The Woman Next Door (9 page)

Suddenly, she realized she was doing it again! She turned around and ran as fast as she could to get back to the cabin, angry with herself. She was crying and out of breath, but Craig was still in the bathroom. She sat at the granite counter and buried her head in her arms and cried. She hated her temper, but at least she realized how she was behaving and stopped herself. Elizabeth knew it was a case of nerves, but she felt so guilty.

Craig heard her crying before he left the bathroom. He hurried to her side. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Are you ill?”

“I’m awful, Craig. My temper is so terrible at times. I’ve earned another spanking. And, I don’t want a spanking!” She cried even harder. “Why do you put up with me?”

“Because I really do love you,” he answered her. “Now tell me why you earned a spanking.”

“I don’t want to tell you… You’ll be so mad! Can’t you just spank me and I’ll know what it’s for?”

“No. Lizzy, talk to me right now and tell me what you did.” Craig was worried.

“I only pretended to work on my book. Instead, I was waiting until you went to the bathroom so I could steal your car and go home! I was almost to the car before I realized what I was doing… again. I was breaking my promises to you, and I ran back here as fast as I could run. Please don’t hate me; I don’t like disappointing you.”

Craig held her, closing his eyes as he imagined all the things that could have happened to her if she’d returned home by herself.

“You’re really mad, aren’t you?”

“I am thankful that you realized what you were doing and you came back. Honestly, honey, it won’t be much longer that we have to stay here. Senator Peyton Gregory is expected in town to dedicate a new wing at the library in honor of his mother on Saturday. It’s only a bit longer.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” she asked.

“I did, but you were in such a snit you weren’t listening. Are you okay now? You aren’t thinking of plotting another escape?” he asked.

“No, I’m not. I know I say I’m sorry all the time, but I really do mean it, darling. I’ll try to accept the consequences without complaining.”

Craig was proud of her for telling him the truth; she could have kept it hidden and he wouldn’t have known. He didn’t hear her leave or come back. Still, she needed the consequences in order to forgive herself. The last thing he wanted to do was spank her, but he had to be consistent or she wouldn’t feel safe with him. “Good. We’ll go into the bedroom and you can prepare yourself.”

Craig watched in growing surprise, as Elizabeth walked into the bedroom without hesitation or argument… not her usual style. Her shoes went flying, and she removed her jeans and panties before turning to look at him questioningly. Craig took the pillows and put them at the end of the bed. “Bend over these so that your backside is right on top.” Again she obeyed him, and he realized he was doing her a service to spank her soundly.

Elizabeth cried out at the first spank, and it didn’t take long for the tears to start in earnest. “I’m so sorry, Craig.”

“I know you are, sweetheart.” He spanked her sit spots and then her upper thighs before returning to her bottom cheeks and spanking them again. “Are you ready to forgive yourself, Lizzy?” he asked softly, pausing the spanking.

“I just want you to forgive me, Craig. I hate it that you keep seeing the worst of me.”

“I just saw a very honest and truthful woman tell on herself when she could have said nothing and I wouldn’t have been the wiser. I saw a beautiful young woman take strides in learning to control her temper. You are special, Miss Elizabeth, and I love you. Now, answer me; are you ready to forgive yourself or do I need to continue spanking you?”

“I’m already sore, Craig, but I don’t want to lose you,” she confessed. “I promise I will forgive myself as long as you can forgive me, too.”

“You were forgiven before I spanked you, sweetheart,” he admitted.

“Thank you,” she tearfully replied. “I forgive me, too, and I’ll try harder to control my horrid temper.” He helped her to her feet, and then pulled her into his arms and hugged her and made her feel cherished and safe. He slightly rocked her as they stood there, and Elizabeth felt no shame. Yes, her bottom burned, but it was no more than she deserved for allowing her temper to run wild. “I truly hate that our lives are upside down, Craig.”

“I understand that you are frustrated, Lizzy. I want to go home, too. I want to court you in the old-fashioned way. I want us to get engaged and plan our wedding. We can’t do that from here, and while a crime family is trying to kill you.”

“This would make sense to me
IF
I was part of the criminal element, but I’m not! I’m just the nurse who had the misfortune of being assigned to him while he was in the ER. He’s paranoid, and wants me dead because I overheard something he shouldn’t have said.”

“Honey, the man has no conscience. You are nothing more than a pesky mosquito he wants to squash so he can continue to gain power and money. Thanks to you, however, we have a real shot to take him down.”

“You wish you were there to help, don’t you?”

“I won’t lie; I do want to be in on it, but I wouldn’t trust anyone else to keep you safe. You belong to me, Lizzy, sweetheart.” He kissed her then and they forgot all about McMaken…

* * *

“I don’t like it,” Lon McMaken said loudly, slapping his hand on his desk. “It doesn’t make sense that no one knows where that cop is hiding the Matthews broad.”

The door opened suddenly, and his two men went for their guns, ready to shoot to protect themselves and the boss, too. The blonde who came floating into the room was oblivious to the fact she was interrupting a serious discussion. “Oh, baby, I am so upset! I don’t have the right shoes to wear with the gown I bought to wear to the party we’re giving Saturday night. I know you said I couldn’t spend any more money, but baby, I really need to! I saw a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes online that are absolutely perfect, baby. May I please buy them? They’re only a measly nine hundred dollars!”

“Athena, was the door to my office closed?” Lon asked in a quiet voice and his two men realized the blonde was in serious trouble. When the boss was quiet, he was furious; loud was better.

“I forgot, baby,” she pouted. “May I have the shoes?” she asked again. “I want to look really pretty for you Saturday night.”

Lon suddenly got to his feet and walked toward the blonde. “You have greatly displeased me, Athena, and you are going to be punished.”

“What did I do, baby?” she asked, her lower lip trembling and her blue eyes filling with tears. “I know you said my dress was too expensive, but I want to look nice for you… and I need the shoes for everything to be perfect!”

“You entered my office without knocking. How many times have I told you not to do that?” he demanded.

“I forgot, baby. I’m sorry.”

“This time you’re going to be punished.” He took her arm and marched her over to a corner and said, “You stand here and think about what is going to happen in a few minutes.” He came back to face the two men, who were trying hard not to smile. “My contacts at the police department don’t report that anything is in the works about Gregory, just the normal. I say we go ahead, and hope we flush out the Matthews woman in the meantime. We have two days.”

“What do you suggest we do, Boss? No one knows a thing.”

“Yeah. Maybe we lay low for today; let her think she’s safe. Lull her into the open. Keep an eye on her house and on the cop’s place.”

“Will do, Boss.” The man’s eyes went to the corner of the office, where Athena was squirming in her five-inch heels. Her leggings were skintight over her plump butt, and he decided he was a bit jealous of the boss. He wouldn’t mind slapping that ass himself!

“Get on out of here. I have another matter to tend to.” Lon McMaken wasn’t blind and he knew what his men were thinking, but Athena was his, and he was going to enjoy spanking her. He sent the two on their way with instructions to shut the office door. No one else but Athena would think to open that door without an invitation, and now she was going to pay the price for that bit of disobedience. “Athena, come right on over here.”

She turned to look at him, and she clearly was not aware of what he planned to do to her. She came to him and then offered, “Do you want a blow job, baby?”

“What I want is for you to lie over my lap so that I can spank you for barging into my office again.”

“You want to
spank
me?” she exclaimed, shocked. “I’m not a little girl, baby!” Her blue eyes were wide.

“You act like a little girl.”

“You don’t think so when we’re in bed together. Then I please you, right?”

“Yes, you are fantastic in bed, but we aren’t talking about that. We are talking about you barging into my office any old time you feel like it. How am I supposed to conduct business when you keep interrupting me?”

“I’m sorry, baby. You don’t need to spank me; I promise I will remember from now on.”

“You are going to be punished, Athena.”

“No. I don’t want you to spank me! My father used to do that, and it’s why I left home at eighteen. I promised myself that I wouldn’t take that from any man ever again. Baby, I love you, but I won’t be punished like a child. I won’t.”

“Either you accept the punishment you earned, or you pack the things you walked into this house with and nothing more, and get out.”

“I thought you loved me!”

“I rule this house and everyone in it. I’ve warned you several times, and this time you have earned a sound spanking. Either accept it or get out. I demand respect in my house.”

Athena’s lower lip trembled. “Okay, but please don’t hurt me, baby.”

“I am not making promises.” He fully intended to make sure she couldn’t sit down for at least a week without feeling the spanking. Besides, she had an ass built for spanking. It was what drew his attention first when he saw her waiting tables in a lounge the family owned. He soon found out that she didn’t like playful slaps during sex, and he wanted her hot, so he didn’t smack her bottom. Now, however, he was going to smack it for a good long time!

Athena was afraid as she placed herself over Lon’s lap. It was four years since she was last spanked, and her father was merciless. She packed what she could carry and left the house by way of her bedroom window in the middle of the night. Athena missed her mother, but she didn’t try to call her because it would let her father know where to find her, and he would come for her and drag her back to his good, upstanding home in the community, where she was expected to set a good example for other young people. She also knew he would begin spanking her again. It was better to let Lon punish her this one time and then do her best not to anger him again. “Lonnie, I’m so sorry. Please don’t be harsh. I’ll make it up to you tonight, I promise.”

“You’ll make it up to me tonight, all right, but your pretty backside is still going to sting and burn, I’ve wanted an excuse to spank you for months now.”

“I really don’t want you to spank me, baby. My father was cruel… and I am very afraid.”

“It’s a spanking, woman. You won’t die from it. In fact, I think I should have done this the first time you walked in here without knocking.” Lon was done talking; he raised his hand and spanked the rounded bottom with the palm of his hand. Athena cried out in pain, but he continued to spank her. When he finally stopped he told her to stand up and lower her tight fitting leggings.

Athena was crying so hard it was all she could do to stand. He was just as awful as her father when it came to spanking. Her father always made her take the last of it on her bare skin, and she knew that Lon intended the same thing. “Please stop now, baby. I’ve learned my lesson.” She had to plead for mercy, but she was sure there would be none.

“I will decide when to stop. Hurry and step out of those pants or I will have to reheat you with my hand before I paddle you.”

Athena didn’t argue; she removed the leggings as quickly as she could. She didn’t want to give Lon an excuse to make the punishment any worse.

“Now, reach into the bottom drawer and take out the wooden paddle.”

Athena wanted to run, but knew it was pointless. He would drag her back, or have the men do it for him, and then he would invite them to watch her humiliation. She reached into the drawer, shocked to see there were three paddles in all. The wooden one was very thin, and built to sting without leaving bruises. There was a heavy paddle in the drawer, too, and a leather paddle. In his own way, Lon was being easy on her. She handed him the paddle, and this time she had to lie over his desk for the spanking. The first crack was loud and it hurt. She didn’t try to control her cries of pain, hoping to discourage him from continuing for a long time. It didn’t help, however. Lon paddled her until she was numb from the pain, and her emotions were numb, too. Then he stopped.

“Have you learned a lesson?” he asked.

“Yes, Lon. I won’t open your office door ever again.”

“Good girl. If there is a next time, we’ll repeat this spanking and add a belting.”

“There won’t be a next time,” she said quietly. He instructed her to put on her leggings, which held in the heat and hurt her something awful.

“Tonight we’ll get to the making up part,” he told her, but Athena didn’t answer.

She went upstairs to their bedroom and packed a suitcase, taking her own clothing, and all the jewelry he’d given her as gifts. She could sell them and use the money to support herself. One thing was certain; Lon McMaken was never going to touch her again. Within minutes she’d left the house, telling the housekeeper that she was going to get her hair and nails done, and then shop for shoes. She wouldn’t be expected back for hours and those hours would take her far away from the long reach of the McMaken family.

* * *

The knock on the door startled both Elizabeth and Craig! He instantly had his gun in his hand and pointed toward the bedroom for her to go and hide herself. Elizabeth obeyed, although she didn’t want to. She wanted to stand beside Craig! “Lizzy,” she heard him call. “It’s Randy. Come on out.”

“I got to thinking you might be low on some things, so I made a grocery run for you. Fresh fruits and veggies, some cold milk, soda, and some cheese, lunchmeat and bread.”

“This is so nice of you, Randy. Thanks so much!” Elizabeth exclaimed as she started unpacking the bags. “How on earth did you manage to carry all of this by yourself?”

“I’m not a wimp, Elizabeth!” he declared, slightly offended.

“Oh no, you are not a wimp,” she agreed. “But, carrying this much stuff all that way… You did great. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re going to make some young woman very lucky someday, Randy,” Craig said in approval. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“I would be, but we were sent home early because of a plumbing problem. I thought it would be the perfect time to come and make sure you two are okay, and see if you needed or wanted anything?”

“You brought what we’ve been wanting, and that is salad fixings,” Craig admitted. “We haven’t been starving. The freezer and pantry are full, but real milk is a treat, so is the lunchmeat and fruit.”

“Oh! Pretzels and potato chips… and dip!” Elizabeth called out and Craig chuckled.

“I brought you a paper, too.” He took it out of his backpack and handed it to Craig.

“You are a good friend to have, Randy,” Craig said, offering his hand to the young man.

“I wanted to let you know that I’ve kept my word, even from my folks.”

“I hated to ask you to do that, Randy, but Lizzy’s life is on the line. I will explain to your folks when this is all over and tell them how helpful you’ve been.”

“That would be great. My Dad will understand, but Mom will say, ‘You know you can trust me, Randall James.’ Mom is tough.” He said that with a grin, and then added, “She gave me the third degree about drugs and drinking the other day.”

“Sounds like a good mom to me,” Craig told him.

“She is, but she doesn’t need to worry. I’m not doing that stuff. I like to have my wits about me too much to risk losing control that way.”

“Do you want to stay and have dinner with us, Randy?” Elizabeth offered.

“No, I’d better not. My folks will know about the early dismissal and ask where I went. I can tell them I went to practice shooting with my new gun, but I will need to get back before dark to make it plausible. You both stay safe.”

Once he was gone, Elizabeth said, “We are going to eat well tonight, darling. Steak and fresh salads, and fruit for dessert.”

“Sounds wonderful. And a glass of milk instead of water.”

“Isn’t it amazing how we take such things for granted until we don’t have them for a while? Oh, Craig, sometimes it’s good to have a lesson in appreciation for all we have. Don’t you agree?”

“I do agree. But, I also hope that by Saturday night this will be all over and Wally will come and have good news for us.”

“Do you think it will be that soon?” she questioned.

“Saturday afternoon is when Peyton Gregory is to cut the ribbon on the new wing at the library. He donated most of the money to honor his mother.”

“Are you sure that your captain is on top of the situation?”

“I would trust the man with my life. He won’t betray you in any way, and he already had his suspicions about a couple of officers. He’s making sure they don’t get wind of anything. If this works as planned, the McMaken Family will crumble.”

“And Wally will come and tell us?”

“He will.”

“We are going to need to restock his freezer and pantry,” Elizabeth said. “After we eat tonight, I’ll make a list. I’m also going to find some way to thank him for helping us.”

“That’s nice of you, honey.”

* * *

“Where the hell is Athena?” Lon McMaken growled Friday afternoon as he tried one more time to call her. “Damn it to hell! Trace that GPS thing on her phone. When I get my hands on her, I’ll take a belt to her this time!” he swore.

“She’s probably scared of you now, Boss,” his cousin Monty said.

“She’ll be even more scared when I find her,” Lon grumbled angrily. “This damn thing with Gregory is due to go down tomorrow afternoon and the party to celebrate is tomorrow night. It won’t look good if my girl isn’t here to act as hostess.”

“I sure wouldn’t growl at her, Lon. You’ll get further if you’re sweet to her.”

“Monty, you’re a fool!” Bobby, his brother, said. “She could be at the police station right now, spilling her guts. Lon, you should have waited until Sunday to spank her ass.”

“That is
my
business, Bobby!” Lon’s voice was chillingly quiet.

“Normally, I would agree, Lon, but you are the head of our family operation, and you have to think about the entire family when you take a risk with a woman you aren’t married to!” Bobby scolded his cousin. “It’s bad enough that nurse overheard you making plans to deal with Peyton Gregory. Now your girlfriend is missing and you can’t find her! We’re screwed!”

“We would know by now if the cops were on to us. Where’re your guts, Bobby? That’s why Papa made me the head instead of you. I have the nerve to see things through.” He picked up his phone and tried to call Athena. “Athena, honey, please call me. I am worried sick about you, sweetheart. I don’t know if someone has kidnapped you, or harmed you in some way, and I have looked everywhere I can think of. Baby, if you are upset over that little spanking… Well, I won’t do it again. Please, sweetheart. I’m lost without you. Call me.” He clicked end and then said, “Why the hell isn’t she answering me?”

“I tell you, Lon, she’s scared. I don’t think she’d go to the cops, but I think she is hiding from you. She had it real rough as a kid. Her old man bared her almost every day just so he could put his hand on her fanny. She ran away from him, and she ran from you because you scared her.” Monty dared either his brother or his cousin to argue with him.

A couple of hours later, one of his men delivered Athena’s cell phone. He found it in the lobby of a hotel downtown. Athena’s car was found parked on a side street, empty. There was no sign of foul play, but Lon was sure someone had kidnapped her to get to him. He stayed beside the phone, waiting for a call. When he didn’t hear anything, he called her parents’ home, hoping she went home. They were rude and hung up on him after telling him they hadn’t heard from her in four years and she wasn’t there. Three females… all with secrets he didn’t want shared; all hiding from him.

“We need to cancel our plans for tomorrow, Lon,” Bobby said.

“No. We are the McMaken Family, and we do not allow fear to enter into our decisions. We proceed, and we have the party as planned. I will have to tell everyone that Athena had to go home to take care of an elderly aunt.”

* * *

“Are you still worried about our safety, Hubert Eugene?” Catherine asked as she looked at the pretty quilts and tried to pick just one to take home with her.

“I will be worried until the situation with our neighbor woman is resolved, Catherine.”

“I feel perfectly safe and at peace here, honey. The bed and breakfast is delightful, and the people are so nice. My biggest problem is picking just one quilt! I love them all!” she told him with a huge smile.

“You need to decide soon, Catherine. Tomorrow is Sunday, and nothing will be open.”