Page 56 of Wild Mustang Security Firm

“Why, yes, Willa, we do. We’re rather good at our job and figure a safe house that doesn’t keep people safe is of little value.”

“I still want to go home.”

“And I still don’t care.”

“I’m calling a lawyer in the morning, and you’re going to have to release me.”

“As I said, you’re welcome to call a lawyer over the secure line, but you’ll lose in court. You are, by every definition, a material witness and one who has already had a viable threat made to her safety. No judge will terminate the warrant, but you go right ahead and waste time and money if that’ll make you feel better.”

“I’d feel better in my own bed.”

“Give it a rest, Willa. You’re not going anywhere until we have Eastwick tried, convicted, and locked up for good.”

“Prick,” she jeered as she pushed past him, headed to the barn.

She hadn’t gone far when Mac seized her upper arm and turned her toward the house, giving her backside a hard swat to propel her in the direction.

“House, Willa.”

She whirled around. “You son of a bitch! You can’t hit me.”

“I didn’t hit you, I swatted your ass. You already owe me ten when this is done, and they’ll be delivered on the bare. I’ll do a whole lot more than swat you if you don’t knock it off. Get in the house.”

“No!”

“Now!”

She and Mac stared each other down. It was a question of who would blink first. She knew neither was willing to give an inch.

“Don’t try me, Willa. I want you in the house where it’s safe. Now, move it.”

“Fuck you,” she said, exasperated, not only with Mac but with herself for becoming more aroused by the minute.

The last thing she needed in her life was this combination cowboy-lawman who thought he could tell her what to do, but he still took her breath away. He was an attractive bastard, and his primal masculine dominance seemed to roll off of him in waves. There was something she found wildly attractive about Ethan McDaniel, not just physically.

“Are you going to walk, or am I going to have to sling you over my shoulder and carry you?”

“You’re not slinging anyone anywhere with that shoulder.”

She only had a fraction of a second before he proved her wrong.

“Wanna bet?”

Willa was shocked. She’d forgotten just how strong and determined he could be and how she responded to him. In the space of a minute, he had swatted her ass and was carrying herup to the house, desire and need spiking through her system. Before the outrageousness of his actions and her response registered, they were on the front porch, where he set her down, trapping her body with his against the door. Mac punched in a code and pressed his thumb against the sensor directly above the keypad.

“I’m thinking not a lot of ranchers have such a fancy, schmancy lock,” she remarked sarcastically.

“Probably not,” he said as he opened the door. “But we figure if you’re close enough to see the lock, you’re either one of us or one of those we’re trying to keep out.”

When she didn’t step inside, he turned her to face the interior, and again his hand made hard contact with her rear end, making her yelp as she stumbled forward. Mac followed her inside, closing the door behind them and locking it.

“You and I need to get a few things straight. When I tell you to do something or stay somewhere, you do it. You don’t argue with me, you don’t call me names, and you do what I tell you.”

Willa whirled around. “If you believe I’m going to do anything I’m not inclined to do or be anything other than a major pain in the ass, you are sadly mistaken.”

Mac took a deep breath.

“I’m warning you, Willa. I’m not sure what you think you’re doing or hope to achieve, but it isn’t going to work. Keep it up, and all that will happen is you ending up with a set of stripes. As I recall, Cowgirl, you weren’t overly fond of my belt—either when used to tie you up or to welt your backside. You are in federal custody, and more importantly, in my custody, so you’re going to behave. Like it or not, Willa, I’m in charge. I make the rules, and you obey them. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself facedown over my knee until I see a change in your attitude, and you apologize for whatever you did to earn yourself a spanking.”

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