Page 232 of Wild Mustang Security Firm

“Seriously, unless this is really important, I’m kind of busy.”

“Busy as in taking care of a certain little blonde spitfire of our acquaintance?”

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“So, there’s kissing involved? I’d have thought spanking more appropriate.”

“As I said, and I am a gentleman.”

“Oh, we’re getting to the aftercare and restoration of positive feelings portion of the agenda.”

“Not to put too fine a point on it… yes. Now what the fuck do you want?”

Noah laughed. “I had an update on Christian and Fariq, but nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

Thom sobered. “You sure?”

“Yeah, buddy. I’m sure. You go take care of your girl and we’ll talk tomorrow. And Thom, a word of advice?”

Envying Noah’s relationship with Zara, he said, “Sure.”

“Never spank her harder than you’re prepared to fuck her. Also, ginger can be an effective tool in getting them to remember who’s in charge.”

Thom laughed. “I’ll be sure to tell her you said that.”

Chapter

Five

Avery was terrified… aroused and terrified. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Thom, but afraid that she was dreaming and would wake up or worse yet, that he was not the man she believed him to be and she’d end up gutted like before. She reminded herself that she had known Thom for several years and trusted him. She couldn’t fault him for keeping one part of his life to himself, especially since she had done the same.

Looking up as he came through the door, she felt as though she was a balloon filled to bursting and he was walking in, not with a large hat pin, but as though he were about to let all the air fizzle out. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, grabbing the dressing gown she’d put out and pulling it on.

“Where do you think you’re going? I’m fairly sure I told you to get naked and in bed.”

“I just don’t want you to think that you have to continue if you don’t want to…”

“I thought we settled this.”

“Well, neither of us has signed anything so if you wanted to back out…”

“Do you want me to back out? Do you want to?”

“No, Sir.”

“I think you need to spend some time in the corner. You go stand in the corner to the left of the French doors, place your hands flat against the wall, and wait until I come back. Oh, and Avery?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“I said naked. Lose the robe.”

Avery watched him stride back out to the living room. Disappointed in herself and her apparent inability to shut off these niggling doubts that kept filling up her head, she debated whether or not to do as she’d been told. This was happening too fast, although she’d given him the perfect opportunity to back out and he’d refused to take it. Sighing, she removed her robe and went to the corner.

After a few minutes of staring at the fantastically uninteresting wall plaster, Avery was ready to question her own sanity for ever wanting anyone to send her to the corner. It sounded so sexy when she read it in the novels—naughty heroine being sent to the corner to think before being taken across the hero’s knee. Wait, he wasn’t planning to spank her again, was he? She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she heard neither her printer—which was on the other side of the house and whisper quiet—nor his return to her room. Suddenly, there was a piece of paper slapped against the wall to the right of her head, then a pen appeared in her peripheral vision. She couldn’t read the words; her eyes were transfixed on Thom’s bold signature across the bottom.

“Sign it,” he said, flat and unamused. “I’m not going to tap dance with you. This puts in ink everything that we agreed to out on the couch, including that from this point on we are an exclusive, committed couple and that you are accepting my dominance and leadership in our relationship up to and including corporal punishment…”

Before he could finish speaking, Avery grabbed the pen and signed her name.

---