“Refreshing? You’re nuts, you know that?”
Somewhere in the back of her mind, her inner devil had a clipboard, recording all the smart-alecky things she said to him, as though keeping tally for when he finally got her over his knee.
He shrugged and grinned. “Maybe so. Let me walk you to that behemoth of a work vehicle you arrived in today.”
“Hey, Betsy is awesome,” she replied as they walked side by side from the kitchen.
Snorting with laughter, he said, “Why am I not surprised you named your vehicle?”
“She was my first major purchase as a self-employed person. Having a bucket truck means I can get jobs I might not otherwise be able to. I’ll be making use of her tomorrow when I come back to work on your satellite dishes. Sorry I couldn’t do it today, but if I see lightning, I don’t leave the ground.” Their steps echoed on the tile as they crossed the corridor to the main entry.
“That’s a relief to hear.” He tapped the top of the tissue-wrapped book she held clutched in her arms with a long finger. “Please read this.”
Conscious of the way he towered over her, she looked up into his pewter gray eyes, wishing she could understand him better. “Why is it important to you?”
Musing for a moment, he finally said, “Because I think if you don’t understand, you’ll move on, not realizing the opportunity you missed.”
“But why is it important to you? I’m obviously not your type.”
He cupped her chin in his hand and smiled. “Ask yourself why brattiness is your reflexive response to me. Is it because you wish to push me away? Or is it maybe because you want someone who can handle you?”
“Handle me?” she asked, her back going ramrod stiff as he simply grinned at her. “In your wildest dreams, you couldn’t handle me, Mr. Hazelle.”
He merely laughed as he opened one of the double doors at the front of the mansion and gestured broadly at her vehicle, parked out front under the grand porte-cochere. “I had it moved to the front door for you, in case it began to rain.”
“Are you always so thoughtful to girls you want to spank?”
“You’re not a girl. You’re a woman,” he said with a devilish grin. “And yes, I am.”
Unable to understand him and his kink, she growled a little at him as she stepped out, and then she shrieked as his big palm landed sharply on her butt cheek.
“You!” Oh, Lord, that stung! But then the heat began to spread. Her inner muscles clenched, and she had the urge to waggle her ass at him, to tempt him to do it again.
He’s right. He brings out the brat in me.
Joseph’s gray eyes, normally so unreadable, were twinkling with mischief. “That wasn’t discipline, little brat, because you’re not mine to discipline—technically.”
“Then what the hell was it?” Besides a total turn-on!
“Fun.” His wolfish grin promised there was more where that came from. “Read the book, fiammetta. If you have any questions, you can call me.”
“The only question I have right now,” she quipped as he followed her down the steps, “is whether I should have you kiss the right cheek or the left one. And I am not a brat!”
Her inner devil was wearing a fireman’s hat and pointing a fire extinguisher at her pants while her inner angel pointed out that they were on fire.
Joseph was obviously keeping his amusement in check as he opened the truck door for her. He offered her his hand, presumably to help her up into the truck, but halted her long enough to kiss her knuckles and gaze into her eyes for several disconcerting seconds. “Yes, you are, fiammetta. See you in the morning.”
“Whatever,” she grumbled after he’d closed the truck door and pointed at her seatbelt. She barely resisted the immature impulse to stick her tongue out at him and drive off without buckling up first.
“Very professional, Bunny,” she muttered to herself as she navigated the long, curving driveway, unsuccessfully trying to ignore the way the top of her hand tingled where he’d kissed it..
She glanced at the book, still in its pristine wrappings, as if a snake was inside the package. “I’m not becoming a doormat. I don’t submit to anyone. Not ever.” The possibility she was wrong about the whole ball of wax was growing in her gut with each utterance of those words.
Joseph’s handsome face flashed in her mind’s eye, and she shook her head. She doubted his intention was to harm her. He might be hard to understand at times, but he had a kind soul. She could feel it. But the hard shell around him kept Bunny on edge. One moment, she wanted to be closer to him, and then the next, she was pulling away, afraid of being hurt.