Through my tears, I could see Charlie watching with a strange mix of horror and fascination. Walker looked amused, leaning against the wall with a smirk. I should have felt nothing but hatred for all of them, but my actual emotions had gotten much too complex for me to tease any single one of them out. Ididhate Charlie, and I hated Walker even more… but toward the one I should have despised most of all, this weird interloper, my ideas and feelings seemed almost the opposite of what I knew they should have been.
Before I could stop my brain from going there, a thought formed… one I wanted to pretend had never risen from the depths of my mind.Finally, a real man. A man who knows how to keep a naughty little girl like me in line.
“Stand up,” Jax commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument. “We need to assess what we’re working with.”
I stumbled to my feet, my legs trembling and unsteady. My face was wet with tears, my bottom burning from the punishment he’d administered.
Jax looked at Charlie with cold authority. “Take her clothes off and bend her over the coffee table. I need to inspect her properly.”
My heart hammered in my chest. This was happening too fast, spiraling out of control.
“Do what he says,” Walker ordered Charlie, his voice thick with anticipation.
Charlie approached me with hesitant hands. I should have fought him—should have screamed and kicked and bitten. But as his fingers found the zipper of my dress, I felt only a shameful, pulsing need between my legs. My resistance felt performative at best as he slid the dress down my body.
“Stop,” I whispered, but the word had no conviction behind it.
He unhooked my bra with surprising gentleness, letting it fall to the floor. My nipples hardened instantly in the cool air of the room. My thong was still bunched up around my thighs, and when he hooked his fingers in the waistband, I placed my hands over his.
“Please,” I said, not even sure what I meant to ask for.
Charlie couldn’t meet my eyes as he pulled the last scrap of fabric down my legs, leaving me completely naked in front of these three men.
“On your knees,” Charlie murmured, guiding me down.
He positioned me in front of the low coffee table, facing away from Jax, then pressed between my shoulder blades until I bent forward, my chest against the cold glass surface. The position left me completely exposed, my backside presented to Jax like an offering.
“Hold her wrists,” Jax instructed.
Charlie moved around the table, taking my hands in his. His palms were sweaty, and I could see the conflict in his eyes as he secured me in place.
“I’m sorry,” he mouthed silently.
I felt Jax’s presence behind me before his hands touched my skin. He traced the bruises he’d left on my bottom, making me flinch.
“Beautiful,” he commented. “The way her skin pinks up under discipline.” His fingers moved lower, brushing against the wetness between my thighs. “And look how ready she is. Her body knows what it needs, even when her mind thinks differently.”
I pressed my face against the table’s hard surface, completely humiliated by my body’s betrayal.
“Walker, come verify what I’ve found,” Jax said. “Charlie’s little Louisa is absolutely dripping from her punishment.”
Walker’s coarse laugh filled the room as he moved behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could disappear as I felt another pair of hands on my exposed flesh.
“Fucking hell,” Walker chuckled. “Charlie, man, your girlfriend’s like a river down here.”
CHAPTER 2
Louisa
“I’m not his fucking girlfriend anymore,” I said, looking up into Charlie’s idiotic face and watching him flinch at my words. “Whatever you assholes decide to do with me.”
“It’s a good thing you’re clear about breaking up with him,” Jax said, his voice taking on a contemplative tone that made my skin prickle with goosebumps. “Though I’m not surprised. This boy clearly doesn’t even understand what kind of girl you are.”
I felt Charlie’s grip on my wrists tighten reflexively at the insult. Walker snorted from somewhere behind me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Charlie asked, the defensive edge in his voice making him sound even more pathetic.
Jax’s hand stroked my burning bottom almost tenderly, making me shudder. “It means you’ve had a treasure in your possession and didn’t even recognize its value. From the way she’s responding—her body’s reactions, her tears, even her defiance—this little girl is terribly in need of a firm-handed daddy’s care. She’s practically begging for it with every fiber of her being.”
