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  Her excitement was contagious, as if the same feeling of accomplishment written across her face increased his. She was so proud of herself and it showed. He wondered briefly if anyone had ever taken the time to be with her like this, hands on, really teach her to do something other than just dictating what she should learn from across the room. His full attention quickly transferred from the internal monologue back to her, captured by her full breasts swaying as she bounced a little. She radiated inner pleasure with herself at this very moment, a true satisfaction with her own ability to do such a simple task. The look on her face broadcast something he'd never seen from her before. A small bit of confidence. Minor, no doubt, as she'd spent most of her life obviously bereft of such a feeling, but there nonetheless.

  He had the urge to celebrate her new found happiness by pulling her to him in a hug that would squish those generous globes against his firm chest and allow him to breathe in more of her delicious fragrance. A sharp, hot rush shot through his belly to his groin, making him grow hard just at the thought. Instead, he shook his head, pushing the idea of such an intimate gesture away fast, and flashed a smile at her.

  “Who are you? And, what have you done with Kathryn?” he teased, or at least he attempted to make it sound that way.

  “Would you rather I demanded you find the nearest mall, however far away, and take me shopping?” she quipped in return.

  “No. No. Not at all. You’ve just changed so much. Overnight. I recognize the face, the body...” I definitely recognize the luscious body. “But, the voice, the words, they're just throwing me a bit off my game. I no longer want to throw you over my knee and beat your bratty ass. Well I do, but not the same way I did before." He stumbled, realizing the words that had just escaped his mouth. "Shit, did I just say that out loud? It’s just a figure of speech. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I...”

  He lost his ability to think as images of his handprint plastered in red across her ass filled his mind. Even with the change, he still wanted to discipline this woman, maybe for all she put him through before, maybe...just because.

  “Stop. It’s fine. I deserve that. Might not mind it at all,” she said boldly, giving him a wink, though a crimson blush rushed from her neck to her cheeks.

  "All right, let's get back." He needed to break this moment, now, before his mind decided to take her as seriously as his dick just had.

  He moved to get back on his horse lest she see the aftermath of her flippant comment. He convinced himself she only attempted to tease him back, trying make him feel comfortable, or at least letting him off the hook, whatever her intention. Now, if only the throbbing ache inside his jeans would listen to reason.

  7

  Jeanette had already been cooking a meal by the time they returned to the ranch house, but giving Kathryn a wink, she assured Jason the stew wouldn’t be ready until dinner if they needed to go out for a few things, given the hasty pack job Kathryn had been forced to do when they left the condo. The older woman suggested, a sly grin crossing her features, that while they were there they may as well 'sit a bit and have some lunch out.'

  Kathryn didn’t think she had ever actually encountered such a genuine kindness by an employee. She didn’t appear to want to serve Kathryn, but rather to be actually concerned with her needs. She couldn’t explain exactly how she got that impression, but since she had met Jeanette, the woman acted more like she was a best friend trying to essentially, selflessly help. Kathryn assumed this to be the case, anyway, as she had no other experience to explain the anomalies of the way the woman acted. It certainly wasn't something she was used to in her world. She kind of enjoyed the difference, if she were honest.

  “I could use a few things,” Kathryn said hesitantly, glancing toward Jason, “and I am willing to try some of the local cuisine, though I can’t wait to try that stew, too. It smells wonderful, Jeanette.”

  Jason shot Kathryn an amused, shocked look; again like she was an alien from another planet, or maybe one had taken over her body.

  It felt like the right explanation to her. She didn’t feel herself at all lately, and really, the changes she felt blossoming inside her appealed to her. She had to admit to being just as shocked as Jason.

  “It’s settled then. I wouldn’t dream of trying to argue with two beautiful, stubborn women. Let me get changed, and we will leave. We can go out the back roads and circle around to avoid any locals seeing me here, though it isn’t like Pete is going to ask around town for me once you tell him I’m not here. Actually, we'll go one town over, if you don’t mind the drive, where no one knows me by sight, just to play it extra safe.”

  “Pete’s already called,” Jeanette said before Kathryn could object with a retort to Jason calling her stubborn. “Said he knew it was a shot in the dark, you were smarter than that, but he was desperate to find you. He said on the off chance I did talk to you, if you called to check in on the ranch, to let you know how pissed Senator Caruthers was to not be privy to where his daughter was. Guess he made all sorts of threats to Pete, demanding he tell him information Pete honestly didn’t know. He had to tell him you had gone rogue in the best interests of his daughter and so forth. Man isn’t happy.”

  “Figured as much, but I can’t worry about that now. My goal is to keep Kathryn safe. If that means losing the job to do so, or upsetting her father, so be it. Hate to put Pete under so much heat, but he knows me. He will eventually, hopefully, understand why.”

  “Why would you do that for me?” Kathryn asked, tears filling her eyes despite her best efforts to not let them, to stifle all of these new emotions hitting her all at once since she'd come here.

  “I'm committed to the job first. Your safety above all else. I'd been toying with leaving the security detail and doing the ranch full time again anyway. I just hadn’t found a way to tell Pete yet. Please don’t worry. In the end, once your stalker is caught, and you're safe, I’m sure Pete, and hopefully even your father will be grateful for what I've done. Now, I’m going to get changed. You meet me outside at the truck in a few minutes,” he said, turning on his heel to make a hasty exit, leaving both Kathryn and Jeanette standing there, jaws slack with shock at his announcement.

  * * *

  By the time Jason met Kathryn at his truck, he could only hope he had talked himself into a safe state to spend more time alone with her. At least out in public he couldn’t jump this new edition of Kathryn. Her sudden personality change was taking away his every argument to keep his distance.

  She’d changed into an alluring white blouse, overlaid with a light layer of fragile white lace, and a pair of perfectly pressed, designer jeans. She looked angelic as she gracefully climbed into his old truck. He drove the battered beast because he liked it. It suited him. But now, today, it also helped to blend in with the town folk. They could draw no attention to themselves if he wanted to keep her safe, which would be hard enough with the beauty sitting by his side.

  “You are staring,” she said, drawing him out of his thoughts.

  “Oh, yeah, it’s just...well, you look beautiful, and we don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves.”

  “You think I look beautiful,” she asked back, her voice catching a little.

  “Of course. You always do, and now, here, it is a problem.” Especially for me. “Will you protest too loudly if I make you wear one of my cowboy hats? I mean, in an effort not to draw attention to yourself as an outsider, of course. You may not turn as many heads if you wore a cowboy hat and boots, but I don’t have boots in your size.”

  “Well, we can make boots our first stop, then, and I will happily wear your hat now that you have given me such a compliment, even if it was hidden behind a valid reason.”

  He snapped his gaze back to the road, forcing himself to focus on the dusty gravel as he started the truck. He needed to keep his mind on driving and off thoughts of the way she looked with his hat pressed down over those curly, chestnut locks, or he'd be distracted by the very real fact his j
eans would soon not fit over his dick.

  Jason drove a little too fast, he knew, and he had to slam on the brakes when they came skidding around a turn to find a truck stopped on a back road in the middle of nowhere. A large, balding, cheesy tattoo-covered man dropped a bulging, black bag just off the side of the road. He’d made fast for his truck, climbing in and peeling away with a shower of gravel and dust in his wake.

  Jason suppressed his desire to give chase just as he heard Kathryn shriek and the protesting squeal of her door as it opened fast on rusty hinges. He turned his head to see her jumping out of the truck.

  “Have you learned nothing?” he yelled. He slammed the truck gear into park and, with his thoughts flashing back to the condo last night, stumbled hastily out of his side of the vehicle swatting at the choking dust billowing into his face.

  He’d just rounded the front of the truck, coming out of the thick brown-tinged cloud to hear her scream again as she reached forward before losing her footing and falling into a mud puddle. While they hadn’t gotten any rain for days, some low lying areas retained their puddles for weeks after a heavy storm. And, of course, in her white, dressy shirt, Kathryn had managed to find one.

  As she screamed and screeched, a group of furry, dark colored and very much moving puppies he could now see stopped dead in their tracks. He crouched and gave a short whistle as he accessed the scene before him. Three puppies clumsily made their way up the short embankment to him, probably looking for protection against the crazy lady flapping around in the mud like a drowning woman. A maybe a two inch deep, yet maybe a foot wide all around puddle, and she sounded as if she thought she were dying in a lake. He couldn't help but chuckle at her current predicament. Served her right for defying him and getting out of the truck in the first place.

  He was trying to pet the three muddy little heads climbing over one another, vying for his attention, as she finally got to standing. With a few splashes of mud on her face, the most damage had been to the frilly blouse she wore, having landed squarely on her generous chest in the mud.

  Seeing her red-faced expression, looking like she was about ready to explode into her usual tirade of nastiness, he suppressed a wide grin as stood and turned to the truck to get a few old rags and a horse blanket he had in the back.

  With the puppies in tow, tangling themselves at his feet, he grabbed the items and cautiously approached her.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, biting his bottom lip hard, trying to keep the creeping humor from his voice.

  “I’m fine,” she snipped.

  “I’m sure.” He offered her a rag. "To at least get some mud off of yourself.

  “Traitors,” she said to the puppies around him, one still looking around, two sitting quietly at his feet and staring up at her. “How come they came right to you but made me chase them?”

  “Exactly, you chased after them, came at them at a run. I was crouching down, not scary at all, when they came to me. Never had a dog, have you?”

  “No, I haven't. Not sure I want one now. I was trying to save you, you little monsters, and you lead me into a lake of mud.” She thrust out her bottom lip in a pout.

  “Well, more like a foot square puddle, but given it is probably your first encounter with one of those, too, I will allow you the over-exaggeration.”

  “Thank you so much,” she hissed as she furiously wiped at her shirt, now a hideous brown shade of streaked white.

  “Here, wrap this blanket around you now that you have the majority of the mud off so you don’t get my truck a mess.”

  “You are too kind, sir.”

  He nodded, not helping her out of fear of proximity, and moved toward the driver's side of the truck

  “Wait. Aren’t you going to help them?” she demanded.

  “They are following me,” he snipped back. “So, you want to save this litter of cow dogs?”

  “Of course. Why do you think I got out of the truck in the first place? Though I don’t really know what possessed me. Look where it got me.”

  “Well, I'll be damned, Kathryn Caruthers, you do have a heart after all,” he said, knowing his own heart was now a goner. “We'll have to take them back to the barn, though, and postpone our outing.”

  8

  "Oh my God! They are so adorable!" Kathryn squealed and squatted, reaching for the bitch lying in the hay nursing her pups.

  "Kathryn, no!" Jason grabbed her elbow and yanked her backward just as the protective mother growled and nipped out in warning. "You never, never go near a momma and her babies that way, and certainly not when she's feeding or as fast as you did. Animals are protective of their young, and any sudden move in their direction is perceived as an immediate threat. Great way to get your hand bitten, woman!"

  She leaned back into Jason as he held her tight to his chest with a protective arm wrapped around her middle. She could feel the heat emanating off his skin and a strong throbbing in his chest pressing repeatedly against the cool, dampness of the blouse covering her back. She'd actually scared him enough to make his heart pound? The knowledge melted a part of her she didn't even know she had inside. Emotions slammed into her, hard, knocking her mentally off balance and sending her thoughts racing through her mind. He cared. Jason really and truly cared about her well being, and in the face of even the smallest danger he reacted to protect her. This wasn't just about the job. Her Daddy's money wasn't the driving force behind his actions anymore. The idea that someone actually cared about her sent a shock through her body that traveled its way to her core in a rush of heat.

  "I've had it!" Jason was still clearly very angry as he grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the stall. "You need a lesson you won't soon forget, young lady. Every time I am stupid enough to step a foot from you for more than a single damn second you put yourself in harm's way. Enough is enough!"

  She cringed at the tone in his voice. Jason actually yelling at her, anyone yelling at her for that matter, was more than unexpected, it was literally unheard of.

  "Now listen here, Jason. No one, and I mean no one raises—" Her words were sharply cut off as he sat on a hay bale and dragged her facedown over his lap.

  "No, you listen, missy. This is the very last time you will disobey my orders and go running off willy nilly into a dangerous situation, do you hear me," he roared at her.

  Struggling to push herself upright, she whined back at him, "Jason, let me go."

  "Nope, sorry, not this time, pretty lady." He hooked his leg over her jean-clad knees, effectively trapping her over his lap. No matter how much she struggled, Kathryn couldn't get free.

  "I've had more than I can take from you, and it's high time you learned what happens to those who misbehave."

  Shock registered as his large, firm hand came down hard on her backside. "Jason! What the hell do you—" Another slap rang out in the otherwise quiet barn and she could hear Jason's breathing getting heavy, faster as he panted out obscenities. Each word was enforced by another crack to her now warming ass.

  "You. Will. Not. Put. Yourself. In. Danger."

  Kathryn felt a blush of heat infuse her face, trailing down her neck to her chest, just as the high temperature spread out over her bruising bottom and down her thighs, sending a rush of moisture to her core. She felt mortified to be in this position. How dare he treat me like a child! Sputtering and attempting her best to wiggle away from his forceful punishment, Kathryn wasn't sure if she were more disgusted by the fact she was being spanked, or her response to his manhandling and objectification.

  Jason raged on, "You. Will. Take. Better. Care. Of. Yourself. Young. Lady."

  It was clear to her she'd crossed some line, though she truly didn't understand what, and he didn't seem to be slowing any as her buttocks now began a throbbing, searing burn. Tears sprung to her eyes against her will, and for the first time in forever Kathryn couldn't contain them and had no choice but to let them fall.

  She stilled her movements, became docile and prone over his legs, no longer fi
ghting the spanking as tears tracked down her face and dropped into the hay on the floor of the barn. The contrast of emotions running through her at this moment sucked away her very breath. Here she was, lying over the lap of her protector like an errant child, getting her ass tanned six ways from Sunday–honestly the first time she had ever been spanked in her life–and yet she was reacting to it as if he'd stroked her intimately.

  "I'm...sorry, Jason," Kathryn sobbed out. "I will behave, I swear.

  The words seemed to take the wind out of his sails as Jason suddenly stopped, rubbing her bottom gently with the palm of his hand, trailing his fingers between the waistband of her jeans and her ruined shirt.