Of Yesterday (4 page)

Taylor walked in the kitchen and found Jason sitting at the
table. His long legs were stretched out and one arm was slung over the back of
the wooden chair. He exuded superiority and seduction at the same time.

The kitchen was far from modern.
At least there are some
useful items,
Taylor thought as she noticed an old-fashioned icebox, an
indoor hand pump, and a sink with a drain. Sturdy wooden shelves near the stove
held several cast-iron frying pans, roasters, cooking pans, and a large coffee
pot. Cooking in this kitchen was definitely going to be a challenge.

"Good Morning, Jason." Taylor walked into the
kitchen toward the wooden chair across from Jason and quickly sat down and
placed her hands on her lap. She looked down at her short fingernails and now
wished she had given herself a manicure one last time."Where's Mandy?"

"She's out collecting eggs from the chickens so you can
make us some breakfast." His eyes scanned her from head to toe. "You
look really pretty today."

Taylor bit her tongue. She was about to tell him to make his
own damn breakfast, but tried to remind herself that a deal was made, and she
needed to keep up her end of the bargain. The compliment did not hurt, though.

Jason leaned forward on the table. "Everything has
happened pretty fast. I want to take this time to get to know you."

Taylor shifted her weight and wiped her dampened palms on
her dress. "Well, I uh…I love kids and I...I'm not really sure what you
want—"

"Favorite food?" Jason interrupted. The firmness
in the question startled her.

"Cheese." Taylor caught the corner of his mouth
curve to what looked like a smile.

He continued, "Favorite color?"

"White." Taylor swallowed the lump forming in the
back of her throat. She had no idea why this man made her so nervous. "I
know white isn't really a color, but I like it."

Jason just stared at her. Was he thinking? Was he waiting
for her to continue? This man was impossible to read. What did she need to say?
What did he want?

 "My favorite music is anything with an acoustic
guitar," she blurted out."I love to dance and I attempt to run from
time to time. I love unusual flowers but hate roses. Well, except the pretty
yellow ones around my window. Those are gorgeous. I adore children but am
uncomfortable around teens. I love coffee at all times of the day, since the
caffeine doesn’t seem to work on me." Taylor paused as a small smile
worked its way on Jason's face. "Is that what you meant?"

He took a deep breath and leaned across the table. "I
think we need to get the rules straight while you live here."

"Rules? You give rules to all your house guests to obey?"

"You're hardly a guest in this house. You're expected
to do all the womanly duties that were expected in the past. With Mandy's help,
of course. I am the man of the house and I expect to be treated as such. As I
explained before you agreed—"

"Yes, yes. I know. You want things like the way they
once were. I get it." Taylor stood up and walked over to the kitchen
window above the old sink. "History was not my best subject in school."

"There will be a lot of things going on, a lot of
construction and a lot of change. I don't have all the answers yet, but I need
you to let me lead. Are we clear?"

Taylor nodded. "I'll try my best." This whole
concept intrigued and overwhelmed her.

"So, first rule is that other than the grounds in short
distance from the house, you are not to leave until I feel it's safe."

"Safe?" Taylor turned around so she was facing
Jason once again.

"Because we're so isolated in the wilderness, there are
a lot of wild animals, poisonous plants and so forth. I don't want you or Mandy
out in it, until I have secured the premises."

Taylor walked toward the table, her eyes glancing around the
room. "So we're to sit inside this house, day after day, until our
Master
declares our freedom?"

Jason stood up, towering over her. Crossing his arms, he
replied, "That's right." He smirked. "I like the
Master
part. Nice touch." He chuckled.

"You're going to keep me in this house all cooped up?
What if I get bored?" She looked mischievously into Jason's eyes. "What
could I possibly do to keep myself busy? Hmmm..." She tapped her index finger
against her puckered lips. "I guess I could always teach Mandy some
witchcraft."

With a movement quicker than lightning, he grabbed her by
the arm, pulling her close. The erotic scent of man permeated her nose,
shooting tingles between her legs. "You bring that crap into my home and
you'll be pulled over my knee faster than you can blink. I don't recommend you
even mentioning the word
witch
to Mandy unless you want to find your ass
tanned." His lips were so close, his eyes lowered to hers. Would he kiss
her again?

Before Taylor could wrap her head around what was just
threatened, the door of the kitchen swung open and Mandy walked inside. Jason
released his grip and stepped back. Taylor couldn't resist giving an impish
smile. She loved how she could get under his skin so easily.

Mandy looked from one to the other. "Did I walk into
something?" Mandy beamed.

Jason grabbed his hat and made his way to the door. "Just
going over the rules. You ladies have a good day. I think I'm going to skip
breakfast."

Taylor looked around the kitchen with a sense of fear and
intimidation. She could cook. In fact, she could cook quite well. But with no
modern-day tools, she was not really sure where to begin.

She knew the first order of business was to get the stove
fired up. She was doing what common sense told her and basically planned to
wing her way through the process of cooking tonight's meal. Mandy just sat back
and watched in awe. Taylor made sure to open both the draft and damper wide
before lighting the match. It should not be that hard to light a simple cookstove
fire.

Once hearing the growing crackle from inside, she sighed in
relief. She removed the front cooking lid and added more wood to the small
fire. Taylor smiled at Mandy, happy she had accomplished her first task. She
pumped water into the coffee pot and went to remove a large ham from the
icebox. She also took out the ingredients to make some griddle cakes to go
along with the meat.

"I think I might have just learned a thing or two from
watching all those episodes of
Little House on the Prairie
." Taylor
laughed.

Mandy laughed as well. Her bare feet brushing back and forth
on the wooden floor, her giggles, and her constant company, warmed Taylor
through and through. It was hard to be anything but happy in the presence of
this young woman.

A large crackle and pop pulled Taylor's attention back to
the stove. The fire! From the noises coming from the stove, it sounded like she
may have created a full blown inferno. Without thinking, she grabbed the coffee
pot full of water and tossed it onto the fire to extinguish the flames. Most of
the fire went out, but the kitchen soon filled with smoke. Coughing and choking
on the pungent vapors, Taylor fiddled with the damper some more to try to maintain
the fire but eliminate the smoke.

Her adjustment seemed to work after a few moments. Wiping
the tears from her burning eyes, she turned to Mandy. "Open up the door
and let some air in."

Mandy looked at her like a frightened doe. She quickly
followed the command and ran to offer her assistance.

Taylor grabbed a dish towel and tried to wave the smoke out
past the open door. Coughing again, Taylor said, "Well, we're off to a
fine start, aren't we?"

****

The full moon lit up the clear night, making it a perfect
evening for a quick jog. Taylor had had a great, yet exhausting day with Mandy,
but she needed to feel the air hit her face as her feet pounded against the
ground. She needed a release.

Jason was still downstairs, awake. Did the man ever sleep?
Taylor waited for as long as she could, but had no choice but to plan her
escape now before fatigue took over. She knew that going for a run was out of
the question, per his rules. And a
night
run would even be worse in his
eyes, but Taylor did not care. She would sneak out of the house like a teenager
trying to meet up with her secret boyfriend.

Taylor threw back the bed covers and pulled off the cotton
sheets.  She started to knot the bed linens into a makeshift rope she would use
to climb out the window. Throwing her leg over the pane, she found her first
footing. Holding onto the ledge, she backed out of the window and placed her
second foot onto the lattice that held all the beautiful yellow roses. With her
full weight on the framework, she could feel the wood break away from the house
and begin to sway. Moving as quickly as she could, she descended down the knotted
sheets, using the wooden lattice to aid in her escape. Every thorn of every
rose pierced and scraped her arms and legs with each move downward. If she had
not hated roses before, after tonight she would never want to see, or smell,
another for as long as she lived.

Inches before reaching the bottom, the sheets broke loose
and she fell the remaining distance, landing square on her bottom. The thud,
and her own squeal, did little for her covert operation. She stood up and
brushed the petals, thorns, and dust from her body, praying Jason had not heard
a thing.

Taylor started as a deep voice called from the shadows, "What
in the hell are you doing?" Jason emerged from the darkness, anger
painting his face. "Are you crazy? You could have broken your neck!"

Taylor's heart skipped a beat. "I...I uh...I wanted to
go for a run. I knew you wouldn't allow it...and uh...well..." She knew
how stupid her idea seemed. And after her little misadventure, Taylor could not
help but be embarrassed by her poor use of judgment.

"You've got one minute to march your ass back into that
house," Jason commanded.

The demand attacked every ounce of feminism and woman power
Taylor had in her. Them were fighting words. "I will not! I will go on my
jog just as I planned." Even though Taylor's body stung and ached from her
climb and fall, she was not going to let this man win.

"Wrong. You will turn your little butt around and get
inside before I do it for you."

"You're not the boss of me!" she yelled, her arms
folded over her chest and her lips in a pout. Taylor knew she was acting like a
spoiled brat, but she could not help it.

"You've got five seconds," he warned.

Taylor stood her ground, shooting daggers from her dark
green eyes.

"Five, four, three, two, one. Time's up."

He started for her with two big strides. Taylor tried to
back away with no avail. Jason picked her up and threw her over his shoulder
with very little effort.

"Put me down now!" she said, trying to kick and
punch her way free.

Jason swatted her ass, causing a yelp to escape Taylor's
lips. Jason continued to spank her bottom as he made his way toward the house.
She continued to pummel him with her fists, only to have them bounce off his
muscled back. Each punch warranted another spank from him. With her bottom high
in the air, Taylor was at Jason's mercy. Even though she fought, her desire
grew with each swat of his hand. The spanking was infuriating...and yet, was
erotic at the same time.

"How dare you hit me?" she screamed.

Jason spanked her three more times before saying, "I'm
not hitting you. I'm giving you a good ol' fashion spanking."

He made his way through the front door and sat down on the
kitchen chair, slinging Taylor's body across his lap. Without pause, Jason
continued to place swats all over Taylor's now-burning backside. With her face
inches from the ground, Taylor did everything in her power to kick and fight
her way free, but Jason's strength won over.

"Stop! Stop...Okay, I'm sorry," she pleaded.

"Not until I'm sure you will never do something so
foolish, reckless, and dangerous again." Jason swatted her behind as he
spoke.

"I won't! I know what I did was stupid. You don't need
to spank me for me to know that!"

The spanking continued, leaving Taylor breathless with sexual
hunger. The sting was like electricity, that went straight to her inner core.
She had no choice but to succumb to the punishment. Closing her eyes, she
flinched with each spank, but no longer put up a fight. The surrender was like
nothing she could have ever imagined. It felt right, natural, and damn if it
didn't feel good.

"Just know that if you ever do something that puts your
life at risk again, I'll give you a spanking that won't allow you to sit for
days." Jason gave her one final swat to emphasize his point.

Taylor was released from his grip and stood up, trying to
rub the sting from her backside. She pushed back some loose curls that covered
her face, and blood dripped from her fingers.

Jason shot out of his seat and grabbed her bloody hand. "You're
hurt."

Taylor smirked. "No kidding, cowboy. You just spanked
me. Was that suppose to feel good?" she sulked.

He gently grabbed her other hand and ran his fingers along
the scrapes and puncture wounds caused from the thorny trellis descent. He
scanned her body, taking notice of all the injuries along her arms and legs as
well.

"Sit down," he softly directed. His anger seemed
to have vanished.

Taylor had no desire to argue, in fear that she would land
back over his knee, even though a secret part of her wanted that again.

Jason walked over to a drawer, pulling out a first aid kit.

As he made his way back to the table, he shook his head. "I
can't believe you did something so stupid."

Taylor just sat in silence. She had no good excuse and all
the spit and vinegar had left her body.