“Listen carefully, because I am going to explain this to you once. Monique is lucky that was all she got. She knows better than to bait my anger, Taylor. I warned her to shut her mouth, and with me, one warning is all you get. Given the fact that she kept pushing, she should consider herself fortunate that I didn’t beat her from one end of the house to the other.”
She paled, not missing the double implications in his statement. Her hands shook, and she knotted them into the thick goose down comforter in an attempt to still their tremble. More than once, she’d wondered what she’d gotten herself into with this man. Now was definitely one of those times.
“Are we done with this conversation? Is there anything else you would like to ask?”
“Yes, Sebastian. I mean no. We’re done. There’s nothing else.”
His eyes bore into her for a long moment. Unable to bear their oppressive weight, she squirmed.
“Good. I don’t want to have this talk with you again.”
“Yes, sir.” Her bottom lip trembled. She really wished he would stop staring, even if just for a moment.
“I have zero tolerance for disrespect. I expect more from my family, and I definitely expect more from you. Don’t keep pushing me, Taylor. I will run things as I see fit, especially in my own home. Do you understand me?”
“I wasn’t trying to push. I just…” She trailed off at his narrowing stare. Breakfast threatened to resurface with her hard swallow. Sebastian shook his head in caution.
“Don’t talk back. Don’t argue. Just listen and take those warnings to heart because I won’t give them again. This wasn’t how I wanted our morning to go, but these things obviously needed said. I’m going to take a shower now. I suggest you get your head in the right place while I’m in there and figure out what it is you want to do.”
“Yes, sir.”
She tensed, her heart leaping into her throat when he reached for her. He speared his fingers through her hair and tugged her close. Not hard, like she was expecting, but slowly, gently. It was more of a coaxing, and she felt her body sag with relief.
“Good girl,” he soothed.
His lips brushed hers in a sensual kiss. Heat flooded her as his fingers tightened ever so slightly and he deepened the pressure against her lips. He pulled back and stood, offering her a parting wink. The fading remnants of fear were still coiled around her heart as she stared after Sebastian,