have whores.”
“Fine, your girls who are there because those men have winning personalities.”
“Attitude, Juliet,” he warned, a hard slap landing on my upper thigh. “The girls come from escort services. I let them work the fights. That’s the extent of my role.”
“Well, how am I supposed to know what you do?” I bit out through the pain. “You never talk to me about your work.”
“That’s because when I’m with you, I don’t want to think about that bullshit. I want to selfishly savor the peace and distraction you offer. But if it makes you feel excluded, then it’s another of Daddy’s mistakes.” A blow hit the other thigh. “What else?”
“That I betrayed my father by being with you. That I’m a whore and a rat.” The familiar guilt settled in my chest, making it hard to breathe. “He asked what kind of daughter would do that to her father.”
“The kind with a piece-of-shit father who didn’t deserve loyalty.”
“I never even cried,” I admitted as his palm caught the upper cheek, the sharp slap sounding around us. “I cried for the snake I killed in the desert but not my own father.”
“He didn’t deserve your tears, either.”
“I never felt guilty for being with you. I felt guilty for not feeling guilty.”
“You shouldn’t feel guilty, period.” Another two. “What else?”
“That I’m greedy and money hungry.”
“You’re far from either. In fact, you’re a pain in my ass when it comes to accepting gifts without argument. What else?”
“That it’s just sex.”
“If all I wanted was this perfect pussy, I wouldn’t hate our time apart. I wouldn’t rearrange my schedule to work from home or bring you to the office with me. You’re smart and clever and creative and stubborn and determined and loyal and countless other things I’m obsessed with.” His hand connected twice, warming my ass as his words warmed my insides. “What else?”
At what was left, the warmth he’d created was replaced by jagged shards of ice that left my insides frozen and sliced apart.
I swallowed, unable to force the words out. I didn’t want to tell him. I didn’t want to bring it to his attention if he still hadn’t figured it out himself.
I didn’t want to shine a blinding spotlight on the truth.
At my hesitation, his hand came down on the same spot three times. “What else?”
“Nothing,” I lied.
Wrong move.
The next one landed on my pussy, making tears burn in my eyes, though they still wouldn’t fall. Spanking there again, he ordered, “Don’t ever lie to me, Juliet.”
Three more piercing smacks connected, and it was all I could stand. Like a dam in my mind was demolished, the words flowed out in an unbridled rush. “He asked why someone like you would want me. I’m not special. Just gutter trash. Temporary.” Finally, the tears spilled free, and once they started, they wouldn’t stop. My voice filled with so much sorrow, it couldn’t hold it all and broke as I admitted, “I’m nothing.”
His hand rained down a series of rapid-fire slaps, heat and tingles spreading across my skin.
And I sobbed.
Everything I’d kept buried deep inside came pouring out with my tears. All the fears and insecurities. The guilt. The self-loathing.
Mugsy had planted seeds of doubt. Thanks to my insecurities, those seeds had grown and spread like snaking vines to take over everything.
With his punishment, Maximo cleared away the mess that’d taken root in my head. My thoughts untangled and disintegrated as my mind went blissfully blank. Tension eased from my body, and I sank into the desk.
“That’s my girl,” he said, his hand connecting in a hard blow that soothed me like a gentle caress. “Let it all go.”
His words offered absolution and his pain offered peace.
I wanted both.
Needed them.
“I believed him,” I whispered on a shuddering exhale. “I thought you didn’t want me. That you were moving on to someone else. Someone better.” I couldn’t keep the accusation from my tone when I pointed out, “You haven’t touched me. Not even to hold me at night.”
Three days.
Three days of him close, yet so far away. Not touching me. Barely kissing me. Hardly even talking.
Jealousy had twisted in my gut each time I’d seen him on the phone. Mugsy’s words had echoed through my head, and I’d wondered if Maximo was talking to my replacement.
A new little dove.
“Jesus, Daddy fucked up.” Maximo’s palm skimmed over my sore ass. “I thought you needed space, but giving it to you fed right into his bullshit lies.” He squeezed a cheek, the sting increasing