Page 59 of The Pack

I was going to spank her.Hard.

The first swat landed quick and sharp, the sound of it cracking through the quiet night. Zara gasped, her body tensing against me.

“Thorne!” she said again, this time more breathless than before.

“You brought this on yourself,” I said as I delivered another smack, this one to the other side. Over and over, I spanked her, each strike getting harder. I spanked from the tops of her cheeks all the way down to the lower curves of her ass, ensuring to get the part where her bottom met her thighs especially. Her skin turned pink under my hand, then cherry red, and I felt the faintest tremor ripple through her.

It wasn’t just the sound of her whimpers or the way she squirmed and moaned that caught my attention—it was the trust in her movements. She wasn’t fighting me, not really. She was pushing me, testing me, the same way she had been since the moment we met.

Damn if I didn’t like it.

Plus, the scent of her arousal was quickly getting stronger. She could deny it all she liked, but our little mate was enjoying her spanking.

A lot.

I would remember that. I’m sure the rest of my pack would too.

Killian’s laugh rang out from across the fire, loud and teasing. “Looks like Thorne’s got his hands full.”

“Shut it, Killian,” I growled, though the corners of my mouth twitched into something dangerously close to a smile.

Callum chuckled softly, leaning back against a log. “Think she’s regretting it yet?”

I felt Magnus’s gaze, calm and assessing, as he fed another log into the fire. “I think you should spank her harder,” he finally added.

I pressed a hand firmly against her lower back, holding her in place.

“I don’t think you’re trying hard enough either,” Zara quipped, glancing over her shoulder at me, her lips curved into a full-on grin despite the flush spreading across her cheeks.

Heat flared in my chest. If she wanted to challenge me, I’d rise to meet it.

I brought my hand down again, harder this time, the sharp crack of the impact echoing through the quiet night. Zara squealed, her hands gripping the fabric of my pants as her body jerked forward.

“Thorne!” she gasped, twisting slightly against me.

“Stop squirming,” I growled, my hand smoothing over the red skin of her bottom before delivering another firm swat. She whimpered this time, her breath coming faster, but she didn’t stop moving.

Her hips shifted against my leg, her body trembling with every strike, and I could feel the heat radiating off her skin. It wasn’t just from embarrassment, though that was part of it. She was testing me, daring me to push her further, and damned if I wasn’t tempted to see how far she’d go.

“You’re enjoying this too much,” I muttered, though my voice had roughened with my own desire for this fiery little temptation.

“And what if I am?” she shot back, her words barely more than a breathless whisper.

That did it.

I delivered several much sharper swats, my hand lingering against her skin as I leaned down, my lips brushing her ear.

“You’re going to regret teasing me,” I murmured, the promise in my tone unmistakable.

Her only response was a soft, breathless whimper, her hands clutching at me as she arched against my touch.

I wasn’t sure who was more undone—her, or me.

I delivered several more really hard swats, letting my hand linger against Zara’s flushed skin as she let out a soft cry when I was done. Her breath hitched, her body still trembling slightly as I adjusted her back onto her knees in front of me.

Her cheeks were as red as her bottom, her dark eyes wide and glinting with something I couldn’t quite name.

“Are you done teasing?” I asked, my voice quiet, but edged with steel.

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