BOUND: A Dark Bad Boy Romance

by Leah Wilde

  By the time he was spreading my legs and pressing the head of his cock at my entrance, I was back. Then he thrust inside me and we both cried out.

  “Fuck!” he yelled and began a hard and fast rhythm that had him panting in minutes. He was aggressive today, determined to use my body to sate whatever lust and tension had taken root inside him. And while I was still boneless from my orgasm, I couldn’t make myself care like I should have. I let him have me, lying back as he plunged inside me again and again.

  “You’re mine,” he told me and I clenched my eyes shut against the words. “You’ll always be mine.” Then he pulled out, spilling himself across my stomach, breasts, and the bed beneath us. Marking me. All the while, I wondered just how true his statement was.

  # # #

  Clay dropped me off after my payment was made. He said nothing and I didn’t even look at him. He got out of the car to open the door for me, but I was already slamming it. I headed up to The Beehive to find it empty except for Steph who was sweeping. She didn’t look happy.

  “Where have you been?” she demanded when the little bell sounded over the door.

  I adjusted my blouse, feeling suddenly like my tryst was written all over my face and clothes. “I told you. The insurance—”

  “This is not about the insurance,” she interrupted, turning to face me. “You were gone for over an hour! And off with some delivery guy? What the hell did he have to do with your insurance company? And I saw those bananas in the back—”

  Before she could say another word, I rushed over to her and grabbed her harshly by the shoulders. I gave her a little shake. “Don’t ever do that again. Whatever I’m storing back there is my business. Just stay out of it.”

  She stared at me in shock. “Sasha, what’s going on?” she asked in a quieter voice. The anger was gone and in its place was just plain old worry. She was scared for me.

  Clenching my eyes shut, I released her. A second later, I opened them again and fell back into one of the chairs. A sigh escaped my lips as I accepted I was going to have to tell her something. “I…It’s Marsh,” I blurted.

  Steph’s eyes went wide. “Mason Marsh? I thought you already told him no?”

  I nodded. “I did. That didn’t go over well.”

  Frowning, Steph came to sit in the chair beside me. She swiveled us around so that we were facing each other. “What happened?”

  I explained. The fire, the deal, the payments…. “He’s got me backed into a corner, Steph, and I don’t know how to get out of it.”

  Sympathy washed over Steph’s face and I was grateful that she didn’t seem to think any less of me. “Oh, honey, that’s horrible. Have you gone to the police?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, right. I’ll just go and tell the guys who asked if I committed insurance fraud and determined conclusively that the fire was due to an electrical short that Mason Marsh is blackmailing me. I’m sure that none of them are in his back pocket.”

  Steph fell silent. We both knew that Marsh had at least some of the cops on his payroll. We just didn’t know which ones. And that was worse. It meant that while there were some good cops on the force, it was impossible to tell which was which. They might as well have all been bad.

  We sat like that for a long time until I finally couldn’t take it. Changing the subject, I asked about Mrs. Walsh. “How did it go?”

  Steph groaned. “It was bad. I cut her hair, like, three inches too short and it’s uneven.”

  I should have been horrified, but instead I let out a belting laughter. “Three inches?”

  Covering her face, Steph shook her head. “I know, I know. It’s bad. She was furious.”

  “I told you to trim it!”

  She lifted her shoulders as though to say I have no idea. “You said cut off the dead ends! Her hair had a ton of them.”

  I laughed again. “Of course it does. That doesn’t mean she wants to get her hair cut off at the shoulders.”

  “How was I supposed to know that?”

  We bickered on like that for a while and I finally started to relax again. I promised to give Steph some styling and hair cutting training and she promised to be there whenever I needed her. There were a half dozen more customers that day, then it was time to head home. We stopped at the daycare center on the way home from school to pick Nick up, and by the time I walked through the door, I was utterly exhausted.

  This new deal was going to be the death of me.

  Chapter Ten

  Deliveries to The Beehive became the regular. Clay would drop off shipments regularly, as would a quiet young man named Billy who rarely spared me a glance. They were the only two who would deal with me directly.

  My payments to Mason were kept low key and private. Well, mostly private. Sometimes Clay stayed to watch. Sometimes he left us to ourselves. But outside of the three of us, no one saw us together.

  If anyone did, they might think that we had a friends with benefits relationship or something along those lines, but the idea was to keep the two of us as separate as possible. As I understood it, that was the whole point. Mason needed somewhere that wasn’t directly linked to him. I happened to be one of a handful of places that he didn’t have his fingers dipped in.

  Of course, he had his fingers in me six days a week. Despite my anger at the whole thing, I was starting to wonder. Wonder if I was actually enjoying my payments to Mason.

  The answer was mixed up in the complications of my own desires and the requirements of Mason’s. I couldn’t tell if he got off on controlling me or if he was just using sex to manipulate me. There was a part of me that hoped that he just enjoyed our time together, but that was a little part of me that I often tried to squash.

  I didn’t want him to enjoy our time any more than I wanted to enjoy our time. It was better if this really was just a business arrangement.

  It was a Monday at The Beehive, early in the afternoon. Steph was practicing on a wig that I’d dug up from the back, styling it and trimming it to my specifications. I was finishing up with a regular’s styling when the little bell above the door rang, indicating someone was here. I glanced over to see that it was Billy.

  I sighed. “Give me a second, Billy,” I told him. He waited patiently by the door. I finished up with Selene first. “All set.”

  Selene examined her hair in the mirror, fluffing the back of it and making a fish face as she sucked in her cheeks. Satisfied, she smiled at me. “Thanks, sugar. It looks like gold.”

  “You’re welcome. Steph will take care of you at the register.”

  She thanked me again then walked over to meet Steph at the dilapidated register. I’d yet to replace the half-charred thing, instead cleaning it up as best I could. Steph met her there, sending me a grim look at Billy’s presence.

  Steph wasn’t thrilled with the influx of shipments I was getting, nor was she happy with those goons that delivered them. And I didn’t blame her. I couldn’t say I was happy with Mason’s men or with the drugs that were trickling into my store.

  But unlike Steph, I was beginning to accept my lot in life. Especially since the last six weeks since my deal with Mason had been busier than ever. Suddenly, I had people in that I’d never seen before. Sure, the regulars stayed regular and the off the street walk-ins dropped by on discount days. But I’d been noticing a different sort of clientele stopping by.

  Men who wanted a wash, a shave, and a little gel. Women who spent their days as navigators for the long-haul truckers. People that were just passing through and for reasons unknown decided they needed a cut and a shave.

  I headed over to Billy, taking the clipboard he offered me and signing off on the items there. I didn’t even bother to look at what they were anymore; it was all bunk anyway. Last week it was potatoes.

  “How are you, Billy?” I found myself asking. It was still a little odd to be making small talk with a drug delivery man. But I was becoming more familiar with these people and more used to their presence.

  He shrugged, a
wad of chewing tobacco shoved in his front lip. “I’m good. Old lady’s bitching about the hours, but you know.”

  I smiled at him. “Charlotte doesn’t really seem like she’s on board with your…” I trailed off. I’d been about to say something that indicated his illicit affairs, but caught myself just in time. There were a handful of things I wasn’t, under any circumstances, supposed to do. Talking about the arrangement or any of the illegal things that might be connected to it was number one on that list.

  Offering a sheepish grin, I shrugged. “Your working hours,” I finished lamely.

  Billy frowned a little at me, undoubtedly noticing my slip, but just shrugged again. “Chicks are trouble like that. What can you do?”

  He helped with the last few crates heading into my shop, then tipped an invisible hat in my direction as he left. He was a strange man, I thought, but I was getting used to strange.

  # # #

  It was the end of the day when I got a text from Clay saying that I had a payment due. I sighed and shook my head. This wasn’t exactly my idea of romantic, but of course it wasn’t supposed to be. It was business.

  “The least that bastard can do is text me himself,” I muttered under my breath. Of course, I knew that was unreasonable. The whole point was to keep the two of us completely unconnected so that his rivals, whoever the hell they were, wouldn’t find his newest warehouse. Still, it irked me that Clay had to be the one to tell me to come over and fuck his boss.

  “Did you say something?” called Steph from the back where she was putting things away.

  “Nothing!” I responded as I started to text Clay back.

  You’re a dick. I’ll be there in twenty.

  Just because Mason didn’t want me to call him names, didn’t mean I couldn’t say whatever the hell I wanted to Clay. Usually I kept it pretty mild since he was huge, intimidating, and reported directly to Mason. But still.

  Now, was the text I got in return.

  Irked, I thought about arguing, then just sighed. If Mason said now, he meant now. Or his mouthpiece did. And making him wait usually caused me more problems than just biting the bullet and going. So I sighed and texted back that I was leaving.

  Shoving my phone into my pocket, I caught Steph as she came out of the back room. “I have to go.”

  Instantly, she frowned. “Are you serious?”

  I nodded. “Duty calls.”

  She made a face, indicating how grossed out she was. But the funny thing was, I wasn’t as grossed out anymore. Sure, I hated being at Mason’s beck and call, but I’d found that Zen place where I could convince myself that this was just sex. This was just two people who needed a release and that was it. It took some lying to myself to reach that point, but it kept me sane and marginally happy.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing we can do?” Steph asked me quietly, her expression switching to one of sympathy.

  I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “You know the deal. There’s no one to go to, no one to tell. I’m Mason’s until he’s done with me.”

  Her eyes grew shiny and I felt bad for even telling her any of this. She blinked back her tears, but crossed the space between us to embrace me. Her thin arms wrapped around me and held me tightly against her. I returned the gesture, though the hopelessness in her didn’t resonate within me like it once did.

  This was just another part of life.

  When she pulled back, she discretely wiped at her cheeks and sniffled. Composing herself, she offered me a strong smile. “I’ve got Nick. Call me if you need anything.”

  I nodded as another text came in. I rolled my eyes when I saw that it was Clay again, telling me to get my ass into the car already. “Thanks Steph. I’ve got to go. Lock up for me?”

  She nodded and I headed out, waving as I went. Parked outside was Clay’s car. He was standing by the passenger door, holding it open. Although I knew he was annoyed by his incessant texting, his expression was the same stoic one that he always wore.

  “Evening, Jeeves,” I told him snidely.

  He grunted.

  I slid into the passenger side and when all limbs were safely inside the vehicle, he slammed the door after me. A moment later he was behind the wheel and we were heading towards whatever spot Mason had picked this time.

  Clay drove me to a hole in the wall eatery that boasted authentic Mexican food. I hadn’t ever eaten there before because it was on the side of town that I tried hard to avoid. But I’d been on this side of town more than a few times of late, so when Clay stopped in their parking lot, I wasn’t completely surprised.

  Opening my own door before Clay could get around and do it for me, I stepped out into the night. It was starting to get chilly out, but we were still in the swing of summer, so I could get away with the short sleeved dress I’d worn today.

  “A restaurant?” I asked Clay with a raised brow, though restaurant might have been stretching things a bit. Inside there were a total of three tables and a bar that wrapped around three of the four walls in the place.

  Clay said nothing, just pointed towards one of the tables tucked away in the back. There was just enough light for me to see that a tall, dark, and dangerously sexy man was sitting there.

  I sighed. Mason. “Will you be joining us tonight or do you prefer your peeping Tom status?” I asked Clay.

  He dutifully ignored me, but escorted me to the table and even pulled out my chair for me. Clay, like Mason, was the oddest mixture of gentleman and asshole that I’d ever encountered. I even found myself saying thank you to Clay when he tucked me into the table.

  I thought I saw a twitch of a grin on his mouth, but it was gone as quickly as he was. “What? He doesn’t eat?” I asked Mason when Clay had done his disappearing act.

  Mason shrugged. “Mexican isn’t really his thing.”

  “What if it’s not mine?”

  “Then you’re going to have a long night of watching me eat,” he answered easily.

  I rolled my eyes and reached for a menu, but Mason snatched it quickly from my grasp. “Hey!”

  He waved me off. “I’ll do the ordering and you’ll eat whatever I get for you.”

  Folding my arms across my chest, I sat back in my chair and waited. What a jerk.

  When the waitress came by—wearing a skirt so short that I saw the underside of her rear and a shirt so tiny, her breasts looked ready to make their escape any moment—he ended up ordering in Spanish and sending her off with a swat to her ass.

  “Really?” I asked indignantly.

  “I’ve known Maria for a long time. She’s very supple.”

  I let out a disgusted groan. “Is there a woman you haven’t slept with in this town?”

  He pretended to think about it. “There are probably a few. I’m not into grandmas.” He grinned broadly at me and let his eyes drop to my chest where my cleavage was pushed together by my crossed arms. “Just milfs.”

  I tried to be offended, but instead my body flushed and my heart skipped a beat. There was always a carnal look in Mason’s eyes when he stared at me. Like seeing me made him hungry. It should have been off-putting at the very least, but instead I found my body reacting to it every time we were in the same room together.

  Trying to ignore my body’s reaction, which he had to have been trying to invoke in me deliberately, I cleared my throat. “So dinner. That’s new. You’ve never been the wine and dine type before.”

  He fell silent then and I watched as his expression became thoughtful and just a little sad. Like he was remembering something from a while ago, a memory that was bittersweet. He was like that sometimes, usually during our bantering portions of the payment schedule. He’d never told me why and I’d never asked, because I told myself I wasn’t interested in the little details about him.

  But I found that more often now, I wondered.

  “I usually think it’s a waste of time,” he said finally. “Everyone’s just in it for the sex anyway. Why not just skip to the entertainment portion of the evening
?”

  I laughed a little. “Wow, cynical much?”

  He raised a single dark brow at me. “You’re the one here to make a payment,” he pointed out.

  I pursed my lips together and looked away from him before I saw him do something annoying like smirk at me. He was right, of course. I was here to do the dirty with him and be done for the night. But that didn’t mean it was what I wanted.

  Right?

  I don’t even know anymore.

  Before we could get into more details, the food came. It was hot and spicy and smelled like the south of the border that came with long vacations and fun in the sun. Although I wanted to hate the food just to spite him, he’d chosen dishes well. There were tortillas and some sort of meat smothered in spicy red chili. The sides were seasoned rice, salsas, guacamole, and a few other things that I didn’t recognize, but tried anyway.