The universe disagreed. Connor’s expression changed again, this time to shock, then determination. “Get down!”
Before she could process the command, he tackled her, rolling at the last minute to land beneath her. Bliss would have screamed, but the fall knocked the breath from her.
Connor rolled again, taking them behind the empty guard station. “Don’t move,” he snarled.
When her breath returned, she punched his chest. “Get off me!”
“Bliss, I can immobilize you if I have to. I said, don’t move.”
Holy Moses! Not even wanting to think about how he would immobilize her, Bliss did as she was told.
Connor studied the road until whatever he saw satisfied him. Pushing to his feet, he wrapped his large manacle of a hand around her wrist and yanked her up.
“Hey!” she shouted, trying to free herself from his grasp.
He pointed at her and growled, “Not another sound. Not one.”
Pressing her lips together, she tried to keep up as he dragged her toward the hotel.
“Wait. Wait!” What the heck was going on? She knew she’d messed up, but he was scaring her. “What is going on?” She tried to slow him down, but dragging her feet didn’t work.
He spun to face her. “What did I say about making a sound?”
She scrunched her nose. “You said not to make one.” Lord, the only thing pounding harder than her heart was her clit.
“Consequences,” he said, his voice deep and clipped.
“What do you mean, consequ—eep!”
Before she knew what was happening, he shoved a shoulder into her stomach and lifted her. His hard muscles pressed into her abdomen as he walked so fast he was almost jogging.
She was going to throw up. It would serve him right if it got all over his back. “Put me down!”
His hard palm smacked her bottom with the force of a paddle. One smack for each word as he ground out, “Do. Not. Talk.”
Holy hotdogs, that hurt. Her bottom burned. She could tell where every finger had landed. And that was only three smacks. She’d read all those spicy Daddy books. She knew spankings hurt. But the driving heat that shifted from her bottom to between her thighs? That she had not expected.
Connor strode straight past his truck to the hallway of the motel he’d entered earlier. And just like that, her heartbeat was right back where it was before. Great. What was it about this man?
He set her on her feet when they reached the hotel room. “Do not move.”
Tilting her head up, she met the gaze of one still-furious, tattooed muscleman. And just like that, the fluttering disappeared, and those butterfly piranhas came back to gnaw at the interior of her stomach.
Even though she nodded, he scowled down at her. His disapproval burned. She needed to think fast, but she never reacted well in the middle of a situation. It was as if her brain stalled, and she couldn’t think. Her feelings were more reliable.
Before the answer came to her, he grabbed her hand and marched her into the hotel room like a naughty child. The wayhe slammed the door shut, she half expected him to continue smacking her bottom, but he didn’t.
Her chest hollowed. Why did that disappoint her? It shouldn’t. He must hate her after all the trouble she’d caused. He’d never want to see her again. If it ever worked out that she could live in Darling near Winnie, she’d have to carry a canvas bag with her so that every time he was around, she could pull it over her head.
He stepped in front of her, scowling and red-faced. Taking her by the wrist again, he marched her to the far corner and stood her there. Was… was he… was he putting her in the corner like the Daddies did in the books she hid on her phone?
A tremor worked through her that had nothing to do with fear. It skimmed from head to toe but came to rest in her core. Gooseflesh pebbled her skin.
She was an adult, but he’d put her in the corner like a naughty child. And she was just standing there, not breathing, waiting to see what he’d say next.
“Nose to the corner, Trouble. Clasp your hands behind your back. We’re going to talk, but you’re going to do it with your nose in the corner, like the naughty girl you are.”
When he had her positioned the way he wanted, he stepped back and sat at the end of the bed. He was angrier than she’d ever seen him, yet when he spoke, his tone was even. “Tell me, Trouble, was I not clear when I told you to stay in the truck and out of sight?”
