Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
IMOGEN
It’s sunny and warm on Thursday morning as I head over to the stables to go riding. Now that Alexander knows everything, I don’t have to keep my visits to Tuesdays when he goes… wherever it is he disappears to. I still don’t know what takes him away from Oakleigh every week, and it’s clear he has no intention of telling me. Who cares? He can keep his secrets. I’m not interested in what he gets up to in his spare time.
True to his word, he accompanied me back to my rooms after what happened between us in the stable block and left me alone. I didn’t even get a peck on the lips, just a murmured, “Sleep well.”
I was, and still am, confused by his sudden interest in me sexually, as well as his behavior afterward. Although, is it all that sudden, really? We’ve had several highly-charged sexual moments, but he’s never before taken it as far as he did on Tuesday.
He's the most contradictory man I've ever known, a puzzle I’d love to crack. One minute, he doesn’t even attempt to hide the lust in his eyes. The next, he’s bored or indifferent toward me.
I thought the unexpected turn of events at the stables on Tuesday might have made it hard to sleep, but the opposite happened. I’ve slept like a baby the past two nights, although anxiety has gnawed at me when I’ve woken each morning as I’ve tried to work out what to say to Alexander when I next bump into him. Except, I haven’t caught a single glimpse of my errant husband since our ‘moment’ together. He wasn’t at breakfast yesterday, nor today, and it’s rare I see him at dinnertime unless there’s a family gathering. I’m not sure whether to feel relieved or aggrieved.
When I arrive, the stables are buzzing with activity, as they often are at this time of day. Horses whinny and kick at their stable doors, demanding their breakfast, or possibly attention, and grooms hurry about trying to get through the never-ending list of tasks. I scan the area for Will. I can’t see him in the immediate vicinity, but it’s a big yard, so that’s not unusual. The tack room is empty when I enter, and I grab Lottie’s saddle and bridle, then head for her loose box. It feels unfair to ask one of the grooms to saddle her when they’re so busy. I rarely come here this early in the morning, but I woke up with excess energy, and a good gallop across the fields is a great way to use it.
By the time I’ve gotten Lottie saddled up and led her out into the yard, things have quietened down. A few of the younger grooms avert their gazes as I lead her past them, and I curse Alexander all over again. He’s got these poor people scared of their own shadow. I hate the way their behavior makes me feel as though I’m different from them. Despite the fact I grew up in a wealthy family, I’ve never felt different before now .
When I still don’t see Will, I lead Lottie over to one of the older grooms, who I think is called Damon.
“Hi. Damon, is it?”
He stands up straight. “Umm, yes, ma’am.”
“I’m looking for Will. Do you know where he is?”
Damon looks at the ground as though he’s hoping it will open up and give him an escape route. “I… um.” He rubs his lips together. “Will has… I mean, Will was…” He shakes his head. “Will got fired, ma’am.”
“Fired?” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “When?”
He looks up and to the left. “Last Friday, I think it was.” He nods. “Yep. Friday.”
What Alexander said to me on Tuesday night smacks me in the face. It appears you like one of my grooms, too. I’ve watched the two of you in the paddock. He’s quite the fan, and, so it seems, are you.
Anger fists my hands. The bastard. When he pushed his fingers inside me, he knew he’d fired a man who did not deserve to lose his job.
“Thank you, Damon.” I thrust Lottie’s reins at him. “Would you mind unsaddling her for me? Something urgent has come up that I need to attend to.”
“Of course, ma’am.”
Enraged, I march back to the house, fury fueling every step. After opening the front door with such force, it bounces off the doorstop and almost hits me in the face, I take off up the stairs to the top floor. By the time I get there, I’m panting, but that doesn’t stop me from storming down the hallway to Alexander’s office and barging through the door.
Several pairs of eyes swivel in my direction, but I’m too angry to care that he’s chairing a meeting .
“You fired Will!”
The four men and two women sitting around the table squirm, but the only sign Alexander is furious with me is the light feathering of a muscle in his left cheek.
“Not now, Imogen.”
My eyes bulge. I can actually feel them protruding from my head. “Not now? Not now!” I ball my hands and slam them against my thighs. “That man did nothing to deserve losing his job over, other than help me when I asked him.”
More squirming from the other attendees ensues. In a move that should make me nervous, but only stokes the fires of fury, Alexander closes his laptop and addresses the room.
“Ladies, gentlemen, let’s pick this up at a more convenient time. I’ll have Richard reschedule.”
An expression of relief swarms over the men’s faces while the women flash me sympathetic glances as they gather their things and file out. The last one closes the door, and the second I hear the click, I round on him again.
“How could you? He did nothing wrong.”
“Is that what you think?”
I pick up on the glacial tone, the cold eyes, and the deliberate way he unfolds his frame from the chair and stands, but despite the threat lurking in every syllable and every move, I’m not backing down.
“Yes. That’s what I think. And while we’re talking about thinking things, I also think you’re an asshole !”
“He touched what was mine. No one fucking touches what is mine.”
Touched me? Will never touched me, at least not inappropriately. He only put his hands on me when he was showing me where to position my legs. And how could Alexander know? —
Oh. Oh, oh, oh.
“Have you been spying on me?”
“No. I saw you through the window. I can see right over to the paddocks behind the stables. I saw him touch you.”
Irritated with his stupidity and possessiveness, I huff. “To help me with my riding.”
“I don’t care. You’re mine, and he put his hands on you.”
“I am not yours. I already told you! People aren’t possessions.”
“You’re wrong. You belong to me.”
“I belong to myself!”
I whip around, ready to storm off, but before I take a single step, Alexander grabs my wrist and spins me back toward him. He captures the other one, too, pulling me flush to his body as he looms over me. I wrestle to free myself, but Alexander holds me tighter, so I kick his shin, my aim true.
He hisses. “You’re a feisty little thing, aren’t you?”
“Let me go.”
“Not until you calm down.”
My chest heaves, and his gaze goes there, locking on my breasts, and I feel it, that weakening of my resolve whenever his eyes flood with lust. I can’t let him win this round. So, I do the only thing I can think of. I kick him again, harder this time.
“Jesus Christ!” He shoves me against the wall, using his superior strength to hold me in place. “Careful, Imogen. I’ve gone easy on you until now, but that can change.”
“Easy?” I snort. “You think living with you is easy? You’re a fucking nightmare.”
“And I suppose you think you’re a walk in the park.”
My arms are trapped behind me as he bends and nuzzles my neck. His large hands explore my hips, my ribcage, my breasts. My nipples bead, and he tugs on them, pinching and twisting until I’m writhing against him.
“Make no mistake, you are mine.” He bites my earlobe, and he isn’t gentle about it. “But here’s a warning: if you dare to storm into my office and embarrass me in front of my business associates again, I will bend you over my conference table, pull down your underwear, and spank you in front of the entire cohort. Do you understand me?”
There’s a part of me that wants to challenge him, to dare him to do it, but my instincts kick in to protect me. He isn’t bluffing. He’d do it, and he’d enjoy it, too.
As much as it pains me, I nod.
“Let me hear you say it.”
My jaw flexes. Oh, he wants his pound of flesh, doesn’t he? “I won’t do that again.”
“Good.” Nuzzling my neck, he breathes in. “Protecting you is my job, Imogen. Allow me to do it without all the added drama.”
A cold sweat breaks out all over my body. He keeps using words like mine and protect , both a sign he’s no closer to asking me for a divorce. I’m running out of time. If I don’t start to land some serious blows soon, I’ll be stuck here forever.
The moment the thought pops into my head, an internal voice whispers, Would that really be so bad?
And the scariest part? I’m not sure that it would.