Her Officer in Charge (22 page)

“What? Oh, a penguin, sir.”

“Now you’re going to imagine yourself spread apart, just as you are now, but your naughty back hole doused in slippery lube, my finger touching, then gently pushing. Even if you don’t want to consider the thought of my exploring between these lovely seat cheeks, you won’t be able to stop yourself. The idea will consume you. You’ll think about it when you’re washing the dishes, or shopping, or going to sleep, won’t you, Bella?”

“Yes, sir, I will, it is mind magic, sir, that’s exactly what it is.”

“Moving on,” he announced, releasing her cheeks. “A few more deserved swats before I bring you any pleasure, then I’ll leave you to feel the sting for a few minutes. I want you to think about the disrespectful way you spoke to me a moment ago.”

His hand began slapping across her already stained skin, journeying over her backside, landing unpredictably, until it was glowing to his satisfaction.

“Owww, sir, I won’t be disrespectful again, I’m so sorry.”

“You’ve been sorry quite a bit. Perhaps you should consider what you’re about to say before you speak, and understand that testing is a bit like waving a red flag and asking for a red backside.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Think about that. I’ll be back,” he murmured, giving her cheeks a pinch.

As she heard him move away, she moaned into the mattress. She had sassed him and paid the price, but she knew why she’d done it. She was as hungry for his strict reassurance as she was for his loving tenderness.

Sitting in the armchair on the opposite side of the room, Vince was studying her. As it had been before, her impudence had been purposeful, and he realized she’d been provoking him from the very beginning.

You need to be reassured, don’t you, Bella? No matter how many times you misbehave, I’ll be there to exact consequences. Don’t worry, my love, this phase will pass as you start to feel more secure.

Idly stroking his cock as he watched her, he gave her a few minutes, wanting the sting to abate before he continued, but to Bella, the few minutes felt much longer. When she finally heard the faint noises of his return, she mewed her apology.

“Sir, I’m sorry. I’ll try to be better, I promise, I’ll really try.”

“I’m sure you will,” he said warmly, “and now I have something special for that furry pussy of yours. Remember when you tried to manipulate me, and you lied to me at the hotel?’

“Ooh, yes, sir.”

“I told you I had the perfect punishment.”

“Yes, sir, I remember.”

“Prepare yourself. I think you’ll find this appropriate.”

He saw her quiver, and a smile crossed his lips as he dropped the tongues of the deerskin flogger between her legs. Slowly sliding them up and across her bottom, he began to lightly flick them against her lips, enjoying her groans as the scintillating sensations sparked her sex.

“Sir, that feels so amazing,” she mumbled, “thank you, sir.”

“You may not be thanking me in a minute, not when I start whisking it over your cunt,” he teased, and draping it over her backside, he left it there. Hearing his footfalls fade away, she felt a strange desire to test her bonds. Pulling her arms, she found there was no give, then lifting one foot, then the other, she felt the awkwardness of the spreader bar. There was no room for movement, and sighing heavily, she sank back into the mattress.

This is unbelievable. I’ve been tied up before but nothing like this. What’s wrong with me? Why do I love this so much?

Hearing him return, she took a breath and readied herself for whatever might come next. She heard a sound she didn’t recognize, and a moment later his fingers were between her lips, probing her saturated channel.

“Lovely,” he mumbled.

Vince had retrieved a chair from his study, and, placing it between her legs, he settled in to examine her glorious pussy. He slid a finger into her depths, rubbed her clit, spread her lips with his thumbs, and continued the prurient play until she was gasping and wriggling in front of him. Only then did he pick up the amorous flogger and begin whipping it across her pussy.

It carried a warm, sweet, tantalizing sting, and he fell into a rhythm, listening to her cries and utterances of pleasure, knowing it would bring her close to her moment, but not take her over the edge.

“Sir,” she finally wailed, “it’s so good, please, sir, can you do it harder?”

“I can,” he replied, “but it won’t matter how I sharply I apply this, it won’t bring you what you want.”

Hearing her groan, he leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“This is now turning into punishment.”

“Sir,” she bleated, “please, I’m already tingling.”

“Good, then perhaps you’re learning your lesson.”

Sitting back down, he returned the flogger to work, flicking and sweeping the tongues across her sex, listening carefully until her cries and pleas for release told him it was time to stop. Tossing it aside, he picked up the crop and, tapping the wide, leather tongue across her bottom, he added some spicy licks to her swollen pussy.

“Now, sweetheart, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Oh, sir, I’m so very sorry. I’ll never lie to you again, or manipulate you, please, please, I’m begging you, please, let me come, please, I can’t stand it.”

Stretching over her body, he planted small kisses across the side of her face.

“Good girl,” he purred. “That groveling was superb. You’ll have your pleasure.”

Straightening up, he slid a condom over his raging erection, then, holding her lips apart, he thrust into her hot, wet, slippery canal.

“I’m going to fuck you until you give me your orgasm,” he announced as he began to pump. “You don’t have to ask permission.”

She’d heard him but couldn’t respond. His cock was pounding, and her hovering release was devouring her. Her entire body felt like a burning ember ready to burst into flame, and as his hands grasped her hips and his cock accelerated, she was sure she would shatter into a thousand pieces.

“Sir, sir, please,” she panted. “I’m giving you…”

The words were ripped from her throat as she exploded. The spreader bar prevented her legs from closing, and her thigh muscles protested as they pulsed and tightened. He was touching between her cheeks but she didn’t care. The convulsions were consuming her, and she knew she was screaming.

Then suddenly it was over.

She was only vaguely aware that he was removing the shackles on her wrists, and moments later the ones on her ankles, then her blindfold was softly slipped from her eyes. Tenderly lifting her body, he shifted her onto the bed and enveloped her in his muscled arms. Sinking into him, she surrendered to the divine feeling washing through her soul.

“My beautiful Bella,” he crooned, kissing her forehead as he stroked her back. “My beautiful, beautiful Bella. I will protect you, I will take care of you, I promise.”

His words were as soothing and comforting as the strong arms around her, and as she drifted in the bliss, she could hear the sure, steady beating of his heart.

Epilogue

The shows had been a roaring success, and though Bella had sailed through her performances, she had stared at the ceiling half the night knowing that something had changed.

It was late afternoon the following day, the weekend was coming to a close, and after a long, leisurely walk, she and Vince were sitting on the beach watching the approaching sunset and listening to the squawking seagulls.

“You’ve been withdrawn all day,” Vince began. “I thought you were just tired, but why do I think it has something to do with your act?”

“Your radar is uncanny,” she said quietly. “I was just about to tell you. I’ve been trying to come to terms with how I felt when I walked off stage last night. I didn’t want to say anything until I could sort through it all.”

“Let me guess, you want to hang up your microphone.”

“That’s so weird. How did you know?”

“I’ll answer that in a minute. Tell me what you’re feeling.”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy them, I did, but I felt, sort of, as if they were yesterday’s news.”

“Are you sad?”

“I guess I am,” she nodded, feeling the heat in the back of her throat. “It feels right though. Everything that happened has changed me. It feels different. Not bad different, just different, sort of, older.”

“Do you have more performances booked?”

“Two, but if Scott isn’t available I’m not going to scramble to find a temporary replacement. I’m going to call the event planner tomorrow and let her know there might be an issue.”

“Do you know where you want to go from here?”

“Kind of,” she murmured.

“Does that mean yes, but you’re shy about telling me?”

“You can see right through me,” she sighed, leaning against him.

“Is that a good thing?”

“It’s a great thing,” she murmured. “A truly great thing.”

“So, what do you want to do? I’ll support you whatever it is, help you if I can.”

“I want to be a spy.”

“You what?”

“Just joking,” she said, unexpectedly laughing out loud. “Sorry, the door was open. I had to walk through. Oh, my gosh, the look on your face.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, but you just gave me a heart attack.”

“That was a great moment,” she giggled. “Anyway, what I would like to do is build up my hypnotherapy practice, but around here, so I can spend more time with you.”

“I like the sound of that. You can use the guest room if you want.”

“Really?”

“Sure. Hey, Bella, I hate the thought of you leaving tomorrow. I’m going to miss you like crazy. The house will be so empty when you’re gone.”

“I’m going to miss you like crazy too,” she sighed. “It’s going to be almost impossible to drive home. I know I’ll want to stop and turn around.”

“Fine by me,” he said, giving her a squeeze.

“There’s something else I want to do as well as hypnotherapy.”

“What’s that, and don’t give me another heart attack!”

“I want to explore that deprogramming thing, you know, for the kids who get brainwashed by those cults. I know you haven’t made up your mind about leaving the military yet—”

“I don’t mean to cut you off, but I have,” he said decisively. “I’ve been going through the same soul-searching as you. That’s how I guessed your mood was related to your shows.”

“You’re going to become a civilian?”

“Absolutely. It’s time for a change. I want to settle, I want to have a normal life, whatever that is, and I definitely want to be a private detective. I don’t want to spy on cheating spouses, nothing like that. As I told you, I want to find the missing, wherever they are in the world. I want to solve mysteries. It’s in my blood.”

“Vince, you’ll be brilliant. I’m really happy for you. I’m happy for me. What am I saying, I’m happy for us. Wow, Vince, this is a special moment.”

“It is. A new future is waiting for both of us, with the emphasis on the ‘us,’” he smiled.

“I feel all warm and fuzzy,” she mumbled. “There is one thing though.”

“There is?”

“I hate to spoil the warm and fuzzy thing, but you, Captain Valenti, still owe me an explanation.”

“I do? About what?”

“That notary public suddenly showing up at the hotel and whipping out her fingerprint kit. You never told me what that was about, and the thing with the CD case and travel mug.”

“Shoot, I thought you’d forgotten,” he grimaced.

“Not likely,” she declared. “Things might slip my mind now and then, but they always come back.”

“This is difficult,” he said with a heavy frown. “I gave someone some prints and told them they were yours—”

“The ones on the CD case and that mug?” she interrupted.

“Yes, those ones, and when that someone tried to say you were at a crime scene because the prints they found matched what I gave them, I was able to discredit their so-called evidence by producing the ones taken by the notary public.”

“Ooh, wow, so, you set them up. Wait? That means someone was trying to set me up! For what?”

“Uh… that I can’t tell you.”

“My gosh. You did all that for me?”

“Yes, Bella, for you,” he said quietly.

“Wasn’t it risky, I mean, could you have ended up in trouble?”

“Risky? No, not really. Trouble? Maybe, if I’d been wrong, but I knew I wasn’t.”

“Vince, I don’t know what to say. Who was the bastard?”

“Nope, can’t go there. Sorry.”

“Holy crap. What I know doesn’t even scratch the surface, does it?”

“No, and I can’t tell you about it. I’m sorry, I want to, but I can’t. You already know more than you should.”

“Scott said it was about my safety. I understand that, but I’m really glad you’re going to be in civilian life. I’m not sure I could stand all the secrecy.”

“It’s not comfortable for me either,” he said solemnly.

“So, where do we go from here?”

“There are two things I want you to do for me.”

“Anything,” she said eagerly. “Honestly, anything.”

“Do you know why you need to test so much?”

“Ouch,” she whispered. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It doesn’t bother me, not really, but I can’t help wondering where it’s coming from.”

“Um, I think,” she murmured, absently running her fingers through the sand, “it’s because I can’t quite believe it.”

“Believe what?”

“That you are who you are,” she answered, slowly lifting her eyes. “I don’t know what else to say more than that. Does that make any sense?”

“Ah, yes, it does,” he nodded. “Next time you feel the need, I want you to talk to me instead.”

“It feels like that will be difficult.”

“It might be, but I want you to try.”

“I will,” she nodded. “I promise I will try. What’s the other thing?”

“Please spend as much time here as you can. I promise to get up to see you too, but I don’t have the freedom you do. I’m tied to the base.”

“Vince, I would love to do that, yes, of course I will.”

“One day,” he said softly, his sparkling blue eyes locking hers, “you’ll drive down here, and it will be a one-way trip. That’s my vision. Can you make it yours?”