Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Nothing subdues a shifter more than the scent of his mate’s anguish. Damn. He walked into the kitchen to find Ashley facing the stove, her shoulders hunched and tears running down her face.
“Hey,” he said softly, turning her around. “Enough.” He wiped the tears from her face. “That’s not helping anything.”
“What will?” she asked, her voice rising to the pitch of desperation. “Because I can’t stand this living with a stranger thing we have going at the moment. Why won’t you just yell at me? Or punish me? Aren’t you the alpha around here?” She gave him an ineffectual shove, her face screwed up into a little ball of fury.
“Enough,” he said, lacing his voice with the hard edge of authority.
“Is it?” She slapped his chest with the palm of her hand.
Even knowing she meant to goad him into it, he responded instinctively, as any dominant wolf did when challenged, catching her wrist and spinning her around to pin it behind her back. He delivered the first swat before he had a chance to think.
He stopped, inhaling deeply. He didn’t want this. If she feared him, spanking her didn’t help. But then she’d practically begged him for it. Maybe she needed it, to assuage her guilt. She certainly wasn’t fighting him now, standing perfectly still, her head bent forward so her thick hair curtained her face.
He released her and turned her to face the living room. “Take off your clothes and kneel in the corner over there,” he said, pointing to the one near the couch.
She moved immediately, not meeting his eye, her head still bowed submissively.
He remained where he was, conflicted. It was too late to change his mind, of course. But what if punishing her only made things worse between them? He shut off the oven, leaving the steaks inside to stay warm.
When he turned, Ashley had taken her position. He caught his breath at the sight—her long reddish-brown hair falling down her back, the flare of her hips and, of course, her perfect ass, settled between her heels where she knelt. His cock forgot his reluctance to punish her, pressing eagerly against his trousers.
He walked over to the couch and sat down. “Come, Ashley.”
“Woof,” she said, barely louder than a whisper, wringing a half-smile from him. It had been her joke since the day he interviewed her and had told her to sit. He hadn’t laughed then, and yet she’d persisted, just as she’d persevered despite his repeated rejections of her affection.
She walked to stand in front of him, her chin dropped, hands clasped behind her back.
“Why am I punishing you?”
“For—” She cleared her throat. “For lying.”
He waited.
“—sir,” she added.
He said nothing, keeping his face blank.
She nibbled her lip. “I should have known you would listen to and value my feelings on the matter. You always have.”
Her words came as a relief to him.
“Ben?”
He raised an eyebrow expectantly.
“Would you make me stay home with the kids?”
He grabbed her waist and pulled her to sit on his lap. “Make you?” he asked. “Is that how you think things work around here?”
She fidgeted with her hands.
Taking her chin, he lifted her face to his.
“I don’t know. It’s just—your sister-in-law…”
“That’s what Shayla wanted. She never had an interest in getting involved with Leon’s company; that’s why he left it to me. Shayla wanted to be well cared for, so she could devote herself to her children.” He studied Ashley’s blue eyes. “Did you think it was a shifter thing? Is that what this is about?”
She shrugged. “Well, it’s part of my fear. But also I’m just not ready.”
He nodded slowly. “Look, I know I’ve been an asshole. I ran Stone Tech like a dictator, and it was my way or the highway. But with you—” He broke off, his throat closing with emotion. “You expected more of me, you believed I had a heart. With you, I thought I’d changed.”
Ashley’s lip trembled.
“Don’t make me into that guy again. Do you really think I’d make you do anything that made you unhappy?”
A tear spilled down her cheek and he thumbed it away. “No. I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m really sorry.”
Ben lifted her from his lap, deftly turning her face down over it, her bare bottom angled perfectly for his punishment. Goosebumps raised on her flesh. She reached for one of the throw pillows, wrapping her arms around it. The first few spanks stung the worst, the shock so much more than what she expected.
She realized how much he held back when he spanked her in fun, because each slap of his hand connected now with force enough to make her lose her breath. She meant to hold still, but found herself twisting and bucking, trying to wriggle her way off his lap. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.