As she scooped her phone off her desk in her middle bedroom, frustration and embarrassment made her angry. Part of her believed she’d be smarter to let it go to voice mail. But that would lead to another slap on the wrist from John in the morning. The screen said:
“Hello.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Paul said, his tone not half as amused sounding as she’d anticipated it being.
“I’m sure you are,” she said, rubbing her brow.
“You need to send lover boy packing,” Paul said. “We’ve got a situation.”
Kylie turned to shut the bedroom door and froze. Perry stood in the doorway, his arms crossed, looking larger than life as he took in the contents of the room. As she turned away from him, realizing how pointless it would be to send him back to the living room now, her irritability grew.
“That’s fine, sweetheart,” she said, confident her voice sounded calmer than she felt. “You did the right thing. Can we talk about it more tomorrow?”
“He can hear you, can’t he?” Paul asked.
“Yes, I do, and that’s fine.”
“Call me back once you’re clear.”
“Okay, bye-bye.”
Kylie stared into Perry’s exceptionally dark eyes as she closed her phone and then gripped it in her damp palm. Suddenly knowing Paul watched Perry kiss her didn’t matter as much as trying to figure out the best way to handle Perry now.
“Tell me that wasn’t my niece,” he growled.
Kylie blinked, and whatever expression he caught on her face relaxed his features somewhat. He started toward her, but Kylie met him before he could walk all the way into the room.
“That wasn’t your niece, although I’m not sure what to do about her.” Keeping the topic on Dani was safer territory than any other direction it might wander. Kylie pressed her hand against his chest, but he didn’t budge. She needed to get him out of this room. “There are other teenagers I’m talking to, Perry. And regardless of how you may feel about it, some of them are starting to view me as a mentor.”
“Regardless of how I might feel about it?” he asked, his tone turning dark as he looked past her at the contents of the room. “That implies my thoughts don’t matter to you and I doubt you’ve forgotten already what will happen if you lie to me.”
She didn’t like his tone, not at all. She hated even worse how his deep baritone sent chills rushing over her flesh and created a quickening in her womb.
“I don’t like being manhandled.”
Perry grabbed her, lifting her into his arms. “There’s a difference between being manhandled and receiving attention.”
“Being spanked is receiving attention?” She pushed her hands down on his shoulders, twisting in his arms and trying to slide down his front to the floor. There was no way in hell she’d let him know how turned on she got from that spanking.
“Being spanked can be many things,” he whispered, allowing her to slide down his body but then cupping her ass. “It can be erotic, heightening pleasure that I know you already enjoy.”
“Yet you imply it’s a punishment. And since you don’t own me, aren’t training me in any way, there is no reason for punishment.”
“Let’s just say I’m getting your attention.” His hands moved over her rear end, and then he squeezed, lifting and spreading her open. “And that I love the way your eyes glow and your cheeks flush whenever I suggest taking my hand to your ass.”
“Maybe we should find out what look you get on your face if you’re spanked.”
“That is something you’ll never know,” he grumbled.
“And why is that? Is your machoism simply a cover for lack of self-esteem?” she challenged. “Maybe you really are trying to be just another one of those dominating wannabes who don’t have the strength within themselves to take in what they dish out.”
“And maybe I simply am macho. Maybe my inner strength is one hundred percent male and I believe with all my heart and soul that I am the protector and you are the one to be protected and cherished.”
“If you think I don’t have what it takes to protect myself, Perry, you can go to hell. Now back up and get out of this room,” she hissed, having had just about enough of his “I’m the man” crap. “I’ll have you know that I’ve taken care of myself very nicely for twenty-seven years.”
There wasn’t anyway he could research her, especially since there was no Kylie Dover. But if he did do a search on her, it would have said her age was twenty-three, which was what her driver’s license said. One look at his face and she knew she’d just blown it.
He wouldn’t see her cringe. No way. And she hated that he got her so flustered that she just jeopardized her cover.
“I’m sure you didn’t take care of yourself those entire twenty-seven years.” Something in his tone, in the way his eyes darkened until they were almost black, was incredibly unnerving.
She’d pissed him off. He made it clear he didn’t like being lied to. And with one slip she’d shown him that everything about her quite possibly was a lie. Kylie expected him to turn and march out of the room.
“You know what I mean.” Since he didn’t confront her, it gave her time to formulate a cover to patch up her mistake. If Perry really believed her to be that much younger than she was and was cool with their supposed age difference, she could always say she had lied about being older so that he wouldn’t walk out on her. Because of course she wouldn’t think it through that he would research her, since laymen didn’t think that way. Or laywomen. “Now please, you know I don’t want you in here. This is my personal room.”
“I see that. Would you actually let me fuck you in the living room? And if so, would you play it back later and watch, possibly masturbate to it?” he asked, then grabbed her under her arms, once again lifting her into his arms.
“The answer to both of those questions is no,” she informed him, narrowing her gaze on his.
He held her, with her feet dangling inches off the floor. “I believe you’ve told me the truth that time. Possibly for the first time this evening. You know, Kylie, you want to spend time with my nieces, but I’m not sure I approve of the role model you would present to them. And maybe Dani has already picked up on your level of deception. Maybe that is why she conjured up a reason for you to back out of dinner tomorrow night. You want me. You think about me when I’m not around. And then make a show of not caring how your cold comments might affect me when you lie and deny it.”
She should let him walk out the door on that comment. Let him think she was less of a person than she was. It would help both of them numb the passion, the friction and fire that sparked to life every time he touched her. Paul needed to talk to her. Perry needed to leave. What was wrong with letting him leave angry? What did it matter?
It wasn’t like she needed to go to his sister’s. If she could convince Peter to meet her, get a warrant based on the screen name he used, which he also used on Rita Simoli, then she could make her arrest. It would be over.
And she would be assigned to her next case or given downtime, which she would use to go home and spend time with her parents.
“It doesn’t usually take you this long to think up a good lie,” he growled, and gave her a slight shake.
Kylie felt her gun strap slip just a bit down her thigh. “I don’t deserve to be spoken to like this, Perry. I think you should leave.”
“Admit you care, Kylie. Tell me you want to be with me.”
“I’m not lying. You’re berating me, and I don’t like it. That’s the truth.”
He searched her face, seemingly unimpressed by what she had just said. If anything, his serious, focused stare almost made her believe he hadn’t heard a word of it.
“Maybe if you’re that unwilling to admit your feelings, then you’re incapable of having any,” he whispered, once again putting her on the floor. This time he did turn and walked into the hallway and then to the living room.
Kylie followed him, her heart swelling in her throat while her eyes burned. She didn’t like the tightening in her
