Her Mafia Brothers

Punished

Jack looks down at me so tenderly I think I'm going to start crying again.

"Come on sweetheart, let's get your spanking over and done with, yeah?" He takes my hand and I can tell he's not actually making a suggestion. Nor is he asking me a question. Or if he is, it's a rhetorical one. He doesn't want an answer. He's giving me an order - albeit a semi-disguised one - and he fully expects me to obey. What he means is: I'm getting this spanking whether I want it or not.

Jack leads me into the hallway at the base of the stairs. "Go upstairs and wait for me in my room, sweetheart."

I shake my head no, but I can't bring myself to say the word. Not even whisper it. My feet stay rooted to the floor. Jack stands there and stares at me, silently telling me to do as I'm told, but I just can't do it. Nick already spanked me; my butt is still burning and throbbing and hurting with a deep ache that still lingers and I just can't accept that Jack is going to spank me again. It's too much. Doesn't he care that I can't do this?

"I don't want to," I whisper. "I can't."

If this was Alex, he'd be smacking my ass right now for refusing to move, and Damon would just drag me. But this isn't Alex. Nor is it Damon. It's Jack. My Jacky. And he just looks at me patiently.

"Yes you can, sweetheart," he encourages. "I'll be up there shortly. But you go now and take some time to gather your thoughts. Think about why you're in trouble and what you will do differently next time. Count up the number of lives you endangered with your choice to run away. This is your chance to be mature and take responsibility for your actions and accept the consequences."

Jack spoke softly but firmly. He wasn't scolding me, but his tone was serious.

I looked at Rocco. "Will you come with me? Please?" I asked, reaching for his hand. For some reason, having Rocco beside me gave me the courage to make my legs move to take me to my doom.

"Sure, sis," he said, wrapping his big hand around mine.

Together, we walked up the stairs. Nick had spanked me so hard that it hurt to walk - my jeans chafed against my sore butt - but I didn't dare complain. I knew Rocco would only scowl at me and tell me I deserved it if I did.

We stopped briefly outside Logan's room. Nick was still in there with him and it sounded like Logan was hurt pretty bad. It sounded like Nick was arranging for the doctor to come anyway, so I assumed his ribs were busted again or something and instantly I felt guilty.

It's my fault Logan is hurt, I realized.

Rocco led me down the hallway into Jack's room and sat down beside me on Jack's bed. I hadn't spent much time in Jack's room, but I liked it. It had a nice, welcoming feel to it. Homely, almost. Probably Anna's feminine touch, I figured.

"Do you want me to wait with you?" Rocco asked, and I nodded. I didn't want to be alone. Being alone with my thoughts was never a good thing.

I tried to do what Jack had asked: count up the number of people I'd affected, and decide what I should have done differently, but my mind kept wandering. I wasn't used to actually thinking about my mistakes; usually I just got punished for them and moved on, but this time, Jack wanted more than that. I knew he would probably ask me what I'd come up with before he dishes out my punishment, but I couldn't get my brain to co-operate. I hated thinking about stuff like this, hated acknowledging what I'd done wrong. I hated being in trouble.

Rocco just sat there beside me in silence. He didn't say a word. He didn't help me answer Jack's questions. He just sat there, his big hand squeezing mine.

It wasn't long before Jack's bedroom door slid open and Jack strode into the room, wooden spoon in his hand. Without a word, or even looking at me, Rocco got up and left the room, closing the door tightly behind him.