A gong of foreboding resounded in her gut. Shit, they’d done their legwork. Sometimes, she lost her temper and forgot important details . . . like being at the mercy of two pissed off Doms. Of course, Thorpe probably wouldn’t punish her. In fact, he’d probably never touch her again. But he’d sure give Sean lots of craptastic ideas about how to do it effectively.
“I wasn’t enjoying myself. I was making money.”
“To skip town, right?” Thorpe’s question was sharp as a blade.
“It’s what I do.”
“Along with driving us out of our f**king minds,” Sean growled.
“It wasn’t intended to be a personal affront!” she insisted.
“So we were supposed to shrug that you’d left and move on with our lives. Do you know how worried we’ve been?” her former boss asked.
“Oh my gawd, you both sound like overprotective hens.”
Callie braced for Thorpe’s explosion. Instead, he drew in a bracing breath, nostrils flaring, then with a taut profile and rigidly controlled body, he directed his gaze to the front seat. “Sean, reasoning with her isn’t going to work.”
“Agreed. Go ahead. I need to focus here, but I’ve had more than enough.”
“Excellent. Minus the gloves?”
He sighed. “I doubt anything less will register.”
“I couldn’t agree more. It’s bound to get noisy.”
Sean smiled faintly. “I’ll enjoy that.”
He glanced at her in the mirror at the same time Thorpe regarded her with a frightening smile. Callie felt like an actress who’d forgotten her lines, pinned by a spotlight.
“Apologize, pet.”
It wasn’t a suggestion. But there was no way she was going to say “sorry” for doing what she thought necessary. “I’m sorry if whatever I did upset you.”
“And?” Thorpe’s grip on her arm tightened.
“I’m sorry if I misinterpreted your actions.”
“Anything else?” His voice dropped to a silky baritone that served as its own warning. “Anything you’d like to say to Sean?”
Callie’s belly tightened, but she refused to lie. “No, I think that’s it.”
“Then it’s obvious we need to lay down a few rules and expectations.” Thorpe settled against the backseat, legs braced wide, then grabbed her shoulders and gave a mighty jerk until she tumbled face down across his lap.
“Oh hell, no!” She writhed, trying to twist upright again.
Like that was going to help. He’d dealt with a thousand squirming submissives. There would be no escape. She already knew that from experience.
Expertly, he splayed a hand in the middle of her back, pinning her to his lap. “Hell, yes. It’s past due, pet. You’ve more than earned it. Your attitude needs serious adjusting.”
Thorpe punctuated his assertion by lifting her little skirt, yanking the bills out of her thong and throwing them on the floorboard, then giving her right cheek a quick, blistering swat. Before she’d even finished gasping, he spanked the left. Ouch! Her ass stung. Heat flared. And not for one second did she think that he was done.
“From now on,” he began, “you will keep uppermost in your mind that anything that affects you concerns us. We care. Is that clear?”
Even if she was a little thrilled at the conviction in his words and more than a bit excited at the way he restrained and handled her, Callie wanted to tell him to jump off a bridge. She was about to say something satisfyingly dismissive when he smacked the flat of his hand against each of her cheeks again. A yelp slipped from her mouth.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” A smirk resonated in his voice
Damn him!