Page 17 of Her Beast

Julia didn’t want to feel flattered—she hated Carl—but it was difficult to ignore such naked desire. The last person to look at her with such yearning hadn’t been Solomon or Matthew, but Lily, whose gaze had always consumed Julia as if she were dessert.

“Come here,” he ordered, his voice gruff.

Julia hesitated.

“Now!”

She jolted and took a small, shaky step toward him.

Carl’s arm lashed out as quickly as a frog’s tongue snagging a fly. His huge hand closed around her wrist and he yanked her down onto his lap.

“What are you—”

“Shut up,” he ordered, effortlessly positioning her face-down over his thighs, her buttocks in the air.

When she tried to cover her bottom with her hands, he grabbed both her wrists with one hand and imprisoned them against her back. “I want you to count,” he said.

“Count wha—ow!”Julia yelped when his flat hand struck her bottom.

He squeezed her wrists. “Count or I’ll just give you more.”

“One!”

“Good girl.” He swirled his palm lightly over her cheeks, the gesture strangely … soothing.

“You can’t do this to me!” she shouted. “I’m no child to be spanked, I’mtwenty!”

“Twenty is what you’ll get, then.”

“What?” she shrieked.

Smack!

This time he struck her on only the left cheek. “Count!” he growled.

“T-Two!”

He struck her again, but on the other side. And far harder.

“Three,” she whimpered.

Smack!

By the time he reached twenty the tears were streaming down her cheeks and she could barely force the words out.

Her bottom was on fire and throbbing with pain.

And she was aroused.

“Shhh,” he murmured. His gentle rubbing on the enflamed skin was no longer soothing, instead it caused as much pain as the swats. “That’s a good girl.” He shifted beneath her, moving her higher on his lap.

And that was when she felt it: his erect penis.

Julia yelped and jerked back.

He chuckled evilly, holding her pressed tightly against the loathsome thing. “Feel that, do ye?”

“No, don’t—please—”

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