“You met at work.”
“True.” The memories still made Kendra tingle all over. She broke the tape with her thumbnail, then frowned as she read. “He says there’s a problem in the Medieval torture chamber. Do you know what’s wrong?”
“It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“That’s okay. I’ll head up there now. Can you hold down the fort while I put the fire—” Kendra winced and mimed zipping her lips. “Sorry. Can you keep an eye on things while I’m gone?”
Mentioning fire—even in a cliché—was more than a slip of the tongue, and Kendra couldn’t believe she’d said something so thoughtless. Fortunately, no one had gotten hurt, but they were all still nervous—especially when there was evidence they weren’t quite out of danger yet.
“You need a day off, girlfriend,” Sierra advised. “You would never flub up like that normally.”
“It has to wait until after the grand reopening, but I’m planning to take a week off.”
Sierra chewed on her lip and studied her for a moment. “I’m promoting one of the housekeepers.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Lucinda Ford. She’s in college for a degree in hospitality management. I’m going to let her shadow me, and if you agree, you can have her as an assistant.”
“I don’t need one.”
Sierra’s eyebrow went up again. “Really? Tell me when you last got a full night’s sleep?”
“I—”
“And when was the last time you rode your handsome fiancé like a pony? Or did a scene? Or sat down to eat your meals like a fucking human? When was the last time you went a day without popping antacids like candy?”
Way too long for all of it. And when the hell did Sierra become so freaking observant? Kendra crossed her fingers, hoping she hadn’t said anything to Mark. He’d worry, then get overprotective, and… She just didn’t have the time for it.
“Bossy,” she muttered. “Olivia will take over the books when she graduates.”
Ryan normally did their day-to-day bookkeeping, but he was busy with Carrie. Aside from that, he was hard at work on continuing ed to keep up his nursing certification. She wasn’t about to push it back on him when he had so much to do already.
“That’s not for six weeks.” Still giving Kendra a stink eye, Sierra sat on her stool and crossed her legs. “You need help now. At least give Lucinda a chance. We can call it an internship so she doesn’t have to go somewhere else.”
“Fine. She can start Monday.”
“Good girl.” Sierra made a shooing motion with her hands. “I have everything under control.”
Chapter Two
Mark
Dressed in the leather pants and vest he hadn’t worn in weeks, he studied the suite he and Kendra would call home for the next few days. The decor was dark and threatening with walls painted to resemble stone and granite tile flooring. Instead of padded bondage furniture, the fixtures were stark wood and iron. Nonfunctional reproductions of historic instruments of torture hung on the walls, along with vicious whips, studded prison straps, and other implements he’d never consider using on even the most dedicated masochist. It was all specifically placed to send terror into a sub’s heart.
He stroked the crosspiece of a wooden pillory and smirked. He wouldn’t use any of the decorative pieces, but Kendra was going to get up close and personal with the fixtures and some of the safer implements from his play bag.
In contrast, the small bedroom was the epitome of luxury with muted colors and soft furnishings to invite relaxation. Lucinda, their new housekeeper, had outdone herself with folded towel animals and a fully stocked minibar, She’d also supplied the ensuite bathroom with a weekend’s worth of fresh linens and the luxury personal care products used in all their suites.
The torture chamber was his brainchild. It was designed to create confusion and fear, and he was all about the mind fuck. Thankfully, Kendra hadn’t seen it yet. He’d somehow managed to distract her with other tasks while the work was completed, which wasn’t as great a challenge as he’d expected.
Aside from overstepping her professional authority, Kendra had been skipping meals and working when she should have been resting. According to Sierra, she’d also been going through antacids like crazy.
Most of that was on him. She was a grown-ass woman, and he’d assumed she’d take care of her own well-being without needing a reminder. He hadn’t watched her like he should have and hadn’t noticed all the ways she was risking her health until it was pointed out. All of it was going to stop. He was done letting it happen.
The lock clicked, signaling Kendra with her master key. He turned to face the door and folded his arms across his chest as she walked in.
Her eyes widened and a faint smile blossomed on her face as she turned in place to see everything. “Wow. I can’t believe I haven’t made time to see this!”
