For one long, burning moment, neither of us moved.
Her chin lifted.
My breath locked in my chest.
“Well,” she said slowly, “you really kicked it down then.”
I stepped over the ruined door, gaze locked on hers. “I told you I would.”
“I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”
“You should stop underestimating me. I always do as I say I will.”
She swallowed, the sheet shifting slightly with the movement. “So,” she said, voice quieter now, “what are you going to do now that you’re here?”
Everything inside me pulled taut.
Anger. Desire. Want. Need. All of it twining together into a much more dangerous thing.
For a long moment, I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.
Her eyes tracked my every motion, pupils wide, lips parted just slightly. She looked like trouble wrapped in innocence, lying there under that thin sheet, pretending she wasn’t baiting me on purpose.
I stepped closer, just enough for her breath to hitch again. “You know,” I said, letting my voice drop, “I should spank you.”
Her fingers tightened on the sheet. “Maybe you should.”
Heat punched through me like a fist.
“And what would you do if I did?” I asked
She swallowed, throat bobbing. “Depends,” she said softly. “Would you stop at one?”
“No,” I said. “I wouldn’t.”
The sheet rose slightly as she pulled it tighter to her chest and I could see the exact moment she realized she’d pushed me too far and not far enough at the same time.
“Mikhail,” she murmured.
“Yes?”
“You’re staring at me.”
“I’m deciding,” I answered.
“About what?”
“Whether to put you over my knee now,” I replied calmly, “or make you apologize for making me kick down that door first.”
Her lips parted in a silent gasp.
“Well,” she managed, voice trembling just enough to give her away, “I don’t… apologize easily.”
I took one more step forward.
Close enough to touch.
Close enough to ruin.
