My House, My Rules

My House, My Rules

By

Constance Masters

Copyright © 2012 by Stormy Night Publications and Constance Masters

Copyright © 2012 by Stormy Night Publications and Constance Masters

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Stormy Night Publications and Design, LLC.

www.StormyNightPublications.com

Masters, Constance

My House, My Rules

Cover Design by Korey Mae Johnson

Images by Michal Bednarek and The Killion Group.

This book is intended for
adults only
. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults.

Chapter One

Jay's eyes creaked open. The sun was streaming through his bedroom window, heating the room and hurting his eyes as he tried to get them all the way open. He winced and covered his face with his arm. He really wanted to sleep some more, but his bladder was protesting and his mouth felt like he'd slept in the desert. Worse, his muscles were all aching as a result of moving countless heavy boxes the previous day. And what was that God damn thump in his head?

Jay dragged himself out of bed and headed for the relief of the bathroom. He stood underneath the shower’s steaming water and let it sooth him. As the pulsing spray of water and the Advil he'd popped did its job, he started to feel better, and it occurred to him that the thumping wasn't in his head at all. He turned his head around to where the sound was coming from. There was something being bounced against the side of the house.

Jay couldn't think. He needed coffee, and then he needed to stop that damn banging and reassess what needed to be done to this place. He'd bought it months ago, but before he could move in his dad had gotten sick and he'd gone home to help. He hadn't even met the neighbors yet.

* * *

Aaron and Thom stood on their driveway, batting a tennis ball against the side of their neighbor’s house. The short fence between the properties was their net. Sort of. Thom dropped his racket.

“This is boring,” he said. “I'm hot.”

“Whadda ya wanna do?” Aaron said, dropping his own racket on top of his brother's.

“I'm gonna go for a swim,” Thom answered. “You wanna?”

“Uh huh,” Aaron said. He shoved his golden curls out of his face and grinned, his giant smile revealing a missing tooth.

Thom walked towards the house.

“Where you going?” Aaron asked.

“To get changed,” Thom said.

“Why? No one's gonna see us.” Aaron was already on his way to the backyard. He didn't have patience for time-wasting things like getting changed. It wasn't like they were at the beach.

“Cause Mom will kill us,” Thom said emphatically. “She hates when we swim in our clothes.”

“Mom's farming,” Aaron said. “She won't notice nothin’. 'Sides, we'll dry off afore we have to go home.”

* * *

Alex sat back on her computer chair and sighed. Again. Damn game company. How could she be expected to plant all the crops, water her neighbors plants, and complete all the tasks when there were constant connection issues? Her blood was boiling as she clicked on the support button. She had spent good money on those gaming tokens, so they had better make the stupid game work properly.

* * *

Thom first and then Aaron jumped off the high fence onto the small mattress that had been placed at the foot of the fence so they wouldn't get hurt when they jumped. They'd spent their summer swimming here. It was almost as good as having your own pool. Aaron did a bomb into the water, relishing the feel of the cold water. Thom followed his brother, but he did a proper dive, like his mother had shown him.

* * *

The coffee maker now perked happily, filling the kitchen with its enticing aroma, while Jay poured the eggs he had just beaten into a hot pan. He would have to do something about getting the newspaper delivered, he mused as he poured himself a glass of juice. In the meantime, he would amuse himself by writing his list. There was a lot of stuff that needed doing here, and the first would be a coat of paint. Inside and out. And the pool would need attention too. Probably easier to call a pool guy to do that.

A plate of eggs and a cup of steaming brew in hand, Jay pushed the back door open with his foot. It'd be nice to relax out in the fresh air with his breakfast. He sat on the lounger that, along with a small table and a couple of chairs, were the only furniture on his patio. It was refreshing and private. Vines grew all over the latticework that surrounded the outdoor eating area, filtering the light and yet allowing a gentle breeze to seep through, if there was one. The scent of the climbing roses and honeysuckle was soothing to the soul.

Suddenly, his peace was shattered by the sound of a child's hurt cry. “What the hell?” he croaked, as he leapt from his comfortable perch, knocking his coffee over in the process.

His eyes widened in shock at the sight of two young boys inside the pool area. The bigger of the two seemed to be hovering over the smaller one. “What's happened? Are you hurt? Who are you, and what are you doing here?” he barked. His mind was swirling. He didn't know these children. Why were they alone? How had they gotten into the pool area? As soon as he'd bought the place, the one thing he'd been sure to check before he'd gone back to his parent's ranch was that the pool fencing had been secure.

The little one sobbed pathetically and looked to the boy Jay assumed was his brother, who stood rooted to the spot, gaping like a deer in the headlights.

“Answer me one of you!” Jay said a little louder than he meant to. He was flustered. It wasn't everyday someone else's child gets hurt running around your pool. Especially when you didn't know they were there. His head started to thump when he thought of what could have happened.

“You don't have ta shout, Mister,” the injured child said through hitched breaths.

“Mom said not to run around the edge when it's wet,” Thom said, finding his voice at last. “He never listens.”

“We was just swimmin’, and I hurt my leg. Look! There's blood and everything,” the now slightly-calmer little guy said.

“I can see that,” Jay said softening. “Come on, we’ll get you all fixed up, and you can tell me how you got into the pool area. The gate is shut and too high for you two to reach.”

“We climbed over our fence,” the bigger of the two said sheepishly. “We were hot.”

“Yeah, we was hot, and we was just swimming.”

“I was just swimming. You were being a pest.”

Jay frowned. That fence had to be six feet tall. He swore under his breath when he saw the mattress. He could see the ladder through the crack in the fence.

“You're not gonna call the police, are ya, Mister?” the older brother asked as they walked towards the house.

“No,” Jay said, running his hand through his hair with frustration. “But I'm going to have to talk to your parents and tell them all about the setup you have going here.” He narrowed his eyes as another question flittered through his muddled brain. The pool was clean. These kids couldn't have cleaned the pool on their own. Someone had to have added the chemicals.

“We only have our Mom. Our Dad's dead,” the littlest one whispered.

“Oh. I'm sorry,” Jay said carefully. “That doesn't mean it's okay for you to swim in a pool by yourself. I'm still going to talk to your mother. How old are you boys, and what're your names?”

“My name's Aaron,” Aaron said with his chin set defiantly. “I'm eight, and I'm not a baby. I know how to swim real good.”

“That might be so, but you could be the best swimmer in the world for your age, and it still wouldn't be safe for you to swim alone.”

“Why not?”

“Look what happened. You fell. If you hit your head, you could have fallen in the water and drowned.”

“But I didn't.”

“But you could have,” Jay said. “What about you, young man. What's your name, and how old are you?”

“Nine. My name's Thom.”

“My leg hurts,” Aaron said eager to get the attention back on to him.

“I know. Let's go inside and see if we can get you fixed up.”

“You don't need to talk to our Mom, Mister. Honest,” Aaron said.

“Maybe not, but I'm going to anyway,” Jay said herding the boys towards the door. “Come on.”

* * *

“Well, I was pleased to meet you, boys. I just wish it could have been under better circumstances.”

“Me too,” Aaron said. Tears sprang to his eyes again, and he tried to snatch back his leg as Jay pulled a disinfectant wipe out of a new packet. But Jay was too quick, and he had the graze all cleaned up before Aaron got out a belated cry.

“Okay. You're all fixed up. Time to go see your Mom,” Jay said, snapping a large band aid onto the small boy’s leg.

* * *

Jay knocked on the door and waited. And waited. Nothing.

“Maybe no one's home,” Aaron said, trying to get past Jay and run. Thom rolled his eyes.

“Freeze,” Jay said, grabbing the back of the child's damp shirt. “I'm sure your mother wouldn't go out and just leave you here.” he said. “Surely. HELLOOOO!” he bellowed.

“It's open,” Alex called distractedly from somewhere within.

Aaron made to escape again, but Jay stepped behind him. His large muscular frame effectively blocked the path of both boys. He opened the door and steered the motley crew inside.

“I know the way,” Aaron said cheekily as he tried to dodge the man's grip.

Jay frowned. This little one had some attitude.

Alex looked up from her computer at the tall, handsome stranger and then to each of her boys.

“You boys okay?” she asked nervously.

“We're fine, Mom,” Thom said.

“Who might you be?” she asked, eyeing Jay suspiciously.

“He's the guy who owns the house next door,” Thom said.

“Oh?” she asked, and then it dawned on her. “Oh.” She did her best to straighten her hair with her fingers.

“Uh huh,” Jay said. “Do you have
any
idea where your children were?” He was still cross with this woman, but he had to admit she was very cute. She was tiny, with big blue eyes and messy blonde curls that trailed over her shoulders and down her back. Plenty sassy by the look of her to boot. She was obviously pulling herself up to her full height, ready to defend herself and her brood.

“Playing,” she said, her hands on her hips in a 'what of it' stance. “It's what kids do. They go outside, they run around, play with toys.”

“Tell your mother what you were doing,” he said, one eyebrow raised with disapproval.

“Swimming,” Aaron said. “And bleeding.”

“Where?” Alex asked. Her eyes then fell to the band aid on her son's leg. “Were you swimming in your clothes again?”

They were swimming!
Jay wanted to say. That's what mattered. They were swimming, and no one was watching them.

“Boys,” she said to Thom and Aaron with slight irritation. “You know you have to wear suits when you swim.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“They were swimming. Aaron fell over—it happens. He seems okay. No harm was done.”

Jay scoffed. “Your son fell. Near a pool. No adults were there.”

“Great,” she said. “This is all I need.”

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“Another stick-up-the-ass neighbor that's going to bleat at me about my kids,” she said. “They're just kids! It's the summer! They like to let off a bit of steam, have some fun while school's out. I'm
so
sorry that they trespassed on your precious property!”

Sassy and an attitude, Jay thought. Interesting that he found that fact more appealing than he probably should.

“Yeah, Mister. We was just havin fun like Mom said,” Aaron added.

“Hush,” Jay said, fixing Aaron with a stern glare.

“Don't tell my son what to do.”

“I just want to talk about what happened to the adult in charge. I don't want to have a group discussion.”

“Leave my kids to me. What they do isn't your business.”

“They were in my pool. That makes it my business.”

“One time they were, and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.”

“But you always let us swim there,” Aaron said helpfully. “You said it was okay if we did after we all cleaned up the pool that time!”

“Really,” Jay drawled. He was such a pent up ball of tension at that moment that he didn't know what he wanted to do first. He wanted to bend this little lady over his knee and spank her bare bottom until it was rosy. But he also wanted to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to his place and drop her in his too-large bed. He'd peel off every stitch of her remaining clothing and…