One moment she’s straddling my hips, triumphant and demanding. The next, I’ve got her flipped over my lap, face-down, her perfect ass in the air and her startled yelp muffled against the mattress.
“What the?—”
I press a hand flat against the small of her back, holding her in place while she squirms. With my other hand, I tug her shirt up—exposing inch after inch of smooth, flushed skin until the curve of her spine gives way to the swell of her ass.
Christ.
Even in the dim lamplight, she’s a vision. All soft honey-brown curves and the subtle dip of her waist and?—
Focus, Sloan.
“Let me go!” She’s trying to twist around, but I’ve got the leverage advantage and about eighty pounds on her. Her struggles accomplish nothing but making her ass wiggle in an extremely distracting way. “Atticus, I swear to God?—”
“You know what I think?” I keep my tone conversational, almost friendly, like we’re discussing weekend plans over coffee. “I think you’re trying to manipulate me into bonding you because you’re upset and you don’t know what to do with those feelings. I have a feeling Mason is involved, judging by the way he ran out of here.”
She goes very still.
I trace a finger down her spine, feeling the shiver that rolls through her. “And instead of dealing with those feelings like an adult, you’re throwing yourself at me and hoping the distraction will make everything else go away.”
“I’m not?—“
“Oh, yes you are. Beautiful messy girl.” My hand settles on the curve of her hip, thumb stroking idle circles against her skin. “You’ve been acting like a spoiled child for days, Phoenix. Throwing tantrums. Making reckless decisions. So demanding of attention that you act like you don’t even want.”
“I havenot?—”
“You took a whole bottle of heat inducers because you didn’t want to get on a plane. You invited yourself to a stranger’s house to ride out a heat you deliberately triggered. And now you’re trying to force me into a permanent biological bond because—what? Because you’re sad? Because you’re scared? Because it’s easier than actually dealing with your shit?”
Her breath hitches. I can feel the tremor running through her body, the way her muscles have gone taut beneath my palm.
“I think I know exactly why you act like this,” I continue, keeping my voice soft and even. “It’s because no one ever bothers to punish you when you misbehave.”
The silence stretches between us, thick and charged.
“What are you doing?” Her voice has gone small. Apprehensive. But there’s an undercurrent there that makes my cock twitch—something that sounds almost likeanticipation.
“I’m offering you a choice.” I shift my grip, positioning her more securely across my thighs. Her ass is perfectly presented, the thin cotton of her underwear doing absolutely nothing to hide the shape of her. I pull the waist down and tuck the bunched fabric under the fleshiest part, just above her thighs.”Option one: you hold still while I give you the spanking you so clearly need. And once I think you’ve learned your lesson…I’ll fill this pretty little pussy until you come screaming on my knot.”
Her whole body shudders.
“Option two,” I continue, “is that I walk out that door right now, lock it behind me, and you can use the time-out to think about what you’ve done and the effect it has on other people.”
Phoenix is breathing so hard now that she’s practically hyperventilating, her ribs expanding against my leg with each inhale. I wait, patient, letting the weight of the decision settle over her.
She starts to struggle again—halfhearted movements that feel more like obligation than genuine resistance, like her pride won’t let her capitulate too easily. Her hips twist, her legs kick, her hands push against the mattress. I hold her easily, one arm banded across the small of her back, and wait for her to tire herself out.
It doesn’t take long.
Eventually, she goes limp across my lap, panting from exertion. Her hair has fallen across her face in a copper curtain, hiding her expression.
A mumble rises from somewhere beneath the curtain. Too quiet to make out.
I lean down, bringing my mouth close to her ear. “I’m sorry, firebird. You’ll have to speak up. I didn’t quite catch that.”
“Option one!” The words burst out of her, loud enough to echo off the old plaster walls. “I said option one, you insufferable?—”
“Good choice.”
My palm connects with her ass before she can say anything else.
