Page 14 of Daddy's Rules

Chapter Four

Owen

I’m a total douchebag. How could I do this to her, sweet Jordan? I let my own yearning mess up the one thing I could have given her, and I can’t obliterate the memory of the betrayal I saw in her eyes.

I chase her out my office, but pause. Other clients wait for me. I can’t just leave them. I watch out the office window as she’s jogging and attempting to hail a cab. The thought of her submitting to anyone else make my hands fist. I glance back at the three clients who are looking at me, bewildered. “I’m sorry,” I say, shoving a hand through my hair and blowing out a breath. “I need to do something. Please call and I promise a full refund and a rescheduled appointment.”

They nod but no one speaks or at least I don’t hear them speak. I’m too occupied running after her. She’s got a few minutes on me, but when I reach the sidewalk, I catch a glimpse of her. She looks over her shoulder at me and my heart feels as if it’s going to break in two. It’s as if time stands still. Her red eyes and tear-streaked face are my focus. I caused that.

“Jordan!” I shout, drawing annoyed looks from several passersby. “Wait!”

She doesn’t listen, though. Part of me wants to bring her back to my office and spank her all over again for that. But maybe I was too tough on her. Maybe she needed someone who would communicate with her instead of confusing her even more. I push past a throng of women pushing strollers, leap over a tiny leashed dog that is suddenly underfoot, deke into the street to get around a crowd of teens, then race faster when a cab pulls over for her. Oh, no, she won’t. She sees me coming, opens the door of the cab, leaps in, and slams the door behind her, but I reach the cab just as it starts to roll forward.

“Wait!” I repeat, pounding on the glass. The cabbie immediately comes to a halt.

The older man wearing a Dodgers ball cap rolls the window down. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah,” I say. “I need a ride. Take me? I’m desperate and I’ll make it worth the inconvenience.”

“Got a lady in the back,” he says. “You mind, miss?” He looks at Jordan through his rear view.

She glares at me and smacks down the lock on the door. I give her a withering look and her anger softens a little. She bites her lip.

“Open the door,” I order, pointing a stern finger at her.

She shakes her head. Now she has the attention of the cab driver, who cranes his neck and frowns. She looks at him and then me, rolls her eyes, and unlocks the door.

“Thank you,” I say, fixing her with a look that tells her she’s close to trouble. I slide in and put my hand on her thigh. “Behave yourself.”

“You two know each other?” the driver asks.

“You could say that,” I say. She crosses her arms and turns her face away from me, likely to hide her tearstained eyes. That tugs at my heartstrings.

“Where to?” the driver asks. She looks at me and doesn’t reply.

I give him my address.

“And you?” he asks Jordan. I give her a nod, a silent reminder that it’s going to be okay.

“Same, please,” I instruct. The driver looks to her and raises his brows, making sure I’m not coercing her.

She swallows hard. “Same, please.”

“Ah,” the man says. “Gonna make up.” He smiles and turns his attention to the game on the radio, mercifully giving us privacy.

I turn to her, attempting to ease the frustration churning inside me. I’m the one who pushed her away, so I can’t be too hard on her. “You do not run away from me, Jordan,” I begin, but her eyes water again and her lip quivers. I sigh and squeeze her knee. “Baby,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Done what?” she whispers.

“Told you I’d send you to someone else,” I say.

She breathes out, her shoulders relaxing. “I thought... I thought you were going to say you shouldn’t have spanked me.” Her eyes dart to the driver as she murmurs the last word and I chuckle. Goddamn, she’s adorable.

“I shouldn’t have done that either, but hell, you deserved it, and that, honey, has been a long time coming.” The urge to kiss her is so strong I feel tension in my gut fighting it.

She squirms and swallows, drawing her knees together. A slight pink flushes her face.

My cock stirs. She’s turned on.

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