Acts of Atonement: A Single Dad Age Gap Romance (Men of WRATH, Book 1)
Acts of Atonement: Chapter 11

THAT MAN IS infuriating! He gives me the illusion of choice but then refuses to accept my answer if it’s not one he likes. I’m definitely not moving into the guest house. I don’t care that I’d have the hottest landlord ever, or that the guest house is decked to the nines with every single amenity I would want. It isn’t worth it if I have to put up with his mood swings and alpha tendencies. Okay… so not all of his alpha tendencies are bad, some of them are damn hot. I would totally put up with those.

Ugh! I really need to get out of this house and blow off some steam before I do something I’ll regret. I take my phone out of my back pocket and message Cassie.

BELLA: Hey chica, you down for the hunt tonight??? ??

I head to check on the boys. Harper is still napping and I left the twins with watercolors before stepping away to retrieve my backup brushes. That’s when I ran into William and got totally sidetracked. I hope they haven’t destroyed the playroom.

My phone beeps in my hand as I reach the boys. All is well, and there are no paint casualties—that I can see.

CASS: You know it, babe. I’m always up for some fun. Just let me know when and where. ??‍♀️

BELLA: You’re the best! Let me double-check with William so I know one of us will be home with the kids tonight.

CASS: Look at you sounding all domestic ? ? ?

BELLA: It’s not like that, Cass. But I’ll fill you in on how it is later…

CASS: Ooooo! I can’t wait to hear all about it!

I put my phone in my back pocket and ask the boys if they’re ready to help me start dinner. I like to give them little tasks to keep them out of trouble while I get food ready. It’s a dangerous thing to give these two unsupervised time—I’m surprised I didn’t walk into a mess with the watercolors.

We’ve just settled down with our kitchen duties when the monitor goes off and Harper starts to fuss, waking up from her afternoon nap. I’m about to go get her when William’s deep voice cuts through the monitor.

“Hey, princess. You ready to go play with the boys and see Bella?” At the mention of my name, Harper squeals. “Yes. I’m excited to see her beautiful face too. She’s something special, isn’t she, my little princess?”

A blush spreads across my face at the realization that he replaces me beautiful and special. He’d been acting like such an ass this past week, I could have sworn that the exact opposite was true. But if his conversation with his daughter is an indicator, then that broody man does like me… so why has he been such a giant dick to me?

At that moment, William enters the kitchen with Harper on his hip. “She’s got a fresh diaper and is ready to party.” Placing her down on the floor, he closes the baby gate behind him. “What’s for dinner?”

“Breaded pork chops with roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts.”

“That sounds amazing. I’m going to miss your cooking when Chef returns from maternity leave. We might have to give her a couple of nights off just so we can have some of your delicious dinners.”

Was that a compliment? “Umm, yeah. She’ll be back before I leave in the fall, right?”

“You’re not leaving in the fall. You’re staying here. On my property. But yes, Chef will be back by then, so you won’t have to worry about cooking with your busy schedule.”

I take in a deep breath, trying to calm the rage building up inside me. “If the kids weren’t here I would have some choice words for you… but this is not the time.” I whisper-shout while shooting him a death glare. “Anyway, I need to know if you’re okay with keeping an eye on the kids tonight. I haven’t had any free time since moving in and I would like to go out with Cass to blow off some steam.”

“What exactly are you planning on doing with Cass?” William narrows his eyes into thin slits. “See, I know what you like to do to ‘blow off some steam’ and I can’t say that I’d want you doing that tonight.”

My mouth hangs open, shocked at his audacity. “I thought you said you would never judge me? What happened to that, huh?”

“I’m not judging you. I’m simply telling you that from now on you need to replace another way to blow off steam. One that doesn’t involve a one-night stand.”

The boys have clued in to the fact that our conversation is a tense one and have apparently been all ears. “What’s a one night stand?” Matt asks.

“It’s when someone stands all night long.” My face reddens with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

“Why can’t Bella Bo Bella stand all night if she wants to?” Max asks with true innocence in his eyes.

“Ummm, well…” William struggles to replace a response, giving me the perfect opportunity to take control of this awkward as hell conversation.

“There’s no reason I can’t stand all night if I want to.” I wink at William and give him a soft smile. “So William will keep an eye on you, and I’ll go stand all night long with Cassie.”

The boys quickly lose interest in our conversation, now that we’ve resumed a friendlier tone. William, however, has no intention of dropping the subject.

He walks directly behind me, placing his hands on my hips and his face in the crook of my neck, before whispering in my ear. “You are free to go out with Cass, but I’m letting you know right now that if anyone so much as breathes on you—they will have to answer to me.” William slowly runs his nose along my neck and places a soft kiss below my ear. “You’ll also have a full detail on you tonight. And that’s not up for debate, little moon.”

His not so stealthy assault on my body has left me shaking and speechless. My chest is visibly rising and falling, and I have no words. No. Words.

William chuckles behind me. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page.” Giving my hips one last squeeze, he finally drops his hands and walks away.

I cannot believe he just touched me like that in front of the kids. I’m pretty sure my panties are soaked and my face is visibly flushed. The freaking nerve of that man!

Cass and I decided on going to The Blue Door, an upscale martini lounge with an impressive whiskey collection. The place is decked out in dark blue velvet—it’s everywhere, from the cozy wingback chairs to the curtains lining the walls. Crystal chandeliers are strewn throughout and the tables situated between the seating areas are all Lucite. It’s the epitome of chic.

I’ve ordered whiskey and Cass her usual dirty martini. I’m taking in the opulent room when the bartender places a silver dish in front of us containing stuffed olives, mixed nuts, and delicate crisps. I’m in love and I never want to leave.

“Good call on picking this place tonight.” I sip my scotch and raise my brows at Cass.

“Totally. I thought we would need something a little quieter so you could dish all about Mr. Hot McBroody Pants.”

“Ugh. That man drives me crazy. One minute he’s hot and the next he’s as cold as the iceberg that sank the Titanic.” I shake my head, unsure if I should fess up about the kiss. “Okay. So no judgment. We sort of had a super hot steamy kiss last week.”

“Oh. My. Gawd!” Cass whisper-shouts. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

“Things have sort of been hectic lately. But it doesn’t matter anyway because right after that he went all McBroody Pants on me and avoided me the entire week.” My face flushes at the memory of this afternoon. “Well, up until earlier today when he kissed my neck… right in front of the kids.”

“He what?! That is so freaking hot. He totally wants you, Bella. He wouldn’t be all over you if he didn’t.” Cass pops an olive into her mouth.

“He doesn’t want me. Or if he does, it’s not all the time.” I blow out a breath of frustration. “I don’t have time for games. That’s why I’ve only given in to one-night stands. Each party gets what they need and then they are on their merry way. No drama.”

“Speaking of one-night stands… do you see anything you like?” Cass slyly looks around the room.

“That reminds me, there will be no random hookups in my foreseeable future.” I purse my lips and shake my head.

“What? Why? I thought that was the purpose of ‘the hunt’ tonight.” Cass furrows her brows in confusion.

“Mr. McBroody Pants forbids it. Plus, he’s put a full detail on me tonight. See those guys over by the door? That’s my security detail.” I lift my head toward the tall men dressed in all black. “William gave me no choice. Again. He’s always so damn controlling. I swear, he’s worse than my father.”

Cassie gasps in mock horror. “I seriously cannot believe he is having you followed. The balls on that man.” Typically, I would be in total agreement with her, but the sarcasm in her tone lets me know she didn’t really mean that. I roll my eyes at Cassie but she continues despite my not being amused. “Sure there’s probably some psycho out there who clearly thinks you’re a whore…” Cassie sucks in her lips and tries not to giggle. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You know I don’t think you’re a whore. Screw society and their double standards. If men can have one-night stands, so can we. But honestly, I do think the security detail was a good call. At least until they’ve caught whoever did that to your car.”

“I know. You’re totally right. But I still don’t like William dishing out orders like he owns me.”

He sort of does though.

William has taken over every part of me. I spend every waking moment with him somewhere in my head. Either at the forefront actively taking part in some fantasy, or in the background as I subconsciously make decisions that always manage to turn out in his favor.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Cassie pulls me from my thoughts.

“He’s asked me to move in permanently. Well to the guest house. He redid the whole thing and it’s absolutely—”

One of the men from the security detail has made their way over to us and cuts me off. “Excuse me miss, Mr. Hawthorne would like to speak to you.” The burly man hands me a cell phone and I begrudgingly press it to my ear.

“Yes, William. I put my phone on silent so I wouldn’t be bothered on my night off. But by all means, please tell me what is so urgent it couldn’t wait until I get home?”

“Bella, there’s been an incident with your father. He was shot—”

The phone falls from my hand and everything around me starts to move in slow motion. Shot. My father was shot. This can’t be happening. I’ve already lost one parent, and now… I choke on a sob as an image of my father laying on the cold ground, covered in a pool of his own blood, flashes through my mind.

My breathing becomes labored and I feel my knees begin to wobble, unable to support my weight any longer. Reaching out, I try to keep myself upright, but it’s pointless. I start to fall, and as soon as my knees hit the ground, my vision blurs and everything fades to black.