Page 57 of Daddy's Claim
“We have.” I sure as hell wasn’t about to tell my father-in-law exactly how I’d tamed his daughter. Especially since she wasn’t nearly as tame as she pretended to be in public. She was still a royal brat most days, but since it gave me nearly unending opportunities to turn her gorgeous bottom red and fuck her into sweet pile of submissive goo, I certainly wasn’t complaining.
Movement further down the table caught my attention and I glanced over to see Cole and Alex both rising to stand. Luca and Gabriele both followed quickly and my stomach sank as Cole made his way toward Nora and me.
“Apologies, sweet Nora,” he said quietly. “I need to steal some of your guests for a bit. But in case I haven’t told you yet today, you look beautiful. And we’re so very happy to have you as part of the family.”
When he straightened again, I rose to my feet. Nora’s eyes blazed with fury and before I could assure her I wasn’t leaving, she leapt to her feet and jabbed a finger in my chest. “You are not going anywhere! Either of you! Whatever bullshit is happening can wait. This is the closest thing I’ll ever get to a real wedding day and you arenotgoing to ruin it!”
“Perhaps I spoke too soon,” Carlos muttered, not quite managing to hide his smile behind his glass of wine.
Further down the table, my mother and my aunts all stopped mid-sentence to look up at us, their expressions a mixture of surprise and sympathy.
“Leonora,” I said quietly, not wanting to embarrass her further by dressing her down in front of our guests. “You need to sit down and mind your manners, little girl.”
“Oh, fuck you, Michael. I’m not the one trying to walk out in the middle of a wedding reception! Why don’t all ofyousit down and maybe then I’ll be a little more polite.”
I glanced at Cole over her head, who shrugged. “We can handle this, cousin. You have your hands full.”
“No, absolutely not!” Nora stomped her foot, and I just barely bit back a laugh at my adorable spitfire. “None of you are leaving!”
After more than two months together, I could recognize when my naughty little wife was on the verge of a full meltdown. Bending down, I scooped her up and draped her over my shoulder, ignoring the string of inventive curses she lobbed my way.
“Nora and I are taking our leave.” I raised my voice to be heard over her shouts, as well as the laughter coming from our guests. “You all stay as long as you’d like and enjoy the rest of your meal. Thank you so much for coming to celebrate with us.”
“Michael, don’t you dare! I’m not going anywhere with you!”
“On that, we disagree, princess.” Turning on my heel, I strode from the dining hall we’d rented for our celebration down a short hall to the valet station. I handed the wide-eyed valet my ticket and he jogged off to retrieve our car.
“Michael DeCosta, you put me down right this second!”
“I’m not putting you down until the car gets here. And unless you’d like to be hauled into the Waldorf-Astoria like a sack of potatoes, I suggest you get your attitude under control, little girl.”
“I don’t have an—wait. The Waldorf? Seriously?”
“Yes. And I don’t really feel like explaining you having welts on your ass when you go to your spa appointments so cut me some slack.”
“Oh. That’s… a nice surprise.”
“I thought you might enjoy it. Too bad your first night there is going to be spent over Daddy’s knee, huh?”
“Why should our second wedding day be any different from our first?” she grumbled.
Laughing, I gave her ass a solid swat that had her squealing. “Good point. Begin as you mean to go on, as the saying goes.”
“You’re a bully.”
“And you’re a brat.” Lowering her to her feet, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her, long and deep. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
THE END