CHAPTER <b>0097 </b>


    Meadow’s POV:


    “I–I…” I stuttered, trying and failing to form words. I definitely did not think this through. “ric…”


    I sat up on my elbows, my throat thickening as he pulled away from me.


    His eyes left mine again and returned to the receipt. I could practically see his expression getting darker


    with every second he spent looking at that paper.


    When I’d first read it, it hurt, because it felt like a direct message to me—and at the end of the day, our marriage really wasn’t serious.


    But now, the look in ric’s eyes made me wish I could turn back the hands of time and shred the paper.


    “Don’t make me ask again, Meadow.” ric being calm at this moment scared me so much.


    “It’s nothing,” I whispered quickly. “It’s nothing, okay? Just a stupid receipt. I was at a restaurant earlier


    today and some waiter wrote it and…”


    I trailed off, realizing that speaking about it was only making the situation worse.


    ric ran his palm along his jaw, rising to his full height.


    “Some waiter,” he echoed in a low tone. “And judging from this note, he knew you were married and still


    made a move on <b>you</b><b>.</b>”


    He wasn’t asking.


    I looked away, saying nothing in response, and then I felt his hand on my jaw as he turned me to face him. My grip on the sheets tightened. He was standing over me, his face dangerously close to mine.


    I swallowed as he lifted the receipt between us. “And why was this in your bra, Meadow? Did he touch


    you?”


    “What? No!” I answered quickly, shaking my head. “He didn’t touch me.”


    Alraric’s brows furrowed for a second like he was trying to figure out how it ended up in my bra. And then, as if it suddenly hit him, something shed in his eyes.


    Something dangerous.


    “You put this in there yourself, didn’t you?” he rasped. “On purpose.”


    How was I supposed to tell him that I’d gotten home, changed out of my outfit, took a fucking shower, slipped on lingerie and stuck the receipt into my bra so he would see it?


    What <b>exactly </b>would I say was my motive<b>? </b>I couldn’t tell him that I had been with rissa, and that she’d


    told me she was with him and I was annoyed by the fact that he got drunk with her and talked about


    Juniper.


    “ric, I-”


    “Why?” he cut in. But his voice wasn’t hard anymore. There was something else in his eyes now. The heat was back, along with the anger. His thumb brushed the corner of my mouth and I inhaled shakily. “Why did you want me to see it?”


    My lips parted but no words came out. Why was I so mute all of a sudden? I thought I had enacted the entire n in my head but now my brain was nk. ric’s grip tightened on my jaw.


    “What? All of a sudden, you can’t defend yourself, Meadow?” He let out a breath that would’ve seemed amused had he not been ring at me.


    ric’s voice dropped to a low growl. “Tell me where.”


    “What?” I breathed.


    “The restaurant. The waiter’s name. I won’t repeat myself, Meadow. And I can just as easily find him, but I want you to tell me his name.”


    I opened my mouth, not sure why I was hesitating. The waiter was a pervy asshole who wouldn’t stop staring at my boobs and wouldn’t back off even after rissa’s warning.


    But I think I was scared. Not of ric, but FOR the waiter. I had never seen ric being violent, but the time Tyler called me to insult me and ric found out, he really looked like he was going to kill him.


    Until I offered my ass to be whipped in order to save his life.


    “I…h–he um…”


    “Tell me.” His hand slid from my jaw to my throat. He didn’t squeeze, just rested it at the base. “You let me find out for a reason. Don’t shy away now.”


    I was ashamed to admit that more heat had pooled between my thighs. I was curious about what he wanted to do to him. I wanted to know what kind of man ric really was. My heart skipped two beats. Not one. Two.


    “Jeff,” I whispered. “His name is Jeff.”


    ric’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. “Jeff,” he repeated. When I nodded, he stepped back. My eyelids fluttered and I tried to follow. “ric, don’t…” I sighed. “What are you going to do to him?<b>” </b>


    He didn’t answer<b>, </b>he just walked over to the vanity, looking down at the receipt once more, and <b>then </b>he picked up his phone. My pulse hammered in my ears.


    He started to type something on his phone, and, curious as I was, I tried to get off the bed. But he stopped


    me with a single look.


    Okay, he was pissed. Royally pissed.


    My shoulders fell. “I’m sorry, ric. I shouldn’t have done that.”


    His back tensed and he dropped the phone back on the table. “Done what? Taken the note or kept it in your bra?” There was an edge to his voice, but when he turned around, he had a dark smirk on his face.


    He stepped closer to the bed, and I moved backward on my hands, not taking my eyes off him as he popped the remaining buttons of his shirt. “Truthfully, I’m d you kept it.” His eyes met mine while he shrugged the shirt off. “How else would I have known that amon waiter dared to breathe the same fucking air as you despite knowing you’re married?”


    My breath hitched and I swallowed, eyes dragging down his bare chest and muscles.


    “Earlier, you said your goal was to drive me crazy, didn’t you, Meadow?”


    God. The way he said my name made shivers run down my spine.


    “Yes…” I choked out, although it came out as a question. I did say that. Minutes ago, in fact.


    ric hummed. “Well, congrattions. You seeded.” The words were barely out before he yanked me to the edge of the bed again. I gasped, letting out a soft moan when his hands trailed up my thighs.


    “ric… What are you going to do to him?” I asked again.


    His eyes shed as he leaned in, brushing his lips against my cheek. And then he whispered: “Nothing to concern yourself with. I’ll take care of this after I’m done with you.”


    And before I could evenprehend what he was saying, he pushed me down onto the mattress, flipping me onto my stomach in one swift motion.


    A gasp tore from my throat as ric pulled my hips up, forcing me onto my knees. I tried to ground myself with my hands but he pushed my head down with a… gentle force–if that meant anything. So now my ass was in the air while my face was on the bed.


    My core clenched with need.


    “You see, you’ve been a naughty girl, Meadow,” he continue, sliding his finger down my spine slowly until he got to the curve of my ass. He rubbed it tenderly. “You kept this receipt, knowing it would drive me insane. You wanted my attention, no matter the cost. Just like when you defied me by wearing that dress the other night.”


    By ‘the other night‘, I instantly knew he was referring to his mother’s party–when he had made me orgasm in only two dresses and I picked the third on purpose.


    Yeah, he never did punish me for that.


    HAPTER 0097


    His palm was warm and heavy on my ass. “Well, now you’ve got it, Doe. Everyst bit of my attention.”


    I heard the sound of his belt being removed and my heart stuttered, chest tightening in anticipation.


    He said it before that he never delivered punishments with his hand.


    I wanted him to punish me, just like I wanted him to that night Tyler called me.


    “And now you’re going to take your punishment like the bad girl you wanted to be.”


    x