BEND ME: A Dark Romance

by Leah Wilde

  The door to Paulie’s office was already open, and Fiona was halfway inside the room before she noticed that someone was there, sitting at Paulie’s desk. At first glance, she thought it was Guido, but on second look, she realized that it was someone else entirely, someone she’d never seen before. It was a young man with thick, dark hair, his head bent over in one large broad hand. He was just staring down at Paulie’s desk, his other hand slowly tracing circles on the surface of the desk, right next to an overturned coffee cup and a huge stack of papers.

  Fiona was tempted to say something. Anything. She didn’t know why, but the deep sadness in the man’s eyes called to her, like a rope tugging around her waist. But she held herself back, just staring at him. She knew she was being rude, gaping at somebody who was obviously in the clutches of grief. But she gave herself a few more seconds, drinking in the image of the handsome young man, who looked like he had a shroud of darkness hovering around him like a heavy raincloud.

  He deserves to grieve in peace, she finally told herself, backing up out of the room and gently shutting the door gently behind her. But somehow, she felt like she understood his pain, even if she’d never seen him before. She felt like she carried the same pain in her heart, an ache that could never be filled.

  Chapter Three

  Vince watched out of the corner of his eye as the beautiful woman receded from Paulie’s office, which apparently belonged to him now, according to the will waiting for him on the top of the desk. Jesus Christ, Vince thought to himself as he reached over for his father’s last will and testament, rereading the part that said, “I leave all executive functions of Romano Enterprises, including all its affiliated companies, to my eldest son, Vincent Antonio Romano.” Vince ran his fingers over his own name, halfway hoping he could make the words disappear if he read them enough times. The whole thing felt so surreal, like something out of a drug-fueled nightmare.

  He didn’t have time to agonize over it, though, as there was a knock at the door a few moments later. When he didn’t call out in response, the door swung open, revealing his younger brother Guido, standing there with a scowl on his face. “Have you read it yet?” he asked through clenched teeth.

  Vince nodded slowly. Well, actually, he hadn’t read the whole document from start to finish, but he saw the part that mattered, the part that denied Guido control over the business. “How did you guys find it so quickly?”

  “It was in the top drawer of his desk,” Guido said with a shrug. “One of the servants found it, probably searching for cash or something.” He chuckled bitterly, shaking his head.

  Vince could practically see tangible waves of rage wafting off of Guido, barely contained in his tiny body. It wasn’t like Vince didn’t understand why his brother was so angry. Despite the fact that he was the younger brother, Guido had spent the last ten years learning the business from their father, determined to become the next don. Yet here the will was, the terms written in black and white, plain as day. Vince was the heir, not Guido, and he didn’t even know why he was chosen.

  Regardless, Vince had another question in his head, currently taking precedence over his father’s will. “Did you see that girl that passed by here a few minutes ago?” he asked Guido.

  His younger brother rolled his eyes, probably annoyed that Vince appeared to be on the lookout for a piece of tail mere hours after their father’s death. “I’ve told you about her before, remember? Fiona? Dad’s assistant?”

  “Oh,” Vince said. “The one who Dad….?”

  “Fucked?” Guido answered for him, a slow grin spreading across his face, making him look like a rabid animal. “Yeah, he drilled that gold mine, if you know what I mean.”

  Vince grimaced, his mind suddenly filled with dozens of disgusting images, mental pictures of his older father nailing the beautiful young woman he’d just caught staring at him moments before. It was revolting for several reasons, actually, especially the fact that his dad had been married to his mother for thirty-odd years now. “And it’s been going on for how long? A year? I’m surprised Mom didn’t kill Dad herself.”

  Guido shrugged, clearly unconcerned. “Mom’s tough. She gets it.”

  “You sure about that?” Vince asked, feeling highly skeptical that his intense, controlling mother would just tolerate being disrespected that way.

  “Well,” Guido said, chewing on his bottom lip briefly, “I think she was gearing up to fire her, actually.”

  Vince felt a weird mix of emotions at that. “Really? Because of the affair?”

  “I guess,” Guido said with a shrug. “Anyway, if you’re going to try to hit that, first of all, good luck because I haven’t been able to get it in yet. And second of all, try to make it happen fast because she might not be here tomorrow.”

  Vince bit the inside of his cheek, fighting with himself to hold back the words he was so tempted to say. Ah, fuck it, he finally thought. “Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s up to me whether she stays or goes,” he said casually, pointing to his father’s will, which still rested on the desk in front of him.

  Anger flickered across Guido’s face, lighting up his eyes for a moment before they went blank again. “You want to deal with it?” he said stiffly. “You’ve never fired anyone before, have you?”

  Vince shrugged, even though the answer was clearly a “no.” He picked up his father’s will and waved it in the air like a flag. “This gives me the power to do it now, right?”

  Guido stared at him for a long moment, his jaw clenching and unclenching, apparently fighting to stay calm while Vince exerted his new authority. He finally nodded and forced a fake smile, saying, “I’ll send her in so you can do the honors,” before turning and walking out, slamming the door to the office behind him so hard, the objects on the shelves trembled like they were struck by an earthquake’s vibrations.

  Vince stood still, feeling his blood pump harder in his veins as a result of his newfound power. In the past, whenever he was surrounded by his family, he felt so out of control, especially when his mother was around. That was the big reason why he ran away to the city in the first place. But now, thanks to his father’s last act on this earth, Vince was sitting on the throne. He felt almost overwhelmed, his body shaking a little bit as he realized the extent of his new power.

  The door opened a moment later, and the woman from before, Fiona, stepped inside. “Hello, sir,” she said politely as she shut the door behind her.

  “Do you know who I am?” Vince asked, folding his hands behind his back. His fingers were still trembling a little bit, and he didn’t want to reveal the strange sense of anxiety that he was feeling at the moment.

  “Guido told me you’re his brother. Congratulations, by the way, about the job,” Fiona said, a lot more confidently than Vince had expected. She looked directly into his eyes, staring unblinkingly, but her own eyes were calm. Assured. She clearly wasn’t as nervous as he felt right now, trying to get a handle on his new position.

  “Thanks, why don’t you have a seat?” he gestured to the chair on the other side of his father’s desk. Fiona immediately complied, and Vince felt a familiar spark of sensation at the base of his stomach, just watching her obey his command. She seemed so comfortable doing what he said, even though he himself remained standing, practically leaning over her at this point. Fiona looked up at him with wide, innocent-looking eyes, and he felt something crack open in his chest, like a hibernating animal finally shaking himself awake after a long winter’s slumber. She was beautiful, yes, but it wasn’t about that. There was something else to this girl, some secret energy simmering under the surface of her skin that Vince felt only he could detect.

  He was keenly aware that several seconds had passed without him saying anything, but his tongue had gone dry within his mouth, just from staring down at her. He couldn’t help but imagine what she would look like on her knees, bending in submission to him. Jesus, he almost popped a boner just thinking about it.

  But the next second, he felt re
pulsed by himself, almost physically cringing back from Fiona in disgust at his own lust. His father had bedded this woman, for Christ’s sake! He definitely couldn’t go around hitting on her. She was off-limits, until the end of time.

  Vince almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. The one woman he found that had potential to be his Sub, and she was the one woman he couldn’t touch.

  Chapter Four

  Fiona was trying as hard as she could to be professional. That was the most important thing, to come off self-assured and confident and strong. And useful. Above all things, Fiona had to be useful, otherwise she didn’t know how to operate.

  But it was really hard to make a positive first impression when her new boss seemed so strange, staring down at her with burning eyes like she’d just committed a terrible crime. She concentrated all her energy on not fidgeting, keeping her hands still in her lap to convey that his behavior hadn’t affected her at all, even if all her internal organs were churning up a storm inside her stomach.

  “So,” Vince finally said, clearing his throat and looking away from her sharply. “We need to have a discussion about your place in this business.”

  Fiona inhaled deeply, preparing herself to hear the worst. When she learned a few minutes earlier from one of the servants that Guido had been passed over for his father’s position, she’d hoped that she would be able to hold onto her job, even if the new don wasn’t as nice as the previous one and could potentially cut her pay. But now it was happening. She was going to be fired, and then she’d run out of money to pay her dad’s medical bills, and then the doctors wouldn’t give him the surgery he needed to survive, and then…

  “I understand that you were essential to my father in his last months. Thank you for that,” Vince said, but his face was stern and hard, his eyebrows furrowed together like she’d said something to offend him.

  “You’re welcome,” Fiona answered a little uncertainly, continuing to maintain eye contact with Vince. Looking away would mean admitting defeat, somehow, even though she knew it was irrational to think that way. “He was important to me, too.”

  “Yeah, I bet,” Vince said, clicking his tongue from behind his teeth. Fiona suddenly felt even more uncomfortable, her skin crawling like a thousand tiny bugs decided to use her body as a dance floor. “Honestly, it’s not a problem. I get it. But your relationship with me won’t be like that, okay? It’s going to be strictly professional.”

  For a long moment, Fiona had no idea what he meant, turning his words in her head over and over again, trying to understand what he was getting at. But then it hit her, all at once, like a sudden burst of cold rain right over her head. She honestly felt like she was about to throw up. Vince was intimating that she’d had sex with his father!

  Fiona leapt to her feet, feeling her face go hot with embarrassment and anger at the same time. “Excuse me, sir, but I think you’re confused,” she said, her tone coming out harder and harsher than she intended. But at this point, she really didn’t care. She’d never felt so disgusted and insulted in her entire life. Paulie Romano was important to her. He gave her a chance when nobody else did, but the idea that they had an affair together repulsed her to her core. “My relationship with your father was purely professional.”

  Vince looked at her skeptically, his disbelief written clearly all over his face. “Sure. Well, anyway, I just wanted to be clear with you—”

  Fiona cut Vince off, waving her hand forward to get him to stop talking. “No, let me be clear. I don’t know who told you otherwise, but I never slept with your father. Period. End of story.” Fiona glared up at her would-be boss, watching his gaze flick back and forth between her own eyes, like he was trying to read her mind and see if she was telling the truth. She groaned and shook her head. “You know what, that’s it. I’ll be submitting my resignation later today. Thank you for your time.”

  She turned on her heel and headed for the door, marching as powerfully as she could, even though behind her eyes a hot, stinging sensation threatened to spill over. I’m not going to fucking cry, she told herself, hardening her own jaw. It’s not going to fucking happen. Not over this. Not over these assholes. Fiona reached for the handle of the door, but before she could push it open, she heard scuffling noises that caught her attention, causing her to freeze in place for a moment.

  The next second, Vince’s hand clamped down on her shoulder, keeping her in place. “Wait, wait, please. Just give me a minute,” Vince said, slowly turning her around to face him. Fiona kept her jaw set and her gaze vicious as she looked up at the new don, wanting him to be aware of how much she hated him in this moment. She’d never felt so disrespected before, and she wasn’t going to yield to his commands easily.

  Vince blew out his breath and pulled his hand away, gesturing for her to sit back down again. This time, she refused, crossing her arms to display her discomfort rather than pretending for Vince’s benefit. But Vince didn’t push, apparently sensing that she wasn’t going to budge. “All right, well, just let me explain myself. I’ve never met you before today. I don’t know anything about you—”

  “Yeah, that’s right,” Fiona said, cutting him off again. “You don’t.”

  “That’s fair. That’s totally fair,” Vince said, nodding at her. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have judged you that way when I haven’t even met you before. I was just going off of what my brother said.”

  “Oh, Guido?” Fiona said, scoffing. “Yeah, he sure seems like a trustworthy source.”

  Vince laughed then, sounding much younger and looser than he had before. “Good point. He does like to run his mouth. Listen, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have insinuated that you slept with my father. It was really uncalled-for.”

  Fiona stared up into Vince’s eyes, searching for any sign of deception, but she couldn’t find any. Instead, she discovered only genuine emotion, real sorrow and regret for what he’d said. She felt like his eyes were penetrating her armor a little bit, until she felt her heart sink in sympathy for him. After all, his father had died just hours before. Maybe he deserved a second chance.

  She sighed deeply and walked around him to the chair in front of the desk, sitting down and waiting expectantly for him to come sit across from her. “Well?” she said, turning in her seat to face him after a few moments of awkward silence. “You want to get to know the business, don’t you?”

  Vince smiled at her, and for a brief second, Fiona felt like she could feel the warmth of the sun on her face, shining down on her from above. She shook her head at herself as soon as Vince wasn’t looking at her, silently admonishing herself for feeling at all flirtatious towards the man who’d just insulted her so badly. Don’t be an idiot, she said as Vince walked back to sit down at his father’s desk. Just because he’s attractive doesn’t mean he’s a good person. It doesn’t mean he wants you. It doesn’t mean you should want him.

  # # #

  “Okay, so here’s where your father keeps—kept, I’m sorry, kept—the files on the Mexican connection,” Fiona said, pulling out a drawer from the underside of the desk.

  “Uh-huh,” Vince said, pretending to pay attention, when really, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the curve of Fiona’s ass, which stuck out as she bent over to pull various file folders out of the desk drawer. It was almost like she was trying to tempt him. God, her ass looked so plump, so firm and muscular yet juicy at the same time. Vince would love to smack his hand against that ass, to make it sting, to mark it up, to claim it as his own. He’d only met this girl about an hour earlier, and already, he was imagining what it would be like to take her into his playroom, especially now that he knew that she hadn’t actually fucked his dad. She was pure, untouched. Perfect for him. But would she be willing? If she saw what he really was, would she be tempted to run away…or climb up into the darkness with him?

  “And this is the connection with the Persian Empire, which as you know, has been very active over the past few years,” Fiona said, pointing to a boo
kshelf against the wall, but Vince was lost in the curves of her body, the way her skin shone with an inner light that drew him in. He could stare at her for hours—for days, even.

  But the next second, she dropped a stack of files loudly on top of the desk, tearing Vince’s attention away from her body temporarily. “What? Huh?” he asked.

  “Just as I suspected,” Fiona said, folding her arms across her chest and staring down at him with a stern expression on her face. “You’re not paying attention to what I’m saying.”

  “Yes, I am!” Vince protested, but Fiona just shook her head and smirked.

  “The Persian Empire connection, Vince? That’s ridiculous. I was testing you, and you didn’t react! You aren’t hearing a single word I’m saying, are you?”

  Vince sighed and hung his head between his shoulders, admitting defeat. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a hard day. I’m distracted.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but given that Fiona probably assumed his distraction was because of his father’s death, it wasn’t exactly the truth, either.