Under His Watch (4 page)

“Yes, alright,” Charity whispered.

Should he say what he was thinking? “From now on,” he said, “you’ll call me ‘sir.’”

Her brow furrowed.

“Go on,” Ryan said calmly.

“Yes, sir?”

“That’s it. Now finish washing the dishes and sit at the table until I get back. You may go to the bathroom if you need to, but that’s it.”

“Yes, sir,” Charity replied meekly. Ryan’s ideas about how his future relationship with Charity Phillips would go took a rather sudden turn at that moment, but he didn’t stop to interrogate the shift. He went into the living room and secured the windows, drawing the shades quickly. It probably wouldn’t save them from whoever was watching being able to figure out that he was back, but he didn’t want them to gain any more information about what went on in Charity’s apartment than that.

He sat down at the desk and woke the laptop from its sleep mode. He took the diagnostic thumb-drive from the pocket where he always kept it and plugged it in. Ryan wasn’t a computer guy, but he felt completely comfortable with every form of technology he had ever encountered, and he had a buddy from the SEALs who supplied him with these diagnostic drives. If Charity’s PC had any online connectivity left, the drive would contact Ryan’s friend Joe in Texas—or rather, Joe’s heavily encrypted servers—and find and fix whatever was going on.

After a twenty-minute conversation with Joe, Ryan knew that whatever Charity had gotten herself into didn’t have to do with mining rare-earth minerals—or at least that whatever rare-earth minerals were involved were only part of a bigger story.

“That’s NSA shit, Ryan,” Joe said. “Only way I unlocked that machine was with NSA shit of my own—and that’s just because it was designed to be unlocked. If they had wanted to brick her machine, they could have done it no-fuss-no-muss.”

Ryan felt his brow furrow as he spoke into his cell phone. “So you’re saying that they wanted someone to figure out that they’re… I don’t get it.”

“I’m not sure I do either,” Joe replied, “but my best guess is that they know that Charity will send her PC to someone who can figure out that they’re using high-level government hacking tech. I’m thinking that’s the real message they were trying to send. The video thing, with the sniper pics, was just to get her attention.”

“Huh. Okay,” Ryan said, because he couldn’t think of what else to say. “Would Mithras have this kind of thing?”

“I doubt it,” Joe replied, “but these big conglomerates sometimes have hidden defense businesses. You might want to look into that, next—if you’re feeling rambunctious.”

“Won’t they expect that, too? They can’t be thinking that she’s going to hear it’s a government thing and then just roll over, right?”

“I can’t figure that out,” Joe admitted. “Maybe there’s a shoe that hasn’t dropped yet. But one thing I know is that even if the NSA and the CIA decide not to go all black helicopter, some of these defense contractors have no compunction. Watch your back.”

“Thanks, Joe,” Ryan said, and hung up.

Charity looked up as he walked into the kitchen. She had been reading a book Ryan recognized as a popular fictionalized history of Alexander the Great’s conquests—he had given it to her the previous week, after reading it himself in an attempt to familiarize himself with her work, in order to protect her better. Ryan had found the story much more gripping than he had expected, and he had given Charity the book a little shyly, knowing she knew all the facts, but hoping she might enjoy seeing what the masses were reading when it came to Alexander. She had been nice enough to say that she loved reading anything that made what she did sound exciting.

What next?
he thought. Now that he knew the thing had more layers than they had seen, he also knew that Charity wasn’t going to give up. Ryan had to decide whether he should try to keep this job, for Charity’s sake and for his own, and he had to decide it right now. Then, if he
did
go ahead, he needed to decide how to lay down rules for Charity that would work for both of them.

Then,
past that tricky business, if he navigated the shoals involved, lay the main question: what he should do about the attraction to her that he couldn’t deny any longer.

“Alright,” he said, sitting down across from Charity. “I cleaned your PC. It was malware triggered by your browsing activity—something in the Mithras database told your PC to reach out and find the content the bad guys wanted to send you.
Voila
, death threat and a frozen PC.”

“Okay,” Charity said. “But now that you’ll stay, I’ll be safe.”

Ryan gathered fully now that Charity had dropped her objection to being spanked, which was interesting in and of itself. That could come from duress, though, or it could come from elsewhere.

“I’ll stay until I think you’re safe with someone else,” he said guardedly.

“No,” Charity replied stubbornly. “It’s going to be you.”

Ryan sighed. “Okay, we can talk about that in a few moments. Something else came up, from my friend’s analysis of the malware, that you have to know about because it’s going to affect whether you keep going with your research and, if you do, how.”

“What?” Charity asked, an adorable horizontal crease appearing on her brow.

“My friend is convinced the government is involved somehow.”

Now Charity’s eyes went very wide. “Why?”

“The malware was too advanced to be a corporate thing. It used code that’s top secret, and my buddy only knows about it from having done computer work as a SEAL.”

“Wait…” Charity said. “That makes sense. There was a document in the Project H files that made no sense before—and now it does.” Her face and voice showed enormous excitement. “There are rumors of a resistance movement in Handristan. The US government must be helping them!”

Ryan shook his head. “Don’t jump to conclusions, honey.” He realized that it was the second time he had called her honey, and stored the fact in the back of his mind for further analysis. “In my experience, you never, ever know who’s on what side. All that matters is whether you’re going to stop putting yourself in danger.”

“But if it’s the government, they wouldn’t hurt me.”

Ryan gave a bark of laughter. “Think about that. I’m not as sure as you are that it’s true, but even if the CIA doesn’t go after you, this might be somebody else’s black op, and those who are just known as ‘somebody else’ don’t tend to play by the rules. I think your danger just got bigger, not smaller, Charity.”

Her mouth twisted. “But now that I have you…”

“Okay, let’s talk about that,” Ryan said. “You haven’t mentioned spanking…”

Charity made a sour face.

“No faces, young lady, or you’ll go straight over my knee.” Ryan said it experimentally, to test Charity’s apparent resolution. Her face straightened out immediately.

“I did ask you not to spank me,” she said quietly.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, honey,” Ryan replied slowly, “but when you did that, you sounded like a girl who understands that she’s going to get a hot bottom when she needs one—not like the girl I left here this morning. Am I right about that?”

“Yes, sir,” Charity whispered.

“Alright,” Ryan replied, nodding. “Let’s say for the moment that I’m rescinding my resignation.”

“Really?” Charity asked eagerly.

“Yes. But there’s going to be a lot more to it than spanking, now that we’ve got some new realities about your work in sight.”

“What?” Ryan could hear Charity’s back scraping against the wall, metaphorically, in the harsh note in her voice.

“I’m going to make some real rules for you, and we’re going to get your life in order.”

The sour expression almost broke out on Charity’s face again, but she stopped it just in time and nodded resignedly. “Okay. It’s not like I don’t know I need some… I mean,
self-
discipline.”

“You were right the first time, when you almost said just ‘discipline,’ honey. You need it, and I mean to give it to you. That’s how we’ll build your
self-
discipline up.”

“So, rules like what?” Charity asked with a note of challenge, apparently in the face of Ryan saying flat out that he planned to discipline her.

“Like eating right, and cleaning up after yourself. Not drinking too much. Not staying up too late working. Letting your phone go to voicemail so that you’re not at its beck and call.”

The last part didn’t sit as easily as the first few had, but Charity twisted her mouth and nodded. “Okay. No barefoot in the kitchen stuff?”

Ryan chuckled. “No, that’s just not you, honey. I’ll cook for you sometimes, if you want, or we can get real, freshly made food from the grocery store. Maybe you’ll even decide you want to learn to cook, when you feel how relaxing it can be.”

“Do you cook for your girlfriends?” Charity looked as if she wasn’t sure why she had asked the question. She seemed to have blurted it out, and it made Ryan feel like the other part of the whole business—the attraction—was affecting her, too.

“Only ever had one real girlfriend, and she did most of the cooking.”

“Did you spank her?” Now that Charity had broached the subject, she didn’t seem able to stop herself.

“Yes,” Ryan admitted. “She liked it—it was mostly play, for us.”

“Play.” Charity said the word musingly; not to challenge the idea, but as if it lined up with something she had already thought.

“But,” Ryan continued. “I need to make sure you understand that from this point on, it’s going to be discipline for you. I don’t want us not to understand each other completely, so I’m going to spank you right now, and if you really do want me to rescind my resignation permanently, you’re going to accept it like a good girl. I should warn you that I plan to spank you in a way that you’re going to find very embarrassing.”

“What way?” Charity whispered.

“You’re going to take off all your clothes, and get over my lap for a hand-spanking. Then you’re going to lie on your bed for a belt-whipping.”

Chapter Five

Charity felt fear rise in her tummy. She definitely wanted Ryan to stay, and she
needed
him to stay. She hadn’t even been terribly dismayed, once she had calmed down from the anger of the morning, about the prospect of an occasional spanking. But to be
naked
in front of him? And to get whipped with his
belt?

“Please, no, Ryan,” she pleaded. “Just… just over your lap, please. I’ll do it, and I’ll be… I’ll be a good girl.”

It was so strange to hear herself saying that, but Charity realized at the same time that it had a rightness, too, that she never would have guessed at before she met Ryan Bedford. Former Navy SEAL Ryan Bedford, who towered over her and made her feel small. How could she ever have known that she
liked
feeling small?

Indeed, she didn’t think she had liked it until she had told him that she wanted him to stay if he promised not to spank her, and she had realized as she said it that she didn’t mean it. Not only did she suddenly feel that—as weird as it had seemed to her at first—knowing her bodyguard would spank her bare bottom in order to keep her safe brought a sense of security; she also suddenly felt like she wanted
more
from him—more of that looming over her, which had given her at first the troubling feeling of arousal she’d sensed when she awoke with a sore backside that morning.

All those thoughts had fled the instant the terrible little window had popped up on her screen, but now that Ryan was back, and it seemed like he would stay and protect her, they came flooding back. But.

But
naked?
Not the least of her worries was a suspicion that Ryan would see her becoming aroused at the thought of having to be naked in front of him, of having no secrets from him, of being at his disposal for punishment and whatever else he might want from her. She shivered at that thought.

Ryan shook his head. “I need you to do as I tell you, and show me that even if I tell you to do something you find embarrassing, you’ll do it.”

“But… why do I have to be
naked?
I already said I’d let you spank me with my panties down.”

“Charity, I believe that in any disciplinary relationship there’s an essential element of power exchange.”

Charity nodded a bit uncertainly. “Of course.” She thought she could see where Ryan was going with this, but she definitely didn’t like that direction very much.

“For a woman, in my experience, to be bare in front of the man who cares for her and disciplines her, represents an important acknowledgment that he has taken control of her, and that she trusts him to guide her. I need you to make that acknowledgment if I’m going to take care of you.”

“But…”

“It’s a yes or no thing, Charity,” Ryan said evenly.

Dammit, it almost felt like she could have done it in a flash if she didn’t think it would turn her on—visibly. She realized suddenly that her panties had become very damp and shifted in her seat involuntarily.
Please, please don’t let Ryan notice that I’m turned on.
But shifting in the chair that way made her squeeze her thigh muscles just a bit, and that sent a bolt of erotic energy shooting through her whole midsection. She couldn’t help it: she made a tiny grunting noise.

Ryan looked at her sharply. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yes!” she lied, trying to brazen her way through. Then, “Fine. Do I have to let you watch me undress?”

Ryan’s brow furrowed. At least she had clearly confused him. He must not know how much her pussy was crying out for him. If only it could stay that way, and then she could just follow his rules and not get spanked again, this could all work out.

“No,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “You can undress in your bedroom. And I’ll spank you there, but it’s going to start over my lap, in a chair. I’ll bring one in from the kitchen.”

“Why?” Charity tried with all her might to get the picture out of her head and keep her voice even.

“Cultural heritage,” he said with a smile.
Goddammit. Why do you have to be so fucking cute, former Navy SEAL Ryan Bedford?