Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
“Babe, never wanted you in that position and don’t ever plan on letting it happen again. I’m sorry you had to go through that. You’re too damn soft inside, but lucky for you, I’m not. I’ve got you covered.”
“That’s good, because I’m all about scissors, not guns.”
The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could retract them. His eyes glittered like two champagne diamonds. There was nothing soft about the look he gave her.
“Yeah, babe, about that. I made it clear that I was going to teach you a lesson if you didn’t do what I said. I want you remembering that when I tell you to do something for your safety, you’re going to do it.”
She gave him the stare-down. “I told you I wasn’t going to let anyone kill you. Not that I’m sure why I feel so strongly about that. You’re as annoying as hell half the time.”
He put a hand on either side of her waist, lifted her and deposited her facedown over his lap. There was no talking, no hesitation—he smacked her bottom hard. Very hard. He did so several times, and it hurt. She had a high pain tolerance and he knew it. He made sure she felt every single smack on her bottom through the thin fabric of her jeans.
She was not going to give him the satisfaction of tears. She’d burn in hell first. She read books about spankings men gave women that were supposed to be a turn-on. Erotic. Ones that made a woman wet and wild. This was not one of those spankings, nor could she imagine ever wanting a man who smacked her butt because he was upset with her.
Just as abruptly as he’d laid her across his lap, Keys sat her up, forcing her legs on either side of him, so she was straddling him, facing him. Her bottom burned but not nearly as hot as her temper.
“Don’t start, Lyric. You fuckin’ deserved that. I told you the consequences, and you just ignored them.”
“You know, I don’t like half the things you do—should I get a belt and smack your bottom? Is that how we resolve things between us?” She was seething with anger. “Because, quite frankly, I don’t think that resolved anything.”
“Made me feel a whole hell of a lot better. Maybe you won’t be so quick to put your life on the line to save mine.”
She took a deep, calming breath. “There’s something very wrong with you, Keys. But I’m overlooking this because you’re clearly stressed out and need sex. Please go far away from here and take care of yourself so we don’t have any more incidents like this one. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do if you try it again.”
A slow smile softened the cruel edge of his mouth. “You did get something right in that not-very-well-thought-out plan of yours. I do need to bury myself in a hot little pussy. I’ve been waiting for a few months now.”
Alarms blared loud and long. She started to slide off his lap. Self-preservation was finally kicking in. This wasn’t Keys teasing the hell out of her. This was Keys being dead serious. She could not handle this version of Keys.
He caught her waist and anchored her on him. “Stop being such a scared little rabbit. I laid it out to you in that cave. I was very to the point, and there couldn’t have been any mistakes about my meaning.”
Lyric shook her head. “One of my very bad traits when I say I’m not normal is sometimes I hear things but don’t always comprehend them.”
“You didn’t want to comprehend because you don’t like change. This is a huge change for both of us, but it’s happening.”
“No, it’s not. You don’t get to decide that.”
He ran the pads of his fingers down her face, tracing her cheekbone and then her lips. That barely there smile curved his mouth. “You forget that you’re with a biker, Lyric. This is my world and my rules. You came here of your own free will.”
“I did not. I was unconscious.” She wanted that on record because evidently, she would need it.
“You promised me you’d come home with me.”
That was true. “I was under duress.” Because she’d wanted him happy. That had been the worst of the duress. She’d wanted him happy, so she’d agreed to something she knew wasn’t going to end well.
“It doesn’t matter how you got here, Wildfire, you’re here, and you’re not going to leave.”
“Whatever happened to your motto? Live free or something like that.”
“I do live free, but you don’t. You have a lot of choices, babe, but leaving me isn’t ever going to be one of them. If you didn’t feel about me the way you do, this would be a very different conversation, but you do. I know you don’t want to, and you’re doing everything in your power to shut it down, but since you have to stay, you may as well learn to live with it and enjoy every fuckin’ minute we have together.”