Bad Girls III By Michelle Carlyle Bad Girls III By Michelle Carlyle ANewsiteWebServicesBook Publishedbyarrangementwiththeauthor Allrightsreserved. Copyright2008©byMichelleCarlyle Thisbookmaynotbereproducedinwholeorpart, bymimeographoranyothermeans,without permissionoftheauthororNewsiteWebServices, LLC PublishedbyNewsiteWebServices,LLC P.O.Box1286,Loganville,Georgia30052 USA [email protected] disciplineanddesire.com Dedication ToReesaandJoshatdisciplineanddesire.com: Thankssomuchforallyourwonderfulhelpand guidanceovertheyears.Icouldn’thavedoneit withoutyou.Keepuptheexcellentwork.You guysarethebest! TABLEOFCONTENTS CalamityClarissa PartOne 1 PartTwo 15 AccidentalLove PartOne 30 PartTwo 45 TheMotivator PartOne 60 PartTwo 75 HerSecretLife PartOne 89 PartTwo 104 CuriosityKilledtheBrat PartOne 119 PartTwo 133 WifeSchool PartOne 148 PartTwo 162 CalamityClarissa PartOne Dimitri scanned the vast meadows of his large country estate from the giant picture window in his mahogany-paneled study. He couldn’t see her anywhere. He heard a familiar squeak of orthopedic shoes behindhim.Hishousekeeper,June. “Where is she, have you seen her?” he asked withoutturningaround. “No, sir,” the older woman replied. “She went outsometimeaftertwoforarideandIhaven’tseen hersince.” His fist balled, he punched his palm. “Damn the woman! I told her not to go out unescorted! She promisedmeshewouldn’t!” “She is headstrong, that girl. How much longer isshestayingwithus?” Dimitri threw up his hands and began pacing. “God, I have no idea. I wish my idiot of a brother hadn’t offered the family house to her. Without my knowledge, I might add. Damn him, anyway. Dumps this disaster on me, when all these repairs are going on; the estate is gearing up for that charity eventintwo months time;I have no time to chase after Frederick’s guests. Especially not that impulsiveClarissanightmare.” “What exactly is the reason for her visit, sir, if I mayask?” “Under the guise of some study she’s doing on country estates in New England. She’s working on her doctorate in architecture and is doing her thesis on the history of this area. But my God, you’d think a Yale graduate student would have more sense. But not that woman. Do you know I had to rescue her fromthepondyesterday?Shewasinvestigating the structure of the feature and somehow managed to slip in. I found her slipping, sliding, covered with slime, desperately trying to claw her way out. I 1 hadn’t even intended to go by there, I found her totally by accident, crying out for help, a complete mess!” “Yes, sir, I helped clean her up. She’s quite a prettylittlething,though,isn’tshe?” Clarrissa had the brightest blue eyes, a pert nose, and a cute way she tilted her head when she studied something. “Too pretty. Too talkative, too inquisitive, too muchof everything.Damnit,I don’t need to baby-sit some Calamity Jane while I’m so pressed fortime.Shewentforaride?Cansheeven rideahorse?” “She said she could. James saddled up Rose, since she’s the mostgentle.Clarissasaid something about checking out the old cabin in the south forty. Apparently,theoldplacehassomekindofhistory.” “Yes,yes,itdoes.ButmyGod,theentireareais completely overgrown. I’d better go make sure she hasn’t fallen in some old cesspool, God knows what kind of trouble she could get in. She needs a keeper,thatwoman!”Dimitristormedofftogetinto hisridingclothes. A half an hour later, Dimitri headed out of the stables on Prideful, his favorite Appaloosa. He rode for a good twenty minutes until he reached the south forty area. He saw the cabin in the distance, partially hidden by trees and overgrown bushes. In frontoftheoldshackstoodahorse.Rose. __________ Clarissa was fit to be tied. Not again! What was wrong with her? Why was it always like this? Her best-laid plans always turned into such disasters. She’d only walked into the old cabin, that’s it, just walked inside. Suddenly, the floorboards gave and she found herself trapped in a hidden chamber underneath the cabin. The walls were of earth; there were no footholds; it was dark; she had no way of getting out. This was all so unbearable! No 2 way would anyone find her out there. Unless they found the horse. Then maybe, just maybe they’d findher. She prayed Dimitri wouldn’t be the one to find her. He’d forbidden her to go out alone and she’d gone anyway. His brother had warned her about him. Dimitri was a stickler for the rules. He had a reputation for being picky, controlling and domineering. He’d been a lieutenant colonel in the Army, when he retired, he’d returned to the family estate to manage its restoration. Ever since he’d returned, he’d become very much the lord of the manor. Frederick said that his brother was a throwbacktoanoldertime. While Dimitri been gracious enough to allow her to stay with him for her study, he’d made it plain that she was unwelcome. Even when she wasn’t bothering him, he was treating her like an irresponsible child. Which was too bad because he was such a hunk. She’d fallen for him the first time she’d laid eyes on him. So handsome! Tall, lean, he had amazing green eyes that reminded her of a panther’s eyes. While arrogant and commanding, she had witnessed, first hand, that he had a much warmer,moretenderside.Whenhewasunawareof her presence,she saw himpick up akittenthathad gotten lost from its mother. He’d nuzzled it, kissed it and comforted the poor little mewing thing as he took it off to rejoin its parent. It was clear to her in thatmomentthathisbarkwasworsethanhisbite. But still, she in no way wanted to be found by him. With that authoritarian streak of his, he may justtoss her off thepropertybeforeshecouldfinish herstudy. “Miss Fontaine?!” a man called loudly. “Miss Fontaine,areyououthere?” Clarissa couldn’t believe it. Someone had found her!Shewassaved! “Clarissa?”camethevoiceagain. 3 She heard it clearly this time. Her heart sank. Dimitri.Shecouldn’tlethimfindherlikethis! A large, hairy spider dropped on her arm. She let out a shriek that could wake the dead. Okay, that was it. Who cared if she got kicked off the estate,shewantedoutofthere! “Dimitri!”shecalledout.“Dimitri!I’mhere!” He heard a muffled reply from somewhere off in front of him. Damn it, she was in trouble! He knew it!Eversincethewomanarrivedonhisdoorstep,he felt an uncanny connection to her. When she fell in the pond, he was in the library, choosing a stain for the walls when something in the back of his mind told him to go find her. Just like today, he instinctively knew she was in trouble. Now if he couldonlyfindthehorridlittlething. He rode towards the sounds of her cries. As he gotcloser,heheardhermoreclearly. “Miss Fontaine? Where? Where are you?” He stopped Prideful in front of the old, dilapidated woodenbuilding. “I’mhere!I’mhere,underthefloorboardsofthe cabin! Watch out, the floor is weak!” came her muffledreply. Under the floorboards? What was she talking about? He dismounted and approached the cabin. “Whereareyou?” “Underthecabin!”shecalledout. “Under the cabin?” he asked. As far as he knew there was nothing under the floorboards.Justabout twofeetofspace. He carefully walked across the rickety porchand stepped inside.There,aboutsixfeetinfrontofhim, was a large, person-sized hole in the floor. He leaned over and peered inside the gaping hole. There below him, looking up at him with large blue eyes,wasthescruffy-looking,red-hairedproblem. 4