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alarm off, and Ed would accuse her of trying to cheat him out of the reward money.
    Her stomach flipped.
    Ed Peters would teach her a lesson once they got inside. And her bottom was still sore from yesterday’s lesson . The thought of being spanked by Ed now terrified her more than it had yesterday. It would hurt terribly. She would surely die of humiliation.
    When the door closed, Ella turned to face Ed with her head held high. Hopefully her fear was hidden.
    She had no desire to give him the satisfaction of seeing her tremble. In fact, she resolved not to cry at all.
    But being brave was easier said than done. Ed Peters loomed over her like an angry giant, his blue eyes smoldering with untamed rage.
    “Why did you open the window?” he demanded, grabbing her by both arms, shaking her lightly.

    “Why do you think?” she retorted, lifting her chin higher.
    His eyes flashed, and his grip tightened. “We had a deal!” The volume of his voice caused Ella to flinch.
    “I don’t care,” she said, finally looking away.
    “Attempting escape was a very foolish thing to do, Ella,” he said. “The nearest house is five miles away. It’s an hour-long drive to the nearest town. If you trip the alarm while I’m out, I know about it. If you want to go home, FINE. But I’m not about to let you cheat me out of the reward money. A deal is a deal, young lady.”
    Of course, it was about the money, she thought, and her heart broke. Worse than Brandon Andrews.
    Ella found herself being dragged toward the guestroom. When Ed removed the handcuffs and pushed her inside only to linger in the doorway, she was confused. Didn’t he intend to spank her? To teach her a lesson ?
    “I need to clean up. I suggest you do the same,” he said. “But know this, Ella Emerson: the spanking you received yesterday won’t hold a candle to the one you’ll be getting soon.”
    And with that, he was gone and the door bolted shut. Ella stood frozen, terrified beyond words.
    Yesterday’s lesson was still fresh in her mind and Ed intended to surpass it in intensity.
    When she finally snapped out of her trance, Ella hastily jumped into the shower to wash away the remnants of the forest floor. Pine needles and dirt pooled at the bottom of the tub as she scrubbed herself down. If she wasn’t cleaned up by the time Ed returned, she feared his reaction.
    When she visualized being bent over Ed’s lap, an unexpected tremor of arousal pulsed between her thighs. She would be at his mercy, and his hands would be touching a very private area on her body.
    Being punished by Ed seemed like an act as intimate as making love, a thought that scared her just as much as the fear of impending pain and humiliation.
    What was wrong with her? She didn’t really want to do this.
    Did she?
    Before Ella could put her conflicted thoughts in order, she heard a noise on the other side of the door as she dried herself off. Ed had returned. Damn . Her duffle bag of clothes was on the bed. All she had to cover herself was the towel. Ed was about to see her bare bottom, there was no stopping that. But she didn’t wish for him to see anything else.
    “You have thirty seconds, Ella,” Ed called through the door.
    Panicking, Ella cursed herself for not bringing her clothes in the bathroom. “Um, Mr. Peters?”
    “What is it?” He did not sound amused.
    “Could you please pass me the duffle bag that’s on the bed?” she asked.
    “Why?”
    Her heart pounded. Was he really that dense?
    “Because I don’t have any clothes in here.” To her horror, he opened the door enough to toss a tank top inside. A tank top and nothing else!

    “Please, Mr. Peters, could I have the whole duffle bag?”
    “You won’t need anything else, Ella. I suggest you put the shirt on before I change my mind and take it away,” he replied, much to Ella’s continued horror.
    With tears in her eyes, she slipped into the tank top and smoothed her hair back. Never in her life had she felt so