Chapter 4 - Consequences

~ Rael's POV ~

There was something about the way Harriet looked at me that made it increasingly difficult to concentrate on anything else. She had a habit of pushing boundaries, testing my patience, and looking at me as though she knew precisely how much control she was taking away from me with every provocative smile. I had spent most of the afternoon reminding myself that she was trouble I didn't need, yet the moment she settled onto my lap in nothing but her bra, I found myself questioning why I had bothered trying to resist her in the first place.

It had taken every ounce of restraint I possessed not to drag her into the restroom at the restaurant earlier when she had whispered those teasing words into my ear. With Kylie standing just outside the door, I had been forced to settle for a kiss, but Harriet's audacity had stayed with me long after we returned to the office.

Now, she was sitting on my lap, looking at me with those innocent blue eyes that contradicted everything about her behavior, and I had reached the end of my patience.

When she leaned closer and whispered, “Fuck me, Daddy,” I slipped one arm beneath her knees and lifted her effortlessly, earning a startled gasp from her as I carried her toward the adjoining lounge.

“You've awakened the monster, Harriet,” I murmured against her ear as I pushed the door open. “What exactly do you intend to do with him?”

She shivered at my words, but rather than look away, she wrapped her arms around my neck and met my gaze with a confidence that would have been impressive if I hadn't known how much trouble she was capable of causing.

“I'm yours, Daddy,” she whispered.

A dark smile tugged at my lips as I carried her inside and lowered her onto the couch. There was no denying the effect she had on me, but I was far more interested in discovering whether she understood the consequences of the game she had chosen to play. Harriet seemed to believe that she could provoke me whenever she pleased and walk away untouched, as though I were simply another man she could manipulate with a few sweet words and a seductive smile.

She was about to discover that I wasn't nearly as easy to control as she imagined.

I removed my belt and caught her wrists, securing them loosely enough to avoid hurting her while making it clear that I had no intention of allowing her to dictate what happened next. Her playful expression faltered for a moment as she watched me, and I couldn't help noticing the uncertainty that briefly flickered across her face.

It was the first sign that she might finally be realizing how far she had pushed me.

“Still feeling brave?” I asked, lifting her chin so that she had no choice but to meet my eyes.

She swallowed before nodding, and the sight brought a faint, humorless laugh from my throat.

“That's what I thought.”

I leaned closer, capturing her lips in a kiss that left little room for another clever remark. For once, Harriet seemed content to let me take the lead, and I found myself enjoying the rare silence almost as much as I enjoyed the way she clung to me.

When I finally drew back, she looked at me with flushed cheeks and parted lips, and I brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face.

“You've been awfully comfortable provoking me all day,” I remarked. “Tell me, little troublemaker, did you really think you could get away with it?”

Her lips curved into a defiant smile. “I never said I wanted to get away with anything.”

That answer earned her a long, assessing look.

She was either remarkably fearless or considerably more foolish than I had initially assumed. Perhaps it was a little of both.

I drew her closer, letting the silence stretch between us until her confident expression began to waver beneath my gaze. Harriet had spent the entire day trying to get a reaction out of me, but she was beginning to understand that I could be just as patient when I wanted to be.

“Look at me,” I instructed.

Her blue eyes met mine.

“Who do you think you're playing with?”

“You,” she answered softly, her smile returning.

I chuckled, shaking my head at her audacity before leaning in to kiss her again. There was something undeniably captivating about the contrast between her bold words and the uncertainty she occasionally struggled to hide, and I suspected that her desire to provoke me had become almost as much a part of her as her stubborn pride.

Yet, even as I pulled her closer, one thought lingered at the back of my mind.

Kylie.

My fiancée was somewhere in the city, probably preparing for the engagement banquet that evening, blissfully unaware that her younger sister was determined to turn our lives into a disaster. I should have been thinking about the consequences, about the scandal that would erupt if anyone discovered what was happening between Harriet and me, but instead, I found myself wondering what the little troublemaker would do next.

That was the problem with Harriet. She made recklessness feel like a challenge, and I had never been particularly fond of walking away from one.

I rested my forehead against hers, studying her face as my expression gradually grew serious.

“You need to understand something,” I said quietly. “You may think this is a game, but there are consequences to everything you do.”

For the first time, she didn't answer immediately.

Her gaze searched mine, and I wondered whether she was finally considering the possibility that I wasn't the only person capable of getting hurt.

Then she smiled again, that familiar, infuriating smile that suggested she had no intention of backing down.

“I'm not afraid of the consequences, Rael.”

I held her gaze for another moment before allowing a slow smile to spread across my face.

“We'll see about that.”