“Yes. Sorry.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Cole kissed my shoulder. “I told you I’d take care of you, and I will. But I won’t tolerate anyone saying bad things about you. Not even you.
“Thank you,” I said, and meant it.
He chucked me under the chin. “I’ve got to get back to work. I’m going to be pretty busy for a few days, but I’ll make sure you’re occupied. The minute I get a chance, we’re going to resolve the situation with Mr. Roberts, once and for all.”
“Okay,” I said, though I didn’t like the sound of that.
8
The days settled into a routine, with Cole working long hours, as he’d warned me. I wondered if he kept himself busy so he could keep his hands off me longer. It pleased me to think I was that much of a temptation. Of course, the more he stayed away, the more I wanted him. Whenever he worked from home, I made myself as loud and obnoxious as I could, which only earned me the gag. Often I found myself watching him, admiring the grace in his long fingers on the keyboard, the timber of his voice as he gave someone instructions.
“Regina,” he called one day, without looking up from his papers. “You’re doing it again.”
I blinked. “Sorry.”
“Keep it up and I’ll give you a new rule—no looking above crotch level.”
“That’s only going to make it worse.” I went back to my work, only to look up when a shadow fell over my hands.
Cole stood behind me, tracing the delicate strap of my skimpy outfit. His touch spread tingles through me.
I turned to face him. We were mere inches apart. “Cole?”
“Regina,” he said, and then he was all over me. Touching, kissing, claiming, his hands sliding up and down my body as I pressed myself into him and whimpered. When the kiss ended and we broke apart, both of us were breathless.
“Bedroom,” he ordered. “It’s time.”
Squee!
But when I got there, I saw a wooden rectangle on the bed, and realized what he meant. Cole stalked into the bedroom after me. I met his eyes, once, and saw darkness there. I didn’t look at his face again.
“Strip.”
Slowly, I removed the little white apron. “What’s going to happen?”
“I told you you’d get paddled for stealing. I think you need it.”
I let the maid outfit fall to the floor. “Will it hurt?”
“Yes.”
I stood to the side of the bed, arms wrapped around myself watching Cole remove his shirt and belt. His bare chest was a thing of beauty, a product of his daily run and five hundred pushups executed in crisp, military style.
He motioned for me to move to the foot of the bed. My breathing picked up as he picked up the paddle and examined it, before setting it down and picking up his belt. He doubled it over and tested it against his palm, snapping it. I jumped.
Cole crooked a finger at me to get me to come closer. Close to hyperventilating, I obeyed. The man couldn’t be more intimidating with an executioner’s hood.
His fingers curled around my hips, warm and reassuring. “It’ll hurt, but it’ll feel good.”
I let out a broken laugh. “How’s that?”
“After this punishment, it’s over. You’re forgiven. We never have to speak of it again.”
He waited for me to answer, but for once in my life, I couldn’t speak. I’d do anything for this man, but he never stopped pushing the boundaries of where I wanted to go.
After a minute of silence, he laid the belt on the bed. “Regina, look at me.”
