Dex and Slade shared a glance before the middle brother caressed her thigh. “Thank you for that, Hannah.”
For admitting that she was a lovesick idiot? “Please let me up, Slade.”
“I won’t do that, baby.” He sounded as tortured as she felt. “I can’t.” Dex leaned in, his face inches from hers. “Hannah, we know you’re not like the others. We knew it the minute we met you. Do you have any idea how hard it’s been to wait for you to get to know us? But that’s over now, especially since we know how you feel.” Behind her, Slade pushed her skirt up to her waist. She felt the cool air on her backside and she shrieked.
“Just because I care about you doesn’t mean I’ll be your plaything.” Dex’s jaw firmed, but he cupped her face tenderly. “Relax, darlin’, and listen to me. You’re not our plaything. But don’t think for a second that you’re not ours, Hannah. You are.” Ours? They couldn’t possibly mean in any other way except to toy with and use. They would discard her when the fun and games were over because that’s what they did with every woman.
Hannah wanted to believe that she was different, but she’d be kidding herself.
She wriggled, trying desperately to force Slade to release her. “Let me go. Take me home. I swear I’ll tell you if this stalker contacts me again. Just…don’t do this.”
“Calm down,” Slade demanded. “There is no going back, baby. We’re going to keep you in Alaska until you agree to be ours.”
“Marry us, darlin’. That’s what he means.”
Marry? Her head was whirling. They wanted her to marry them? How was that supposed to work? Or was this “proposal” just one way more they played with a woman’s heart? If so, she already couldn’t take it. The yearning was too deep and haunting. Their leaving would create scars she’d never heal from. “Please, don’t.”
“Hannah, baby…”
“Stop talking, Slade,” Dex snapped. “She’s not listening.”
“You’re right. We just need to move forward.”
Relief poured through Hannah—along with crushing despair. They’d release her, and she could go back to her old life, minus the job she loved. She’d carry on somehow. But since they hadn’t really touched her, she’d get over her broken heart someday. Maybe.
Instead of letting her go, Slade pulled her underwear down around her thighs. Hannah gasped. Her bare bottom was on full display.
Dex stood over her, leaving her to stare at the blue industrial carpet. “Look at that beautiful ass.”
“I told you it was gorgeous under all that crap she wears. Her br**sts are going to be spectacular.” Slade ran a palm over her backside.
Tingles danced everywhere he touched. Were they really talking about her sexually?
“The only thing that would make this gorgeous bottom look better is a nice shade of pink.
How many?”
Slade continued his perusal of her ass. Hannah could feel the heat of his stare. “I think her offense was pretty damn grave, but she’s a novice. She didn’t understand the rules. I say twenty-five.”
Hannah brought her head up. “Twenty-five? You—you’re going to spank me twenty-five times? You can’t…”
But Slade proved in the next instant that he could. His hand came down with a crack, and fire licked across her flesh. Horror and desire washed over her in equal waves. Hannah howled and bucked.
Dex knelt to her again. “Be still, Hannah. No fighting us. You take your discipline with grace or there will be more of it.”
It seemed wrong, but desire swelled as Slade palmed her ass. Still, nothing could dampen her fury. “Gee, thanks.”
Smack. Hannah stiffened and whimpered.
“No sarcasm,” Slade growled. “But you can make that breathy little sound you just made, love. That went straight to my cock.”
One smack. Then another. Hannah gasped, fists clenched. Slade didn’t seem to notice. He simply went to work, his hand raining down blows on her backside. She bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry. Even if they thought she needed disciplining like a child, she refused to act like one.
Then something strange began happening. Heat permeated her skin. She cried out, her eyes still blurry from tears. The pain lingered, but it was being overtaken by a whole new sensation, a weird sort of pleasure she didn’t understand.
“Fifteen,” Slade called out.
He had been methodically counting every time his hand slapped her flesh with firm male gusto. As he dealt her ass another blow, he announced the sixteenth whack. Hannah drew in a sharp breath and tried to focus on Slade’s voice telling everyone how many times she’d taken it.