Page 16 of Daddy's Claim
“I told her to wait at the front door.”
“Alone?” The ringing grew louder.
“Well, yeah. She doesn’t need a babysitter.”
“Are you fucking stupid?” The darkest parts of me thrilled when Tony’s eyes went wide with fear. “Instead of sticking your damn fool head outside to see if I was actually there, you left her, unguarded, at the front door to come find me?”
“I told her to wait,” Tony shot back, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
“The woman barely listens to me, and I’m her husband. You really think she gives a shit what you told her to do? Goddammit.” Pushing past Tony, I marched out of the kitchen and down the hall to the wide-open front door.
Sure enough, there she was, hurrying down the gravel driveway in the ankle-breaker heels she seemed to favor. When she tripped and stumbled, I shook my head and took off after her.
The sound of my shoes crunching against the gravel must have alerted her, because she glanced over her shoulder and immediately sped up. It was actually rather impressive how quickly she could move in those shoes.
Not nearly impressive enough, however, to stop me from scooping her up and flinging her over my shoulder and swatting her ass the entire way back to the front door. Predictably, my little bundle of indignation and fury squirmed and squealed every step of the way.
We were greeted in the front hall by the group I’d left in the kitchen. Cole’s twitching lips gave away the laughter he was trying to hold in, and Adele’s expression was a strange mix of delight and sympathy.
But it was Tony who drew my attention—and my ire. “Cole,” I kept my gaze locked on Tony’s smug smile. “I am sure you will agree we no longer require Tony’s services within our organization.”
There was zero hesitation on Cole’s part. “I absolutely agree, cousin. I’ll take care of it.”
Ignoring Tony’s inventive stream of curses hurtled my way, I carried my now silent wife up the stairs to our bedroom. When I dropped her on the bed, I braced for the tantrum that was certainly coming.
But there was no tantrum. Only a tilt of her head and a frown. “Why did you fire him?”
“He put you in danger.” It was as simple as that as far as I was concerned. I refused to have my wife surrounded by men too stupid and careless to keep her where I put her.
The wrinkles in her forehead deepened. “I grew up in the mob, Michael. I know what being fired means. He didn’t just get a pink slip and sent off to search for another job.”
Leaning down, I placed a hand on either side of her, caging her in with our noses nearly touching. “I won’t allow anyone to endanger my wife’s safety. Not even my wife.”
“I wasn’t in danger. I was still on the property.”
“And I’m sure you were just going for a stroll in the gardens with those fuck-me heels and that duffel bag you call a purse, right?”
Wariness crept into her expression. “It’s not a crime to get dressed up.”
“Leonora. I’m only going to ask you this once. If you lie to me, you’ll be going to bed with a sore bottom insideandout. Now,” I continued, rolling over her outraged gasp, “where were you going?”
Six
Nora
My mind raced with a dozen different scenarios I could offer up by way of explanation. But his threat was still ringing in my ears and I wasn’t in any rush to learn what he meant by it. “I was going out,” I eventually admitted.
“With who?”
“Rissa. We had plans earlier but they obviously had to be postponed.”
“Thank you for being honest.” Pulling away, he unbuckled his belt and whipped the leather through the denim loops with a terrifying hiss. “Bend over the side of the bed.”
A growing dread settled in my stomach. “But you said if I was honest, you wouldn’t punish me!”
“That’s not at all what I said, princess. I had every intention of whipping your pretty little bottom for that stunt. Your honesty just means I won’t also be fucking your ass once I’m done putting some welts on it.”
“You can’t do that! You have no right!” But even as I protested, I knew he absolutely could, and would, follow through on his threat. The only question was how long it would take me to push him to that point.