Page 24 of Daddy's Claim
Nine
Mikey
It wasn’t until I’d reached the kitchen that I realized my phone was buzzing practically nonstop. Reaching into my pocket, I yanked it out and glared at the screen.
Two dozen missed messages? Jabbing my finger at the screen, I opened the most recent message and found a group chat between myself, my brother Luca, and our cousin Alex.
Luca: You have to tell him, man.
Alex: No way. You tell him.
Luca: Fine. Hey, jackass. Ma found out you got hitched without telling anyone and she’s on her way over. Have fun with that!
Well, that would have been good information to have twenty minutes ago. Nora and I could have made ourselves scarce and… who the hell was I kidding? Scarlett DeCosta was not a woman who ever veered from her objective. If she’d wanted to find us, she would have, and there would have been nowhere in all of Chicago for us to hide.
She’s here. Who spilled the fucking beans?
Leaning against the island, I waited for one of them to answer, though it was pretty clear from the earlier messages who the culprit was.
Alex: Sorry, man. I was talking to your pops about the problems we’ve been having at the docks and he suggested pulling you in for some security stuff, and I made a crack about how you were probably still in bed with your new wife.
Luca: Hot little wife was the exact phrase, I believe.
Alex: Fuck off, Luca.
Goddammit. Not exactly the way I’d wanted to break the news to my parents, but the damage was done.
Good thing you’re better at keeping your mouth shut about the business than you are about personal shit, Lexi. Next time you want to say anything about me or my “hot little wife,” don’t.
Ignoring the continued buzzing, I shoved the phone back in my pocket and poured two fresh cups of coffee. Odds were, Nora was going to need the fortification to deal with my mother all day.
But when I returned to the dining room, it was obvious my assumption couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Nora was holding court, her arms moving animatedly, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and my mother was hanging on every word as if it were the gospel. Even Adele’s eyes never left Nora’s face as she regaled them with what I gathered was a retelling of the previous day’s events.
Granted, what I caught of the story was a rather fanciful, sanitized version. Nora skipped right over the part where she’d berated a maid and I’d blistered her ass for it, straight to all of us returning home. According to her version of events, she’d done absolutely nothing to prompt my laying down the law andrefusing to let her go out and celebrate her wedding day with her friend.
“Coffee, ladies?” I said when I’d given her enough rope to hang herself with.
At least she had the grace to look a bit sheepish as she peered up at me through her lashes. “Thanks, Mikey.”
Granted, I knew she couldn’t very well go around calling me “Daddy” in front of my mother, but it was clear from the twinkle of mischief in her eyes she’d used the nickname to see if she would get a reaction.
And I was perfectly happy to give her one. “Excuse me, Ma. I need a minute with my wife.”
“Michael, really, what could you possibly—”
“Ma.”
Something in my tone must have gotten through to her because she clamped her lips shut. It didn’t stop her from glaring at me, but I chose to ignore it as I took Nora by the arm and pulled her to her feet.
“Michael! What are you doing? Where are you taking me?”
I didn’t answer, I simply pulled her along behind me to the half bath just off the dining room. Shutting the door behind us, I turned her to face the mirror and flipped her sundress up, exposing her gorgeous, bare backside to my view.
Whatever color there may have been from her spanking in the kitchen had faded, and obviously the pain had as well since she was feeling brave enough to test me again so soon. Placing my hand on her back, I pushed her forward and ran my hand up the inside of her thigh to where she was positively dripping with arousal.
“What do we have here? Did my naughty little princess enjoy her spanking?”
“No!”