Page 50 of Bet On Me, Daddy

And why did the thought of him touching someone else fill her with an emotion dangerously close to rage?

Ignoring those rather uncomfortable feelings, Ruby plastered a smile on her face and sauntered up to the table. “Am I late to the party?”

Beckett’s dark eyes met hers, so much emotion swirling in the brown depths it nearly knocked the breath from her lungs. “You are. We were worried about you, Ruby Red.”

Guilt joined the jealousy pangs, making it a struggle to keep her bright smile in place. But she would not apologize, even though everything in her wanted to drop to her knees and beg forgiveness. Because she hadn’t actually done anythingwrong, so she had nothing to apologize for. “I saw your message that I was late, but I was already walking into the club so I figured I’d see you when I saw you.”

“Oh?” There was a wealth of warning in that single tone, and it made her heart beat a little faster, a little harder. “So you saw my message but decided to ignore it?”

“I was like, two minutes away from actually seeing you in person, Beckett. Relax.”

She knew she was poking the bear, and she wasn’t disappointed when his eyes narrowed. She was also painfully aware that Lottie and Frankie were watching the scene unfold with wide, hungry eyes.

Well. She hadn’t gotten to give Frankie much of a show the other night, so maybe she could make up for it tonight. Nothing would relax her more than a thorough punishment.

Win-win, at least for her. ‘Daddy’ might not think so, though.

And judging by the look on his face, he definitely did not think so. “Take your jeans and boots off. Fold your jeansneatlyand place them on top of your boots, under the table.”

“Can’t I at least eat first? I’m starving.”

“Food is on its way. Jeans off, Ruby. I won’t ask again.”

Oh, shit. Maybe she’d poked too hard, because the steel in his voice told her this was not some playful punishment but rather a lesson in obedience.

She wanted to obey. She really did, more than she’d expected to. But with Frankie watching her like a hawk, she felt like she needed to push back. At least a little.

“Counteroffer. We eat and then you take me down to the pit and punish me for being an insolent little brat.”

He smiled, that same wolfish smile she’d seen on his face a dozen times before. Only now, she was painfully aware she was the lamb this particular wolf had his eye on. “Oh, my naïve little girl. Do you really think I’m not already planning to do exactly that? All you’re doing is making the inevitable worse with every second you delay.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was he planning to do to her down there?

It was the fear of the unknown that finally got her moving, toeing off her boots and kicking them under the table while her friends watched. Humiliation burned across her face, but it wasn’t the kind that made her sick to her stomach. This particular brand of humiliation had her soaking the gusset of her bodysuit as she wiggled out of her jeans and folded them neatly, per his instructions.

“Good girl,” he praised softly, his eyes warm with approval. “Now, on your knees. I want you kneeling beside the bench here, eyes forward and hands on your thighs.”

With that hot, heady humiliation flooding her body, she lowered herself to the ground as instructed, sending up a little prayer of thanks that Braden was as obsessive as he was about keeping the restaurant area clean.

“Much better. You’re going to kneel there, and you are not going to speak unlessDaddysays you may. And you’re going to think about how it makes people feel when you ignore messages.Especially when you are late for a meeting and you haven’t checked in with anyone to let them know where you are, or that you’re safe.”

There was an undercurrent to his tone that told her this was about so much more than her being a couple minutes late. Had he actually been… worried about her?

Guilt pricked at her, an apology burning on her tongue. But he hadn’t given her permission to speak yet, so she simply nodded her understanding.

“Good girl. If you need to ask me something, just tap twice on my leg to get my attention.” He ran a hand over her hair, giving her ponytail an almost playful tug before shifting his attention away from her. “Frankie. How is school going?”

From the corner of her eye, she watched her friends grapple with this new development. Lottie looked from her, back to Beckett, back to Ruby again, her mouth hanging slightly open.

Frankie recovered first, settling back against the booth with a shrug. “It’s good. Not as hard as everyone made it out to be.”

“Really?” Beckett’s voice held a hint of disbelief. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that about medical school, and I have quite a few friends who are doctors. I also have quite a few friends who couldn’t hack it and ended up dropping out.”

“Well, maybe your friends just aren’t as smart as me,” Frankie shot back with a smug smile.

Now that he’d brought it up, Ruby realized it did seem a little odd that Frankie spent as much time as she did at the club. Didn’t she have like, a shit-ton of studying to do?

But she wasn’t allowed to speak, so she kept that question to herself.

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