away, you bastard!"

Okay, Kyle was really going to have trouble explaining away that one. He could feel Tiffany eyes boring into him, but he was way too much of a coward to return her gaze right then. Plus, this wasn't the place for them to have that sort of discussion.

"That's it!" Jim growled, gripping Kelly's hair until she screamed again. "Quiet, sub," he snapped, then looked up at Kyle. "My bag's in my locker, the key's in my back pocket. Get the key and bring me my bag, will you bud?"

With a nod, Kyle walked over to retrieve the key from Jim's pocket, then started toward the locker room when he heard Tiffany yell, "Kyle!"

"I'll be back," he snapped, knowing he was totally avoiding the issue, and probably making things worse, however, he could only handle one crisis at a time.

Collecting Jim's bag, Kyle returned to the receiving area to see tears of betrayal welling in Tiffany's eyes. Realizing things were going from bad to worse, he dropped Jim's bag beside him.

"My hands are a little full now, bud," Jim said between gritted teeth. "Pull out the gag and paddle, will ya?"

Kyle pulled the plastic-wrapped ball gag out first.

"Go ahead. Put it on her," Jim ordered.

That command made Kelly struggle even harder to get away. But Jim had a firm grip on his sub, and wasn't about to let her go.

"Stop that!" the angry Dom commanded as he brought his hand down twice more on Kelly's undoubtedly already sore backside.

"Kyle!" Tiffany protested vehemently through her tears, but Kyle ignored her.

Though Kyle knew Jim could probably have gagged Kelly himself, the Dom wanted to impress upon his disrespectful sub that Kyle was supporting him, not her. And Kyle was. Just as he said. One hundred percent.

So, without hesitation, Kyle ripped open the plastic, took out the gag and slipped it over Kelly's wildly shaking head. Knowing she would never willingly open her mouth to accept it, Kyle coolly clamped her nose between his thumb and forefinger to restrict her breathing for a second, so he could slip the ball into her mouth without hurting her too badly.

Once the ball was in place, he tightened the nylon strap that kept it there just a bit more firmly than he needed to, so she got the message.

Kelly made some muffled "Pfft" sounds, while the room grew almost eerily silent without her screams and profanity to punctuate the air.

As if everything was happening in slow motion, Kyle noticed several police officers just standing around and watching the show with interest as he pulled out the spanking paddle next and offered it, handle first, to Jim, uncertain how the Dom wanted to proceed next.

"Got it," Jim said, keeping one knee in place on the small of Kelly's back to hold her still and using his left hand to press firmly between her shoulders while his right hand grabbed the paddle then quickly brought it down with a loud smack on Kelly's squirming butt.

Her head jerked up and she let out a very muffled scream. No doubt she'd be bruised from that one. Jim hadn't spared her one bit.

"Go ahead and scream if you want, sub," the furious Dom growled. "It won't change a thing." He brought the paddle down again, just as hard, and though she was still struggling, Kelly started to cry.

If her nose clogged while she had a ball gag stuffed in her mouth, she could suffocate. However, being an experienced Dom Jim knew this, so he bent over and said quietly, "Stop fightin' me, sub, and I'll stop the paddlin'."

Attempting to gasp for air between her sobs, Kelly put her head down and lay still, so Jim set aside the paddle.

"Good girl," he said, lightly stroking her hair. "Easy now. Try not to fight it so hard, Kelly. Just relax and you'll be able to breathe again."

Kyle could see her struggling to drag a breath in through the gag, but she was clearly having trouble gathering air. Standing up, Kyle looked down at Jim, who shrugged, then bent over to loosen the gag and remove it. A good Dom did not let his sub pass out from asphyxiation.

"Don't start up with me again, Kellian Sarah," Jim warned coldly. "If you do, I guarantee you won't like my response."

Though Kelly sobbed openly now, she lay obediently still beneath Jim. The fight was over for the moment.

Kyle glanced over at Tiffany who was trembling so hard now, he feared she'd drop whatever it was she was holding. Concerned, he stepped over to take it from her, "Why don't you give me that and sit down, babe, before you fall down."

She jerked her arm away from him and spat, "Don't you dare touch me!"

Kyle raised both his hands and backed up a step. The kitten was showing her claws. Given that she had a very good reason to be upset, he made no attempt to argue or reason with her.

Tiffany was breathing almost as hard as Kelly now. Then, in a move that totally surprised him, she thrust her box into his arms while her bright green eyes nearly overflowed with unshed tears. Despite being terribly upset just then, Kyle knew she was determined not to cry in front of him or his fellow officers.