The Brothers Rule - Carolyn Faulkner Page 0,21

with a satisfying thud.

"Hey! A sub is not supposed to hit her Dom!" He sounded as if he was quoting something or someone.

That got her chuckling. "Oh, is that what I'm not supposed to do?"

"Among other things, brat."

"Sorry, Adam." She didn't sound in the least sorry.

Adam warned, "You might not be now, but I can promise you, you will be shortly."

She shivered in his arms, and he squeezed her tightly.

"Are your eyes still closed?"

"Yes," she answered impatiently.

"We're almost there."

"You've been saying that for a half hour now."

That got her bottom swatted hard.

"Ow!"

"If you don't want to be spanked, little girl, I suggest you watch your tone around me."

She grumbled a bit then said, "Yes, Adam."

"Good girl."

Seconds later, he stopped her and came to stand in front of her.

"All right. You may open your eyes," he allowed, stepping aside.

He'd brought her to a beautiful spot by a lake that appeared to be utterly deserted. There were trees around that provided ample shade for a campsite that was already set up with a big tent, portable grilling equipment, chairs, a fire pit, coolers, and she even saw some fishing equipment, plus all of the usual accoutrements.

"Wow, this is gorgeous! When did you get this done?"

He shrugged. "I started hauling stuff in this morning and finished just in time to come get you."

She turned to him and reached up to give him a hug. "Thank you! This is wonderful!"

"Well, I knew you weren't feeling very happy at work, and I noticed you were a bit down, so I wanted to take you away from all of that for a while."

He was not wrong about that. She'd always loved work, adored her coworkers, and did well. Until Sharon Upton had come along and stolen her joy entirely, stepping over her and into the promotion she'd been in line for, for ages. That had really taken the wind out of her sails more than she wanted to admit, and Laurie was seriously considering finding another line of work.

But she'd been there long enough that it was not an easy thing to do. However unhappy she was, she was well paid for what she did, and they had really good benefits, too. Her seniority entitled her to a reasonably generous amount of time off that she was able to take any time—even the holidays or mid-July, since there were few around her who had her amount of time in.

She wished she thought she could make a go of her baking business, but that wasn't likely. Besides, she needed the benefits she got from working at the bank.

Just her migraine medicines alone were worth putting up with the situation at work—she guessed.

Adam kissed the stuffing out of her, swinging her around a bit. Then he brought her over to a comfortable looking chaise lounge and told her to sit. He proceeded to hand her the book she'd read a little of in the car, brought her a glass of iced tea with lemon—just how she liked it—and said, "Why don't you just sit there for a bit, and I'll finish up the preparations? Are you hungry?"

"I will be soon."

"Good. I've brought hot dogs and hamburgers for the grill tonight—kinda just a traditional camping meal tonight—steaks for tomorrow, or maybe fish if we catch any. You just relax, and I'll get everything taken care of."

He'd prepared so well already that it didn't take long. The packs they'd carried in were full of food, which he put away.

When he was done, he pulled up a chair next to her and they held hands while looking at the lake and watching for wildlife around it.

"This is a gorgeous spot. Are we in a state park or something? No, that can't be. No one's around us."

Adam shook his head. "Nope. It's a plot of land I bought a while ago. The rest of the land around the lake is bought, but no one's built yet, so it's like we have it for ourselves."

"Oh, wow, this is your land? That's great! It's gorgeous!"

He grinned, pleased that she was pleased. "Thank you. I like it, too. It's out of town, but not too far, quiet and safe and nicely tucked away from the world." He leaned over toward her and waggled his eyebrows. "Ever been skinny dipping, Miss Taggart?"

She looked suitably aghast at that highly improper suggestion. "Of course, I have not, Mr. Rule. I am a lady, after all."

He stood and put his hand out to her. Laurie placed her much smaller