Bound (Dark Horse #1)

by J. S. Scott

  And then there were her words…that I’d left her in a hell I couldn’t imagine…a hell she couldn’t escape.

  The question was, had that despair always been there and I’d just been too young and stupid to notice it? And the hell I’d left her in…did something happen to her after our breakup—or worse still, was it our breakup that did this to her?

  We’d been apart for eight years. In that time, anything could have happened to her—and I hated that I hadn’t been there to protect her. Maybe that was part of the reason she hated me with such a vengeance.

  She hadn’t spoken a word to me since we’d gotten on the road, nor had she spared me a glance. And given that I’d opted to drive us back to Seattle rather than fly, her anger with me and the silence that accompanied it were going to make this one hell of a long drive. “We’ll drive halfway there and then grab a room. We can get back on the road first thing in the morning.”

  “You mean we’re driving all the way back—not flying?” At least she finally looked at me, though it was only to glare at me.

  “We could take our time heading back, if you’d like. Make a bit of a vacation out of it, so we can catch each other up on everything we’ve had going on in our lives the past few years.” Which was probably a good idea if we were going to get married.

  “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear…I want to spend less time with you, Ash—not more.” Wren shook her head and just stared out her window at the passing city. “It’s not exactly a difficult concept, though I’m sure it’s a rare woman who’s turned you down.”

  “The only woman who’s ever mattered is you, Wren. And I know you might hate me for what I did, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you.” It was nothing but the truth, even if I’d ended things, and I’d never stopped loving her, despite everything. Needing her touch, I couldn’t help but reach out and take her hand—not that I was surprised when she pulled it from my grasp. “Wren…we’re getting married. That means we’re going to be spending a lot more than just a car ride together—and this will be a whole lot easier if we’re on speaking terms.”

  “I don’t know how many times I need to say it for you to get it through that thick skull of yours, but I’m not marrying you—and frankly, I don’t care how you feel about me. I refuse to let my father dictate how I live my life, and if he wants to cut me off financially, then let him.”

  Given the wrath in her tone, I had no doubt she’d do her best to avoid this marriage, and yet, her father could be damn persuasive in getting people to do things they didn’t want to, which was exactly why I was currently in San Francisco and we were both on our way back to Seattle.

  Knowing there was no point in arguing with her at the moment and making her even more miserable, I tossed on some tunes and focused on the road. We stopped for lunch a few hours in, and then finally pulled off the highway around dinner time. We grabbed a quick meal at a local pizza shop and then headed to the nearest hotel.

  It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was a hotel chain with a good reputation, and given that we’d been on the road for hours and we were in a fairly remote location, it’d have to do. I could spoil Wren with something nicer in the near future—preferably when she wasn’t wanting to murder me.

  “Two rooms, Ash.” Wren yanked her bag from my grip when I went to carry it for her, and tossed it over her shoulder, following me into the lobby.

  “One room.” And one bed, since I’d been sporting a hard-on since we left her apartment, and it’d be a hell of a lot easier to make sure she didn’t actually succeed in escaping if she was lying down right by my side rather than across the room.

  I paid for the room and was relieved that Wren didn’t make a scene or tell the concierge that she’d been kidnapped, no doubt due to her upbringing—cops were to be avoided at all costs. Because if the cops showed up, that would be a fucking disaster. And though I might be able to explain my way out of it by pretending that she was just angry with me and we’d been arguing, there was still a good chance it’d be a mess.

  Using the keycard, I unlocked the door and let her pass. She dropped her bag in the corner of the room and crossed her arms, giving me a smug smile. “Hope the tub or the floor are comfortable, because I’m not sharing, and it’s your fault you got us a room with just one bed.”

  “Guess again, babe. Just be thankful the bed’s a queen, and we’re not snuggling and playing footsies in a twin.” It’d been a long few days, and it was finally catching up with me. I kicked off my shoes and lay down on the bed, pulling the covers back for her and patting the spot next to me. “Come on, Wren. It’s been one hell of a day, and there’s room for two.”

  “Just so we’re clear—this blows—and you do not get to touch me again.” Her grey eyes narrowed in my direction, and if looks could kill, I’d be suffering a coronary right now.

  “Not unless you want me to, little bird.” And given that we usually couldn’t keep our hands off each other, even when she hated my guts, I wasn’t too worried.

  Digging around in her bag, she grabbed a few things and disappeared into the bathroom, as I stripped naked and got under the covers. She returned a short while later wearing pajama shorts and a tank top. And fuck, but the girl was doing my head in. Her tank clung to her body, hugging the curves of her lush breasts, her dark areolas and pert nipples just visible enough through the thin fabric to tease me. Lying down by my side, she snuggled in under the covers, though she made sure to stay on her side of the bed.

  “Tell me you’ll stay put, Wren. You’ll sleep a whole lot better if you’re not handcuffed to me.” Luckily she knew me well enough to know that I meant every word.

  She turned over, looking frustrated and angry. “Why do you have to be such a bastard?”

  “I’m just giving you fair warning. I know I’m an asshole for dragging you back to your father’s against your free will—but my family’s lives are on the line, and I’m sorry, but that’s not a risk I can take. Even if I incur your wrath as a result.” My dad’s murder was still too fresh on my mind, and the darkness that accompanied my loss was too hard to handle sometimes—and it fucking sucked. I just couldn’t risk making the rest of my family targets when there was still a murderer on the loose.

  “Ash…I can’t even imagine what you must be going through. But do you really think that making a deal with my father will actually put an end to your family’s problems? ’Cause I can tell you right now—it won’t.” She looked torn between her sympathy for my situation and wanting to strangle me—and I couldn’t quite decide which one would win out. “This is what my father does—he manipulates people into doing what he wants them to, and to hell with the consequences.”

  “Would marrying me really be such a fucking travesty, Wren? You know I’ll always do my best to do right by you.” It was the truth. We may have made each other crazy, and I was guilty of breaking things off, but while we were together, I’d been loyal and did everything I could to love her and make her happy.

  But there was more to it than just the undeniable attraction between us. We were two people dealing with the sort of life we wouldn’t even be able to discuss honestly with another person, let alone have them understand the type of life we lived. Yet I’d known her circumstances, and she’d known mine. We didn’t need to explain the nuances of our fucked-up lives, and that meant we’d had each other to lean on when few people would ever be able to relate.

  “I’m not saying you won’t do right by me—because you did when we were together. You were far more patient with me than you should have been. But in the end, you were miserable, and there was never any hope for me.” Her last words were spoken through teeth clenched with a lifetime of hurt I didn’t quite understand—nor did I understand her choice of words.

  “Why was there never any hope of you being happy, Wren?” I just didn’t get it—and it felt like I was missing some large piece of the puzzle. “You know…you ca
n talk to me. I want to be here for you.” Especially if we were going to get married.

  “If you want to be here for me, then let me go. Let me live my fucked-up life. Believe me…you want no part of this—and I sure as hell don’t want you.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Wren

  I had a lifetime of nightmares and mistakes that kept wanting to bubble up to the surface. And poor Ash…thinking he could come in like some knight in shining armor to make everything better, when the truth was, no one could fix me. No one could undo the damage I’d endured. All I could do was push him away and try to spare him from getting sucked back into my messed-up life. And what I needed to do is get the hell away from him—even if I had to bide my time.

  “Cuff me if you don’t trust me, but it’s late and I’m exhausted.” Laying down next to him, I was doing my best to keep some distance between us, even though the queen-size bed felt five sizes too small when his long, muscular body and broad shoulders were taking up far too much space—and then his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me to him, his skin warm and well-inked, and his muscles hard. Grabbing his hand, I pushed it off me. “Hands to yourself, Ash. Do you hear me? This is not going to be a repeat of last night.”

  His arm wrapped around my waist like a vise and pulled me tightly to him, so there was little chance of escaping—and even less chance of ignoring his erection. “I hear you just fine, though that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you go. Not when I want to get some sleep, and I don’t trust you not to make a run for it again. Now go to sleep—unless you want to find a different way to spend the night.”

  “Not if you were the last man on Earth, Ash.” I swear, I was ready to scream in frustration, every muscle in my body knotted with tension, knowing that I’d be stuck here until morning.

  “Really? That’s harsh, little bird—even if you’ve already proved that it’s nothing but a lie.” He leaned into me, his words tickling my ear as his hold on me tightened and I felt his hard cock press against my ass. “I know you want me, love… You’re just too scared to say the words, though you don’t need to when your body betrays you every chance it gets.”

  “I’m not scared, you jerkwad—and even if I’ve been too stupid to stay away from you, at least I’m not delusional enough to think that sex will actually solve any of my problems.” If anything, it’d be the exact opposite, and the last thing I needed was to compound the mistakes I’d already made by complicating my already fucked-up life—and marrying him would do just that. Ash would be far better off getting the hell away from me while he still could.

  “It doesn’t have to solve any problems to still rock your world.” With his cock riding between my ass cheeks, he nipped at my ear, my body automatically responding by pushing back against his erection, the feel of his strong body against mine all too familiar. Trailing kisses down the length of my neck, he bit the tender spot where my pulse raced just under the surface, a cry escaping my lips as I felt myself go wet, my clit heavy and aching with my building need. “You may be fighting this, sweetness, but you know you want me…and your body wants all the pleasure it knows I can give it.”

  I’d be lying if I denied any of it—and yet it didn’t mean this was a good idea. Last night was a mistake. And if I crossed that line with him again, it’d be one hell of a slippery slope. But there were so many more reasons why I needed to keep him away, because an older, wiser Ash would eventually start piecing together the clues that he’d missed when he was younger.

  I sat up out of his arms—surprised that he let me go—and turned to face him, hoping I could make him see sense. “Just answer me this… Would you be here if my father wasn’t blackmailing you and your family wasn’t in danger?”

  He knotted his fingers with mine, which felt like such a gentle gesture from a man like Ash—towering in height, lean and muscular, keen intelligence, and no doubt deadly if he needed to be. “Knowing how much you hate me? No, little bird…I wouldn’t have come back for you. But that’s not because I don’t care or because I don’t love you. I just wouldn’t want to upset you again.”

  I was tempted to tell him that I didn’t hate him, and yet it had taken me years to move past the hurt and anger he’d caused and the train wreck that followed. The truth was, I still wasn’t over it, nor would I ever fully recover from losing him, even if Ash didn’t know the half of it. And yet…he was the only man I’d ever loved. The only man who’d tried to do right by me, even if I’d made it so hard for him to stay that he’d eventually walked away.

  I didn’t know what to say, the words all sticking in my throat as my eyes shimmered with tears as years of pent-up heartache tried to break through to the surface. But in the end, I didn’t need to say a word. Ash gently gathered me up in his strong arms and cradled me to him, murmuring words of comfort, as I wept in his arms for all my hurts until sleep finally took us, our bodies entangled as one.

  I awoke, unsure what time it was, though I suspected it was probably around four in the morning. The sun had yet to come up and peek from around the curtains, and though Ash’s arm was still wrapped around my waist, he was sound asleep, his breathing slow and heavy. I stayed there, not moving, and just listened to his breathing, trying to determine just how deeply he was sleeping and whether or not he’d wake up if I tried to slip free of his hold, even if there was a part of me that was loathe to leave the familiar comfort of his arms.

  I knew it was stupid to try to make a run for it again, and yet, it was now or never. This was my last chance, since we’d be in Seattle before long. And once I saw my father, I knew my dad would find a way to make me bend to his will, whether by guilt or threats.

  Moving as slowly as possible, I started to slip away from him, just an inch at a time, pausing in between to give him a chance to settle back into sleep, in case he’d started to wake. Just a little more… And then his arm tightened around me—and he was awake, flicking the light on with his free hand.

  Fuck.

  “Please tell me you weren’t just trying to escape again.” His voice was thick with sleep, and though I couldn’t really see him, I could tell he was fully alert, his body tense.

  My heart raced as he rolled me onto my back, pinning me under his weight as he nestled himself between my legs, making it impossible to ignore his muscular body and his hard cock as it rocked against my clit, the thin fabric of my boxers offering little in the way of protection. I struggled to get away from him, trying to buck him off as he grasped my wrists and pinned them over my head, but he was nearly twice my weight and all muscle—and fuck…being at his mercy had my body immediately reacting to him, just as it always had.

  “You’re insane. Get off me, Ash.” And yet, even I could hear how breathless and wanton I sounded, and I knew by the way he was looking at me that he could see just how badly I wanted him, even as I was overcome with a wave of guilt and shame for being so twisted, and getting off on him taking me in the middle of a struggle as I tried to get away. I just couldn’t help that my body’s reaction to being handled roughly, to being forced, was immediate, even if I knew how wrong it was.

  “That’s not going to happen.” His voice was deep and ragged with need, his hips grinding his erection against me, even as I fought against him. I tried to pull free of his grip, hoping he’d tighten his hold, and bucked against his hard body, not to free myself but rather hoping that he’d just fuck me. That he’d take me even as I fought him off, because in some twisted way, it would give me what I wanted without me having to admit it. And yet he knew me so well…knew exactly what I wanted, even if he didn’t understand why I was so fucked up. “Not that you really want me to let you go. Do you, Wren?”

  I struggled against him as I leaned forward and caught his mouth in a greedy kiss, our tongues clashing as he shifted both my wrists to one hand and pinched my nipple with the other, making me gasp.

  It was like my body was trying to make up for the last eight
years of being apart, last night’s adventures only acting as a reminder of how amazing it was to be on the receiving end of Ash’s affections. Even when I’d been with other men—or women—Ash was still the only one I’d been able to think of, no matter who I’d been with. Ash had always known what I needed, and he’d never made me feel uneasy about the things that turned me on, though I had more than enough guilt and shame on my own.

  But then Ash pulled away from our kiss, though he’d yet to let me go. “Tell me this is what you want, Wren. Tell me you want me to fuck you.”

  “You know exactly what I want.”

  CHAPTER 9

  Ash

  Fucking hell… I knew exactly what she had in mind, and the truth was I didn’t think I’d be capable of holding back much longer. From the moment I set eyes on her back at her place, the years apart evaporated in a heartbeat, leaving me with an insatiable hunger so I could think of nothing but fucking her over and over and over again.

  I let go of her, but only to strip her naked, roughly pulling her clothes from her body, my cock aching at the sight of her. She was so fucking gorgeous—but first, there was a score to settle. Grabbing her hips, I flipped her onto her stomach, landing her on all fours as my hand connected with her ass cheek as I slapped her ass hard enough to have her crying out. “That’s for thinking about trying to run away—yet again.”

  “Just so you know, I fucking hate—” The next slap stole her words, falling harder than the first, and though she may be cursing me to hell, I knew she was enjoying every minute of it, the sharp sting of pain melting into an overwhelming pleasure as her sweet cunt went wet for me and she finally finished her sentence. “You.”

  I ran my hand over her hot skin to soothe it, letting my fingers dip into her slick heat, loving how she moaned and pushed back against my hand. I pulled free of her body and slapped her ass again and again, my cock so hard it throbbed, desperate to sink into her. Her backside was mottled red with my handprints, and when I ran my tongue over the markings and blew on them to help ease the sting, I swore, Wren nearly came.