Page 23 of Yours

She was Leena’s best friend, a girl I’d spent years trying to keep at arm’s length. And yet, as I saw the faint reflection of her turned-away tear-streaked face, I couldn’t shake the feeling that tonight had changed something.

I’d punished her, and in doing so, I’d claimed a piece of her. Whether she realized it or not, she’d crossed a line the second she called me for help. She’d handed herself over to me on a silver platter, and I wasn’t the kind of man to let go easily.

She deserved everything she’d gotten. Every stinging smack, the shame, the tears, everything she still had coming—all of it. And part of me wanted to go further, to push her until there was nothing left of that defiance, only a quiet understanding of exactly who she was dealing with.

But another part of me—the part I didn’t like to acknowledge—wanted to pull her into my arms and tell her it would be okay. That I’d fix this, clean up the mess she’d made, and make sure no one else ever touched her again.

That I’d take care of her.

I pushed the thought away, scowling at myself as I turned onto a quieter street. She didn’t need comfort. She needed to learn that her actions had consequences, and I wouldn’t always be there to fix it.

And I needed to figure out how the hell I was going to deal with Benedetti without turning this into an all-out war.

“Do you want to talk?” I asked finally, my voice cutting through the quiet.

Kiera shifted slightly, but she didn’t look at me.

“No,” she said, her tone clipped and tight.

I chuckled softly, shaking my head.

She didn’t respond, but the way her shoulders tensed told me I’d hit a nerve.

Good.

Because as much as I enjoyed breaking that fire, part of me didn’t want it gone completely. I didn’t want her to lose that spark, that bite that made her so damn infuriating—and so damn irresistible.

“You’ll thank me someday,” I said, my tone lighter now, almost teasing.

Her head snapped toward me, her glare cutting like a blade.

“Not a chance in hell,” she snapped.

I laughed again, the sound low and rough. “We’ll see, love. We’ll see.”

The rest of the ride passed in silence, but my mind was still racing. I had a lot of work to do, a lot of strings to pull and threats to make to clean up her mess. But as I glanced at her reflection in the mirror one last time, I knew one thing for certain.

She might be a pain in the ass, but she wasmypain in the ass now.

And God help me, I didn’t hate the sound of that.

CHAPTER 10

Kiera

“I’m going to finish what I started with my belt.”

I sat there fuming, my arms crossed tightly over my chest as I stared out the window at the blur of passing streetlights. My ass was on fire, my pride was in shreds, and Ronan was sitting in the driver’s seat like he hadn’t just turned my entire world upside down. His calm, unbothered presence only made my anger burn hotter.

This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. I’d fight him when we got to his place.

I clenched my jaw, my nails digging into my palms as I fought the urge to scream. How the hell had I let this happen? How had I gone from holding my own against Marco Benedetti to being hauled over Ronan’s lap and spanked like some wayward child? The humiliation alone was enough to make me want to crawl out of my skin.

And yet…

A traitorous heat spread through me, low and insistent, as I thought about the weight of his hand, the unyielding strength in his grip. I hated how my body had reacted to him, how every swat had sent a rush of desire coursing through me. He’d been in complete control, and I’d been completely at his mercy, and some part of me—a part I wanted to strangle—hadlikedit.

I pressed my thighs together, scowling at my reflection in the window.

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