Page 54 of Beautiful Beast

Erik’s eyes are intense as he meets my gaze. “You could. But then I’d have to spank you right back and on and on and on it would go. When would it ever end?”

“When you learn to have a heart.” The words slip out of me before I can stop them.

Something flashes in Erik’s eyes. Almost like … sadness. It’s there and gone within a couple of seconds.

“Go wait for me in the kitchen,” he orders.

“What?”

“Go, Anya.”

Slowly, I get up on my unsteady legs and go to the kitchen, which is thankfully absent of men.

Erik finds me here a moment later. “Bend over the counter.”

“What?”

“Anya,” he says pointedly.

My breath comes out in faster pants as I lean over the counter. Erik lifts my dress over my hips and rips my panties down. The cool air in the kitchen makes me jump. I’m fully exposed like this. Anyone could enter and see me.

But for some reason, I don’t think Erik will let that happen.

His hand settles on my ass right before he spanks me. I have to grip the counter to keep from falling. He spanks me in quick succession, each one harder than the last.

I press my lips together to keep from screaming. I won’t give any of the men out there the satisfaction of hearing my pain. Erik won’t hear it either.

Then he stops spanking me and rests his hand on my ass. “Why do you insist on acting the way you do?”

“Because I’m not happy.”

“And if you were happy? You’d be more compliant?”

When I can’t give him an answer, he leans close to my ear and says, “I didn’t think so. I don’t mind your attitude. In many ways, I find it exciting. But you will never embarrass me in front of my men. Is that understood?”

“I don’t care about your pride. I don’t care about you at all.”

“Funny. I don’t either.”

“Then what’s the point? I’ll never respect you, Erik. And I don’t think you’ll ever truly respect me. We’re better off just never interacting. I know I’d be happier.”

“You would be, huh? You’d be happy never being touched?” His hand moves down to my lower ass, right above my upper thighs. “You don’t want me to touch you right now?”

A flash of arousal hits me, and I press my legs tighter together. My body’s response to him doesn’t make any sense.

“I could so easily slip my fingers between your legs and show you pleasure you’ve never felt before. Do you want me to do that for you, Anya?”

“Why do you want to? If you don’t care about me?”

“Because I think you’re in need of a real good fucking. And I can give that to you. All you have to do is give in to me. Just open your legs for me, Anya. Make this easy on both of us.”

His fingers pat my upper thighs.

It would be so easy to do. And there’s a curious part of me that wants to know what it would feel like to have Erik touch me.

But can I give myself over to a monster like him?

My legs part open just the tiniest bit, and I can feel Erik smile against my ear. “Good girl.”

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