Page 41 of Hideaway

Cautiously, she peaked at him from behind the pillow, anxious of being subjected to the same explosive anger he’d exhibited in his study. To her relief, the fire in his eyes had cooled, replaced by something as hard and frigid as ice. His gaze wasn’t one of cruelty, but dispassionate determination. This version of Cade could be reasoned with, she just had to approach him with an appropriate balance of rationality and remorse. Or so she thought.

“Cade,”Kara greeted warily, her voice still laced with drowsiness.“I thought you had business in New York for a couple days. How did you make it back so quickly?”

“I got things settled. Jace is handling it now,”Cade answered, his voice tired and drawn as he ran his fingers through his hair.“Did you think you would escape so easily? I told you I would be back to handle your punishment.”

“I thought being locked in my room with no dinner was my punishment,”Kara said quietly, lowering her eyes.

“No, love, that was merely the overture. The true orchestration of your punishment begins now.”

Kara’s heart stuttered in terror at the words dripping with ominousness.“What are you going to do?”she asked fearfully, trying to inconspicuously slide away from where Cade sat on the bed.

Reproachfully, Cade captured her arm and pulled her closer toward him. She quivered slightly beneath his grasp, trepidation plainly written across her face. Cade wondered what exactly she thought he was going to do? What horrors did she suppose he was capable of? He may occasionally be a bastard, but he wasn’t a monster.

“Let’s go over your transgressions, shall we? Then perhaps we can ascertain a fitting judgment.”Cade waited for her nod of acknowledgment before proceeding, counting each sin with the lift of a finger.“First, you broke your promise. You told me that you would keep within the safety of the manor, and you lied to my face. Second, you ran from me. When you were first brought here, you were allowed free reign permitting you didn’t leave the premises. You disobeyed. Third, you jeopardized my business by risking exposure as well as depriving a client of my very valuable time when I had to rush home to deal with your misbehavior.”

Kara stared at the three damning fingers Cade held before her, a tally of her crimes. She remained silent, assuming anything she said would merely be used against her. She couldn’t argue with his recounting; the details were true. Hell, he’d even made her feel marginally guilty for her recklessness. But that didn’t mean she was prepared to pay the price.

“Well, Kara? What do you think is a suitable punishment?”Cade asked, genuinely interested in her opinion.

“I don’t know,”Kara answered miserably. She had no desire to damn herself, but she was equally petrified of having Cade decide her fate.

“In that case, I’ll decide for you,”Cade said threateningly as he rose from the bed.

In one quick pull, Cade ripped the covers from Kara’s body, sighing lustily as he beheld her near nakedness beneath. She wore a delicate silk nightgown that barely brushed the tops of her thighs, the soft blush color an exact match for the flushed rosiness in her cheeks. Transparent lace trim framed her breasts, allowing a seductively teasing glimpse of the dark pink of her nipples. The nightgown was pushed up to her hip on one side, revealing scanty knickers of the same see-through, pink lace. Cade’s gaze transfixed hungrily on her pussy, the outline of her sex entirely visible. It would require an unbelievable level of self-control to keep from fucking her the minute her punishment was concluded.

“Stand up,”he ordered sharply, sexual frustration making his voice harsher than he intended.

Reluctantly, Kara sat up, folding her arms over her chest to conceal the nipple revealing negligee. The thin, transparent material of her nightwear left her feeling like she was entering a battle without armor. Using one arm for support and the other for cover, Kara stood, meeting Cade’s gaze as bravely as she could under the mortifying circumstances.

“Hands at your sides,”Cade commanded, stripping her of another layer of security and comfort.

Embarrassment flooding her cheeks, Kara forced her arms down, her fingers clenching tightly at the bottom hem of her nightgown. She shifted anxiously from one foot to the other as Cade painfully drew out the dread of whatever retribution he had planned.

“Follow me,”he directed after a long moment’s pause, turning to walk across the room.

Kara followed him hesitantly, confused when he halted in front of the desk in front of the far window. She searched Cade’s countenance for a hint of what he had planned. Did he want her to write something? How would that satisfy the debt he insisted she pay for her disobedience?

“What did I say would happen the next time you risked your safety by willfully disobeying me?” Cade asked sternly.

Kara thought back to his words at the stables, the blood draining from her face as she remembered the consequence to which he was referring. Surely he wouldn’t?

In answer to the question she thundered at him silently, Cade reached for his belt buckle, unfastening it and pulling the belt from his hips at an excruciatingly languid speed. “Well, Kara? Surely you remember?”

“You said you’d—” Kara’s voice momentarily abandoned her as she tried to get out the words that tasted of bile. “You said you’d whip me.”

“That’s exactly right.” As his eyes seared hers with the dangerousness of his intentions, Cade folded the heavy leather belt in half and slapped it once against his palm as though he were displaying his showmanship.

The resoundingthwapmade Kara gasp aloud in sickened horror. Abandoning quiet submission the moment she heard the wicked belt meet skin, Kara started to look around frantically for a means of escape. She desperately ran for the door, and Cade made no move to stop her. He stood by the desk calmly, the doubled belt hanging sinisterly in his grasp.

“I would suggest you not run from me a second time, Kara. I don’t think you’d enjoy your punishment being twice as hard.”

Kara spun around to face him, her face contorted with indignant fury. How dare he think he could physically punish her for breaking a few rules? In case he hadn’t noticed, beating a grown woman for disobedience hadn’t been socially acceptable for at least half a century. Her heart clenched at the fact that what he threatened to do to her had ever been permissible at all.

“There isn’t a chance in hell that you’re going to touch me withthat!”Kara shouted at him as she maintained a safe distance from Cade and his weapon of choice.

“You’re right, I’m going to do a good deal more than touch you with it. You’ve earned yourself a proper thrashing. Now come here,”Cade ordered, snapping his fingers.

“No,”Kara denied with a firm shake of her head.

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