“Only if you’ll forgive me for walking away,” she replied.
That’s what he’d needed to hear. They spent so much time fighting or fucking that they’d forgotten how to look at each other and be real. “I do, but never again, princess. Even if I fuck up, I need to know you’ll stay and knock some sense into my thick skull. I suspect my sisters-in-law will help you learn how to be a Taggart wife. It’s not always easy.”
“Wife?”
Shit. Maybe that had been too fast. Still. He wasn’t backing down. “I want to marry you. I’m not going to pretend like I don’t. And honestly, I’ve got you tied up. If you say no, I could just leave you like this until you say yes.”
“Don’t you dare. You’ve got maybe fifteen minutes tops before I start complaining. And yes. But you had better spank me now. It’s been so long. I need it, Case. I need to cry and I need to feel close to you so spank me.”
Yes? She’d said yes? “Are you sure? Because I don’t want you to think I’m punishing you. We need to make that clear. This is for fun and to give you what you need.”
“Please. And make it dirty. I’ve missed this so much. And maybe you should punish me,” she said in that voice that let him know she would get what she wanted one way or another. It was that sexy, taunting, sultry voice she used on him when she wanted to push him, wanted him to push her. “After all, I punished you for months. I knew you were working for my brothers. I knew you would come with us to New York, but I wouldn’t see you. I wasn’t going to give you the satisfaction of seeing me.”
Yes, she seemed determined to push him. “Are you sure? I could untie you and make love to you and we could be gentle with each other.”
“That’s not who we are, Case. I realize that now. I should have stayed and fought it out with you. I can do that. I can take everything you have to give me, even the anger, if I know you love me. I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment you walked in the room and my world shifted because I’d finally found a man I didn’t have to hold back with. I want everything. I want your passion and your love, and I definitely want your dominance.”
He could give it to her. His cock was so hard it was painful, but it could wait. His sexuality had become tied to play and he needed it more than he needed to be inside her. He needed to give her what she required to be happy, what only he could give her.
He left her panties tangled in her legs, holding her thighs together. “You thought you could keep me away from this? Away from your body? It belongs to me, Mia. Only to me. I’ll teach you never to think to keep us apart again.”
The words were for play, to heighten the sensation, but the underlying meaning was there.
I need you. I can’t be whole without you. Don’t ever leave me again.
He brought his hand down, smacking her ass hard once, twice, and then again. He got to five, her flesh already pink, before he stopped to let her breathe.
Mia squirmed, though it was obvious she wasn’t trying to get away. Her fingers had laced together, squeezing tight. “I was so mad at you, so hurt. I couldn’t see past it, Sir. I’m so sorry. I wasted so much time.”
He wasn’t sure it had been wasted. They’d worked through some things they’d needed to work through. She’d written and found her footing back in that world again and he’d been forced to face what life without her would truly be like.
Did Ian love Charlotte more because he’d lost her? Had that made finding her again all the sweeter? Did Sean understand the depths of his love for Grace because she’d nearly died once?
Losing Theo had made Erin understand how hollow the world was without him.
He spanked her again because Mia was never satisfied with a couple of smacks. She needed more. He let himself go. Six through ten were quick, but he slowed and took his time getting to twenty, letting his hand hold the heat against her skin. “Nothing was wasted. What did you call it? This is our story and it played out the way it needed to. You needed to be free for a while longer. I needed to miss you. I needed to figure out you’re not someone I play with and then put up so you can’t get broken.” Another smack, this one on her left cheek. “You’re my partner. I need you in my life. I need you by my side. Even when it gets dangerous.”
She was precious to him, but keeping her in a box would kill her. He wanted Mia just the way she was.
Another set of smacks and he could hear her. She was crying, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Hell, he was starting to think he might cry, too. Mia wasn’t crying because she was sad. She cried because she felt so fucking much and couldn’t let it out until it was safe. He gave her a place to release that storm of emotion.