Page 65 of The Rancher's Vengeful Heart

A sadistic smile curved over his lips. "Never, baby girl."

She had no chance to answer yet again, with his fingers slipping inside of her mouth as he thrust harder and deeper into her.

Oh yes,Tassy thought dazedly.We could make this work very, very hard—-I mean, well, indeed.

ONE MONTH LATER

"We just received a call from the hospital, Mr. Young," Milton reported. "Dr. Chen says Mrs. Young's surgery was a complete success, and results have exceeded all expectations."

"And the burns?"

"There will be no disfigurement," Milton was eager to assure his boss. "In a month's time, there won't be any visible scarring at all. It's as if the fire - and the accident - never happened." Milton's voice awkwardly trailed off at the way his boss's penetrating gaze narrowed.As expected of the great Benedict Young,Milton thought in a mixture of awe and dread. The billionaire had an almost supernatural ability to sense when something was amiss.

It was just too bad that the only time his boss hadn't seen through a person's lies was when he married his wife.

Milton shoved the thought away as quickly as it had surfaced.Stop thinking of Mrs. Young that way, you idiot!

"Milton?"

The thread of impatience in his boss's voice had Milton hastily completing his report.

Please inform Mr. Young that he should expect a slight change in his wife's appearance. This cannot be helped, unfortunately.

Milton took pains to relay Dr. Chen's warning verbatim, but his boss's chiseled features remained unreadable.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, sir."

"Contact Dr. Chen. Let him know I'll be assigning our own security detail outside my wife's room. No one's to speak to her without my approval."

Benedict waited until his assistant's footsteps receded before reaching for the report his security team had provided him.

Subject: Stella Tyler

Age: 25

Status: Single

Grantee ID: 08158

Aid provided: Juvenile records sealed and received funding to complete two-year course in Chapman Community College

Current Employment: Hotel Regalia, executive room attendant, two years to present

Family History

Father: Irving Tyler, deceased (workplace accident, 20 years prior)

Mother: Pippi Tyler, primary income is late husband's pension, known history of substance abuse, pattern of relationships with younger men with criminal backgrounds, currently admitted in an undisclosed rehabilitation clini,

Incident Report:

1. Subject sustained facial injuries defending mother from assault of current partner (Ripley Echols, 31, unemployed, prior conviction for burglary)

2. Subject admitted to Cliff Thompson Medical Center (facial trauma, possible concussion)

3. Fire outbreak at 3:16 AM resulting in massive structural damage and casualties. Surviving patients transferred to nearby medical facilities. Cause under investigation at time of report.

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