Chapter 7 #2
“Hey honey,” I say sweetly. Every head in the room snaps toward me.
“Sorry, oopsie! I didn’t know we had company.”
Viktor and Dmitri freeze mid-sentence. Their eyes widen. Maxim, who was leaning forward in his chair, snaps his head toward me so fast I’m surprised he doesn’t get whiplash. His eyes darken instantly.
“What…” I hear someone say. I hear a few whistles across the room.
The moment Maxim’s dark gaze lands on me, on the sheer bra, the tiny thong, my barely covered body, his expression turns murderous. If looks could kill, I would already be ashes on the marble floor.
The temperature in the room drops ten degrees. The sexual tension that always seems to crackle between us suddenly ignites into something much more dangerous.
Maxim’s jaw clenches so hard I can see the muscle ticking. His eyes burn with fury… and something darker. Hungrier.
I smile sweetly at him, tilting my head.
“Did I interrupt something important?”
Maxim stands up and walks out of his chair in one smooth movement, and in the next moment, he’s on me. His hands grab my waist, and in a swift motion, he lifts me off the ground and throws me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing.
I let out a scream. “Maxim! Put me down right now!”
He ignores me completely. His arm bands like steel across the backs of my thighs as he marches out of the living room. I catch a glimpse of his men’s wide-eyed stares before we’re moving up the stairs two at a time.
“Put me down, you caveman!” I shout, pounding my fists against his back. “This is ridiculous!”
“What’s ridiculous, is you showing up in front of my men naked,” he grunts, not slowing down, and doesn’t stop until we’re inside my bedroom. He kicks the door shut behind us and drops me onto my feet.
I barely have time to catch my balance before he’s on me again. He crowds me backward until my spine hits the wall. One big hand wraps around my throat, not squeezing hard, but firm enough to make my pulse race wildly under his palm. His body is pressed against mine, heat rolling off him in waves.
“Are you trying to get those men killed?” He growls, voice low and dangerous.
I tilt my chin up defiantly even though my heart is hammering. “I wanted breakfast. You had it brought to my room like I’m some prisoner. I felt like eating downstairs. How was I supposed to know you were having a meeting?”
His grip tightens just slightly on my throat. “My house. My rules.”
I smile sweetly, even as heat pools low in my belly. “Exactly. You told me your house, your rules. So I wore what you bought me. You’re the one who filled my closet with these scraps. Don’t get mad when I actually wear them.”
He’s fuming. His chest rises and falls against mine, eyes burning with fury and raw hunger. The tension between us is suffocating, electric, and undeniably sexual.
I should be scared. Instead, I’m wet, aching. My nipples are tight against the sheer fabric, and I can feel how hard he is where he’s pressed against my stomach.
He leans in closer, lips brushing my ear as he speaks, voice rough and dark. “The next time you pull something like this, I’ll bend you over my knee and spank that pretty ass so raw you won’t be able to sit or walk for a week.”
My breath catches. My entire body goes still as a rush of heat floods through me. I squeeze my thighs together, mortified by how much his threat turns me on.
My lips part slightly, breath shallow as I stare up at him. He sees it instantly. The way my thighs press together. The way my nipples harden beneath the thin fabric of my bra.
His eyes darken.
“Oh, you like that,” he says quietly, almost disbelieving.
“No,” I lie weakly.
A dangerous smile curves his mouth.
“Liar.”
Before I can react, he grabs me around the waist and lifts me effortlessly. A startled gasp escapes me as he carries me toward the bed like I weigh nothing at all. My pulse spikes wildly when he sits down on the edge of the mattress and drags me across his lap, pinning me facedown over his knees.
“Maxim—”
His hand lands sharply against my ass.
I yelp, more shocked than hurt.
“You wanted attention?” Another smack. “Now you have it.”
Heat explodes through me. My fingers clutch helplessly at the sheets as another hard slap lands, then another, each one sending a humiliating rush of pleasure straight between my thighs.
I hate how good it feels. Hate how wet I am already.
Maxim’s large hand spreads over the curve of my ass possessively before striking again, harder this time. A broken sound escapes my throat, halfway between a gasp and a moan.
“There it is,” he murmurs darkly behind me. “That pretty little sound.”
His hand slides slowly over the sore skin he just punished, almost soothing before he grips my hip firmly.
“You’re soaking through this flimsy thong, aren’t you?”
I squeeze my eyes shut. Turned on beyond reason.
“Answer me.”
“Yes,” I whisper.
He chuckles low in his throat. “You enjoy being punished.”
Another slap lands, and this time a soft moan slips out before I can stop it.
I can feel how hard he is beneath me, the thick outline pressing insistently against my stomach every time I move. The realization only makes my body ache more.
His hand strokes over my burning skin again before he grips the back of my neck, forcing me to arch slightly over his lap.
“This is the last time you try something like that,” he warns. “Or you’ll have the death of every man who sees you like this on your conscience.”
Then his hands tighten briefly on my hips before he suddenly stands, lifting me with him. My knees wobble the second my feet touch the floor, and heat rushes to my face when I realize how badly I’m shaking.
He turns and walks out, slamming the door behind him.