Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Killian
Oh, his naughty little princess was furious.
And she was stunning.
Glaring up at him, an emotion almost like hatred burning in the pale blue of her eyes, she was quite simply the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He was half tempted to have Lochlan untie her so he could see exactly what kind of damage she would inflict in this state.
But they had more pressing matters than the lust burning through his veins, so her vengeance would have to wait.
“What the fuck, Killian?”
Gripping her chin between his fingers, he forced her head back, delighted when her anger didn’t fade in the least.
He was going to have so much fun teaching her who was really in charge here.
“You disobeyed me, princess.”
Disbelief replaced fury, but only for a moment before her eyes narrowed and her lip curled up in an impressive snarl. “Fuck you.”
“Gladly. But we need to have a discussion, first.”
“The only thing we need to discuss is how much time you’re going to spend in prison once I get out of here. Have you forgotten who my father is? Who my uncles are?”
“I am, unfortunately, reminded of exactly who your uncles are on a regular basis.”
“Then explain to me how kidnapping the niece of two decorated Charleston police department detectives seemed like a good idea.”
“You needed to be taught a lesson. This seemed like the most effective way.”
Again her gaze shifted, shock widening her eyes, and he was fairly certain if he hadn’t been holding her chin her mouth would have fallen right open. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“All manner of things, I imagine.”
“You slimy, cocky, spineless son-of-a—”
His own temper spiked as he tightened his grip on her face. “Careful, princess. Call me whatever names you want, but leave my mother out of it.”
“Seriously? You kidnapped me, scared the shit out of me, tied me to a chair, and you’re pissed I might insult your mother?”
“Yes.”
“You’re a piece of fucking work, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told.”
Snarling again, she yanked at the ropes binding her to the chair. “Let me go, and I might not have your ass thrown in jail.”
“No.”
It pleased him to no end to watch her eyes go blank as she tried to grapple with his simple denial. “Killian. You can’t just keep me tied to this chair.”
“I could.” He let some of what he was beneath the sheen of sophistication slip through. Just a hint of the monster that lurked inside him, enough to have her eyes going round and her breath catching as she recoiled in fear. “It would be nothing to me to keep you down in this damp, dirty basement—”
“Hey.” Insult colored Lochlan’s tone. “I clean up after myself, thank you very much.”
Without taking his gaze off his princess, Killian nodded.
“Aye, that you do. My apologies, cousin. But as I was saying, it would be nothing for me to keep you down here, princess. Forced to sit in your own filth day after day. Locked in the dark for hours on end, your mind slowly shattering. Until you become nothing more than a shell of the woman you once were, willing and pliant and utterly empty.”
With every word, the terror in her eyes grew, and he was rewarded with a slight tremor wracking her body even as her jaw firmed in his grip. “You might do that to me, but you wouldn’t do that to your child.”
“You have a point. But I don’t need you happy or even particularly sane to carry my child, Aria. Something you would do well to remember.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“Maybe,” he conceded with a shrug. “Maybe not. The point is, I could. And if I could so easily pluck you from the streets and keep you tied in a basement, imagine what my enemies could and would do.”
He saw the moment the pieces clicked in her mind. “Is that what this is all about? Trying to prove to me how much I need your protection?”
“I knew you’d figure it out eventually. Clever little princess.”
“Fine. Point made. I’ll let my father hire a bodyguard and I’ll be more careful. Now please let me go.”
“No. I gave you a chance to prove you and your father could provide the protection you need, and you both failed spectacularly. So now we’re going to do things my way.”
Uncertainty filled those baby blues he’d fallen so hard for that first night. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’re mine, princess. And I protect what’s mine. No matter what it takes.”
“So you’re, what, going to assign one of your goons to watch over me?”
“Goons, she says.” Tiernan snorted. “We are not goons.”
Ignoring his cousins for the time being, Killian stroked his thumb over his naughty princess’s full bottom lip. “You will be watched, very carefully. But from the safety of my home.”
“You can’t just keep me here, Killian! I have a job and friends and—”
At the reminder that she hadn’t heeded his warning to stay away from Richard Williams, Killian let his mouth curve up in a wicked smile, excitement pumping through his veins.
“Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me, we still haven’t dealt with the little issue of your disobedience.
Lochlan, help me untie my naughty girl, please. ”
Aria
This couldn’t be happening. Shit like this didn’t actually happen outside the movies. Maybe it was a dream. A very fucked-up, terrifyingly vivid dream.
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?
Or maybe he wasn’t mistaken. Maybe he was just outright lying to her because he was, as he’d admitted, a controlling bastard.
She was still struggling to make sense of his words when the spanking ended and his hand came to rest on her bottom. Something about the way he was holding her felt almost possessive, and she hated herself for the little quiver of pleasure in her chest.
“Are you going to do as you’re told and stay away from Richard Williams, Aria?” His voice had softened, and she could have almost mistaken it for affection if she didn’t know what kind of man he was.
“I’m not quitting my job just because you said so.”
“Then quit because you’re too fucking smart to continue putting yourself in danger just because you’re feeling stubborn.”
“If I thought I was putting myself in danger, I would quit. But I’m not, so I won’t.”
To her continued shock, his chest rumbled with laughter. “You really are your father’s daughter. Stubborn to the fucking core. Luckily for me, I know Braden well and prepared for such an eventuality.”
Dread settled in her stomach at his words, and the deadly calm they were spoken in. “What do you mean?”
“Since you’ve proven you cannot be trusted to take your safety seriously, the choice is no longer yours.
An email will be sent to Richard Williams on your behalf, explaining that you are resigning your position effective immediately.
There is a bedroom upstairs with an attached en-suite for your comfort.
You will have a guard assigned to you at all times, and if you so much as step a foot outside this house without said guard, you will find yourself bent over the desk in my office for a dozen of the best with the cane. ”
Her mind struggled to grasp exactly what he was saying.
No, that wasn’t quite right. He’d made his intentions perfectly clear.
What she was struggling to come to terms with was the thought that this could, in any way, be real.
This kind of thing didn’t happen to people, not outside of movies and smutty romance novels.
“Killian… you can’t just keep me prisoner here.”
Another of those low, wicked laughs vibrated in his chest. “Oh, princess. I think you’ll find I can do whatever the hell I want.
” Slender fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her head up as his voice dropped to a low growl.
“I warned you once that I would do whatever it takes to keep you and my child safe. And I intend to do exactly that.”