Page 57 of His to Hold

“What?” I glance around the room. There’s nobody else in the house, but it still feels illicit to strip off in the kitchen. “Here?”

“Here.” Antonio steps closer and I can almost feel the anger vibrating off him. “Now.”

“I don’t…”

“Are you scared of me, Bella?”

I lift my chin. “Should I be?”

He doesn’t answer. I suspect that’s because he’s suppressing a desire to assure me he won’t hurt me. Right now, he wants me on edge, afraid he might hurt me. There’s something going on with him I don’t understand, but I can tell he needs to vent his frustrations. Perhaps I’m crazy, but I’m willing to let him use me to do that.

“Clothes off. I won’t tell you again.”

I do as he asks, unbuttoning my blouse and sliding it from my shoulders. Then I kick off my ballet flats and reach around to unzip my skirt. I shimmy my hips and it drops to the floor. I step out of the pool of fabric it creates.

“And the rest,” Antonio says.

I unhook my lacy bra and slip it off and then remove the matching panties. Antonio says nothing but makes a spinning motion with his finger. I guess he wants to inspect me.

As I turn slowly, I feel his gaze searing my skin. With the brightness from the lights overhead illuminating me, there’s nowhere to hide. Every inch of me is on display. I come full circle to face Antonio again. His expression is impassive but his Adam’s apple bobs, letting me know he’s not unaffected by what he sees.

I squeak in surprise as he grabs my arm, spins me around and forces me to bend over one of the high kitchen stools. It’s not the most comfortable position. My breasts are squished against the hard surface of the stool and my head hangs low.

“Do not move!” There is no disobeying that tone.

I stay stock still as he drops to a crouch in front of me. He takes zip ties from his jacket pocket and secures my left wrist to the leg of the stool and then does the same with my right. As I ponder the reasons he’d be carrying zip ties around with him, Antonio stands up and removes his jacket. Then he rolls up his sleeves. If I wasn’t sure before, I know now I’m about to get a spanking. The question is, for what?

I don’t get a chance to ask. Antonio draws his hand back and smacks me three times, hard, in the same spot. They weren’t love taps to warm me up. Those hurt.

“Tell me what happened with Joey Gallo.”

My heart lurches. Why are we back to this? “I already told you what happened.”

I glance up at Antonio, but from this angle, I can’t see him properly. I do, however, hear him removing his belt. The air behind me shifts almost imperceptibly as Antonio swings the long leather strip. It hits my ass with a loud crack that makes me squeal in a mix of shock and pain.

“Tell me the truth, Bella.”

“I did. He blackmailed me. I told you that.” The words tumble out of me in a breathless rush.

Antonio lashes my bottom three more times with the belt, choosing previously untouched spots to strike each time. My flesh throbs uncomfortably, but the burn spreads to my core where it ignites an entirely different kind of fire. I clench my fists and try to ignore how wet my pussy becomes.

“What did he blackmail you with?” Antonio demands.

“Photos.”

“Of?”

I frown in consternation as we go back over the details of the story I told him. When I don’t answer fast enough, he pinches my poor, punished ass, making me shriek as a jolt of pain runs through my lower half.

“Me.”

Antonio spanks me with the belt again. My mouth twists in pain.

“Let’s try the truth this time.”

“I told you the truth.” My tone is insistent. “Why won’t you believe me?”

“Because I spoke to my sister.”

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