by Anna Edwards
"You don't come until I tell you that you can."
"Fuck you." Her back undulated against the bed as she tried to create more friction. He withdrew his hand and tongue completely.
"Pardon?"
She let out a sobbing cry. "Please, Callum. Please?"
"When was the last time you came? I mean with the assistance of a man."
A fine sheen of sweat covered her body as she still rose and fell on the bed. She whimpered again. Tears fell from her eyes. Shit.
"Marie?"
"Since before my sister died. Over two years. I haven't even touched myself in that time."
He impelled her with his fingers again.
"Come for me, but I want you to watch me giving you your orgasm the entire time. Open your eyes. Look at me!"
Her eyes opened wide and met his as he brought his mouth back down on her clit. He sucked hard. She gasped, and her body convulsed around him. She gripped his fingers inside her like a vice. She never once let her eyes leave his. He didn't ease up on the pressure and sent her over again with a small bite on her clit. She called his name, tears streaming down her cheeks as she shook.
Breathlessly, she asked him to stop, and as promised, he did so. He came up beside her on the bed. Her hair was everywhere, so he brushed it back behind her ears. She looked up at him, and her eyelids were heavy. She had been through so much today. He turned her around so they spooned and brought the blankets over them.
"Sleep."
"What about you?"
"We have plenty of time. You need rest."
"Don't leave me."
"I won't."
She shut her eyes, and within moments, her breathing shallowed, and she slept. His mind drifted back to the file that Matthew had given him. Her sister had been killed in a drive-by shooting. It was suspected that it was gang related, but it could never be proven. Her mother had had a stroke soon after, and Marie looked after her and her sister's son now. Matthew had been shocked. He hadn't really paid much attention to her. On the surface, Marie portrayed the bimbo secretary, but underneath was the side she kept hidden. The side that cared for those around her. The side he'd seen that had a thirst for knowledge and a wicked sense of humour. He wanted to see that side more often. The stresses of the day caught up with him, and despite the fact he was still hard, he drifted off to sleep as well.
He wasn't sure how much later they woke to the sound of a phone ringing. It wasn't his. Marie shifted on the bed and reached for her handbag which had been dumped in amongst the pile of clothes on the floor.
"Aunt Helen. Hi. We solved it. I'll be home soon. How's mum?" He could just about hear the voice on the other side of the phone.
"Marie. I need you to come home now." Her aunt's voice was trembling, she was barely able to get words out without it cracking.
"Mum?"
"No. Owen. He's in the hospital. They think it's meningitis. Please hurry."
CHAPTER NINE
Marie
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Marie wasn't sure how such a simple noise could be so annoying, yet so comforting at the same time. Owen was so tiny, covered in red spots all over his little body, tubes coming out of his nose and mouth. Patches stuck to his body monitoring various functions. He'd been put into an induced coma to allow his body to fight the disease. He'd been so happy and carefree when she'd left for Italy. How could things have changed so much in just a few days? At some point, she didn’t have a clue when, they'd been transferred to a private room. She was told her employer was meeting all costs, and she was not to worry. She should phone James and thank him. Her aunt came back into the room and took a chair on the other side of the bed.
“How’s mum?”
“They’ve admitted her for observation. She’s sleeping.”
“What happened, Helen?" She tried not to let her voice waver.
"I don't know. It all happened so quickly. He was playing, and then he was sick and crying. We noticed the rash and brought him straight to the hospital."
"I shouldn't have gone away."
"You had to. It's your work."
"It wasn't all work." Callum chose that moment to enter the room, a cup of coffee in his hand. It wasn't until he handed it to her she noticed there was a heart on top.
"There is a relative's room next door, why don't you have a sleep?" Callum placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I'll stay with Owen until you come back." Her aunt added.
"I don't need a rest. I'm fine. I just need to stay here until Owen wakes up."
"He's not going to wake up of his own accord, Marie. The doctors will wake him when they feel that he is improving."
"Well, I'll stay here until then. He's young and probably scared. They say that you can hear the people around you when you're in a coma. Well, he'll be able to hear me."
"And when he does wake up he's going to need you even more, and you'll be exhausted and unable to help him."
"You're not going to let up, are you?" Right now she'd be glad if Callum would just go home. She didn't need comforting because this was all her fault.
"No. I'm not."
"You won't leave him alone even for a minute?"
"Even if I have to pee. I'll hold it."
"Alright." She allowed Callum to help her up from the chair and into the relative's room. Her back was aching, in fact, her whole body was a bit sore. Callum sat on a bed and stretched out.
"This room is for use only by us. Come and lay with me, and I'll hold you while you sleep."
'There's no need. You probably have better things to do. You should go home. I'm sure Matthew needs your help on the fraud case."
"Matthew Carter is able to deal with that on his own. I'm not going anywhere."
"Callum, really. This should be just family. We aren't even dating. Yesterday...last night. How long ago was it?"
"Yesterday. It's Thursday now."
"Ok. Look, what happened shouldn't have. You're my boss."
"No. I'm your boyfriend."
"You can't call yourself that. We've not even been on a date. Last night was just you pleasuring me. We'd had a stressful day. That's all it was."
She still wasn't going to lay next to him on the bed. He sat up.
"No, Marie. Last night was me marking you as mine."
She put her head in her hands and tugged on her hair to release some stress. She really didn't want to do this now. She just wanted to get back to Owen.
"Look, Callum. I can't date you. My life is a bit of a mess. I have to look after my mother and my nephew. I owe more money than you can imagine possible and to all the wrong people. I will only marry a millionaire because I want to be rich and disappear from all this. What happened yesterday will not happen again. Please, will you just go."
He stood up and walked over until he was directly in front of her. He held his arms rigidly at his sides, his eyes dark and foreboding. She'd pissed him off. Great. Could she do anything else wrong? Ok, she thought, just get the abusive backlash over and done with. She wasn't allowed happiness. Trust her to turn the only chance she had against her.
"On your knees."
"What?" She tried to push past him, but he blocked her. He'd slowed his voice down when he spoke again. It had lowered a couple of octaves as well.
"On your knees."
She was tired felt so guilty about leaving Owen first to go to Rome and now to not be at his side. She wasn’t going to take this shit from anyone.
“You said being a Dom was control in the bedroom. I am tired, and I don’t need you to control me. Go home.”
Callum simply replied, “This is a bedroom”
There was something about his tone that told her she shouldn't mess with him any further. Why, she had no idea, but she lowered herself to her knees. Her head bowed and she looked at the floor.
"First of all Marie, what happened yesterday will happen again, because whether you like it or not your body responds to me. I own you no
w, and that will never change. Secondly, you will not be allowed up from that position until you explain to me what you mean by you owe money to the wrong people." He placed his hand under her chin and tilted it, so she had no choice but to look at him. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes." The words came out. She had no intention of telling him anything. She would escape before that.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, Callum." Escape, yeah, that wasn't going to happen. She was on her knees in a hospital room. She tried to get up, but Callum didn't move. She made the mistake of looking into his eyes again. They were full of fire, almost black with a mixture of lust and defiance.
"Answer me now."
"I can't. It will put you in danger."
"Your trouble is mine. That what comes from me owning you."
"You can't own me. They do."
"Who are they?"
"Please."
"Who are they, Marie?"
"The people who killed my sister." She slapped her hand over her mouth as she spoke. She couldn't, no shouldn't talk about this. It was too dangerous. They had eyes and ears everywhere. "Please, go. Turn around. Walk out that door and never look back." She felt a tear drop from her eye. This was her life, the one her sister had left her with.
Callum came down to his knees in front of her. He took both of her hands and leant in. He kissed the tear away. She let out a sob.
"I'm going nowhere. Now talk to me." His voice was softer.
"It started about five years ago. I was almost nineteen and had just become Mr North's assistant. My sister, she was younger than me. She'd always been a bit of a wild child. Messed around at school. Got suspended from school for drugs and smoking. Even got caught having sex in one of the classrooms. She didn't actually leave school with GCSE's but found a job anyway. She said she was a delivery courier. We didn't think anything else of it. She'd her own money. Mum, let us do what we wanted within reason. My dad left when we were babies. Never seen him since. I heard he remarried and had two more kids, but I never tried to see him. One night, my sister came home crying. She'd been with a couple of boys and was pregnant. She didn't know which one was the father." Her voice caught in her throat. Her sister had been a mess. Callum wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into his lap so that they cuddled together on the floor. She'd not felt this close to a man ever. She could tell him anything, and she just knew he wouldn't judge her for it.
"We set about preparing for Owen's birth. She was adamant she couldn't go through with an abortion."
"Your sister died in a drive-by shooting. Was this related to the father of the baby."
"How do you know that?"
"Matthew."
"What else does he know?"
"That is pretty much it. He says you're a hard person to research."
"I did something right then. Yes, she died in a drive-by. It was a few days before Owen was due. She'd gone out to get some nappies ready and was shot seven times. She didn't die instantly, though. They took her to the hospital; every shot had missed Owen. He was in distress, so they did an emergency caesarean. The second they removed him from her she died. She'd held on so he could be born. She never saw him." Again, the tears started to flow. Callum held her and patted her back as she shed so much sorrow for the sister she'd lost. Eventually, when she had composed herself, he spoke.
"I'm sorry Marie, that is heart-breaking. But it doesn't explain the money."
She looked up to the heavens. She should hate her sister for this. For leaving her to deal with it all, but she loved her so much and blamed herself. She should have known. She should have stopped it. She'd become so wrapped up in being the perfect PA. She was the one that had failed.
"I was given custody of Owen along with my mum. We have to have regular checks from Social Services but they seemed to forget about doing that a couple of months after he was born, I guess they found he was being looked after well. It was a week after we brought Owen home. There was a knock at the door. When I opened it, two men carrying guns barged through the door. I was terrified they were going to take Owen. I still had no idea who is father was. One of the men looked at him. I'll never forget his words. 'The sins of the parents are shown in the innocence of the son.' I knew he was one of the possibilities, but he wasn't there to be a father. He didn't have a paternal bone in his body. He explained why my sister was killed. She'd stolen from him and his gang. She'd been his girlfriend since she'd started running drugs for him at the age of sixteen."
"The courier job."
"She stole seventy-thousand pounds worth of drugs from him. And he wanted payment. Her death wasn't enough of a statement not to mess with the gang. He said he'd accept down payment of Owen to sell, but I refused so he stated that until such time as the debt was paid, he owned my arse. I'd pay him every last bit of money I could afford. I don't think I've even repaid twenty percent of it. He keeps trying to get me to sell my body to pay it off quicker. I can only keep him happy with payments from my salary so long."
"Why didn't you go to the police?"
"Fear of retribution. It's going to take me a lifetime to pay that money back. "
"I can help you."
"You have that sort of money laying around?"
"No. I'm sorry. What about the house? It's in a good area. If you sell that, and move in with me. All of you. Your mum and Owen."
"It's not my house to sell."
"What?"
"Where you picked me up. I don't live there. I’m from the tenements in Hoxton." This time it was Callum's turn to go quiet and pale. "Social housing, I don't own anything. Not that they'd let us move while we owe them money. They have us right where they want us, to continue the shame and make sure we pay."
"Shame?"
"Let's just say I walk a gauntlet every time I go home."
"You're not going back there." The Dom's voice was back again. It would not work this time, though. All the fight had gone from her.
"Go home Callum. This is not your battle. I'm not your woman. You can't own me. I've already pledged my life to this. Please. Will you just go? I'm going back to Owen." She got to her feet, smoothed out the wrinkles of her long jumper, and she left the room.
CHAPTER TEN
Callum
The smell hit him first. Damp and piss. Its foul stench was everywhere.
"How the hell could she live here, and I not know?" Callum watched as Matthew stepped over—well he wasn't entirely sure what it was—but it didn't look healthy. It hadn't taken Matthew long to find out Marie's actual address after Callum called him. The door to the flat had already been busted open when they arrived. The apartment was ransacked and disgusting abuse had been painted on the walls. No matter what she thought, there was no way Marie was coming back to this flat.
"I think Marie has been far too good at hiding the truth about herself. And I should know, I'm the master of that."
Matthew threw a knowing look at him. Matthew Carter knew exactly who he really was.
"Do you think there is anything salvageable?"
"Mementoes. I don't think much else." He picked up a picture of Marie, her mother and another girl that had been smashed on the floor. He assumed it was her sister. They both had the same vibrant black hair.
Sonia appeared in the doorway. She had a black sack in her hand. Her gun was visible in its holder.
"This is bad." Her face screwed up in revulsion and anger. Callum knew a little bit about Sonia's past. For her to be so upset said a great deal.
"We're going to salvage what we can. I'll get onto James about sorting them out new accommodation when I get home."
"No need." Callum picked up a few more photos and placed them in the black sack. "I've already spoken to my father. He's launched an investigation. They'll have somewhere different to live by the time Owen wakes up."
"You sure about that? It could cause him trouble."
"It could also cause the people that allowed this to happen a hell of a lot more trouble. Questions
should have been asked. Visits should have been made."
Matthew nodded. It didn't take them long to pack up the rest of the meagre belongings. Callum placed them in the boot of his car just at two young lads on a bike rode past. They watched him with suspicion.
"Lookouts?"
"Wouldn't surprise me." Matthew pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled. "Jasper. I need a favour ASAP. I want guards put at the Royal Free. I need them assigned at all times to Marie Easton, her mother, and nephew. They are not to be let out of their sight. You will also need to include her aunt and uncle in the protection. Make sure your people know that this is drug- and gang-related so that they will be prepared for anything." Callum breathed a sigh of relief that Matthew was here.
Sonia gave him a little embrace while Matthew continued to relay his orders. "She'll be fine."
"I think she's more likely to be livid, but I know what you mean."
"Go home and get some rest. When Owen wakes, and she realises what is happening, she's going to need you to explain."
Matthew hung up his call.
"Guards will be there within fifteen minutes. Sonia and I'll go straight there now and check on them. Do as the wise and the very sexy woman says and go get some rest."
"Thank you. Both of you."
The boys rode back again on their bikes.
"We'll follow you out. Sonia, you drive. I want a clear shot if needed."
Thankfully the shot wasn't necessary, and twenty minutes later he arrived home. His mother greeted him at the door with that concerned parent look. He would be fed a home cooked meal and a brandy any minute now. Mind you, he probably looked awful. He still had on the clothes he'd travelled in and hadn't shaved in over thirty-six hours.
"Your father's in the dining room. Come and sit down. When was the last time you ate? You must be starving." His dad stood up and handed him a brandy when he entered the room.
"You mother had it ready for you. She's been pacing the foyer since you called. How was it?"
