Page 26 of Promise of Punishment

My eyes widen, and I look up. Soaked bangs cover one side of a gorgeous face with high cheekbones, a defined jawline, angry lips flattened into a scowl, and a sharp nose that leads to piercing bluebell eyes framed by wet, thick lashes.

Wesley Hale.

Fuck me. I bolt from the room, ready to put in my resignation and save myself the humiliation of this ever reaching the staff or owners. God save me.

Wes

What the fuck just happened? I wipe the water from my eyes and brush my bangs from my face. Was Fable just watching me?

Fable? The little woman who looked at me like she wanted to kill me yesterday. The little temptress who haunted my dreams last night and who I just wanked off to.

This is a turn of events.

I grab the towel and dry myself off, my mind reeling. I tried not to picture her when I gripped my cock in a tight hold in search of release. I imagined the last fuck I had at a Hellfire party. Camila is tall and leggy with sable hair. I had her tied to a bed, face down, ass up, her ponytail fisted in my hand. It’s the only way I have sex. No kissing. No eye contact. Zero intimacy. It’s physical, nothing more. I’m not gentle either. I circle back to the same few women. One in England, one in Scotland, and one here. They know what to expect and what not to expect. It keeps things easy.

I left complicated a long time ago when I took my sister under my wing and blacklisted our parents. Neither she nor I know how to have a relationship. We both have a callous side. Tessa’s isn’t half as ruthless as mine, but it got her into trouble with Lachlan a year ago and taught her a hard lesson. She’s doing well, working at the Duhnill Distillery in Scotland for Rory. He cares for her like a sister and keeps her safe. I don’t have to worry about her like I used to, which leaves a void in my life that needs filling. Proven by how I’m still on edge, even after coming hard to a mental image that shifted from Camila to Fable—her soulful eyes locked on mine, arms pinned above her head, tits bouncing as I plowed into her tight, slick pussy.

Based on the look in her eyes yesterday, I assumed she’d sooner stab me than fuck me. Now… I’m not so sure. She didn’t run when she saw me. She watched, and that has my cock twitching.

I run the towel over my damp hair as I step out of the shower, then secure it around my waist and walk to the counter where I placed my pants and dress shirt. Why didn’t she leave? The shock on her face when she turned back to me could have been for one of two reasons: She got caught peeping, or she didn’t know who she was watching.

Lachlan and I sparred this morning. He sent me up here for privacy so I could shower and change. I used the first room I came across. Fable might not have known I was up here, so she could have thought she was spying on a stranger.

My shoulders harden to rocks at the thought. Is she into that… watching? It’s a bold move for a housekeeper, let alone a recent hire and assistant. I doubt she’ll tell anyone about what happened, and I sure as hell won’t. The last thing I want is for her to disappear again—at least not until I get answers.

I was right about one thing all those years ago. Fable grew into a beautiful woman with just enough curves to please a man. She’s still as tiny as ever; Arianna Grande and Christina Carpenter size. My cock obviously doesn’t care. The fact that I pictured her looking at me when I wanked off is concerning. My goal isn’t to fuck her though. It’s to find out what happened over the last six years, why she moves as often as she does, if she’s safe, and if she needs help.

Nothing more.

11

DEFINITELY NOTHING P-DIDDY HERE

Fable

I park where Noah instructed in front of a stable house turned six-car garage. Coach lamps bathe the structure in warmth that feels bright compared to the road here, where low fixtures barely cut through the darkness beyond.

I studied the place on Google Maps before coming. The mansion is surrounded by woods and set up on a hill about half a mile from the Hudson River.

Bear sleeps in his carrier on the passenger seat. I let him stay in the car but leave the door cracked open.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Noah runs at me from the shadows and tackles me with a big hug.

I have to reach up to hug her back even though she’s bent over. Bear meows, announcing he’s awake. In terms of meows, his ranks at a kitten level.

“I hear someone.” She releases me and opens the door to see him. “Hey, little guy. Aren’t you a fur ball?” She runs her finger over the mesh carrier where his nose presses. “You didn’t tell me he looks like an Ewok.”

I giggle. “I haven’t heard that one.”

She straightens, and I lean back to look up at her face, far above mine, her wedge boots pushing her height past six feet. I used to tease that she isn’t allowed to wear heels around me.

Noah stares at my face. “What’s up with your eye?”

I let out an annoyed sigh. “Is it still red?”

“What happened?” she asks with concern.

I don’t want to confess that my fear of thunder caused it, or what I thought was thunder. I was crouched in the little closet, scrambling to pack and get here, when a blast ripped through the air, so loud I thought lightning struck the roof. I whipped around to look out the window and hit my eye on the doorframe. My heart galloped for long seconds as I listened for rain or another crack. If it had been pouring, I wouldn’t have driven this far. I don’t want to admit that either, or explain that the sound was just a car backfiring on the street.