I pulled her thong into my hand, running my finger along the soft lace while flexing my other hand.

She shrugged as she’d done so many times, insistent on acting as if she could beat the odds. As if there weren’t people out to destroy her life.

Including her father.

She needed a reminder that often rules were created for a reason.

I was just the man to provide her with a sense of understanding. Maybe the reason was more selfish than anything else, my entire body and mind itching to control every inch of her. Even if it was only for a few precious minutes. At least with Marco wasting away in his kitchen, I had some time to indulge in what would keep me company for some time to come.

“Remember, Kazimir, you don’t own me. Besides, you’re leaving in a little while.” The same faraway, romantic look I’d seen before lingered in her eyes. Yet as adorable as her dramatically handled gestures were, the defiance she possessed and had no issue presenting to anyone was what I admired and respected the most.

And what I was worried about for her.

She was a firecracker waiting to get into trouble.

“For tonight, that’s where you’re wrong. Open your mouth.”

“Why?”

“Because I told you to.” When she purposely clenched her mouth shut, I clamped my hand on her jaw, using just enough pressure her eyes opened wide at the same time her mouth did.

“Ouch!”

I lifted an eyebrow, determined to keep her quiet. I knew all about the different wings of her house. I’d gleaned more information from her than she realized, including the full layout of the house. Yet there would be guards walking the perimeter at the fifteen-minute intervals. I didn’t want a single sound to drift through the walls.

When she finally obeyed, her eyes were instantly filled with shock when I shoved the lace into her mouth.

Her muffled cry would be something else I’d remember long after I was gone.

“I don’t want you giving our location and our time spent together away. But you do need to learn that ignoring rules has consequences.” I’d become an entirely different man around her, explaining myself when I never did with anyone else before.

Maybe because she truly was so vulnerable, a sweet girl who’d made the mistake of getting involved with a monster.

So I was tender with her, taking the time to explain the reasons behind my actions. Still, when I pulled her over my lap, it shocked the hell out of her. I could tell by the way her body tensed, stiffening to the point even with the gag in her mouth, she had difficulty breathing.

But when she found her anger, she spewed around the material, which kept me smiling.

When I rolled my fingertips down her spine, I memorized every disc, every bump in her lovely skin. The smile lingered when I reached the crack of her ass. If only there was more time, I’d claim every hole. For now the spanking would need to do.

First I rolled my index finger down the crack of her ass, driving it into her sweet pussy once again. Her moans of fury became ones of hunger as her muscles started to relax.

But with the first crack of my hand on her bottom, she pushed up from the bed. I could feel the shock, the touch of anger resuming, taking full control over her. In her act of defiance, she kicked out, her muffled cries only fueling the darkest part of me. She had a way of issuing her own reins of control that both excited and surprised me.

As I brought my palm down several times, the shock wore away, leaving her body twisting in my hold. For her size, she was still a little powerhouse, almost managing to slide off my lap. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I shouldn’t be so indulgent. The necessity of keeping our time spent together short was right there, but so much of me couldn’t care less.

I continued, smacking one side of her buttocks then the other. With every crack of my palm, my skin tingled with an incessant urge to fuck her.