Bad Boy Exposed

by Ashlee Price

  His lips were cold, and really wet, like he had licked them just before he moved in for the kiss. It actually turned my stomach. I would have given anything for his tongue to not go in my mouth, but I kept telling myself that it was just to give me more time. It was time that could be used to find me or something. I just couldn’t really think about it or it was going to make me gag, and then he would know for sure that I didn’t want him. It was hard to pretend, but when he moved back to look into my face, I made sure that I was smiling back at him. I hoped that it reached my eyes, but I wasn’t really that sure.

  “I think we are ready for the next step, Mia.”

  I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I had an idea. He had a look in his eyes that was hard to not get. He wanted me. Ryland had wanted me for a long time, but I still didn’t want him. I was willing to kiss him to distract him and keep the peace, but I was not prepared to do that kind of thing with him. It was worse than anything that I wanted to deal with. I needed Logan to come get me right then. Ryland had gone to one of the ideas that I was hoping that he would stay away from.

  “I don’t know if we’re ready for that, Ryland. I like to take it slow.”

  I was again trying to give him something that would let him see things my way. I told him that I wanted it to be special and I wanted to do it in a place where I wasn’t tied up and chained in a stripped out room on the floor. He seemed to understand my reluctance to do it there, and for a few moments I was sure that he was going to let me out. I wanted him to take me somewhere so that I could escape on the way. All I needed was one opportunity and that would be it. I just had to pay attention and keep the peace a little while longer.

  “I don’t think that going somewhere else is going to be a good idea.”

  He paused, and I could tell by the look on his thin face that he was thinking of a way to make it work. He wanted me, but not just that, Ryland wanted me to want him. He was on the verge of giving in. I could see it, so instead of pushing it, I waited for him to come to the only conclusion that there really was to come up with. I knew that he would tell me in just moments that we could go to his house, somewhere away from the sanctuary and the chains that were digging into my tender skin.

  “I know!” His voice boomed, and it made me jolt a little bit. I wasn’t sure what he was so excited about, but the pacing that Ryland was doing then was definitely excitement. “I’ll just bring everything we need here. Most of it is actually here at the sanctuary, I just have to go collect it. I think that there are even a couple of beds in storage for medical emergencies. Thomas used to sleep on one every time his wife would get mad at him. I hope that you don’t get mad at me like that, Mia. I would hate to have to be away from you for even one night.”

  Nodding my head, I agreed, but didn’t add any comments to his ramblings. There was no way that I was going to encourage or discourage anything. I just wanted to see what he was going to do and then act accordingly.

  “Um, okay. Do you really think that there is enough here at the sanctuary to make this special? I mean, look at this place.” I waved my arms around the depressing room. If I hadn’t been there so long, maybe I would have felt differently about it, but at the moment I was so sick of seeing the inside of that place.

  “Yes, I do. I know that Dana has some good CDs and a radio that I can bring in here. Candles are in the gift shop. And the bed. What more do we need?”

  My mind searched for something that he wouldn’t be able to find there, but I was drawing a blank. What did I need that he’d have to leave to get? I just couldn’t think, and I knew that my time was running out to come up with something. He was looking at me like he wanted to have me for a midnight snack, and I was not feeling it at all.

  “Well, I have to have my diaphragm. There is no way that we should start a baby while we aren’t married.”

  Ryland wasn’t expecting that. I saw the shock on his face. I was smiling at him and I knew then that I was going to get my way. He was going to take me there, or leave for a while, and I was going to make my run for it.

  “I have no problem starting early, Mia. I’ve always wanted a child with you.”

  I groaned and tried to think of something else, just to give myself more time before he came back. It was seriously time for me to figure out a way out. I wasn’t going to stand around and do anything else with Ryland. If he ever touched me again, it was going to be too soon.

  Chapter 3 – Ryland

  “I’ll be back in a little while. Don’t go to sleep on me.”

  She told me that she wouldn’t, but I looked back to see. I’d seen Mia yawn several times, and I wasn’t sure why she was so exhausted all of a sudden. There was a feeling in me that she didn’t want it as much as I wanted to be with her, but I was okay with that. I didn’t mind taking my time and showing her in a more concrete way how much I loved her. It was no good to tell her anything. My body would have to do all of the talking.

  I could feel excitement run through my body, and as it coursed through me, I was sure that I was going to lose it right then. She had asked for several things, some that were going to be harder to find than others, but I was always watching, and I knew where most of the items on my list were. It was just a question of going through the sanctuary and picking everything up. I told her I would be back as soon as I could, and I kissed her again before I left, just because I finally could. Mia was really going to be mine soon, and I couldn’t wait. My whole body was shaking from nerves. I couldn’t wait to get back to her.

  I was so into what I was doing, that I momentarily forgot that it wasn’t a date I was going on. And she wasn’t my girlfriend. She was Logan’s, and I knew that he would get her back sometime. I’d lost all hope of having her forever. There was a chance that she would see what I saw, but I was not so delusional to think that there wasn’t a possibility that she wouldn’t. If I was going to lose her – and soon, from the way I was feeling about it all – I figured that at least I would have one night with her. But I should have been paying more attention.

  I would have seen that I was being followed. Everything that Mia had wanted was something that I could find fairly easily. I’d refused a few things that she had requested, but when she mentioned that she wanted to hear our song, the one that had played in the restaurant when we had gone on our date, there was no denying her then. It was sentimental, and it gave me the hope that maybe she really did want to be with me. Maybe she was warming up to my charm, but I wasn’t really sure. How could I be sure until we were together?

  My mind raced as I left the sanctuary and got on the highway to go to the mall. It was the only place that I knew of where I could get that kind of CD. I certainly wasn’t going to order it online and wait until it was delivered. Something in me told me that tonight was going to be our last night together, and I was determined to make it count. Then I would have to leave and do something else, but it was all going to be worth it. Mia was worth it all.

  ***

  Getting back to the sanctuary, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck go up. I told myself that it was nothing, but I knew that something was making me feel this way. Something was going on, and I felt the need to move to Mia quicker. If this was to be my last night, I want it to be with her.

  I was thinking about what was going to happen next and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I slipped and fell face first onto the ground. I looked up to see that I was close to Rocy’s enclosure. The animal was looking at me as if she wanted to eat my face. I heard her roar, and I felt like the dumb animal knew what I was up to. I didn’t like the way it was looking at me, so I threw a bottle towards the door. It broke and the cat moved back with a growl. I never did get why Mia was so fond of that cat, but I still didn’t like it.

  Muttering to myself, I looped my way back to where I had Mia, forgetting about Rocy and her warning through the cage. That cat wasn’t getting out, so it was the least of my worries. I needed to worry more about what was going to happen wi
th Mia than anything else that was going on.

  When I got back to the remodeled part, I saw Mia where I’d left her. A part of me had been sure that she would be gone when I got there. It was the kind of luck I had. She was finally starting to turn it all around, so it figured that she would be taken from me before I could really get my hands on her.

  “I got everything that you asked for, Mia. Are you ready for me?”

  Indecision moved across her face, and I knew that she wasn’t too sure about everything. It was a lot to take on, but I tried to tell myself that it was that way for a reason. She was nervous. It was our first time, after all, and I could understand that she was anxious to see what would happen next. She was going to be in for a surprise, because I was going to make love to her in a way that guaranteed she wouldn’t leave me again. I was going to give it to her so good that Mia was going to forget all about Logan and anyone else but me. She was mine, after all.

  “Wait, Ryland. We can’t do it like this. I mean, look at me. Do you really want me all chained up where I can’t even touch you?”

  She made a good point, but I didn’t know if I could trust her.

  “Are you just trying to get free?”

  Mia shook her head that she wasn’t, but I knew that she was up to something. I wanted her in a real way, not like this, but I didn’t really think that it was an option.

  “Please, Ryland. I don’t want our first time to be like this.”

  I didn’t either, but I was torn on what to do.

  Chapter 4 – Logan

  I watched Ryland leave the sanctuary and followed him to the mall. He obviously had a lot on his mind, because he didn’t even notice that he was being followed. I wanted to see what he was doing. I knew for sure that he knew were Mia was, and I wanted him to take me to her. The longer I sat and chased after him, though, the more I missed Mia and the closer I was to taking Ryland out somewhere and getting the information the hard way.

  I was trying to figure out what he was doing there at the sanctuary in the middle of the night. He wasn’t working. I’d talked to Dana that very day about it, and she’d told me that he usually clocked out around six or seven, so it made me wonder.

  While I was sitting in the parking garage, looking at the man’s car that was still hot under the hood, a thought came to me. I didn’t know if I was right, but I couldn’t wait any longer. A plan formed in my head as I got out of the car and went to the back entrance. Ryland was in such a hurry that he hadn’t even locked it. I wanted to take that as a sign for what was to come.

  When I got into the sanctuary, most of the lights were off and it didn’t look anything like it had when I’d been there before. It looked more sinister, and I almost wished that I’d called the police. I had a strong feeling that there was about to be a problem, one that I created. On second thought, I wasn’t sure if the cops being there was such a good idea. The way that they would want to handle it was far different than the way I was prepared to handle things. I wanted results, now, no matter what.

  I wasn’t searching for Ryland, though. The place was huge, and I knew that there were places there that I didn’t know about. Finding Mia there would be impossible, but I had an idea as I was walking in. It was crazy and I might just pay for it, but it was the only way that I could think to get Mia back in my arms that night. I wasn’t going to wait anymore. I was going to take a chance.

  ***

  “Come on, girl. Mia is missing and I need you to find her.”

  I found the keys where Mia had left them in her lab and I could feel my hands trembling slightly as I opened the locked door. She was looking at me with interest and didn’t seem to have any anger. That gave me a little hope that my plan would work. Rocy was ready to get out of her cage. I really hoped that I knew what I was doing and that my hunch was right.

  Standing back as I opened the door, I told her to go find Mia. She looked at me for a moment and I closed the door behind me before I followed her at a safe distance. Rocy was moving fast, and it was hard to keep up, but it was clear to me that she had a destination in mind. I was finally going to find Mia, I knew that now.

  Rocy was out of sight, but I could hear her panting ahead of me. It felt like we had run for hours, but it was only minutes. My heart was pumping in my chest – and then it stopped for a moment when I heard a loud roar and the scream of a man. I didn’t have to see to know that it was Ryland. He may have been lucky that Rocy found him first.

  Soon I came to where Rocy was licking Mia’s face. The woman I loved was chained to a radiator heater. I walked over Ryland, not caring how badly he was hurt. There was a lot of blood, but I wasn’t paying much attention. All I was worried about was Mia and getting her out of there.

  “Mia. My love. I’m so sorry.” I don’t know what I was apologizing for. Maybe it was because I felt like a complete loser for not getting her the help that she needed. I was worried about everything, but in the end none of it had mattered. All that mattered was that she was back in my arms once again.

  I hugged her for several minutes and I could feel the tears from her eyes running down my neck.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you, Logan.”

  I felt my eyes watering as well, and I didn’t even bother to wipe the tears away. “It wasn’t me, it was her.”

  I pointed to Rocy, who was very close, watching me like a hawk. Mia smiled and hugged the animal’s neck. Her eyes went to Ryland, who was writhing slowly on the ground and groaning in pain. “What about him?”

  Looking back to the man lying in a puddle of blood, I kind of shrugged. I went back to trying to get the chains off.

  “The key is in his inside jacket pocket.”

  Going to the man, I took out the key and released her back into my arms where she was supposed to be. Holding her as tight as I could manage, I left Rocy to watch Ryland before the police showed up. I wanted to leave, but Mia was determined to make sure that she saw him go into the police car and that nothing happened to Rocy.

  Sighing to myself, I waited with her. I wanted to hold her in bed and never let her go. Ask her to marry me, so many things. But for now I was going to have to be content that she was safe and back and that everything was going to be okay. Somehow.

  To be continued in Book 10…

  Fully & Completely Book 10: Their Chance

  By: Ashlee Price

  Prologue

  Mia has been rescued and everything is starting to get back to normal. The months after the kidnapping were filled with unaccustomed fear and anxiety, but Logan was there every step of the way to help her. She doesn’t know what she would have done without him: he was a real godsend.

  Nothing is the same, though, not even between the two of them. Mia finds herself wanting to spend more time alone, trying to process what’s going on, but it’s hard to come to grips with everything. Logan is afraid of pushing her, so he too has retreated a little. But now he realizes that if he doesn’t fix it, they are going to lose their one chance at happiness. He isn’t going to let that happen, so Logan makes a plan to sweep her off her feet again, making her his forever.

  Chapter 1 – Mia

  It was strange seeing Ryland again. He was walking into the courtroom, and today was his sentencing. I’d thought that he would make the trial hard, but instead of fighting or arguing about what happened, he’d just pled guilty to it all. I liked to think that he’d had a change of heart and realized that what he’d done was wrong, but I wasn’t really sure that it was the case. I was more under the impression that he was going to ask for leniency because of his mental health problems. I didn’t know how I felt about it, but as I’d told the judge when he’d asked me, I wasn’t going to sleep well until Ryland was behind bars and couldn’t hurt me again.

  Now he looked different. He was no longer wearing all black like he’d favored before. His face was different because of the long scratch that ran down the side of it. He was marred for life, but I didn’t feel sorry for him. I was left
with scars that were internal and could never go away. I wasn’t ready to forgive him, and I certainly wasn’t happy at the idea of a doctor’s diagnosis taking away all of his culpability. He’d thought it through too much for him to be crazy.

  I waited for the judge to sit down and then, like everyone else in the courtroom, I took a seat. I felt a hand press against mine and then lace fingers through my own. While I’d told Logan that he didn’t have to come, he was adamant that he be there. I wasn’t sure if he thought that Ryland was going to try something or what the worry was, but I did know that he was holding my hand a little harder than he had to. He was just as nervous as I was, and the tight look on his face was hard to see. It had been a long road, and although I wasn’t sure why, Logan had stood by my side through all of it. I wouldn’t ever forget that about him. How he was just there for me without me having to ask.

  He leaned in and reminded me that I didn’t have to be there if I didn’t want to be. I looked down at the hand in mine and realized that I was the one who was squeezing too hard. I hadn’t thought that I would feel the way I did about it all, but seeing Ryland again brought back all of the anxiety that I’d felt before. I didn’t want to be there, but I knew that I had to be for my own mental health.

  “No, I got to do this.”

  Logan nodded like he understood and pulled our hands until they were on his lap. Then he kissed mine. It was his way of telling me that he was there for me, and there wasn’t a better feeling in the world. I knew that everything was going to be okay, as long as he was by my side.

  The judge rapped the gavel onto the small block of wood in front of him. All of the talking amongst the people there to watch stopped. Even I was holding my breath. I wanted to hear it, and I could feel myself leaning forward as if I wasn’t going to be able to hear it unless I did so. I wasn’t the only one. Ryland and the kidnapping was a big story in Chicago, and beyond the reporters who were going to write stories on it, there were plenty of looky-loos there as well to fill up the place. Some people hadn’t gotten seats and were standing, but no one moved a muscle as they waited for the judge to speak.