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“Never underestimate your opponent. Didn’t your father teach you that?”
His expression shifts from confident to intrigued as he studies the board. His fingers hover over his pieces, and he realizes the predicament I’ve put him in.
He chuckles, his appreciation for the game evident. “Well, it seems I underestimated you,” he concedes with a playful glint in his eye. “In chess as in life, even a beginner can defeat an expert with an unexpected move.”
He topples his king a moment later. “Well played.”
I glance at the window, my desire for some fresh air resurfacing. “Could I at least go into the garden?” I ask. My prize for winning?”
He sighs. “This again. Not until Orlov is dealt with.”
“But that could be weeks, months even. I need fresh air.”
A face appears at the doorway. Rico, one of his men. “Need a word, boss,” he says.
Alessandro glances my way. “Apologies. I won’t be long.”
He leaves, and I cross to the window, looking out. Beside it, a door leads straight into the gardens. It couldn’t hurt to open it for a minute, surely? Just to get a little air.
I pull the door open and am about to step out when a piercing alarm shatters the silence.
Within seconds, Alessandro is back at my side, the door slamming shut behind him. “Emily, what were you thinking?” he demands, his voice tight with fury. “I gave you an order.”
“I just needed some air. I didn’t think—” I start to explain, but he cuts me off.
In a move as unexpected as mine during the chess match, he turns me around and delivers a firm spank to my ass.
8
ALESSANDRO
The silence in the room is palpable as I lead Emily deeper inside, the blaring alarm cut off but still ringing in my ears.
Her arm tenses in my grip, her defiance as clear as the frustration in her eyes. I turn her to face me, my expression stern.
I’m still blazing from the news Rico just gave me. Emily’s apartment was firebombed. Orlov is getting more brazen by the day.
It terrifies me to think what would have happened if she was still there.
Now, she disobeys me and goes out into the open? After all my warnings?
“Do you understand why I had to do that?” My voice is firm, echoing the seriousness of her reckless act. “You can’t just walk out whenever you please. It’s dangerous,” I add, trying to keep my rising anger in check.
“I’m not your prisoner,” she counters sharply, her frustration clear as she rubs the spot on her ass where my hand landed.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm the storm brewing inside me. “When you’re under my roof, you abide by my rules,” I say, the words laced with an authority born of years in command.
Her response is a frustrated huff, a clear sign that my words are falling on deaf ears. In a moment of heated impulse, I turn her around and deliver another firm spank. The sound echoes in the room, a sharp reminder of the line she crossed.
She gasps, her body tensing at the unexpected contact. She whirls around, her face a mask of shock and indignation. “How dare you!” she exclaims, her hand instinctively going to the stinging area.
“It’s for your own good, to keep you safe,” I explain, trying to convey the gravity of the situation. “If you disobey, there are consequences. Discipline is a part of my life, a part of my world. It’s how we maintain order.”
She looks at me, her eyes searching for an ounce of understanding. “And what if I can’t live within these rules of yours? You hurt me more? Kill me?”
I hold her gaze, my resolve firm. “You need to learn, Emily. For your safety. For the safety of everyone in this house.”
Her eyes flare with fire. “If you spank me again without permission, I will kill you.”
