Page 11 of Until Daddy

His hand. The forceful, thick fingers of his hand disappeared.

She cried out, “no!” and tried to wiggle off his lap.

He wrapped his arm back around her waist and laid into her ass again, delivering twelve sweltering swats before he stopped. She wiggled and cried out, but by the time he’d gotten to the last smack, she was a puddle. Tears ran down her face, either from the loss of the most explosive orgasm she’d ever been so close to having, or the raging sting taking over her ass. It didn’t really matter; she was miserable.

When she’d finished crying, he pulled her up to her feet and moved her to stand between his knees. He held her hands in front of her, stopping her from getting any ideas about rubbing the soreness away—or finishing what he’d started.

“Do you not want to see me?” Vulnerability weaved through his words.

“No!” So much for the suave demeanor. “I mean, that’s not it. I do—did—do want to see you. I just…” She sniffled. “It’s not going to work, Jamison. It was fine for a fun night like the Christmas party, but not for long term, not in real life. These things don’t last.”

He sat back in the chair, pulling her into his lap. “What things?” He produced a handkerchief, wiped away her tears and wiped her nose.

“These things, couples who meet at the dungeon. They don’t last, and I’m tired of pretending they do. And besides that, you’re uptown and, well, I’m not. What would your family think, what would your friends think?”

“Don’t bring money into this, that’s a line of bullshit and you know it. As for the other, I know plenty of couples who have lasted a long time,” he said.

“Sure. They dated for a few months, maybe even a year, but that’s it. Once the fun wears off, it’s over.”

“Garrick and Jade are making a go of it,” he pointed out.

She shook her head. “Yeah, but they’ve known each other forever. They aren’t the same as people like us.”

He tweaked her nose. “You are the first woman I ever met who didn’t want to date becauseshewas afraid of commitment. Most girls I’ve known start hinting at collars and wedding rings a few months in.”

“That’s because they know that if they don’t get that ring on, it’s not going to last. Hell, even if the ring goes on…” She sniffled and shook her head. “Look. Long term doesn’t work in this kind of relationship, and I don’t want a vanilla relationship, so it’s better if we just don’t pretend. I mean we can play when we see each other but other than that…” She shrugged to finish her sentence. “I don’t want to get attached.”

“You’re serious about this? You’re just looking for a play partner?” He pinched her chin between two fingers and pulled her face closer to his.

“If that doesn’t interest you—”

“I don’t think it interestsyou.” The firm way he spoke got her attention. “I’ve seen you, Carissa. Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen you here in the club. Guys come up to you, you talk with them a bit then ditch them. If what you were really looking for was some quick session, you wouldn’t have turned them all down.”

“How did you see me? You weren’t here.” And all her cards were on display.

His eyes widened just a hair, and he shook his head. “I’ll admit it. I usually have the security cameras on in the background when I’m working here. Whenever you popped onto the screen, I took a little extra time watching.”

“But you weren’t even here.”

He tilted his head. “And how do you know that?” He wiped a strand of hair from her face. “Don’t answer, I already know. Steve mentioned you’d asked a few times. He didn’t realize we knew each other.”

Her stomach sank. She had asked Steve nearly every night she’d come to the club, except for tonight. She’d been so nervous when she’d checked in, she had forgotten to ask.

“Why’d you turn down all those men? They’re good guys. I know most of them, and not a single member of this club doesn’t get screened thoroughly.”

Time to get the spotlight off her and back onto him.

“I’ve seen you around, too. Before we met at Mistletoe Madness. You aren’t the relationship kind of guy either. You rotate subs like you change your sheets.” Snark would have to be her line of defense against him. Just his fingers on her, touching and cradling her chin, was enough to make her resolve weaken, and she didn’t want to be weak. Not for him, not for anyone.

“I may have been with my share of women, but it was never because I don’t want to end up with someone.”

“I know.” She smiled. “It’s because relationships like this don’t last.”Point—Carissa!

“I think you need another spanking.” His grin cracked through the seriousness of his words. “Give me a month. You take us seriously for one month and then we’ll decide what to do.”

“A month?” She wanted to laugh, but he still had her chin and didn’t seem willing to let go any time soon.

“Yes. One month, fully invested.”

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