“I’ll pay,” Colin said. Fuck, he was desperate not to let anyone hurt her. Even if it meant he would have to hurt her himself. He knew he’d be a hell of a lot gentler than these shitebags.
Finally, Marco nodded and said, “Very well. Perla, take the girl and prepare her. Mr. Douglas, follow me.”
Colin felt the tension deflate from his body, only to return when he realized what the fuck he’d just volunteered for. He forced himself to follow Marco and not look back at Angela.
What had happened to make her come running down the stairs like that? Colin replayed the events, but came up confused.
He and Marco had been discussing his most recent painting. And then that wee man showed up with his Russian slave girl, and Marco thought it’d be “interesting” to experiment. Marco wondered if it was his Angel who was truly inspiring Colin, or if any beautiful blonde would do the trick. Colin played along, allowing the Russian to sit on his lap. And then Angela was running at them like mad. In fucking pigtails. At first he’d thought she was running from the guard Luis, but then it seemed as if she were running to Marco. Or maybe himself.
What could possibly be so important that she’d break an enormous rule and put herself in a punishable position?
Marco opened the solid doors to a darkened room. Not just dark from lack of light, but dark from every wall and the ceiling being black, and…holy Mary…
Colin was no prude, but this room gave him a bit of the fucking creeps, followed closely by the swelling of his cock. Like everything else in this villa, he had dueling feelings—pushing and pulling inside him. Repulsion and curiosity.
He stepped in and watched as Marco moved around the space, running his hand over a hanging whip, then a cane. He stopped next to a rounded thing Colin could only imagine someone being bent over, and he turned to face him.
“Have you ever punished a female, Se?or Douglas?”
“Ah.” Colin cleared his throat. “No, Se?or Ruiz. I have not.”
Marco’s lip quirked up and he cocked his head. “Which of these fine instruments can you envision yourself using?”
“Actually…I was thinking more along the lines of a good old fashioned hard spanking.” He held up his hand.
Marco paused, then began chuckling, which quickly turned to an infectious laughter. Even the two stone faced bodyguards behind them laughed. Colin smirked, wondering how much of a fool he was making of himself, but Marco came over and patted his shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze and pointing at him.
“I like you, Se?or Douglas. You are what they call a breath of fresh air around here.”
Colin grinned, but kept himself guarded as Marco continued.
“You never did get to tell me if my amigo’s lovely Russian girl could provide inspiration for you?”
Colin thought about lying, but his candid truths are what seemed to have earned Marco’s trust thus far. Marco was the type of man who could probably smell bullshit the second it left someone’s mouth. Slowly, with care, Colin shook his head. “Your Angel is the only female who has been able to do that for quite some time.”
Marco’s voice was soft, contemplative. “So, she’s your muse, then?”
“It seems so.”
“And you’re willing to punish her?”
“I am if she needs to learn a lesson that will keep her safe.” Colin felt a nudge of intuition, urging him forward. “Although I’m curious…as to why she is the only slave not permitted outdoors.”
Marco pursed his lips, looked to the side, and was silent for a few moments. Colin wondered if he’d pushed too far, but he needed to appear as if he didn’t know the truth.
“My Angel,” Marco began, “is special. She came to me in a rather unexpected way, and I’ve had to keep her protected from those who would threaten to steal her. No one can know she’s here.”
Colin’s blood pumped harder with the heat of indignation, but he continued to play his part. “I see.”
“Do you? Because it’s often difficult for me to see when it comes to Angel.”
Was that guilt Colin heard in Marco’s voice? Well, his guilt was a worthless commodity seeing as Angela was still held captive, so Colin wasn’t about to soften his stance against the bastard.
Marco cleared his throat as if he’d said too much. “Are you certain you won’t use an instrument? As far as our punishments go, hand spankings are not…conventional.”
Shite. “Unless you’re opposed, I’m quite certain. If it’s all the same to you.”
“Your hand,” Marco said with a chuckle. “Twenty strikes should be enough. I trust you to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget.”
“One I’ll never forget, as well, I’m sure,” Colin said with reluctance, but Marco laughed and cupped his shoulder again.
“The first punishment is always one to be remembered. And if you enjoy dominating in such a way, you’ll crave that feeling the rest of your days.”
Trepidation and ecstasy intertwined up Colin’s spine. He cleared his throat.