My jaw creaks from grinding my teeth. “And you expect me to watch while you find other men to help you?”
“You will do whatever you want. All men do. But I must think about where and how I will live. If I go to Boston, this man Aiden Callahan knows which places will be safe for a girl like me to live and—”
“You’re not going to Boston with Callahan!” I growl.
She blinks, and when she speaks again, her voice is low and firm. “All right. This is enough talk for now. If you do not want to come back to party with me, okay. But I must go as I told to them I would.”
My scowl is likely fierce. There is no fucking way I’m letting her go down to the reception alone, especially with things between us unsettled. My gaze cuts to the door. She needs to be punished, but if she fights it, the noise would bring interference I don’t want. I didn’t like the way McCann’s shrewd eyes were sizing things up between her and me.
“We’ll go down after.” I take her arm and draw her with me to the end of the bed.
Her gaze darts to the footboard and then at me suspiciously. I push her, so she’s bent over the end, her chest and face on the mattress, her feet still firmly on the rug. I grab the back of the dress and lift it to her waist. She gasps and starts to rise.
“If you make noise, I’ll gag you and punish you for twice as long. Understand?”
She shudders, then nods. Her expression is mutinous, but she doesn’t say a word.
“Put your hands under your head, and don’t move them.”
Natalia swallows nervously, but obeys.
I remove my belt and double it on itself. “Ten lashes, unless you move. If you move, twenty.” I don’t lower her underwear because I don’t want to turn things sexual. Her panties are too thin to offer any protection from the way my arm swings a belt.
I glance at the wall, taking stock of myself. I’m still angry and jealous, but I’ve got control of myself. Her ass moves. She’s too nervous not to squirm. Best to get on with it.
The belt hisses through the air and lands with a thwack. Her body jerks belatedly, giving me time to deliver two more sharp strokes. I pause at four when a small shriek of panic escapes her lips, and she tries to get away.
Stepping forward, I put a firm hand on her back. “Stay still.”
She whispers something, possibly a curse, but she settles her chest back onto the mattress. Her ass cheeks are clenched. I advise her to relax, but she doesn’t, and I can’t blame her. I can already see the red marks through her pale panties.
The belt strikes her twice more quickly, and she squeaks, but then she buries her mouth in the crook of her arm and the mattress.
“Four more, and it’s over.”
She waits silently, and I can’t help but admire her for it. I deliver the last four firmly, but with less force than the others. They still add to the cranberry-colored lash marks on her pale skin.
I rub her ass, and that makes her squirm to escape. “We’re done, kitten. Stand up.”
Natalia pushes off the bed and retreats several steps, tipping her head back to stare at the ceiling. Her eyes are bright with tears, but none fall. Her palms massage her ass through the dress as she breathes deeply.
“You belong to me. If you disrespect me again by flirting with other men, you won’t be able to sit for a week. Do you understand?”
Her throat convulses as she swallows, then she nods.
“Good. Come here.”
She doesn’t move.
Still a battle then, and not the kind I lose.
“Come now,” I order. My voice isn’t harsh, but my tone conveys that if she doesn’t come on her own, there will be consequences.
Natalia walks to me, staring fixedly at my shoulder rather than my face.
“Are you all right?” I ask, my voice neutral.
Natalia doesn’t answer, but her chin wobbles slightly. She’s brave and tough, but inside, her raging emotions are threatening to spill out. It would probably be better for us if she let them, but I won’t force her.
