Page 265 of On a Fault Line

Luke then looks pointedly at me. “I’m being serious.”

“No.”

“Give it some thought,” he says, appearing to fight back a smile.

“No.”

Penny looks at me with puppy dog eyes. “But…”

“No, Princess.”

“He does have a queen…”

Leaning down, I kiss her ear. “But this princess is owned by a king.”

* * *

“This isn’t taking it slow,” Penny says, with a teasing smirk playing on her lips.

“I actually am taking it slow.” I click my tongue. “You should have seen my alternative plan if you decided to continue to be unreasonable.”

“Now that may have been fun.”

It’s been a week since Claire and Nic welcomed sweet Scarlett into the world, and I finally got Penny to move back into my place with me. It’s where she belongs. I’m just glad she came to her senses and decided to submit to my wishes.

Luckily, with my quick thinking skills, I was able to prove just how serious I was about the whole thing by sending over a moving truck to Nic’s old place to make sure she followed through on her verbal agreement.

There’s no way I would take a chance she would change her mind.

“You are a naughty girl.”

“You bring that side out of me.”

“It’s like you wanted me to kidnap you…”

She shrugs. “Maybe I still do.”

I carry Penny into the bedroom with my hard-on pressing against her backside and toss her onto the center of the bed. I flip her around so she’s on her belly. Despite her struggling, I get her wrists secured into the leather straps.

“Clearly you have more sass to work out of your system.”

She kicks her foot out backward, and I catch it.

Massaging her ankle, I secure the cuff around it and then repeat the process with her other one, rendering her motionless.

“There. Now you can relax and be a good girl without having to think too much about defying me.” It really is her default to be difficult.

Penny struggles against her bindings. “Quit looking so smug.”

“Oops, I almost forgot one thing. Thank you for reminding me.”

I bend down and kiss her along her spine, working my way up to the side of her face and then her nose, which only pisses her off more.

Penny can be so adorable when she is trying to be angry.

Leaning over, I reach into the drawer in my nightstand and grab a few fun items from my freshly stocked supply. I’ve upgraded since our breakup, utilizing what Angie and Claire often refer to as “retail therapy” to cope with life’s troubles.

It worked.

---