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He simply lifted his head, his smirk one I wanted to wipe off with my fist.

“How do you propose I do that?” Yes, he had me curious, although I knew what happened to the damn cat who was curious.

“It’s simple,” he responded. “You’ll call off your dogs.”

“My dogs? You have plenty of those.”

His grin was just as infuriating as everything else about him. “Yes, I suppose I do.” He didn’t bother asking me if I wanted something to drink; he simply headed toward the bar, pullingdown two rocks glasses from a shelf and grabbing the whiskey bottle.

While I had no intention of becoming inebriated around him, a stiff drink could provide some sense of courage. I was shaking and hated myself for it.

He moved toward me slowly, the smirk remaining.

I accepted the drink, resisting the urge to toss the liquid in his face.

“Excellent. Now, let’s sit down and talk.”

“I prefer to stand.”

“Have it your way.” He chose to sit, taking his time as he eased onto the seat of another chair. When he crossed one leg over another, I was surprised how watching it took my breath away.

“What are you suggesting as far as the alliance?”

“A situation where we work together in protecting our investments, our people, our homes, and building a future. Together.”

The thought continued to create a vast array of emotions. Nausea. Anger. Hatred. Self-loathing. Everything was spinning out of control. What choice did I have? I honestly didn’t know. “For the sake of argument, how would we do that?”

“We’ll get to that. First, there’s the discussion about your punishment.”

“Let me guess. You want the money lost to be repaid.”

He chortled. “Not nearly enough, sweetheart. No, I’m thinking something much more personal.”

“Personal? Like what?” I was becoming incensed at this point.

“Corporal punishment. What else?” He took a swallow of his drink.

I had no clue what he was talking about. At least at first.

He’d dared spank me when I’d been here before. While the incident had been brief, I would never forget how it had made me feel. Both like a child and astonishingly excited. I’d tried to shove the horrible moment into the back of my mind. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He didn’t grin or make a move, but he was staring at me, watching my every reaction. “Punishment with a cane.”

“A cane?” He did not just suggest that.

“Yes. If you were any of my men, I assure you that a bullwhip would be used, but I don’t want to permanently mark your lovely skin.”

Holy shit. I shuddered to my core. “I can’t do that.”

“Then we have nothing to talk about and sadly, Marco won’t live to see his eighteenth birthday.”

I’d never been so angry in my life. I walked closer, lifting my glass. “You said I surprised you. Correct?”

“Yes, you did and almost no one has ever done so in my life. Congratulations.”

“I’d keep that in mind if I were you for the future. You’ll never know what to expect.”

“Then I guess that means we won’t be able to trust each other.” His eyes sparkled as he swirled the liquid in his glass. Fromwhere I stood, it seemed there was a golden, luminous glow surrounding his irises.