Free Burned by Passion by Dez Burke

she had an uncanny feeling he probably did. But how, she wondered hazily. Her guilty conscience must be playing tricks on her she decided.
    “Go on home Kira and try to get some rest. I’ll find someone else to see to whatever needs to be done today. Don’t worry about coming in tomorrow if you’re still not feeling better.”
    Kira looked troubled and would have said something, but Bretton added firmly, “Go. It’ll be fine. You need a break and it’s perfectly okay with me.”
    Kira drew in a shuddering breath. “Thank you, Mr. Carter.” Quelling the inexplicable need to burst into tears, Kira turned to leave until his gentle tone stopped her at the door.
    “And thank you, Kira, for helping out at the party. I apologize that you had to go through the whole thing. Unfortunately it was a disaster, but try to put it behind you, hmm?”
    Kira stared back at him for a moment, wondering what disaster he could be referring to. The ruined party, or her deflowering by his son? Once again she couldn’t help but wonder how much he knew or what he’d figured out about what happened. Why did that eat at her as much as everything else?
    She felt too tired to probe him though so she nodded and quietly left the office.
     
    ***
     
    Blake replaced the receiver, feeling a burst of frustration. He’d called Kira at work and tried to figure out how to get to see her, but she’d hung up on him.
    Swearing underneath his breath, he rose from the corner of the bed and went to stare out over the gardens with the bright late morning sun glowing over the greenery. He’d had a lot on his mind since the party and he certainly couldn’t stop thinking about what happened just two days ago.
    It was the morning after the party and he’d been awakened by the phone on his bedside chest beeping insistently. He picked it up to find it was his dad who abruptly told him to meet him in the library. Mildly curious, Blake told his father he’d be right down as soon as he showered and dressed.
    They hadn’t spoken since their faceoff at the party. And once he was ready Blake let himself into the library which doubled up as his father’s study. He strove to keep his expression blank when he found his father seated behind the very desk he and Kira had…
    He shook the tingling images off and wondered absent-mindedly why his father wanted him there.
    “Take a seat, Blake,” his father said in a grim voice. Blake’s brows tilted but he silently complied, trying to read his father’s expression. Now what?
    “In case you’re wondering,” Bretton began, “I didn’t ask you here to berate you for ruining what should’ve been a perfect evening for everyone. Neither are you here to be asked to apologize for your rudeness, especially to me. I realize I probably deserved it. I’ve always had issues with control and I realize that I probably had it coming, after saying what I did. So this isn’t about any of that. No; what I want to find out is exactly what you were up to after you left the dining room last night.”
    Blake paused, concealing his surprise at the turn of conversation. What the hell was his father getting at? “I don’t know what you mean,” he said evasively, and looked up as his father got to his feet, his face a hard mask as he moved from behind the desk.
    “Very well, Blake. I’ll explain what I mean,” his father snarled, added bluntly, “I want to know if you raped my secretary, Kira in this very room?”
    Blake went cold, too shocked to reply.
    “And don’t bother denying it,” Bretton said harshly. “I know she went after you. What I’m not sure about is what happened next but I have a good guess. She followed you into the library obviously to confront you about your horrible behavior during dinner. One thing led to another and you forced yourself on her.”
    “Wait…what? That’s not how it happened at all,” Blake gritted out, jumping to his feet. Father and son stood face to face; both their expressions