Page 78 of Stepbrothers

“Okay?” he asked.

She nodded, the room having stopped spinning.

“Good.” He took hold of her dress, stood, and drew it up and over her head, exposing her bare breasts. He threw it to one side. “Step out of your knickers, Clarice.”

“What? But I—”

“Do as you are told.” His jaw tensed.

Her ass stung like a swarm of bees had attacked it, and as she bent, the stretch of the skin made it prickle even more. She kicked her panties away and stood before him utterly naked. A tremble went through her belly.

“Your punishment isn’t over,” he said in a low voice. “Because I don’t think you’ve really thought about what you tried to do.” He stroked the tip of his index finger over her right nipple.

It was a tight point, and he pushed it down then up, to the right and the left, then circled her puckered areola.

She held in a moan. Her skin was hypersensitive, her breasts aching and heavy with the need for stimulation.

“Naughty little sister,” he murmured, his pupils wide but his eyelids heavy. “You are going to stand in the corner, with your red bottom on show and think about this lesson. A lesson that means you will never run from us again. A conversation is always the way to sort misunderstandings out. And you will never, ever…” He pinched her nipple, squeezing until she fluttered her eyes closed. “Ever embarrass me like that again in front of a neighbor.”

“I’m sorry.” She was breathing fast.

“You’re not a prisoner here, you can leave any time you want, but running away is childish and reckless.”

“I know. I shouldn’t have packed a bag and tried to leave. You’re right. I should have stayed to talk about how I was feeling.”

He nodded and stared into her eyes. “That’s a start.” He released her nipple and nodded at the corner of the room beside the TV. “Now go over there, face the wall, hands clasped, and look at your feet. Stay there until I tell you to move.”

She sniffed. What choice did she have?

“Go on,” he said. “We don’t have all day.” He raised his eyebrows and kind of chuckled. “Actually, I do, it’s my day off.”

She walked across the room, her limbs and torso warm despite her lack of clothes.

“Right into the corner,” he said from behind her.

She did as she was told, moving in tight until the wall almost touched her forehead. She stared down at her feet with her fingers knotted. Running away had been foolish, being tipped over Hugh’s lap for a harsh spanking totally humiliating.

“And while you’re there,” Hugh said, “consider that it doesn’t matter what other people think. We all have our own definition of happiness.”

Clarice didn’t answer, it didn’t seem like he wanted her to speak. So instead, she held in the tears that were threatening and wished she hadn’t been such a brat when he’d tugged her from the elevator. Embarrassing him in front of the neighbor had only made her punishment harsher.

Chapter Sixteen

Clarice’s skin cooled, though her ass stayed hot and tingling. She’d swiped at tears as they’d fallen, hoping it wouldn’t get her into further trouble with Hugh who’d told her to keep her hands clasped. It didn’t. She sensed he was on the sofa, reading, but didn’t dare sneak a peek to see if she was correct.

Between her legs, a seeping dampness had evaporated. The evidence of her arousal all but gone. But her nipples remained hard pebbles, shifting with each of her breaths that were still coming fast.

When she heard the front door open and close, she squeezed her eyes shut and gulped.

Parker.

The sound of his golf bag being stashed in a cupboard.

Footsteps.

“Well, well, well.” His deep voice echoed around the still apartment. “What is going on here?”

“Our little brat decided she was moving out,” Hugh said, the disapproval in his voice making Clarice wince. “Without bothering to leave a note for us or any other kind of explanation.”

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