Auctioned to the Protective Dom [The Spectrum Auctions 4] (Siren Classic) Read online

  Marissa threw him a worried look and offered him a wobbly smile.

  “Thank you for the lift. I can handle it from here.”

  Another, much louder thump against the window made her jump. Something crashed inside the house and then there was nothing but ominous silence, before rhythmic banging could he heard.

  Rissa blushed to the roots of her hair when Jonas cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “They have a volatile relationship,” she said, as though that explained everything.

  “Sounds like they’ve made up then.” Jonas smirked when the unmistakable sounds of sex reached their ears. “He’s also either hung like a horse, or she’s an exceptionally good actress.”

  That, at last, got a genuine grin out of his girl, as the unknown woman screamed her orgasm, and everything went quiet again.

  “Don’t think much of his stamina either. That was what? A minute?”

  Rissa’s giggle in answer soothed the churning in Jonas’s gut.

  “You really live here, baby girl?” He had to ask, even if it meant her defenses went up again.

  Inserting her key in the lock, she shrugged her shoulders.

  “It’s not that bad. Once I shut the door to my room, I—”

  She gasped when he swung her round by the shoulders and glared at her.

  “A room? You have nothing but a room?”

  Rissa’s eyes flashed fire at him, and he reluctantly let her go, when she looked pointedly at his hands on her shoulders.

  “Yes, a room. It’s all I can afford right now, and once again this is none of your business. We’re not at the club anymore, and you have no right to interfere with any of this.”

  The words were brave, and strictly speaking she was right, of course, but she sucked in a breath when he followed her right into the dinghy hallway. Crossing his arms over his chest Jonas stared her down.

  “I have the right to interfere for tonight, at least, and there is no chance in hell I’ll let you stay here. I suggest you show me this room, collect what you need, and then, baby girl, you’re coming home with me.” He put his hand up to forestall any objection she might have come up with. “Not. Another. Word. Or so help me, I will fling you over my shoulder and drag you out of here, if I have to. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, but get one thing straight. You are coming home with me. It’s the least you can do, after all the money I paid for you.”

  Rissa flinched and Jonas knew he was behaving like an ass, but, dammit, he couldn’t leave her here. If playing dirty was what it took, then so help, him, he would use all the weapons at his disposal, and consequences be damned.

  Chapter Three

  Rissa’s heart was beating so loudly in her ears, she felt quite faint, as she rushed around the room she called home, all too aware of Jonas’s brooding presence at her door. Arms crossed over his chest, he was an immovable mountain of a man, who refused to listen to reason. Right now, he reminded her more of Master Slade or even Pedro in his demeanor. She simply couldn’t disobey him. Truth be told, the chance to get away from this place, even if just for one night, was too much of a temptation to resist. As much as she loved her room, the neighbors left a lot to be desired after all.

  Besides, Jonas was right. He had paid for the right to use her for twenty four hours, and after what had occurred at the club, and his subsequent rescue from Mistress Scarlett’s wrath, conceding to him on this point was the least she could do.

  It’s not as though he’d asked her to strip naked so that he could have his wicked way with her. Her stomach cramped at the thought, and she hastily pushed that far too arousing thought to the back of her mind. Judging by his frown he was far more likely to make good on his threat to take the belt to her ass, and that thought really shouldn’t make her knickers damp. What was wrong with her tonight? The mere mention of the belt ought to have her cowering in the corner. After all, that had been his favorite chastisement of her. Rissa blinked back tears, and continued to shove a change of clothes and toiletries into the hold all she’d pulled out from under her bed. She wouldn’t think about him right now. Not with Jonas watching her every move and frowning as his gaze fell on her sadly depleted collection of glass unicorn figurines. The biggest one was missing half its horn, and she held her breath when Jonas ran one long index finger over the jagged edge.

  “What happened here?” he asked.

  Taking a deep breath in Rissa mentally crossed her fingers for the lie she was about to utter, and she pretended to be struggling with the zip of her bag to avoid having to look at him.

  “I was clumsy, that’s all.”

  A non-committal hmm was her answer, and in the next instant his large hands closed over hers, and did the zip up for her.

  “We should take it to get fixed. Have you got the rest of the horn?” Rissa shook her head, and clamped her mouth shut to stop the never far away tears escaping in a big sob. That particular unicorn had been a present from her mum, shortly before she’d passed away, and she would never, ever forgive his cruelty for breaking it on purpose. At least it had given her the push she’d needed to leave that unhealthy relationship behind.

  That had been the easy part in the end. Dealing with the aftermath proved far more difficult. She jumped when Jonas pulled her up by the shoulders, grasped her chin, and forced her to look up at him.

  He didn’t say anything, just studied her with an unreadable expression on his face that made her feel as though he was trying to see into her very soul.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” His brows drew together at her whispered words, but his expression softened. Rubbing his thumb over her lips, he smiled at her.

  “Fine, have it your way—for now.” He released her, and flinging her hold all over his shoulder, gestured for her to follow him. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  Rissa nodded and almost collided with Jonas’s broad back when he stopped abruptly. There wasn’t much room in this place for her let alone with Jonas’s tall presence sucking the very air out of the place, or maybe that was just Rissa’s nerves talking.

  No one but her had set foot in this room since she’d made it her own. It was her little sanctuary, away from the stresses of this world, and seeing Jonas look around, scanning the place as though he was searching for something, made her feel exposed. He was a Dom, a damn good one by all accounts, which made him far too perceptive. Her heart turned into a jack hammer when he bent across her bed, lifted up the cushion, and pulled out Fred. Her battered old teddy had seen better days, and had only survived because Rissa had always kept him hidden. Seeing the floppy soft toy in Jonas’s big hands proved too much for her composure. She snatched Fred off of him, and clutching him to her, glared up at Jonas.

  “Don’t touch him, he’s mine.”

  A flicker of something chased across Jonas’s face, before he schooled his features into an unreadable mask.

  “Does he have a name? He looks as though he ought to.”

  The question caught her off guard, so much so that she automatically replied.

  “Fred.”

  One blond eyebrow rose, and Rissa found it hard to breathe when Jonas bent down, took one of Fred’s little paws in his hand in a very good imitation of a hand shake, and addressed the once plush toy.

  “Very pleased to make your acquaintance, Fred. You’re clearly very important to Rissa, so I look forward to getting to know you better. I’m also a tad jealous that you share her bed, but don’t tell her I told you so.”

  He straightened, winked at Rissa, then closed her open mouth with the tip of his index finger, before he grasped her arm and steered her out of the room, down the hallway, and out into the frigid night air. Rissa shivered, as Jonas opened the passenger door for her.

  “Hop on in. I’ll put the heater on, and you’ll soon be warm and toasty. They did say temperatures would drop tonight. Anyone would think autumn is here.”

  Jonas kept up the chatter about the weather, and other just as incongruous small talk, which did
n’t require more input from Rissa than the occasional nod, and she slowly relaxed into the extremely comfortable seats. Jonas stopped talking, and turned the radio on low, when he noticed. Mellow jazz filled the interior of his car, and Rissa slowly released the death grip she still had on Fred.

  “I’m sorry.” Her hesitant apology made Jonas glance at her and smile, before he turned his attention back to the road. As much as she could tell they had joined an A-road which would take them out of London, and not for the first time she wondered where exactly Jonas lived.

  “For?” He reached across and gently squeezed her thigh. An action that left tingles of awareness behind. If she wasn’t so sure he was watching her every move from the corner of his eyes, she’d have squeezed her legs together to relieve some of the growing ache in her pussy. This close to him with his delicious scent enveloping her, Rissa’s hormones were going into overdrive. It had been a long time since she’d last felt the touch of a man. Those experiences had been more about pain and pleasing him, than her needs. Somehow self-induced orgasms while picturing Jonas’s blond head and piercing blue eyes didn’t count, she was sure.

  “Baby girl, talk to Daddy. What are you sorry for?”

  Rissa closed her eyes at the surge of emotion those few words evoked. He could have no idea what it did to her when he called himself her Daddy. Then again, maybe he did, because in the next instant the car lurched to the left, and Jonas yanked on the hand brake as the engine cut out. With a click his seat belt came off and then he was sitting sideways, facing her. He switched the interior lighting on and Rissa winced as his full attention settled on her.

  An action that made him look murderous for a second, before he pinched the bridge of his nose, and smiled at her.

  “Talk to me, little one. Why are you sorry?” His gaze dropped to Fred, who she was nervously twisting in her fingers. She jumped when he put his large hand over hers to still the frantic movements of those digits.

  “Everything.”

  Jonas sighed at her whispered answer.

  “That encompasses a whole lot, baby girl, most of which you will have no reason to apologize for, so be specific, will you?” He nudged her chin up with his knuckles. The concern she read in his azure gaze made his vision swim as her eyes filled with renewed tears. She lifted a hand to swipe them away, and stopped when Jonas pushed a handkerchief into her hand. Freshly starched the fabric felt odd, far too good to use to mop up her useless tears. It was also so much like the always impeccably dressed Jonas to have one of these that another sob escaped. She wasn’t good enough for him.

  In the next instant, a soft curse filled the car, and before Rissa could even blink, her seat belt loosened and Jonas lifted her across and onto his lap. The deeply feminine part in her marveled anew at his strength, as his biceps bunched with the action, while the little girl in her shut her eyes, and snuggled into her Daddy’s embrace. Oh how she wished he was her Daddy. It would be so easy to allow herself to believe in him. To let him take away her worries and let him take care of her.

  Even as she thought so her brain screamed at her to move. She’d been there, done that, after all, and look where it left her. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down, to show how much she needed to be held just like this, to hear the soft endearments murmured in her hair, as Jonas pulled the seat back even more to ensure the steering wheel didn’t dig into her side.

  When she pushed against him, his hold on her tightened, making her struggle in earnest, as panic set in. What was she doing here?

  “No, let me go.”

  She whimpered when Jonas took Fred out of her hands, and tried to make herself as small as possible on his lap, waiting for the blow that never came. Neither came a cynical remark which would hurt almost as much, if not more than a physical slap. Through the roaring in her eyes, she could hear Jonas talk to… Fred?

  He couldn’t be, but sure enough, Jonas held Fred up and was speaking to him in Swedish. At least she assumed that’s the language he was using. Seeing him move Fred’s head in a nod as though to acknowledge whatever he was saying to him, proved too much.

  “What on earth are you doing?” she asked. “He’s not going to answer you, you know that, right. He’s just a toy.”

  Rissa flinched as she said that, especially as Jonas shook his head, said something else to Fred, and her faithful companion looked at her with what could only be described as a disappointed expression on his saggy face.

  That’s it she was losing the plot.

  * * * *

  Jonas was grasping at straws here. It was not a feeling he relished, but, as he’d hoped talking to her beloved Teddy did eventually get through to the distraught woman on his lap, even if he did feel like a prize fool.

  Her indignant reaction made him grin, and he lifted the scruffy teddy up in the air, and made him shake his head at Rissa.

  “Fred informs me that you have hurt his feelings. A teddy is never just a toy, especially not Fred.” Hearing her sharp intake of breath, Jonas rushed on, mindful to not lose his advantage. “Poor guy is worried enough about the hound from hell we’re about to foist on him. Fred fears for his limbs. He might have a point, there. I know my faithful old stuffies from childhood have not survived that canine explosion of affection, so—”

  “What on earth are you on about?” she asked. Jonas raised an eyebrow at her, and heat crept into his girl’s cheeks, as it seemed to dawn on her that she had interrupted him. She made a hasty grab for Fred, and then scrambled off his lap to sit back in her seat. Jonas immediately missed the soft contours of her body molded against his, but he sure appreciated her having pulled out of whatever dark place she’d been in.

  It was becoming pretty damn obvious that some fucker in her past had done a number on her, and Jonas forced himself to draw even breaths into his lungs. It wouldn’t do to jump to conclusions, get it wrong, and scare her away.

  Reaching across he snapped her seat belt back in place, moved his own seat forward and having engaged his belt, started the car back up. Rissa frowned but she didn’t object either, as he continued his way home.

  “I have a dog,” he finally said as the silence in the car grew oppressive.

  “A dog?” she echoed, and he had to hide his grin at her incredulous expression.

  “Is that so hard to believe?”

  Rissa worried her bottom lip with her teeth, and Jonas barely suppressed the urge to kiss her senseless. Seeing her bite her lip shouldn’t be a turn-on, but it was. Her brows drew together and her button nose crinkled up in seeming confusion, as she turned to him.

  “Honestly?”

  “Always, girl. Tell me what’s going on in that mind of yours.”

  Rissa picked an imaginary speck of dust of her jeans, and a soft gasp escaped her when he took the first exit of the roundabout and entered the exclusive and newly built housing estate that made up this London suburb. Considerably cheaper than the equivalent type of housing in Central London, it was still worth a fair few bop, and she clearly knew that. Then again, living where she did, she would be all too aware of the housing crisis, and the cost of affordable housing. It was a real problem in London, after all.

  “You just don’t look the type to have a dog.” When he raised his eyebrows at her, she blushed. A low whistle escaped her when he pulled up outside his house. The four-bed detached property was by no means the biggest on this lot, but he couldn’t hide his grin at her reaction.

  “You live here?” He nodded his confirmation, and got out of the car. By the time he got her hold all out of the boot, and rounded the vehicle, she, too, had exited and was staring at his front door with a frown.

  Jonas could see why. Brutus was yapping away ten to the dozen like only a dog his size could, and the letterbox was rattling with his attempts to open the door. It was no surprise that his delivery of junk mail had gone down to an almost nonexistent trickle since he’d found the scrawny mutt. There was always a silver lining, as his mum was fond of saying.

  “
I might not look the type, but as you can hear I do have a dog, or rather the hound from hell.” He looked across at her to see her frown deepening, and he had to tease her a little. “Why? Do I not look as though I would have one?”

  The door shook, as presumably Brutus had thrown himself against it in a particularly ferocious attempt. Rissa gasped at the yelp that followed, before Brutus barked even louder. Mindful of his wooden flooring and the wall paper in his hallway, which would never survive the daft animal going ballistic, Jonas strolled up to the front door.

  “Enough, boy, I’m here now. Get back from the door. There’s a good boy now.”

  Instead of quieting down Brutus now added howling to his repertoire. Rolling his eyes and with a glance back at Rissa, who seemed to find this whole episode deeply amusing, if the way her shoulders shook in silent laughter was anything to go by, Jonas fumbled for his keys.

  “Are you ready? He’s harmless, well, to humans anyway. Less so to my furnishings.” This time a giggle escaped Rissa. It warmed Jonas’s soul, and he decided there and then that he would make it his mission to get her to giggle more.

  “Not managed to train him then?” she asked, and surprised him by stepping up behind him.

  Jonas shrugged his shoulders and inserted the key. Brutus’s howling stopped to be replaced by excited sniffling and yips that made Rissa laugh again.

  “Well, he seems excited to see you come home anyway.”

  She smiled up at him as Jonas opened the door, and little Brutus shot out of the front door. Jumping up and down like a yoyo, the pint-sized terrier cross circled the both of them, while making a hell of a racket. It was somewhat gratifying to get such an enthusiastic welcome, even as the smell wafting out of the hallway made Jonas swear under his breath.

  “What the hell have you done now, you bloody hound?”

  Rissa wrinkled her nose, but got down to her haunches and held her hand out for Brutus to lick. After a moment of seemingly sizing up the human who had dared to invade his domain, Brutus relented and proceeded to jump all over Rissa. Laughing she ruffled his ears, causing a small avalanche of fur to fly up. Predictably Jonas sneezed. Once he started, he couldn’t stop, and eyes streaming his allergies kicked in full blast. He could do nothing but accept the handkerchief Rissa pressed in his hand, dimly aware of her herding the blasted hell hound into his house. He followed at a more sedate pace and swore, when he stepped into a still-steaming present Brutus had left him in the hallway. For the umpteenth time since he’d found the damn dog shivering by the side of the road, he wished he’d done the sensible thing and taken the animal to the local pound.