Step Darkly Read online

  14

  Joshua

  Emilia’s hair is as soft as it looks. It slides through my fingers like fine threads of silk, urging me to grab more of it.

  It’s a good thing she didn’t hop into the bathroom a few minutes later. Images from last night have refused to leave my mind and I was almost ready to do something on my own about it.

  Now I have her here and she’s still wearing that little piece of see-through fabric. This is too much.

  I feel a spark shoot through my veins as I hear the little bump she makes against the wall behind her. There’s nowhere left for her to go.

  Her breathing has already become deep. I can’t deny there is something between us. For two people who have hated each other for as long as I can remember, there is something between us that has been causing this intense charge since I first saw her in my office yesterday.

  She should never have left for those five years. She accomplished nothing by running away. She only built up this energy like a dam and her confusion at how her body is shivering under my touch is almost breaking my composure.

  My eyes drop down her face, pulled in as though hypnotized by her biting her lower full lip. The wet from her tongue catches the light and I feel myself slowly start to take over.

  The only thing I want right now is Emilia pressed up against the tile of the shower while I explore everything underneath that thin material of hers. Everything else has been shoved out of my brain.

  I decide to push her. Placing my hand over hers, I pull the towel she is holding away and to my complete delight, she releases her hold on it with a soft gasp as I drop it to the floor.

  “Tell you what. Why don’t you take this little thing off, get in the shower with me and I’ll clean all of last night off of your body... my Emilia.”

  My Emilia. The thought tears through me. I know I’m not talking about my guardianship, or her father’s last wishes.

  I’ve got her. I know it.

  As her shoulders slump, her eyes gaze up at me, waiting for my lead and I drop my head down to -

  A sharp knock at the door jolts me out of my pursuit as Emilia jumps under me.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Darkly. I’ve moved everything into the new room and breakfast is ready. Shall I wake Miss Connor?” Sylvia asks through the door as Emilia takes a deep breath.

  I raise my hand to cover her puffy lips and I feel her body settle for me as it betrays her defiance. She has no idea how easily she answers to me, but she will.

  “No. Thank you, Sylvia. I’ll wake her and let her know. We’ll see you downstairs shortly. I’m sure she can’t wait to see you.” I answer, then drop my gaze down to meet her big blue eyes once more as we listen to the housekeeper’s footsteps patter along the hall and down the steps.

  But I know my moment has passed. Her eyes are wide and I feel her body, stiff as a board, against mine. I can’t contain the smile spreading across my lips as she tries to hide behind her cool facade.

  She can run. She can move a whole country away from me, but she can’t hide. And now she knows it. She looks worried and I don’t think her fear is because of me. I think she’s afraid of herself and she’s terrified that she gives her own power to me so easily.

  “Where were we?” I ask again but I know it’s futile.

  “I was just leaving.” She hardens herself against me as she places her palms on my bare chest sending a shiver into me as she continues, “Which room is mine?”

  “You’re in the only one left.” I start as I turn away from her and smile to myself as I drop my towel in front of her while I start the water in the shower. “It’s the one beside mine. If you’re not sure how to get to it, you can go through the adjoining door in my bedroom.” I sneer to myself as I keep my face toward the shower. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.

  “Of course it is.” She mumbles as I hear her rattle the door knob. The cool air from the hall rushes in and I turn to see her hesitate before she glances down the hall for Sylvia.

  The curve of her ass in that nightie is almost ending me as thoughts of me spanking her the night before charge into my psyche once again. I now regret not removing her pants when I punished her. Then I’d be staring at some marks.

  Before I decide to act on the impulse to pull her back into the bathroom and try again, she steps out of the room.

  One day soon, there won’t be a distraction or an escape for Emilia. I feel her in my bones. It’s all just a matter of time.

  But for now, I need to finish this shower and get down to breakfast before she can think of another reason to run off.

  We have some things to discuss.

  “Are you still having nightmares then?” I hear Sylvia’s voice coming out of the open dining room doors and I’m disappointed I’ve missed some of their words.

  I’m not one to eavesdrop so I keep moving into the room.

  “Nightmares?” I inject myself into the conversation as I walk over to pour myself a coffee.

  The truth is, I know if I don’t keep this topic going, it would end on my arrival and I want to know more about these bad dreams.

  “Oh, good morning, Mr. Darkly. I have a plate ready for you. I trust you slept well.” Sylvia moves off to the side and I step between her and Emilia, flashing as bold of a smile as I can at her. I keep my eyes glued to her and to my satisfaction, she breaks our stare first.

  “Good morning, Sylvia. I slept as well as I could on the couch in the office.” I respond and I see by the look on Emilia’s face, I answered the question she had of whether she slept alone last night and I continue as I sit. “What were you saying about nightmares?” I look directly at our housekeeper.

  I know Emilia won’t answer my question.

  As Sylvia slowly opens her mouth her eyes nervously dance between the two of us and before she can answer, Emilia jumps in.

  “Sylvia was just asking me if I had a nightmare last night. I think it was just a long day. The flight and—everything.” She answers as she picks up her fork and shrugs.

  Sylvia takes her cue like a pro and nods in agreement then silently excuses herself from the room.

  “Really? Because when I came upon you in the middle of the night, it sure looked like you were having a nightmare.” I remark directly to her. I’m tired of dancing around.

  “What were you doing in my room?” She challenges without lifting her eyes to mine.

  Waiting for my answer, she keeps her eyes on her plate and moves her food around like she isn’t interested in a response, but I know she is.

  “I heard you crying from the hall?” I answer waiting for her to give me what I want.

  “And what were you doing in the hall outside of my room?” She bounces back and I realize we are, in fact, now dancing around.

  Sitting back in my chair I pause and wait for her to look up. After a quiet minute she does and I’m not impressed but I’ve got bigger things to discuss.

  “We will continue the topic of your—nightmares—another time.” Then leaning in her direction, I continue, “and Emilia, we will discuss them another time.”

  I can tell by the defiant little smirk gracing her face, she thinks I’ll let it go, but I won’t.

  “For now, we have some things we need to discuss.” I wait for a moment before I continue to gauge her reaction.

  She knows what the will says and she is bound to me for the next year. So much has already happened between us in the last 24 hours. As I pause, I watch her for signs of her acceptance.

  She sits quietly in her seat, finishing the food she was eating. Her eyes are burning a hole through my head. I know what she wants to do. She wants to scream at me. She wants to tell me exactly what I can do with my rules and she wants to run away.

  But my little girl can’t do any of that.

  Reaching across the table, she takes a sip of her coffee, then places it back on the table and leans back in her seat.

  Her expression is firm. She’s a fortress and I love seeing her like thi
s because it’s no fun breaking into anything that isn’t heavily guarded.

  She’s being as defiant as she can be without earning herself any more punishments.

  “Go ahead then. Do your best.” She challenges me again and I instantly want to throw her on the table and turn her into my breakfast.

  I feel my entire being warm at her words but now isn’t the time to entertain any of my more carnal desires so I sit back and offer her a smile before I begin.

  “I know this arrangement isn’t ideal, Emilia. I know you had other plans. And, yes, I knew about the guardianship caveat in your father’s will. He asked me if I would be okay with it. Granted, none of us knew what would happen.” I pause as I remember my conversation with Adam about his daughter.

  In truth, I miss Adam. He’d been like a father to me for the last 15 years, always offering advice and checking up on me.

  “But it did happen. And you seem more than eager to run my life without knowing anything about me.” Emilia’s cold voice snaps my attention to her and I notice the tears threatening to run down her face. She’s hurting, too.

  I cut back in quickly. The last thing I want is for this to turn into a petty fight. “You’re right.” I start and she immediately stops and waits for me to finish. “It did happen and I wish it hadn’t. But it did. And we need to work our way through the next year together. I intend to honor your father’s wishes.” I stop there and look at her. I’m not willing to explain myself any further and this is my challenge to keep yelling at me like the little rich girl she is or to grow up and accept her circumstances.

  I sit still as I brace for an onslaught of profanities, but none come. Instead she leans forward to take another sip of her coffee and places it back down, never taking her icy eyes off me and I continue.

  “You will live in this house with me and Sylvia is here full time as well. I’ve arranged to meet with your university instructors to discuss your situation. In the meantime, they’ve agreed to a modified schedule for you while you get settled into your new life. You will have a driver take you to school in the morning and you will work your afternoons on my administrative team while you learn the company. You are in your last year of school, so everyone has internships anyway. You will not hold a job outside of Connor Realty. You’ll find there is more than enough to keep you busy here.” I take another moment to pull a piece of paper out of my pocket and take a long look at it.

  The numbers on the sheet don’t make sense to me and I speak my thoughts out loud. “I need to contact the bank again. We’ve asked them to report and send the remaining funds in your trust account back but I think they’ve made a mistake.” Before I can tell her it looks like they’ve sent over the beginning balance, her soft voice cuts me off.

  “It’s no mistake.” She says and leaves the mystery wide open.

  “I don’t understand. You were away for five years and you worked a few hours a week at the library. That’s barely enough to buy one meal. You still had rent and everything else. Where did you get the money?” As I ask, I’m not entirely sure I want the answer.

  “I didn’t just work at the library. I worked weekends at a local club. I got to share tips, we raked in a lot of money. I was—um—trying to pay my trust fund back.” She doesn’t offer anything further and I sit in silence.

  I know I’m gawking at her. Adam couldn’t have known she worked at a club all of this time. He said he was concerned she was going out a lot on the weekends. He never knew she was working. And for what? She had a trust fund.

  “Why did you -”

  “Look, I don’t drink much. I thought that was evident by me vomiting all over the side of the road last night. I wanted to see my friends and one of the first nights they took me out to the bar, I found out they needed staff. Most of the students didn’t want the job because they wanted to drink and party. I just wanted to see my friends and watch out for them. It was good money. And I wanted to pay… I wanted to…”

  Her words trail off and in an instant I feel like shit. She wasn’t living off of daddy’s dime. She was trying to prove to herself and everyone else that she didn’t need anyone and she wanted to make her father proud of her.

  It was the bar and the partying every weekend that sealed Emilia’s fate for the next year. I remember the conversation. Adam was so worried she was heading down the wrong path and I did nothing to take her side and give her the benefit of the doubt. If Adam had known this bit of information his last will would have read very differently.

  I don’t have the heart to share this with Emilia. Not now when tensions are still so high.

  “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. The fund is frozen. I have nothing to show for it.” She stops her sentence there but judging by her glare, I’m sure it is followed with an unspoken you win.

  Willingly or not, we are at odds with each other and this next year is going to resemble a stroll through a minefield. This is another topic I’m going to need to shelve for another time.

  “That particular account is frozen until the mentorship is done. I am sorry, but there is an allowance.” I try to offer and she chuckles. I know, I’d have the same reaction if the tables were turned. “I have some house rules I’d like to start with.” I try to change the topic and she leans back in her chair and crosses her arms.

  This isn’t going to be easy.

  “First, you are not to leave the house without telling me where you are going. You’ll find I can be very accommodating, but there may come a time when I do not allow you to go out. This is at my discretion and will not be disputed or ignored. Do you understand me?” I look to her with no emotion.

  Although I thoroughly enjoyed the outcome of last night, I won’t tolerate any further disobedience and she needs to know, her punishments can become more severe.

  Without a word, she nods. No doubt she’s too embarrassed to challenge me on this point.

  “Second, you will respect my position in this house. I know we have our differences, but I am charged with being your guardian and you will act accordingly at all times. You may question me respectfully in private but when anyone else is present I expect nothing but the grace you are known for.”

  Another nod and I continue, “And third, when we are in the house together, you will eat all meals with me. Not by yourself, not in your room unless you are studying for exams. You will eat here with me and tell me about how you are doing. I only have three rules to start. Do you understand all of them?”

  I threw in the last rule at the end. The truth is, I know she wouldn’t choose to eat with me at first and I’m going to try my best to bridge the chasm she is intent on keeping between us.

  “I understand.” Her expressionless face stares me down and I feel a weight lifted as we come to our agreement and cease fire at least for now.

  “Do you have any questions for me?” I offer and, as she straightens in her seat, I hear the sound of a throat being cleared at the door.

  “Apologies, Mr. Darkly, but it seems Emilia has a visitor.” I move my attention to the door as Sylvia steps into the room followed by a thin kid who looks to be around Emilia’s age.

  His eyes land on me and I don’t recognize him from my time at school, then his face lights up as he continues passed me to Emilia.

  Emilia jumps up from her seat and rushes over to the plain-dressed boy, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “Emilia! I thought I’d surprise you. I know you need the extra support this week with the funeral coming up. I missed you.”

  I don’t like the way this looks. Standing slowly, I clear my throat and at my sound, Emilia releases the guy standing between us.

  “Oh, sorry. Um—Joshua—this is... um…”

  The new guy doesn’t allow her to finish. Extending his hand, he steps in between us and finishes for her. “Hey. I’m Kyle. Emilia’s boyfriend.”

  15

  Emilia

  “Hey. I’m Kyle. Emilia’s boyfriend.” My stomach knots at the term. I shouldn’t feel bad
about being his girlfriend but, for some reason, I do.

  “Joshua Darkly.” He shakes his hand and looks over Kyle’s shoulder at me. I know he has some new questions now and a lump forms in my throat.

  I feel a jolt of my old self surge through me as Kyle moves back to my side. I have someone here from my school, from my current life and I feel a little stronger than I did five minutes ago.

  “Why don’t you join us? We were just having breakfast.” Joshua asks and steps back to offer Kyle a seat at the table but he stands still.

  “No, thank you. I ate on the flight over. I was hoping to get some time in with Emilia here.” He squeezes me against his side and I’m thankful he’s asked for time away from here.

  “Where are you staying?” I ask.

  “Well, I was hoping to stay here, with you. You know how it is, living on a student’s salary.” Kyle answers and I tense up at his response.

  “I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” Joshua answers for me as I feel my stomach drop.

  “Why not? This is your house, is it not?” Kyle questions me and I instantly feel like a child all over again.

  I wait for Joshua to answer but he doesn’t. He’s hanging me out to answer for myself.

  “The house belongs to the estate and it isn’t settled yet.” I feel my face heat up as I answer.

  “Oh, I see. Well, I’m only staying until after the funeral, then we can fly back together.” He responds with an innocent smile and my anxiety builds just thinking about the conversation we need to have.

  I pause in silence trying to think of how I’m going to explain my situation. I don’t want to do this here with Joshua standing over me, watching me accept my defeat. I don’t want to tell Kyle he’ll be getting on the plane home alone.

  My nose starts to tingle as tears seep into my eyes. I take a deep breath to start talking when I hear a throat clear. Looking up, I see Joshua’s eyes on me and I can’t make out his expression.