Page 14 of Red

He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You cry beautifully, Melinda,” he said so quietly she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. “Do you know what happens if you actually get away? Not fulfill the deal my uncle made with your grandfather?”

She shook her head, words beyond her. Her ass throbbed, and his gentleness muddled things even more.

“Your grandmother’s house becomes mine. Her car, her bank accounts. Everything gets taken to fulfill the debt. It won’t cover everything, though, so she’ll have to cash in her life insurance, her retirement funds, everything. And it still won’t be enough. Everything you have will be stripped away, too. You both will be destitute.”

She blinked a few times, letting everything sink in.

“I can take care of her,” she whispered, finding a bit of strength.

“You won’t have anything to take care of her with. You’ll be homeless and penniless. Completely ruined.”

“You can’t just take everything. A judge would never allow it,” she said, knowing even an attorney was outside her financial abilities.

His eyes narrowed a fraction, creating a gentle wrinkle around his eyes. “Do you think any of this would even present in court?”

She felt foolish. Of course, there was no real legal course for her to take. None of this was legal.

“What happens to me if I stay?” Tired from lack of sleep and the tension of being touched and spanked and wrung out like a wet rag, she didn’t fight what he said. She would never let her grandmother lose everything. Not if she could help it.

He stared at her a moment. “There are options. I’ll go over them with you later.”

She turned her head. “And forgetting about the debt, about what my grandfather did, isn’t one of them.”

“No, it’s not,” he said, voice heavy with finality.

Taking her face in one large, calloused hand, still warm from the spanking he’d dished out, he forced her to look at him. “Your obedience is not optional, either, Melinda. You will give it to me.”

His eyes searched hers, but she wasn’t sure what he was searching for. More fight? More fear? Her world was collapsing in front of her, and he spoke of obedience. She met his gaze, a bubble of anger rolling around her insides.

“Or you’ll simply take it.” She stated the plain truth. He’d taken her clothes, spanked her ass until it pulsed with pain… What would be gained by hiding the obvious?

He tilted his head, studying her in silence. “You’re a smart girl, Melinda. Don’t let your pride get in the way of finding the right solution here.”

He let go of her chin and pushed her off his lap. She staggered to her feet. “I have clothes for you.” He retrieved the bag he’d dropped during her pathetic assassination attempt and tossed it on the bed.

He pulled out shirts, skirts, pants, and a few sweaters.

“There’s no underwear here,” she pointed out.

He grinned. “That’s right.”

“I can’t wear jeans without underwear.” She curtailed some of the snark, but she could still hear her annoyance.

“Then wear the skirt.” He shrugged. “Makes no difference to me.”

A knock on the door made her stiffen. Erik’s narrowed gaze traveled to the door. He frowned.

With a flick of his wrist, he dismissed her. “Go stand in that corner.”

Whoever was at the door would get a clear view of her naked punished backside.

“Melinda.” His voice held enough warning to push her into action. Not wanting to push him into another spanking, she obeyed, grabbing a T-shirt from the bed on her way. The garment wasn’t long enough; the bottom of her ass still peeked out, but it was better than being on full display.

The door opened. A deep voice, intense and annoyed, started talking, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Erik responded in curt sentences, and, a moment later, the door slammed behind the intruder.

His heavy steps carried through the room to the bathroom. The faucet turned on then off. A towel jerked from the towel rack.

“Come here.” His order was brash. She met him in the center of the room. “I have business to take care of. I will leave the door unlocked. My brother, Nico, is downstairs. If you give him any trouble, so much as a curse word, he will punish you—and then it will be doubled when I get back. Am I clear?”

---