Arrested By Love (25 page)

The smile she gave him in response made him think she intended to sorely test his resolve in that respect, which also gave him the feeling that this was one battle he was going to end up losing--most willingly.

Chapter Sixteen

When Tiffany showed up with wet hair at the breakfast table dressed in summer shorts and a t-shirt that said "Drugs are My Life," Kyle recalled why he'd been so angry with her earlier. He knew the reference on her shirt had to do with working at Dorman Pharmaceuticals, but it still didn't sit well with him. Telling himself he was being unfair, he offered her his choice of cereals.

She picked the shredded wheat. "And I'm ready to kill someone for a cup of coffee," she admitted with a grin.

He smiled back. "Unfortunately, both murder and coffee are off your agenda for awhile."

Her face fell. "Why? I'll only get a headache if you won't let me have any."

"A headache is a small price to pay, considering caffeine intake is ill-advised for pregnant women. It's not good for the baby."

Kyle could tell by her mutinous expression that he'd said the wrong thing, but had no intention of backpedaling on this one.

"So, is that all I am to you? A baby machine?"

He shook his head. "Well, honey, if that were true, I hate to say it, but I think you're a really bad one. Your father told me you'd been drinking and taking sleeping pills."

Tiffany crossed her arms over her chest. "I couldn't sleep. All right? Plus, taking pills and trying a toddy at night are often-used remedies for insomnia."

"So is taking a walk and drinking warm milk, but I don't believe you even tried those. Did you? And pill popping with liquor is not at all good if you're pregnant."

"I'm beginning to think this possible baby I'm carrying is more important to you than I am. I'm not even sure I'm pregnant, so why should I bend over backwards to change my life for something that might not even be."

Kyle leaned back against the counter and regarded her carefully. "You're being a selfish brat Tiffany. Why are you only thinking of yourself, when you should be thinking of our unborn child."

With a cry of rage, Tiffany jumped to her feet and slapped him.

Putting his hands firmly on her shoulders, Kyle took three deep breaths to bring his anger back under control. She was upset and filled with raging hormones so he needed to make allowances for her. Lowering his hands, he said, "I suggest you sit back down in that chair before I decide to make that particular activity just a bit more difficult for you."

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Tiffany launched herself at Kyle, hitting and slapping him repeatedly.

"You don't listen very well, do you?" Kyle asked, grabbing both her wrists and using his foot to drag one of his kitchen chairs further away from the table to allow for more room. Then with a slight tug, he pulled a struggling and screaming Tiffany across his lap, taking care to ensure her weight was evenly distributed rather than just on her tummy. When she started to swear at him, he calmly bared her bottom. "Perhaps I should also wash your mouth out with soap when we're done here," he threatened, locking her legs into place and giving her ten firm swats without stopping.

During one through five she simply swore and spat at him as she struggled to get free. Six through seven had her crying, but still struggling. When eight fell she started to beg he stop. At nine she wailed that she was sorry. And at ten she was resigned and sobbing, her earlier energy having totally deserted her.

Still angry, though her tears ate at his resolve, Kyle helped her up then. After pulling up her underwear and pants, he seated her carefully in the chair she'd been sitting in and handed her a paper napkin. Except that clearly wasn't what Tiffany wanted, since she threw the napkin to the floor, leapt to her feet, and ran back into the bedroom where she slammed the door.

Sighing, Kyle decided to give her a few minutes to calm down. He could hear her sobbing, and a part of him felt guilty for punishing her small temper tantrum after she'd been so ill. He had tempered his strokes so she'd feel the slap of his palm, but it wouldn't really hurt her. As punishments, it had been very mild, though he doubted she viewed it that way.

After he'd poured a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice for her, he went and knocked on the bedroom door. "Tiffany?"

"Go away," she shouted back, sounding more like a petulant child than a twenty-one year old woman.

"No. I'm not going to do that." He tried the door handle. It was locked, so he took three more deep breaths. She had locked him out of his own bedroom. All right, their bedroom now, but still....

"Tiffany, I'm going to give you until the count of three to unlock this door. If you refuse to do it by then, I will break it down and you will get twenty more much harder swats than the ones I just gave you in the kitchen. Do you understand me?"

"Just go away," she repeated on a sob. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Maybe not, but you are going to, young lady. And I'm not leaving this door until you've unlocked it. Furthermore, I'm going to call someone in to remove all the locks from all the doors in this apartment, since I seem to be living with a cranky little girl who uses them inappropriately. You have until three, Tiffany. One."

"You can't just threaten to solve every problem and issue we have by turning me over your knee."

"Actually, it's worked pretty well in the past. And I don't believe in fixing things that don't appear to be broken." He heard the door being unlocked, but waited to let her settle herself before he entered.

She'd stopped crying, or at least sobbing, so he slowly opened the door. She was seated on the bed glaring at him, but her lower lip trembled. So, he knew there was a bit of apprehension behind all that righteous anger.

He stepped into the room and shut the door. She didn't try to move away, so he slowly approached her.

"What are you going to do?" she asked more than a little nervously.

"Right now, I intend to sit beside you, pull you onto my lap and give you some hugs and kisses. Would you like that?"

She nodded, but the tears started again. So, he sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry," she wailed again.

"Shh, sweetie. It's all right, and it's over. I'm not sure why you wanted me to do that, but you clearly needed me to take a firm stand with you, so I did."

"What makes you think I wanted that?" she asked with a sniff.

"Because you didn't back down when I warned you to."

"I was angry with you."

"I know you were. But whether you know it or not, when you start to get bratty and sass me back, you are actually demanding that I put you over my knee."

She thought about that as she pressed her burning cheeks against his chest. "I never really looked at it that way, but I suppose you're right in a way," she admitted softly. "I am testing you, and I do want to see if you can master me, but not necessarily with a spanking, and certainly not every time we fight."

He pressed a kiss to her hair. "There's a simple solution to that, honey. Just don't get bratty with me. Especially not after I give you a warning, because I will follow through."

She nodded, then sighed. "I know."

"So, would you like to come back into the kitchen with me and have some breakfast?" When she just shrugged, he asked, "Is there something else you would rather do?"

With her green eyes clear, and her lashes still wet from her tears, Tiffany looked at him and said, "I'd like you to make love to me."

Feeling his love for her expand, Kyle kissed her then said, "I would like that more than anything, honey, but how about after breakfast?"

"We're in the bedroom," she pointed out unnecessarily. "It wouldn't take much for either of us to get undressed...."

Kyle grinned and kissed her again. "You are a little temptress this morning, aren't you?"

"I'm horny, and I've missed you."

"Oh, God, Tiffany. I've missed you so much, and right now I'm so hard that I ache to be inside you again, but yesterday you needed help to even get into the car, and I don't want to tax your remaining strength."

She made a wry face. "You don't think spanking me taxes my strength?"

"Actually, yes I do, which is another reason why I'd really like you to at least eat something first. If you still feel like playing after breakfast, I promise to be a very willing and eager partner."

"Promise?"

He crossed his heart. "Promise."

Smiling, she leaned up to kiss him then agreed to have breakfast with him. She ate all of her cereal and two pieces of toast, drank her juice as well as her milk shake and took her pills then declared herself done.

Kyle gave her a wolfish grin. "So...?"

"Race you," she said with a laugh, then ran into the bedroom. He tackled her before she reached the bed but turned so she fell on top of him. Her eyes alight with mischief and fire, she kissed him.

He wasted no time in lifting her t-shirt off, but was amazed once again by the way her ribs stuck out. He ran his hand lightly across them. "You lost way too much weight, Tiff. You're practically nothing but skin and bones."

She just closed her eyes and reveled in his touch. "But I'm definitely making up for it now. I probably gained a pound yesterday, and will gain another today."

"At that rate it will be a month before you're back to where you were, and another month before you are near to where you should be."

She placed her hand against his cheek. "I'm fine, Kyle. Really. And I want to make love with you."

"All right," he said on a sigh. "But we need to be careful. No swinging from the chandelier. Okay?"

"Darn," she said with a snap of her fingers. "And I really wanted to try out my new act today, too."

He laughed then worked on removing her shorts. Not wasting any time, he ran kisses from her belly to the sweet spot between her legs. He'd barely touched his tongue to her and she came. Taking a few moments to simply soothe her pulsing flesh with his mouth, he then worked her toward another climax. This time she actually gripped his hair when she came, then went totally limp."

As he slowly kissed his way back up her body to her mouth, she met his kiss eagerly. Drawing back he looked down at her. She was flushed with pleasure and lovely. Her beautiful red hair had a nice shine to it again after she'd shampooed it this morning, and her skin was a creamy white with a few interesting freckles scattered about. "I didn't expect you to taste different, but you do."

"Better or not?" she asked hoarsely.

"Sweeter, I think. Not necessarily better, but still among the top ten of my most favorite flavors."

She laughed, then ran her fingers through his hair. "Make love to me, Kyle."

"With pleasure, my lady," he said, taking off his clothes. Her openly admiring glances fed his ego which in turn inflated his cock. Her eyes grew wide as she smiled and bit her lower lip.

Moving on top of her, Kyle checked to make sure she was ready then smoothly entered her. He started to move slowly when she gripped his butt to press him even deeper into her. He stopped. "No, Tiff. Just slow and gentle this time. All right?"

"But I want--"

"No, Tiff. I want to make sure I don't hurt you, so let me determine the depth and pace. I'll still bring you pleasure and I won't leave you unsatisfied, but we need to take this slowly."

She pouted, but let him set the pace for a few minutes when she grabbed and pushed back at him again. And again he stopped. "Tiffany.... I'm beginning to get frustrated with you. Just relax and let me handle things."

"But--"

"No. If you can't listen and obey me, then we'll stop."

"I don't want to stop."

"I know that. I don't either, but you're being too impatient, and if you continue this way, you're going to get into trouble."

"I don't want that either."

"Then be a good girl, relax and let me take you on a slow, languorous ride of pleasure."

She sighed, then stuck her tongue out at him.

He forced himself to look stern, when a part of him really wanted to laugh. "Are you going to obey me now, or must I take more drastic measures?"

"I'm not asking for a spanking now, Kyle. Really. I just want--"

"Tiffany. Who is the master in the bedroom?"

"You are," she answered sullenly.

"Right. And what happens if you don't obey your master?"

"I get spanked."

"Right. So, just calm down and let me set the pace. Don't fight me. I won't warn you again."

She groaned. "I'm not made of porcelain, Kyle."

"No, but you are made of flesh and blood which can be even more fragile than china. You can still break."

"Yeah? Well you try taking that firm palm of yours against a plate of fine china and see what happens to it."

He had to struggle hard not to laugh now. She was looking really put out with him, but he wasn't doing this to torture her. He truly was worried that her body wasn't up to a robust session of thrust and push.

"Slowly, Tiffany," he reminded as he started moving again. He saw her hands clenching and unclenching the bottom sheet first. She really wanted to drive right now, and he was forcing her to sit in the passenger seat with a safety harness on. But he was driving, not she, so she had to obey his rules.

Then he saw her back arch as she gripped the sheets. "Easy, sweetie," he said, knowing she was getting frustrated.

"Please, Kyle," she groaned.

"We'll get there eventually, Tiff, just enjoy the ride in the meantime."

"But you're taking too long. I want to go on a jet plane, and you're insisting we ride the slow boat to China. Please...? I won't break, honest."

"No. And that's final. Push me again, and you'll find yourself on a paddle wheeler for a very bumpy ride."

"Argh!"

"Relax," he ordered, and was working up to a rhythm when she gripped his hips and began thrusting against him. He immediately pulled out. "That's it, my darling. You were warned," he said, pulling her up out of the bed and over to the rocker where he lowered her protesting body gently over his knees.