And then I’m airborne, draped over his shoulder while his hand swats at my upturned ass. The swatsburn, more than I remember, and I can’t quite smother my yelp as the pain spreads over my backside.
“You always were a brat, but I don’t remember you having this much of a foul mouth.”
“Well a lot has changed in twenty fucking years.”
To my shock, he laughs, his entire body vibrating with the sound. “Fair enough.”
He carries me to a chair, where he sits and flips me over his lap with an ease that knocks the breath from my lungs. Just like that, I’m eighteen again, about to get my ass spanked by my bossy-as-fuck boyfriend. Nostalgia swamps me, and for a moment I almost feel guilty about swearing at him.
But then I remember that the reason I haven’t seen him in nearly two whole decades is because I thought he was dead. Lost to me forever, along with his entire family.Myfamily. I grieved their loss almost as much as I grieved losing my father and mother in the car accident that took their lives five years later, and knowing that I went through all that pain, all that suffering, fornothingonce again fills me with rage.
“Let me go, you bastard! I’ll fucking kill you for real this time!”
There’s a tug, followed by cool air brushing over the backs of my thighs, and my fury burns even hotter when I realize he’s pulled my panties down.
Naughty girls always get spanked on their bare bottoms, Josephine Elise, you know that.
Caught between the past and present, I ignore the shattering of my heart and fight with everything I have to escape. But his grip is like iron, and a moment later his hard hand connects sharply with my bare skin.
“Ow! Get the fuck off of meright nowyou son of a bitch!”
“I hope you enjoy the taste of soap, because I have a feeling you’re going to be eating it often. Especially if you let your Uncle Eli catch you talking like that.”
Another hard swat, with enough force behind it to bring tears to my eyes. Or maybe those are tears of frustration and anger, I’m not quite sure. “Who the fuck is Uncle Eli?”
“My brother, Elias. You knew him as Everett, but you’re going to have to get used to everyone’s new names.”
I’m still reeling from the idea of calling a man a year older than meunclewhen the rest of his sentence finally hits. “Everyone?” Hope beats painful wings against my chest. “Gracie?”
“Yeah, baby. Gracie’s here, too.”
I can’t breathe. Every breath in feels too shallow, every breath out too ragged. “Please, Benny. I can’t… I can’t… please.”
The spanking ends, as abruptly as it began, and then I’m in his arms, my tears soaking his shirt as I weep for the family I thought I’d lost so many years ago.
“Shh, baby. It’s okay, Josie. We’re here and we’re safe, and we’re going to keep you safe.”
“I h-hate you,” I choke out, trying to shove away from him. But I’m crying too hard and he’s far bigger than I remember. Giant, almost, and his body seems to swallow mine even with theextra pounds I’ve put on over the years. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.”
“I know. And I don’t blame you one bit, bug.”
Bug. The sound of my childhood nickname, the one only he ever used, tightens the band around my chest. It started as one of those annoying older boy kind of things, with him telling me tobug offas often as possible whenever Gracie and I got on their nerves. Somewhere along the line it became almost affectionate, and then when we made that leap from friends to something more, he started calling me his lovebug.
Too much. This is too much.
Somehow, I find the strength to shove out of his arms. I race for the door, yanking my panties back up as I trip and stumble my way out into the hallway, tears still blurring my vision almost to the point of blindness.
There. Stairs.
Freedom.
I choke on a sob as I head for them, my sock-covered feet sliding on the hard wood when I take the corner too fast. Luckily, I recover quickly and run down the steps toward the front door.
“Josie?”
Skidding to a stop just feet from the door, I spin around. And find another ghost staring at me.
“Gracie.” Despite the two-year age difference, Gracie Kincaid was my best friend in the whole world growing up. We did everything together, and losing her was like losing half my soul.
