“Three!” She wasn’t going to be able to sit down if he didn’t stop soon.

Smack!

“Four!”She’d never been so humiliated.

“I’m pompous, you said.”

Smack!

“Five!” She was going to enjoy feeding him to the sharks.

“And overbearing.”

Smack!

“Six!”Tomorrow wouldn’t be soon enough.

She kept her head turned away so he couldn’t see how close she was to breaking. Her emotions were all over the place. She’d never been a crier. She was strong. She had to be strong. She was the oldest. Everyone relied on her, expecting her to drop everything to come to the rescue. Expected her to step up. There was no room for weakness and no time for tears.Just like today. Just like the attack on the base.“I really don’t like you,” she whispered, her heart giving a strange pang.

His voice, a deep, gravelly baritone, softened at the genuine distress he heard in her voice. "Right now, you are angry, but you do not hate me."

"You don’t know anything about me, so don’t tell me how I feel.” The ache in her chest grew stronger each time his hand connected with her bottom. What was happening to her? “Let. Me. Go! I didn't ask for this. You just kidnapped me and brought me in here."

Zade peered down at her. She said she wanted to go, but she wasn’t trying to get up. Her hands were stretched out in front of her, fingers splayed on the floor, presumably for balance, while the tips of her toes were similarly balanced behind her, with her bottom raised in the center.

He dropped his pitch to an ultra-deep rumble; one her human ears would barely register. "You knew your actions would dictate my response. Ergo, you asked me to spank you. Repeatedly. There is no shame in need, therefore no need to be ashamed. Ask for what you need, and I will give it to you."

"Maybe I did need something, but not this and definitely not from you. I said I was sorry. I won't insult you again. Are you happy now?"

He clenched his jaw. She was so stubborn. "No."

"Asshole!"

“Still antagonizing me. Very well. How many insults did you throw at me? Ten? Ten spanks for ten insults. Every time you insult me now, we will both know that you are actually asking me to spank you. Do you understand?" His voice resonated with authority.

“Dickhead,” she taunted, just so he would know she wasn’t going to be intimidated by his threats. Thank god she hadn’t picked him. She’d been planning to choose him. Who wouldn’t? He was gorgeous. Powerful. Dangerous. Now she was glad she hadn’t. He was a first rate cad.

Still face down, a tear fell onto the carpet. Then a second. A third.

Smack!

"Count or we start over again," he commanded.

Smack!

“Seven! Cretin! Worm! No. You’re lower than a worm. You’re the slime on the worm!”

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

Emotions she kept buried, pain long repressed, rose to the surface. She tried to shove the feelings back down into the deep, dark abyss from where they came, to stay in control, be strong, but like cracks in a dam, every smack to her bottom eroded her ability to shore up the leak until finally, she broke. Great wrenching sobs ripped from her chest, wracking her body as the pain of a lifetime poured free.

CHAPTER SIX

Ashlyn

She didn’t thinkto protest when Zade turned her around and held her through the storm, an anchor in rough seas. As she cried, a weight lifted from her chest, leaving her lightheaded, her thoughts jumbled and chaotic.

Eventually her tears subsided, and she calmed, tranquility stealing over her. She turned her head away and drew her knees to her chest. Zade was huge and she could curl up in his lap or use his thigh as a pillow. She didn’t ask herself why she didn’t jump out of his arms at the first chance she got.