Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
C aroline
I’d always been afraid of the man up to this point.
Who wouldn’t be? He was huge, at least six foot four, his arms, chest, and back covered in colorful ink. He had a husky, deep voice and piercing ice blue eyes. When he gave you a gaze, you knew you were in trouble.
While he’d never done anything overtly nasty or horrible to me or to his two daughters, that didn’t mean he wasn’t the most intimidating man on the face of this earth.
But the moment I’d walked in the door, I’d also admired his incredibly good looks more than I ever had before. It wasn’t like I’d never noticed his chiseled jaw or the fact he had rock-hard abs, but there was something entirely different about being in his house as a woman and not a girl.
That made me even more uncomfortable that I’d ever felt.
Especially when he was looking at me as if he didn’t believe me.
Sofiya had cried on my shoulder when her father had been shot months before, terrified she’d lose him. I’d never learned many details, other than someone had gunned him down at one of his favorite restaurants. The only saving grace of the man getting shot three times was that his two daughters hadn’t been with him.
From what I’d heard, he’d spent a couple of weeks in the hospital recovering, lucky to be alive. I’d also heard he now walked with a limp. I couldn’t imagine how badly that went over with his rank and file. Oh, what did I know about crime syndicates other than the fleeting stories my bestie had told me or the crap Joshua had spewed out to get me to take the job in the first place?
“How do you know, Caroline, and don’t fuck with me on this.”
It was the first time that I could remember the man growling. To me the sound was sexy. To his enemies, I had a feeling it sounded threatening.
“I found an email directing someone to finish the job.”
“From whom?”
I wasn’t certain I wanted to answer. I could tell he was already annoyed with my behavior. However, I was smart enough to realize I wouldn’t get away with not answering him, not after dropping the bombshell. “Stefano Marino. I think so anyway, although his name wasn’t used.”
His eyes opened wide and he looked away almost immediately, immediately scrubbing the coarse beard covering his carved jaw. Even that was sexy. Swallowing, I was starting to regret coming here, but what choice did I have?
“And what in God’s name were you doing snooping on Stefano Marino?”
“Because he was my required mark.”
Yeah, he didn’t need to tell me I obviously had a death wish. My behavior had been reckless. And full of arrogance.
“Do you have any proof?” he asked almost far too casually.
“Yes. I collected the information on a jump drive and was able to bring that with me.” I wasn’t ready to tell him about the audio file. What good would it do anyway since I hadn’t been able to download it? Why should he believe me?
He walked to the window, staring out at the darkness. I took a few seconds to wipe both my face and hair, gulping another half glass. Whiskey wasn’t my usual choice of alcohol. Maybe I’d wanted to impress him.
Or drown my stupidity in an alcoholic haze.
He said nothing for a full two minutes, his shoulders rising and falling as he thought about what was best to do. I could see the wheels of his mind churning.
When he turned around, he had that stern expression I’d seen as a kid when Sofiya and I had almost wrecked the house.
“Here’s what’s going to happen, Caroline. We’re going to take this a day at a time while I think about how best to handle this situation. But I don’t mind telling you that you put yourself directly in the kind of harm’s way that will be difficult if not impossible to get you out of.”
“I understand that, sir.” I’d been reduced to being a child required to give the man respect. I hated to see disappointment in his eyes. It hurt me, more than being chased and almost murdered.
“I’m glad to hear that because with every misguided behavior there are consequences, often ones we do not want and don’t expect. That’s why bad decisions have consequences. Don’t you agree, Caroline?”
I wasn’t entirely certain what he was trying to tell me, but his tone of voice indicated I was in serious trouble. “Yes, sir. I could have gotten myself killed.”
“Exactly.” He walked closer, moving to the edge of his desk and sitting down. His legs were even longer and more muscular than I remembered. The man was a powerhouse of sex appeal. “To that end, when you cause significant danger to yourself and your future, that deserves punishment.”
Now I really had no clue what to say. “Um. I guess.”
“Not I guess. That’s reality. You are going to stay here tonight and we’ll talk further in the morning but first things first. We need to handle your serious infraction.”
How? Was he going to call my father and tattle on my bad behavior? No, Vadim wasn’t that kind of man. “What does that mean?”
He smiled in that fatherly kind of way that made me feel icky for thinking of him more sexually. “I’m going to give you a hard spanking.”
I wasn’t certain I heard him correctly. “I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me, little one. You need to be reminded you can’t tangle with very bad men.”
Incensed, I almost jerked up but thought better of it. Yet I was shaking more than I’d been before. “I don’t think that…”
“That’s the issue. You didn’t think your decision through. You’re a highly intelligent women yet you acted like a child. Now, let’s get this over with so we can get you into some dry clothes and you can get a good night’s sleep.”
Why did I have a feeling I didn’t have a choice?
Because in truth, I didn’t. Not if I wanted his help.
Vadim eyed me carefully then with one finger, beckoned me. I felt like I was seven years old all over again. “Do you have the jump drive?”
I stood on shaky legs, tugging it from my tight and wet pocket. “I do. I have it encrypted myself, so you’ll need me to help you.”
As I walked closer, I became intensely aware of the aftershave the man was wearing. It was rich in tone, full of musk and citrus. The scent was perfect for him, adding to his dangerous persona.
When he took it from my fingers, the same shot of intense electricity recurred. I also had a rush of heat that had likely caused another serious bout of redness on my cheeks. I always felt so inconsequential around the man, tonight no different. He was powerful and I was puny.
He sucked in his breath, putting the drive in the pocket of his suit jacket. When he stood, towering over me, I found myself tingling all over.
“You do understand what you did was reckless,” he said, his voice dipping lower than before.
“I was just trying to get ahead on my own.”
“There were many other ways of doing that. Now, while I take my jacket off and roll up my sleeves, you’re going to drop your jeans and panties and lie over the edge of my desk.”
I wasn’t certain whether to be ashamed or mortified. I did know I’d opened my mouth wide. No one had spanked me. My father was controlling as fuck, but corporal discipline would mean actually spending time with me.
And he’d always been far too busy to care about his daughter.
Vadim patted my arm almost like he would do to a dog. I had expected him to use the term ‘good girl.’ “When I’m finished, I think you’ll use the round of discipline as a reminder that putting your life in danger is not something anyone wants you to do.”
The fatherly attitude continued as he walked away, giving me a little privacy.
Meanwhile, my nipples were fully aroused, pushing against the ridiculously thin material of my bra and scrappy looking tee shirt. I must appear as a child to him, given my garish look and holey jeans. Meanwhile, he looked like a million bucks at almost eleven at night.
Lucky bastard.
I waited, unable to take my eyes off him as he removed his jacket, placing it over the back of the huge leather chair he’d been sitting in. A lump had formed in my throat the moment I’d pulled into the man’s driveway.
The guards had treated me like I was not allowed on the property. Every one of them had had a weapon in their hands. But worse than that had been the fact two huge dudes had been in the process of removing a big, rolled piece of plastic. I didn’t need to look closely to know there had to be a body wrapped inside. I certainly hadn’t come at the best time.
Was there ever?
After wiping a single bead of nervous perspiration rolling down my forehead, I lowered my head and started to unfasten my jeans. My hands were shaking so badly I wasn’t certain I could do this. I tried to rationalize what I was doing and why he was demanding I accept punishment.
It was like being in a huge fog, nothing clear like usual. I finally managed to unfasten my jeans, closing my eyes before tugging them down. My clothes were still wet enough my panties came with them. I wasn’t certain whether I should be happy or feel ashamed by the fact I’d worn a thong.
Well, I certainly hadn’t anticipated the night going the way it had.
After sucking in my breath, I stole another quick look in his direction. I’d always admired the man’s tattoos, wondering if there was a story behind them. As he rolled up his sleeves, I found myself dragging my tongue across my bottom lip. I could swear he was even more muscular than a few years before.
Plus, I’d forgotten how much of an effect his Russian accent had on me.
Now I felt hot and wet, almost begging him to say a few words in his native language. However, this wasn’t the time or the place.
I suddenly felt lightheaded, unable to look at him any longer. I leaned over as required, plastering my cheek against the cool wood. A strange sound caught my attention and I realized what he was doing.
Removing his belt.
Really?
This wasn’t personal. I tried to remind myself of that. The man was genuinely concerned for my wellbeing. But that didn’t make the shame any easier to tolerate. When he approached, I closed my eyes once again. I wasn’t certain if I could stand this level of humiliation. Yes, what I’d done was wrong, but a spanking? Why not a tongue lashing?
“You will learn, little zavetnyy , to be very careful what you do inside this world. My world.” His voice was dark, full of the same hard edge I’d seen on his face. His world. I knew what that was but had never been forced to face it until tonight.
I’d lived like the all-American girl, almost as if inside a bubble. That’s what wealth afforded. To be this girl, the bad girl was entirely different for me. I’d thought it exciting. Right now? I hated it more than coming to him for help or being treated like a child.
I had no idea what to say or if I should. There were no excuses I felt the man would accept. So, even though I hated it, I decided to accept my punishment.
“I’m going to give you twenty for tonight. I hope the hard strikes will do you some good.” He pressed his hand on the small of my back. “Spread out your arms and grab the edge of my desk. I think you’re going to need it.”
Need it? Oh, God. I hadn’t even thought about the pain I’d experience. I did as he asked, sucking in my breath all over again. The anticipation was killing me as he moved back and forth behind me.
When he issued the first brutal crack of his thick leather belt, I cringed deep inside. The anguish wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d anticipated but the shock of being punished was. Tears immediately formed in my eyes from the continued humiliation.
He didn’t waste any time, doling out three more in a row.
Oh, boy. Now I felt the pain coursing through every muscle in my body. Jerking up from the desk, I could hear I was gasping for air, wriggling back and forth. Nothing had prepared me for this. Nothing.
“Stay in position. You don’t want me to start over again. Do you?”
“No,” I croaked out, no longer recognizing my voice.
“Good girl.”
There it was. I was just a girl and nothing more. How could I blame the man? Disheveled and distraught, appearing at his doorstep close to the middle of the night. Still, the agony was biting. I tried to obey the man as he brought the belt down several more times, including two on the tops of my thighs.
“Ouch. Shit. This hurts.” My shriek was loud and obnoxious even to me.
“As it should. All punishments are designed to be remembered.” He took a few seconds to caress my skin and I could feel the heat building.
Just having him touch me in such an intimate way was strange, so much so I was trembling all over. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed I’d be here in his office being disciplined.
“You’re doing very well.” He took that as a cue to begin again, popping the savage strikes down across both sides of my bottom with supreme accuracy. It was as if he’d done this kind of thing before. Lots of times.
I tried not to make this remotely sexual. That would make this… disturbing, but with every continued crack of his wrist, the anguish continuing to build, something else was also happening.
I was getting very wet, my interior core heated to a million degrees. While I’d been attracted to boys, then men before, my limited experience hadn’t been with a man like this.
He was… Wow. That was the only appropriate word.
“Six more,” he said in his gravelly voice.
The man wasn’t interested in wasting time, bringing the belt down with methodical precision. I tried not to squirm, to be his good girl but holy shit, lights were flashing in front of my eyes. I could only pray he hadn’t noticed how wet I was. That would be the most embarrassing aspect of this, something I’d remember for the rest of my life.
I wasn’t certain the horrible event was over until he patted my right butt cheek before backing away. Well, I couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t certain I would be able to stand without falling to the floor. But I wasn’t going to remain in this position for longer than necessary. As I pushed up from the desk, I recognized my legs felt like rubbery noodles. Powering off a deep breath and an exhale, I shoved myself all the way to my feet.
But as soon as I tried not to keep a white-knuckled hold on his desk, I realized I was toppling backward.
“Whoa. I’ve got you.” He wrapped one huge arm around my waist, pulling me against his massive body and dear God, I was now certain I was going to pass out. The close proximity was entirely different than when I’d been a kid and he’d handed Sofiya and me a Popsicle like a doting father.
This was… sensual.
“I’m okay,” I whispered, hating my voice was no longer mine. Both the man and the experience had done that to me.
“If you’re sure.”
“Uh-huh.”
He kept ahold of one arm but backed away from me. I was still mortified I was partially naked, scrambling to jerk my jeans and thong back into place. When I finally did and felt strong enough to turn around, he was standing on the other side of the room. The man was looking through my duffle bag.
“What are you doing?”
“Seeing what you brought with you. Nothing to sleep in,” he said quietly.
“I didn’t have time. The bag was already packed.”
He raised both eyebrows as he looked at me. “You were anticipating needing to get away quickly.”
This time I shrugged instead of answering right away.
“Is that what this is?”
The lump had returned in my throat, this time threatening to cut off my air supply. “My handler suggested it.”
“Your handler. I do not want to know how many times you’ve hacked into a secure system. Now, I’m taking you to a guest bedroom where you are going to get a good night’s sleep so we can discuss this… incident in further detail in the morning. Come with me.”
There was no denying his commanding presence or his voice.
And so, like a good little girl, I obeyed him once again.