Page 38 of Possessing Paisley

“Okay, bye! It was fun hanging out,” Cali calls, waving at me with a grin on her face.

I give them all the middle finger, and they bust out laughing. So much for friends. They just let this big ogre kidnap me.

“Put me down!” I smack his back.

I should have learned that lesson last night because as soon as I do, he smacks my ass. Even through my jeans, it stings.

“Kieran!”

“What?” he demands.

“I missed you,” I say with a grin because, for some strange reason, this feels funny right now.

He stops abruptly and sets me down, his dark green eyes narrowed. We’re near his house and all alone with nothing but gardens surrounding us. It’s quite pretty. Other than the scowling man in front of me.

“You missed me, huh? Missed me so much that you decided to ignore my messages?”

I look around, hoping for someone to come to my rescue. My butt tingles. Shoot. Is he going to spank me again like he did this morning?

“You didn’t say please in your message,” I answer innocently.

He thinks about it for a second. Then he pins me with his gaze and growls. “Run, Little demon.”

I swallow thickly, my heart pounding like horse hooves on a track, and I turn, taking off and running toward his house. His heavy footsteps sound like a stampede behind me. I swear I can feel his breath on my back.

Just as I get to his yard, he wraps an arm around my middle and pulls me back against him.My core clenches as I struggle, panting for air.

“Didn’t run fast enough, baby,” he says in a velvety tone. “Now, since I’ve caught you, what should I do with a naughty girl like you? Hmm? Maybe you need to feel the sting of my belt on your ass. Perhaps I took it too easy on you this morning.”

“No! No, you didn’t. My butt still hurts! Please! I’m sorry I didn’t respond. I was going to, and then I was talking to the girls, and they told me not to let you walk all over me, and then we got to the nail salon, and I forgot all about it.”

His arm stiffens. “The girls told you that, huh? And what do you think would happen to them if they ignored any of their Daddies?”

My shoulders slump. “Well, when you put it that way.”

He steps onto the porch and puts in a code to the front door, then carries me inside with my back still to his front. The Beast is leading me to his lair. Or something like that.

“I did miss you, though,” I say.

That gets him to set me on my feet and spin me around, his eyebrows pinched. “I missed you too. A lot. I didn’t like you not responding.”

Something vulnerable flashes in his eyes, but it’s gone in an instant. Insecurity, maybe? Hard to believe he would ever have any reason to feel that way. The man is a god. I’m not quite sure why he would even want someone like me. Which is why I know it won’t last.

He’s so freaking big in front of me. Untouchable. I’m starting to think that deep down, he’s not as bulletproof as he seems.

I reach out and slide my hands inside his suit jacket, stepping up to him for a hug.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. It won’t happen again.” The words surprise me, but I mean them. I also think he needed to hear them so whatever demon is torturing him right now can settle down.

He sighs and hugs me back, squeezing me tightly. “You’re right. It won’t. Because if it does, you will feel my belt. It’s a rule.”

I smile against his chest, a warm feeling spreading through me. A rule. I’ve never had one of those before. Now, he’s given me several. Each time he does, it makes me think he might actually care about me.

“Okay, Daddy. Understood.” I run my nails up and down his back. He pulls away and takes my hands in his, inspecting them.

“These are…” he says.

I immediately tense, ready to hear him tell me they’re too gothic or too long or too pointy, not ladylike enough, or something that isn’t acceptable. Jeremy would have had a heart attack if I’d gotten nails like this.

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