Beautifully Mine

by Tara Lee

  All I want is to bite into her soft flesh, marking her, owing her.

  Jacob clears his throat behind me. Callie turns in her seat, blatantly staring at him.

  “Brat, meet Jacob. My right-hand man.

  “Jacob, officially meet Callie.”

  Jacob nods but says no more. I like that about him. He's a man of few words.

  “So you kill people?”

  Jacob narrows his eyes in a deadly ‘don’t fuck with me’ stare, but Callie refuses to cower in front of him.

  I chuckle as I view them in their showdown.

  I nod at Jacob, giving him the go-ahead to tell her.

  “Kill people? Nah, darling, I demolish them, until there is nothing left but torn flesh and a pool of blood.”

  He smirks at his comment.

  Callie blinks rapidly.

  “Listen, darling, I do as the boss.—” he nods at me while continuing—,

  “Says. Anything else I do just for fun. But don’t fret that pretty little head of yours, you're safe from the monster.”

  He then winks at her, and she eyes him like she can’t quite figure him out.

  “So, what, you think it’s okay to just go around killing people? It’s a game to you?” she asks.

  Jacob’s jaw twitches. He hates explaining himself to people. Why he is the way he is, what made him become the monster he is.

  “I don’t answer to you, darling. Let's get this clear; you’re the boss’, not mine, and I don’t owe you shit.”

  He goes to walk off, but I clear my throat. Jacob knows I won't stand for him talking to my woman like that.

  “Forgive me, but I don’t need to explain myself, least of all to you, Miss Eaton.”

  He walks away. Callie's jaw hangs open as she tries to accumulate what Jacob has just said.

  “He’s an acquired taste, but you’ll get used to him.”

  She scoffs and goes back to the napkin.

  “I doubt it.”

  “How dangerous is he?”

  I shrug. “Jacob is a born killer. Just don’t ever get on his bad side and you're all good.”

  Even though it’s said as a joke, I know that's the last thing Callie hears.

  “You expect me to believe you're a good man, Bishop? You tell me I’m yours, yet all you’ve done so far is move me from one mansion to another.”

  She sighs, shaking her head as she slips off her stool.

  “If you were half the man I thought you were, I wouldn’t be some prize to be won to get back at my father.”

  The fire in her eyes shimmers. She steps beside me and damn near trips running for the stairs. I catch her arm, yanking her body to mine, my fingers tilting her chin up.

  Callie glares at me with all the hate she can muster.

  “Tell me the truth,” she demands.

  Callie whimpers as my fingers wrap around her throat, forcing her to me. She slams into my chest, our faces inches apart, and I lean down. My teeth scrape over her cheek, and I crave the taste of her.

  I lick and suck along her jaw. I place my free hand behind her head; she has no room to move now.

  I grin, placing my forehead against hers, willing my dick to calm the fuck down.

  Callie stares up at me,her chest rising and falling.

  “Do you know how addictive you taste?”

  She shakes her head while she nibbles on her bottom lip.

  “Like I will never get enough, no matter how much I taste you.”

  “You're a lying asshole, Bishop, and nothing, unless it’s the absolute truth, will ever make me believe that you could actually love me.”

  Callie is panting and sucks in air.

  “Careful, brat, I could find something very useful to do with that smart mouth of yours.”

  “Oh yeah, like what?”

  “Punish your throat with my dick, baby.”

  She bites her lip and she clenches her thighs together. Fuck this shit.

  The monster is loose, and for once I don’t want to tame him.

  The moment my lips collide with hers, she fights against me.

  Callie grips my forearms; it feels like she’s pulling yet pushing me away. She groans but forces herself to jerk away from me.

  I clench my jaw and try to suppress my anger.

  “Don’t touch me.” Callie runs so fast she nearly collides with Jacob as he comes around the corner.

  He grabs her arm, stopping her before she gets too far. She yanks her arm free, glaring straight at Jacob. If looks could kill...

  She looks back at me, sadness etched over her face. Callie goes to bolt again once Jacob frees her arm from his grasp.

  I yell after her.

  “I won’t give up. If you think for one moment I’m letting you walk away a second time, be prepared for the consequences, brat.”

  Callie huffs and storms back up the stairs. But she stops, and for some reason she turns, tears brim her eyes as her feet carry her to stand in front of me while everyone scatters, making themselves invisible.

  Kat nods, letting me know the pasta is ready.

  With a frustrated look, Callie folds her arms over her chest.

  “Even if you think I owe you something, Bishop, just because of who you are, then you are mistaken and in desperate need of a reality check.”

  I smirk. There she is. My little spit fire.

  “I love you, Callie, plain and simple, and it’s you who needs the reality check. You can push and pull all you want, I’m not going anywhere, woman, and if you think for one second I’ll let you walk out that door and out of my life again, without some sort of repercussions,

  then prepare to meet this monster you're so afraid of, because trust me, baby, he’s there, and you won’t like what you see.”

  She glares after me. I can see how turned on she is right now, and she can’t deny it.

  Fuck, she can try to hide it, but her body tells me everything I need to know.

  “Marry me?” My hands cup her face, and I’m ready to claim her lips.

  She yanks back and denies me.

  “No.”

  I shake my head while I clench my teeth.

  “You will marry me?” My demand is final.

  Callie shakes her head.

  “Do you care about me?” Her voice quivers.

  I don’t miss the way the pain rolls off her tongue.

  “What kind of question is that, brat?” My frustrations are getting the better of me.

  Callie hides into herself, the uncertainty clear across her face. I inhale and refrain from losing my temper.

  “I won’t give up.” My jaw twitches as I hold myself back.

  “I won’t back down,” she retorts.

  Grabbing her wrist I pry the ring from my pocket and practically force it onto her finger. She tries to tug free, but I’m too strong.

  Her hand connects with my cheek, the sting feeling somewhat pleasant, and her breathing accelerates as she realizes what she's done.

  She covers her mouth with her hands, eyes wide in shock, waiting.

  Tsking her, I wrap a stray piece of hair around my finger, letting her calm down.

  “You don’t get to say no, Callie, that’s not part of the deal.”

  Adrenaline flows through my veins as his words ring in my ears. Bishop’s breathing accelerates to an unusual speed.

  Thick veins poke out of his neck as he comes to a standstill in front of me. Striking him may have been a mistake, and he sure as hell doesn’t look pleased about it. But no matter what he thinks, I’m not a piece to be claimed.

  If he wants me to be his wife—be his, he needs to show me I mean more than what he was promised. After all, the man lied to me for two years about who he is.

  Finding the courage to speak is hard. After all, this Bishop, this man is so much more than who I knew before. It’s hard to believe that in that month I was away the man I knew was gone. In his place is something entirely different.

  I take a deep breath, trying to calm the fire bu
rning deep inside.

  Bishop is a killer. Isn't he? Can I really love a man who kills?

  “You terrify me Bishop, this new version of you. I don’t know it, and that scares me. I want so badly for you to rescue me to come save me, but being here being around you terrifies me so much because I know that deep down I love you with every fiber of my being, even knowing what you do. Who you are now, I’m not sure I want to be thrown into a world with crime and murder.”

  His eyes sharpen on me, and he links our fingers.

  “Callie. I’m the same man I’ve always been. This side of me that terrifies you has always been there. I just hid it so well you never met him.

  But trust me, this dark side, this monster is there, baby, and as much as I hated it, I embrace it now because without that side of me, it wouldn’t have gotten me you.”

  I take a deep breath before I lift my face toward Bishop.

  “You killed Eric.”

  Bishop exhales, and there’s rage behind his eyes at the mere mention of Eric's name.

  His forearm flexes as he clenches his fingers. Bishop is wound up, and not knowing how this will play out, I take a step back. Bishop doesn’t let me get an inch back before his hand grips my hips, pulling me back to slam hard against his chest.

  I gasp at the contact. Bishop’s eyes give a fleeting second of remorse then the darkness is there again.

  “For you.” His voice is gravelly.

  “He won’t touch you again, baby, I made sure of that.”

  Bishop killed Eric to protect me, so being scared is a normal emotion, right? But Bishop doesn’t scare me— well, in theory he does. This new side of him is going to take some getting used to.

  “Maybe I can grow to love the monster in you?” I cup his face ever so gently, feeling the scruff on the side of his jaw.

  Bishop leans into my touch, closing his eyes.

  “That's all I ask, piccolina.”

  Bishop’s lips graze mine tenderly, as his hand slides over my cheek cupping my ass in his palm.

  He growls, and chills travel down my spine.

  Why does that sound make me a total hot mess?

  He runs his nose down the curve of my throat, igniting a whole new set of emotions.

  His lips crash to mine while his fingers tighten and wrap around my hair. He holds it in a makeshift ponytail and yanks my head back, giving him complete control.

  “Trust me, baby, everything I do is for you. From day one you were mine, and until the day I take my last breath...

  You. Are. Mine.”

  He hisses as he bites down hard on the pulse on my neck.

  I let a squeak; he sinks his teeth in and sucks.

  Bishop sucks and nibbles on inch after inch of my skin, fisting my hands in his shirt, I moan, heat pooling between my legs.

  Before I can beg Bishop to take me here, he pulls back, both of us panting to catch our breaths.

  He smirks and licks a trail down my neck, planting a soft kiss just behind my ear.

  “Trust me, Callie. You’ll learn to love the monster. If not for my sake then yours.”

  Bishop leaves me standing after his words.

  He won’t let me go so easily; my fate is sealed.

  I thought I wanted this, wanted him.

  Bishop swept me up in his charms, making me feel loved and cherished. But now…

  Now I’m not so sure he loves me, because he loves me, or because he feels obligated to because of a stupid deal made between our fathers.

  I was just a fling to him; he never made an attempt to claim me before, so why now?

  Why is it so important for him to claim me as his wife? What changed?

  He can’t know I found my father’s files? Can he?

  What if he does and he knows he’s not the only one lying? I rush after him, ready to demand answers. If he wants me and wants us to be together, he needs to start by telling me the truth. And not the sugarcoated version but the whole truth.

  Because I may be young and naive, but I have a feeling Bishop is hiding more than just his real identity from me.

  It doesn’t take me long to find him, perched in his chair, waiting in his office like he knew I’d follow him.

  His legs are crossed at the ankles, and his fingers rest in his lap as a smug smirk sets firmly in place.

  Damn him, he is so fucking hot spread out looking like a man on a mission.

  An intense sensation spreads through my entire body, my every cell melting, his intense stare tightenings everything south of my chin.

  He taps his fingers on what appears to be expensive oak.

  “I think you’re forgetting, brat, I own you. Every fucking delicious inch of you.”

  Spoken like the true alpha he is.

  I take a deep breath, and Bishop’s stare only grows in intensity; it robs me of my breath, and I watch him rise to his feet, his mouth curving. He rolls the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows.

  Giving me a close-up view of the veins that cover his entire forearm. Is vein porn a thing? Because it should be. Especially on a man like Bishop.

  His eyes never leave mine. He comes to a stop only inches from me. Bishop is nothing but ungodly edible and he lowers his head until his breath puffs along my cheek.

  My heart accelerates, Bishop’s fingers dance softly over my heated skin, goosebumps scattering all over.

  Bishop’s mouth lifts at the physical response my body has to him.

  “You don’t own me, Bishop, you just think you do.”

  “That’s where you are wrong, baby.”

  “You think you’ll win my heart, but I won’t ever love you if you don’t start treating me like an equal and some prize you’ve just won.”

  “A minor technicality, darling. I promise you, in due time you will know the truth, but until then, be a good girl for me and say yes.”

  “Yes to being your wife?”

  He nods once.

  My gaze drifts over him, and he stares me down, not moving except for the twitch in his jaw. Bishop hates not being in control, and since I’m being as stubborn as ever and not giving in to his demands, he hates this.

  “I need some things before I say yes.” I won’t back down. I know I will cave to his demands.

  But if Bishop is going to have me, then he needs to know I won’t be a docile wife while he goes off trying to play the law.

  “State your demands, brat.” He’s calm.

  “I want to know everything.” I almost stamp my foot like the brat he calls me.

  “Don’t you already know everything?” The way he cocks his head tells me my father must have told him, or he found out some other way.

  “You—”

  His lips lift in a tantalizing smirk.

  Regardless, I stand tall, not backing down.

  “I want to hear it from your mouth, Bishop, I want you to tell me.”

  He sighs but gives in to my small demand.

  “Thinking you know and actually knowing are two different things, Callie, trust me, I can’t take it back once you know.”

  He’s giving me a way out. But I stand my ground.

  “Tell me.”

  Bishop’s fingers rake through his hair, giving him that just-fucked look that is way too good on him.

  Bishop stays silent until I raise my eyebrows for him to continue. You’d think the man would be used to my tantrums by now.

  “Fine.” Bishop huffs and pulls out a folder, throwing it in front of me on the desk.

  Tentatively, I reach for it. My fingers freeze over the label with a name printed in capital letters.

  Mine.

  Ever so slowly, I open the front. My face stares back at me, but it’s not me now. Not in this time but when I was a teenager. My fingers skim over my face as it stares back at me.

  I’m smiling, walking from school, oblivious to the person taking my photo.

  Going over every page, photo after photo greets me until I get to the very last page, where every detail about me is prin
ted in black writing.

  My eyes catch Bishop’s as he observes me. I knew he was promised me at a young age, but seeing that he kept tabs on me, followed me, knew every single thing about me. I don’t know how to feel.