“Okay,” she said, pressing back against the wall. “What do you want?”
“I want to know why you do it. These things you do.”
She feigned innocence. “What things?”
“You know what things. Coming to a club you don’t like, sleeping with men you don’t like. It doesn’t make you happy.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you never smile.”
She drew in a breath and frowned at him. “I don’t like to smile.”
“You don’t like anything.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Name one thing you like.”
“I like to be left alone,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest to mirror him.
“Those days are over, Kat. I’m telling you that now. If you’re going to come here to this club, I’m not going to stand around and let you act like a whore.”
“I can do what I want and you can’t fucking stop me.”
“I’ll say it one more time, slowly, so you’ll understand.” He repeated himself, each word firmly enunciated. “If you’re going to come here to this club, I’m not going to stand around and let you act like a whore.”
Holy fucking Christ. He really believed he had some say in the matter. She blew out her breath and stamped one foot in her new Mary Janes.
“Fine. I just won’t come here then.” She brushed by him to get to the door. “I’ll leave right now and I won’t come back. Believe me, I won’t.” His hand took hers and squeezed it, preventing her from unlocking the deadbolt.
“But you’ll go to another place and do the same thing.”
“Yes. Maybe I will.”
When she tried to wrench her hand away, he gripped it tighter and moved closer to her, his body trapping hers against the door. She went still and hunched forward as if she could sink right through the solid wood and escape. But she didn’t want to escape, not really. He stood behind her and she felt his solid chest rise and fall against her back, felt his breath against her ear. Then his other hand came around and cupped her chin, gently turning her face back to his.
“Oh, Kat,” he said. Just two words, but something about the tender way he said them took a little of the fight out of her.
“Let go of me.”
“No,” he said quietly. “I wish I could but I don’t think I can.” He leaned down and pressed his rough cheek against hers. She was hypnotized by his closeness, his warmth, his masculine smell. She drew a shuddery breath and he drew back abruptly. She spun to face him, her eyes wide, her heart pounding. His gaze raked over her.
“Turn back around, Kat. Face the door and put your hands on it.”
“I…what… Why?”
“Because I’m going to spank you.”
“You can’t spank me,” she protested. “That’s…that’s illegal.”
“Not exactly illegal.”
“You can’t do this! Why do you want to s-spank me?”
“Because you need it,” he answered without missing a beat. “Now be a good girl, turn around and place your hands on the door in front of you.”
“But…but… What will you… How will you… I don’t even know—”
“You should just trust me.”
“Trust you? I barely know you.”
“I think we know each other pretty well. I know that you need some discipline in your life. You’re out of control and you have been for a while. You know I know what’s good for you. Better than you know yourself.”
“You know better? What?” She searched for words to refute him but she was distracted by his broad chest as he crossed his arms in front of her. Those muscles… “No… Well… It’s not… You don’t understand.”
“I think I do understand.”
“You don’t. It’s just… It’s everything else.” Why on earth was she trying to explain, to reason with him? Why was she still standing here? He looked so sympathetic, so understanding, she found the words pouring out. “I’m not out of control, I’m just… It’s just… Life is so random—”
“Life’s not random at all. Everything happens for a reason.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I do.”
She swallowed hard. He was so convinced. He put his hand on his belt buckle, drawing her gaze down his body to his defined waist, his thighs…and… Gulp.
“Now turn around.”
“I d-don’t want to.”
“I know,” he answered in a calm tone, “but I think you should.”
And she did. She couldn’t explain why, even as she did it. Something about the way he spoke to her both made her want to obey and made her horny as hell. She half-turned, addled, and then he put his hands on her, turned her the rest of the way. He pressed her against the door with a little squeeze on her shoulders. If she’d wanted to, she could have flipped the lock in an instant and run away in her clunky club shoes. The fact that she didn’t was a choice she made—a choice that shocked her.
“Give me your hands.”
She reached them back to him from where they were, clutched in a panicked ball in front of her chest. He took them in his and placed them hard against the wall on either side of her head. He stood behind her close enough that Kat could feel his chest against her back again. His hand cupped her bottom.
“You are going to stand there, Ekaterina, and I am going to spank your ass for these crazy choices you make. I hope, next time, this will help you make better choices. It’s going to hurt but you’re not going to move and you’re not going to take your hands from the wall. Do you understand?”
She was speechless. She might have made a strangled sound of assent. She could hear
