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My heart twisted when Sebastián took the glass from my hand, fixing me with a scowl. I’d misjudged him. He’d rather prove his point than hide our spat from his boss. Looking into his sparking eyes, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake. I’d defied him in front of Stefano, and he would not let that go unpunished.
“I told you to stop drinking.” His deep voice was heavy with condemnation, and he set both my glasses on the server’s tray.
“It was just a sip.” I hated how the words left me on a squeak. I tried not to wither in his dark glare.
He turned to Stefano, and his big hand encircled my wrist, trapping me at his side. “I need to have a talk with my wife.” He spoke through gritted teeth. I’d pushed him, just a little, but it’d been too far. “Will you excuse us?”
Stefano’s smile sharpened, and he tipped his head, granting permission. “I’m happy to take over here. You know I love a good party.”
Sebastián offered him a tight nod. “Thank you.”
He started stalking toward the corridor, and I had no choice but to follow in his wake. My cheeks flamed as eyes turned on us, and I noted more than a few giggles as we passed by a cluster of women. My husband was going to discipline me again, and everyone knew it.
CHAPTER 16
ISABEL
“You said you wouldn’t beat me,” I reminded him as he dragged me down the corridor toward my bedroom. My stomach knotted. I knew what would happen once he got me alone in there. My bottom already burned with the phantom heat of his last punishment. Something pulsed between my legs, making my cheeks flame even hotter.
“I’m not going to beat you,” he growled as he pulled me into my room and shut the door behind us. The sound of the lock sliding into place made my belly quiver. “We’re going to have a conversation. Did you want to argue in the middle of the party?”
“No!” I hadn’t wanted to make a scene. I really hadn’t. I’d just thought…
“But you thought I’d let you defy me.” He saw right through me, and my heart sank. “You thought I wouldn’t dare say anything in front of Stefano, is that it?”
“It was just one sip of Champagne!” I protested, desperate.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, a grim condemnation. “You were testing me. You were pushing me, and you didn’t expect me to push back.”
My own comforting bedroom walls—the walls of my safe haven—seemed to close in on me, crushing down on my spirit. It was too much. I’d endured too much humiliation, too much loss. Rage was a white-hot burst through my body, and all my muscles coiled tight. I released my anger on a howl of frustration, shoving at his hard chest. He didn’t budge an inch, but his features twisted in a forbidding scowl.
The alcohol that I’d managed to drink was making me reckless, and I’d lost my grip on my emotions. Fury swelled hot and bright, pulsing through my veins.
“You can’t control everything little thing that I do!” I shouted, shoving him a second time.
He grabbed my wrists in one of his big hands, but instead of pushing me away, he took a step back, dragging me with him. He stepped to one side, so he could press my front up against the wall, pinning me in place with my wrists above my head. His hard body closed in behind mine, caging me. I struggled and released a defiant shriek when he delivered a single, sharp slap to my upper thigh. My flesh burned through the thin silk material of my gown, which provided almost no protection from his punitive smack.
“You promised you wouldn’t beat me,” I flung at him like a dagger.
He grunted as though the sharp words had hit their mark. “I’m not beating you,” he ground out. “You’re the one who tried to make things physical when you shoved me. Don’t think you can push me around, Isabel.”
“Let me go!” I twisted in his iron grip, but his hand was a shackle around my wrists. He didn’t hold me with bruising force, but I didn’t have a hope of escaping his strength.
“No,” he refused, delivering another stinging slap to my thigh.
“Stop spanking me!” My entire body practically vibrated with the force of my fury. Even my belly quivered and flipped, and the heat of my anger suffused me to my core.
“Why?” he demanded, challenging. “Because you’re afraid you’ll like it?”
“I don’t,” I gasped, even as I became aware that the warmth between my legs wasn’t the result of rage. My body was reacting to him again, melting in his unyielding, strong hands.
“Liar.”
Another smarting blow, and my core fluttered. I bit my lip against a moan.
“You don’t want me to spank you?” he asked, his voice going low and rough with his own mounting desire. “Fine. There are other ways I can punish you, Isabel.”
