Page 17 of Daddy's Claim
“You’re going to learn to mind me, Leonora. I know your father let you run wild, but that ends now. It’s my job to keep you safe, and I can’t do that if you refuse to listen.”
Crossing my arms, I glared up at him. “Dinner and drinks with my best friend is hardly running wild and putting my life at risk.”
“Can you honestly tell me you were planning a quiet evening, tucked away in some restaurant, sipping wine and gossiping?”
Slick bastard. “I plead the fifth.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Over the bed, now, or we can repeat this punishment every night for a week.”
I’d never been spanked before Michael had hauled me over his knee after our vows, and I certainly had never even entertained the idea of being whipped with a belt. But I knew enough to realize my husband wasn’t the type of man to make idle threats, and a week of spankings with the wide, thick leather wasn’t a fate I was willing to tempt.
With one last glare for him, I stood and turned to bend over the side of the bed.
“Jesus, woman. You might be the death of me if you have any more dresses like this.”
Warmth filled my chest and I turned my head to smile at him over my shoulder. “We could always skip the spanking part and you could just fuck me instead.”
“How about I do both and really teach you who you belong to now?”
My sarcastic retort was cut off when he shifted to the side and a line of fire exploded across my backside. “Holy fuck! Michael, that hurts!”
“Good. Maybe you’ll think twice before disobeying me again.”
“I will, I will!” I screeched, grabbing at the covers to try and pull myself back up into the bed so I could escape the agonizing punishment. But a heavy hand pressed against the small of my back, pinning me in place. Another stroke fell, catching the tops of my thighs, and I howled at the burning, stinging pain.
How the hell had Adele taken this so stoically? The woman wasn’t fucking human.
I was too lost in my own misery to bother counting the strokes. All I knew was my ass felt swollen and raw by the time my husband announced, “Last three. I hope you’re hearing my message loud and clear, princess.”
“I am, I swear,” I somehow managed through my tears. “No more, please, Michael.”
“Tell me what you’re being punished for, and then we can finish up.”
Burying my face in the covers, I moaned at the request. Could this possibly get any more embarrassing?
“Tell me, Nora, or it will be six more instead of three.”
“No! I’ll listen, I’ll do whatever you say! I won’t even leave the bedroom ever again!”
“No need for dramatics, princess.” Apparently taking pity on me, he sighed and rubbed my back in an oddly comforting gesture. “For the record, you’re being punished for disobeying me. I don’t intend to keep you locked up in here, but I do expect you to do as you’re told. Understood?”
“Yes!” At that point, I was willing to say just about anything to avoid another lash of his belt.
“Good girl. Last three. Keep your hands out of the way.”
The final three strokes connected right where my ass met my thighs, making me squeal and buck with each one. How had theyhurt more than the ones before, when that had already been the worst pain I’d ever felt?
To add to my humiliation, hot, fat tears were rolling down my cheeks when Michael gathered me into his arms and stretched out on the bed with me curled into his side. I tried to tell myself I didn’t want him to touch me, but my body seemed to have a mind of its own, snuggling up against him.
“Get some sleep, princess. I’ll wake you up when dinner gets here.”
Finally, an order I was all too happy to obey.
Mikey
Dinner was a sullen affair. I’d hoped the spanking and nap would put Nora in a more amenable frame of mind, the way it usually seemed to with Adele, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Nothing was right—from the wine down to the mouth-watering cheesecake the kitchen had sent up, she had something critical to say about everything.
Maybe I hadn’t spanked her long enough. She’d been full of promises for better behavior and she’d snuggled up against me so sweetly afterward, but maybe I’d stopped too soon. Or maybe the nap had made her cranky.