Point of Contention (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

the sight of her pouty lips. “All I’m saying is if it will make your time here more pleasant, plant the damn thing. I don’t care about it…”

Stuart pushed back in his chair and became engaged in the scene

outside his window.

“What do you care about, then? Something has you all riled up,

and apparently, it’s me. Or my presence here. What do you want from

me, Stuart?” This time she caught his look and held it, all but daring

him to look away first. It was an old trick, Stuart knew, one she must

have acquired from her courtroom days. No matter what, don’t blink

first. This time he played along, not letting her see him flinch at her

words. For a long time they were silent, intent on playing out the trap

they’d gotten themselves into. Only the slamming of a car door

outside his window snapped his look from hers.

“The guests are back from their boat trip.”

“Fine, that still doesn’t answer my question.”

Stuart thought about all the questions he wanted answers to but

refrained from verbalizing any of them. Since she arrived at the lodge,

he’d spent too many nights wondering all sorts of things about

Kadence.

“The bill, from the garden center,” he stated and cleared the frog

from his throat. “Drop it by when you get a chance, and I’ll reimburse

you.” He managed to work the conversation back to business. It was

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self-preservation on his part. He watched several things cross her

face, none of which she shared with him. Only her dark eyes watching

him intently let him know the bill was the last thing on her mind.

“Thanks, but no thanks. It’s my hobby. I’ll pick up the tab. Next

year if we’re both still here, we’ll discuss you covering the expense.

For right now, I’m more comfortable with it this way.”

“But it’s a legitimate business expense.”

“I understand that, but I think I’ll enjoy my hobby a lot more

without the pressure.”

“As you wish. If you change your mind, just get me the bill.”

“I won’t change my mind.”

“Fine.” Purely for a distraction, Stuart glanced at the papers on his

desk.

“Am I dismissed?” she asked when it became apparent he’d shut

down.

“What?” he said, hoping to make her think he’d forgotten about

her, when in reality his erection was about to burst through the zipper

on his jeans. “Oh, yes, that’s all.” He didn’t raise his head to watch her walk away. He studied her form from under his lashes.

She left quietly with Harley following close at her heels. When

she got to the door, she knelt down and took the dog’s large head

between her hands. Talking directly to him she said, “Better stay here

or he’ll get pissed at you too!”

He glanced up when he heard her words, and she gave him a

pressed-on smile before leaving his office. When she had closed the

door behind her, he started muttering under his breath. He cursed her,

the dog, and the fates that had her meeting Travis in that deli so long

ago. Feeling infinitely better than he had before, he refrained from

watching Kay walk to her apartment. He didn’t need to watch her—

he’d memorized her walk.

* * * *

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34

Kay walked to her apartment and slipped on a bathing suit. A few

laps would unwind her before supper and hopefully cool her down. In

the weeks she’d been at Agrarian Lodge, Stuart hadn’t made an

appearance at the pool. None she was aware of, anyway. Her swim

while the guests enjoyed their evening meal usually gave her

complete privacy. It was a luxury to have access to such a beautiful

space. The glass-enclosed atrium extended from the back of the lodge,

and at twilight, the illusion of being outdoors became overwhelming.

* * * *

Stuart sat at his desk, his head dropped back against the leather

chair, his hand absently stroking Harley’s head. After Kay left, he’d

wandered over to Stuart and dropped his head on his leg, his large

eyes sad-looking. “I know how you feel, old boy. At least she touches

you.” Stuart groaned and felt himself throb once again. Even after

overhearing Kay and Travis in the kitchen last night, he still kept his

reserve. If his thoughts of them being romantically involved were

wrong, well, didn’t that make his situation even worse? Knowing she

was free and still unapproachable from a business standpoint just

plain sucked from his perspective.

He gave the dog one last pat before wandering to the window, his

thoughts lost when he saw a lone swimmer in the pool. It didn’t take a

genius to know it would be her. She’d taken to using the pool while

the guests ate, and it was Stuart’s bad luck that one side of his office overlooked the atrium. Forcing himself, he moved away, knowing

watching her long limbs slice through the water would be worse in the

long run. Already in his dreams she wrapped them around him,

pulling him tighter to her. He visibly quaked at the idea of being

buried inside her and let his mind wander over the possible ways of

getting to that point. Always, his imagination let him spend copious

amounts of time kissing her before moving to her breasts, breasts he

longed to lavish with attention.

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Louisa Neil

Chapter Five

Staff meals were an experience unto themselves. Martha was chief

in her kitchen and made sure everyone knew it. While she gratefully

accepted any baked goods Kadence offered, her menus weren’t

discussed or debated. All employees who resided on site knew the

house rules. Breakfast was at six-thirty. If you missed it, that was your problem. Only the coffeepot was left on for stragglers. Lunch was

always something cold and prepared in advance. Supper was at seven,

and again, if you were late, you missed it.

Meals were served family style around the large kitchen table.

Conversation ran from the weather to world news to the guests’

peculiarities. And always, someone had the bad sense to mention

religion or politics before the meal ended, usually with Martha

shooing everyone from her domain.

The staff enjoyed the main floor of the women’s residence as a

communal living area for television and card games. It was rumored

that no man had set foot on the steps to the second story since Martha

came to Lodge. By midnight, everyone was expected to be turned in

for the night, whatever that meant to each of them, as long as the

downstairs was quiet and empty. Martha accomplished this quite

efficiently by having her bedroom on the main floor, where even a

creaky floorboard garnered her attention.

It seemed like a good pattern, and most of the employees seemed

reasonably content with their positions, petty personal problems aside.

It was also widely known that Mr. Drake felt all his employees were

treated quite well, and if someone didn’t think so, they were free to

move on and find other work and accommodations. So far, none had

left for that reason.

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36

* * * *

Kay found herself sitting on an overturned plastic bucket later that

night, the dogs all pushing for her attention. She petted each one in

turn and fed them only bits of the dry dog food they were normally

given. While she had some bones left over from beef stock, she’d

frozen them, hoping to be able to offer them to Harley one day as a

treat. But since Stuart had come back from his trip, she’d seen little of the old dog, unless Stuart was nearby.

Holding the collar of one of the beagles, she turned it to check his

name, calling the dog by it and trying to commit it to memory. Each

one had his or her own personality, she was learning, and their names

seemed to match.

Tulula was an attention hound, while Belle was quiet and

restrained until called by name. Zoe was sweet, with hound dog eyes

that made Kay want to give her an extra morsel of treat. Roger was a

bully, pushing the rest out of the way for his share of attention. Tex

had an attitude, and Rocky had a dark patch of fur around his left eye,

making him look like he just left the boxing ring and wasn’t the

winner. Mavis was sweet and reserved, just short of skittish.

Chloe, on the other hand, was sick, Kay decided. Something about

her wasn’t right, but she couldn’t put her finger on what was wrong.

The dog took her offered treat and accepted the attention given her,

but her eyes were dull, not like the young dog she’d met a few weeks

ago. When her pocket was empty of the kibble, she gave them each

one last pet and stood, brushing off the back of her jeans. Only when

she turned to leave the pen did she realize she wasn’t alone.

Stuart stood in the shadows watching her. Hesitating for only a

few seconds, she spoke before she could change her mind. And she

had to do something—the way he was looking at her made her

uncomfortable in a way she’d long ago lost. He was leaning against

the far post, his back resting against it, one long leg planted firmly on
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the ground, the other bent at the knee, resting on the same post. His

arms were folded across his stomach, his hat pulled down, blocking

his eyes. “There’s something wrong with Chloe.”

* * * *

“You went ahead and grew up, didn’t you, girl. I missed it, but the

boys didn’t.” He glanced to Kay before giving the dog one last pat

and setting her down.

“I think our young girl is soon to be a mother,” Stuart offered,

holding the pen gate for her to slip out. Kay was still startled that the rest of the pack didn’t launch themselves toward her, trying to get out.

“She’s pregnant?”

“I think so,” he said back, locking the gate behind him. “She’s a

little young. We were waiting for her first heat to have her fixed. I can only assume we missed it.”

“Will you keep the puppies?” Stuart tried to focus on the dog, but

his mind had her reaching up to touch his cock.

“Let’s make sure that’s her problem first. I’ll call the vet in the

morning, see if he can drop by. Then we’ll worry about the puppies.”

“I’m glad it’s nothing serious. Two nights ago she seemed

strange, but two nights before that she seemed fine.” Kadence was

walking beside Stuart toward the main road. Their conversation was

easy, considering their past confrontations.

“You like dogs? You memorized all their names already.”

“Yes, we always had several around the house when I was

growing up. My mom was a teacher, and somehow everybody knew if

you found a dog and couldn’t keep it, Mrs. Farrell would help you

find a home for it. Only sometimes the home she found was ours.”

Stuart decided her smile would be his complete downfall if he

wasn’t careful. And he’d begun to see how Travis had become so

entranced by her.

“Did your father see that as a problem?” He was thankful his

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38

voice hadn’t cracked when he spoke, searching for a neutral

conversation as opposed to spilling out his real thoughts. Although, he

was intrigued by the idea of what her reaction would be. If he

confessed his lust for her, he knew the odds were against him in all

directions. First, it would hurt Travis, and second, he didn’t want her

to know she affected him. Sharing his weakness toward her, he’d lose

all advantage as the boss and a man.

“He’d grumble and complain about the hair on his good jacket,

but when my mother finally found a home, he’d be the first one in

tears when the dog left with its new owner. And a few he never let be

adopted.” Kay hesitated a moment and then shared the rest of her

thought. “Of course, if you ever met him, he’d say Mom and her dogs

ate him out of house and home and made him put in an extra five

years before his retirement.”

Her laugh warmed him, and he pushed his hands in his back

pockets to quell the urge to pull her to him. An urge he would have to

come to terms with, for it was becoming harder to control the

impulse.

“Was that really how it was?”

“To a point. He worked the extra five years because my mom

wanted to put in her twenty-five before retiring. As for the dogs, they

only have two now. That’s the maximum the retirement community’s

bylaws will allow.”

“So he’s a softie deep down?”

“About the dogs, yes, and most things. Just don’t piss him off.

Then all hell breaks loose.” Her smile gave way to a hint of the

beautiful, yet rebellious child she might have been.

“Give me an example.”

“Hurting any animal would trigger that response. Finding out I

dented his car when I first got my license was a big deal.” She

laughed out loud, adding, “It was my own fault. I should have just

told him to start with. It would have been much less painful.” He

glanced at her with his eyebrows furrowed, and she laughed again.

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“Oh, no. He was terribly disappointed with me. His silent treatment

was worse than any spanking would have been. And I wasn’t allowed