“I’ll make you a deal,” she said. “I’ll only argue with you when I need to win.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a deal,” he said, pulling her into his arms with a growl and knocking her carefully coiffed hair sideways to make her squeal. “Not for you, anyway. I am still the master in our relationship.”
“Keep telling yourself if it helps you sleep at night, big guy,” she persisted, giggling like a child when he’d started to tickle her.
Slavic laughed. “Don’t forget, Mia. You cheated the three of us out of watching your spanking that day at the lake house. We expect you to make up for that, so keep pushing him and maybe we can watch it right now.”
She kicked her new cousin-in-law in the ankle.
“Too much, too close to the whole ceremony thing?” he asked, ruefully rubbing his wound.
“I’m still wearing my wedding dress,” she hissed. “Show some class.”
“Are you going to do something to control your sub?” he asked Luka. “She kicked me and do you hear that sass?”
Luka sighed, pulling her a little closer. “You’ll have plenty of opportunities to keep a list. She’s agreed to return to the lake house to experience a little family bonding time with all of us, and you can seek your retribution at that point, but tonight, she’s all mine.”
“I’m glad, Mia, but I’m surprised,” said Anton. “After what you explained to me about the scene in the dining room, I didn’t think you’d put any public punishment back on your acceptable list.”
“We did a lot of talking,” she said. “I didn’t like it, but it was... hard to explain. It was...”
“It was primal,” said Zoya quietly, drawing everybody’s attention. “Humans are meant to experience vulnerability, even if vulnerability exposes us to being hurt. There is something unique about total subjugation by a strong alpha male that brings out our basic instinct to survive and reproduce. It’s a powerful place to exist when you are ready to mate, and this lifestyle allows us to explore those darkest secrets even when we are so far out of our comfort zone that we feel we will never recover.”
Zoya looked at Pavel with a question in her eyes. He nodded in agreement, pulling the large velvet jewelry box she’d seen in their bedroom from Zoya’s oversized bag. He gave it to Zoya, who presented it to Mia.
Mia stared at it in shock, but didn’t reach out to take it. Zoya shook the box with a little attitude. “Pavel and I have talked about this for a long time. It is supposed to belong to the strongest woman in our family, and that was never me. I’m proud to turn this over to you. Take it and open it.”
Mia moved tentatively, holding the box for a long few seconds trying to decide how to respond, but she finally opened it to reveal the beautiful Petruskenkov necklace, its sheer size and beauty causing everyone to share a moment of silence.
“This is yours, Zoya,” said Mia, handing it back. “I couldn’t take it from you and be happy. Please.”
“It was never mine,” she said, crossing her arms. “Just like it isn’t really yours. It’s meant to belong to all of us, to unite our family as one and remind us about what is important in life. The necklace chooses its next keeper by circumstances, and it’s not meant to be kept a lifetime. When you are ready, you will find the next keeper. That’s the way it should be.”
“She’s right, Mia,” said Pavel. “It was my mother’s most valued possession. She would want Luka’s wife to have it, and we want to see you enjoy it while we can.”
“But it’s too much money, Zoya. I would never be able to own something that costs this much.”
“I’ve already told you, it’s the symbolism that is important to this family, not the value. We now have both Luka and Ana in our lives, joining our sons to complete our family. We will always be grateful for that miracle, but now we have you, too. Behind every successful Bratva man is a strong woman, and in our family, this is her badge of honor. You are the next generation’s strength, Mia, and you need to keep this safe for all of us.”
Luka put his hand over Mia’s to steady her shaking, and he nodded his approval. “She will accept it,” he said firmly. “She understands what will happen if she defies me. But my grandmother died long before you came to our family. How did you even get the necklace, Zoya? There is no way you’ll convince me that my father willingly gave it to you when you left Russia.”
Zoya’s eyes twinkled, and Pavel offered a hearty laugh, adding, “That, Luka, is a different story for a different day.”
The End
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More Stormy Night Books by Isabella Laase
Tamed by the Virginian
Eighteen-year-old Jory Logan has made more than her share of bad decisions, but things come to a head when she is involved with a robbery that goes horribly wrong. Facing a long prison sentence, she decides to play along with a mysterious woman who claims to be able to offer her an alternative to jail. According to this seemingly powerful stranger, Jory must spend four years in the past, learning the lessons she was never taught in her own life, and then she will be free to return to the present day with a clean slate.
Though she agrees to the woman’s offer, Jory does not truly believe such a thing could be possible, and thus it comes as a shock when she awakens in Virginia in the year 1785. Alone and utterly unable to fend for herself in a world so different from her own, she is relieved to be taken in by frontiersman Nial McKay and his brother. She soon discovers, however, that life on a farm is hard work and disobedience, disrespect, or failure to carry her own weight will earn her a sound spanking on her bare bottom.
Nial is determined to keep his relationship with Jory chaste and proper, but as time passes he is forced to admit that he is falling in love with the beautiful, spirited girl. Can he bring himself to claim her as his woman rather than his ward, or will his hesitance cause him to lose her forever? And when her four years is up, will Jory be forced to leave everything she has grown to love behind in the past?
Buy on Amazon
Breaking in Bella
After Bella Mikelson wrecks her car while driving drunk, the spoiled twenty-two-year-old faces a difficult choice. If she wants to stay out of jail and keep her trust fund, she must accept a plea bargain which will require her to spend a year working on a Wyoming ranch under the strict supervision of Jackson Sullivan and his brother Lincoln, two tough, handsome cowboys who will not hesitate to provide the stern discipline she has been missing.
Seeing no other way out of her predicament, Bella agrees to the terms, but it is only a matter of moments before her defiant attitude earns her a painful, humiliating spanking that leaves her cheeks blushing and her bare bottom burning.
As she grows accustomed to life on the ranch, however, Jackson’s firm-handed dominance sets her once-hidden passion on fire, and soon she is yearning for him to claim her properly. But is she just a project for him, or is he ready to be the master she has desperately needed for so long?
Buy on Amazon
Saving Sophia
After a tragic accident left her alone in the foster care system at a young age, Sophia Montgomery grew up relying on no one but herself, but at age twenty-three she faces homelessness after her plans for a summer job fall through. Seeing no alternative, she lets two of her friends convince her to apply for a gardening job at Cloudcroft, a combination working ranch an
d BDSM resort. Though she is nervous about the whole idea, Sophia pretends to understand what she is getting herself into despite having no experience with anything kinky.
Sophia is immediately impressed by handsome rancher and resort manager Marcus Greene, but when her intense focus on her work puts her health at risk she quickly discovers that her new boss takes her well-being very seriously. After a thorough scolding, Sophia’s bottom is bared for a sound spanking, and to her surprise the humiliating chastisement arouses her deeply.
She soon learns that Marcus can be tender as well as stern, and being held in his lap and comforted after her punishment makes Sophia feel safer than she has in a long time. Over the coming days she grows to trust in Marcus’ discipline and guidance as he takes it upon himself to teach her what it means to truly surrender to a dominant man, but when Sophia makes a startling discovery about her past will she end up leaving Cloudcroft behind?
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Lassoing Lilly
Sophisticated, confident businesswoman Lillian Adams spends her days managing a sizable staff, but her lonely evenings are spent imagining deliciously naughty stories about firm-handed men and the feisty women who love them. But when an emotional confrontation at work leaves Lilly at a crossroads in her life, she decides it is time to take the leap and see if she can truly make a career for herself as a romance novelist.
As both a working ranch and a kink-themed resort, Cloudcroft offers the perfect location for Lilly to learn more about real life spanking and BDSM. Though she is all but terrified upon her arrival, after meeting Lincoln Sullivan, the handsome, boldly dominant co-owner of Cloudcroft, she quickly ends up agreeing to spend the weekend as his submissive.
Soon enough, Lilly finds herself naked, blushing, and burning with need as Linc teaches her what it means to surrender her beautiful body to his masterful lovemaking. But though it excites her deeply when Linc spanks her bare bottom for any disobedience, Lilly struggles to come to terms with her intense arousal at being made to submit. Can she find a way to balance what is expected of an independent, modern woman with her desire to be taken in hand?
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Two Daddies for Olivia
The moment he sets eyes on Olivia Baldwin, small-town doctor Dan Garcia knows what she needs. Though the desperate, hungry girl was just caught in the act of stealing Lincoln Sullivan’s car, Dan convinces his friend not to get the law involved. Instead, he brings Olivia home with him, promising to help her get back on her feet but also warning the beautiful young woman that any further delinquent behavior will earn her a thorough spanking on her bare bottom.
Over the coming weeks, Dan is joined in his efforts to guide and correct Olivia by the town sheriff, ex-Marine Gage Collier. While it makes her blush to be bathed and cared for like a little girl and scolded and spanked when she has been naughty, Olivia delights in their intimate attention, and before long Dan and Gage have taken on the role of her firm but loving daddies.
After a job is found for her at Cloudcroft, a nearby ranch which doubles as a kink-themed resort, Olivia’s eyes are opened to the world of dominance and submission, and she soon discovers just how pleasurable it can be to surrender her body completely to her daddies. But when Dan and Gage learn the truth about Olivia’s past, will it change how they feel about their little girl?
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Sparked by Deception (included in the collection Ladder 54: Five Firefighter Romances)
When twenty-two-year-old Claire lets her twin sister Claudia talk her into pooling their money to bid on a date with firefighter Declan Kennedy at a kinky charity auction, the covert plan is for them to take turns over his well-muscled thighs. After Declan strips her, spanks her, and claims her hard and thoroughly, however, she cannot bear the thought of sharing him with anyone, especially Claudia. But will Claire’s jealousy end up alerting Declan to their little scheme?
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Reclaiming Emma
With credit card debt piling up and her marriage seemingly in trouble, Emma Lanyon makes an impulsive decision and flies to Cloudcroft Ranch unannounced to visit her sister. Upon her arrival, however, she is scolded about running away from her problems, and once her husband joins her at the ranch he quickly leaves Emma in no doubt that things are going to change. From now on, when she needs to be taken in hand her bottom will be bared and very soundly spanked.
Over the coming days, Emma is taught to surrender her body to her husband’s demands. His stern dominance arouses her intensely, and when he decides to share her with another man she is brought to heights of pleasure she never imagined. But obedience is expected, and she soon learns the hard way that putting her safety at risk will earn her a truly shameful punishment.
Emma’s desire for both men grows stronger with every new experience and every blushing climax, but will their shared bond endure even when the time comes to leave Cloudcroft?
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Under His Protection
Though she does her best to live the life of a spoiled, carefree twenty-three-year-old, Victoria Bradford has a problem: she’s the president’s daughter. Matters finally come to a head when she takes her daddy’s little princess antics too far and ends up earning herself a painful, embarrassing spanking over the knee of the stern, handsome Secret Service agent assigned to watch over her.
Alejandro Cruz knew he’d have his work cut out for him with Victoria, and he does not hesitate to bare her bottom and punish her like a naughty little girl when her behavior makes it necessary. But despite her protests, the humiliating chastisement arouses Victoria deeply, and it isn’t long before she is begging her firm-handed protector to take her in his arms and claim her properly.
Over the coming days, Cruz sets about teaching Victoria just how pleasurable it can be to surrender her body to his mastery. But when the president and his family are put at risk by a mysterious enemy, will Cruz be ready to lay his life on the line to keep Victoria safe?
Buy on Amazon
Isabella Laase Links
You can keep up with Isabella Laase via her blog, her Twitter account, her Facebook page, and her Goodreads profile, using the following links:
http://isabellalaaseromance.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/isabella_laase
https://www.facebook.com/lsabellalaase
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15574842.Isabella_Laase
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