Page 51 of Finding Lord Landry

I followed him through the house and up the stairs like a petulant child. I knew I was in for a brutal tongue-lashing once we were alone. Kenji was going to ream me out. Flay me wide open and take me to church about secrets and betrayal. About lies and disrespect.

But when we entered his bedroom and closed the door, that wasn’texactlywhat happened.

ELEVEN

KENJI

This day had gone completely off the rails. I prided myself on being able to roll with the punches, but even I couldn’t absorb this many hits without taking a few moments against the ropes to recover.

“Don’t talk to me,” I snapped before reaching for the buttons of my shirt and kicking off my shoes. I had one destination in mind, and it was the now perfectly cleaned and pressed bed I’d left several hours ago.

“Are we having sex?” Landry asked incredulously. “Now?”

I closed my eyes and sent up a prayer to the universe to have mercy on Landry whatever-the-fuck his name was so that I didn’t strangle him right now with the lavender-scented sleep mask that was resting on a porcelain tray on the bedside table.

“You may be,” I said in a clipped tone. “I am not.”

I yanked off my shirt and dropped it on the floor before shoving my pants down and stepping out of them. My underwear and I climbed between the heavenly sheets and let out an involuntary groan of relief. “Thank fucking Christ for this bed and everything associated with it,” I breathed, settling into the luxurious bedding and closing my eyes. “Pull the curtains closed, please.”

“You were serious about napping?” Landry asked.

“I wasn’t until I saw the bed,” I admitted. “But I’m known for my adaptability.”

The light dimmed behind my eyelids as I heard the soft clink of metal curtain rings sliding across rods.

“We need to talk about this,” Landry said. “There’s time to correct this. To let you go back to the States.”

I kept my eyes shut as I listened to him yank another pair of curtains closed. I refused to acknowledge that I’d been planning to do exactly that—leave Landry and hislordlycrisis management team to handle the boots-on-the-ground work while I did my part remotely.

More to the point, I refused to consider why I’d changed my mind.

“And leave you here to turn this into an even bigger clusterfuck?” I scoffed. “I don’t think so. You pay me to keep your life from imploding, Landry. Remember?”

The sound of fabric moving against fabric continued as he moved around the room. “I think everyone would agree pretending to be my husband is a bridge too far, Kenj.”

I shrugged, snuggling deeper into the mattress. “Silas did it for Way. What’s the difference?”

The mattress dipped on the far side as Landry slid between the covers. My lungs seized in surprise, leaving me unable to snap at him or tell him to get the fuck out of my napping chamber.

Landry’s voice was deep and familiar. And close. “The difference is the two of them were actually married,” he said, moving closer until his hand grasped one of my wrists and gently began moving my body where he wanted it.

My heart rate skyrocketed. “I’m not… we’re not… this isn’t… you aren’t the boss of me.”

I bit back a groan. He was literally the boss of me.

“I am your husband,” he said in a voice full of knowing, full of heat. Full of something I wanted more than I would ever admit. “And you will go where I put you.”

I was still angry. So, so angry. And hurt. And embarrassed.

But my dick was already half-hard, and Landry’s deep voice commanding me in bed was enough to make the blood abandon my brain with all haste and hotfoot it down to the fun party as fast as humanly possible.

I opened my mouth to snap, “You are not the boss of me,” until I realized I’d already said thatandalready reminded myself it was untrue. And I was probably too far past the point of being allowed to speak with any semblance of self-respect.

“Norf,” I said instead.

The low rumble of his laugh hit the back of my neck on a hot breath. “That right?”

“Eing.”

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