Page 18 of She Belongs to Me

“And dangerous.”

He cocked his head, smirking instead of smiling. “And dangerous. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

“For now.”

“Ah, for now. Then let’s talk about a couple of things.” He pushed his plate away, which meant breakfast was over.

I sat back, trying to gauge what he was thinking. The stern look on his face didn’t inspire warm feelings.

“Answer me a question now, Alexandra. Why in God’s name did you go back to the condominium when you knew without a doubt the men who killed the senator knew you were there and had seen their vicious act?”

“A senator was killed?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“It’s possible his political platform on ridding the city of organized crime led to his demise. There are other options as well.”

Jesus. A senator. No wonder the monster was determined to hunt me down.

“Answer the question,” he told me.

I’d asked myself the same question a dozen times. I still had no really good answer. “Because I couldn’t get in touch with my roommate and I had to make certain she was okay. She helped me get away from the scene and I was fearful for her life.” That was at least factual.

“At the risk of your own life.”

“Maybe you don’t have a good friend, one who would potentially die for you if push came to shove, but that was my relationship with Sherry. We’ve been through a lot together and I couldn’t face my conscience if anything happened to her.”

Great. Now I felt conviction, which was highlighted in the defiant tone of my voice.

He said nothing at first, merely pulling his napkin from his lap and wiping his mouth before tossing it onto his plate. “In my world, I can’t afford to have those kinds of friends. That could lead to death, which I fear is the case for you. You were lucky. And stupid.”

I thought about what he was saying. “How sad for you. How lonely.” No one defied him. That was easy to tell by the quick flash of anger in his eyes.

“You are an adult, Alexandra, so I can’t remove privileges because of your egregious behavior. That wouldn’t work. However, you do need punishment for your careless actions.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“What does that mean?” Now I was becoming irritated.

He leaned closer, studying me even more intently than before. “That means there is only one form of punishment I believe will work.”

“And what is that?”

“A spanking.”

CHAPTER 6

Alexandra

Shock.

There was no doubt I had shock written all over my face. I wasn’t entirely certain I’d heard the man correctly. “What did you say?”

“You heard me, Alexandra.”