Embarrassed at where her thoughts had taken her, she lay catching her breath on the crumpled sheets. She had never donethatbefore. Shaking her head, she went into the bathroom to start the shower. She had never even thought about those sorts of things before Bertram, before her first spanking. She climbed into the steaming shower and felt the hot water cascade around her body, soothing her sore muscles.
Spanking had aroused her. Was that a weird thing? Was she some sort of freak for feeling that way? Did others incorporate spanking with sexual desire? She hadn’t seen any signs of sexual activity during her brief visit through the lodge.
Oh God, what if there was something wrong with her? She lusted after the man who had spanked her!
Bertram had seen her naked body last night, and he must have seen the evidence of her arousal. Was he not attracted to her in that way? Had he just been being a gentleman? Or was he playing a gentleman in wolf’s clothes?
That’s stupid,she admonished herself. He had been nothing but kind and considerate the entire time she had known him.
That must mean he wasn’t attracted to her.Oh, how embarrassing.He saw her naked and was not attracted to her in the least. That’s what he had said on their first meeting. She wasn’t curvy enough. She knew her breasts weren’t as big as some of other women’s and that her hips were not as curvy. She was petite and had a slight, athletic build.
Scrubbing her body vigorously several times still did nottake away her anger. How dare he not be interested in her! How dare he judge her for being a freak and liking her spanking, and even more so, becoming aroused?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became at her foolishness. Well, she would have to play it cool. Pretend last night had meant nothing to her. She would stay away from Mr. Wolfe for the rest of her stay. And as soon as this blizzard was over, she and Jake would leave, continuing on their journey to find mates. The matchmaker would help them find suitable mates, ones that did not include spanking in their lives.
She dressed quickly. Someone had been kind enough to leave her several outfits hanging on the door of the bedroom. She threw her long dark hair into a ponytail and stormed from the room. First, she would check on Jake. Then breakfast. Then she would spend the rest of the day avoiding that big, bad Mr. Wolfe.
BERTRAM
Bertram flung the lodge door open and pounded the snow off his boots. He had thought a run through the snow would help him cool off, but he couldn’t get that image out of his head. Tiptoeing into the room, not wanting to wake her, he had found her spanking and pleasuring herself. It had taken every ounce of willpower he had to not storm into her room and ravage her with his own body. His tongue had salivated at the thought of tasting the luscious nectar she spread with her own fingers. He had watched from the shadows until he couldn’t take it anymore. Then quietly hanging the outfits he had procured onto the door, he had crept out before she realized he was there.
After growling at a few of the employees, he had stalkedoutside and used his magick to transform into his other half., loping around for an hour before realizing it wasn’t doing any good. Frigid temps and brisk exercise in wolf form weren’t cutting it. It was time to try the human approach—by himself with one hand.
Afterwards, he finally felt able to talk to employees without biting anyone’s head off, and famished and tired, he entered the dining room. Glancing around the busy dining area, everything seemed normal, and dominants were taking turns giving swats to submissive servants. But something still seemed off. Where was Redd? He had not seen her at dinner last night. There was no way she would have gone out hunting, not after the specific instructions he had given her.Would she?
“Perdonami, Signore Wolfe,” Pino, his porter, addressed him with a shy bow. He carried a bundle of clothes, and if Bertram was right, the young man did not want him to see what he carried.
“Good morning, Pino, what do you have there?”
“Um, I, um…” the young man stuttered and looked around uncomfortably.
“Show me.” He leaned forward and couldn’t help the low growl that escaped.
Pino opened up the package and showed him the red Lycra leggings and jacket, Bertram immediately knowing whom they belonged to.
“Pino, did you see her come in?”
Pino swallowed and let out a quiet squeak, “You know I cannot lie, sir.”
“Then tell me.” He backed away to give him a little space. He could tell he was intimidating the poor man.
Pino took a huge gulp. “Well, I saw her leave last night when I was finishing my rounds. I was placing fresh towels in a few of the rooms at 10:00 p.m.”
He nodded for the nervous man to continue.
“Well, you should see this, sir.” The young man turned and fled in the direction of the suites.
Bertram had no problem keeping up with the gangly, puppet-like young man. His legs were almost twice the size of the smaller man’s. When they rounded the corner, he saw what Pino had been talking about.
Wet footprints, coming from the back entrance. Size 7, if he guessed correctly. Female.
He clenched his fists and willed himself not to lose his temper.
“Well, when I saw the wet footprints this morning, I knocked on her door to make sure she was okay.” Pino looked down and fidgeted with his hands.
“Continue.”
“She answered the door in her towel and said she had just gotten in, and um… she said not to tell you.”
