Lessons for Lexi (15 page)

JT smiled.
“Your
mysterious appointment.”

Lexi nodded. “Then the next day, we ran
into you again. I realized that you didn’t recognize me, and you would probably
never recognize me. And Althea’s seemed like the perfect place to disappear.”

“That’s what you wanted?”

“More than
anything.”
Lexi shrugged. “I figured it would be easy.
Me and Raj, staying with Althea, who couldn’t even see us.
I
figured you were getting her companions because you didn’t want to visit her.”

JT looked down, slightly shamefaced
that Lexi hit the nail on the head.
 
He
had planned on dumping Althea off on a couple of strangers so he didn’t have to
deal with her.

“Then you started showing up all the
damn time. Things got messy.” She blinked back tears. “I was afraid you would
hate me when you found out and I was planning on leaving before you ever did.”

“Do you do that every time something
upsets you?”

“What?”

“Run.”

“Yeah,” Lexi nodded. “It’s kind of my
thing.”

JT crossed his arms as he leaned back
in her chair, obviously a little surprised by her honesty. “You know you’re
doing it?”

“I’ve been doing it since I was 17.”

“Why?”

Lexi sighed. “According to my last
court ordered shrink, I’m uncomfortable with confrontation.”

JT tried to hold in a snort, but
couldn’t.

“No, really.”
Lexi shook
her head, and plopped back on the pillows with a huff. “The stuff you hear on
the radio, it’s not me. I mean, it was in the beginning. I was really angry
over Ronnie’s death. But then, I got over my anger and the show didn’t feel the
same.” She shrugged. “So I faked it.”

“Oh, about your show,” JT crossed his
ankle over his knee and gave her a steady look. “It’s cancelled. I’ll talk to
your agent tomorrow, but the settlement offer for the cancellation will be
generous.”

Lexi let out a whoosh of air, despite
her surgery, feeling lighter than she had in years. “Thank you.”

After that, the nurse came in to
reattach Lexi’s IV and she faded off to sleep, the lightness still there. She
wasn’t afraid, because she knew when she woke up JT would still be there.

***

Lexi was incredibly grateful for JT the
following week. He handled things with Andrew. Andrew hadn’t been thrilled with
losing his largest client, but when he saw the contract breech offer JT made,
he was mollified. His ten percent was easily enough to retire on. Not that he
ever planned on retiring.

He handled the paperwork for her at the
hospital and scheduled a nurse to stay with Lexi when she got back to Althea’s
house. They argued about who was going to pay, and eventually settled on an
even split. Of course, JT was handling the finances so she had a feeling that
split never occurred. Apparently, he considered it ungentlemanly to let a lady
cover her own abdominal surgery and recovery.

On the day she was released, JT was
there early. “How much work are you missing?”

JT watched her get settled into the
wheelchair for the ride to the parking lot. “I’m the boss. I don’t work, I
delegate.” He winked and checked his cell phone, standing up as Lexi was rolled
out of the room.

They drove back to the house in
comfortable silence. Lexi was still loopy from painkillers and watched the
passing scenery with utter fascination. “I love how you feel like you can see
forever here.”

JT nodded at the steering wheel. “It is
pretty. Don’t imagine you got that much in Miami.”

“Everything was too perfect there. I
like it when things are pretty, even though they’re not trying to be.”

JT gave her a once over. “I agree.”

“Like, the fishing piers in Maine business district, or the red clay in South Carolina,” Lexi gave a drug addled smile, “the
lights in Jacksonville.”

“You’ve traveled a lot.”

“All fifty
states and three continents.”
She gave him a lazy smile. “Benefit of
running is you get to see a lot of the world.”

“We need to talk about that when we get
back.” JT’s face turned stern.
“Among other things.”

Lexi was lost. “What other things?”

“You need to know what I expect from
you.” His grip tightened on the wheel. “You’re getting a free pass for lying to
me, but if I see that behavior again, it won’t go well for you.”

Lexi crossed her arms over her chest
and informed JT of what she’d been thinking about at the hospital. She wasn’t
letting him spank her anymore.
 
“You’re
not doing that to me anymore.” Her face went red at the memory of being yanked
over his lap the last time. “I’m not a child.”

“No, you’re all woman. A fact that I
can more than testify to,” he laughed as Lexi’s blush deepened. “But yes, I
will be doing that to you when the situation calls for it.”

“You have no right…,” Lexi started.

“I have every right,” he cut her off.
“You knew exactly how sick you were, but you kept up that dangerous lifestyle
anyway.” Lexi huffed but didn’t respond. “Now that you have a second chance to
recover the right way, I’m not going to let you screw that up with drinking and
partying. That part of your life is over.”

“I’m only here until I recover.” Lexi
shifted in her seat and looked out the window. It was the only response she
had. She wasn’t physically strong enough to stop him from spanking her and
there was no way she was telling anyone about the disciplining. There was
nothing, except for her recent surgery, that would keep him from paddling her
backside raw. Lexi made a mental note to have her bags packed the second her
doctor gave her the all clear. At least JT wouldn’t be able to spank her while
she was on bed rest. She stayed quiet until they pulled up in the drive and JT
came around to her side to lift her out.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around
his neck as he carried her up the stairs. She stiffened in his arms when he
turned away from the second floor staircase and instead, carried her to the
back of the house.

“Where are we going?”

“I set up an office in the back so I
can work from home.” He tightened his grip on her before his next sentence.
“I’m taking you there to give you a spanking.” Lexi tried to lunge out of his
arms, but his grip was too hard.

“JT, no…” Lexi began wriggling in his
arms as his office door got closer. Apparently, she’d been wrong. He had no
problem punishing her in her injured state. “I just had surgery, remember?”

He pushed open the door, “I know. I’m
not planning on doing any damage. You’re only getting 10 whacks on the rear to
show you I’m serious about your discipline.” He set her down on her feet in
front of the desk. “Pull down your pants.”

Lexi stood in front of the desk, her
face going stubborn as she watched JT open his top drawer. “No,” she glared at
him. “I am not a child and I’m not letting you treat me like one again.” Her whole
body went tense as he pulled a paddle out of the drawer. He casually walked
around the desk, slapping his hand with it. Lexi watched him, almost
hypnotized.

He focused on the paddle in his hand.
“I got this for you after the first time I spanked you. I was starting to think
I was never going to get to use it.” He stood next to her, paddle at his side.
“If you cooperate, we’ll use it. If I have to make you cooperate, you’re
getting my belt instead.” He nodded at her bottom. “Now pull down your pants and
bend over the desk.”

Lexi felt the blood rush to her face
again, knowing she was trapped. Her eyes were burning as she shoved her
sweatpants down to her knees.
 
“I hate
you,” she lied childishly as she bent over his desk, resting her head on the
mahogany wood.

“Up on your elbows, so you don’t rip
your stitches.”

Lexi’s eyes filled with hot tears.
“Isn’t that thoughtful of you?” She pushed her upper body up off the desk and
stood tensely, waiting for the first slap. It didn’t come.

“Did I ever let you wear panties when I
spanked you before?”

Lexi shook her head, unable to speak
over the lump in her throat.

“Then why are you wearing them now?”

One of the tears broke free and rolled
down her cheek as she caught his meaning. “JT, please,” she begged helplessly.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” she tried to reason.

“And this paddling is for instructional
purposes only.” JT was unmoved. “Now lose the panties.”

Lexi let out a dry sob as she reached
back and pushed her panties to her knees. She couldn’t believe that JT was
doing this to her again. She jumped a little as he put his hand on her bare
bottom. Another tear broke free and she hurriedly wiped it away before putting
her elbow back on the desk. She closed her eyes as JT gave her backside a quick
rub with his hand before the first smack of the paddle landed.

She let out an involuntary gasp, her
breath momentarily taken away. The paddle easily hurt ten times worse than his
hand. She squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body rocking forward as the second
slap landed. She clenched her teeth to keep from shouting, each swat making her
body jerk harder. Luckily for Lexi, JT stayed true to his word and stopped
after only ten swats.

“You can stand up now.” Lexi stood and
pulled up her pants, glaring at JT as she rubbed her backside. JT walked around
the desk to put the paddle away. “You’re lucky you’re still recovering,” he
informed her easily. Then, he sat in the chair in front of her and pulled her
into his lap.

“What are you doing?” She tried to push
away as his arms closed around her.

“Cuddling,” he responded, his grip
getting tighter.
 

She continued to squirm, feeling
uncomfortable. “I’m not in the mood.” She glared. “You promised you wouldn’t
spank me for
no
reason.”

“I had a reason. This is the second
time you’ve argued with me about your discipline and you need to understand why
I do it. I’m not doing this to hurt you.”

Lexi gave him a mocking look.
“Could have fooled me.”

JT laughed. “I’m serious.” He arranged
her more comfortably on his lap, looping his arms around her waist. “This is
happening Lexi. You need someone to set boundaries for you and make sure that
there are actual consequences for crossing those boundaries.” He tilted her
chin so she’d look at him. “You can tell me not to all you want. If I think you
need it, it’s happening. If that makes you leave me when you’re better, I
understand. But I’m hoping you’ll come to accept it as part of your life,
because I think it could help you.”

Lexi pressed her head into his neck,
thinking about what he’d said. He’d never come out and said it like that
before. She’d always told herself if was just some kind of kinky role playing,
but she’d always known it hadn’t been.
 
But it appeared to be all or nothing with him. She either had to accept
him and the domestic discipline lifestyle, or she could have nothing. She
sighed and closed her eyes, deciding to give herself the month of recovery time
to make the decision. JT was stroking her hair and for the first time in a long
time, she was starting to feel safe again. She wasn’t ready to ruin it by
running quite yet.

Chapter 12

For the next month, a nurse cared for
Lexi during the day while JT worked. When he got done, he would take over her
care with surprising efficiency, checking her stitches, keeping her entertained
and helping her in and out of the shower.

He also had Raj and Althea come over regularly
to visit and keep Lexi’s spirits up. Now that Lexi’s show was over and her
secret was out, Raj had decided to stay in Austin and find work. He had an apartment in
the city, but still spent plenty of time with Althea and went to visit her at
the senior living center she’d chosen.

“I wish you’d stay here Althea,” Lexi
said honestly. “I miss you.”

Althea huffed. “I need to be around
people my own age,” she responded. “And it’s time JT took over the family home
and settled down with someone nice. I’m very glad he chose you.”

“I…we’re…” Lexi froze. They’d been so
careful. “You knew?”

“Of course I knew.” Althea was indignant.
“That was exactly what I wanted to happen. It’s why I chose you in the first
place.” Althea laughed. “Faith was too sedate for my nephew. He needed a little
spitfire like Lexi Logan.” Althea reached out a hand and clumsily patted her
knee. “I’ve always been such a fan of your show, and the second I heard your
voice in that outdoor café, I knew you two would make the perfect match.”

“You knew I was Lexi Logan the whole
time?”

“I’m blind, not deaf.” Althea tilted
her head. “Plus, you and Raj chose horrible aliases.
Alex and
Radford?
What were you supposed to be, a boy and his faithful butler?”