Hellbound With You (WN)
chapter-73

Little Betty looked at Kai and Xavier. Xavier was miming at her to choose him but Betty's gaze just passed through him until her eyes fell on the lone man sitting at the far end of the room. She pointed her finger towards Ezekiel Qin, surprising everyone except Alex. Even Ezekiel himself was a little taken aback, although his face remained blank. 

"Nice choice, Little Betty," Alex seemed satisfied with her choice. He looked at Zeke with a taunting smile and before Abi could protest, Alex was already walking towards Zeke. He held Betty's hand in one hand and the book with the other. Once they stood before the quiet Zeke, Alex looked down at him with a smile on his face. He bent down and put the book on Zeke's lap, almost with a flourish, before he straightened up. "Take care of Little Betty for a while, Zeke."

Without even waiting for the man's response, Alex patted the girl's head as he asked Charles to give Zeke the blanket and the pillow. Little Betty smiled and voluntarily jumped on the space next to Zeke. She took the pillow and positioned it as close to Zeke as possible and she quietly settled down as she stared at the man, waiting expectantly for him to start reading to her.

Alexander smiled at the girl's behavior before he looked at Zeke with a mischievous yet stern look in his eyes. "I'll leave her to you then, Zeke. Start reading to her now because it's already quite late," he said before turning to walk away.

He walked straight towards Abi and grabbed her wrist, dragging her up the stairs. Abi kept looking back at the duo as she was still a bit worried. 

"Alex, are you sure? I think it might be better if we leave her with Kai," she said and Alex halted on the stairs.

"Stop worrying, little fruit. Trust me, Zeke is the best choice for babysitting her. I don't actually trust those two that much. They'll make her cry or treat her like a doll. She won't be able to sleep early if she's with them."

"But…" 

"Shh… look at her. She likes Zeke. Don't worry, Zeke will never harm even a single strand of her hair," he said and Abi just blinked. Alex's absolute trust in Zeke was not something she expected, especially regarding this matter. 

Abi looked at Betty and when she saw that the girl was smiling as she looked up at the cold man. She looked around and saw the butler and maids were also standing by so she felt at ease.

However, her ease only lasted for a minute because as soon as the two arrived on the third floor, Abi's heart began to thump. She began to feel nervous. 

Was he really going to punish her? 

Abi's steps began to slow. She walked like a turtle while Alex just walked elegantly in front of her, like always, as she followed behind him. When the man finally stopped in front of her room, Abi was a few steps behind him.

He glanced at her before he pushed her room's door open and entered like it was his own.  

Abigail took a deep breath, not once but thrice, before she entered. Alex was already sitting on her bed, loosening his neck tie and unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt. He was doing that in an outrageously, devastatingly s.e.xy and alluring way. His eyes smoldered as he looked at her as he moved gracefully like a magnificent beast. 

"Come over, Abigail," he ordered and his deep voice made Abi swallow as she moved slowly towards him.

"Uhm Alex, I can explain. I…" before Abi could continue, Alexander pulled her close. His large hand easily gripped both of her hands while his free hand grabbed her chin.  

"Rules are rules, Abigail. You broke one of the rules so you'll need to be punished. No excuses," he whispered and Abi felt chills run down her spine. "I have to teach you a lesson, Abigail. I can see you're not taking my simple rules seriously. Did you think I was going to just let it go because this was your first offense? If that's what you think, then you're wrong, little lamb. I'll have to show you now or else you will think that my rules are nothing but words of bluff." 

The words that resonated in her ears sent small shivers through her body. Abigail swallowed again. 

"A-are you going to hurt me?" she asked and her lips trembled a little. 

Alexander's lips twisted to a faint smile before it abruptly faded. His eyes blazed with ice cold fire, so deadly and dangerous, but at the same time filled with something different that Abi couldn't fathom. 

"Do you want me to hurt you?" he asked and Abi's throat dried up.

"No, Alex." She shook her head. Her voice was barely a whisper. The little lamb finally showed a little hint of fear.

"Are you scared?" he asked again as his vivid eyes pierced hers. Nonetheless, Abi looked at him back straight on; her gaze was even deeper than ever.

"A little," she replied and Alex's eyes squinted. 

"A little, huh… But you're already expecting me to hurt you, right?" 

She nodded. "A little."

"What do you mean by a little, huh, Abigail?" 

"I think your punishment will hurt me a little."

A throaty chuckle left Alex's lips as he grabbed her chin and rubbed her lips gently, not taking his eyes off hers even for a second. 

"Tell me, what kind of punishment were you expecting?" he asked and a short silence followed.

Abi straightened her tensed shoulders, took one deep breath before she calmly opened her lips and told him what was running through her mind.

"That… you will have me stand there facing the wall for a long time, or, have me run a lap or two or three outside, or, lock me in my room for a couple of hours, or, have me write pages and pages of an apology letter, or, have me go clean the backyard…"

Alexander's smirk had long faded since she uttered her first phrase. This girl… was she trying to distract him? Did she think that his rules were some kind of classroom rules and now he became a teacher in her eyes?

Despite being rendered speechless once again because of another weird surprise in the middle of this situation, Alexander didn't let this naïve little fruit take the better of him.

"Abigail, how about spanking? Did that ever come to your mind?" his voice was damn deep and alluring, like the voice of a devil in disguise, luring people to their demise. 

"Spanking?"