“Yes, Sir.”
Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Ethan storms out of the kitchen again. Leaving me to wonder how the fuck I’m supposed to get my husband and his ex-girlfriend in bed if he won’t even spank her.
Ethan
What the fuckhas gotten into my wife?
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say shewantedme to spank Mia. But that can’t be right. What kind of woman dangles that kind of temptation in front of her husband?
Maybe it was a test, to see how I’d react. If it was, I can’t help but feel like I failed. Not because I didn’t take the bait, but because I wanted to, so badly.
God, I’m such a fucking asshole.
Having Mia here is clearly too much of a temptation. One way or another, I need to get her the hell out of my house.
Sooner rather than later.
CHAPTER 3
MIA
Ican barely finish my cereal after Sloane’s betrayal. Really, I suppose I can’t blame her for wanting to get me in trouble. I’d be pissed as hell in her shoes.
Still, it stings. For a few minutes there, I’d thought we might actually be able to be friends. Maybe not besties, but not mortal enemies, either.
But clearly I was very, very wrong.
When I’ve finally forced down the last bite of cereal, I carry my bowl over to the sink. Ishouldrinse it out and put it in the dishwasher. That’s how Ethan likes things done. But stubbornness rises up in me, and even though I know it’s petty and rude, I sit the bowl in the sink and walk away.
I make my way back up to the pretty room with its canopy bed and mountain of stuffed animals. The unicorn Ethan gave me to sleep with the night before is still tucked into bed, but all her friends are stuck in that hammock. And while Ethan is tall enough to rescue them, I certainly am not.
I could go track him down, ask him for help. But I’m still feeling stubborn, and the last thing I want to do is give Sloane any more reasons to hate me.
Looking around the room, I spot a mostly empty bookshelf. It’s only about three shelves high, but that should be enough to let me reach at least a few more of the friends up in the hammock.
Pleased with my problem-solving abilities, I drag the bookshelf over to the hammock and put my foot on the first shelf. It wobbles a bit when I put my weight on that foot, but stabilizes again when I bring my second foot up beside it.
I reach up, but the tips of my fingers only graze the bottom of the hammock. With an annoyed huff for my short stature, I grip the top of the bookshelf and move my foot up to the next shelf.
But this time when I shift my weight, the shelf wobbles even more. And before I can catch myself, the entire thing goes tumbling backward.
Right on top of me.
My shriek of terror fills the room, but instead of collapsing on the floor, pinned beneath the heavy bookshelf, I find myself swept up in a pair of strong, familiar arms.
The relief that floods my system only lasts a few seconds, because the next thing I know, I’m on my feet, bent over beneath Ethan’s arm as his heavy hand swats at my bottom. “What the hell has gotten into you, little girl? You could have gotten yourself killed!”
All of my excuses fly right out of my head as my entire world narrows to the growing pain in my bottom. “Ow, ow, owie, Daddy, I’m sorry! I’msorry!”
And as quickly as the spanking began, it ends again, with Ethan shoving me away from him, a stricken look on his face. “Fuck, Mia. I shouldn’t have done that. I had no right…”
Reaching behind me, I rub at my burning bottom. And the fact that Ethan doesn’t even try to stop me, even though it’s very much against his rules, is another dent in my already battered heart. “It-it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I’mmarried, Mia. I can’t… we can’t… I have to go.”
Turning on his heel, he flees the room, leaving me behind, my bottom and heart both aching. Guilt threatens to swallow me whole. I can’t believe I called him Daddyagain.
I never should have come here. Never should have called him to come rescue me.
