“I was worried sick about you,” he growled.
“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just lost track of time.”
“How is that possible? Did your breasts not tell you it was time to feed your baby?”
She flushed with shame, the pain of having distressed her baby as devastating as her husband's anger. “I had a couple of glasses of wine, so I didn't notice,” she mumbled. “And then I had to wait for it to wear off so I could drive.”
Dom looked at her with skepticism. “Why didn't you call me?” he demanded.
“Honestly, I lost track of time. I had no idea I was there so long.”
His eyes narrowed. “So which is it? You lost track of time or you had to wait for the wine to wear off?”
She stared at him in dismay. She was just digging her hole deeper here. “Both, I guess. I just wasn't thinking at all, really. And I didn't know it was so late.”
“I tried calling you. Four times.”
“I'm sorry, I guess I just couldn't hear it with the music turned up so loud.”
“Hmm, you'd been gone from your baby for six hours—two hours longer than you should have been and it didn't occur to you to even check your phone?”
She felt a tear trip down her face and she didn't bother wiping it. “I'm sorry,” she whispered, her lips trembling.
“Jesus, Kate!” Dom threw his arms up in the air, looking frustrated. He paced around the room. “It was so unlike you, I really thought something bad had happened. I tried both Stella and Fox and neither of them knew where you were…” he stopped and whirled back at her. His fangs were partially elongated.
She eyed the fangs, remembering Stella's warning. She took a breath. “May I respectfully request we take a breather from this conversation?” she asked carefully.
Dom touched the tip of his tongue to one of his fangs. “Good idea,” he said grimly. “Take off your clothes and stand in the corner,” he said, pointing to the corner in question. “And don't move.”
“Yes, sir,” she said meekly.
His eyes flickered at that—she had never called him “sir” before—but for some reason it seemed extremely appropriate at the moment. He dematerialized.
She obeyed his orders, taking off her clothes and standing with her nose to the corner, her nudity amplifying the feeling of vulnerability and exposure. She let go of her attempt at courage and rested her head against the wall and wept.
Dom opened the door and came in, his fangs back where they belonged, looking calmer. He sat down on the edge of the bed. “Come here, Kate,” he said softly. She went and stood before him, trembling.
He just looked at her for a long time, which only served to increase her discomfort and anxiety. Finally he spoke. “You should have called,” he said blandly.
The brevity of his lecture disconcerted her. “I know, I'm so sorry.”
“You really didn't look at your phone at all?” His eyes were narrowed, suspiciously.
“Not till I was in the car and then…” she trailed off, not wanting to tell him that she was too chicken to call him back. “Then I was already home,” she lied.
To her horror, Dom's fangs shot out and he jumped to his feet, looking down at her with blazing eyes. Then he turned and walked quickly away from her, as if realizing that he needed to get his temper under control. He paced around the room for a few moments and then finally stopped in front of her again. The fangs were back where they belonged, but his voice was deadly. “Do you lie to me because you're that afraid of a spanking or because you have so little respect for me?”
She was taken aback. “Afraid of a spanking,” she managed to say, her voice thin.
Dom's face was stone. “Then I won't spank you,” he said firmly. “Go to bed. We'll talk about this tomorrow.”
“No wait. Dom, please.” The thought of going to bed with him angry at her was too terrible. She needed the spanking. She needed to be taken to task and then forgiven. She needed Dom to help her heal this. “Dom, please,” she caught his arm, pleading. “Please spank me,” she said, tears rolling down her face.
Dom looked at her. His face was still stony, but she knew him well enough to recognize indecision there. “Please, Dom,” she begged.
In a smooth series of movements, Dom sat down on the bed and pulled her across one knee. Then he adjusted her so that his knee parted her legs, as if she were riding it, her torso bent over with her head resting on the bed. “All right,” he said grimly. “I'll spank you tonight for your irresponsibility and I'll spank you again tomorrow for lying to me just now.”
He spanked her hard and fast with a force of impact that rivaled a paddle. As a vampire, Dom had incredible strength, which he never used on her. She wondered, with a jolt of fear, if she shouldn't have pushed him into this when he was clearly still angry with her. But then he stopped and rubbed, and she knew that he was in control. He pulled her torso up and looked at her tearful face.
“Tell me what you should have done differently,” he commanded.
She drew in a choppy breath. “I should have called to tell you where I was going,” she offered, just barely managing to lift her eyes to meet his. He nodded, but seemed to be waiting for more. “I should have come home before Luci got hungry. I should have had my phone out where I could hear it. And I should have called you back as soon as I saw you'd called.”
Dom nodded. “Why didn't you?” he asked.
Her face crumpled. “I don't know,” she said with a hiccupping breath.
“I mean, why didn't you call me back when you saw I called? And why did you just lie to me when I asked you
