Chapter 58

Book:Falling For The Mafia Published:2024-6-2

“That’s it. No. Now, eat.”
Her lips thinned, her eyes flashing. “No,” she said, the word heavy with mockery. She flung her fork down. It clattered on the china plate.
I fixed her with my sternest stare. “I’m going to give you three seconds to pick up that fork and eat, little girl.”
“Little girl?” she repeated, her voice high and thin. Her cheeks flushed with something other than anger.
I tipped my head in confirmation. “That’s right. Now, be a good girl and eat the meal I made for you.”
Her lips parted on a disbelieving huff. I was certain no one had ever talked to her like this. She’d probably been spoiled, cosseted. Nicola certainly treated her with kid gloves.
She wouldn’t get that from me. She’d get a firm hand and learn a little respect.
She pushed her stool back from the island and got to her feet, flipping her long hair over her shoulder as she turned away from me. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“And you’re being a brat.”
To my shock, she shot me the middle finger and started storming off.
Any restraint I might have possessed snapped. I’d held back, for Nicola.
I was done denying who I was. I was done denying what I wanted.
It only took three long strides for me to catch up with her and close my hand around her upper arm.
“Let me go,” she seethed.
“No,” I said again, mocking her this time. “You want to be a brat? You’ll get treated like a brat.”
I grasped her waist and bent slightly so I could lift her over my shoulder. She shrieked and kicked out. I barely felt the little blows of her knees on my abs. She really was small and delicate, but I knew she could take what I needed to do to her.
Her fists pounded against my back, feeling more like a massage than angry punches.
I started striding up the stairs, eager to get her back to my bedroom.
She twisted on my shoulder, but holding her in place was laughably easy.
“Put me down!” she demanded.
I savored the little quaver in her voice as I stepped into the bedroom. I set her down on her feet, and she tried to shove at my chest. I grasped her wrists in one hand, pulling her toward the corner. I pressed her hands against the wall, so she was facing away from me. Then, I pushed my chest against her back, letting her feel my presence. I was careful to keep my hips away from hers, though. She wasn’t ready to feel my hard-on. Not yet.
She stopped yelling at me, going quiet except for her little panting breaths.
“You want to act like a brat?” I growled in her ear. “Brats get punished. Brats get disciplined.”
She shivered. “What are you-”
I nipped at her neck, a sharp bite of rebuke. “Quiet, little girl. You’re in enough trouble as it is.”
I kept her wrists pinned with one hand, leaning against her back so she was forced to press her chest to the wall.
“Stay still and take your punishment like a good girl,” I rumbled in her ear before brushing a kiss over the spot I’d bitten.
“Are you…” Her voice broke. “Please, don’t hurt me.”
I nuzzled my cheek against hers, letting her feel our connection. “I’m not going to hurt you, godess. You’re going to have a very sore bottom when I’m finished with you, but I won’t hurt you. Do you understand?”
“No, I don’t,” she whispered, her small body shaking.
“I think you do,” I countered. “You’ve practically been begging me for a spanking ever since you got here. You’re not a brat with Nicola, are you? You only act out around me. Because you know I’ll give you what you need.”
“And what’s that?” she asked tremulously, but she wasn’t struggling to get away from me.
“Discipline. Structure. Rules. You need someone who will take care of you, someone who cares enough to correct your behavior when you’re acting out for attention.”
“I don’t want attention.”
“Don’t you?” I challenged. “I know you care about Nicola, but he’s not giving you what you need. I’ll give you what you need.”
“You’re scaring me,” she breathed, but she still wasn’t trying to fight me off.
“You’re not scared, godess. You’ve never been scared of me. Not really. You’re scared of what you want from me. You’re scared of how I make you feel.”
I wrapped my arm around her and cupped her breast, squeezing gently. She gasped and arched into my touch.
“And I’m going to make you feel so good, babygirl. I promise. But first, you need a lesson in respect. You’ve been pushing me, testing me. Then, you hide behind Nicola before I can give you what you really want. Well, I’m not going to let him come between us anymore. He’s acting like an idiot, and I’ve run out of patience. You shouldn’t have flipped me off, godess. That was very naughty. You should have been a good girl and eaten the meal I made for you.”
“I didn’t want to.” There it was. The petulant pout I’d been waiting for. She was playing right into my hands, even if she didn’t realize what was happening between us.
“It doesn’t matter that you didn’t want to. Daddy knows what’s best for you.”
“What?” The question was barely audible, coming out on a little puff of air.
“You heard me, little girl.” I palmed her breast, and her head tipped back against my shoulder. “I don’t have many rules, but the most important one is that you always respect Daddy.”
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The words were faint, breathless.