Chapter 1
One week earlier
Iwas late. Not in the oh-my-God-I’m-pregnant kind of way, but in the I’m-going-to-get-my-ass-punished-for-this kind of way. As I inserted the key with an unsteady hand, Eve squirmed at my side on the stoop.
“Mommy,” she whined. “I gotta pee.”
“Okay, just a sec.”
Gage’s car isn’t in the driveway.
I kept repeating that phrase in my head, trying to calm my nerves, but that wouldn’t happen until this stubborn door opened.
As I cursed under my breath and jiggled the key, my heart thundered at the thought that he could pull into the driveway any second and realize I was fifteen minutes late.
The lock clicked over, and I shoved the door so hard it banged against the wall.
“Hurry up and use the potty, baby. I need to start dinner.”
Fifteen damn minutes.
If I didn’t act fast, Gage would learn of my tardiness, and then he might take away the key to my car. Heck, that wasn’t even my biggest problem at the moment. As I set my purse on the entryway table, a text notification sounded from my cell.
Almost like an omen reflecting my thoughts.
I pulled the phone out of my purse and read the message.
I just want to talk. Think about it, ok?
That was the problem. I was thinking about it. I’d thought of nothing else since I’d run into him at the hospital.
It’s not a good idea
Neither was marrying him.
Ouch. He sure wasn’t holding back the punches. Gnawing on my lip, I fired off another text, doing my best to ignore the time as it ticked away.
That’s exactly why it’s not a good idea. I don’t want to fight.
A car approached, the whine of the engine muffled through the door. I peeked through the small window in the foyer and slumped in relief. Just a neighbor. Another text sounded, making me jump.
I don’t want to fight either, Kayla. I just want to talk.
My thumbs hovered over the screen, ready to type no. But somewhere between thought and action, the no became a yes.
Ok, tomorrow.
I took a deep breath. Oh my God. What was I doing? I honestly didn’t know, yet my fingers tapped the screen, telling him when and where to meet me. Telling him not to text again. Because him texting was dangerous. No, it was just plain reckless. Gage searched my phone at random.
I deleted the messages, shrugged out of my coat, and hung it in the closet. As I headed into the kitchen, I told myself to calm down. Otherwise, Gage would take one look at me and know something was up.
My hands were still trembling as I turned on the oven and slid the casserole I’d prepared that morning onto the rack.
Next, I worked to set the stage with a wine glass sitting on the breakfast bar, half full as if it had been there a while.
Hopefully, Gage wouldn’t take a sip because the Pinot Gris was too cold to have been poured fifteen minutes ago when I should have been home.
“I’m hungry,” Eve said, appearing at my side as I fretted over the preheat beep going off.
Please go off before he gets home.
“Dinner will be ready soon. Did you put your things away?”
Eve nodded, pride in her eyes because she was a big girl now. “Can I watch TV?”
“Sure, but just until dinner.”
Five minutes later, the oven sounded its preheated status, and Gage walked in. Sipping my wine, I relaxed my face into an expression of serenity, but my foot itched to tap against the leg of the bar stool.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, embracing me from behind. He looped an arm across my abdomen, turned my face toward his, and planted his mouth on mine. We might have kissed for an hour because I lost track of time as our tongues mated.
Sighing into his kiss, I brought my fingers to the spot below his ear and ran the length of his jaw, loving the prickle of his five o’clock shadow.
He drew back, leaving my head spinning from the intoxication that was purely him. “How was yoga today?” he asked.
“It was…” I blinked, recovering from his heated greeting. “Relaxing.”
He nudged my neck with his nose. “Did you talk to any men today?”
“Of course not.” Right then, I’d never been more grateful that he couldn’t see my eyes and the lie in them.
“Good girl.” He gingerly nibbled the side of my throat, right where my pulse throbbed.
“Hungry?” I asked, breathless.
“Mmm-hmm. Depends on what we’re talking about.”
Despite my frazzled nerves, I laughed. “Food, you pervert. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Eve bounded into the kitchen, and Gage let me go so he could greet her. He swung her into his arms and asked her about her day.
“Ms. Sherman teached us the letter M,” she said.
Gage glanced my way, debauchery in his eyes, and that intense stare stripped me of my defenses from across the kitchen. M for Master. We were both thinking it.
“It makes a sound like moo,” she said with a giggle.
Gage set her back on her feet, laughing as he mussed her hair. “You’re getting too smart for your britches, princess.”
“Am I as smart as you now?”
“Way smarter than me.”
She giggled again before racing out of the kitchen, her little feet pounding the hardwood.
He returned to me at the breakfast bar, and his hands landed on my shoulders, massaging some of the tension away, making me relax into him. Until he spoke. “I’m taking away your yoga privileges next week.”
My eyes widened. “Why?”
“I have other plans for you.”
Heartbeat rising to a furious staccato, I slid off the bar stool, needing distance. Some space to decipher what he was up to. “What kind of plans?”
“Guess you’ll have to wait and see.” His tone gave nothing away, and I had no idea if these plans were good or bad.
Having this discussion with him would be easier if I had a reason to keep my hands busy, my attention focused on something other than him. I crossed the kitchen and pulled salad makings from the fridge.
“Simone will be disappointed,” I said, rinsing a tomato.
“Your friends have no bearing on my decisions, Kayla.”
I bit my tongue. Last thing I wanted was to give him another reason to harp on my choice of friends.
He didn’t like her, and it had taken a lot of effort on my part to get him to allow our friendship.
His high-handed attitude was starting to burrow into my skin a little more each day.
I sliced into the tomato with extra oomph, slamming the knife onto the cutting board with a loud chop.
“I agreed to your yoga classes as long as you didn’t forget your place.” He leaned toward me, his long and slender fingers curling around the edge of the granite counter. Granite just like his expression. “Do you need a harsher reminder tonight?”
I dropped the knife and tried not to glower at him. “That isn’t necessary.”
“Glad to hear it.” He picked up the discarded knife and took over, moving on to peel and chop a cucumber. “After next week, we’ll revisit your yoga classes with Simone.”
And right then I knew this wasn’t about yoga at all. He didn’t like Simone. Clearly, he was trying to put a wedge between our friendship.
“Gage, please. It’s only twice a week.”
“I don’t care. I want you here and available. Can I trust you to obey me, or do I need to work from home next week to make sure you stay put?” His sideway glance tingled down my spine. I studied the profile of his gorgeous face, searching for signs that he knew.
“That was a question, Kayla.”
I tamped down rising panic. “There’s no need for you to do that. I’ll talk to Simone and let her know I’m not free.”
Damn it.
“Good, then it’s settled.”
Neither of us spoke until we sat down with Eve at the dinner table. Gage and Eve chatted easily like they always did, but my mind wandered to next week and my new dilemma.
“Are you excited about the slumber party next weekend?” Gage asked Eve.
I picked at the chicken broccoli casserole on my plate, my stomach twisting into knots over my half-discussion half-argument with him. Even worse, my lie ate away at me more than ever.
“Leah said it’s a pajama party, Daddy.”
Gage’s sapphire eyes sparkled with meaning, not only because she’d called him Daddy—something she didn’t do very often—but the slumber party was a reminder of our anniversary next weekend. Knowing Gage the way I did, I figured his plans included something equally diabolical and romantic.
After dinner, I cleared the table and gave Eve a bath. Our nightly routine of chores, bedtime stories, and at least five kisses and tuck-ins before she settled underneath her princess comforter passed quietly.
This was our life. We sat down for dinner every evening, and on Mondays we played board games as a family.
Wednesdays were movie and popcorn night.
Fridays…Fridays ended late, long after we said goodnight to Eve since Gage had decided a month ago that I needed a weekly session with his belt to remind me that I belonged to him.
That Friday ritual had started after he’d given me access to my purse, keys, and phone.
It had started after I’d begun using yoga classes as a cover.
Each week since, when the sharp bite of his belt flamed my ass, I fretted over the idea that he knew. Considering the tension between us tonight…I hated that today was Friday.
I switched off the lights in the kitchen, grabbed a raunchy romance from the bookshelf in the living room, and headed toward the hall.
Gage had retreated to his office and would probably be in there for a while dealing with the pile of paperwork on his desk.
I expected him to be at least an hour, giving me a short reprieve from his Friday ritual, so I was surprised to find him blocking my way to our bedroom. The novel slipped from my fingers.
We didn’t need words as he took my hand and ushered me into our bedroom. The door shut with a soft click, followed by the turn of a lock. As he unbuckled his belt, I crossed to the bed and bent over the mattress.