“I’m nobody important. Just let me go,” she demanded, spouting off the words in an abrasive tone. I couldn’t believe her arrogance.
“In case you haven’t figured out, a storm is rolling in. You ain’t going anywhere for a while. I suggest you confide who you are and what you’re doing here.”
“Not a chance in hell.”
That was it. I was cranky as fuck, hungry, and needed to tend to the fire.
“Well, you’re coming with me.” I didn’t give her another chance to object, storming toward her. The second I was within a few inches, she reached out to smack me. “Nice try, sweetheart, but that’s going to cost you. Punishment it is.”
“Fuck you!”
“And there’s your mouth. I think you need a hard lesson in following the rules.”
“Whose rules?” she snarked, her entire face pinched.
I laughed softly and lifted her easily off her feet, tossing her over my shoulder. “Mine.”
Chapter 2
Mitch
Brute.
Asshole.
Enemy.
The three words summed the stranger up pretty nicely. What the hell had I gotten myself into? I’d been such a fool. Now I would pay the price. He had to be one of them. Then why hadn’t he killed me yet? I shivered from the intense breeze as the snow continued to fall, struggling to get out of his powerful arms.
“Let me go!” I challenged, although I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“Not a chance, sweetheart. We need to have a long talk but only after I give you a nice, hard spanking.”
The man was huge, rugged as hell, and looked the part of a mountain man with his long, scruffy beard and hair reaching his shoulders. When he stormed toward his cabin, my anger at being caught turned into fear.
Wait a freaking minute. The asshole actually thought he was going to spank me? I would find a knife and carve out his insides. I would rip out his eyeballs one at a time. I was floored by his words, uncertain I could even respond.
He stormed inside, kicking the door shut with his boots then stomping further into the room. After putting me on my feet, he snatched the woolen cap from my head, his eyes opening wide as my long hair tumbled down over my shoulders. I’d done everything I could to hide my identity, including disguising my voice. A lot of good that had done me.
We stared at each other at least a full minute until a sneer curled on his lip. There was a crackle of electricity between us, an attraction that was both ridiculous as it was maddening. However, the vibrations were difficult to deny. I cut through the crap by giving him a defiant look.
His chest rose and fell, his eyes drifting slowly down the front of me then back to my eyes.
My God. The asshole was actually undressing me, thinking about what I’d be like in bed.
I bit back a whimper, uncertain whether it was at my filthy thoughts or the way he continued to stare at me.
“Take off your jacket,” he barked as he pulled his from his massive shoulders, tossing the thick parka across the back of the sofa.
I crossed my arms, pursing my lips as I glared at him.
“Have it your way.” He yanked me around to face the other way, wrangling my coat off.
“Damn you.” Struggling proved to be useless.
“I assure you, sweetheart. I’m already damned. You might as well take a number.”
I almost stumbled over the table when I swung around to face him, fisting both hands and holding my arms in front of me.
“A little fighter, are ya?”
“Hell, yes. Don’t you dare think about touching me or I’ll kill you.”
“Uh-huh. It’s time to make good on my promise.” His words were little more than a dark and dangerous whisper, but his chocolate brown eyes were just as enigmatic as before. He was one powerful man, the kind who was used to getting what he wanted.
When he thumped down on the couch, I let out a screech as he drew me over his lap, proceeding to swat me on the bottom.
Hard.
Brutally hard.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Wiggling, I clawed at the arm of the couch, my heart racing from the shock that he’d followed through on one of his promises. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t fathom this kind of thing happened any longer.
At least not to a grown woman.
One who was ready to break into a man’s house.
The truth was almost as bad as what he was doing.
“Giving you what you deserve. I warned you. Then I promised you. I’m the kind of man who makes good on his promises.”
As he brought his hand down again, I took several gasping breaths, trying to regain my strength. A big bully of a stranger was spanking me. Me! I didn’t deserve this kind of treatment, no matter what I’d done. He had no idea what kind of crap I’d been forced to endure.
“Ouch! That hurts.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Last time I checked spankings are supposed to hurt.”
I struggled and kicked out, cursing under my breath.
“If you aren’t a good girl, I won’t mind hogtying you. And I’ll keep you that way for hours. Maybe days.”
Hogtying? Now I knew the mysterious, sexy stranger was out of his mind. Was he serious? I took a deep breath, ceasing to fight him as he smacked me several additional times.
Then I waited for the right time before pushing up from the couch, able to smash my elbow into his face. I heard the cracking sound, as if bones were breaking, but as I attempted to scamper out of his reach, he managed to snag me by one of my belt loops, yanking me back with ease. I felt like some freaking ragdoll.
“Wow. That’s really going to cost you. As a matter of fact, I think we need to do this bare-assed. The lesson will be easier to
