Page 17 of Indecent Proposal

That tempting idea came back again and I tried to swallow it down, but it was so hard to ignore when she was like this, so stubborn and defiant it made my dick ache. She was the kind of woman I would love to show how good submitting to me could be—because she was a little hellion, and those were the most fun to tame.

“And how exactly do you propose to pay me back?” I demanded, feeling more than a little surly myself. “Richard’s money is gone. Someone drained all of his accounts. Just to hold up the lie about his gambling addiction or for some other reason, I don’t know. And you don’t have any money or even a job.”

Claire flushed, her spine straightening indignantly. “You don’t have to be such an asshole about it. I’ll find a way to pay you.”

“Or,” the word was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

Claire stared at me. “Or?” she prompted when I didn’t say anything more.

“Or.” I tried to keep my tone casual, but a growl slipped out anyway. “We could find another way for you to start making up for my time and effort, now. Seeing as you disobeyed me, numerous times already…”

Claire swallowed hard, but there was a curiosity in her gaze that spoke volumes. “What did you have in mind?”

I had to tread carefully. If I pushed her too hard, I was sure I’d end up on the business end of her fists or maybe some books if she felt like throwing them at me. I didn’t want to actually make her uncomfortable. I wanted her to obey me so I could keep her safe, and I wanted her to submit to me, but I also wanted her tolike it. I’d never had a woman dislike my dominance and I wasn’t about to start now. There was no point in my enjoying myself if my partner wasn’t enjoying it, too.

“Well, if you’re going to act like a petulant child, I’ll treat you like one.”

Claire visibly bristled again. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

I took a slow step towards her. Her eyes went wide and dark, and her flush deepened. “It means I bend you over my knee and spank you for disobeying me.”

I could see her chest heaving, but she didn’t look away from me. Didn’t back down. She didn’t look angry or offended. She didn’t disengage, either.

For a moment we stood there, the silence thick between us. I didn’t know what she would do. How she would take it. This could be a disaster, or the start of something incredibly delicious.

“Of course, I could also assign you something like chopping wood,” I added, half as a joke.

Claire raised her chin up another fraction. “And have backed down from a challenge? I don’t think so.”

The corner of my mouth twitched with a grin. Oh, she was that kind of girl, was she? The kind that wanted to be provoked beyond her limits? It made me wonder about her relationship with Richard. Had she wanted more of a sexual dynamic between them, something he wouldn’t give her?

I had asked about her relationship with him when talking to Richard’s friends and coworkers. Of course I had. I needed to make sure that I didn’t have someone with ulterior motives on my hands. It was possible for Claire to have killed Richard and then made everything else up to try and cover her tracks. Or for her to have killed him and suffered a mental breakdown as a result, concocting this story to soothe herself.

I’d seen much crazier shit in my time.

What I’d gotten from everyone I’d interviewed was that they either weren’t close enough to Richard to know the status of his relationship, or they’d thought that Richard and Claire were comfortable with one another. The two had been together since college and all of Richard’s friends had the impression that the relationship was going well, but admitted that they mostly heard about it from Richard’s perspective and not Claire’s.

Nothing I heard made me alarmed. Nothing had made me think that she’d been the one to hurt him. But it had made me wonder if Richard hadn’t been fulfilling Claire’s needs for a long time and nobody had noticed. I knew far too many men who failed to please their wives or girlfriends, thinking for months or years that everything was fine, only to be blindsided when their significant other then served them with divorce papers or had an affair.

I suspected that Claire had been in a similar situation. Trapped with a guy that everyone said was stand up, was handsome, charming, the perfect man. Of course part of that perfection, I was sure, had to do with how rich Richard’s family and Richard himself was. She had it all on paper, but none of the real connection and passion that we all needed and craved.

And Claire was obviously a very passionate woman.

Claire leveled a glare at me, but it was a bit ruined by the hitch in her breath and the way her throat bobbed when she swallowed. I didn’t bother hiding my smirk. Her glare intensified, but I saw how she bit her lip and her gaze glanced down my body, not with disdain, but a combination of lust and desire.

I hadn’t been wrong. She wanted me.

“Well?” Claire demanded after a moment. “Are you going to do it or are you just going to threaten me with it?”

Oh, it was going to be so much fun to slowly mold her into that perfect obedient kitten.

I walked over to the bed and sat down. Claire looked at me in surprise. “What, did you think I was just going to bend you over?” I asked, my tone deliberately brusque. “Come here.”

She exhaled a breath and slowly walked over, not warily, but confidently. Fuck, my cock was already threatening to swell to painful proportions. Just the possibility of having her submit to me even a little bit, to give me a taste of what putting herself in my hands would feel like, had me vibrating with impatience.

“Put yourself over my lap, face down,” I ordered.

Claire’s breath hitched again and I saw her tremble ever-so-slightly. She still didn’t look afraid. Her lips parted, and her cheeks were pink—she looked completely turned on.

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