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should go find Max or Mrs. Ribya? But how could she possibly explain how the outer door to the forbidden room had become unlocked? No, she had to find Milyi. Then she could shut him up in her room and come back down and find out just what was making that noise.
     
    But it wasn’t as simple as that. Not at all. She headed back to her room and found Milyi right away, curled up in the middle of her bed, panting and drooling on the bedspread—but no key! She hunted all around, under her bed, her dresser, in her walk-in closet. She retraced her steps back and forth, scouring the hallways for any sign of the leather fob, a glint of silver on the floor.
     
    Nothing.
     
    What could she do?
     
    It was almost midnight by the time she flopped down onto her bed for the night, Milyi raising his head and whining before closing his eyes again. Damned dog, she thought, closing her own eyes, her heart still racing in her chest. She had to find that key. If she didn’t, Blue would know she’d been in the room—it was still unlocked!—and she had no idea what he would do then.
     

     
    She’d never been so happy—and so terrified—to see anyone in her whole life as she was when Blue walked through the door. She had taken great pains to make herself up, nothing too dressy, but her blue silk dress with a gold oriental print accented her slim frame, the cream-colored sandals giving magical length to her already long legs. Her hair was swept up into a messy configuration—it had actually taken hours to get the perfect “casual” look—and she met him with a bright smile, trying to ignore her sweaty palms, her galloping heart.
     
    “Pet.” He smiled when he saw her, his eyes lighting up. He didn’t look like a man who had just hours traveling across country. He was rested, wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. Handsome. So very handsome. A wonderful distraction to the news she had to tell him about naughty dogs, missing keys and unlocked doors.
     
    “Hi.” She greeted him softly, getting up from the sitting room couch, putting her book aside. Mrs. Ribya had made her a breakfast she could barely eat while Max drove off to the airport to get Blue, but she’d been forced to eat far too much of it, because she’d locked Milyi in her room—the horrible, bad dog. Now she felt the oatmeal in her stomach like a rock.
     
    Blue leaned in close, whispering into her ear. “Guess what?”
     
    “What?” She looked up at him, inquisitive, his presence making her already racing heart skip beats, fighting the urge to put her arms around him.
     
    “I gave Max and Mrs. Ribya the day off.” Blue slipped his arms around her waist, lifting her, breathing in her scent.
     
    She gasped, crying out in surprise at his touch. “You did? Why?”
     
    “Because you’ve been a very, very bad girl.” He nuzzled her neck, his hands moving lower, oh god, grabbing her ass, lifting her higher! “And you need to be punished.”
     
    “Blue!” She cried out as he squatted down, easily hefting her over his shoulder. She squealed all the way down the hall, wiggling on his arms. “What are you doing? Put me down? Milyi!”
     
    The poor little pug was only one left in the house she could call for help!
     
    “He’s locked in your room, remember?” Blue smacked her ass—hard! “By the way, he dropped the key under the dining room table.”
     
    “How did you…?” But of course he knew. Her heart sank. The cameras. They were everywhere. And Max. Had he been watching? Oh god, he would have told Blue everything. “Please, put me down. Let me explain.”
     
    “Stop talking.”
     
    SLAP
     
    She cried out again. He was angry—an emotion she didn’t often see in him. She could tell by the way he strode down the hall, her body bouncing as he carried her down the stairs. “I’m going to give you one more chance to do as I say.”
     
    One more chance. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, praying he was taking her to his bedroom. Oh, god,