Chapter Twenty-Two
Consequences
Kyle
The delivery driver had wanted to make small talk, but Kyle hadn’t been in the mood. He rarely enjoyed pleasantries at the best of times but never when he had the smoking-hot woman of his dreams in his study waiting for him.
He managed to get rid of the interruption as soon as possible, signing for the consignment Leonard had ordered and scowling that the delivery should have been taken to the rear of the property. He’d need to speak to the chef about it. Without a housekeeper, Leonard had reverted to ordering his own ingredients again, and apparently, he hadn’t bothered to inform the driver where to deliver the goods.
It doesn’t matter. He sagged against the front door as he pushed it closed. I’m not going to sweat the small stuff. Not now that I have Amy.
It only took a moment to stride across the vestibule, past the table he’d fucked her over, and along the narrow corridor that led to his study. The unexpected delivery had taken the shine off his throbbing need, but he knew it wouldn’t take much of Amy’s display to bring his cock to attention again.
That, he realized, was part of her power. As a middle-aged woman, she seemed to have been living under the illusion that she was past her prime and completely undesirable when the reality couldn’t be much farther from the truth. Amy had an incredible body, but she wasn’t only a pretty face. She was smart, intuitive, and increasingly shrewd, and in the short time he’d known her, he’d watched her come alive with his loving.
Pausing at the door to his study, he contemplated just how far they’d come in a short space of time. They hadn’t only declared their feelings for one another but also genuinely started to trust as well. It was all more than he could ever have hoped when he’d bought her a loaf of bread in that insalubrious grocery store.
Opening the door slowly, he found her standing across the room at his filing cabinet. His heart skipped a beat as he noticed she appeared to be reading something.
Shit! Usually so in control, Kyle wasn’t prepared for the cold wave of terror that drowned his body. What is she reading?
He hadn’t left any documents on top of the cabinet. He remembered that much with clarity because she’d strewn her duster there when she’d been tormenting him with the look of her gorgeous backside. So, where had she found the paper?
A deep and unsettling sense of foreboding stirred inside him, providing him with the only logical answer.
She’s taken it from the cabinet.
Shit.
She’s found the tenancy agreements!
His jaw clenched as he pulled the door quietly closed behind him. With her back turned, she didn’t seem to have heard or seen him enter, so he still had the element of surprise, and worryingly, whatever she was reading seemed to have utterly engrossed her. If Amy had stumbled across his historical tenancy contracts, who knew what she’d be thinking? Hopefully, she hadn’t found the one Graham had signed, but no doubt she’d recognize the name of the street.
Of course, she will. She’s not stupid.
He flinched as she pulled in a sudden deep breath, and without turning, she wandered to the window. Resting her head against the pane, she lifted the paper again, seemingly reading it over and over, as though she was urging the words to change.
Shit.
Why had he left the files there? Why hadn’t he locked the cabinet? And why, for fuck’s sake, had he actually enticed her to dust the thing?
“Fuck.” She sounded close to tears as the profanity slipped from her lips.
Then and there, he knew it was too late. She’d found the paperwork pertaining to the house she’d lived in with Graham, and she’d discovered he was their landlord.
“Oh my God.” The paper fell from her fingers, landing on the carpet by her feet, but still, she didn’t seem to sense the weight of his stare behind her. “He sent the eviction notice that catapulted me into a financial shitstorm.”
There were definitely tears from her then, her voice quivering with a combination of what he assumed was upset, shock, and anger. At the very least, she’d want to know why he hadn’t told her he used to own her old home—a reasonable request, perhaps, had it not uncovered the long litany of things he’d undertaken over the years to keep an eye on her.
How was he supposed to manage the long list of enraged questions that would likely rattle from her alluring lips? Contrition wasn’t his style, and despite the riveting penance he’d delivered around honesty, he wasn’t yet ready to divulge his entire backstory.
The sinking feeling in the depths of his stomach was disturbing. Logically, he understood how hypocritical withholding the information made him, and he wanted to do better, to be better for her, but in the short term, there was no easy way to resolve the problem.
I have to take control.
In the end, he settled the matter in seconds and resorted to the one course of action he knew by heart—the one that was as natural as taking another breath. He’d take the bull by the horns and blindside her. Since he’d found her snooping through his filing cabinet, that should be easy enough.
“Little girl?” Folding his arms over his chest, he employed his firmest tone. “Want to tell me why you’re reading my files?”
She spun, her eyes wide as she appraised him. She was obviously shocked to see him, but her snippy tone revealed little of her concern.
“I found the file.”
“You’ve been going through my things.”
His guilt was fast sliding into something dark and unimpressed. He was culpable for keeping things from her, but that didn’t excuse her interference. He would have told her about their past connections—at some point—when he’d been ready, but to have her force the situation was far from pleasing.
“You used to be my fucking landlord!” She spat the words at him, lowering to collect the proof from the carpet. “You lecture me about honesty, yet you don’t even mention that?”
“I don’t like your tone, young lady.” He tapped his foot against the soft pile, watching her face redden.
“I don’t give a damn what you like!” Rage was radiating from her in waves so strong, he could practically sense them. “How could you do this, William? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Don’t use my first name.” He regretted ever giving her the permission. “You refer to me as sir.”
“I’ll refer to you as the asshole who’s been lying to me this whole time!” She wiped away her angry tears.
“That is enough!” He could understand the news was alarming, but that was no excuse for her blatant disrespect. “I know you’re upset, but I won’t accept that language from you.”
“Accept what you like.” She shrugged, attempting to fake nonchalance as she collected the offending paperwork from the floor, but it was clear from the tension in her features, she was seething. “I’m out of here!”
She stalked away, going behind his desk in an effort to avoid him, but it took him less than three strides to reach the door before she did.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He had no idea how he was going to remedy the situation, but letting her walk out of the door was absolutely not among the solutions. “You’re mine, and we’re going to resolve this.”
“I’m not anyone’s!” She stomped her foot against the floor, sending a delightful tremor north to her breasts as fresh tears spilled from her eyes. “And I want to go.”
“My answer is no.”
Blocking her escape, it was easier to be calm. Amy was a lot of fabulous things, but she wasn’t strong enough to maneuver him out of the way. Where physicality was concerned, she had no chance.
“Sit down, and we’ll talk.”
“I don’t want to talk!” She shoved the piece of paper that had inspired so much upset hard against his chest. “How could you not tell me about this? Why did you lie?”
Sir. He willed the word back to her lips but wasn’t surprised to be left unsatisfied. Until he could calm her down, there was no way of coaxing his compliant good girl back to the fore.
“I didn’t lie.”
He didn’t appreciate her aggressive approach but was more struck by the irony of her words. One moment, she said she didn’t want to talk, and the next, she asked him not one but two questions on the subject she claimed not to want to speak about.
“Urgh!” The hand at his chest fell to her side. “Omitting important information is still an untruth, and you know it.”
“What I know is that you found something that didn’t belong to you, and it upset you.” He signaled to the paper. “We’ll talk about this, but only when you’re calmer.”
“How can I be calm?” She turned away, trying to compose herself. “How can I be calm when I don’t know what this means?”
“You do know.” He despised seeing her so overcome with emotion. It was only fun to tease tears from her if his erotic torment was responsible. The current torrid exchange was far from stimulating. “It means I owned the house you used to live in.”
“I know that!” she snapped. “That’s not what I’m talking about! What does it mean for us?”
Kyle blew out a breath. “It means you’re going to have an exceptionally sore bottom if you don’t take a moment to think, little girl.” He wanted to be there for her, to soothe her and offer solace, but he didn’t like the new petulant side of Amy the revelation had revealed.
“So, that’s your answer?” She folded her arms beneath her ample breasts. “You threaten to hurt me because I’m angry about this?” Once more, she thrust the paper in his direction. “Are you mad?”
“Only about you, little girl, but even my patience has limits. You either start speaking to me respectfully, or you pay the price.”
“Pay the price?” Sarcasm oozed from her. “You’re going to spank me, sir? For being a naughty maid who found your dark secrets?”
“You’re just begging for it, aren’t you?” All of a sudden, it made sense—the sulky, rude behavior she’d exhibited since he’d walked back into the room was all a ruse to goad him into asserting his authority. “Is that what you need, little girl? A good hiding to settle you?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She hissed the words at him. “You think you can conceal important things about your past, then just spank your way out of it!”
It sounded like an ideal plan to Kyle, and the way she was behaving was lining up the perfect justification for what came next.
“I warned you.” He shook his head, keeping his voice even as she physically recoiled. “I gave you a chance to be respectful and speak to me properly, yet this is how you behave.”
“What?” Her gaze darted left and right as though she expected a magic exit to open up in the wall. “What do you mean?”
“Sir!” He bellowed the word, lifting his chin as she flinched. “You’ll speak to me properly!”
“Sir!” She was on the verge of crying again, but the motivation that time seemed more about fear than wrath.
“Better,” he growled, “but not enough.”
Moving like lightning, he wrapped an arm around her throat and pulled her flush against him. Gasping, her hands rose to scratch at his jacket-covered arm, her neck pinioned in its crook as a shriek spilled from her lips. Holding her firmly but with enough space for her to breathe, he started to move, hauling her toward the door.
“It will take more than one word of obedience to save you this time, little girl.”