Ace-High Flush by Patricia Green

couldn't quite get to sleep. He would drop off but wake up five minutes later. After a short time, he got up and made his way to the small refrigerator under the suite's wet bar, getting himself a bottle of water. He downed about half of it, then noticed a pile of receipts on the bar top. Curious, he riffled through them. Six hundred dollars for a pair of shoes. Another for $800. A purse for over a thousand. What the hell was Liv thinking? She'd put nearly all her savings from her modeling career into their foundation for young people with eating disorders. Out of the foundation's funding, she was paid a decent salary to be their spokesperson, but it was nowhere near enough to subsidize this kind of spending. In Texas, she'd overspent a few times, but he thought he'd made it clear that it had to stop. Apparently, the message was not clear enough.
    His temper flared high.
    "Liv! Wake up! You are in a passel of hot water, woman!"
    * * *
    Liv came to full wakefulness at Trey's roar. She sat up, alarmed. "Are you okay, Trey?"
    He stalked into the room, his face dark with fury, carrying her new purse. "No, I am not the hell okay!" He waved shopping receipts at her. "Do you think our bank account is a bottomless pit? You bought a purse for $1250, for crissakes!"
    "But that's what they cost."
    "Like hell they do. I'm not stupid. You're spending way beyond your paycheck, Liv. I told you to knock it off."
    It was true that she wasn't paid much by the foundation, not in comparison to what she used to make as a model, but she was used to designer products. It never occurred to her to even look at the price tags here in New York. She'd fallen right back into old habits. It was a huge blunder. Trey looked like a thundercloud about to burst with noise and violence. She felt her bottom tingling already.
    "I'm sorry. I'll take them back."
    "You sure will! But not the purse, we're keeping the purse as a memento."
    That sounded bad. "A memento?"
    "Yep." He pointed to a spot near the dresser. "Stand in the corner. I'm madder than a wet hen, and I want to think about this. I want you to think about this."
    He stomped out of the room, and Liv counted out the seconds, then the minutes as she stood facing the perpendicular walls. How long would his cool down period last? Well, at least he never spanked her when he was really angry. That would be hard to live with.
    She'd completely screwed up with the shopping. What had she been thinking? She wasn't thinking, that's what. She was acting like a spoiled child, with no regard to what things cost or how she was going to pay for them.
    Liv had counted to 600 when Trey came back in. She peeked over her shoulder to see just how mad he might still be. He'd wrapped the strap from her new leather purse around his fist, tucking the metal parts into his palm, and leaving about a ten inch loop hanging free. Uh-oh.
    He looked calm, but his mouth was set in a thin line. "Get your butt back on that bed, Liv, and up on all fours."
    "Really, Trey, I'm sorry. I won't do it again. If you use the strap on me, I can't take the purse back. And we have the event to get ready for. We'll be late."
    "I told you, the purse we keep. I like the quality of the leather, especially this strap. It's gonna leave some mighty nice stripes on your fanny every time I use it. And, believe me, darlin', I will be usin' it. If we're late, we're late. I plan to make my point, and I will do it right now. Move!"
    He had his military bearing on and that never bided well for Liv's fanny. Dreading the inches, she crept across the bed and presented her behind.
    "Pillows."
    Liv gathered up the pillows on the bed and put her face on one. It would muffle her sobs, which was a necessity in a hotel room. She tried one more time to coax him out of it. "Please, honey, I won't forget."
    "You won't forget because I'm gonna tan your butt."
    Groaning, she put her face into the soft pillow and took a deep breath. She didn't have to wait long. The burnished