But it wasn’t. In dreams, she couldn’t feel the slide of silken rope against her skin as her captor’s cousin tugged at her bonds or the cold steel beneath her fingers when she gripped the chair.
And she’d never had a dream where her pussy clenched greedily at the sight of a man shrugging out of his suit jacket and unbuttoning the cuffs of his dress shirt.
“Do you remember what I told you that first night, princess?” His tone was casual, almost conversational as he rolled the first sleeve to his elbow, exposing his tan, toned forearm.
Swallowing hard, she clutched her righteous indignation close to her chest, determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing the effect he was having on her. “You told me lots of things.”
A grin slowly spread across his face as he repeated the slow rolling of his sleeve on the opposite arm. “I suppose I did. Specifically, do you remember what I told you about what it would mean for you to be mine?”
“No.”
Liar. She remembered every second of that night, even the parts she’d rather forget. Like the way she’d whimpered and begged for Daddy to let her come, to fill her aching pussy. Ever since she’d learned who ‘Daddy’ really was, those moments had been tainted by shame and fury.
“Then allow me to remind you.” As the last of the ropes slid away, he gripped her by the arms, hauling her up against him in a move that knocked the breath clear from her lungs. “You will do as you’re told, especially where matters of your health and safety are concerned. When you disobey, Daddy will put you over his knee and spank every ounce of defiance out of your gorgeous ass.”
Before she could blink, breathe, think, he’d taken her seat on the chair and pulled her over his lap in one shockingly smooth move.
“Let me go, you rat bastard!”
The only thing more shocking than finding herself over a mob boss’s knee was the loud laugh he let out at her furious demand. “Rat bastard? I must admit, that’s one I haven’t actually heard anyone use before.”
“You smug fucking asshole. Let me go.”
“No.”
As if to punctuate his infuriatingly cheerful response, he pushed her skirt up over her hips and cupped her ass. And fuck her if everything in her didn’t want to simply submit at that familiar touch.
“Get your hands off me,” she ground out between clenched teeth.
“As you wish.”
The hand on her ass disappeared, only to return a moment later, slamming into her silk-covered skin. To her utter humiliation, it stung enough to shock a yelp out of her, a sound she quickly tried to smother.
But not quickly enough.
“Oh, I do love those sounds you make, princess. Let’s see how many different ones I can pull from you while I warm your bottom.”
Pressing her lips together, she vowed not to make another sound. A vow that proved increasingly hard to keep as his hand fell over and over, heating every inch of her ass.
Just when she was ready to break, he stopped, once more cupping her now-aching flesh and giving it a hard squeeze. “Are you ready to listen to Daddy, princess?”
She could say yes, and likely end her punishment then and there. But the thought of giving in, of submitting to him of all people, had bile rising in her throat.
“Fuck you.”
A heavy sigh met her ears. “Have it your way.”
Humiliation heated her entire body as he tugged her underwear to her knees, exposing every inch of her most intimate parts to his gaze. And then the spanking began again, harder and faster than before, hard enough to bring tears to her eyes as she wiggled against his hold.
But she wouldn’t beg. Wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of breaking her.
“I don’t care that you hate me.” As he spoke in surprisingly calm, even tones, he continued to spank, the hard swats covering her entire ass and the tops of her thighs. “I don’t care that you can’t stand to even look at me. I do care that you are keeping yourself and our child safe. Which means doing as you’re told. When I tell you to stay away from someone, it’s because I have a damn good reason.”
“Is the reason that you’re a controlling bastard?” she managed to grind out without letting the sob building in her chest free.
“That’s certainly part of it.” There was, impossibly, a note of humor in his voice as he continued scorching her ass with his hand. “The other part is that Richard Williams is a very dangerous man and I don’t want you within a hundred feet of him.”
He must be mistaken. Richard Williams might be a hoarder of wealth who didn’t pay his employees enough and who occasionally cut corners that had her contemplating whether she should notify the proper authorities. But dangerous?
