I was going to find a way to retaliate.
My mind created a nasty image of being spanked in front of all those ranchers. Dear God. I had a feeling that he’d enjoy the task far too much.
Asshole.
Bastard.
Dreamboat.
I continued squirming until I became exhausted. There was no getting out of this. Then I heard a single gasp and struggled to turn my head toward the sound. Oh. My. God. My worst nightmare. There were several people standing gawking at us. I was going to freaking die.
They were pointing.
And they were gasping in shock.
“You can’t go around accusing people,” the cowboy huffed.
The pain continued to build, shooting down the backs of my legs, but it was the embarrassment that was killing me. I could feel the heat building in my face, my cheeks likely the same shade of red as my bottom. If there was a single person I knew at the auction, I would never hear the end of this. “You horrible piece of shit.”
“You have a filthy mouth for such a beautiful woman.”
“Yeah? Well, you have no clue what else I’d like to call you. Oh!” I was almost blinded from the horrible anguish.
He smashed his hand down several more times then stopped, even rubbing the small of my back as if he gave a shit. “Now, are you going to tell me what you were trying to get at back there?”
I shouldn’t have dared come to the auction. I was completely out of my comfort zone and whoever the sexy stranger was, he was right that my behavior was ridiculous and very unlike me. Perhaps the odd call in the middle of the night had put me more on edge than I’d wanted to believe.
What I did know is that I couldn’t trust anyone within the circuit. Maybe my belief was wrong, but my instincts were almost never incorrect.
Almost.
“I have nothing to say,” I muttered, refusing to look at the group of watchers any longer. “Just get this over with.”
“With that kind of attitude, I should pull out my belt.”
“Don’t you dare!” I struggled all over again, only to have him bring his hand down with harder strokes.
“You are one mouthy, bad girl. If you belonged to me, I’d make certain your behavior changed, even if that meant daily spankings.”
What a horrible man.
“Yeah, well, I would never belong to you. You are nothing but a wretched excuse for human flesh.” Although the wicked part of my mind allowed me to float to another and far sexier image of his naked body on top of mine.
“Isn’t that nice,” he muttered.
Get a grip. Act like an adult.
I heard his deep sigh and shivered when he rested his hand on my bottom, tapping as single finger as if contemplating what he was going to do. When he eased me into a standing position, gently tugging stray strands of hair from my face, his eyes held an imploring look.
For a few beautiful seconds, the electricity soared between us, my heart doing little pitter-patters as butterflies swarmed in my tummy. His gaze was sharp, his intense green eyes penetrating into my very soul. When he reached out, using a single finger to brush the side of my face, every ounce of my body shivered.
As if I had some anticipation that he’d kiss me again, or maybe even more.
A flash of images of his naked body ignited the embers deep inside and within seconds, I was tossed into a wildfire of desire. This was crazy. I couldn’t be attracted to such a horrible excuse for a man. “Get away from me,” I managed, even though my voice sounded far too timid in my mind.
“Look. I don’t know who you are or why you’re really here, but you need to listen to me. Cattle auctions bring out rough crowds. Some of those men in there don’t take kindly to women attempting to break their traditions. I think you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, as if every male is a sexist pig.” Why in God’s name were the words tumbling out of my mouth like I was in high school? I never acted this way.
He rolled his eyes and kept his voice even. “You need to leave here and don’t look back. I ain’t gonna say it twice.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I will pull out my belt and trust me, you’re going to be bare-ass naked for one hard whipping.”
His nostrils flared as he studied me, his chest rising and falling from his ragged breathing. A part of