Rescuing Lilly (6 page)

Jake smiled at her change of disposition. He knew he believed in spanking for a reason. He gently took her hand and slowly began peeling the pieces of tape off of the old gauze wrap. He began unwrapping, taking care to not pull too fast. Once he reached the end, he knew the gauze had adhered to her healing burns. She winced as he started to pull off the remainder. "I know, sweetheart. This is going to sting a little," he consoled her, rubbing her wrist with his thumb.

"Oww... that hurts," she whined softly as he pulled off the last of the gauze, taking some of the new formed skin along with it.

Jake pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. "Hard part is over," he whispered and grabbed the ointment from the nightstand. He spread it over her whole hand, taking care to make sure each burn was covered, then wrapped the hand back with gauze and re-taped it. "All done," he smiled.

It was strange for Lilly to experience a man go from so strict to so sweet in a matter of minutes. He was making her mind run in circles. She was starting to love this sweet side of him. Her feelings were doing somersaults in her mind, rocking between lusting for him and pushing him away. She couldn't believe it possible to have such strong feelings for someone at opposite ends of the spectrum.

"You're a strange character," Lilly blurted honestly, not knowing how else to describe him.

Jake looked at her for a second and then broke out in laughter. "Yeah, I've never heard anyone call me that, but I guess I am." He glanced at Lilly who was staring into his eyes with lustful fire. Before she could say anything, he grabbed her face with both hands and thrust his lips onto hers.

Lilly was taken aback as he forcefully tasted her lips as if he couldn't get enough of them. She felt his teeth tug on her bottom lip and she returned his forcefulness with her own. He slid his warm tongue into her mouth, tasting every part of her. She leaned into him, taking in his powerful essence. He slid his hands down her back and under her behind, lifting her onto his lap so her legs were straddling his hips.

Suddenly, Lilly pulled back out of his embrace. "I don't know if we should be doing this," she sighed, closing her eyes and putting her head in her hands.

Jake felt her pulling away from him. He wanted her too badly right now. He could feel his hardness bulging in his pants. He craved more of her. Her touch. Her kiss. Just her. "What's wrong?" he asked sincerely, still holding her on his lap.

Lilly nodded. "I just... I just don't know if this is a good idea," she said hesitantly. She wanted him as badly as he did, feeling his rock hardness under her thigh. She couldn't allow herself to get caught up with a guy again. It never worked out for her anyway. She pushed to get off of his lap.

Jake ignored her pushing and lifted her up in his arms. "Lilly, I want you to see that I won't hurt you. It's taking everything in me right now to not take you to bed with me. I've never craved anyone as much as I crave you. I don't understand it. But I won't do anything you don't want me to. Why don't you get some sleep and we can talk tomorrow," he finished, settling her in the bed and pulling up the covers around her. He kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the room before she could say a word.

Lilly stared at the ceiling as she lay in bed, thinking about how good it would feel to have him hold her all night long; his large muscular arms taking care of her, cradling her until she fell asleep. She closed her eyes, dreaming of what would happen tomorrow.

---oOo---

Lilly awoke early the next morning. She glanced out to see the sun barely raised over the distant fields and bounded down the stairs to the kitchen, hoping to catch Jake before he left for the morning. She hadn't felt so well rested in months, and she couldn't wait to get out of the house and finally see the ranch. When she reached the kitchen, she found no one. Not even Sylvia was anywhere to be seen. She checked the other bedrooms, the garage, and the porch, wondering where everyone was. She decided to walk out to the stables to see if she could find one of the other workers who could tell her where to find Jake.

Just as she approached the side of the stable, she could hear an argument between two men. One definitely sounded like Jake, but she didn't recognize the other voice.

"Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" Jake demanded.

"Jake, I honestly thought they were just trying to scare us. I didn't think anything would actually happen," the other guy responded wearily.

"Well if they want a scare, they will get one," Jake threatened.

Lilly climbed on a barrel of hay, clinging to the wooden window sill, listening intently while they talked, but she knew she only caught the end of the conversation. She was still wondering what could be going on when she heard heavy boots stalking out the door of the barn.

"What on earth are you doing?" Jake asked loudly, making Lilly jump and then stumble off the barrel of hay. He caught her by the arm, steadying her, and looked her up and down. "Why are you up so early? And what are you doing out here?"

"What's with the twenty questions!" she retorted, upset that she was caught eavesdropping. "I was just looking for you."

"You were?" he asked, his stubborn face changing to a boyish smile.

"Yes I was," Lilly spoke, looking around, trying to remember why she was looking for him in the first place. "You said that maybe we could go riding or something and I-I thought maybe we could do it today," she stated shyly.

Jake sighed heavily and bent down to look Lilly in the eyes. He put both of his hands on her shoulders. "Honey, I really wish we could, but I have some things that need to get done today and I don't think you need to be out running around quite yet. It's only been a day and a half since you got out of the hospital and your hand is still badly burned."

Lilly could feel the frustration rising in her throat and she wanted nothing more than to scream at him that she wasn't a helpless invalid and could handle being outside for more than an hour. Not knowing what to say, and feeling hurt that he didn't want her to go with him, she just huffed and muttered, "Fine," and walked back towards the house.

Jake shook his head, knowing he had disappointed her. He would much rather spend the day with her than settling the dispute between a neighboring rancher. He walked back to the stable, trying to decide how he could handle this threat. No one had ever attempted to poison his cattle over a land dispute. Lance Stetson just seemed like an angry old man, but not a cruel one. He couldn't believe his neighbor had gone to the lengths to try to kill his livestock. He grabbed some supplies and headed to his truck. He decided the best choice of action was to drive over there to talk to the man in hopes that this could be sorted out in a rational conversation.

---oOo---

Lilly threw open the porch door and walked into the kitchen. Sylvia still wasn't there, but this time she noticed the note on the fridge that said she had left to go check on her grandkids and she would be back before lunch.

Well that's just great! Now I really am here all alone with nothing to do
. Lilly stormed around the kitchen until she decided that she probably should just make some breakfast and find something to do until Sylvia returned. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and ate while looking through the magazines in the living room. After flipping through three of them, she realized only twenty minutes had passed. She had to find something to do. She was full of energy and needed to get out of the house. Putting the magazines back on the coffee table, she decided to go for a run. It would clear her mind and rid her of some of this pent-up energy. She ran upstairs to throw on some running shorts and tank top. Lacing up her sneakers, she thought about leaving a note for Sylvia, but then figured she would be back before Sylvia would return. It was only 9:30 am and she didn't plan on running for more than an hour.

---oOo---

Jake parked in front of Lance's house. He stepped out of the truck, noticing his neighbor walking out of the front door onto the porch.

"Morning, Lance," Jake began as he strode toward the porch. "How are you doing today?"

"I'd be better if you got back in your truck and left my property," the old man answered.

Jake could see the visible sneer on the man's face. He didn't know why Lance had always hated him, but he wasn't going to let it ruin his ranch business. "Lance, I'm here to come to an understanding. I don't appreciate you trying to poison my livestock. I already turned down your offer to buy part of my land. It has been in my family for generations and I'm not willing to sell. I'm sorry but that's just how it is."

"You can't run all of that land by yourself boy," Lance said as he sat down in a rocking chair, "Your father was a no good rancher and neither were your brothers. Maybe you should move on into the city like them."

"I'm not leaving," Jake said with finality. "Stay away from my animals. If I catch you sneaking around again, I'll call the police." Jake walked back to his truck and slammed the door, screeching out of the driveway. There was no way that old man was going to run him off his own land. His brothers may have tired of the business but it was his life and he couldn't imagine doing anything different. His blood boiled underneath his skin as he made the 25 mile drive back to his own ranch.

During the drive home, he wondered if he had time to show Lilly all of the horses before helping Tom treat the sick livestock. He didn't want her to be too angry with him for making her stay home again. He reached the house forty minutes later to see Sylvia walk out the door directly toward his truck. He hopped out noticing the worried look on her face.

"Did you take Lilly with you?" she asked, glancing in the truck, not seeing anyone in the passenger or rear seats.

"No, of course not," he answered in confusion. "I told her that she didn't need to be out running around with me after being out of the hospital for only a day."

"Oh no," Sylvia said to herself, walking back toward the house. "Maybe she left a note and I just didn't see it."

Jake followed her inside, still confused at the situation. "What are you saying? She's not here?"

Sylvia shook her head. "No, she wasn't here when I got back about an hour ago, and I haven't found a note from her. I left one on the fridge for her this morning, explaining I had to go check on my grandkids but I would be back before lunch."

Jake ran his hand through his hair and over his face, wondering where the hell she could have gone. She didn't know her way around the ranch and there was only one road in and out. He had just driven down it and hadn't seen her. "I'm going to drive around and look for her. You stay here in case she comes back. Radio me if you see her," he said to Sylvia, running back out to his truck and hopping inside.

Jake sped up the long drive, glancing on each side at the woods, looking for a sign of Lilly. He hoped she wasn't so mad at him that she had decided to leave for good. No, Sylvia would have said something about her suitcase missing if that were the case. That only left two options: either she was kidnapped, which was unlikely, or she deliberately disobeyed him by leaving the house without telling anyone. Anger and fear mixed inside of him as his truck dredged down the country drive. After 15 minutes, he caught sight of what he thought was a blonde ponytail in the woods outside his passenger window. The blonde hair bounced up and down in between the trees on the side of the road. He slowed his truck and caught sight of her bright blue jogging shorts.
Thank God she's ok
, he thought and then he remembered how worried he was.
I'm gonna skin that girl alive
, he decided as he threw on the brake and jumped out of the driver's seat.

Lilly didn't even hear a car approaching behind her while she wore her headphones. All of a sudden, she felt a giant arm snake around her waist and she screamed, thinking she was being attacked. She felt her earbuds yanked from her ears and then a stinging slap on her behind. She thrust her head around to find Jake's angry face glaring back at her. "Jake! Put me down!" she yelled, squirming in his tight hold.

"What the hell did you think you were doing!" he yelled as he set her down on the ground, still keeping a firm grip right above her elbow.

Lilly was so overwhelmed by his anger at first that she didn't understand what was going on. "I was running," she answered nonchalantly. Before she knew it, he spun her around and landed five more extremely hard slaps to her behind. The thin running shorts were no sort of protection on her bottom.

"What did I do?" she cried, rubbing the sting out of her behind when he stopped.

"What did you do? Have you had any idea how worried we've been? What is one of the only rules of the house? Don't go anywhere without telling someone where you're going!" he yelled.

Lilly had completely forgotten she didn't leave a note, and tried to explain her side of the story. "Well I was going to leave a note, but I figured I'd be back before Sylvia got there so it wouldn't matter."

"What time is it, Lilly?" Jake asked angrily, noticing she wasn't carrying anything with her.

Lilly looked back at him, knowing she couldn't lie. "I don't know. I left my watch and my phone."

"Exactly. Get in the truck," he ordered. When she didn't move, he pulled her over to the passenger door, opened it, and roughly lifted her inside. He reached across her to buckle her belt, then went around and climbed in the driver seat.