AFTER AN EXTREMELY LONG DAY at the stable, Richmond entered the house through the back garage door. Pleasant, spicy aromas sailed up his nose as his gaze traveled to the pot on the stove. Tossing his keys on the counter, his stomach growled. Jason is going to pay for what he did to Salina, he thought, wondering how Isabelle’s lessons had gone today with her new riding instructor.
Wondering where Kayla, Isabelle, and CJ were, he walked over to the stove and lifted the lid off the pot. Steamed vegetables. Noticing the light was on for the oven, he lowered the hatch. Inside lay encrusted baked cod and buttery rolls. There was nothing like a woman who could cook. Although he’d told Kayla that cooking dinner wasn’t a part of her duties, he was glad she had taken the initiative to do so. Inhaling the pleasant fragrance of the food, he closed the hatch, then went to look for his crew.
Mounting the staircase, thoughts of how he’d masturbated while thinking of Kayla last night entered his mind. At first he’d thought about firing her, but what good would that have done? It wasn’t her fault that he couldn’t control his dying need to get inside her last night.
Taking his precious time clambering up the stairs, he clung to the memory of how she’d looked in her bathing suit as he would to a life preserver in a stormy sea. Reminiscing, his balls tingled. It wasn’t Kayla’s fault he couldn’t stop thinking about her luscious body, no matter how hard he tried. She wasn’t the blame for his balls aching now just from thinking about her. Nope. Kayla had nothing to do with his inability to contain his emotions for her. From what he could tell thus far, she was a great nanny, and Isabelle absolutely adored her. Therefore, he was no longer firing her.
In dire need of a hot shower, as he reached the top of the staircase he heard the children laughing. Entering Isabelle’s bedroom, his heart warmed when he spotted Kayla sitting on the floor reading a book to them. With her back to him and a book clutched in her hands, she peeped over the edge of the book, then leaned into the children as they sat across from her. “Do you want to know what happened next?” Her sensual voice made Richmond’s heart swirl with desire.
Shaking her head, Isabelle’s eyes spread wide. “Did the little girl die like my mommy?” Isabelle asked, breaking Richmond’s heart.
CJ gasped. He slapped hard hands to his round, cute cheeks. “I don’t want her to die.”
Kayla tilted her head. “Guys. She didn’t die. She ran into the forest and found the prince. The two of them lived happily ever after. The end.” Kayla shut the book. “It’s time for dinner. Go wash your hands.”
When Richmond cleared his throat, Kayla glanced back over her shoulder and stood. Smiling, she shooed the children in the direction of the doorway. Running, they shot past him and headed downstairs. Gazing into Kayla’s lovely eyes, Richmond troubles regarding Salina seemed to subside. “How was your day?”
“It was wonderful. And yours?”
Very disturbing. “Quite interesting.”
“I hope you’re hungry, because I made dinner.”
Seeing Kayla’s eyes brighten in the pale light on the ceiling fan, Richmond felt his feelings for her intensifying. “The only thing I had for lunch today was a small tossed salad, so I’m good and hungry.” His stomach growled loud, and Kayla giggled. The way her soft laugh rolled off her sexy lips had his loins tingling. Wanting to kiss her soft looking mouth and make burning love to her fine body, he took a step forward, closing the distance. “How did Isabelle’s riding lessons go with her new coach to—”
Snapping his mouth shut, his eyes honed in at the new picture on the dresser. Looking at the photo of Salina, Isabelle, and him on the dresser, his body tensed. Who in the hell had put the picture there without his damn permission?
Kayla’s lips eased into a smile after she noticed he’d spotted the photo. “I had the photo made today. Isabelle wanted a picture of her mother—”
Richmond’s hand flew up in Kayla’s face, and her mouth zipped. He took slow strides toward the dresser. Fuming, he hefted the picture in his hand, then turned to face Kayla. “How dare you put a picture up of this woman in my daughter’s bedroom?”
“But I—I thought you’d like it.”
“Well, you thought wrong damnit!” Richmond slammed the frame into the dresser, and the glass shattered into a tiny million pieces. Damn, he’d cut his hand. Blood dripped from his skin onto the floor.
Regret pulsed inside Kayla’s sad eyes. Her bottom lip folded. “I’m sorry to upset you. I didn’t mean any harm. I’ll go get a rag for your hand.”
Prickles of pain shot though his palm to his bloody fingers. He flung his injury and specks of blood stained the carpet. “I don’t need your help. You’re done for today. Feel free to go home. Now!”
Pinching her lips together, Kayla fisted her hips. Her brows dipped. “Well, thank you for liking the picture, Boss.” Rolling her eyes, she turned on her heels and stomped out of the room.
Richmond hurried to the bathroom inside Isabelle’s room to wash his hurt hand. Rinsing the blood from his hand, he gave his head a hard shake. Damn woman. Putting a picture up of his deceitful wife, she had no right to do such a thing without consenting with him first, he thought, turning off the faucet.
Standing in front of the mirror, looking at himself, regret for sending Kayla home before dinner pinched his gut. As angry as he was, his rod still turned hard while thinking about her. One minute Kayla had him turned on and sexually aroused, and the next minute she had him colder than ice. Yeah, she better leave before I fuck her while I’m mad.