Mr. Smith's Whip (9 page)

“What?” Colin growled.

The man ignored him and looked at Livvy. “Ms. McKinnion, I had no idea you had it in you,” he chuckled, the sound entirely mocking and none-too-friendly. It raised Colin’s hackles as the man leered. He obviously wanted to horn in on Colin’s territory.

“Todd,” Livvy gasped. Her eyes widened as the man’s arrival jerked her out of the warmth Colin had built around them.

Todd slapped his hands on his hips. “That’s ‘Sir’ to you. I’m a Dom around here.”

“
I
am the only one she calls Sir,
Todd,
” Colin interjected. “You’re intruding on a private encounter. Please leave.”

“Aren’t we all hoity-toity?” the interloper replied. “And it didn’t look private to me. You were fucking her in the middle of a public room.”

“You obviously don’t understand the club’s rules. Would you care to have a review set up? I’m sure it can be arranged.”

“I’m going,” Todd answered then smirked at Livvy. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Olivia.”

Chapter Seven

Olivia rubbed her temples, hoping to drive away the headache that had plagued her all day. After Todd had shown up last night and she’d explained that he was another of the library’s employees, the mood between her and Colin had been shattered. They’d both thought it best for him to take her home. Though she’d hoped he’d stay the night, she hadn’t known exactly how to ask since it was so early in their relationship. He’d kissed her tenderly at the door, lingering then seeing her safely into the house.

Restless and wishing she’d had more courage, she’d tossed and turned for hours. Why hadn’t she asked him to stay? She’d been fearless enough to do a whole host of things—some of which she’d never dreamed of doing. Yet one little word, stay, had been stuck in her throat.

Lack of sleep was hitting her hard today—that plus stress. Todd had been skulking around her floor all day. He had no reason to be up here. He oversaw the children’s and young adult sections on the second floor. And Colin had yet to make an appearance. Was it a coincidence that she’d had sex with him and he’d disappeared?

As the hour hand on the clock drew closer to five, she wondered how quickly she could get out of there tonight. She was going to go home and bury herself in flannel jammies, a thick blanket and a mountain of dark chocolate. She’d flip through the channels and see if she could find a reality show to make her feel better. Doubtful. At the moment, she was feeling like the biggest loser and not in a good way.

Geez, Olivia! Snap the hell out of this!

It had been a nice acquaintance and one date with Colin, not six months and an engagement. It had to be her headache and her uncertainty in the BDSM scene that had her second guessing herself. It wasn’t her nature. With moving so much as a kid, she’d learned to be strong and resilient.

“Olivia.”

She didn’t look up at the unwelcomed voice. “Go away, Todd.”

“How dare you speak to me like that, slave.”

Her head snapped up and she glared at him. In the past, he’d looked as harmless as Mr.

Rogers in his everyday cardigan and canvas pants. Today, however, he’d taken on a hard edge she’d never seen, and she didn’t appreciate it at all.

She rose from her chair, crossed her arms and glared down at his weasel-ey face from a full three inches taller—thanks to her high heels. “I’m only going to say this once. If you ever speak to me like that again, I swear I will kick your ass. I don’t care who you think you are.”

“Hmph,” he replied, the sound trumpeting from his nose. “You’re not well versed in the scene, are you? I could give you instruction. Obviously, you need it. You don’t know enough to address a Dom properly and with deference.”

“Oh…” She bit her lip and looked around. “Forgive me. I should have done this.” Slowly, she lifted her hand in front of her. When he smiled, she lifted her middle finger and raised an eyebrow.

“Bitch. You’ll be sorry,” he growled. “When the library board learns what you do in your spare time—”

He was cut off by three chiming tones announcing the library’s closing. Before he could restart his tirade, she gathered her purse and headed for the elevator. She hadn’t had any patrons on this floor in over an hour.

“You’d better go down and clear out all the kids. Make sure they all treat you properly,” she goaded as the doors opened, knowing he’d never do a thing to cast aspersions on his job performance.

He shoved her forward, and she stumbled into the conveyance. Her ankle twisted and she barely caught herself on the support railing. He stepped inside as the doors closed. Her brain scrambled for defense options as he stalked toward her. “Stay away from me!”

“Who’s not so full of herself now?” He grabbed her arm as she raised it to protect herself.

His fingers bit into her wrist. Lifting her foot, she drove her spiked heel into his foot. As he bellowed, she shoved him away. Her wrist wrenched but she tugged it free.

She grabbed her shoe and held it up as a weapon. Moving toward the control panel, she reached for the door-open button. Unfortunately, the elevator was already moving down.

Someone must have called it, since neither of them had selected a floor.

“Listen to me,” she ordered in the deadly tone she used on recalcitrant teenagers. “I belong to Colin. No one touches me but him. Understand? No one, not without his permission.” The elevator dinged, announcing the floor, and she shoved on her shoe. The doors had barely opened when she slid out and brushed back the waiting people. Without pausing, she rushed out to her car. It wasn’t until she was halfway there that she realized she’d forgotten her coat. There was no way she’d go back for it. Not and chance another encounter with Todd.

By the time she got home, she was shaking, her bones ached and her vision was blurring beneath the pain of her headache. She stumbled into the house and headed for the shower. The heat drove away the chill from outdoors, but she retained a bone-deep cold that had her shuddering beneath the blankets though she’d slipped on flannel pajamas.

Her eyes were drifting shut as someone pounded on her front door. Pushing her head further into her pillow, she drew the extra one over her head. “Go away,” she moaned.

Hopefully, whoever it was would leave when she didn’t open the door.

When the knock came again minutes later, she pulled her cushions tighter around her head. She needed some sleep to get rid of this headache. Just moving that little bit made her stomach roil and she fought back her response.

“Livvy?”

She moved the pillows just enough to see him with one eye. “Colin…” she breathed.

“When you didn’t answer and I knew you were here... Are you okay? You didn’t lock the door.” He crossed to her bed and she thought he looked far too good to live. She felt like the dregs of the earth. She shuddered as he knelt beside the bed and his cool palm settled on her forehead.

“You’re burning up,” he exclaimed. “Did you take some meds?”

“Just a headache,” she moaned.

“It’s not. Don’t move. I’ll be right back,” he said, getting up.

“Not going anywhere,” she muttered. There was no chance she was moving, not with a spike driving through the center of her head. She was almost asleep when Colin returned. After she sat up, he handed her pain relievers and a glass of water. He took it from her after she’d swallowed.

“How long have you felt poorly?” he asked gently, stroking her hair as she sank back into her pillows.

“Since this morning. Not enough sleep.”

“I think it’s more than…” he trailed off as he ran a hand over her arm. His thumb smoothed over her wrist. “I think it’s more than that. A bit of a bug.”

“Mmm…” she replied, wanting nothing more than the oblivion of sleep. She felt him rise and heard him moving around. When he left the room, regret filled her. She wished he would stay. Even more, she hated that she felt so bad. She wanted to be with him, to feel his strong arms around her.

Vaguely, she heard him return. A few moments later, a chill cooled the bare strip of skin revealed on her back by her hiked shirt and the movement of the blanket as he lifted it. Pure relief wrapped around her as Colin slid into the bed. Cradling her body, he held her. His large frame was so warm against her back, she was soon lulled into sleep.

Colin kissed the back of Livvy’s damp neck, feeling helpless to do anything but hold her.

He could have gone home, but he just couldn’t leave her. Even though their plans for the night had been completely changed by this, he’d rather be at her side than anywhere else. If they were to have a relationship, she needed to know he cared about her for more than just sex and submission.

Closing his eyes, he forced himself to relax. Later, when she was sound asleep, he’d get up and do some work. Today had been a wash since he’d had to deal with non-writing issues all day. The stress had been draining so he could use a few hours of sleep.

“Colin?” Livvy asked quietly.

He stroked the hair back from her forehead and kissed her temple. “Sleep, love. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Where were you today?”

“Family matters. My father is ill and my brother wants me to come home to deal with it.” Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice his wording. His father’s illness was alcoholism. His brother wanted him to come home to get his father into rehabilitation after another drunk driving accident. Thankfully, it had only involved the car, a tree and a ditch, but the problem was escalating.

“When are you going?” she murmured drowsily.

“I’m not. My brother can handle matters. I’ll fly back if the situation becomes dire. I also talked to the owner of
The Dungeon
today. We had lunch together and discussed your
friend
.” She groaned. “He’s an ass.”

He couldn’t agree more. They lay in silence, their breathing meshing as they relaxed together. “Liv,” he finally said. “What happened to your wrist?” Olivia didn’t answer, and as he waited, he heard a soft snore. His question would have to wait until the morning. He suspected he knew what had happened. Those bruises hadn’t been there yesterday, and he knew he hadn’t caused them which meant they had to have been sustained sometime today. They were clearly finger shaped, and as he’d examined them, rage had flared through him. It had taken all his control to rein it in. Sick as she was, she didn’t need him flying off the handle.

Still, the rage had barely subsided, and the desire to pummel her assailant boiled within him. Instinct told him it was Todd; his feelings for Livvy told him to protect her at all costs.

He’d gotten to know her these past months, and though she hadn’t known it, his affection for her had grown with each passing conversation. Now that they’d finally taken the next step, it was nothing less than his duty to protect her. He
was
her Dom, after all.

* * * *

Olivia smiled as she woke the next morning. A sensation of warmth and love cocooned her, filling her with well-being as she roused. Slowly, her awareness sharpened and she realized a solid form was curled behind her, his arm around her waist, his hand cupping her breast and his soft breath stirring the hair at the back of her neck.

Colin. She knew his feel without looking, and who else would it be, anyway? She vaguely remembered his arrival last night. She’d been so out of it. Her head and body still ached, but she felt better than she had last night. Thankfully, the freezing cold was gone. Instead, warmth filled her, fueled by her arousal and Colin’s body heat.

She wanted to turn over and kiss him, but instead she carefully slipped from the bed. She couldn’t even remember if she’d brushed her teeth last night. All she remembered was pain. If she was going to lock lips with her guy, she wanted minty not yucky.

Getting out of bed proved more difficult than she would have thought. Carefully, she slipped free of Colin, and instantly, regretted the loss of his heat. As soon as possible, she was cuddling back into his body—maybe, naked. She wasn’t feeling
that
bad. She could manage sex.

A giggle rose in her throat at the idea of sexual healing. Stifling the sound, she hurried into the bathroom to freshen up.

“What’re you doing?” he muttered from the bed, just as she’d popped the toothbrush in her mouth.

Brushing, she peeked out at him. “Getting ready to kiss you,” she said around toothpaste.

“Are you always this cheerful in the morning?”

Considering she’d woken up with a virile, sexy man in her bed…

“Yeah. Problem?” she asked then ducked back into the bathroom. She couldn’t help grinning at the moan from the other room. The mattress creaked.

“Do you have a spare?” he asked as he leaned against the door frame, naked save for his briefs. She almost swallowed her toothpaste. Despite his hair standing up in places, he was breathtaking. She realized suddenly, that this was the first time she’d seen him without his clothes. He had a beautiful wide chest that tapered into narrow hips. Her gaze traced his prominent pecs and down his six pack to his smooth belly. A narrow strip of dark hair started beneath his navel and trailed to his pelvis where it widened dramatically just above where his waistband hid his cock. His arousal stirred as she stared. The flared head pushed against the cloth, clearly outlined by the soft fabric.

He laughed. “Liv? Toothbrush?”

“Huh?” Oh God, she was staring. Quickly, she turned and pulled open the drawer in the vanity. A moment later, she tossed him the package with the spare.

Leaning forward, he kissed her hair. “Thank you,” he murmured. “You’re good for a man’s ego.”

She felt a flush crawling up her cheeks. Gawking at him like a sex-starved spinster…

Geez…

He brushed the back of his forefinger over jaw. “You should probably get back into bed, love.”

Olivia did feel a bit weak, though she doubted it had anything to do with her illness.

Finishing her brushing, she rinsed her mouth. Her eyes widened as she saw her bruised wrist in the mirror. Quickly dropping her arm, she inched it slightly behind her.

“We’re going to talk about that,” he said as she edged past him.