Page 20 of Double Daddies (Dirty Daddies Anthologies #8)

Chapter Seven

Double D Acquisition Headquarters, The Williams Tower

Elle

Clutching the contract between her trembling fingers, Elle watched them walk out and close the door. Her heart thundered in her chest as she sat frozen, her mind refusing to process the ultimatum they had just delivered.

“What the hell just happened?” The words escaped her lips in a hoarse whisper as she stared at the paper crumpling under her white-knuckled grip.

Their receding footsteps jolted her into action.

Throwing the document onto the sofa, she crept to the door.

Her pulse raced as she pressed her ear against it, waiting until the echo of their steps faded to silence.

“If either of you think I’m going to become your little slave, you’ve got a big surprise coming,” she muttered. Her fingers shook as she slipped off her heels. The door opened with a soft click as she peered outside. “Good. Double D assholes are gone... and so am I.”

Without giving the repercussions further thought, her dash to the elevator was fueled by sheer panic.

The doors slid open with a soft ding, but her relief was short-lived.

“Ah, shit!” Her stomach dropped at the sight of the keycard panel.

No buttons. No escape. “Stairs! There has to be stairs!” Her bare feet slapped against the marble floor as she spun around, searching frantically for an exit sign.

“Nooo!” she screamed as the next moment, the world tilted as strong arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her off the ground. Her blonde hair whipped around as she was hoisted up, her stomach lurching at the sudden loss of control.

“That was a mistake, little vandal.” The threat within Drake’s voice rumbling ominously against her ear made her tremble. “Now, I get to do what I’ve been itching to do for a very long time.”

She twisted in his grip to glare at him over her shoulder. Her face flushed hot with rage. “Let me go! You can’t keep me here. This is abduction.”

“Abduction? Hmm... to the contrary, as memory serves, you’re the one who offered... and I reiterate, offered to do anything to stay out of jail.”

Elle’s breath caught at the dangerous glint in his eyes, but she blinked fearfully at the dark look of amusement that crossed his face.

The damn asshole was enjoying this.

“Ah, you caught our little vandal,” Damian’s voice carried across the hall as he held open the penthouse door. “I surmise you are going to take the appropriate action for her little… indiscretion?”

Elle’s mind raced. Appropriate action? Little indiscretion? Were these two assholes completely demented? Just who the hell did they think they were? Judges, jurors, and executioners?

“Indeed I am.” The world spun as Drake sat down on the sofa. Before she could process what was happening, he yanked down her pants and panties in one swift motion.

“No!” Heat flooded her face as cool air hit her exposed skin. She scrambled to cover herself, but his grip was ironclad. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Ignoring her furious protest, he pushed her forward and forced her to forgo the effort to protect her decency by pressing her hands against the floor to stop herself from tumbling off his lap.

Not that she would have since his large hand pressed against her lower back, positioning her firmly across his lap.

“Naughty little girls need to be reprimanded; otherwise, they get out of hand quickly,” was his only explanation.

The first crack of his palm against her flesh sent a jolt through her entire body. The sting bloomed across her right cheek, spreading like wildfire.

“Holy shit! Stop!” she screamed as each subsequent strike alternated between cheeks.

The sharp slaps echoed off the walls, along with her cries.

The pain radiated through her, but underneath it all, an unfamiliar heat began to build.

Her face burned not just from embarrassment but from inexplicable excitement that made her dizzy.

Her screams turned to sobs, but he didn’t relent.

“You never run from us, Elle. Remember this moment because the next time, it will be my belt that will kiss your cheeks.”

When he finally lifted her onto his lap, she found herself drowning in the intensity of his gaze.

Behind the stern exterior, a gentleness lurked in those dark depths, but it was quickly overshadowed by the knowing curve of his lips as she struggled to control her ragged breathing and quiet her sobs.

“S-So, this is the punishment you spoke about,” she said around a hiccup, her mind reeling from the unfamiliar sensations coursing through her body.

Damian sat down next to them and took her trembling hand in his. His gentle strokes should have felt patronizing, but instead, they grounded her. The dual comfort they offered made her almost forget about the mortification of being spanked by Drake. Almost… but not quite.

Spankings weren’t new to Elle. Her first foster father’s wooden hairbrush had been his weapon of choice, striking through her clothes whenever her ‘abhorrent attitude’ surfaced. But those punishments had been cold, clinical affairs that left only bruises and resentment.

This... this was different. Drake’s large palm had connected with her bare flesh, each strike sending shock waves through her body that didn’t just sting, they awakened a raw, animalistic need she had never experienced before.

Her behind throbbed like the bejeezus, but the heat wasn’t confined to where his hand had landed.

It spread through her veins like wildfire, pooling low in her belly and between her thighs while igniting nerve endings that had no business being affected by a punishment.

Each crack of his palm against her flesh had sent jolts of electricity straight to her core, making her pulse race and her breath catch in ways that left her dizzy with forbidden desire.

The burning in her cheeks was matched only by the fire deep inside, a primal hunger that threatened to consume her with its intensity.

Freaking hell, no! Elle averted her eyes, horrified by the realization that Drake’s strikes had sparked an inferno of lust so intense, she could barely breathe. Her body’s betrayal terrified her more than any threat of jail time.

“There are numerous ways to correct an attitude, little baker,” Drake’s voice pulled her from her internal panic.

“Spanking is but one of them.” His hand, the same one that had just set her world ablaze, now stroked her hair with surprising tenderness.

“Since I know this is not how you expected your day to end, I will give you one chance to correct your attitude.” His fingers caught her chin, forcing her to meet his penetrating gaze.

“Just one. Don’t waste it, Elle, because the next time you run, it will be straight to jail. ”

“What you’re asking... it’s... I can’t. It’s just too much.” Elle’s fingers twitched as she pulled them from Damian’s grasp. The need to get away from them had nothing to do with fear of what they proposed and everything to do with the uncontrolled desire surging through her.

“It’s your choice to make, Elle,” Drake said as he got up. “Know this… we are not going to beg you to accept our proposal.”

“Drake is right. You need to make the choice, but I trust you will make the clever one.” Damian’s smile remained gentle, but Elle caught the steel beneath his words. Though less severe than Drake's, his eyes held the same unwavering authority that made her pulse quicken.

Drake checked his watch. “You now have fifteen minutes to make a decision, Miss Fitzgerald.”

Once again, Elle watched them leave. With a sob of dissolution, she settled deeper into the sofa and pulled up her knees.

“Holy shit, it hurts,” she cried out as her every shift against the leather sofa sent fresh waves of stinging heat through her sensitized flesh. Her gaze darted around for her pants and panties. They were nowhere to be found.

“Gmphf. So much for trusting me.” The contract on the table seemed to mock her predicament. “Believe me, no one knows better than me how stupid I acted. Being all but forced to sign you is my just desserts.”

Her options stretched before her like a forked path. Either she submitted to their demands or faced felony charges. Since the vandalism easily amounted to hundreds of thousands, she would most definitely end up in jail.

The memory of Drake’s palm connecting with her flesh sent an unexpected shiver down her spine. No one had ever handled her with such commanding authority or such... possession. Her foster father’s punishments had been about breaking her spirit. This felt more like molding it.

“I guess it’s a no-brainer. I have to sign you.” She sneered as she snatched up the document. Her numb mind soon turned to shock as she read the bulky contract.

“What the living hell is the purpose of a Little? And why would anyone willingly give up their right to make their own decisions or choices?”

The questions tumbled through her mind as she scanned the contract. Her cheeks flushed at certain clauses she only half understood. Each initial felt like another step down a path she couldn’t quite see the end of.

“I have no other choice, right?” she whispered, trying to convince herself it was self-preservation driving her decision and not the lingering heat between her thighs or the way her skin tingled at the memory of Drake’s firm grip on the small of her back.

“What in the world?” The gasp escaped her as she read the final page. Her eyes widened with disbelief as the men returned at the same time. She lifted confused eyes to them. “I don’t understand. I thought you were closing Elle’s Delicacies.”

“You thought wrong, little baker,” Damian said as his expression softened. “There are too many people in the building and local community that sing your praises.”

Drake settled beside her and immediately set her pulse racing with his proximity. For the first time since discovering her vandalism, warmth touched his smile.

“We’d be fools to close you down, Elle.”

“But... but... this offers me a prime spot... even better than Le Chic Bistro... and... and the backing... It’s millions! I... this is... I can’t?—”

“That’s our offer, Elle. Take it or leave it. The choice is yours.” Drake’s voice dropped to that deep timbre that seemed to resonate straight through to her core, once again making her squirm in her seat.

Her hand trembled as she signed the final page. It wasn’t from the magnitude of the business opportunity but from the realization that she was signing away more than just her bakery’s future.

Elle stared at her signature with her heart racing. The flowing script of her name seemed foreign, as if someone else had signed away her freedom. Her stomach twisted with a peculiar jumble of dread and anticipation.

“There. Happy now?” The words came out breathier than she intended and betrayed the tremor in her voice. She pushed the contract toward Drake but refused to meet his gaze. Her thighs pressed together of their own accord as her body continued to hum from the earlier punishment.

A large hand cupped her chin, forcing her face up. Drake’s darkened eyes bore into hers, threatening to break through the wall she had erected to keep the newly triggered feelings hidden and hold him at bay.

His voice lowered. “The question is, are you happy with your decision, little vandal?”

The gentleness in his tone undid her. Tears welled up and, to her horror, spilled over before she could stop them.

“I don’t know what I’m feeling,” she admitted, hating the vulnerability in her voice. “Two hours ago, I was just a baker with a vandalism tendency. Now I’m... I’m…” Her voice cracked as she gestured helplessly at the contract.

“Now you’re ours,” Damian finished for her as his hand settled warm against her back. “And we take care of what’s ours, Elle.”

A shiver ran through her at his words. The possessiveness in his tone should have sparked her defiance, should have made her want to run.

Instead, it settled a deep-rooted yearning she never knew existed and a craving to submit that shocked her to her core.

His commanding tone awakened a fresh wave of liquid heat between her thighs, leaving her squirming with an unfamiliar ache that both thrilled and terrified her.

“I still don’t understand half of what I just agreed to,” she whispered as her fingers fidgeted in her lap. The sting in her behind was a constant reminder of just how quickly things could change. “And the other half scares me to death.”

“Good.” Drake’s thumb brushed away a tear from her cheek. “A healthy dose of fear will keep you obedient, little one. But know this… everything we do will be for your own good.”

The promise in his words sent another wave of conflicting emotions through her. Part of her scoffed at the idea of these two men knowing what was best for her. But another part, one she was trying desperately to ignore, wanted to lean into that promise and let go of all her inhibitions.

Above all, Elle feared that she had just committed to stepping into a spider’s web of the Double D Duo.