by Maggie Ryan
I prepared for the crossfire by inhaling deeply through my nose, holding the oxygen in my lungs for a count of ten and then releasing it slowly through my parted lips. With the third inhalation, I moved so that my back faced the target with my feet planted firmly and my knees slightly bent. My elbows were at ninety-degree angles, tucked tightly by my sides. Closing my eyes, I allowed myself a final, long exhale. Snapping my eyes open, I took another breath. Exhaling sharply, I willed my feet to meld into the soft pads covering the floor.
It felt as if time stopped as I experienced what athletes call ‘being in the zone’. I had full control of my every thought, my every move and the power behind it. With my eyes glued to the small red circle, I harnessed all my energy into making one immaculate move. Twisting my trunk, my muscles stretching, my arm shot out from my side like a whip. My fingers sprang open, sending the dagger flying. The handle shimmered, the blade glittering in the lights as it spun end over end on its flight across the room.
The gym was silent as if the very world was holding its breath.
With a solid thunk, the blade drove into the dead center of the bullseye, the handle of the sparkling blade slowly disappearing.
The silence was broken with a loud hoot of approval from Andrew and a high-pitched squeal from Cynthia. As for the Greeks? Baal gave me a muttered ‘good throw’ along with his nod of approval and my husband… though he didn’t say a word, the kiss he planted on my lips spoke volumes.
Chapter Four
Cassandra
I dropped the change from my twenty into the tip jar and moved to the end of the counter where the process of creating the most perfect beverage on earth was already underway. Glancing at the time, I tried to ignore the nagging voice in my head as it sounded suspiciously like my own.
It wasn’t as if I was being disobedient. I had every intention of following Draco’s order and reporting to the second floor to meet Artem. Surely a tiny little detour wouldn’t cause a problem. I mean, when you considered all the facts, I found it hard to believe that any person would fault me for my actions. Well, make that any person who knew that life without coffee was simply not one worth living. And since the events of the day had me so frazzled that I’d abandoned my original cup, leaving it sitting on my desk—make that ‘our’ desk—growing cold, I found the decision to pop down to Starbucks to replace it perfectly reasonable. Still, I was glad the line had moved quickly.
“Here you go, Cass.” The barrister gave me a smile as she fitted the lid onto my cup.
“Thanks, Shellie,” I said, wrapping my hands around the cup. I’d just closed my eyes and inhaled the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee, my mouth watering at the anticipation of tasting rich, creamy caramel when I felt the cup plucked from my hands.
“Hey!” My eyes snapped open and then went wide at the sight of not one, not two, but three Greek men standing before me. The coffee bar had gone so quiet I could hear the soft hiss of milk being steamed slowly dissipating until the place was absolutely silent.
“Um, hi. What are you guys doing here?”
“The question is what are you doing here,” Draco said.
“I was just on my way back,” I said, though I was pretty sure I was wasting my breath when Uncle Artem gave me a look that had me feeling like a naughty six-year-old and Draco simply stared at me, passing my replacement cup of coffee to Baal. My eyes followed the path, my soul mourning the loss of what I truly considered to be the nectar of the gods.
“Let’s go,” Draco said, taking my arm and beginning to move toward the door.
“Wait, the coffee…”
“Is the least of your worries,” Draco assured me, his feet never slowing.
“But I got a cup for Uncle Artem,” I protested, looking to my left to the older Greek. “And I got you an orange-cranberry scone too.”
“Trying to soften me up?” Artem asked, his expression stern and yet I would swear I could see a bit of humor in his eyes.
I could lie, but didn’t see the point. It wasn’t like he wasn’t speaking the truth. We hadn’t met under the best of circumstances, my empty threats to leave my marriage earning his disapproval when he arrived at Ravensloft. It had taken a great deal of courage for me to go downstairs that night to speak with him in the library. Though my apology at being so thoughtless had been accepted, and he’d even stated how proud he was of me after the battle was fought, I still felt guilty at being the cause of the Ambrosia family being in our current situation. Instead of being on the golf course at his home in Florida, Artem was stuck inside going through dusty old records… all because of me. Giving him a smile, I said, “Maybe… just a little?”
He chuckled and nodded, hanging back in the coffee shop while Draco’s steps led us out of the store and back toward the office, his long legs making me almost have to run to keep up.
“Could you slow down a bit?” I asked. “These heels aren’t made for running.”
Draco’s eyes dropped to my feet and though he didn’t say a word, he stopped, bent down, and before I could even blink, I was hanging over his shoulder.
“Put me down!” I demanded, arching up to see several people on the street staring. A swat to my ass and a single ‘no’ had me dropping my head and praying that he’d walk faster.
“Where are we going?” I asked when his steps took us right past the doors to our office building.
“Home.”
The one word was given in a tone that left no question to the fact that he was not a happy camper. “I really don’t see why you are so upset,” I said as we entered the parking garage and I was lifted off his shoulder and set on my feet next to my Lexus.
“I really can’t fathom how you could possibly expect me not to be upset. I specifically told you not to leave the building and yet the first time you can, you sneak out—”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” I said, cutting him off and hitting the button to unlock my car. “I did not sneak out.” When his eyebrow practically met his hairline, I hurried to continue. “I just went to Starbucks. I mean, seriously, it’s not like you really thought I wasn’t coming back. I went there this morning and you didn’t have a conniption fit. How am I supposed to know what you want if you’re not consistent? Maybe you need to be clearer about your expectations.”
He didn’t speak until I had fastened my seatbelt. Leaning in, he said, “We will finish this discussion at the house. You are to drive straight home. No detours, no stops. Is there anything about my direction that you find unclear? Any part of drive straight home that is ambiguous?”
“You don’t have to be sarcastic,” I snapped. When he remained silent, those dark eyes boring into me, I said, “I’ll see you at the house.”
I might have been able to convince him to cut me some slack if I’d simply had to plead my case about being a little nervous seeing Uncle Artem and wanting a bit more time, hence the unscheduled coffee break. But the moment I blew through a red light and heard a cacophony of horns blaring, I knew my ass was grass. If my mate considered leaving the building unescorted a crime, I could only imagine what he considered almost causing an accident to be. Perhaps I’d get a touch of leniency because I immediately pulled into the parking lot of a strip center, only moments before my phone began to ring. Pushing the icon on the steering wheel, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Draco’s voice filled the car asking if I was all right. By the time I was assuring him I was just a little shaken up, Draco was already at my door. He helped me out of the car, hugged me close, and made sure I was fine before settling me into the Escalade. He called Baal to arrange for pickup of my Lexus and after sitting quietly, staring straight out the windshield, I saw him take a deep breath and realized he’d been gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. After a few moments, he relaxed his hold, turned to me and leaned over, stroking his finger down my cheek.
“Don’t ever do anything like that ever again. You are my life, Cassie. I would die if something happened to you.” His voice was so
soft, but held so much emotion that my heart ached. He kissed my forehead softly and drove us home.
Deo was waiting just inside the front door when we walked into the house. He pulled me into his arms, holding me close for a few minutes. Dropping a kiss on my head, he asked if I was all right.
“Yes, I’m fine. It was just a little misunderstanding—”
“No, it was direct disobedience,” Deo countered, setting me back and pointing to the grand, curving marble staircase that led up to our bedroom. “Upstairs.”
It didn’t take much to understand that Draco must have been on the phone in the SUV filling him in when I’d run the red light. “Wait, let me…” As a lawyer, I normally can’t help but to at least try a rebuttal, but one look at the fierce gaze crossing my husband’s face, that one dark brow arching up toward his perfectly combed, sleek dark hair, and the set of his chiseled jaw all made my mouth instantly snap shut.
I quickly made my way to the stairs, giving him a wide berth as I did. Realizing that actually made me appear guilty without the benefit of a defense, I began to tromp up those stairs, stomping my feet on each step, one at a time. Stomp, stomp, stomp.
“Cassandra!” Deo roared.
Flipping my long auburn hair over my shoulder, I turned to my mate, shooting him a haughty look. “What? I’m doing what you commanded.”
He stood at the bottom of the stairs, legs spread wide in his charcoal suit pants. His perfectly polished black leather shoes were planted firmly on the marble floor, arms crossed over his crisp white button-down, accentuating his bulging biceps. God, he truly was gorgeous!
“You want to be spanked on the stairs and in the bedroom, little girl?”
“What?” It took another second to realize what he’d just said and to remember that he wasn’t one to give empty threats. “Oh, I mean no,” I muttered, looking down at the toes of my shoes. I swallowed hard. Yes, he was handsome, but what I needed to think about was how far I was going to push this mate of mine when I already knew I was in a heap of trouble.
Crossing his arms tighter over his chest, his eyes flashed angrily at me. “Then I suggest you get yourself up those stairs, and do not let me hear another stomp from your feet.”
Giving a little sigh, I turned back. Gliding my hand over the wrought metal railing, I slowly made my way up the stairs. I could feel his eyes on me as I ascended.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I took a step onto the long, open, catwalk hallway. Pausing for a moment, I rested my hands on the black banister, overlooking our impressive foyer.
My husband, still seething, looked up at me. As my eyes met his, I felt a flutter. There had been peaks and valleys in our relationship, but over the past few weeks, something had changed.
Deo, always a stoic man, demanded respect just by entering a room. Recently, he had ‘taken me in hand,’ as his uncle and mentor Artem liked to call it. Instead of standing by as I picked fights, longing to draw his attention, Deo had put a very firm-handed stop to my nonsense.
Powerful, handsome, dashing, and now completely dominant in our marriage, he was everything I ever needed and wanted, and more than any woman deserved. Still, I couldn’t help but to delay the punishment I knew I had coming.
Standing on my balcony, a full story above him, I called, “Romeo, oh, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?”
To my delight, the tiniest hint of amusement glinted in his eyes, the left corner of his mouth turning up the slightest amount.
My heart swelled as he appeased me, his deep baritone spoke with a beautiful cadence, as he quoted the Shakespearian lines he knew to be my favorite:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.
He spoke softly, his eyes shining into mine.
I opened my mouth to reply with Juliet’s next line, delighting in our game and eager to procrastinate my spanking.
Seeing my lips begin to move, Deo shook his head. “Though you make the most charming Juliet, if you are not in our bedroom by the time I count to three, I swear I will bend you right over that balcony and blister your ass.”
“And I’ll follow with a good dose of my belt,” a familiar deep rumble chimed in as Draco moved across the marble to join Deo at the foot of the stairs.
Both my mates stood, their faces stony, their arms crossed over their muscular chests, every cell in their bodies proclaiming ticked-off alpha male. I hadn’t seen that look on their faces since that day at Ravensloft when I’d… crap, when I’d disobeyed a direct order. That time I’d not stayed inside the castle… today, I’d left the office building. My buttocks clenched remembering how that had ended. If this was a courtroom, I’d not hesitate to ask the judge for a short recess in order to rethink the best way to defend my client… who just happened to be me. Instead, when they looked at each other, nodded and began counting, I did the next best thing.
“I’m going, I’m going!” I hurried along the hall as quickly as I could while still maintaining some shred of dignity. They both knew exactly what button to push that would guarantee my compliance. Even if the implement was only used when I’d pushed too hard, something about the sound, hearing the swoosh as the belt left the loops of their trousers, the waiting, perched over the bed, for the sting of leather to take the first bite of my bare skin had a shudder running through me.
Entering our bedroom, I managed to close the door with a quiet click of the latch instead of a slam. Alone, I allowed myself to heave a great sigh. Plopping down on the four-poster featherbed—that now slept three, me cozy in the middle of two Greek gods—I toed off my heels, tossing them across the room, one by one.
Groaning, I put my head in my hands, my hair falling over my face on both sides like a dark auburn curtain. What had gotten into me today? Why couldn’t I just obey the commands of my mates?
When I first met Draco, I had found him dashing, alluring. I still remember the feel of him leaning over my body, buckling my seatbelt in the car the first day. That was the beginning of my dragon-like guardian’s watchful eye over me.
Then as we spent more time together, he became my friend, my trusted ally. From there, our dynamic had gradually changed until he, like my husband, demanded not only my obedience, but enforced it as well. Love had grown as the dragon completed the puzzle that had been missing a piece without our knowledge. Now, the three of us were one unit—still in the pack, but a trio that would never be broken.
As I sat on the bed dreading what was to come, the punishment I’d earned, my stomach clenched in knots. I thought over the events of the second half of my day that had led to this. My mates demanded strict unquestioning obedience. They believed that my life depended on it. And they were right. But sometimes I just couldn’t seem to help myself—I had to push the boundaries.
“Ugh, when will I learn?” I moaned to myself, falling backwards on the crimson duvet to stare up at the ceiling. After a few moments of wallowing in self-pity, the heavy footsteps echoing down the hall broke me away from my memories. I sat up and climbed off the bed. The toes of my bare feet turned in toward one another as the doorknob rotated and the latch clicked. A little shiver ran through me as the door slowly opened.
My mates stood, filling out the frame of the doorway. Draco’s hand rested on his belt, his fingers already on the engraved buckle. But it was Deo who drew my eyes and caused me to whip my hands behind me to cup my buttocks. Grasped in his right hand, tapping the open palm of his left, was Aunt Margaret’s wooden spoon.
Oh, shit! Gone was my rebellion. Gone was the sassy woman who’d hung over the balcony spouting lines from a play. If I didn’t come up with the defense of my lifetime, I had a feeling I’d not be sitting comfortably for a long, long time.
“I’ve been thinking and I realize I made a mistake,” I said quickly, watching as Deo walked toward the chair that matched the one in our room at the castle. The chair with no arms. The spanking chair. Witho
ut saying a single word, he pulled it away from the wall, turning it to face the center of the room. “Look, I apologize, okay? There is no reason to… to spank me.”
“I can think of several reasons,” Draco said as Deo took a seat.
“As can I,” Deo agreed. “Come here.”
This was one order I knew not to disobey. I moved across the room, my bare toes digging into the carpet that provided a soft, warm place for my feet when I’d get in and out of bed, shivering just a bit when the rug ended and my soles met colder wood. You’d think I’d be accustomed to this by now, but I didn’t care if this was the first time I walked toward my doom or the thousandth. A million butterflies were taking flight inside my tummy, the skin on my bottom was crawling, my heart was pounding, and my blood was racing through my veins by the time I reached my destination, standing before my mate.
Deo’s dark eyes met mine, his expression one of determination. I really couldn’t expect anything else. Ever since that day when he’d first taken me over his knee, he’d made it clear that the choice to be disobedient required a price be paid… each and every time.
“Why are you going to be punished, Cassandra?” he asked.
Suddenly, I remembered what I’d said about consistency. This… all of this was exactly that. The stern looks, the disappointment in my mates’ eyes, the way I felt instantly when I was asked this question… and they asked it before they punished me every time. My men were nothing if not consistent.
As an attorney, I knew not to offer more information than absolutely necessary. “I went for coffee.”
My mates both looked like Greek demi-gods come to life; both had dark eyes like pools of chocolate, and both had the ability to cock their eyebrows in such a way that made my heart skip a beat and my pussy to spasm. When Deo’s left brow arched and Draco’s right did the same, his accompanied by a soft growl, I finally admitted to myself that it had been more than a coffee run. Sneaking out of the building had been a childish act of rebellion, trying to establish to myself that I still had some ounce of control over my own life. Or maybe, just to see if I could. And running the red light. That could have been seriously bad. I could have not only gotten hurt, I could have hurt some innocent person. Guilt took the place of defiance and I felt truly awful.