Page 63 of Boss

“You can do this, girl. Whatever happens, you can do this,” she said.

Her fingers pushed one button loose, then the next, until she had opened her blouse. She eased her shirt off, and it was then she uncovered the dark bruise to her shoulder. Kassidy winced as the fabric came down and over the bruise. She leaned into the mirror and stretched her neck by tilting her head to the right. It looked far worse than she felt. She shrugged the shirt off the rest of the way, and turned to see that the bruising spread over her shoulder to a lower portion of her back.

“Jesus,” she said aghast. She looked found another bruise to her side. This one wasn’t as bad. Kassidy reached down to unbutton her pants. They were wet and sticky and she wanted them off. She let them drop to the floor and stepped out of them. She uncovered more bruises with this reveal, and tears misted over her eyes. It was a new nightmare to add to the list of horrible memories she’s made in her life.

32.

Tarek had walked back in the snow. He first made sure Smoke was secure and the generators were at the very least gassed up enough to keep the electricity going through the storm. And it was a storm. The clouds were the darkest grey he had ever seen.The wind pushed at him with tornado like strength. He could barely see the house ahead of him. He found he had to keep his hand pressed to the top of his Stetson to prevent it from blowing away in the gust.

Five minutes later, he arrived back at his home, and had to pause on the porch to catch his breath. The snow was stirred up and whined all around him. He was grateful for the warmth when he went inside and pushed the door shut. He nearly slid down to the floor with relief.

“Fucking insane out there,” he said. He stomped his boots, and clumps of snow shook off his feet and body. Tarek glanced up to the stairs. He’d have to tell her it might take longer than he thought to get help. Cash was very capable and he was sure his man was headed to them. Snowstorm be damned. They just needed to ride it out.

He started up the stairs with her warning in his ears. Not about the cops. He had enough lawyers to make this little kidnapping adventure look like a dinner invite. No. He had lost all communication before he could find out what the fuck ‘Easter EGG’ meant. He had to know if she was telling him the truth.

Tarek walked down the hall to her room. He didn’t bother to turn on the hall lights he knew his place in the dark. When he arrived at the door, he found it closed. He frowned and then smiled. He half expected to find it locked too. It was. There was not a room on his ranch he could be locked out of. He bounded down the staircase and went back into the parlor. Inside the desk, he found the master house keys. One key alone opened all the doors upstairs. The other keys were to his wine cellar, garage, and rooms where he kept safes stashed with money. He could have forced his way in. He could have banged on the door and demanded entry. Instead, he wanted to deliver a different kind of message. He wanted to make amends for what he'd done to her.

When he returned to the door, he eased in the key and released the lock allowing the knob to turn in his hand. He pushed it open and peeked inside. The bed was empty. It was the first thing he saw. So, he opened the door wider and found the room empty. Tarek heard her before he saw her. The sound came from his right. His vision swiveled in the direction of her soft humming. The bathroom door was partially closed, and water in the sink or tub was running. A few feet from the door, he could see inside the bathroom.

Kassidy wore her bra and a very thin thong that revealed how shapely her hips were. He wanted to see more. She turned from where he could watch her and he drew closer. He couldn’t help himself. Before he knew it, he was standing at the door. Still he couldn’t satisfy his curiosity with the limited view. He eased the door open a bit more with his open palm pressed flat to the wood.

She was at the sink, with her back to him. The bathroom had a vanity, a sink on both sides, and a sunken spa tub. It also had a bricked in shower with glass doors, and the toilet was hidden behind another door. Tarek was not surprised by how lovely her shape was. She had the kind of curves he liked on his women. She’d used them to seduce him more than once and he had no doubt she could do it again. It was best to turn away. Still he didn’t.

“What the hell are you doing?” she screeched. He stepped back. How did she see him with her back turned? And then he realized she saw his reflection in the mirror. She grabbed a towel and covered herself. He expected her to slam the door in anger, but instead she charged out with the towel wrapped around her. “What the hell were you doing?”

Tarek put his hands up as if caught. “I'm sorry, I came to tell you... ah, the door was locked and I came in to tell you....”

“That’s really creepy and disgusting, even for you. Spying on me while I undress? Really?” she asked. “I locked the door! How the hell did you get in?”

“It’s my house. You aren’t exactly a guest. So I didn’t bother to knock,” he said.

“You told the horse I was a guest!” she snapped.

“What?” he asked with a frown. “Oh? Okay,” he laughed. “You caught me. I was just checking in on you. Didn’t know you were—”

“Liar! I saw your face.”

Tarek shrugged. “It was rude. I apologized.”

She frowned.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

“Asshole!” she turned to go back into the bathroom and he quickly cut her off. He stepped around her to block her escape, even though the bathroom didn’t have door lock.

“I’m sorry. It was shitty. But those bruises, I can help.”

“You can help by calling the paramedics, and getting me the hell out of here!” she shouted at him on the verge of tears. Gone was the temptress and deceiver. Before him stood the woman. She looked terrified. And that too was his fault.

Tarek bit down on his tongue to keep from saying the first thing that came to his mind. After all, he wasn’t good at humility. “Come with me. Let me show you something.”

He walked over to the window. She stood there glaring. She was so angered by his peeping actions she forgot she was still in a state of undress which was fine with him. The towel barely covered her ass, and her crossed arms made her breasts heave up for him.

“Look,” he said and pointed to the window.

Her gaze cut from him to the window. She stared at it for a moment, and then walked over cautiously slow. The storm had gotten worse. In just a half hour it had turned into some kind of blizzard. “I went out there to look for my phone. I dropped it in the snow, probably when we struggled, or when I went to help you on the side of the road.”

He could smell the fresh scent of soap she used to clean up with. They were so close he could see the tiny freckles she had on the tip of her nose. He didn’t know women of her color could have freckles.

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