Page 33 of Phoenix

No one said anything, but they all watched us.

Beck didn’t slow down. He walked me straight through the main room, his hand wrapped around mine in a grip I couldn’t have broken even if I tried.

My cheeks were burning, and not just from embarrassment. It was also anticipation.

I’d seen that look in Beck’s eyes when he realized I’d followed him. I wasn’t going to get yelled at.

I was going to get spanked. And judging by his silence and the tension still radiating off him as we climbed the stairs, I wasn’t getting off lightly.

When we stepped into his room, he shut the door behind us with a soft click. Then he turned and flipped the lock.

Beck didn’t say a word. He just stalked across the room to the chair and sat down like a man preparing for battle. His eyes found mine—and I froze at the dangerous look in his hazel orbs.

“Over here,” he said, voice low.

My feet moved before my brain caught up to his command. The quiet rasp of my shoes on the hardwood was the only sound as I crossed the room. When I reached him, he didn’t yank me into place. He just held my gaze.

“You scared the fuck out of me, baby.”

My breath caught. “I know.”

“You don’t get to do that again.”

“I’ll try my best,” I promised.

His eyes darkened. “Then I guess I better make sure you remember this.”

Before I could respond, he caught my wrist and gently but firmly tugged me over his lap and yanked down my jeans and panties. His palm smoothed over the curve of my butt once, then he smacked me before I had the chance to tense.

I gasped, more from the shock than the sting.

“One for sneaking out when I told you to stay put for your own safety,” he murmured, hand smoothing again. “Another for lying to the prospect at the gate and putting his future as an Iron Rogue at risk by making him believe your bullshit.”

Swat.

“A couple more for putting yourself in danger.”

He gave me a smack to each cheek this time.

His hand paused, resting there as though he needed to anchor himself. Then it lifted again. “And one for scaring the fuck outta me.”

The last swat made me squirm, and not just from the heat blooming on my skin.

“You’re such a caveman,” I mumbled into his lap.

He tsked as he pulled my pants back over my butt. “Didn’t hear a thank you, baby.”

“As if,” I huffed, even though my panties were already soaked from the spanking I’d more than earned.

A low growl rumbled in his chest. One second, I was across his lap, and the next, I was airborne—landing on the mattress with Beck looming over me, eyes lit with fire. “After what happened tonight, you’re sassing me already?”

I shrugged. “Someone’s gotta keep you on your toes.”

“You keep running that mouth”—he pressed his hips down against mine—“and I’ll remind you who it belongs to.”

I arched under him with a moan, heat surging low in my belly.

He kissed me hard and deep, his weight holding me down in the best way as his hands explored with the same kind of rough tenderness I was already addicted to.

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