called to the principal’s office.
He tapped under my chin to get me to look at him. “Here’s the thing, Regina. You’re smart. You’ve always hated authority.”
“No, authority always hated me. I was trailer trash, remember? I wasn’t supposed to be as bright or quick as I am.”
“You’re right,” he said after a pause. “But you always exceeded expectations. But now you’re trying to live down to them. And like I said, you’re above average intelligence, which means if you put your mind to it you could get into loads of trouble. You’re smart enough not to get caught.”
“So, you’re doing this just to thwart a potential criminal mastermind?”
A hint of a smile softened his features. “That’s right.”
I blew out a breath. I didn’t want Cole Townsend to think of me as his rehabilitation project. I wanted to be his dirty little secret. “No wonder you threatened to handcuff me to the bed.”
“I want you here, where I can keep an eye on you. And I don’t want your mind running in circles. I want you to stay focused on me.”
No problem there, stud.
“Okay,” I said, and stepped closer. Cole didn’t wear cologne, but something—his body wash or soap or something—smelled fantastic. I breathed in, imagining all those muscles wet with water from the shower. Freshly washed Cole, mmm…
“Oh and Regina.” His hard tone called my attention to his face. “You ever joke about prostituting yourself again, I’ll spank you so hard you won’t sit for days. And the minute the redness fades, I’ll do it again. Not to mention keep you tied to the bed until you forget all this nonsense. Understand?”
Good grief. There went those panties. I pressed my legs together and whimpered.
“I asked you a question and I expect an answer. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” He chucked me under the chin and left.
***
I spent the day wandering around in a vortex of lust. Chores got done, somehow, because when Cole returned, he looked around with an approving nod, and set me to dusting the giant bookshelf in his den. I actually liked handling the books—old tomes he told me he inherited from his grandfather—but Cole’s proximity mixed with my raging horniness made me super bitchy. He sat on the couch, pecking at his laptop with his briefcase open beside him, and I worked around him, grumbling.
“Less talking, more cleaning,” he said without lifting his eyes from the screen.
I ignored the order and continue to mutter about ‘sadistic spanko sheriffs with a cleaning fetish.’
Cole left and returned, snapping his fingers to order me to him. I hated when he did that, but I didn’t dare disobey.
“I have a new addition to your outfit. Open your mouth.” He held up a ball gag. A wicked glint in his eyes, he popped a bright red ball into my mouth and fastened the black straps around my head. “Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”
I glared at him. The ball in my mouth was large enough to keep my mouth in a perpetual ‘o’. Drool collected at the corner of my mouth and he wiped it away.
“Beautiful. You are so hot right now.”
My nipples hardened despite myself.
I gurgled at him.
“I can’t understand you, sweetheart. But don’t worry. If you’re good, you get a reward.” His fingers swiped at my nipples. He’d noticed I was aroused.
Bastard.
I clomped around the house in the stupid heels, moving books, and dusting and polishing surfaces carefully so as not to dirty my outfit. My only break came when he undid the gag and gave me water.
I glared as he strapped it back on and he just laughed at me and made me fetch him a beer. My face burned, but I did it, and when he snapped his fingers and pointed, I went back to cleaning his bookshelf. His eyes followed me around the room. I wasn’t trying to be sexy, but bending and stooping and reaching the different level shelves gave him plenty of opportunity to view my elongated legs, my pouty ass.
I’d never been