Page 9 of Daddy's Claim
At least I hoped it would be since the animosity was still rolling off Adele in waves. I wasn’t sure what the hell I’d done to make her so angry, but it was clear she wasn’t the least bit happy about having me underfoot.
When we parked in front of the house, Adele pushed out of the car and hurried up the stairs. Cole was after her like a shot, and he caught up with her before she could get inside. Snagging her by the arm, he held her there as everyone else piled out of the car and made their way to the front door.
“Mikey, I know you’d prefer to get your wife settled in, but I would appreciate it if you two would join us in my office, first. Apparently, I need to set some expectations.”
Beside him, Adele’s eyes widened with alarm, piquing my curiosity. What kind of “expectations” was he planning to set? And why did she look so panicked by the idea?
“Sure,” Michael agreed, his expression and tone carefully neutral, cranking my curiosity up even further.
“Thank you.” With Adele in hand, Cole led the way to a huge office complete with a giant, heavy-looking desk and severalplush, leather chairs. Michael settled in one of the chairs and pulled me down onto his lap.
“There’s a perfectly good chair right there,” I grumbled, doing my best to ignore the fluttering in my chest at the easy way he manhandled me.
“And I want you right where you are. Is that a problem?”
“If I say yes, will you let me go?”
“Nah.”
Chuckling, he patted my thigh, the simple gesture reminding me of being draped over his lap earlier with that same hand paddling away at my bare ass. “That was pretty much a rhetorical question.”
“Of course it was.”
Standing in front of the desk, Cole cleared his throat, his hand still wrapped around his wife’s arm. “All right, ladies. I know this isn’t exactly where either of you thought you would be this morning, but the circumstances are what they are. Nora, you are a member of our family, and I expect you to let me know ifanyonemakes you feel unwelcome here. Am I understood?”
Yeah, right. Although my father had kept me out of most aspects of the business, I still knew one of the cardinal rules of organized crime: Snitches get stitches.
It did not, however, seem wise to say so when the head of my new family was giving me that hard, stern glare and I was perched on the lap of a man who had proved he had no issues blistering my ass if he felt I was out of line. “Sure.”
“And as for you, little girl”—Cole released his hold on his wife and reached for the thin dress belt at his waist—“I don’t know what’s gotten into you today, but the rudeness and the attitude stop now. You know what to do.”
“Here?” Adele’s voice pitched up in obvious panic, her eyes darting back and forth between me and her husband. “You cannot be serious!”
“I am. And this will only be a taste of what’s waiting for you before bed. You know I don’t tolerate this kind of disrespectful behavior from my girl.”
“Cole, please.”
“Is that how you address me when you’re being punished, sweetheart?”
“I will not. Not with her here!”
Cole softened, just a fraction. “Nora is part of the family now. While I would have preferred to wait a bit before introducing her to this aspect of our lives, you chose to be rude and disrespectful both to her and me. You forced my hand, Adele, and you’ll take your punishment like a good girl or I’ll go get some ginger.”
I wasn’t sure what ginger had to do with anything, but the threat was enough to compel Adele into compliance. Stiff as a board, she turned and bent at the waist, resting her forearms on the gleaming wood of the desk.
“Much better,” Cole praised softly, running his hand over the curve of her ass. “Now, how do you address me during a punishment, sweetheart?”
Adele mumbled something and I leaned in to try and hear better.
“Louder, please.” The request was punctuated by the thin leather belt snapping across the backs of Adele’s thighs.
“Daddy! I’m supposed to call you Daddy!”
My jaw literally dropped at the admission. Prim and proper Adele Porter called her husband Daddy while he spanked her like a naughty little girl?
It was deliciously humiliating, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
Some of my delight at the unexpected revelation must have shown on my face, because a sharp yank of my hair brought my ear to Michael’s lips. “If I hear so much as a snicker from you, you’re next. And I’ll give you double whatever she gets.”