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“Stop that or I won’t be a nice guy.”

“You never are.”

Her comment brought another smile. She had a way of doing that, another surprise. I threw my leg around hers, fighting to keep her from hurting herself. Hearing a sound, I noticed Tank had finally meandered into the room, likely because of all the commotion.

He sat on his haunches in the doorway, staring from me to the brush. Maybe he thought it was fur brushing time. “Not yet, buddy. Maybe when I’m finished.”

Not interested in wasting any time, I brought the brush down on her backside. The hard thud was followed by her squeal.

“That hurts.” She was hissing through clenched teeth.

“Yep. Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen?”

She continued wiggling, cursing up a storm. If only she knew how many names I’d been called in my life. I smacked her bottom again, shifting from side to side. Within seconds, she had a nice couple of red spots on her skin.

Hopefully, this would be a decent reminder that she couldn’t go off halfcocked.

She managed to reach far enough, grabbing the handle of the nightstand, even reaching inside.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” I jerked us both to the right, pulling her hand free and continuing.

She didn’t take kindly to my actions, humping my lap to create additional friction.

It was working.

My cock was aching all over again, pulsing against her skin, but I wasn’t going to be swayed that easily. I cracked the brush down six times, keeping a perfect rhythm. Her curses were gaining volume amid the shrieks following each swat.

Suddenly, Tank howled in unison and the entire moment was way too comical. I hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. It felt good. And strange.

But the lightheartedness wouldn’t prevent me from finishing my task.

I spanked her long and hard, making certain to cover every inch of luscious real estate on her bottom. My little wildcat roared and moaned, her legs kicking futilely underneath my own.

When she finally stopped fighting the inevitable, I relaxed, taking a break and caressing her reddened skin. “Now, you’re going to promise me you won’t do anything stupid like that again.”

She sniffed, wiping away her crocodile tears for sympathy. She had no idea who she was dealing with.

I added four more just for good measure, finally tossing the brush onto the bed. Her quietness was sudden, yet her body continued to quiver.

“Promise me, Juliette. I’m not dicking around about this. We need to be extra cautious.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

Sighing, I had no idea how to answer her. “Not yet, but it will.”

“How can you be so certain?” She yanked her hair away, managing to look up at me.

“My instincts. And they’re never wrong.”

“You’re scaring me.”

“Good. Keep that feeling. Embrace it.”

No, my instincts were always spot on. With Gray yet to return my call, every red flag that had kept me alive was raised.

Danger was headed our way. Only this time, there would be no element of surprise for us.

Right now, we were sitting ducks.