After collecting her toiletries, she hurried back past Caroline and blew her a kiss.

“Text me and let me know you’re still alive or I’ll assume he’s killed you and I’ll start looking for the body,” Caroline said.

Mia waved over her shoulder and let herself out of the apartment, hurrying toward the elevator. When the doors opened, Gabe was standing a few feet away, his jaw bulging and a look of fury in his eyes.

He stalked toward her, not giving her any time to advance on her own. He was one big ball of pissed-off alpha male, and he was coming right at her.

She took one step off the elevator and his hand closed around hers, yanking her past the alarmed-looking doorman toward the entrance to the apartment building. Mia managed a reassuring smile at the doorman, not wanting him to call the cops, before she turned her attention back to Gabe. His grasp was tight and uncompromising, and his anger rolled in hot waves from his body.

What the hell did he have to be so pissed off about? It wasn’t like she hooked up with some other guy in front of him at a cocktail party they were at together.

She sighed when he stuffed her in the back of his car and then walked around to the other side. As soon as he slid in next to her, the car pulled away.

“Gabe…”

He turned to her, his expression fierce. “Just shut up, Mia. Don’t say a goddamn word to me right now. I’m too pissed off at you to be reasonable. I need to calm down before I can even think about discussing this with you.”

She lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug and turned away, refusing to meet his stare any longer. She could feel the burst of frustration from him, heard his low growl of impatience and irritation. But she ignored him, continuing to focus on the passing lights and the city all a twinkle with the colors of night.

She should have just remained at her apartment, but she wanted this confrontation. She’d simmered with anger all evening and now that Gabe was forcing the issue, she was armed and ready.

They rode in silence, though his anger was a force all on its own. She never once looked in Gabe’s direction, refusing to show any weakness. And she knew it only pissed him off more.

When they reached his building, he yanked open her door, grasped her hand and hauled her out. His fingers wrapped firmly around her upper arm, he walked her into the building and onto the elevator.

As soon as his apartment door shut behind him, his lips tightened and he seemed to be working to maintain his temper as he stared down at her.

“In the living room,” he ordered. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“Whatever,” she muttered.

She wrested her arm from his grasp and walked into the living room. She flopped onto the couch and then stared expectantly at him.

He paced back and forth in front of her, stopping to glare at her. He sucked in his breath and then shook his head. “I can’t even talk to you right now I’m so pissed.”

She arched an eyebrow, unimpressed by the fact that he was the one angry. She was pissed. She had a right to be.

“You’re pissed?” she asked incredulously. “What the hell for? Did your floozy turn you down after all? I can’t imagine that to be the case. She was pretty hot to get into your pants.”

Confusion wrinkled his brow. “What the hell are you talking about?”

When she would have been more than happy to explain, he raised his hand, cutting her off. “First you’re going to listen while I explain just why I’m so goddamn pissed off. Then, when I’ve had a chance to calm down, I’m going to redden your ass.”

“The hell you will,” she snapped.

“You disappeared,” he bit out. “I had no idea where you went, what happened to you, if some asshole had taken you or if you were sick or hurt. What the fuck were you thinking? Did it ever occur to you to give me the courtesy of an explanation? If you had said you wanted to go home, I would have taken you myself.”

She surged to her feet, angry at his obliviousness. Was he really that thick?

“If you weren’t so glued to your father’s date, you might have noticed!”

Understanding flashed in his eyes, and he shook his head as he sighed. “So that’s what this is about. Stella.”

“Yeah, Stella. Or whatever the hell her name is.”

He shook his head again. “You were jealous. For God’s sake, Mia.”

“Jealous? You’re so damn arrogant and self-centered, Gabe. It has nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with respect. You and I are in a relationship. It may not be a traditional one. But we have a contract. And by God you damn well belong to me and I’m not sharing you with some blond bimbo.”

He looked completely startled by her vehemence. Then he threw back his head and laughed, which only served to piss her off more. His shoulders still shaking, he said, “You just managed to curb the edge of my anger enough that I’m going to spank that pretty ass of yours. Get in the bedroom, Mia. And strip.”

“What the fuck?”

“And watch your mouth. Jace would wash it out with soap.”

“Don’t be a hypocrite. You and Jace have toilet mouths.”

“Bedroom, Mia. Now. For each minute you delay, you get an extra five smacks, and if you don’t think I’m serious, try me. You’ve already earned twenty.”

She openly gaped at him, but when he glanced down at his watch, she bolted for the bedroom. She was insane. She should so be out the door, and yet here she was, stripping down to nothing in his bedroom so he could spank her.

A shiver worked up her body. Anticipation coiled in her belly. Anticipation? It made no sense to her. The idea of being spanked was repugnant, and yet somehow it all seemed so…enticing and erotic. His hand on her ass. Marking her. Exerting his dominance over her.

She was out of her damn mind. But that wasn’t a new thought. Signing the contract in the first place made her sanity questionable.

When Gabe entered the bedroom, she was naked and sitting on the edge of the bed, hesitant and worried, her mind fried over what was to come. She wasn’t at all sure she was going to like this. She was fairly certain she wouldn’t. But there was that small part of her that was intrigued and aroused by the idea of his hand on her ass.

Her heart leapt into her throat when he stopped in front of her, his presence powerful and consuming.

“Get up, Mia,” he ordered calmly, all traces of anger gone.

Shakily, she rose and he went to the bed to sit. He scooted to the headboard, leaning back against the pillows, and then he held out his hand to her. She climbed onto the bed, and hesitantly took his hand. He pulled her across his lap, positioning her facedown, her belly over his thighs so her ass was perched within easy reach.

He caressed the plump cheeks, rubbing lightly over the entire expanse of flesh.

“Twenty blows, Mia. I expect you to count them. At the end, you will thank me for spanking you and then I’m going to fuck your brains out.”

Her mind exploded with whoa and what the fuck and oh, yes please. All at the same time. She was crazy. There was no other explanation for it.

The first smack startled her and she let out a brief exclamation. She wasn’t sure if it was because it hurt or if it just surprised her.

“You get one more now,” he said grimly. “Count them out, Mia.”

Oh shit.

He rubbed his hand over her ass and then the next smack came.

“One,” she choked out.

“Very good,” he purred.

He soothed the area with his palm and then smacked a different part of her ass. She nearly forgot to say the count and rushed to say, “Two,” before he tacked on yet another.

Her entire ass tingled and after the initial burn, arousal hummed, sweet and deep, coiling in her belly. Her pussy clenched, and she shifted restlessly to alleviate the unrelenting ache.

Three. Four. Five. By the time she got to a dozen, she was breathless, overheated. Squirming all over Gabe’s lap. His caresses drove her insane. A contrast to the harder blows of his hand. And yet he never struck her too hard. He used just enough bite to deliver the edge, and by the sixteenth blow, she was begging for…more. Harder.

Her entire ass was on fire, but the burn was beautiful. Intensely pleasurable. Never before had she experienced anything like it. She was so close to orgasm, and she would have never dreamed that she could achieve release with a mere spanking. Or that she would actually revel in the experience.

“Be still and don’t you dare come,” Gabe warned. “You have two more, and if you orgasm, I’ll damn well make sure you don’t enjoy the next spanking nearly as much.”

Sucking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and made her entire body go tense, staving off the orgasm that threatened to swallow her whole.

“Nineteen,” she said, so breathless it came out as a whisper.

“Louder,” he demanded.

“Twenty!”

Oh God, it was over. She sagged onto the bed, her entire body heaving with exertion, from the pressure of holding her breath and working desperately not to come. Her pussy was on fire. It was as if he’d spanked her there, as if she’d felt every single swat to her clit. It pulsed and tightened and she knew if he were to so much as breathe on it, she would go off like a rocket.

And it pissed her off. Her lack of control. The fact that he’d made her love something she should find abhorrent.

He let her lie there a moment, until her breathing calmed and she didn’t lurk so close to the edge of release. Then he gently lifted her and rolled her to her back. He came with her, looming over her as he yanked at his fly and at his clothing.

His mouth found her breasts, tugging with his lips, sucking as he wrestled with his clothing. When his shirt came off, she expected him to spread her and fuck her hard, but instead he levered himself off the bed and then took hold of her legs, pulling her to the edge of the bed.

He spread her legs, positioned his cock at her entrance and stared down at her with intense, glittering eyes. “Enjoy your spanking, Mia?”

“Fuck you,” she said rudely, still pissed over her reaction. He unsettled her. He made her question everything about herself, and she didn’t like that feeling one bit.

His jaw tightened at the blatant disrespect in her voice. “No, Mia darling. That’s fuck you.”

He pushed in deep with one forceful shove. She gasped and arched her back, her hands balling into tight fists, clenching the covers with her fingers.

“Thank me for spanking you,” he said.

“Go to hell.”

He withdrew, pulling out until just the head of his cock rimmed her entrance, stretching and teasing.

“Wrong answer,” he purred. “Say thank you and make it pretty.”

“Just do it. Finish it,” she said, her desperation mounting. She didn’t want to be this weak, begging person, but she was perilously close to losing any semblance of pride when it came to him.

He kissed her. But it was a punishing kiss, meant solely to remind her that she was nowhere near in charge. And still, it made her that much hungrier for him. Her need was all consuming. She was crazy with it.

“You forget who calls the shots here, Mia darling,” he murmured as he grazed her jawline. “I own you. Which means it doesn’t matter what you want. Only what I want.”

Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. “Oh bullshit, Gabe.”

He withdrew slowly, dragging his cock through the swollen flesh of her pussy. “I have a contract that says I do,” he said silkily. He drove deep again, shocking her with the force and speed of his possession.

“I could tear up that contract at any time,” she said crossly. She was tempted to do so now, just to piss him off as much as she was pissed off. But it wasn’t what she wanted, and they both knew it.

He went still, his body tense over hers, his lips halting on its path down her neck where they’d eventually slide over her breasts. Her nipples hardened in anticipation and she arched upward in a silent plea. She wanted his mouth on her. She was so on the edge. So ready. And so very pissed off.

“Yes, you could,” he said lazily. “Is that what you want, Mia? You want to tear up the contract and walk away right now? Or do you want me to fuck you?”

Damn it but the man made her crazy. He knew damn well what she wanted, but he was going to make her say it. He was going to make her beg.

His gaze grew more piercing. He thrust hard and held himself still within her. She pulsed and twitched around his cock, a silent plea for him to continue. But he remained still, waiting.

“Say it, Mia.”

She was near tears of frustration. She was so close. So on the edge. She couldn’t even remain still, so hyperaware was her body.

“Thank you,” she muttered.

“Thank you for what?” he prompted.

“Thank you for spanking me!”

He chuckled. “Now tell me what you want.”

“I want you to fuck me, damn it!”

“Say please,” he said, a smirk toying at his mouth.