He jerked open her passenger side door and waited for Ginger to slide out, then grabbed a leather gym bag from the backseat.
Once they reached their room, Derek locked the door behind them and removed his shirt. In the dim light filtering through the window, shadows played against his muscular chest and back. Black dress pants hung low on his hips, but soon he removed those, too.
Ginger sank onto the bed and tried to sift through the conflicting emotions roiling inside of her. Anger warred with pain. Guilt simmered beneath the ever-present desire she felt around Derek. He was treating her like one of his subordinates and she hated him for it. Why couldn’t he just talk to her, order her around—something?
“Take off your clothes,” he directed without turning around.
Okay scratch that, she so wasn’t in the mood to be ordered around. Ginger scoffed. “Not a chance.”
“I would remove them for you, but I can’t ensure they’ll remain intact.”
Hating the hollow quality to his voice, she rose from the bed and stomped toward him. “Derek, you’ve had your time to be mad. I did something foolish, I know that. But you can’t ignore me forever.”
He moved so fast, Ginger didn’t have time to protest as Derek ripped the shirt from her body. Her shorts were yanked down her legs next, along with her panties. Then he threw her over his shoulder and strode into the bathroom. The light flipped on so she could see herself in the mirror dangling over his back.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
“I’m taking a goddamn shower. I don’t trust you to stay put, so you’re taking one with me. Would you like to remove your boots or will they be joining us?”
Having no choice, Ginger frantically toed her boots off and let them drop to the ground. She heard the shower start, then a moment later he stepped under the spray. The warm water rushed over her, soaking her bra and running down into her eyes. Finally, Derek bent and set her down on her feet.
She launched herself at him, pummeling his wet chest with her fists. He absorbed the blows without reaction, not even trying to prevent her.
“Why don’t you just get it over with?” Ginger cried through gritted teeth. “Punish me. You know you want to.”
Derek’s eyes darkened and his fists clenched, letting Ginger know she’d hit her mark. She removed her bra and stepped under the shower spray, letting him get an eyeful of the water rushing over her naked body. Then she turned and placed her palms high against the tile wall.
“Punish me.”
A tortured groan echoed through the bathroom. “No, Ginger. You don’t know what I’m capable of right now.”
“You need it.”
“Don’t tell me what I need,” he growled into her wet hair. “You’ve made it clear how little you care.”
Her throat squeezed at the pain behind his words, but she pushed on. “I need it, too. We’ll both feel better afterward.”
Breath harsh against her ear, Derek pressed against her back. “You would like that, wouldn’t you? A spanking followed by a long, wet ride on my dick?”
“Yes. Yes, please, Derek.” Arching her back, Ginger pressed her behind against his slippery arousal, working her hips, enticing him to follow through. She made a sound of protest when his fingers dug into her waist to still her movements.
“Too bad, baby. It’s not punishment when you enjoy the sentence. No, I have something far worse in store for you.”
Derek picked up a bar of soap wrapped in paper, ripping it open with his teeth as Ginger watched over her shoulder. Then he lathered the bar in his hand and began to wash her. Gently, his hands ran over her back, across her belly, dipping between her legs just long enough to frustrate her. He gathered her hair in one hand and pulled it over her shoulder so he could wash the blood from her face. Ginger’s hands slipped from the wall and she swayed back toward him unconsciously, greedy for his touch.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“I saw your face in the car, Ginger.” His voice sounded low, furious. “When you heard that message. You looked terrified.”
She shook her head in denial. “No, I—”
“Yes. So you know what your punishment is going to be, sweetheart? I’m going to make love to you. Slowly. Hell, it might take me until tomorrow. I’m going to lose count of how many times you come. And every time you do, I’m going to tell you that I love you. Until you fucking get used to it.”
Tears burned behind her eyes. God, he sounded so hurt. She turned to face him. “Derek, listen to me—”
“No.” His throat worked with emotion. “You’re not going to cry your way out of this.”