Psychologist Kai Ferguson has had his eye on Kori Williamson for a long time. His assistant is everything he’s ever wanted in a partner—smart, caring, witty, and a bit of a masochist. More than a little, actually, but that’s the problem. Kori won’t admit her own desires. She’s afraid of him and what he has to offer. Luckily for her, helping patients face their fears is one of his specialties.
Kori knows she wants Kai. Her boss is the most amazing man she’s ever met. She’s also smart enough to stay away from him. Having been down this road before, she knows it only leads to heartache. She’s just found a place where she can belong. Another failed relationship is the last thing she needs. It’s better to guard her heart and let Kai think she’s frightened of his dark, dominant nature.
When Kai is recruited for an operation with McKay-Taggart, everything is turned upside down. Kai’s brother, international superstar Jared Johns, is in town and Kai must juggle his family issues along with a desperate hunt for a serial killer. The investigation throws Kori and Kai together, and they quickly discover the chemistry between them is undeniable. But even if their newfound love can survive his secrets and her lies, it may not be enough to save them both from a killer’s twisted obsession.
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Kori
ran back to her room and gave serious consideration to locking the door behind
her. She could live here now. Sarah could stuff protein bars under the door and
she could live off tap water. This could be her home for many years. As long as
it took for that wicked look to get out of Kai’s eyes.
Or
he would find a way inside anyway and then her ass was grass because that man
looked serious.
She
should have told him about the tires. She’d made that promise a long time
before. In her attempts to avoid him the previous evening she’d decided that
calling and telling him her car had been viciously attacked was counter
productive to the whole point of avoiding him. Now with a whole night’s wisdom
behind her, she could see that it might have been a mistake.
Locking
him out of her room would probably be another mistake.
She
turned on him. Maybe she could get out of this. “Hey, you know in all the
craziness of last night I totally forgot to mention that my tires got messed
up. Maybe that was a manufacturer defect or something. It’s hard to tell in the
dark.”
He
stood in the doorway to her bedroom. Past him, she could still hear a lot of
talking since it seemed her normally quiet house had been invaded. It didn’t
matter. They could talk all they liked because all Kori could see or really
hear was Kai. “Are you certain that’s the tactic you want to take with me?”
“Nope.
I’m not certain at all.” She wasn’t certain of anything. When she’d woken and
realized he wasn’t still in bed with her, she’d been disappointed. She’d
reached out and his side of the bed had been cold, and for a second she’d felt
tears cloud her eyes. Then she’d decided it was a good thing. He’d done what
she wanted him to do. He’d snuck out and avoided embarrassing morning-after
stuff. Except he hadn’t. Apparently he’d invited friends over to witness the
embarrassing morning-after stuff. “What are you still doing here?”
He
crossed his arms over his chest. “What am I still doing here? I was making you
and your friends some breakfast. I was attempting to be a good…houseguest.”
She
was almost certain houseguest wasn’t what he’d meant to say. What other words
would he have used? Boyfriend? Dom? Master? Every single one of them got her
heart racing. Was she thinking of trying with Kai? Could her heart handle that?
“How did everyone else get here?”
“My
brother seems to be stalking me and Case came over because he was worried about
you. Apparently he knew about someone vandalizing your car.”
That
was news to her. “He did? I didn’t tell him.”
“Who
did you tell?” The question came out with an edge of irritation.
“Sarah
and Mia. I decided to wait until this morning to call someone because it was
late last night.” And I’d been trying to avoid you only to end up having the
best sleep of my life because I was wrapped around you. Yeah, she wasn’t going
to say that.
“How
about the police? Were you going to call them? If you’re going to make an
insurance claim, you’ll need a police report. Or are you going to claim that
your tires died of natural causes?”
She
held her hands up, attempting to placate him. Why did her room seem so much
smaller when he was in it? It was a good-sized room, but Kai took up all the
space. “You’re right. I should have called last night, but I was tired and I
wanted to get home and get in bed.”
His
gorgeous eyes narrowed. “You weren’t in bed. You were sitting up with your
friends drinking wine. Try again.”
“Kai,
what’s going on here? It’s a couple of tires.”
“You
were supposed to call me if you got in trouble.”
“I
wasn’t really in…” What was she doing? Before yesterday, she would never have
lied to Kai. Not right to his face. “I was nervous about seeing you after the
scene.”
“Finally
some honesty. I’ll handle it. I’ll deal with the police and get you what you
need for your insurance. The boys from McKay-Taggart will set up some discreet
surveillance cameras around our parking lot.”
There
was a reason they didn’t have that. “I thought you didn’t want the patients to
feel like they were walking into a secure zone.”
Some
of them had serious issues with people watching them. They dealt with a lot of
PTSD patients.
“I
will deal with them. Your safety is more important. Now turn around, pull your
pants down, and place your palms flat on the bed. It’s a count of thirty.”
She
could actually feel her womb spasm. “What?”
Nothing
about his face or stance told he was anything but dead serious. “This was a
condition of your employment. It has been from the beginning.”
If
she wasn’t careful her damn jaw was going to hit the floor. “I remember the
conditions of my employment. Are you saying if I’d been late and hadn’t called,
you would have spanked me?”
“I
suppose we should be happy you’re a very prompt girl. And you tend to be good
about calling. We’ll never know. What I do know is that after last night, I
will definitely spank you and you’ll enjoy it. You might start showing up late
just so you can walk into my office and present that juicy ass to me.” He moved
in front of her, staring down at her with heat in his eyes. “I want you to
think before you tell me no. I want you to question which side of the Kori I
know is going to win this battle. Is it the funny, happy, brave Kori who never
stands down from a challenge, or the one who’s denied herself for years because
some idiot asshole Dom made her feel small. I won’t ever make you feel small.
My job in life will be to lift you up, to help you be strong.”
His
words cut through her. “What are you saying, Kai? Is this about you being my
boss or acting as my play partner?”
She
thought they’d worked it out last night.
His
hands cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look up at him. “I’m acting as your
Dom, Kori, and you know it. You can pretend all you like. You can call it
whatever you want to, but you know how this ends. This ends with you and me.”
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn't until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem. Facebook Twitter Website Amazon Author Page
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