Page 101 of The Lieutenant
My words gave her a hint of what I intended on doing. “No, you are not.”
“Yes, I am. You need a stress reliever.” I yanked down the linen past her hips, taking her sexy thong with it. There was no reason my pulse was racing or to feel such an ache in my heart. Very little had fazed me over the years, Leandro’s death the only exception. I wasn’t a man with emotional needs, but caring for her, protecting her had almost become a mission in my mind.
Kara didn’t fight me as I gently pulled her over my lap. Just touching her this way created an intimate world around us that no one could ever shatter or erase. I caressed her bottom, carefully avoiding falling into the trap of my hunger.
She needed reassurance, not a man taking her like a brute.
I brought my hand down across her flesh and immediately realized the truth was that I wanted to mark her as mine, creating a permanent attachment that went far beyond the surreal need for total domination that continued to plague me when I was around her. She’d stripped away all my defenses.
The way she wiggled on my lap brought me back to reality. I brought my hand down several times, moving from one side to the other. I was methodical in everything I did, but with her, everything felt chaotic.
“I don’t think this is relaxing me,” she moaned.
“Give it time, kitten. You know this is exactly what you need.” I continued the spanking, bringing my hand down fast and hard. My heart was thudding, which meant I was far too aroused, but she made me that way. I bit back a smile, tugging her against my chest the moment she almost drove herself off my lap. “None of that or I’ll have to start over.”
“You are insatiable.”
“You’ve yet to find all my fabulous traits.”
“Did I say you had any that were fabulous?”
I didn’t answer her right away, enjoying the heat building up in my fingers, the slight blush of her skin and her loud panting. Of course, I also heard a few curse words tossed in here and there.
She groaned and tried to push off me several times, which only fueled me to continue the round of discipline. It took a devil to enjoy inflicting pain on such a beautiful woman. As her scent of desire floated to my nostrils, I was reminded that she thrived on the connection we shared. The submission she was required to offer.
With four additional brutal strikes of my palm, I felt satisfied she would breathe a little easier. Although it was quite possible I was doing this for me, not only needing the closeness, but a sense of relief prior to forcing myself into a meeting I hadn’t been invited to. I returned her to my lap, feeling more controlling and protective than ever before.
When she lowered down, allowing part of her body and head to nestle against mine, I smelled her fear, but there was more to her reaction that I couldn’t place.
“What did you need to tell me?”
Every time she sighed, it felt as if she was fading further away. “It’s not important right now. Let’s get through the meeting. You know, stay focused.”
Sweet Kara was stubborn, refusing to budge on opening up to me more than she’d already done. Pushing her wasn’t going to help. Right now, I would take her advice and concentrate on business and nothing else. Barging in on a meeting wouldn’t win me any favors, but extending an olive branch would.
As long as Don Coppola accepted the offer.
CHAPTER 29
Kara
I was a mess.
Maybe not physically, but my stomach was in knots. I was a professional journalist who’d spent her entire career working with and interviewing difficult people. I understood the aspects of danger, but it existed in almost every aspect of life.
The butterflies taking over my stomach had nothing to do with what Don Lorenzo Coppola would do to me. He’d been briefed on my questions, which started out as nothing but a form questionnaire I asked personally. Those questions were the same for everyone. Where the interview took me after that was always dependent on how the subject handled the time spent up to this point.
My near anxiety attack was all about the fear of being shut out. Of never learning the truth. I’d begun to think over the last two hours that Havros was right and I didn’t want to learn the gory details.
Plus, the heaviness on my mind included needing to tell Havros I had to leave. I had a few more days and Jacob’s phone call had provided me with a perfect excuse so I could return to my life. It had been the one I’d fought to achieve for so long, yet the ache inside continued to grow exponentially.
That was the real reason I was so sick inside. I’d allowed myself to get caught up in the romance instead of maintaining a professional environment. I closed my eyes, tapping my pen on the pad.
“Ms. Banning. Am I keeping you from something?”
“What?” I jerked up my head, realizing I’d fallen into a daydream when Don Coppola was sitting right in front of me. The sick feeling persisted, the sensations becoming so intense I was ready to bolt. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about everything you’ve shared with me.”
The Don was in his early seventies, but had already told me he had no plans on retiring anytime soon. He had two sons, both men involved in the business since before they were eighteen, but the powerful man didn’t seem ready or willing to give up control.
