I flatten my lips. I don’t trust my slutty mouth to behave.

  “Camden, what the hell?” A blond appears at his side, fingers wrapped around his bicep, and tugs him backward.

  It’s exactly the glass of water my libido needs to be doused with. Of course he’s here with another woman.

  The nerve of this man.

  With absolute daggers in his direction, I say to Theo, “Yeah, unfortunately, I do know him.” Sitting taller, I pull my shoulders back. “This is Camden Snow. As you can see, he’s a bit older than us, so maybe he’s a little senile. I guess he forgot that our time together came to an end quite a while ago.”

  Camden’s blue eyes go glacial as he shakes off the woman at his side.

  Rather than get upset, the blond throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, this one’s a keeper.” Blue eyes bright, she smiles at me. “Don’t mind my brother. He’s had a rough week, and he’s a terrible flier.” She holds out a slim hand. “I’m Cora.”

  Her brother?

  And what does she mean by terrible week?

  I hate that my attention immediately snaps back to him. Even more, I despise the concern that overtakes me when I note the dark circles under his eyes.

  Jaw flexing, he looks away from me.

  The disappointment in his expression hurts more than it should. He has no right to be upset with me. He never called, and I’m not doing anything wrong.

  The two of us are not in a relationship. We spent one night together, and he hasn’t reached out all week. Having a drink with someone of the opposite sex is completely acceptable. Appropriate, even.

  “I’m Savannah,” I mutter, unsuccessfully trying to force a friendly expression to my face.

  “Well, Savannah, I hope this isn’t the last time we meet,” Cora says.

  Beside her, her brother scoffs, avoiding eye contact.

  A wave of annoyance rolls through me. What the hell? How is it that I’m the bad guy?

  Before I can ask him what his issue is, he grabs his sister’s arm and tugs her toward the door without looking back.

  Leaving me to wonder, what the hell just happened?

  SIXTEEN

  SAVANNAH

  Calliope’s Column

  It’s Not Him, It’s You (Kind Of)

  Rule Number 3: When He Leaves, Don’t Follow Him.

  This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I pull my jacket tighter around my body, fighting the bitter midnight cold.

  Yeah. Definitely a stupid idea. I pull out my phone and navigate to the rideshare app. Why didn’t I ask the driver to wait until I confirmed Camden was home?

  Of course I’d actually have to ring the doorbell to do that. But then he’d know I’ve made this idiotic gesture. That I’m standing outside his house in the middle of the night because I can’t shake the uneasiness swirling in my chest. The fear that I did something wrong.

  I’ve never felt this type of guilt before. Probably because I’ve never owed anyone an explanation for my whereabouts.

  My mother never cared where I went, my father was long gone by the time I was old enough to go anywhere alone, and I’ve never had a boyfriend who cared enough to be concerned about me.

  Not that Camden Snow is my boyfriend.

  God. I tip my head up and silently curse at the night sky. Why is dating so confusing?

  I’ve never understood Sutton as well as I do in this moment. With a sigh, I request a ride. Then I click out of the app and text her, figuring she won’t see it until morning.

  Me: Current me would like to say sorry to past you for being so judgmental. This dating crap is hard.

  My phone lights up with a response immediately.

  Sutton: Apology accepted. And I feel you girl. BUT I took your advice and played the game last weekend, and I have a date with Royal tomorrow night!

  I’m smiling down at the screen when a burst of wind hits me, the icy blast burning my cheeks and making me shudder.

  When my phone buzzes again, I expect it to be Sutton. Instead, another name pops up, striking me stupid.

  Daddy: Are you going to ring the doorbell, or am I going to have to warm your ass up with my palm to stop you from shivering?

  A loud gasp escapes me.

  Did he just…?

  Also, he seriously put himself in my phone as Daddy? I don’t know how I missed that. What an egotistical asshole.

  And what the fuck is wrong with me that I’m once again turned on by his attitude?

  Daddy: You have five seconds to make up your mind before I make it for you.

  I scoff and glare at the door, searching for the camera. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Wanna bet?” The garbled words come from a speaker on a panel near the door.

  Head dropped back, I huff. Asshole.

  At the sound of a car turning down the street, I straighten, formulating a plan. He thinks he can order me around? Joke’s on him. He’s about to watch me leave.

  “Savannah.” The bark is louder this time. The door swings open, and the man himself appears, lit from behind.

  Without a word, I turn on my heel and stomp toward the road, where a dark car is approaching.

  “You’re not getting in the car with a stranger at midnight,” Camden commands from behind me.

  I wave my phone over my head. “His name is Ron, and he’s not a stranger; he’s on the app.”

  He makes a noise that sounds like a growl. “Can we stop playing these games for a minute? It’s not safe.”

  I whip around and cross my arms, once again fighting the icy wind. Games? He thinks I’m playing games?

  I don’t play games. I don’t even know why the hell I’m here right now. He’s the one messing with my head. Telling me he’s not done with me, then not calling, then getting pissed when he sees me out with someone else.

  “Yeah, I’m all set with whatever this is,” I say, motioning between the two of us. “I’ve gone twenty-seven years without being told what to do, and you’re not my father, so cool it with this whole fake concern. I’ll be just fine.”

  I spin and continue toward the car that’s pulled up to the curb.

  Before I can open the door, I’m lifted off the ground and flipped upside down. I barely have a chance to scream what the hell? before Camden’s palm makes contact with my ass. “You’re damn right I’m not your father. I’m your goddamn Daddy, and you’re being a brat.”

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” the driver calls through the window. “I’m calling the police.”

  Camden turns his back to the road so that I’m facing the driver. “Tell him you’re fine.”

  I shove myself up, my hands splayed on Camden’s back, and sigh, the annoyance flowing through me growing stronger. Yeah, I’m irritated as shit by Camden’s ridiculous behavior, but I don’t actually want the driver to call the police.

  “Just a little argument with my…” I almost say daddy. I seriously want to punch myself repeatedly in the face. “Date,” I grind out. “We’re fine. Sorry to bother you. I’ll put a hundred percent tip on the ride. Thank you!”

  The guy stares me down, brows furrowed like he’s not sure I’m telling the truth.

  With one hand braced on Camden’s lower back, I wave. “Seriously, I’m fine.” Though the blood rushing to my head is making my brain a little foggy. “Could you put me down?” I hiss to my captor.

  “I will when we get inside.”

  I bounce with every step he takes, my eyes level with his amazing ass. And yes, noticing that right now is strange, but it’s seriously incredible. Like a bubble, except he’s tall and large, so it’s perfectly proportional with the rest of his body.

  I actually consider taking a bite out of it before I catch myself and curse under my breath.

  I will not bite Camden Snow’s ass.

  Only when we’re in his living room does he flip me back over and ease me onto the couch. Then he takes a good ten steps back, heaving a breath, like he’s just realized how absurd he’s being.

  He should be embarrassed by the behavior. He’s a grown-ass man.

  Honestly, I’m embarrassed. I don’t understand the effect he has on me, and I don’t know how to make it stop.

  “Can I get you something to drink? Tea?” He runs his hand through his short hair and turns one way, then the other, his movements jerky, like he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

  While he’s freaking out, I search for something to focus on that isn’t the gray sweats hanging low on his hips. Or his bare tattoo-covered chest. Or the eight-pack I’d like to lick again.

  See? There we go with the absurdity again.

  I’m borderline feral for him and I hate myself for it. Because while I’m eye-fucking every inch of the man, he can barely look me in the eye.

  “No, seriously,” I say, my cheeks flaming. “I’m sorry I showed up here. I’ll see if one of my friends can pick me up.” I stand and shuffle to the door, unlocking my phone as I go.

  I’m sure Addie will come get me. I feel bad waking her, but she only lives a few blocks away.

  Camden groans, the sound loud enough to echo around the enormous room. “Why are you determined to piss me off?”

  “What does that even mean?” I spin back to him, hands on my hips. “I apologized and offered to get out of your hair.”

  He stalks toward me, fists balled at his sides, jaw clenched.

  On instinct, I take a step back, then another, stopping only when I bump into the door.

  “Does it look like I want you to leave?” he grits out. “I just dragged you inside.” He slaps his palm to the wall beside my head and heaves in a rough breath. “Fuck, you make me want to put you over my knee and spank some sense into you.”

  As heat floods my veins, I jut my chin. “So do it.”

  His attention drops to my lips, but only for a second before his eyes are locked with mine. “Baby girl, you have to stop with these games.” Slowly, he angles in and brushes his stubbled cheek with mine. When he ghosts his mouth over mine, I suck in a breath, trying to steal a taste.

  It’s irrational how fiercely I need this man.

  “What if I don’t know how?” I whisper.

  His blue eyes flare with heat. “Then I’m going to be forced to teach you a lesson.”

  I press my chest into his and nip at his lips, tugging on his bottom one until he groans. “Okay, Daddy.”

  SEVENTEEN

  CAMDEN

  My cock strains against my sweats. Fuck. I’m dying to get inside this infuriatingly beautiful woman.

  Instead, I suck in a breath, holding tight to the modicum of control I still possess.

  Today has been a complete mindfuck. After my flight home, the encounter at the bar, and putting up with my sister on the drive to the airport, I’m fucking exhausted. But there was no way I was gonna sleep when I got home. Not when this woman consumed my thoughts. Now, I’m running on pure adrenaline and nothing else.

  I press my hips to hers so she can feel what she does to me, and with my mouth on hers, I murmur, “The problem is you want the punishment too much. And it wouldn’t be right for me to reward your bratty behavior.”

  Green eyes flaring with anger and heat, she pushes against my chest.

  I don’t budge. “You’re only making it worse for yourself, Savannah.”

  She lifts her chin defiantly. “Fine. Then tell me how I can make it better.”

  I push off the wall and pad to the couch. When I’m settled on it, I lean back and spread my legs wide. Then I pat my thigh. “Face down, ass up. Now.”

  She stares at my lap, the war raging in her head nearly visible. She doesn’t want to like this. Doesn’t think she should. But we both know that whatever the hell is brewing between us is too damn strong to be snuffed out. And I for one am too fucking tired to fight against it tonight.

  Still, I’m surprised when she pulls off her coat and drapes it on the side of the couch, then shuffles over and stands between my knees. “You want me to lay down?”

  I swipe a pillow from the end of the couch and set it on the cushion beside my hip. “Head here.” I tap my lap next. “Ass here.” Then I slap the other side of the couch. “Legs here.”

  She rolls her eyes.

  I tsk, stretching my arms out along the back of the couch. “That’s just going to earn you another smack.”

  “How many are we at now?” she mumbles as she settles into the position I requested.

  The moment she’s in my lap, her warm weight covering me, her head turned so she can see my face, her eyes on mine in beautiful submission, all the stress from the last week begins to recede.

  I set one palm atop her ass and brush her beautiful red hair back from her face with the other.

  Her eyes fall shut and her body sags, like she’s also feeling a sense of relief despite her position.

  “That depends on you.”

  Her eyes flutter open. “Me?”

  “Yes. Tell me how many men you’ve been out with since I was last inside you.”

  “You want me to…to…” She stumbles over her words, her eyes searching mine. “To tell you about other men?”

  My stomach rolls at the idea that there’ve been more than the one from tonight, but I nod.

  She grits her teeth, like that internal battle has picked up again. Like she wants to tell me to fuck myself, but also, she doesn’t. “Just Theo.”

  Theo. The name alone makes my vision go red.

  I tug at her skirt, exposing her bare ass. “No panties again?”

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbles, true remorse in her tone.

  It’s too late for that, though. I pull my hand back, and it lands against her ass with a loud thwack. “That’s for Theo.”

  She sucks in a sharp breath, but she doesn’t look away from me and she doesn’t flinch. With a deep breath in, I wind up and do the same to the other cheek. “And that’s for no panties.”

  The way she holds my gaze only serves to make me harder. Fuck.

  Breathing unevenly, she says, “I told him I’d go to dinner with him tomorrow.”

  Another crack. This one turns her skin a perfect shade of pink. “Did he touch you?”

  She shakes her head quickly, but the movement stops abruptly, and she groans. “Well, he kissed my cheek.”

  Another smack.

  She moans this time.

  “Did you want him to kiss you anywhere else?”

  She bites her lip.

  “Savannah.”

  “No.” She shakes her head, the movements jerky.

  “Are you lying to me?”

  “No. I just…” She squeezes her eyes shut.

  I drag in a harsh breath. Fuck, if she tells me she⁠—

  “I want you to keep doing that.”

  My eyes fly open. “What?”

  “The spanking.” She wiggles her ass, practically humping my lap. “I—” She sighs. “I want to piss you off so you keep spanking me. I don’t want you to stop until I come.”

  A wave of pleasure rolls through me. Confidence too.

  I squeeze her cheeks, massaging them roughly. Damn, she feels good. I love that she’s got real meat on her. That she’s not all muscle or bones. I slip a hand between her thighs, humming. “Are you wet for me, baby girl?” I drag my fingers through her silky perfection, and a groan of satisfaction works its way out of me.

  Hell yeah. She’s absolutely soaked.

  “Yes. More. Please,” she whimpers.

  As a thought strikes me, I spear her with one finger.

  She squeals, her back arching, her breathing turning even more ragged.

  “I have an idea,” I murmur, stopping all movement but keeping my finger in place.

  “Okay,” she pants, grinding her hips, trying to fuck herself on my hand.

  I pull out before she can get too carried away, then curl over her, bringing my mouth to her ear. “Tell me the name of every man you’ve fucked, and I’ll spank you once for each of them.”

  Her breath catches and her eyes fly open. “What?”

  I press a kiss to her cheek. “Come on, baby girl. I wasn’t born yesterday. I know you haven’t only been a slut for me.”

  Eyes wide, she assesses me. That fight is back. She wants to curse me out. Wants to tell me I’m an asshole. She’d be right. But I’ve fucked plenty of women in my life, so I have no room to judge. And fuck knows why, but I need this information. I want to know everything about her. I want to erase the memory of every other man she’s ever been with. Spank her until she can’t even think their names without remembering the orgasm I’m going to give her tonight.

  After tonight, when she thinks about sex, I’m going to be the only man she ever associates with it.

  “Why?” she says, because she’s still fighting this connection.

  “Because I’m going to fuck their names from your memory, baby girl. After tonight, you’re going to know the only man you belong to is me.”

  She hums, her body quaking. She loves this as much as I do.

  “Tim. Sophomore year in the back of his car. He never made me come.”

  Tim. I want to fucking kill him. I drop my hand to her ass with a loud crack.

  She whimpers. “Um, Landon.” Her eyes fall shut. “He was a senior in college and my TA my freshman year. He talked me into blowing him a few times after class, and I think we fucked twice in my dorm.”

  Jaw clenched, I take out my anger on her extremely red ass.

  “Senior year, I had a boyfriend. Dean. We fucked a lot⁠—”

  I spear her with my finger again, and she grinds against me like she did before. I let her chase her orgasm until her walls flutter, signaling that she’s close. Then I pull back and smack her ass again.

  “Fuck,” she whines.

  “Who else?”

  “Um, a dozen or so one-night stands since I’ve moved to Boston. Maybe more.” She lifts her ass like she’s waiting for the rapid series of smacks she’s absolutely going to receive.

  “How many of them made you come?” I demand.