Red Handed(20)
“What did you feel as you watched?” he asked, softening his voice.
She thought about her body’s response to the scene and how she’d been only seconds away from shoving her hand between her thighs to ease the ache. “Hot. Tingly. Breathless . . . ” That wasn’t all she’d felt. Her chest had tightened at the sight of Cole with Jaxon and Kate. “Jealous.”
He shifted in his chair and ran his hand down his scalp. “Jealous?”
“Of Kate,” she said, immediately kicking herself for admitting it. “All that attention focused solely on her. The way Jaxon looked at her as if she were the only person in the room.”
“But she wasn’t. Kate and Jaxon chose a public scene rather than a private room or their home so that anyone could watch.” He rose from his chair and rounded the desk, stopping in front of her. Her pulse went crazy as he leaned forward, bracing his hands on the arms of the chair, effectively caging her in. “Tell me, Danielle. Has a man ever held your back against his front at a concert, slipped his hand under your short skirt, and fingered your hot pussy until you shook from climax?”
His face moved closer, almost as if he was going to kiss her, but at the last moment, he turned his head and he whispered into her ear, his hot breath causing her to shudder from the chills sweeping her body. “Have you ever kneeled on the floor and sucked off a man in the back of a dark movie theater? Does the idea of being caught get you wet? Did you wish to be in Kate’s place and be watched?”
She swallowed hard and licked her suddenly dry lips. The images his words created spun like a carousel in her imagination. Her fantasies had never involved public sex, but she couldn’t deny the ideas he’d painted aroused her. But she’d never feel comfortable enough in her skin to actually do those things. “I’m not into pain. Anything more than a spanking is at least a soft limit for me.”
He pulled back with a frown. “That wasn’t what I asked, and you know it.” He removed his arms from her chair and casually perched himself on the corner of the desk, leaving one leg on the ground. “But that’s okay for now. You’re obviously not ready to accept it. I understand you’ve got societal rules about what’s wrong and what’s right guiding your thoughts and behaviors. However, Benediction doesn’t follow those rules. We have our own. Rules you acknowledged to abide when you completed your application.”
His expression darkened, and contrary to his relaxed posture, all signs of the flirtatious and mellow man vanished. “Because you interrupted a scene”—he folded his arms over his chest—“I must punish you.”
Chapter Eight
POOR CINDERELLA MAY have had to do her chores in rags, but at least she didn’t have to wear a corset and panties when she cleaned the bathroom. Even after losing her father and his millions, Tasha had continued paying a maid to clean their home. It wasn’t as if Danielle had never cleaned before, but she’d never gotten on her knees and scrubbed the toilets.
Cole couldn’t have chosen a better punishment. At this point, she would’ve rather been spanked again.
Unsurprisingly, Benediction’s ladies’ room was reminiscent of an upscale spa with a lounge area complete with full-sized lockers made from dark wood, cream-colored leather couches, and cushiony chairs. A long counter with a mirror above it spanned the length of the room, providing a space for women to do their hair and makeup, and beige and cream Italian marble floors and walls added to the ritzy ambiance.
Adjacent to the lounge was the bathroom. Decorated with marble and dark wood, it contained showers, toilets, and sinks each with a well-lit mirror over it. The mirrors were the last item she needed to clean to complete her punishment.
She blew an errant piece of hair off her face. So much for the makeup Gracie had applied and the hair she’d brushed. Danielle was a sweaty mess.
If Cole’s purpose had been to shame her, it had worked. None of the members or trainees who had come into the ladies’ room would talk to her. In fact, they completely ignored her. Even Gracie. Her lips had parted as if she had been about to speak, but then she covered her mouth with her hand and marched out of the room. Knowing Gracie’s penchant for talking, that had been a punishment for her as well.
Danielle plunked the toilet brush into the plastic bucket and stood, her knees cracking. She rolled her shoulders and peeled off her rubber gloves. One more task on the list Cole had provided and then she could go back to her room to get some sleep. There was no way she had the energy to read tonight. She’d been up for twenty-four hours straight and had only gotten a few hours of sleep before the kidnappers had woken her in her bed, so it felt much, much longer. She’d set her alarm and get up in the morning to read before her first class.