To Trust Her Heart Read online

  Maddie huffed. “I wish you would stop saying that WE made – “ that phrase stopped her short and made her rethink what she was going to say. “That WE had sex last night.”

  He out and out grinned at her, a rarity for him. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember it, although you missed some of my best work,” he added with no trace of ego whatever. “You were drunk.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have taken advantage of me.” Maddie grabbed the sheet around her, since the towel had deserted her, and scrunched her way over to the edge of the bed.

  His snort said it all, although she’d known he’d never do that. She was probably all over him in her inebriated state. Damn him! Where the heck had he come from anyway? She was here with her girlfriends…

  “Oh, my God!” Maddie got up and began to scurry around the room, dragging the sheet behind her like some absurd Egyptian cotton train, hunting for any trace of the clothes she’d been wearing last night.

  Ty just stood there, watching her. He did a lot of that, because although she was an extremely intelligent person, Maddie tended to be a little spacey on occasion. He leaned back against the armoire, enjoying the occasional glimpse of the curve of her sleek backside provided by the consistently drooping sheet.

  She came to stand directly in front of him, one hand clutching the cream cloth precariously against her bosom, the other clutching the only evidence that she’d been clothed last night at all – her sling back silver sandals. “What are you doing?” she asked, frazzled almost beyond repair.

  “Watching you.”

  “Don’t just stand there like a lump, help me.”

  “Help you what?”

  His laconic responses made her want to deck him or hurt him in some way, any way, neither of which was ever likely to happen. “Help me find my clothes!”

  Ty moved away from the armoire and pulled open one of the top section’s doors, revealing the slinky black and silver dress she’d been wearing yesterday, complete with the sheer black stockings, bra, and panties. Maddie’s jaw dropped. “Didn’t want it to wrinkle,” he explained laconically at her fiery glare as she grabbed for them and ran into the bathroom, heaping invectives on him the entire way.

  Maddie felt much better dressed and much more capable to handle Ty Scanlon when she wasn’t naked and inches away from a comfortable flat surface, although she blushed with the memories of the times they weren’t able to make it to any other flat surface but the floor of their foyer. She cleared her throat and shook her head, hoping to clear those traitorous memories away, trying hard to retain her purely righteous anger at him. She’d been trying to get him to let her go since he’d first awakened. But noooooo, he’d only consider it when he wanted to go. That was so like him! And had he bothered to produce her clothing? Of course not! He was having too much fun keeping her naked and aroused . . . well, naked anyway, she thought, brushing away the arousal part is if not thinking about it would make it less of a fact.

  When she finally exited the bathroom, he was just sitting on the bed. He was the quietest man she’d ever known. Ty had infinite patience. He could lie in wait like a big cat, coiled and ready to spring, for the longest time. More than once in their marriage she’d awakened to find him bathed only in moonlight, staring down at her, watching her while she slept. At first it freaked her out a little, but she grew used to it, and eventually it made her feel safe, like he was always on guard against anything that might hurt her even in the middle of the night. She knew he would guard her safety ferociously, putting himself in the line of fire without a thought to save her.

  She didn’t say a word, just crossed to the door and left knowing he wouldn’t be very far behind her. They didn’t exchange one word until they reached the lobby, when Ty said, “I have to check out,” and left her to do just that, warning sternly, “Stay put. Don’t move a muscle, or I can promise you’ll regret it.”

  Maddie nodded blithely, which should have made him immediately suspicious, and watched him go, then very carefully never taking her eyes from his broad back she slipped back to the elevators and up to the two rooms she and her friends had rented. She knocked lightly for fear of waking them up. Drew answered the door, obviously right out of bed, stepping aside to let her friend in.

  “Well, look what the ex dragged in! How was it? Was it as good as it was before?”

  Questions about how their sexual romp went last night flew at her, even from the three barely recognizable lumps sharing the queen sized beds. “Yeah, we want details!”

  “I can’t give you details,” Maddie slumped down on the edge of one of the beds.

  “Aw, c’mon! Some of us are married and have kids, remember? We haven’t had real sex in years!”

  Maddie snickered at that lament, then sobered. “No, it’s not that I won’t tell you, it’s that I can’t. I was so polluted that the last thing I remember was Seana sitting down at that slot machine and winning a thousand bucks on fifty cents! Then the cocktail girl came around, and I was sunk. Why did you guys let me drink? You know I can’t handle liquor.”

  “Have you ever tried to tell you not to do something?” came a wry response from under a pile of blankets.

  Maddie ignored that. “More importantly, how could you let me go off with him?”

  Drew snorted and sat across from Maddie on the bed, folding her legs beneath her. Drew was the youngest of the group, but not necessarily the least experienced. “How could we not? He’s incredible! He was very Tall, very dark and dangerous, and I’m not referring to his looks! You were married to that guy?”

  Maddie nodded, her mouth twisted wryly. “Such as it was.”

  “Wow!” Drew’s groupie sigh grated on Maddie’s nerves. “How could you ever leave a man like that? You’d have to pry me off him with a crowbar!”

  “Yeah, you had the best night of all of us. We weren’t about to disturb it. At least one of us got some last night. The rest of us ended up back here, crying into our drinks, so much for our last night as screaming singles.”

  Two of the group were getting married, and they had driven several hours to the Mohegan Sun Casino to spend a weekend living it up before they tied their respective knots. The whole group had made a commitment to each other to eat, drink, and be merry. They had been terribly raucous driving down, even though it was in Hannah’s mini-van. Drinks had flowed freely from various secreted coolers, although Maddie was the designated driver and didn’t indulge in anything except the box of Frosty’s honey-dipped doughnuts. Since she drank very rarely, her tolerance for booze was pretty much nonexistent, so she wouldn’t start imbibing until they were there, and she wouldn’t have to do anything but find the elevator and collapse onto one of the beds.

  The six of them had met their vows completely, eating until they popped at the buffet, spending entirely too much on the slots and roulette, and dancing the night away at the club in the center of the casino. The women had been friends for a long time and most of them had met at work. Maddie was soon to be the only single member of their little group, and the others were always trying to set her up with someone. Come to think of it, she wasn’t at all surprised that they hadn’t done a single thing to deter her when Tall, Dark, and Dangerous walked up to her on the dance floor and drew her into his arms like he owned her.

  Chapter Three

  Speaking of the devil, there came a heavy knock at the door that had Maddie lurching up from her comfortable position on the bed, trying to shush her boisterous friends. Even though most of them were still practically asleep, it was an impossible job. “Be quiet!” she hissed. “Maybe he’ll go away if we pretend we’re not here.”

  But Drew, the only one besides Maddie who was actually up, snorted derisively. “To hell with that. I ordered room service and I’m starved.” Despite Maddie’s hushed but frantic pleas, she strolled to the door and peeped through the security portal. “Hmmmmm. Yep, it’s him,” she announced blithely opening the door and ushering Ty into the room with a flourish.

&nb
sp; Although there were four relatively attractive women who came to attention as soon as he walked in, and who were in various states of undress, he literally only had eyes for Maddie. Ty’s heart had been in his throat when he’d returned to find her gone instead of waiting for him, as he’d expected. He’d forgotten what a pain in the neck she could be at times, but he certainly was going to make sure that she remembered that when he told her to do something, she’d better damn well do it. It had been a while since she’d gotten a spanking, and as he remembered it, she needed consistent, strict discipline or she’d take advantage, just as she had downstairs.

  He intended to remind her of exactly how their relationship worked, in no uncertain terms, as soon as he could find a place that was relatively private, although the thought did flash through his mind that he would be more than justified in taking her over his knee right here, right now, in front of her already gaping friends.

  Without any sort of acknowledgement whatsoever that they had an audience, he stalked over to Maddie and lifted her over his shoulder, completely ignoring the fact that she wasn’t cooperating in the least and in fact was doing her best to fight him. He didn’t hold her romantically in his arms like some modern day Rhett Butler either. No. He hefted her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, into one of the most humiliating positions known to womankind, as well as one of the most vulnerable.

  Maddie knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would never drop her, so she felt safe fighting him tooth and nail, knowing that, if it came to it, he would always keep her safe.

  She heard her friend’s collectively indrawn breaths when Ty picked her up, and knew they were all thinking how wonderfully romantic he was to do this, regardless of the heavy humiliation factor. But to her it wasn’t romantic in the least, and she could feel her face burning a deep red – one that would probably match her other cheeks shortly, if he had his way, and she was determined that he wouldn’t.

  Maddie knew Ty. He was just trying to extricate her from this situation as quickly and efficiently as he could, and picking her up was disgustingly efficient. If she continued to struggle, she knew that eventually, regardless of where they were or who was around, he would bring that platter-sized hand of his down on her vulnerable backside.

  Not that she thought she was going to get away with having disobeyed him that easily, however. One hearty swat would never cut it as far as he was concerned. She knew she was in for it, and that made her writhe even more frantically from her uncomfortable perch on his broad shoulder. But this position was horrid, and all he had to do was tighten that one arm, his right arm, luckily, which meant that when he finally lost his patience he only had his weaker left hand to smack her with.

  No one came to her aid, not a one of them. Maddie caught a glimpse at their faces – they were all sitting there in completely rapt attention. She sighed audibly. Ty had that effect on people, they all just wanted him to tell them what to do because he had a natural air of command, and her friends were too flabbergasted by his Neanderthal tendencies to do anything to help her. In fact, Drew held the door for him, and they all just waived her off, Seana piping up with the improbable, “Let us know when the wedding is!”

  As soon as they were out of earshot of her friends, who she could hear had actually gathered at their door to watch the spectacle of him bumping her along on his shoulder, and the elevator doors closed tightly, she growled, “Put me down this minute!”

  “I don’t think so, honey,” he replied casually, not making a move to release her even when the elevator stopped, and Maddie got a bird’s eye view of the feet of the older couple who moved to the back of the lift and smirked at them indulgently.

  The gray haired gentleman cleared his throat as they finally stopped at the lobby, saying, “It’s nice to see a man taking his woman in hand for a change.” Maddie had a brief moment of satisfaction when his wife swatted his arm.

  Ty chuckled softly and waited for the other couple to exit before charging out the door and along the long pathway to the parking lot. Maddie rolled her eyes, thankful but derisive at the same time that he didn’t believe in valet parking. At least she didn’t have to have all those men standing around laughing at her. But she wasn’t sure she could survive the trip if it was much further. His shoulder was not the most comfortable thing she’d ever lain on.

  She tried to adjust herself and got a hearty whack on the bottom for her troubles, then his hand lingered there, right where it shouldn’t. “Hey, move it or lose it, buddy!”

  He shook his head. It amazed him that she was in this position, yet still issuing orders as if she fully expected him to obey them. Perhaps that was part of her charm, she did expect it, despite the fact that she certainly knew that that was not how their relationship had worked in the past, or was ever going to work. “If you don’t mind flashing the parking lot, I’ll move my hand. You’re wearing dresses that are much too short, Maddie, and that stops right now. The only place you’re going to wear this dress again is our bedroom if you want to show it off for me.”

  “In your dreams, big man!” she warned ineffectually, hating the fact that there was nothing she could do the dent his thick hide. Having already been in this position years before, she knew from experience that all banging on his hard back did was wear her out, and earn her more of those thudding swats he liked to issue while he had her helpless like this. Maddie refrained from attacking him physically, but just fuming wasn’t cutting it. She was growing more and more incensed at his high handedness. Who the hell did he think he was, waltzing back here - first taking advantage of her inebriated state, and then kidnapping her in full view of her friends?

  Maddie had to admit that she wasn’t in the least surprised when he set her down next to a gigantic black Humvee. Somehow it fitted him. He’d always hated her tiny little runabouts, and barely fit into some of them. He had the driver’s door open and set her down behind the wheel, then, without waiting for her to move, he swung up and used his bulk to push her towards the passenger seat. Maddie immediately tried the lock even though she knew it would be useless, and it was. She would have sworn she could hear him smirking behind her, but when she turned around, his eyes were on the road.

  When they were back on 395, going north, he mentioned off-hand, “If you’d like to change, there are clothes in the smaller suitcase in the back. I’m assuming you’re still a size ten or so?”

  She was peeved that he’d found some strange reason to buy her clothes, which just seemed too intimate for an ex to do, somehow. But even more annoying was the fact that he remembered what size she was! Maddie supposed she should consider it a compliment, but lately she was lucky if she could remember her own name, yet he remembered what size jeans she took!

  “Go on, get back there and, on second thought,” he interrupted himself, swerving off on the nearest exit, then spent the next fifteen minutes finding an out of the way place in the woods, off on what Maddie thought was probably a fire road of sorts.

  They were alone, and, as she looked around her, she noticed that the windows of the mammoth truck were tinted, and very probably that kind that the occupants could see out of, but no one could see in, which did not bode well for the future health and happiness of her bottom.

  “I want to talk to you,” he began, then noticed how she was looking around warily. “Yes, I’m going to spank you, but not immediately. I want to tell you why I came to get you, so that hopefully, from this point on, you’ll think twice before disobeying me, besides the fact that it’s going to get your pretty little rump roasted each and every time.”

  Her glare was completely wasted on him. “Oh, so now you’re deciding to tell me what’s going on? How very generous of you!” she snorted.

  She was sitting on his lap in a nanosecond. He had reclined the seat back enough that she was relatively comfortable, if excruciatingly aware of the hard ridge of him beneath her hip. Ty tipped her chin up so that she had to look at him. “I did my best when we were married to keep you o
ut of what I did… ”

  “And you it so well that you drove me away from you,” she interjected with a casual cruelty she didn’t really feel, watching his eyes cloud angrily for a fraction as a second and she knew she’d hit her target.

  Ty frowned, but still managed to sound sheepish. “I know. But right now, there’s someone after me who might well try to get to me through you, and I need to make sure you’re in a safe place before I go after him.” He had her arranged over his lap while she was distracted, still considering exactly what it was that he was saying to her, her nylons and barely there panties lowered to just beneath her cheeks with almost no resistance from her, when he continued. “And when you decided to slip away from me back there at the hotel, I didn’t know if he’d gotten to you, or if you were being your usual ornery self.”

  It had been a long time since she’d been spanked, and she’d forgotten how God awfully it hurt. And the blasted man was too damned strong for her own good, even though she knew that he would never do anything to truly hurt her, he still managed to get his point across in an extremely painful manner.

  Berating herself belatedly for not having put up a better defense, and angrier than she’d been in a long time, Maddie reached back to cover her butt, which wasn’t easy. As it was, she whacked her wrist on the underside of the dash, and when she arched against his God-awful spanks, she banged her head on the steering wheel.

  All in all, she was getting much more of a spanking than he actually intended.

  Of course, he noticed what was happening, and in his usual inimitable fashion and moved his seat even further back, which solved her problems. Then he proceeded to catch her wrists with his free hand, holding onto them almost romantically across her back, without so much as missing a beat as he spanked her quickly and with absolutely no mercy, not pulling his swats in the least, despite the close quarters.