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"So it exists?"
"We are not here to talk about me but about your safety."
"I think this staying in my life thing is a two-way street, unc—" I clear my throat. "Ares."
"Wasn't one spanking enough?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You were going to call me uncle again, cheeky."
"Aren’t you tired? It's dawn." I try to deflect to see if he forgets the subject. I'm afraid to open my mouth and say I want more spankings. I could lie and say I hated it, but will he believe me?
No, he won't. From the way he looks at me now, with a mix of curiosity and confusion, maybe he knows exactly what his unexpected spanking did to my body.
"What did the doctor say?" Thank God he changes the subject.
"Haven't you spoken to him yet?"
"No. I wanted to see you first."
I suddenly realize what he did. He took a plane in the middle of the night to make sure I was okay.
"Because you're my guardian?"
"Because as long as you're in my care, you're mine."
“Otis might disagree with that,” I tease, and only Jesus would be able to explain why I just said such nonsense.
"Otis is a boy. You need a man to protect you. You have me, and I won't let whoever did this come close again. Which hand was it?"
I show him the left one, where I can still see the scorpion sting on my fingertip. "There is no way this creature could have come with me from Paris. Either it was in the car, or they put it in my bag at the airport."
He still hasn't let go of my hand. In fact, despite looking at me, his thumb runs across my palm. I don't know if he realizes what he's doing, but I do, and my heart beats like it's about to have a heart attack.
I remember what he said to me the night we had dinner two years ago:
“I want your obedience, not to be your first crush. And even if it weren't like that, I don't date girls. Believe me, you wouldn’t be able to handle me, even if our roles were different.”
"I have a counterproposal," I say.
He lets go of my hand immediately. "In relation to what?"
"Your watching my every move until the man harassing me is captured."
"Do you think you are in a position to negotiate?"
"No, but I'm going to die trying. I don't want our coexistence to be a living hell, so I think we can come to an agreement."
Serenity
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"What kind of agreement?"he sounds suspicious, but at least he's listening to me.
I just decided I want to know more about him. Not just in his role as a guardian but as a man too. "For every order you give me, I have the right to a request."
"The answer is no if it means you taking risks, Serenity."