“Were you joking when you defied me? Was I supposed to find that funny? Because I didn’t. You could have told me something. And if one of my men disregarded my orders and his safety, I would’ve withheld his paycheck and made sure his next job was cleaning the toilets in this place. But you aren’t one of my men. You’re my husband. Now do as I say or I might change my mind and send your family to a dungeon instead. Our deal says I promised to protect them and not kill them, but it doesn’t say anything about where I have to keep them or how I can treat them. So the choice is yours. You can take your punishment or you can let your family suffer the consequences of your actions.”

He bit down on his lip, then the corners of his lips lifted up in what I assumed was supposed to be a placating smile. “Okay. Leave my family out of this. It was my fault. It won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”

I motioned toward the bed. If he thought I was going to back down on this, he was wrong. He eyed me for a moment, then finally went over to the bed. I removed the holster with my gun and placed it in the safe that was in the nightstand as James turned his back to me and started undoing his belt.

“Give that to me.” I extended my arm toward him, and he pulled the belt out of the loops and handed it to me, giving me an obstinate look.

I doubled the belt and snapped it against the palm of my hand, satisfied with the sting. James pushed his pants and underwear down and glanced at me over his shoulder before he leaned over the bed. God, he had such a nice ass that I almost forgot what I intended to do.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“Yes.” He took a deep breath, and I brought the belt down on his backside. A little gasp escaped his throat when I swung the belt again. I felt a twinge of desire low in my stomach as red welts appeared on his bottom. His muscles were tense as his strong body fought to stay in position, and he didn’t make a sound, even when I hit him harder.

I bit my lower lip and tasted blood. I wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to run my fingers over his heated flesh, to take him inside me... He released a sharp breath, and I lowered the belt. His ass was a perfect shade of red.

I couldn’t help myself, so I moved closer to him and placed my hand low on his back. He flinched, and one look down made me realize just how hard his thick cock was. My stomach fluttered, my core tingling. Oh God.