The Devil's Cowboy (6 page)

“Let me go, you asshole, or I’ll call the cops. You’re as crazy as
she
is!”

“You’re staying right here until you promise to listen to me next time.”

“Next time? Screw you! There’s not going to be a next time! You’re going to jail for this. I swear I’ll press charges.”

“Then I might as well do a proper job of it while I’ve got you here,” he replied. To her horror, he jerked her panties down around her knees, baring her ass completely. “It’s already a little pink, but maybe I need to spank it till it’s bright red before you’ll listen to reason and drive
her
out of your mind once and for all.”

With a loud crack, his hand came down again. Ellen gasped. “Dammit, that really hurts!”

“It’s supposed to hurt. It’s supposed to remind you that I’m the one in charge and if you do things I tell you not to do, you’re going to get hurt much worse than this.” He smacked her again, harder, and Ellen shrieked. She began struggling, desperate to get away.

Rafe simply locked one strong thigh over her flailing legs, rendering her immobile, and started spanking in earnest. She thought it had been bad before, but now he seemed to be putting every ounce of his considerable strength into the job. Ellen forgot her embarrassment, forgot her anger. Her whole world centered around the relentless wallop of his palm on her tender bottom. She’d written lots of spanking scenes for her erotic romances, but she’d never been spanked for real, not even as a child. She was stunned at the searing agony a bare hand was capable of inflicting on her defenseless bottom. Ellen felt a pang of sympathy for all the reluctant heroines she’d placed in this position.

“Rafe, stop. Please, Rafe!” She cringed inside when she heard her voice, begging, but right then she vowed she’d do whatever it took to get him to end this torment.

“I can’t stop, Ellen. Not till you tell me you remember this, remember being spanked when you disobeyed me in the past. Putting you across my lap was always the way I could get you to settle down and listen to reason. You’ve
driven
me to
distraction
so
often
.” As he spoke, he was whacking her bottom steadily, emphasizing his words with especially harsh smacks.

“Do you remember the time we were down at the river? I told you not to go in alone, but you wandered off when I was asleep and decided to take a dip. I yanked you out just before that crocodile appeared. Then I cut a switch from one of the trees lining the bank, bent you over a rock, and tanned your dripping wet ass.”

His words barely penetrated the haze of pain that his relentless paddling was creating. Did he say something about a crocodile? Maybe the man was deranged. Ellen gave up struggling and sagged across his iron-hard thighs, hoping if she lay limp he’d decide she’d been spanked enough and end this agony. Thankfully, it seemed to work. He stopped smacking her—and laughed. A bolt of white-hot fury shot through her.

“What the hell is so funny?” she demanded, twisting around to give him an angry glare.

“Up to your old tricks, are you?”

“People think I’m crazy when I say I talk to dead people, but you? You are definitely insane. Old tricks?
Crocodiles?
”

His hand moved lazily, tracing circles on her stinging bottom. Ellen squirmed, feeling a hot flush of embarrassment at her position. She imagined the scene from his point of view—a half-naked strange woman draped provocatively over his lap, her quivering bum no doubt glowing bright red by now. In the scenes she wrote, all her alpha male heroes loved to see their woman in this position. She wondered fleetingly if Rafe was getting turned on. As though he’d read her mind again, he ground himself up against her a little and even through his jeans she felt the very large, very hard evidence that he was thoroughly enjoying this whole situation.

“Now darlin’, you know what I’m talking about.”

Ellen shivered. His voice was warm and low, pouring over her, his hand gentle on her burning skin. In spite of herself, she felt the unmistakable thrill of arousal beginning to build between her legs.

He went on. “Deep inside, you remember. You’ve always pretended you had enough, hoping I’d quit because I was convinced you’d learned your lesson. But I know better. What we’re facing here is a lot more dangerous than that croc on the banks of the Nile. You need to listen to me, Ellen. I can’t have you running away, breaking the strength of our bond. This is the most powerful foe we’ve ever faced. Together, we can deal with it, send this tortured soul home, break the evil force holding her here.”

Ellen shivered again. His voice was hypnotic, his touch even more so. She relaxed and took a deep breath, allowing the anger to flow out of her. And that’s when the images flooded into her head.

A hundred places, a thousand fleeting moments seen in an instant—and in all of them, she gazed into Rafe’s soul through his warm brown eyes. There he was, clad in the garb of a Roman gladiator, stretching out his hand to her, a bound slave crouched trembling at his feet. Now dressed as a fine gentleman, smiling as he took her hand once again, this time to lead her onto the dance floor in the grand ballroom of a French chateau. She fell to her knees, weeping, as he mounted his horse in full armor, heading off to the Crusades, then disguised herself as a page and rode after him. She saw herself draped across his hard thighs in this same position when he discovered her, heard herself pleading and crying while he furiously spanked her. She felt him thrusting inside her afterward, wild and hungry, both of them knowing somehow that it would be their last lovemaking in that lifetime.

“Raphael?” Her voice was drowsy, as if she’d just awakened from a dream.

He smiled, pulling her up into his arms to snuggle her on his lap. “It’s me, darlin’.”

“I saw so many strange things, strange places just now—and you were there in every one of them.”

“Yes. I was. And now we’re here, together again.”

He bent his head to kiss her, but Ellen pushed him away. With every second, the bizarre images were fading. She looked around the room, taking in the details, grounding herself in reality. Suddenly she was acutely aware of her position, panties down around her knees, naked ass nestled on his lap, with the unmistakable bulge of his stiff cock straining up against her through his rough jeans. Horrified, she realized those jeans would be sporting a noticeable wet spot from her dripping pussy when she got up if he didn’t quit rubbing up against her with that slow, seductive grinding motion as he rocked her back and forth on his lap.

“Not so fast, cowboy. Can you explain what just happened? Was that
her
life I saw? Or did you somehow implant memories into my head, with you starring in all of them?”

“What you just saw, just felt, was as real as any other vision you’ve had. Those are some of the lives we’ve lived together. If it’s any comfort to you, I saw all of it too, right then. I especially liked that last part,” he added, his voice rough and low.

Ellen blushed. “Let me go,” she demanded, squirming on his lap. She stopped when she realized that wiggling around was only making the bulge she felt in his pants grow even bigger.

Rafe held her tight. “Not just yet, darlin’. You’ve had an intense experience—one I’d guess you haven’t had before. I can’t let you go until I know you’re all right. You were taken over by her spirit. She was in your mind, in your body. Do you remember hitting me, screaming that you knew who I was and what I’d done?”

Ellen closed her eyes. A shudder went through her body. “Yes. I remember. She’s angry with
him,
but even more, she’s frightened of what he’s done, what he will do next. He kept her locked up so she couldn’t stop him or tell anyone. The children—she’s afraid for Melanie’s children. She doesn’t realize that she’s dead, that
he’s
dead, and can’t hurt anyone any more. She cries at night, hoping to drive them away. She hovers around, trying to warn them about him. But Melanie doesn’t listen. She can’t get through to her.”

“I saw her,” Rafe said. Ellen stared at him. She’d sensed a dark mass, but she hadn’t seen anything… only felt the whirlwind of emotions pour into her.

“Dressed all in black, as though she’s been in mourning forever,” he went on. “She’s trapped here, Ellen, by her fear and her anger, her grief and pain. But to free her spirit, we’ve got to rid this house of the dark force that binds her here. He’s here too and he’s even stronger than she is.”

Ellen forgot her half-naked state, her embarrassment. She clung to Rafe, burying her head in his chest. “Rafe, I’m scared. I’ve done this kind of work before, but I’ve never been possessed by anyone. Can you always see the bodies of those who have passed? Or is she somehow stronger?”

“She,
they,
are stronger than any spirits I’ve ever encountered. Both of them. They’re locked into a battle here, a battle between good and evil. And no, I can’t always see them as clearly as I saw her. That’s how I know this situation is really dangerous. Melanie’s got two small children at a very vulnerable age. Little Amy could absorb all this negative energy and be implanted with a lifelong fear and distrust of men, making it impossible for her to love or trust anyone. And Adam—well, he can be influenced by the sick mind of the man who did terrible things.

“That’s why she’s panicking now. The last few families who lived in this house were all adults. He doesn’t connect as easily with adults. And especially not with those who have already faced temptations and made the choice to fill their lives with love and kindness. Remember, Melanie said he doesn’t come around when David is home.”

“Is he… is he the devil?”

“Before I answer that, I think it’s best if we put you back together. I’d shore hate to have Miss Melanie and her little ones walk in on us like this.”

Ellen blushed again, refusing to meet his eyes as she slid off his lap and struggled to pull up her panties and khaki pants without revealing any more of her body to the gaze of someone who, at least in this lifetime, was still a total stranger. Whether it was due to his psychic ability or simply his skill at dealing with people, she was grateful when Rafe seemed to sense her embarrassment and turned away.

“How ‘bout if I go on out to the kitchen and rustle us up a cuppa tea?”

“Yes, that sounds good.” Ellen forced herself to reply with the same casual note in her voice that he used. She couldn’t help noticing that the cowboy persona was back. Odd how his Southern drawl seemed to come and go at will.

She found him rummaging in the kitchen cabinets and she reached up on tiptoes to get the teakettle from the high shelf where she’d seen Melanie tuck it away on her last visit. Rafe stepped behind her, raised one arm and snagged it, wrapping his other arm casually around her as he did. Ellen shivered, acutely aware of his hard masculine body pressing against hers. She longed to grind herself back into him, like the heroine in her latest story would have done. She could almost see herself, bending seductively over the kitchen counter, pulling down her pants, offering her still hot, burning bottom to him to kiss and fondle, then…

“I love the idea, but you’ve gotta put that on hold for a while, darlin’ or we’ll be found in an even worse position when you friend comes back home.”

His voice was low, with a warm note of humor in it. Damn, he was good. He could see everything in her mind so easily.

“That’s not fair,” she protested, embarrassed again.

“Sorry, but it’s as though you’re talkin’ out loud. I can see what you’re thinking most ‘a the time, clear as day.”

She moved away, handing him the kettle to fill with water, collecting cups and spoons and tea bags, grateful for something so mundane to occupy her for a moment. Ellen was deeply rattled. She’d read other people before, had fellow psychics read her many times. But never, never had anyone been able to tap into the images in her mind as easily as flipping on the TV.

“Let’s put aside all the past-life connection fantasies for a while and talk about what we’re going to do next,” she replied, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“Fine by me,” he replied easily. “But it’s no fantasy. You remember me too—remember us. I know you do. Your rational mind may deny it. But your soul… and your body… recognize me. We’re finally together again, Ellen. And God, I’ve missed you so. I didn’t even realize how much until I laid eyes on you. Now it’s all comin’ back. I can’t think straight when we’re alone like this for wanting you so badly, remembering how it’s always been between us.”

“Please. Stop. We’re strangers—at least in this life. I don’t know you, not really. You’ve got to give me time to get used to this whole idea.”

He nodded. “You’re right,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “You need to be wooed—just like you always have. I can do that, make the whole process real sweet for both of us. We’ll take it slow.”

Being ‘wooed.’ There was something so endearing, so romantically old-fashioned about the idea. Ellen felt her heart stir. There were so many layers to this rugged cowboy.

“But for now, I agree with you,” he went on. “We need a plan before your friend comes home. Frankly, I don’t think it’s safe for those little tykes to be in this house till we can get rid of the dark energies here. Do you think Melanie would agree to stay with a friend or move into a hotel for a few days—give us time to work here?”

“I think she’d be relieved not to have to spend another night in this house with things the way they are.”

“Well, here’s what I suggest. We’ll stay here while they pack up a few things just to make sure the dark one doesn’t act out when he discovers they’re leaving. Then I’d like you to come back to my place with me while I collect some supplies. I don’t feel safe leaving you alone here after I saw how easily
she
was able to take over. Now that she’s gotten a foothold, it might make it easier for her next time to enter your body.”

Ellen was silent for a moment. Part of her was relieved at the idea of not being alone in the house again. But she’d been on her own for so many years that she bristled at the idea of allowing someone else to walk in and take over the decision-making in her life.