Then the door opened, and every thought of his family fled. How could she focus on anything else when he was wearing those ass-hugging jeans again, this time paired with a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows?
“You’re late, Ace.” His mouth twitched with the statement, giving away his amusement, but heat flooded her panties just the same.
“Oh no.” Fluttering her lashes in faux innocence, she pouted up at him. “Am I in trouble, Daddy?”
“Keep pouting and I’ll put you on your knees so you can find a better use for that mouth.”
Well, didn’t that just sound delicious. “Promises, promises,” she said as she brushed past him into the entryway.
She’d barely gotten two steps inside before a hand clamped down on the back of her neck, holding her in place. Adrenaline pumped through her system, mixing with her arousal for a heady cocktail better than any alcohol she’d ever tasted.
“Careful, Ace.” His lips were right by her ear, his words a low growl that had her fighting back a whimper. “That’s two.”
“Two what?”
Instead of answering her, he spun her to face him, his hand still holding her neck. And then his lips were on hers, hot and demanding, and she lost herself in the kiss.
“Fuck it. Dinner can wait.”
“What—Cyrus!” While her head was still swimming from his kiss, the world flipped upside down, and it took her a moment to realize she was over his shoulder and they were quickly climbing the stairs.
Holy fuck, that was hot. Even with his shoulder digging into her stomach, the sheer display of masculine power had her lady bits aching with pure lust. Did that make her a bad feminist? Maybe, but that was a problem for another day.
She caught a flash of his bedroom before she was tossed onto a wide, plush mattress. And then he was over her, caging her in as he captured her lips in another brutal kiss.
When he pulled away, eyes flashing, a frisson of fear snaked up her spine. This was a side of Cyrus Banks she’d never seen before. That same fear had her heart pounding wildly as his hand closed around her throat, not quite cutting off her air, but with just enough pressure to let her know he could if he wanted to.
Did he want to?
And why wasn’t she running screaming for the front door at the possibility? She’d just learned his family might have had a man killed and now he had a hand on her throat, but she already knew she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Are you going to be a good girl for Daddy, Mina? Or am I going to have to light your ass up before I finally fuck you the way you deserve?”
Danger! Danger! Danger!If her brain had those twirling red security lights, they would have been going wild in that moment. And still, there was that part of her that seemed to be thriving on the risk, the fear, and that part of her was in full control.
“I’ll think about it,” she replied, giving him a deliberately cheeky smile.
The flash of hunger in his eyes was the only warning she got before she was flipped onto her stomach, her skirt rucked up around her hips, and his hand smacking down on her practically bare ass.
Unlike the night before, there was no gentle lead-in to this spanking. Right from the start, the swats were heavy, punishing, and before she could process the sting from one, another fell until her entire ass seemed to have been engulfed in flames.
“Ow! Fuck, Cyrus, that hurts!”
“Good. Maybe you’ll learn to take my promises seriously from now on, Ace.”
“Okay, yes, yes, I get it! You can stop now!”
But his rhythm didn’t falter even a bit as he chuckled. “Tell me you’ll be a good girl, Mina.”
“I’ll be good!”
“No. Say ‘I’ll be a good girl, Daddy’, or this spanking will keep going until my hand wears out. Which I can promise you will be long after you are a very sore, very sorry little girl.”
Even through the pain of the spanking, her need for him burned hot. And it was that need, even more than her desire to stop the punishment, that had her crying out. “I’ll be a good girl, Daddy, I promise!”
Two more hard, stinging slaps landed, and then she was rolled onto her back. “Let’s see how long you can keep that promise.” Grabbing a hold of her hair, he guided her down to the floor, putting her on her knees in front of him.
“What did I tell you last night, Ace? Naughty girls don’t get to come until they take Daddy’s cock down their throat. Open.”