Authors: Katherine Kingston
She sent out signals that their agreement might not be such
a terrible burden to her, at least the time in his bed part. That she might
even be excited about the idea and want it with him. His kind of sex, though?
Yeah, even that was possible. Possible.
“Meggie!”
The voice came from a cubicle in the back and was followed
shortly by the appearance in the hall of another girl. Probably a little
younger than Cate, maybe fifteen or sixteen, but this child would never be
attending college. Down’s Syndrome, he guessed. She had a cheerful smile and
excitement bubbled through her voice and in her expression as she greeted Meg.
The girl ran into Meg’s arms and embraced her. “Meggie, look! Cate brought me
paper dolls, a prince and princess and they’ve got bee-you-ti-ful clothes. Come
and look!”
Before she turned back, the girl looked up at him and
offered a sunny smile. “You’re a friend of Meggie’s?” she asked.
Before he could answer, Meg said, “Laurie, this is Mr.
Harrison. Can you shake his hand the way we practiced?”
The girl’s expression went serious as she stuck out her
hand, and said, “Pleased to meet your, Mr. Harrison.” He hesitated for only a
moment, but even that quick pause embarrassed him, especially when the girl
looked confused and then dismayed. He quickly took her hand and shook it. She
held his with just the right firmness. Meg had coached her well.
“I’m pleased to meet you as well, Miss…”
“Travis,” Meg said. “Laurie Travis. She’s my sister.” The
look Meg threw him held pride, determination, challenge and a shading of
sadness before she turned and followed the girl into a small back room. Bits of
paper littered the table that took almost a third of the area, some in the
shapes of raggedly cut-out dresses and other clothes. Those must be the “paper
dolls” the girl had referred to.
She spent the next few minutes showing off the cardboard
prince and princess and their colorful, glamorous wardrobe. Meg listened to her
babble, and she oohed and aahed over some of the more splendid outfits applied
to the cardboard royalty. All without a trace of irony.
After a few minutes of it, Meg consulted her watch and
straightened up. He looked at his as well. She had ten minutes left of her two
hours.
“Laurie, sweetie, I need to go with Mr. Harrison this
evening. We have some things we need to do. And remember I told you that I
might not be home tonight? I probably won’t be. Cate will take you home and
Mrs. Scott said she would check in on you. I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”
Tears formed in the girl’s eyes. “I don’t like it when
you’re not there, Meggie. I wish you could stay home.”
“I know, sweetie. But remember how we talked about sometimes
we all have to do things we don’t want to do? How sometimes you have to be
brave and unselfish to do the right thing? This is one of those times. Can you
do it for me? It’s important.”
The girl sniffled and Meg handed her a tissue. “I guess I
can,” she said. She threw her arms around Meg and squeezed hard. “I’ll miss
you.”
“It’s only for a night, hon. Show Mrs. Scott your paper
dolls. She’ll enjoy them.”
Laurie nodded and sniffled again. “Okay.”
“We’ve got to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Meg led the way back out of the store, stopping for a word
with Cate. They walked back down to his car.
“Down’s Syndrome?” he asked on the way.
Meg nodded. “Our parents were killed in a car wreck four
years ago. She’s my responsibility now. Not that it’s all that much of a
burden. She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met. I’ve had to make some
adjustments, but it’s been worth it.”
“It doesn’t bother you at all? Ever? To be saddled with that
responsibility when you’re so young yourself?”
“Not that young. I’m twenty-seven.” She hesitated for a
moment, her face tightening. “It bothers me sometimes. I don’t have much social
life. I can’t have.” She sighed and straightened. “I’m not complaining. Trying
not to, anyway,” she admitted. “I get out occasionally. Our neighbor Mrs. Scott
is generally willing to keep an eye on Laurie. And she’s such a good kid. If I
tell her to stay inside and not answer the door, she’ll do it. She pretty much
knows what she can and can’t do.”
They got to the SUV and he helped her get in. He settled in
the driver’s seat but didn’t turn on the engine. Instead he turned to look at
her. “How is that connected to the location here?”
“We live in the Sedgerow Apartments, about half a mile from
here. Laurie’s school is almost next door to it. She can walk from home to
school and then here after school. That’s only part of it, though. I have some
of the same reasons as the Parkozys. This is a near-perfect location for a new
and used bookstore. I have lots of space, the rent is low, there’s plenty of
parking and it’s strategically sited in a part of town close enough to several
economic tiers. I doubt I could pull this off in any other location, even if
the square footage and rent were the same.”
Kyle tried to suppress his sigh. Once she let go of the
anger that had driven her at their previous meetings, she made a pretty good
case. He would be causing these people hardship. People who already struggled
with some bad hands dealt them by life. No matter what she thought of him—and
he had no doubt she considered him the worst kind of ruthless, arrogant twit—he
wasn’t indifferent to the effects of his projects on others. But he had to
balance the needs of progress and the convenience of many others against their
needs. Not to mention his own needs. If he didn’t get this thing done, he’d be
failing so many people…his investors, his partners, his employees, his family.
Himself most of all. He’d put his own future at risk.
There should be a way to help without endangering the
project, even if he couldn’t think of it right then. His stomach rumbled a
reminder that he hadn’t eaten for quite a while.
He looked over at her. She sat stiffly, staring out through
the windshield, fingers knotted together in her lap. Nervous about what was
coming next? Good. She should be. Considering what she’d done, what she’d
threatened to do, she deserved to sweat the consequences a bit.
“You like Chinese?” he asked while putting the car in gear.
“What?” She glanced up, startled out of her reverie.
“Dinner.” He reversed out of the parking space and turned
toward the street. “I haven’t eaten yet. I’ll bet you haven’t either.” He
signaled for a right turn. “We can discuss the consequences and the rest of the
evening over food.”
Meg’s stomach clenched. She hadn’t eaten since lunch, and
even then she’d been too nervous to down more than a couple of bites. But the
thought of food set off spasms of nausea. Probably not a good idea to let him
know how much she both dreaded and looked forward to the rest of the night
though. “I like Chinese.”
“Good. Ever been to Chin’s Wok?”
“No, but I’ve heard good things about it.”
“If you like Chinese, you’ll like Chin’s.”
Probably so. If she could eat anything.
As they drove to the restaurant, Kyle Harrison questioned
her about her family, her parents’ deaths and the adjustments she’d had to make
to take care of Laurie. It helped ease her nerves to explain that she still did
database analysis on a contract basis for a couple of companies as well as
managing the bookstore.
“I wondered why someone with a business degree was running a
marginal operation like a bookstore,” he admitted. “A magna cum laude degree
from Maryland at that.”
She drew in a sharp breath. “You checked my background?”
“I needed to know how much of a threat you might represent.”
“But you didn’t know about my sister.”
“It was a pretty superficial check, employment, education,
known facts, criminal record.”
“Damn, I hope it didn’t turn up any criminal record. That’s
clean as far as I know. Or was, anyway.”
“You wouldn’t have gotten anywhere close to me if it
weren’t.”
She looked up at him, surprised by the coldness of the
words. It wasn’t echoed in his expression, however, which remained neutral with
even a hint of humor in the crook of his lips.
The sun sat low in the sky almost directly ahead and its
rays shone in the car. The sharp, brilliant light made his blue eyes almost
incandescent and picked out surprising red highlights in his dark brown hair.
She groaned inwardly. The man already set her pulse racing every time she
looked at him and that kiss… She might never recover from that. Even the
elements were conspiring against her, making sure she knew exactly how handsome
he was. How attractive. Dear heaven, like she could have missed it. She had to
close her eyes for a moment against the glare.
At the restaurant, they were seated immediately in a quiet,
private corner booth. After they’d studied the menu and given their orders, he
asked if she had paper and pen. Meg fished in her purse until she found a
ballpoint and a small pad.
“What’s this for?” she asked as she handed them across the
table to him.
He gave her a direct, hard look as he took them from her.
“Penalties. Threatening the destruction of property is a serious business and
deserves a serious penalty. But I’m going to let you choose. I’m making a list
of possibilities. Let me think for a couple of minutes.”
A server arrived with wine as he started to write on the
pad. Kyle stopped and waited until they each had a glass in front of them. He
lifted his and held it out toward her, offering a toast. “To new beginnings and
making things right,” he said.
It took her aback for a moment and she hesitated as she
tried to decipher what he meant. But she liked the sound of it. New beginnings
suggested…well, possibilities for the future. And making things right could
cover a lot of ground. She lifted her glass and clinked it against his. “To new
beginnings and making things right,” she repeated.
He took a long pull on the wine then set the glass down and
went back to writing on the pad she’d given him. Meg continued to sip slowly,
struggling to calm her nerves as she speculated on what he might be putting
down on the paper. He stopped, stared at his list for a minute and wrote
something else.
When the waiter showed up with their meals, Kyle laid the
pad aside and picked up a fork instead. As if he could tell she’d have trouble
eating when that ominous list sat there, he began questioning her again, asking
about where she’d grown up, school, family, favorite movies and shows. In
response, he shared a good bit about his own childhood and family as well his
taste in movies and music. It distracted her just enough to let her eat most of
a truly delicious serving of sweet and sour chicken. The wine helped as well.
Finally, when the server had cleared away their dinner
plates and they waited for him to return with the coffee they’d requested, Kyle
picked up the pad again. He reviewed it one more time before he passed it back
to her.
“This is a list of suggested penalties,” he said as she took
it. “I want you to pick two of them from the list. And if you have any
alternate ideas, I’ll consider them.”
Meg’s hand shook as she pulled the pad toward her and she
sucked in a hard breath as she read the list.
1. Pay a fine of five thousand dollars to a charity I
designate.
2. Volunteer five hours a week of your time at the
charity of your choice for the next three months.
3. Write an essay for the newspaper explaining why you
think the redevelopment project is a good idea.
4. Volunteer to work as an intern at my company five
hours a week for the next three months.
5. Give me a twenty-minute massage once a week for the next
three months.
6. Accept a spanking from me once a week for the next
three months.
7. Assist with cleaning and gardening at my home five
hours a week for the next three months.
Meg looked down the list again. “Are you serious?” She
raised her head to meet the gaze of his steel-bright blue eyes.
“One hundred percent. You have any suggestions to add?”
“No.” Her voice wobbled on that one word. “No.” That one
came out more steady.
The server returned with their coffee. Cream and sugar
occupied the next few minutes for Meg. Kyle drank his black. She sipped
carefully at the hot liquid, considering for a bit before she said, “Can I have
some time to think about it?”
“How much time do you want?”
“I’m not sure. A few hours at least.”
He nodded. “I’d rather you decide tonight, but I’ll give you
the weekend if you need it.” His expression changed to concern with a
surprising hint of doubt. “Do you think this is unfair? Too harsh?”
“No,” she said slowly, drawing the word out. “Not really,
considering that you could have had me arrested and I could go to prison for
what I did. Actually some of them are probably a bit too generous.”
His mouth crooked in a wry grin so wonderfully warm and sexy
and irresistible it made her stomach turn over and clench. Just looking at him roused
a blaze inside that spread heat all through her.
She didn’t need this. She couldn’t afford to fall for
another man who wouldn’t want to be saddled with her baggage.
He kept his sharp gaze focused on her eyes as he answered.
“Maybe so. But if I read you right, you’re not the kind of woman who will go
for the
easiest
way.”
She didn’t answer right away. She couldn’t. His eyes, his
expression… Something in the way he looked at her caught her around the throat
and squeezed, preventing speech. She could barely breathe, it gripped her so
tightly. That feeling, that tug, dug deeper inside, sending curls of heat and
tension through her stomach, pushing an odd tingle along every nerve, right
down to her fingertips and toes. A strange, bubbly feeling filled her, along
with a sense of connection like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
She couldn’t take her gaze off the brilliant blue eyes, no
matter how uncomfortable it made her. There was so much to read there right
now. It was almost as though he’d let down the shades and allowed her to look
into him that way. Compelled her to look into him. And she knew…
Knew what he wanted her to do. What he hoped she would do.
She even got glimmers of why. How did he know, though? Was it just something he
could sense? Something about the way she’d reacted earlier?
None of what he’d said earlier had been an accident or a
joke. It could be taken that way, if she didn’t recognize it or didn’t respond
to it. He’d meant everything he’d written too. Each item on his list was a serious
offer. A couple of them suggested something she thought she wanted. Wanted
badly. How odd. Twenty-four hours ago she’d barely accepted her attraction to
the man, but even if she had, it was impersonal and impossible, the way she
might have a crush on an actor or musician. Now… Oh dear heaven, it scared her.
The risks were huge. Tremendous. Did she dare even consider
it? Could she afford not to? She might never have this kind of chance again.
But the possibilities… Her pussy clenched as she imagined how
it might be with him. Her deepest, most secret longings indulged as well as the
more normal cravings of a healthy human female. Shivery tingles raced all along
her skin. She wanted it so much. Maybe too much. Wanted him.
“Meg?” He called her name softly, gently pulling her out of
the internal chaos.
She sighed, looked away and picked up her cup. Her hand
shook and she had to wrap the other one around to steady it while she drank.
The waiter brought their check while they finished the coffee. Kyle paid with a
credit card and then stood up.
The touch of his hand on her arm when he helped her up from
the seat set off a burst of tiny electric sparks. Another wave of heat washed
over her.
It had gotten dark while they ate and Meg was grateful for
it as they drove home. “I have some questions,” she ventured once they were on
the road. “About the list.”
“Go ahead.”
“I think I have questions about each item. The first one was
money. Could I pay it weekly? Over three months, like the others specify?”
“Seems fair. I don’t see why not,” he answered.
“Good. The second. Would Laurie’s school qualify as a
charity?”
He was quiet for a moment longer, but he was also trying to
negotiate a left turn. “I suppose it would,” he said finally.
“The essay. How long?”
“Hmmm…. Say, five typed pages.”
“Okay. Interning at your company…what would I be doing?”
“Sheesh. I don’t know. Filing, probably. Entering data.
Whatever needs doing.”
“All right,” she said. “The massage. I don’t know anything
about giving a massage.”
“It’s not that hard. I can tell you most of what you need to
know to satisfy me. Or I can have someone give you a couple of lessons.”
“All right. The last one is pretty straightforward. So the
only other one.” The words caught in her throat, making it hard to talk. “Would
it be…hard?”
Again he hesitated for a moment, but he understood what she
meant. “Hard enough to hurt. It’s supposed to be a punishment. Not hard enough
to cause any harm, though.”
“Would you do it? And how? I mean, would I have to…?”
“I would do it. And—bare?” he asked. “Absolutely.” He paused
while he made a right turn. “Meg? You’re going to be taking your clothes off
for me anyway.”
“Oh. Right.” She was just as glad it was dark so he couldn’t
see the flush that must be making her face bright red. The skin felt as if it
were on fire. She drew in a deep breath. “Will you use your hand?”
“Sometimes.”
“Not all the time?”
“Not all the time.”
“Okay.”
They drove in silence for a few minutes before she looked
around outside, didn’t recognize where they were, and asked, “Are we going to
your place?”
She could see him well enough to discern a shrug. “Seemed
like the most reasonable place. Would you prefer I took you to a hotel?”
“Dear heaven, no.”
“I thought not.”
“Kyle, what would you…? No, never mind.”
“It’s got to be your choice. I think you know what you
should do.”
Not someone who’d take the easy way out
. That’s what
he’d said about her. On the other hand, different people might make different
choices about what was easy and hard. She wasn’t even sure what was truly hard
and easy in her case. But she was pretty sure she did know what he wanted or
hoped for and it did mesh with her choices. Still, there were risks. Probably
more to her heart than anything else, but that was big enough to give her
pause. Said organ had just barely survived being torn apart once before.
But if she wanted to have more than a shadow life, she
needed to start living. And living meant taking chances.
“I’ve made my choice,” she told him. “Numbers five and six.”
He sucked in a breath and his fingers tightened around the
steering wheel. “Are you sure? You can have more time to think about it.”
“I’m sure. I’m not taking the easy way out.”
“No.” A harsh laugh followed before he asked, “Is it the
right way? For you? Don’t choose those because you think it’s what I think you
should do or what I want.”
“Is it what you want?” she asked him.
She heard his breath go in and out before he answered, “Yes.
But that shouldn’t influence your decision.”
“It does, but only a little. It is right for me, maybe very
right, but…”
“What?”
“It scares me as well,” Meg admitted.
“Both options?”
“Both. Number six mostly, though.”
“There’s reason to be scared. It’s meant as punishment. But
I’m not a psychotic, a criminal or even a cruel man. Surely you realize I’m
taking as much of a risk here as you. Maybe more. My professional and personal
reputation is important to me and I’m probably giving you enough ammunition to
destroy it. I won’t harm you. I won’t do anything you really don’t want or
can’t handle. If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop. If you want to change your
choices, we’ll do it. I’m not sure what other kind of reassurance you need.”
“Not the kind you can give, I expect.”
He turned off the main street into a subdivision of new,
large houses, spaced well apart. Two turns later he pulled into a driveway, hit
a button on the device clipped to the sun visor and the door of a two-car
garage rolled upward. Once inside he helped her out of the car and through an
inner door. It opened to a short hall that led to a beautifully modern kitchen.