The Protector (6 page)

Blair
felt tears forming. She wanted that so much, but Cole was right. She had
trouble trusting him. At that moment, more than anything she wanted their
relationship to work.

Cole
leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I will tear down those walls you built to keep
me out, and I will win your heart once again.”

“I
dare you to try.” Blair looked into his eyes, willing him to take her
challenge.

Cole
took off his utility belt and gun, setting them in the safe he kept in his
room.

Blair
tried not to think about why Cole felt he needed to build a spanking bench for
her all those years ago. And even more about why her spanking bench was still
in the same place in his room all these years later.

The
spanking bench not only gave her entire body, including her arms and legs,
complete support, but it also gave him a place to restrain her arms and legs.
As much as she loved Cole’s harsh punishments, she could never hold still for
them. She always fought, and he spent a good amount of time restraining her. If
she moved at the wrong time, Cole could accidently hit her wrong and cause
serious injury. Cole made sure that she couldn’t move enough, but checked the
restraints to make sure they weren’t too tight.

“I
will start right now.”

The
first stinging smack hurt just as bad as she remembered. She struggled even
harder while she shrieked, and he smacked her again, the sound echoing through
the room over her screams. She hated the pain and struggled to escape.

“Cole!”
she yelled. “Stop it, stop,
stop
.”

“You
are not ready for me to stop, baby,” Cole replied in a soft and tender tone
that was completely at odds with the calculating expression on his face.

The
hard swats kept coming. Her ass was on fire, and every new hit sent fresh waves
of fire through her skin.

Something
broke deep down, something that she had held onto for so long. She screamed,
but not in physical pain, but for the heartbreak and betrayal from her love
that she had endured. All those feelings that she had kept hidden for so long were
finally coming to the surface and breaking free.

Cole
was no longer hitting her. She felt him pull her limbs free and grab her into
his arms and held her close. “Let it all out, baby. Let it out.”

Blair
did as Cole commanded her and allowed herself to cry. Cole rocked her, and
gently stroked her hair. “That’s it, baby,” he murmured, then kissed her
forehead softly. She sank into his embrace, loving the feel of his hands
stroking her back, comforting her.

Cole’s
mouth came down over hers, gently, but she didn’t fight him. She wrapped her
arms around him, pulling him closer to her. He groaned, the vibration against
her body only making her body burn hotter for him.

He
laid her down on the bed,
then
fumbled with his jeans.
Cole thrust in, stretching her channel. They both groaned as he sank balls deep
into her.
“Oh, Blair, my sweet, sweet girl.
You feel
better than I remember,” Cole whispered.

Blair
could feel tears falling again. It felt so good to be with Cole again. She felt
so loved and cherished.
 
She wanted to
feel this way all the time.

Cole
slowly pulled out, and thrust deep into her cleft. The feel of him moving
through her moist sex was like heaven. She moaned, moving her hips to meet his
thrusts. Her pussy pulsated and tingled with pleasure.

 
Cole’s mouth came down onto hers just as she
cried out in pleasure. Cole groaned as he thrust harder into her. Blair felt
her orgasm coiling in her belly, while Cole’s lips covered hers in a brutal,
tongue thrusting kiss. He dominated her mouth the same way he had dominated her
life before. It felt so good to let go, to let Cole take over, like the alpha
wolf he was.

Blair
arched her back as her body came to the brink of bliss. Cole’s thick shaft
hammered into her, sending her over the edge. She came with breathless cries as
her body shook with the bursts of pleasure.

Cole
gripped her hard,
then
snarled that sexy growl of his
when he came. His cock pulsated deep within her, once again marking her as his.
She would carry his scent for days until all of his seed was gone.

Blair
knew she should be outraged. Cole had sneaked under her defensive wall and made
her soften. She desperately wanted to remain strong, hard … and cold, but she
was far too relaxed, at peace and warm. Her acceptance to his play and sex was
shameful, and to add to her own shame she let him cuddle her, giving her the
aftercare she craved. She should push him away and care for herself. Instead,
she melted into him, and allowed herself to fall asleep wrapped in his
comforting arms. She slept peacefully while she lay wrapped in his arms.

When
morning came, she woke up feeling amorous and relaxed. She looked over and saw
Cole on the other side of the bed. She groaned quietly as the memories came
back. She’d had sex with Cole and spent the night with him. She struggled to
push aside the urge to snuggle with him. Her fear suddenly gripped her. The
love she felt for this man was overwhelming, but they had both changed over the
years and were different people. This was moving too fast. She had to get space
away from Cole to think, and quick. She would be punished again, but at the
moment she just needed a bit of space to process everything that had happened
and her own feelings.

She
got up, not bothering to grab her clothes, and tiptoed to the back door. Once
she had it open, she shifted. One of Cole’s issues with her in the past was
always was she could always sneak out on him. Part of her hoped Cole would come
after her, but another part of her dreaded it. She ran her little fox ass home.

****

Blair
walked into her front door and went straight to her phone. She found Michael’s
contact icon, and pressed it, sending a silent prayer that he would pick up.

“Hello,”
Michael’s strong voice said over the phone.

“Michael,
its Blair.”

“Blair,”
Michael said in a tone that meant she was still in trouble. Her heart
stuttered. It didn’t sound good for her.

“How
is Cassie?”

“She
is doing well and impatient to see her friends. Thank you for asking. Be sure
to visit her once Doctor Trask allows it.”

“I
will. I promise.” Blair took and deep breath and dove in. “Please listen to me.
I am so sorry about everything. I promise to never do anything so stupid again.
Please, just please let me out of this.”

Michael
was silent for a moment. “No, Blair.”

“But—”

“Let
me finish,” he said, cutting her off. “It is not for the reasons you assume.
The answer is no. You are going to stay with Cole as if you are mated.”

Blair
rested her head against the door frame between the living room and kitchen. She
knew there was no arguing with Michael. Michael was fair in his judgments, but
barring the Goddess’s intervention, he never changed his decision.

“Thank
you for taking my call,” Blair said, then disconnected the call. Blair closed
her eyes and rested her forehead against the cool wood of the door frame. She was
fucked, literally, in every way.

She
paced the living room while she tried to think. There had to be a way out of
this. She could feel her panic growing. At this point if she ran Cole would
chase her, even to France.

What
if she went back to Cole and everything worked out fine?

What
if it didn’t?

What should I do? I can’t think.

She
was so confused and stopped in the middle of the living room and stared at the
intricate design of the area rug that covered the wooden floors of her living
room. She should shower and go to work. That would help her think of a plan.
Nothing got her thinking better than creating delicious comfort food.

****

Blair
rolled out the dough. The repetitive process was relaxing her. Kneading was
always so therapeutic. The timer rang, and Blair grabbed the hot pad to get the
cinnamon rolls out of the oven. She set the pan on the stone island to cool. If
she tried to frost them when they were this hot, the icing would just run off
of them. With a sigh, she made a note asking Mandy to decorate them for her.

She
had a tentative plan of hiding from Cole. Her inner fox yelled at her to go
back to Cole and talk.
I need some time.
I am not running away or hiding. I’m just taking some time to think.
She
laughed at herself,
Yeah
right,
you are being a coward and hiding.
One night, if
she had one night to ponder everything, she could face Cole again.

She
picked up the phone and hit the microphone for speech to text. “Mandy, are you
still going to be able to work some overtime? I think I may need some personal
time for a few days.” Mandy was fresh out of her parents’ home, and she hoped
Mandy needed the overtime.

Her
phone lit up with a text message. “Yes. I heard about what happened from Aaron.
Don’t worry. If that wolf comes around, I won’t say a word about where you are.
It’s worth whatever trouble I get into.”

Blair
laughed as she read the message. Mandy was as loyal a friend as she was an
employee.

“Thank
you, dear. I hope to have this problem taken care of shortly. In the meantime I
will pay you double time for the trouble I am putting you through.”

“Thank
you so much. I would say that's not necessary, but I could really use the
money.”

Blair
got the rest of the dough ready with a happy whistle. Her plan was coming
together nicely. She would be able to avoid Cole, she hoped, until he relented
and let her go.

She
tried to keep Myra’s words out of her head about being angry and wanting to
take out some revenge on Cole as she tried to plan how to avoid him. When he
came in looking for her, Mandy would take care of it as she promised.

You’re being silly. Don’t you
want to return to that time when both of you were happy?
 
Blair nodded at herself. She did
miss that time. Their future had looked full of promise.
Then stop being so scared and go back to him.

No. I can’t risk my heart again.
I can’t handle my heart breaking like that again.

Cole
had been the
cholan
training to be the
Kelach
and sheriff, but honestly, Blair would have loved
Cole no matter what position he rose to in their territory. Hierarchy was never
something Blair aspired to. She just wanted Cole and life they had planned
together. She smiled when she thought about Cole's desire for so many beautiful
children.
 
He loves you. Stop fighting him.
Blair
wanted to cry in frustration and indecision. Maybe she was throwing away her
last chance to be happy.
I can’t do this.
I need to be able to think clearly.

She
returned to the crescent rolls and finished prepping them. Mandy could put them
in the oven when she came in. That way they would be hot and fresh. She cleaned
up her mess and threw the cleaning rags in the bin for Myra to collect later.

Blair
felt panicked,
and
 
;
and she couldn’t concentrate.
She wanted to try again, but now she was afraid. She felt ashamed that now that
she was getting a chance to try again she was so afraid. She just needed some
space and a chance to calm down. Cole would take her back to bed and make her
forget why she was scared.

Let him. Go to Cole and tell him
how afraid you are.

Blair
reached for her phone, tempted, but then she pulled her hand back. She would
talk to him tomorrow.

****

Cole
stormed up the walkway to Blair’s little house. She took pride in her home’s
appearance, keeping the pastel yellow paint fresh and her garden beds weed
free. Now that fall was upon them, she had winterized all the beds. Here in the
mountains it went from warm to cold, without much autumn. It went from pleasant
to cold, almost overnight.

He
stomped up the porch steps and trudged across the porch. Even though he’d never
formally told her she was to stay with him, she knew. He’d packed her bags, and
she was very intelligent.
 
He took his
keys out and stuck it in the lock. The lock turned, but the chain caught.

Dammit, Blair.
He
pounded on the door, imagining all the ways he would get to punish her. She was
due to show up at his home at eight this morning, and she never showed.
 
She is
mine.
Whether she wants to be or not.
One mistake, one time I got scared—for her—and
she wants to punish me forever. I held a close family friend while he died, and
listened to his mate scream for hours. Cut me some slack. But no, Blair didn’t.
She ran to France five years ago, and she is running now. I won’t allow it,
anymore. While under my domination, she will submit to me and accept my claim
on her, one way or another. I love her. She can’t walk away just as Michael
arranged for us to have a chance.