Daisy Page 3

  While she undoubtedly did not intend to fall into icy water, most likely the river, she had forged a new path for herself and me as well. I did not tell anyone that I helped the Indians as well as the townsfolk, for some people would not be very obliging. If I was removed from my post, I could not help anyone. As for Daisy, I had to doubt she told her family she was going to go off gallivanting across the countryside. That meant no one knew where she was. If that was the case, I couldn’t think of a better reason for a punishment. I was now in the position to give it to her. Daisy Lenox clearly needed a strong guiding hand and, while she may not have realized it, she had elected me for that long-term role.

  CHAPTER THREE

  DAISY

  I was so warm! I curled my knees up to my belly and rubbed my cheek against the soft pillow. I heard the whistling of the wind and burrowed down further, thankful to be in my bed and out of the storm that seemed to be brewing.

  “Stop wiggling.”

  My reverie was broken by a very male voice directly behind me. I wasn’t at home. I wasn’t in my bed and I wasn’t alone. My pillow wasn’t a pillow at all, for when I opened my eyes I looked directly down a man’s forearm, sprinkled with dark hair over the top of sinewy muscles. He was pressed firmly against my back and his other arm was wrapped over my waist and the large hand… the large hand cupped my breast!

  “Oh!” I cried and tried to move away, but his hold was too firm. My shifting only pushed my breast into his palm further and I felt my nipples tighten. Something was poking against my bottom.

  “I said stop wiggling,” the man repeated.

  “But… I… why?”

  I couldn’t speak, my words lodged in my throat.

  “You fell in the damn river and could’ve died.”

  I remembered and that settled me more than the man’s command. The horse had bucked me and I’d fallen in the river. I’d been so cold that I just gave in to it and went to sleep.

  I licked my dry lips. “I didn’t die.”

  “You might have lived, but at the moment, darlin’, this is pure hell.” The man removed his hand from my breast and let me pull away. I recognized that voice! I jumped from the covers. “Doctor James!”

  My feet touched the icy cold ground and I glanced down at myself. I screeched, knowing he could see every bare inch of me. He held back the furs and I jumped back beneath them, although I moved as far away from him as possible while still remaining abed.

  “I’m… I’m naked!”

  His face was only a foot away and I could see his inky black lashes, the equally dark whiskers that covered his strong jaw. The hair on his head, usually neat and precise, was tousled as if he’d been asleep. With me. Had he taken liberties? My body didn’t feel any different, but would it if the man had touched me? My nipples were hard and I felt damp between my legs, but were those indications of being taken by a man?

  “Calm yourself,” he replied. “I can see your pulse practically leaping at your neck.”

  I slapped a hand over where he indicated. “Where… where are my clothes? Why am I not wearing them?”

  “They were wet and cold and you were dying. I chose to keep you alive over keeping you modest,” he replied.

  “And now?” I pulled the covers up to my neck. I was no longer cold. In fact, I was sweating, but I had a feeling it had nothing to do with being overly warm.

  “I doubt your clothes are dry now, nor will they be for some time.”

  “Then I am to remain naked?”

  Doctor James sat up, letting the furs fall to his waist. My eyes widened at the sight of his body. His shoulders were broad. On his chest he had flat, dusky-colored nipples. Between them he had a smattering of dark hair that narrowed on its way down to his navel. From there, it formed a narrow line that dipped beneath the fur. How could he be so muscular, so hard? So big? I’d felt every hard inch of that body against my back. I swallowed.

  “Like what you see?” His words had my gaze lifting from his navel. His eyes were piercingly dark and… intense, but not the least bit concerned for his modesty—or mine.

  He reached for something and I caught a glimpse of the long line of his back and even his dark pants. I sighed, relieved in the knowledge that he was not completely naked. It did not keep me from looking my fill, however.

  This was what a man looked like? No wonder Hyacinth and Rose were pregnant. I’d keep Doctor James naked all the time if he were my husband. While he looked exceptionally handsome in his crisp suits, he did not need them one bit.

  “Here.” He tossed something to me and I grabbed it.

  “Your shirt?” I asked, flicking my gaze to his.

  He shrugged. “It is clean and dry. Or you may go naked.”

  I put my arms into the sleeves and began to button it. As I did so, Doctor James watched as my breasts were covered. His smell rose from the fabric, clean and spicy.

  “Where are we?” I took in our unusual surroundings. The room was circular with the walls narrowing into almost a point at the top, but a small opening remained for the smoke from the small fire in the center of the ground to escape. The walls were opaque, but allowed light to filter through.

  “This is a tipi. We are in an Indian village several miles west of town.”

  I’d met Red Bear when he traded goods with the mercantile, but I’d never seen an Indian village, let alone slept inside a tipi.

  “You brought me here?” I continued to glance around. It was so much different than my home, my bedroom.

  “I did not. Red Bear found you and brought you to me here.”

  I paused, my fingers on the lowest button. “You’re helping the Indians?”

  He tilted his head slightly. “I treat them when needed, yes.”

  Perhaps he wondered if I would be bothered by him treating the natives. It mattered not. My state of undress did matter. “That does not explain why we shared a bed… naked.”

  “The best way to warm someone who is hypothermic is to—”

  “Strip off all clothing and warm with another body,” I finished, knowing the validity of his words.

  He studied me for a moment, then nodded.

  “I am well now. You could have redressed.” I tilted my chin in his direction indicating his bare chest.

  “I could have done, yes,” he replied.

  “You are shameless,” I told him.

  “Would you like to give me my shirt back so that I am not so shameless?”

  While the buttons held the shirt closed, I grasped the front of it anyway.

  I shook my head and replied primly, “No, thank you.”

  “Are you dying now?” he queried.

  “No.” I rolled my eyes at his ridiculous question.

  “Then you are not my patient. I am merely a man in bed with a naked woman.”

  My mouth fell open at his audacity. “How dare—”

  He turned to face me. “How dare I? You are the one who went out into the cold. You are the one who did not tell anyone of your departure. You are the one who was ill-prepared for the weather. No hat. No blanket or extra food. Am I correct in these statements?”

  His smooth drawl didn’t diminish the bite to his words. Contrite, I looked down at my hands and nodded.

  “Say it, Daisy.”

  I looked up at him through my lashes. “Say what?”

  “Say what you did.”

  The man was too patient by half. While I sat there and squirmed beneath his hard stare, he waited. And waited. He would not make it easy for me, for I had been in the wrong. I had been reckless and dangerous. I could have died.

  “I went out into the cold without precautions and didn’t tell anyone.”

  Admitting the truth was hard, the guilt I felt was oppressive.

  I saw him nod once.

  “On your back. I will be your doctor for a few minutes to assess any damage to your person. While we both agree there is no longer a threat to your life, I want to ensure you do not have frostbite.”

&nb
sp; I narrowed my eyes at him, but he just arched a brow in return. I did not wish to expose myself to any more scrutiny than I already had.

  “Now, Daisy.”

  I pursed my lips and gave a decisive humph as I lay back against the very warm furs. I tugged the blanket back up to my chin and Doctor James tugged it back. Only the lower half of my legs was covered, so I gripped the bottom of his shirt over my thighs.

  His hand came up and gently brushed my hair back from my face. I swatted it away with my hand. He just stopped and stared at me, waiting. I put my hand back down as he exposed one ear and stroked a finger over the top curve. “Does it hurt here? Is it numb?”

  It was the barest of touches. For a man so big, his hands so large, it was surprising.

  “No,” I whispered.

  “Turn your head.”

  I did and he brushed over the top of my other ear. “No frostbite. Show me your hands.”

  I held them up for him and he took one, then the other in his, inspecting each and every finger. He placed them on my shirt-clad belly.

  “Did you hit your head when you fell?”

  “The horse bucked me. I am a bit stiff in my shoulder, but I landed in the water, which softened the blow.”

  Making a noncommittal sound, he began to undo the top button on the shirt.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to look at your shoulder.”

  I covered his hands with mine. His skin was so warm, the small hairs on the backs soft. “You already saw me naked and there were no cuts or bruises.”

  “You can see bruises on your back?”

  It wasn’t the question that had me relenting, but the look in his eye. He was not going to brook any kind of nonsense. “Which side?”

  “Left.”

  He only undid three buttons, enough for him to pull the fabric over the sore shoulder, although the upper swell of my breast was visible.

  “Turn.”

  I gladly turned to face away from him, for now I couldn’t see his eyes, his hard stare, but his voice was stern and did not hide his displeasure of me. “You will have a bruise,” he said as his fingers probed at my shoulder and upper back. I winced, but it was only minor. “Nothing broken.”

  He turned me onto my back once again. “Feet, please. I wish to see if any toes must be amputated.”

  At the very idea, I bent my knees to pull my feet from beneath the furs. When I realized that action made his shirt slide up my thighs and expose my womanhood, I squeaked and pushed my feet back beneath the covers. I was fast, but Doctor James was faster.

  “Daisy,” he scolded. “Relent.”

  He grabbed the ankle nearest him and I relaxed my leg, allowing him to pull it up onto his fur-covered lap. I pushed at the hem of the shirt to cover my sex, which was now very open with my leg off to the side.

  He did not linger, but only put the foot back beneath the covers. “The other one.”

  Slowly, I pulled it from the furs. He looked at it without touching it. “Good. Now, turn onto your stomach.”

  I huffed out a breath and rolled over, careful to push down the hem of the shirt over my bottom before brushing my hair back from my face. I stared at the side of the tipi.

  “Tuck your knees beneath you.”

  I frowned and turned my head to look at him. “What? Why?”

  “Because there is no lasting damage from hypothermia. Only a day of rest is all that is needed now. Since you are no longer my patient, it is time to mete out your punishment.”

  I started to scramble away, but Doctor James grabbed me about the waist. “Daisy Lenox, get on your hands and knees. Now.”

  I refused to give in to the man’s command. I would not sit by idly and let him punish me.

  “You are not going to comply?”

  I pursed my lips and gave a little head shake.

  I squeaked when he easily maneuvered me as he wanted. While initially I was surprised, I began to fight his motions, but one strong slap on my bottom—my bare bottom!—had me still.

  I reached back and tugged at the hem of his shirt, covering myself.

  He tugged back. “Leave it.”

  “Why?” I asked mulishly.

  “Because that is how you get your ass spanked. Ah, I can see by the surprised look on your face that you have never been punished in such a fashion before. Based on your reckless behavior from yesterday, perhaps never.”

  “You can see… you can see my bottom!”

  “Yes, I can. I’ll also see it turn a bright pink color. I am the one who saw you barely alive. I’m the one who couldn’t return to town and any patients I might have because of you. Now we are stuck here until you have rested and the weather improves. Because of your rash—and admittedly irresponsible—behavior, other lives may be in jeopardy.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

  “Your sister, Rose. It’s almost her time. What happens if she begins to labor while I am stuck here?”

  My eyes widened at the very real possibility.

  When I didn’t move, he added, “I am waiting and I promise you, I am a very patient man.”

  The way he spoke with a calm demeanor, never raising his voice, I didn’t doubt it. He would not relent. He would not let me get up from the bed. He would not let me do anything of my own free will in this moment. I had to do as he commanded, but I didn’t have to like it and I told him so.

  As I moved into the position he expected, I looked at him and said with an added hint of tartness, “I don’t like this.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “I do not!” How dare he claim to know my mind?

  “Your body says otherwise.”

  While I was on my hands and knees, Doctor James was at my side. The shirt covered me from his gaze, at least from this angle. “It does not!”

  He gripped my wrist and pulled me up so I was upon my knees facing him. My eyes widened at his maneuvering. We were at the same height and I could do nothing but meet his gaze. He studied me briefly, then nodded his head as if he decided something.

  “I understand now.”

  “Understand what?” He might, but I certainly did not.

  “There is nothing to be ashamed of, darlin’. You require a firm directive. Punishment. Guidance. It arouses you.”

  That was completely false. He could not assume such things about me. We might be alone and scantily dressed, but he knew nothing.

  “I—”

  He cut me off with a slash of his hand through the air. “Your pupils dilate when I speak to you in an authoritative manner. I can see your pulse beating quickly at your neck.” My hand flew to cover the telltale spot again. “Look down.”

  I did.

  “Your nipples are hard.”

  I could see the tight points clearly defined through the thin cotton of his shirt. I gasped.

  “And this.” He swiped his fingers over the inside of my thigh and held it before me. “Your pussy’s wet.”

  I grasped the bottom of the shirt, but it was too late. I saw the glistening wetness that coated the tips of two of his fingers that he’d swiped from my now tingling skin.

  I knew I was blushing furiously, for the conversation was certainly not that of patient and doctor. “You can’t speak to me like this!” I said indignantly, trying to move back.

  “Stay still.” I froze at the commanding bite to his voice. “Yes, I can. Answer this,” he continued. “The day you came to my office with your sister. How did you feel when I told you to wear a hat?”

  My mouth fell open. He… he knew I liked how his words made me feel? He was offering me advice. Guidance. Even punishment. They were for me alone, not a group of eight girls. I wasn’t one of so many Lenox sisters. He wasn’t interested in Rose or Marigold or even the bold Dahlia. He was focused solely on me. Again, he waited.

  I cleared my throat. “It felt… good.”

  “Did you feel as if I were reprimanding you as if you were a child?”

  When M
iss Esther prompted me to wearing a hat or to remember my gloves, I did feel as if I were still a child. With Doctor James…

  I shook my head. “No, and you are well aware I am not a child,” I countered.

  “That is correct. I do not have to be a doctor to discern you are very much a woman. Any conscious man could do that just fine.”

  “But you will punish me?” I crossed my arms over my hard nipples. Drat them!

  He nodded his head, his tousled hair slipping over his forehead. “Yes, I will punish you.” He eyed me carefully, perhaps waiting for me to argue with him some more. He tilted his chin. “Put your hands back on the furs.”

  I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes. I was so furious with the man, but at the same time, I felt… something. I wanted to do as he commanded. I wanted him to tell me what to do, to be concerned about me, to question me. I did as he bid.

  When he flipped the tail of his shirt up onto my back, I started to rise. I wanted to do as he bid, but not with my bottom exposed! A firm hand between my shoulder blades held me in place.

  One strong slap filled the air and I heard it just before I felt the sting on my bottom. “Ow!” I cried, shifting my hips.

  “Quit your petulance. Now, tell me again why you are being punished.” His hand rested over the spot he struck. It was the first time a man had ever touched me like this, in such an intimate place.

  “Because I did something impulsive and dangerous.”

  “Why else?”

  “Because you had to tend to me instead of returning to town.”

  He removed his hand and I relaxed. “Very good, Daisy.”

  I sighed at the pleased tone of his voice. “You will count out your punishment and thank me every time, or we will begin again.”

  Spank.

  I was being spanked by Doctor James. It hurt, for he did not skimp on his intent. I was on my hands and knees in just the man’s shirt and he was spanking my bare bottom. Oh God. I felt more of that wetness he’d showed me slip down my leg.