Little one? My heart, already beating too fast, picks up pace as he slowly makes his way across the room. “Who the hell are you?”
The slight smile he’d worn when he first stepped into the room tilts down into a frown. “Good Little girls do not use such grown-up language. I will be happy to tell you anything you need to know if you ask politely.”
Seriously? Who does this guy think he is? “Fuck off. You’re going to tell me who the hell you are and where the hell I am. And maybe if you do that I won’t call the cops and have you arrested for false imprisonment.”
His smile returns, but it isn't the warm, welcoming one from before. This smile is, well,dangerous. Fear runs prickly fingers up my spine and it’s all I can do not to audibly whimper.
“Byron,” he calls without taking his eyes off me. “Our little one is awake and in desperate need of a lesson in manners.”
A moment later, another man steps through the door. Slightly taller, with a more slender build than his counterpart, but no less gorgeous. His hair is a few shades lighter than theother man’s and falls over his eye in a way that brings to mind images of surfer dudes from California.
Running a hand through his hair in an ineffectual attempt to tame it, the man I assume to be Byron grins down at his partner and then at me. “Good morning, little one. Did you sleep well?”
Why are these guys so obsessed with how I slept? And why do they keep calling me ‘little one’? It’s weird, but in a way that makes my stomach feel all fluttery.
“I slept fine. Now, tell me what the fuck is going on.”
Byron’s mouth forms a small O before he brings his hand up to cover his expression. He coughs lightly, and I get the distinct impression he’s trying to hide his laughter.
Apparently his brooding friend has come to the same conclusion because he glares at Byron. “There is nothing funny about Little girls using naughty language.”
“No, no, of course not. But you gotta admit, Ezra, she’s pretty damn cute. All rumpled from sleep and glaring at us like that. She’s got spirit.”
“There is nothingcuteabout a Little girl using such naughty words.” Shrugging out of his suit jacket, Ezra tosses it over the back of a nearby armchair before unbuttoning one of his sleeves and carefully rolling it up to his elbow. “She needs to learn some manners.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Byron says with a sigh as he crosses the room to stand in front of the strange bed I woke up in. When he reaches for me, he drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “If you fight him, I promise he will make you regret it. Say you’re sorry and accept your punishment like a good girl and he’ll go easy on you.”
“What punishment? What the fuck are you talking about? Letgoof me!”
But no matter how hard I fight—which even I can admit is probably not that hard given how malnourished I am—his gripon me does not ease as he lifts me from the crib and carries me over to the single straight-backed chair Ezra has settled on.
Shaking his head, Ezra reaches for me, and it’s only then that I realize I’m not wearing the clothes I fell asleep in. I’m wearing some kind of bodysuit that snaps between the thighs.
“No! Don’t touch me!” My voice pitches up in fear as I kick out, my care foot connecting with Ezra’s hand.
Even that doesn't deter him, but it does earn me a sharp look from the dark-eyed man in front of me. “That’s five with the hairbrush for kicking Daddy.”
Daddy?What the actualfuckis going on?
Behind me, Byron sighs. “I told you not to fight him, little one.”
“I’m not going to let you sick perverts rape me without a fucking fight!” I scream, still struggling for all I’m worth.
To my surprise, they both go still and sympathy softens Ezra’s eyes. “We aren’t going to rape you, sweetheart.” His tone is oddly soothing, enough that I stop fighting and simply stare at him.
“You’re not?”
“No. I’m only baring your bottom to give you the spanking you’ve earned for your naughty language. Nobody is going to hurt you.”
“Spankings hurt.” Ugh. I sound like a pouty child. Ifeellike a pouty child, a realization that has my entire body burning with humiliation.
A smile curves Ezra’s lips. “I suppose they do. But that is rather the point, I’m afraid. How would naughty girls ever learn their lesson if the spankings didn’t hurt?”
“I don’t need to learn a lesson. Just let me go and I’ll get out of your hair for good.”
“I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen, little one.” With a look for the man behind me, Ezra nods slightly. And before I canblink, I find myself draped over his knees, the cool air of the room caressing my bare skin.
A sharp swat lands on my ass, and I freeze, stunned that this is actually happening to me. That I am half-naked over some strange man’s lap, getting spanked like a naughty child.