Page 44 of Double Daddies
“There are numerous ways to correct an attitude, little baker,” Drake’s voice pulled her from her internal panic. “Spanking is but one of them.” His hand, the same one that had just set her world ablaze, now stroked her hair with surprising tenderness. “Since I know this is not how you expected your day to end, I will give you one chance to correct your attitude.” His fingers caught her chin, forcing her to meet his penetrating gaze.“Just one. Don’t waste it, Elle, because the next time you run, it will be straight to jail.”
“What you’re asking... it’s... I can’t. It’s just too much.” Elle’s fingers twitched as she pulled them from Damian’s grasp. The need to get away from them had nothing to do with fear of what they proposed and everything to do with the uncontrolled desire surging through her.
“It’s your choice to make, Elle,” Drake said as he got up. “Know this… we are not going to beg you to accept our proposal.”
“Drake is right.Youneed to make the choice, but I trust you will make the clever one.” Damian’s smile remained gentle, but Elle caught the steel beneath his words. Though less severe than Drake's, his eyes held the same unwavering authority that made her pulse quicken.
Drake checked his watch. “You now have fifteen minutes to make a decision, Miss Fitzgerald.”
Once again, Elle watched them leave. With a sob of dissolution, she settled deeper into the sofa and pulled up her knees.
“Holy shit, it hurts,” she cried out as her every shift against the leather sofa sent fresh waves of stinging heat through her sensitized flesh. Her gaze darted around for her pants and panties. They were nowhere to be found.
“Gmphf. So much for trusting me.” The contract on the table seemed to mock her predicament. “Believe me, no one knows better than me how stupid I acted. Being all but forced to sign you is my just desserts.”
Her options stretched before her like a forked path. Either she submitted to their demands or faced felony charges. Since the vandalism easily amounted to hundreds of thousands, she would most definitely end up in jail.
The memory of Drake’s palm connecting with her flesh sent an unexpected shiver down her spine. No one had ever handledher with such commanding authority or such... possession. Her foster father’s punishments had been about breaking her spirit. This felt more like molding it.
“I guess it’s a no-brainer. I have to sign you.” She sneered as she snatched up the document. Her numb mind soon turned to shock as she read the bulky contract.
“What the living hell is the purpose of a Little? And why would anyone willingly give up their right to make their own decisions or choices?”
The questions tumbled through her mind as she scanned the contract. Her cheeks flushed at certain clauses she only half understood. Each initial felt like another step down a path she couldn’t quite see the end of.
“I have no other choice, right?” she whispered, trying to convince herself it was self-preservation driving her decision and not the lingering heat between her thighs or the way her skin tingled at the memory of Drake’s firm grip on the small of her back.
“What in the world?” The gasp escaped her as she read the final page. Her eyes widened with disbelief as the men returned at the same time. She lifted confused eyes to them. “I don’t understand. I thought you were closing Elle’s Delicacies.”
“You thought wrong, little baker,” Damian said as his expression softened. “There are too many people in the building and local community that sing your praises.”
Drake settled beside her and immediately set her pulse racing with his proximity. For the first time since discovering her vandalism, warmth touched his smile.
“We’d be fools to close you down, Elle.”
“But... but... this offers me a prime spot... even better than Le Chic Bistro... and... and the backing... It’s millions! I... this is... I can’t?—”
“That’s our offer, Elle. Take it or leave it. The choice is yours.” Drake’s voice dropped to that deep timbre that seemed to resonate straight through to her core, once again making her squirm in her seat.
Her hand trembled as she signed the final page. It wasn’t from the magnitude of the business opportunity but from the realization that she was signing away more than just her bakery’s future.
Elle stared at her signature with her heart racing. The flowing script of her name seemed foreign, as if someone else had signed away her freedom. Her stomach twisted with a peculiar jumble of dread and anticipation.
“There. Happy now?” The words came out breathier than she intended and betrayed the tremor in her voice. She pushed the contract toward Drake but refused to meet his gaze. Her thighs pressed together of their own accord as her body continued to hum from the earlier punishment.
A large hand cupped her chin, forcing her face up. Drake’s darkened eyes bore into hers, threatening to break through the wall she had erected to keep the newly triggered feelings hidden and hold him at bay.
His voice lowered. “The question is, are you happy with your decision, little vandal?”
The gentleness in his tone undid her. Tears welled up and, to her horror, spilled over before she could stop them.
“I don’t know what I’m feeling,” she admitted, hating the vulnerability in her voice. “Two hours ago, I was just a baker with a vandalism tendency. Now I’m... I’m…” Her voice cracked as she gestured helplessly at the contract.
“Now you’re ours,” Damian finished for her as his hand settled warm against her back. “And we take care of what’s ours, Elle.”
A shiver ran through her at his words. The possessiveness in his tone should have sparked her defiance, should have made her want to run. Instead, it settled a deep-rooted yearning she never knew existed and a craving to submit that shocked her to her core. His commanding tone awakened a fresh wave of liquid heat between her thighs, leaving her squirming with an unfamiliar ache that both thrilled and terrified her.
“I still don’t understand half of what I just agreed to,” she whispered as her fingers fidgeted in her lap. The sting in her behind was a constant reminder of just how quickly things could change. “And the other half scares me to death.”
