Page 158 of Unleashed
His hand slides down my side and cups my ass, squeezing hard enough to make me yelp.
"Is there something you wanted, darlin'?"
I bite my lip. "You."
He nods. His hand glides down my left arm, his fingers tracing the inside of my wrist.
And then he stops dead on my hand.
His face goes blank. Completely, totally blank. The warmth evaporates. The smirk disappears. What's left is flat and still and unreadable, and my stomach drops through the floor because I already know what he's found.
The ring. Hudson's ring. Still on my finger.
I forgot. I jumped in the car so fast that I forgot to take it off. I was so desperate to get here, so focused on him, that I didn't even think.
His eyes lift from the ring to my face. One eyebrow arches. He doesn't say a word.
"Ace. I'm sorry. I literally jumped in my car and drove straight here. I didn't think."
Nothing. His jaw is set. His eyes are dark. Not angry. Something else. Something that makes my pulse hammer and my thighs press together.
He slides the engagement ring off my finger and holds it between us, right in my face. The diamond catches the light from the hallway, and it looks obscene. A reminder of everything fake in my life, held up by the only thing that's real.
"You thought you could come here wearing another man's ring and not pay the consequences, Goldie?"
My mouth opens, but I snap it shut. This was not my finest moment. Fake engagement or not.
He shoves the ring in his pocket and points to the stairs behind me.
"Upstairs. Now. I want you naked, on your knees, in the center of the room. You don't say a word. You don't move. Not until I tell you to." His voice is low.
I glance at the floor, and he tips my chin back up, forcing me to look at him.
"Do you understand why you need to be punished, pretty girl?"
I squeeze my thighs together because even though I'm in trouble, Ace's punishments are never really punishments. He would never hurt me. Not in a way I don't want.
He just likes to play.
"I understand, Ace. I'm sorry."
He blows out a breath. "I don't want your apologies, baby. I want you naked."
A smile twitches at my lips. My ass is going to be so red I won't sit down tomorrow. And I'm already buzzing with anticipation.
He taps my ass as I dodge past him. I take the stairs two at a time, my heart hammering, a grin spreading across my face that I'm grateful he can't see.
His footsteps don't follow.
I reach the bedroom. Close the door. Strip everything off in record time. Folded on the chair because even in the middle of being punished, I'm not leaving my clothes on his floor. He'd find a way to punish me for that, too.
I kneel in the center of the room. The hardwood is cool under my knees. The house is quiet. Just the hum of the air conditioning and my own breathing, which is already coming faster than it should.
I wait.
One minute. Two. My knees start to ache against the wood. I resist the urge to shift my weight. He said don't move. He meant it.
Three minutes. I can hear him downstairs. The fridge opens. Closes. A glass is set on the counter. He's making me wait on purpose. Letting the anticipation build. Letting me kneel here and think about what I did and what's coming.
