His Sweet Torment: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance

by Michelle Love

  She looks at me for a moment and I see conflict in her eyes. Her mouth opens and the word I want to hear comes out, “Yes.”

  I nearly fall backward with relief. I had no idea I was holding my body so tensely. “Great. Oh! What were you here for? Do you need to grab something?”

  She blushes and looks away. “Um, yes, I do need to grab something. Want to meet me in front when you’re done? I can leave my car here. If my parents knew I was going anywhere with you, they’d get their lectures written up and I’d get to hear them all summer long.”

  I think the same about mine and nod in agreement. “Sure.”

  “See you outside then.” She walks away, and I turn to watch her go.

  My God, the girl has grown into the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen!

  I watch her pull a phone from her red leather purse and put it to her ear and say, “Mom, I met an old girlfriend in the store and will be spending the evening with her. I have my house key. No need to wait up.”

  No need to wait up!

  My cock jerks, and I hurry to check out. My heart is pounding in my chest. I can barely function as I put the two things I bought on the counter and the young girl rings them up. I hand her my card and she runs it. I leave, carrying the bag of potatoes in one hand and the prepacked bag of salad in the other, and realize I didn’t even allow her to bag them.

  I’m kind of giddy, I realize as I go to my car and get in, then decide to drive up to the front of the store so Jenna can get in without anyone realizing she’s leaving the parking lot with me.

  Thank God I got the rental with tinted windows!

  She comes out carrying only one small bag, shoving it into her tiny purse. I roll the passenger side window down and call out at Jenna, “It’s me!”

  She smiles, pulls her sunglasses out of the purse, and gets into the car. “Nice,” she says. “A rental company that rents Mercedes, Reed?”

  “When asked for, yes.” I drive away as she buckles her seatbelt.

  The vibe I feel is weird: taboo, danger, electricity, and elatedness.

  I have Jenna Foster in my front seat!

  I’ve mooned over this girl since she grew tits in high school. Watching her from a distance, I thought I was a little too old for her when she came into school as a freshman and I was a junior.

  Who knew I was well within her age range?

  Then my asshole brother set his sights on her and somehow convinced the sweet girl to come into his lair of evil. He nearly ruined her.

  But as I take a sideways glance at her, I can see she was far from ruined by him.

  She has overcome what he did to her. I’d have to say she is more woman than I ever envisioned her being. Confidence radiates off her now.

  Jenna was always on the shy side and lacked basic confidence, a thing I blame on my older brother.

  When he got his hands on the young girl who’d never been allowed to date until she turned eighteen, he had a naïve girl with no idea about how relationships work.

  He controlled every last thing she did. If it wasn’t for me getting her into college, I shudder to think what she’d have become under his tyrannical reign.

  The silence between us suddenly hits me as I drive out of town. “So, ready for the future, Jenna?” I ask and feel kind of dumb with that question.

  “Um, yeah.” She looks over at me. “I have you to thank for that.”

  “You did all the hard work. I merely put the opportunity in front of you, Jenna.” I tap the steering wheel to keep my hand occupied, as I keep having the urge to reach over and take her hand in mine.

  A hand which is resting on the tanned skin which looks silky soft, just above her knee.

  Then my hand moves off the steering wheel all on its own and my fingertip drifts over the ring finger where Rod put an engagement ring two years ago. “What did you do with the ring?” It just comes out of my mouth, and I bite my tongue because of it.

  “Your mom didn’t tell you?” she asks.

  My finger is still on hers and I leave it there as I say, “No.”

  She moves her hand. “I gave it to her before I left to go to Tempe.”

  “Oh.” I place my hand back on the wheel. “I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

  “It’s okay. It’s not like you and I can never talk about that part of my life. You were there, after all.”

  “Not for all of it. Do you care to elaborate on anything that happened between you two?” I look over at her and have to wonder if she will ever tell anyone about what all happened between them.

  Everyone knows about the incident where their neighbor called the cops as Rod pushed her down in their front yard and dragged her around it. So there’s not a doubt in my mind he did far worse things to her inside the house on other occasions.

  “Reed, I’m in your debt for paying my way through college. I appreciate you and your help more than you will ever know. But what happened between me and your brother is a thing I’ve put away. I don’t care to relive any of it. So, if you don’t mind, I’d love it if you and I could build a friendship based on you and me alone. Okay?” She pulls her shades down and looks over them at me.

  The word friendship kind of stabs at me, but I say, “Sure.”

  “Great,” she says, then puts her glasses back up, covering her beautiful eyes, and looks straight ahead. “So tell me what kinds of things you’ve been up to in California, Reed.”

  I grip the steering wheel once again and say, “I’ve been up to doing business deals and making more money. Can I tell you the truth, though?”

  She looks at me and takes off her glasses. Her eyes are full of concern, and it makes my heart skip a beat that she seems to care at all. “You better tell me the truth, Reed. Are things going badly for you?”

  “Life is not all that great when you live it alone. All the money in the world isn’t enough if you have no one to spend your life with.” Admitting it feels both great and embarrassing at the same time.

  But the after effects are phenomenal!

  Her slender hand with a nice pink manicure runs up to mine, which is on the steering wheel. She takes it in hers and pulls it to her chest, fractions of centimeters from her perfect breasts.

  Her words are soft and sweet. “Reed, that breaks my heart. How is it you haven’t found someone?”

  Because I love you and always have …

  But what I say is, “I have a certain kind of woman in mind and she’s not in California.”

  Her thumb moves over my knuckles as she looks at me and keeps my hand right there close to her heart and, subsequently, her tits. My mouth begins to water as I can feel her chest rise and fall with every breath she takes.

  “Reed, you’re perfect. How can you not have found one of the women in California to be a good candidate as a serious girlfriend?”

  “I’m perfect?” I ask as I look at her.

  She smiles. “Eyes on the road!”

  I turn my head and have to smile.

  I think she might like me!

  “I think you’re pretty perfect too. So have you met anyone interesting at college? You know, a new man?” I glance at her and she puts my hand back on the steering wheel.

  “I’ve made friends.” Her arms cross and so do her legs. She looks out the window, and her body language tells me a lot.

  “Any that ended up in your bed?” I know I shouldn’t ask, but I’m dying to know.

  She looks back at me and her lips part. Then they close tight, before opening again. “No. I haven’t let anyone even kiss me. I did make friends, and I did become social again. And that’s about all I could manage to do.”

  What did my brother do to her?

  “Think that’s normal?” I ask.

  “No,” comes her very quick answer. “I don’t. But normal has never really been something that happens for me. No normal childhood, no normal first love, no normal sex life. Nope, nothing has come normal for me.”

  My stomach tightens, as I’ve often wondered
about her sex life with my brother. He was heavily into BDSM and, though Jenna never seemed the type, I had to wonder.

  “So he hurt you in more ways than one, right?” I ask as I keep my eyes on the road.

  “He did, and that’s the past, and I’ve moved into the now. I live every day, one day at a time.” Her legs uncross and her hands go back down to rest on her thighs as she breathes out.

  Without really thinking, I say, “You sound like someone who’s survived a tragedy, Jenna.”

  She looks straight ahead and says, “I don’t like to look at it that way, Reed. I like to look at things from a different perspective. What I went through did make me stronger. And being stronger is never a bad thing to be.”

  I look ahead and have to wonder if this new Jenna is a good thing or a bad thing. Seems Rod’s departure has made my mother weak and Jenna super strong.

  Where that leaves me is a mystery …

  Chapter 13

  JENNA

  I cannot believe I’m going out to dinner with Reed Manning. The man was nearly my brother-in-law, for God’s sake.

  But this is just a friendly dinner. Nothing serious. Just old friends catching up.

  I glance at him as he messes with the radio and finds some country music. “You like this kind of music, Jenna?”

  “Sure, it’s fine.” I pull at the hem of my short skirt.

  I don’t know why I got all dressed up today. I was just going to the store to pick up some feminine products, was all.

  Somewhere inside me resides this person who wants to be seen as anything but the stupid young woman who left our tiny town two years ago after being dumped by the notorious bad boy. The outfit helped in my mind, I guess.

  Reed’s head bobs a bit to the music. “You know, there’s this pretty nice place in Prescott where we can eat, and there’s usually a live band on the weekends. What do you say to a little eating and a little dancing?”

  “I say that sounds a hell of a lot like a date.” My fingers start to nervously tap my legs.

  He pulls one hand off the wheel and takes my left hand in his. “Not a date, Jenna. Just us hanging out together.”

  He’s so calm and cool and awesome!

  “I know. It does sound nice and fun. So I’m game.”

  And just like that, he has my hand in his. Our clasped hands are resting on his thigh, and I’m going all hot, and my insides are teaming with butterflies.

  Should I move my hand?

  No, I’m going to let him hold it. It feels nice, anyway. And I am a single woman. And Reed has done amazing things for me.

  It’ll be fine!

  “Besides, you look too good to go to waste. You need to be shown off a bit.” Then he gives my hand a squeeze, and I nearly wet myself.

  “Thank you,” I say as I look him over. “You do too. The nice slacks and button up have you looking all GQ, Reed. Were you doing some business today?”

  “I was. I visited with a salesman at the Autoplex and negotiated the trade-ins of the cars I got for my parents a few years back. I always like to look like I know what I’m talking about when doing any business deals.” He places my hand on his thigh but lets it go as he reaches up to change the radio station. Then he picks it right back up and my heart skips a beat.

  “So your mom and dad are getting new cars then?” I ask, just to hear him talk more. His voice is deep and silky and I’ve always loved it.

  “Yes. I like to get them into something new every two years and from now on I will be doing that. It was hard to get them to let go of the ones they had, but I managed, finally.” The sun is setting, and the light isn’t quite so bright, so he lets my hand go and takes off his shades.

  I move my hand off his thigh and take my sunglasses off too. He looks over at me and puts his hand back on the steering wheel.

  Maybe he wanted to keep holding my hand!

  He makes a left turn. “This is the place I was talking about. What do you think?”

  It’s very nice and very upscale for Arizona. “It looks expensive, Reed. We don’t have to go anywhere expensive. I can eat at a plain old restaurant.”

  He parks and shakes his head. “Not when you’re with me, you won’t.”

  I get out of the car as he does, and he jogs around to the passenger side and takes my hand. “I can hear the music already.”

  “You have to promise me at least ten dances,” he says with a wide smile.

  His shoulder touches mine as he leans close. I smile back. “Ten! That’s a lot.”

  The way his eyebrows raise and dance a bit make me giggle as he says, “It’s half as many as I wanted to say.”

  And I think he’d like to hold me in his arms for the majority of this purely platonic dinner. Our eyes hold for a moment before the hostess says something, breaking the connection. I look at her. “Two, please. Non-smoking.”

  Reed’s breath moves the hair near my ear as he whispers, “I didn’t even notice what she said. Thanks.”

  His hand leaves mine and moves to the small of my back as I follow the young woman and he follows behind me. It sends the oddest, most pleasant sensation through me as his fingertips barely touch me.

  She gestures to a table near the edge of the dance floor. Reed pulls out a chair and I sit down. Then he sits on the one closest to me.

  “Can I bring you something to drink to get you started?” she asks.

  Reed says, “Two red wines, please.”

  She nods and leaves us alone in the dimly lit area. I look around and see a lot of other couples here. On dates, I would guess.

  It seems like a place men would take dates and I look at Reed, who is gazing at me. “This place is nice. But it seems kind of datey.”

  “Datey?” He laughs a little. “All that college and you come up with that word, Jenna?”

  “You know what I mean,” I say as I bat at his chest.

  He takes my hand and wraps his fist around it, then intertwines his fingers with mine and places them on his leg again. “I do know what you mean. And so what if we call this thing a date?”

  My smile is weak as I say, “Because us dating would be frowned upon.”

  “You know, Jenna, neither you nor I really live in that tiny town any longer. You and I don’t have to follow the rules of that place anymore. You and I can do whatever the hell you and I want to.” He pulls our hands up and kisses mine.

  My body goes limp, as it feels like nothing I’ve ever felt before. “Can I ask you something and you be completely honest with me?”

  He nods. “Always.”

  “When we touch, does it do anything odd to you?”

  His dark blue eyes narrow as he looks at me. “It always has. But I don’t call it odd; I call it magical.”

  “Yeah, I thought so.”

  “And you?” he asks.

  “Yes, it always has. But I think it’s because of how taboo this is. You know?” I lean back as the waitress places the glass of wine in front of me. “Thank you.”

  She smiles. “Can I get you an appetizer?”

  Reed answers, “Oysters Rockefeller, please.”

  “Okay. Would you like the half order or the whole dozen, sir?”

  “The whole order,” he says and looks at me the whole time.

  His gaze is intense and I look down as the waitress gives him a nod and walks away. “That’s a lot of oysters for two people.”

  “Bet we eat them all,” he says, then gets up, pulling me along with him.

  I bite my lower lip as he pulls me into his arms. “I see you want to dance.”

  He pulls me close, one hand holding mine between us and the other wrapped around me, holding my body to his. His lips are so close to mine as he whispers, “Dance, yes. I want to dance with you.” Then he leans back a bit and looks into my eyes. “But mostly I wanted to see what it feels like to hold you in my arms. And you know what, Jenna Foster?”

  I can barely breathe, so I just shake my head a little.

  “It feels even better t
han I imagined it would.”

  He tightens his arms around me and I put my head on his broad shoulder. It does feel better than I ever thought being held in a man’s arms could feel.

  Our bodies touch in all the right places. We move together like we’ve been dancing together forever. Everything feels more than right.

  But this can’t go any further than this. We both know that.

  But for now, we’re here, and no one knows us in this place. No one knows I almost married this man’s brother. No one knows this would be very bad for our families. No one knows a thing.

  And then a chill runs through me. Because if Rod walked through that door for some reason then he would freak.

  The song ends, but I don’t want Reed to let me go. He only halfway lets me go as he keeps his arm around me and walks me back to the table, where I see the gorgeous platter of spinach and some kind of white creamy stuff flowing over what looks like very fresh oysters on the half-shell.

  Reed pulls the chair out for me and I take the seat as he sits next to me but moves his chair closer. He takes one of the oysters and looks at me as he moves it toward my mouth.

  “All you do is swallow it. Don’t chew,” he directs me as he presses the shell to my lower lip. “Open up and I’ll slide it in.”

  My eyes go big and my eyebrows go up. “Reed, that sounds more than a little provocative.”

  His other hand slides up my leg and stops as he gets it just under the edge of my skirt. “Because I meant it to. Now open up.”

  My mouth opens as I watch him watching me and he slides the stuff off the shell and I swallow it. “Mmmm. That was good.”

  “Do me now,” he says as he leans back and parts his lips.

  I know this is a really bad idea but I do it anyway. I pick up one of the appetizers and place the shell on his lower lip. He opens his mouth and I pour it in.

  After he swallows, he smiles at me. Then he picks up my glass of wine and holds it in front of my mouth and I accept the drink. Then he leans back and gestures for me to give him one.

  I do as my body shakes, rattles, and rolls with excitement and desire.