All Chapters of Their Beautiful Madness: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

BeatriceI wipe my hands on a dish towel and lean against the counter, exhaling slowly. It was another long day. My feet ache, my back is stiff and yet... all I can think about is Silas.I still can't believe he helped me with that little ass scrape. I hadn't even noticed it, but he did. He doesn't strike me as a person who misses much though. The way he picked me up like I weighed nothing and set me on the bathroom countertop? I hate how fast my heart started pounding. I hate that I loved it. It was sexy as hell.Then he asked me to go swimming and bought me a swimsuit? He's confusing me. This ridiculously handsome man, with his sharp tongue and intense eyes, acting like I matter. Like I'm not just another employee. I'm starting to think he might actually like me.Which is crazy, right? Silas is rich, powerful, could have any woman he wanted wrapped around his finger in seconds. Women who wear designer heels and spritz on expensive perfume, not girls like me. I'm just a housekeeper w

"Tell me something about you," I say, giving his arm another squeeze. "You live in this giant house all by yourself. Do you have any family? And how old are you, anyway?"He picks up on the shift instantly. His lips curling into a smirk. "Curious about me, angel?""Well, you know stuff about me. I think it's only fair."He leans in with a smile. "I'm twenty-six," he says. "And no family. It's just me and my brother.""Atticus, right?" I ask. "And what happened to your family?""Correct," he says. "And my parents..." His jaw flexes. "They weren't good people, angel. My father was abusive, toward both Atticus and me. My mother, she was terrified of him, so she didn't do shit about it. When they died, it was... the best thing that ever happened to us."There's no self-pity in his tone. It's just a cold, hard truth.He looks past me when he continues. "I don't talk about Atticus often because he's got his own demons. Ones I can't always protect him from."I frown, heart aching not only fo

My hands clench into fists at my sides, knuckles turning white. Heat rises behind my eyes, veins throbbing at my temples. I'm seconds away from grabbing her by the throat and shaking her till her neck snaps.Beatrice steps in. Her voice is soft, breaking through the thick tension. "Silas, Kathy wants to know what you want for dinn—"She freezes, eyes locking onto Moris. The color floods her cheeks. That beautiful shade of pink, but this time, it's from embarrassment."I'm so sorry," Beatrice stammers. "I didn't realize you were busy."Moris's eyes greedily scan Beatrice head to toe, a predator sizing up prey. I smile inwardly because I know exactly what's playing in Moris's mind. She's seething, jealousy flickering behind those cold blue eyes.Moris snaps, voice dripping with venom. "Who are you?"Beatrice's eyes widen, and I instinctively step closer, a silent shield beside her.Beatrice's voice is hesitant but firm, "Are you talking to me?"Moris rolls her eyes with disgust. "No, I'

The final strike lands harder than all the rest; sharp, punishing, and precise. Her back arches, mouth falling open with a cry that dissolves into something closer to a moan. A sound she doesn't mean to make but it's a sound I'll never forget."That's for ignoring me," I say, my voice a dark, feral growl. "I don't like being fucking ignored, angel."She's panting now, her body quaking beneath my grip. Tears streak her flushed face, raw and wet and real. Her thighs tremble. Her fingers dig into the wood. Her pride is in pieces. Her ass is just as red as her face, from the pain, the humiliation, the heat."I'm sorry," she sobs. "I'm so sorry..."I run my hand over her ass in slow, soothing circles, dragging my palm across the reddened skin I just punished. Her body trembles with the motion, but she leans into my touch, needing it. Her skin is aching for me, even through the sting.My fingers drift lower, sliding down the curve of her ass until they r

BeatriceIt's been a week.Seven days since I found myself bent over Silas's desk—breathless, aching, and on fire in every sense of the word.At first, I couldn't stop replaying it in my head with a mix of horror and shame. I'd been spanked like a misbehaving child. Humiliated and completely at his mercy. I should've been furious, mortified even. But I wasn't. Not really. Not after the second strike of his palm. That's when something shifted.The sting melted into heat and that heat morphed into something dark and addictive. Each firm touch, each deep command sent jolts through my skin straight down to a place I never allowed anyone to explore. I tried to be mad but the truth? I loved every second of it.No one has ever gotten close to me like that. I've always kept a safe distance, physically and emotionally. Sex and intimacy, it never interested me. Maybe because no one ever made me feel anything until Silas.We didn