Page 13 of The Mountain Man's Prize

"I wasn't?—"

"Bend over the table, Lila."

The command stops me cold, sends a shock of heat straight to my core. "What?"

"You heard me." His voice is quiet but brooks no argument. "Actions have consequences. Bend over the table."

I should refuse. Should tell him he has no right. Should be outraged at his presumption. Instead, my feet carry me to the table—the same table where he took me so thoroughly just yesterday. My hands brace against the smooth wood, body bending at the waist, heart pounding so hard I'm sure he can hear it.

His footsteps approach slowly, deliberately. I feel him behind me, not touching, just present. Waiting. The anticipation is unbearable, a taut wire of tension stretching between us.

"Why are you doing this?" His voice is closer now, just behind my right ear.

"Because..." I swallow, searching for the answer he wants. The answer that's true. "Because I disobeyed you. Because I worried you."

His hand settles at the small of my back, warm through the thin fabric of my—his—shirt. "And?"

I close my eyes, surrendering to the truth. "Because I need this. Need you to show me where the boundaries are."

A sound of approval rumbles from his chest. His hand slides lower, lifting the hem of the shirt, baring me from the waist down. Cool air kisses my skin, raising goosebumps.

"Ten," he says, voice thick with something that isn't just anger now. "Count them."

The first strike comes without warning, his palm connecting with my right cheek in a sharp crack that echoes in the quiet cabin. The sting blooms outward, heat rushing to the surface of my skin.

"One," I gasp, shocked by how the pain transforms almost instantly into pleasure, how my body responds with a rush of wetness between my thighs.

The second lands on my left cheek, harder. "Two."

By five, I'm moaning with each strike, my hips pushing back to meet his hand. By eight, tears stream down my face, not from pain but from the overwhelming intensity of sensation, the release of tension I didn't know I was carrying.

"Nine," I sob, knuckles white where I grip the edge of the table.

The final blow lands across both cheeks, the hardest yet. "Ten!"

I collapse forward, chest heaving, skin burning, mind floating in a strange, peaceful haze. Behind me, Beau's breathing is ragged, uneven. His hand returns, gentler now, caressing the heated flesh he just punished.

"Good girl," he murmurs, voice rough with emotion. "So good for me."

The praise washes over me, sweeter than any I've ever received. I feel his body press against mine, the hard ridge of his arousal evident through his jeans.

"Do you understand now?" he asks, lips brushing my ear. "Do you understand what you mean to me? What I'd do to keep you safe?"

"Yes," I whisper, turning my face to find his lips. "Show me, Beau. Please."

The sound of his zipper is obscenely loud in the quiet room. Then he's there, pushing into me in one long, smooth thrust that tears a cry from my throat. The angle is deep, intense, made more so by the lingering sting of his punishment.

"Mine," he growls, setting a relentless pace that has the table scraping across the floor with each thrust. "Say it, Lila. Tell me you understand."

"Yours," I gasp, tears still flowing freely, release building with each powerful drive of his hips. "I'm yours, Beau. Only yours."

His hand snakes around to find where we're joined, fingers circling the bundle of nerves that sends sparks shooting through my veins. "Come for me," he commands, voice thick with need. "Let me feel you surrender."

The orgasm crashes over me with unexpected force, wringing a sobbing cry from my lips. He follows immediately, his release triggering aftershocks of pleasure that leave me trembling and weak.

In the aftermath, he gathers me into his arms, turning me to face him, cradling me against his chest as if I might break. My tears soak his shirt, emotion pouring out of me in a flood I can't control.

"Shhh, little dove," he murmurs, one hand stroking my hair, the other gently rubbing the small of my back. "I've got you. You're safe."

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