Page 53 of Cole's Command

Chapter Eighteen

Eden

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I’M GOING TO FUCKING kill him for this!

The words rattled around her mind like a pinball as Cole held her down. His hand wasn’t hurting her, but he applied enough pressure to ensure that however hard she kicked and clawed, she wasn’t able to get up. How dare he do this! How dare he touch me at all!

“I’m not going to be too hard on you.” His words came from somewhere above as she pushed against the rug and tried to free herself from his grasp. Her head was filled with startled rage as she grappled with her spiraling emotions. “I assume this is your first time.”

“First time?” she muttered, her hands balling into fists at her most recent unsuccessful attempt to scramble from his iron grasp. I can’t believe this is happening. “How fucking dare you!”

Logically, she accepted that ranting and swearing at her antagonist wasn’t a smart move and certainly wouldn’t expedite her escape, but somehow, she couldn’t stop. That was the problem. Ever since she’d met Cole she’d been blurring lines for him. She should never have stopped to talk to him last night. He was a client, and that was all he should ever have been, and she sure as hell shouldn’t have allowed him to stay for an afterhours appointment this evening. But something about him seemed to overpower her senses, and however hard she tried, it appeared Cole meant to have his way. The most disconcerting aspect of the whole misadventure, though, wasn’t his tenacity, or even his ability to shift into a bloody dragon. It was the fact that however much she protested, Eden couldn’t quiet the part of her that was drawn to his show of authority.

“Oh, little girl...” His deep chuckle spoke of final warnings she wasn’t interested in hearing.

“And stop calling me that!” Infuriated, she banged her fist into the rug as he tugged her skirt up toward her waist. “Stop this. You have no right!”

“Remember what I told you.”

What was that raspy quality in his voice? Is he aroused? She gasped at the thought, aware that she was currently sprawled across him. Heart hammering, her fingers stiffened as the cool air of the room rushed to meet her exposed skin.

“What did you tell me?” she demanded.

“Sir.” His voice had taken on an even deeper timbre, reminding Eden of the sound the dragon had made as it roared over the low-lying brush.

“What?” Her head was about to burst with the potent mixture of anger, embarrassment, and wonder racing through it.

“When I punish you, little girl.” He skimmed his palm over the top of her stockings, pausing over her ass. “You call me, sir.”

“Punish me?” Was that what was happening? To Eden it seemed as though this was all about humiliating her into submission. Was that the punishment he meant?

“It’s my belief that you need the spanking, yes.” He sounded absurdly calm, a fact that only vexed her further. “That you’ve needed it for a long time, and that’s why you push and push until you’re exasperated.”

She shook her head. “Aren’t I supposed to be the therapist?”

“Sir,” he corrected, tapping his palm against her upturned ass. Her lips parted at the impacts, neurons firing in her head as she processed the albeit limited pain. “Address me correctly please, little girl.”

What is this guy’s problem?

Heart sprinting, Eden assessed her choices. Her instinct was to deny him what he so badly seemed to crave, but perhaps the best way to appease him and get the ordeal over and done with as soon as possible was to mollify and comply? She couldn’t get up until he allowed it. God knew she had tried. So, she’d have to try another route.

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