Chapter Eighty-Nine
The date with Milana had gone surprisingly well. They had made small talk, talked about inconsequential things but he felt that he knew her a little better now. She hadn’t once mentioned Ernesto or his deal and he liked that.
Kelley had walked her to her room and kissed her hand before retreating to his study again. He worked for another hour before calling it quits. His shoulders spasmed and he stretched, his back popping painfully. He was in dire need of an assistant but the people he did trust weren’t assistant material. Lee was a lawyer, Mason was the money man, Connor and Jesse handled security and Carey and Marella were too busy with the construction side of the business.
Kelley pulled off his jacket and tie the moment his bedroom door closed. He kicked off his shoes and undid his belt as he walked to the bathroom, leaving his clothes on the floor. Under the spray of the water, he closed his eyes as the jet streams beat into him.
He hadn’t shaved since the previous day and he didn’t see the need now. Wiping hair from his face he finished up and shut the shower off. Wrapping the towel around his waist he went to the vanity counter and brushed his teeth at the sink.
He felt the oddest sensation that he wasn’t alone but he stood quietly for a few seconds and shook his head, blaming it on fatigue, maybe even the lack of sex. Even just the thought of it seemed far-fetched at this stage.
He walked through the bathroom to his dressing room and pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms. He switched off the light and walked back into his bedroom, almost stumbling to a stop as Milana sat on her heels on the floor with her palms on her thighs.
Her hair was loose now, coming almost to her waist and she wore a pair of panties with a sheer nightgown over it. Her eyes were open but her head was lowered, the position very submissive. Kelley’s eyes raked over her and he felt a stirring in his groin.
She looked so otherworldly, beautiful in a serene way and it had been a long few months since he'd been intimate. She was his wife and legally he could take her, he'd never do it forcefully and now it seemed that this was what she wanted.
Kelley wanted it too and he wondered if the submissive act he'd seen was her true nature, that she wanted to be dominated. He was dominant by nature but he'd never been in a situation where the woman was that submissive, wasn't even sure if it was his thing.
Through the nightgown, he could see her shoulder blades sticking out and she moved her head slightly so she could watch him from the corner of her eye. “If you prefer something else …”
“What are you doing?”
Milana’s head snapped up and to the side, as she looked at him, her mouth partially open. He walked past her to the bed and her eyes followed his every movement. She was several feet away from him, in the middle of the room.
“I’m here to see to your needs.”
Kelley scoffed as he turned to face her again. “My needs?”
She looked down again and then took a big breath. Kelley watched in horror as she started crawling towards him, his mind immediately going back to the night his own mother had crawled towards Charles and the video he’d seen of Norah. A hundred thoughts assaulted Kelley's mind instantaneously and all he could think was that this was Norah all over again. Hanson Chadney with his hand on her ass stuck in his mind and he couldn't get past it.
“Get out.”
Milana stopped moving and covered her breasts with her arms. “Excuse me?”
“Get out!”
Milana grabbed another nightgown from the chair standing next to an antique bureau he hadn’t seen and wrapped it around herself. She ran from his room and Kelley sat down on the edge of the bed, knowing he’d seen unshed tears in her eyes.
Kelley walked back into his dressing room and exchanged the pajamas for jeans and pulled a t-shirt and boots on. He couldn’t wrap his mind around what had just happened in his room. His heart was beating erratically and he stopped in front of her room and leaned his head against her door.
No sounds were coming from the bedroom but that didn’t mean she wasn’t crying or hurt. He clenched his fist and then kept walking down the hall. He sped away from the house and within twenty seconds his phone rang.
“I just need some air, Connor.”
“Are you armed?”
“Under the seat.”
Connor sighed audibly. “If you get killed out there I’m going to kill you.”
“I’ll be back soon.” Kelley ended the call before Connor could say anything else.
He needed to get away from that house, there were too many memories choking his soul at the moment. He drove towards the beach and parked his car near the jetty. He walked down the pier in the dark of the night and inhaled deeply.
His hand shook as he pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed the dial button when he got to the name he wanted. He listened to it ring, not caring that it was past ten pm. The phone rang four times before his gruff voice answered and Kelley’s anger flared up again.
“Hello.”
“You screwed me, Ernesto!”
Ernesto gave a low chuckle and Kelley could hear a rustling sound. “Is she too experienced for your tastes? Or not pretty enough? You are still young, Kelley, and you should know that when you buy a product and you don’t specify, the quality might not be what you want.”
“Excuse me?”
“You could always divorce her if you’re not happy with the training I gave her.”
“You’re sick, you bastard. What did you do to her?”
“Nothing she didn’t want. If you want some advice I suggest you play nice and accept my business proposal before things become uncomfortable for you.”
The line went dead and Kelley had the urge to hurl his phone into the crashing waves. He squeezed it in his fist and gritted his teeth.
