The Cowboy's Dark Desires (Billionaire BDSM Steamy Romance)

by Irons, Rose

  ~

  It took Bella a long time after she finished her first day’s work to actually find her employer. The sun was already beginning to slip behind the hills, coloring them a brilliant orange, by the time she found the Baron in his study.

  “My lord,” she curtseyed, thinking it couldn’t hurt, “my day’s work is done. With your permission, I’ll take my leave and return tomorrow.”

  He stood so swiftly she was taken aback. For some reason she had expected that he would ignore her announcement, but now he was before her, his face coloring in anger and some other, unnameable emotion.

  “Return?”

  “Oh.” Bella fumbled, feeling a flush of embarrassment. “If my work hasn’t pleased you, of course – ”

  “No.” The Baron cut her off with a single, decisive gesture. “Your service was satisfactory, Ms. Peters. I meant that you can’t leave.”

  Bella gaped. “Sir?”

  The Baron turned away from her and stared out the window at the setting sun. It illuminated his face with an orange glow, filling it with fire and shadow and coloring the strange look in his eyes. “While you are in my employ, you must stay here. It isn’t safe that you leave this castle so late at night.”

  “But sir…” Bella hesitated. “My father needs care.”

  He cut her off once more. “Am I not paying you so that your father can receive care? I ask very little from those in my employ, Ms. Peters. This is my condition.”

  Bella bit her lip. “Yes, my lord. I will be happy to stay the night. But I must make arrangements for my father tomorrow.”

  “Good.” The Baron brooded, his gaze far off in the distance. “And Ms. Peters?”

  “Bella, my lord. Please.” She tried a smile, but he did not look her way.

  “Bella.” He said the name slowly, as though tasting it. “Do not leave your room at night. Strange things have happened in these halls, and it is my duty as your employer to keep you safe.”

  A thrill of foreboding passed through Bella, making her knees weak and strangely bringing forth the inappropriate thoughts she had had about the Baron previously to the fore. “Yes, my lord,” she stammered, trying to keep the image of him shirtless from her mind. She was sure her face was red once more. “I will do as you ask.”

  “Good,” he said again, never looking her way. “You may go. You will find rooms at the end of the hall have been made up for you. If you have any problems, you may let me know.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “And Bella?”

  She paused, in the middle of letting herself out.

  “Yes, my lord?”

  The Baron turned back to her finally, a hard look in his dark eyes. “Your problems can wait until the morning. Don’t disturb me before then.”

  She swallowed against the threat in his voice. “Yes, my lord. I understand.”

  ~

  That night, as Bella lay awake wondering what she had gotten herself into, she heard strange noises long into the deep twilight hours. Several times, it sounded as though heavy footfalls were echoing through the halls. Each time she sat up, shivering, and stared at her door in a panic.

  But the knob never turned. Once she could have sworn she heard heavy breathing, but the Baron’s promise seemed true: as long as she remained in her quarters, she would be safe from whatever strange beast roamed the castle halls.

  But it was impossible to sleep. And more than once, as Bella lay awake, she heard a long and mournful cry, as though her own sorrow and fear were shared by something else in the night.

  ~

  “You're being safe?”

  Bella sighed and answered the question for the fifth time. “Yes, Dad. I can handle the job. And the salary is good for us.”

  “All right.” Her father's voice was querulous. “But you're being careful?”

  Bella ignored the question and continued packing up her father's clothes. She hoped he wouldn't need to stay at the assisted living home long, only a few weeks until she could get her employment situation settled. The Baron had been harsh, but she didn't think he would be unreasonable. Something in his eyes had given her the feeling there was a gentle side to him. She only hoped it wasn't buried too deeply.

  “Bella.”

  She raised her head at the sharp tone in her father's voice. “What? I'm sorry, Dad.”

  “You're a million miles away. I was talking.” He gave her a long look. His blue eyes, though faded, as always saw too much. “The Baron von Ursus is supposed to be handsome.”

  Bella blushed. “Dad!”

  “I'm just saying.” Her father gave her another one of his looks. “Rich men are just like other men, Bella. They only have one thing on their minds, and nothing to stop them from taking it.”

  “Dad,” Bella said, exasperated. “The Baron has been a gentleman. He isn't going to try anything.”

  Her father gave a disbelieving noise, but he returned to helping her with packing.

  It took much longer for Bella to move on from the conversation. Rich men might be just like other men, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the Baron was different.

  Nor could she shake the memory of his hair falling over his eyes.

  ~

  It was hard to keep her mind to scrubbing and dusting after all she had seen and heard. Bella had always thought of herself as a steady person any employer could count on, but even her scarce interactions with the Baron had set her curiosity afire and her heart to racing. Who was this mysterious man? Why did he want to keep her here? What did he mean that it wasn't safe - and what were those frightening noises she had heard the night before?

  Her visit with her father had done nothing to settle her nerves. It took all Bella had to complete her day's work on time without ever doing more than glancing up out of the corners of her eyes to make sure no one - man or beast - was watching her as she moved.

  But nothing untoward happened. Still feeling the unease, Bella sought out the Baron, wanting to let him know she was finished... and something else.

  He was working in his study, where he had been hours ago as she came through cleaning. The man had hardly moved. Only an errant lock of hair had fallen out of place, making her feel the inappropriate desire to move to his side and brush it back.

  "My lord?"

  "Yes, Bella."

  She blinked. She hadn't been expecting him to remember her name. It sounded sweet on his lips. "My lord, I've finished."

  "Yes, Bella. Is that all?"

  The question hung in the air, almost a challenge. Only now did he glance at her, his dark eyes flicking her way and sizing her up all at once, as though he had seen to the very depths of her soul and understood without words the question she so desired to ask.

  Taking a deep breath, Bella asked it. "Sir... why is there a beast roaming these grounds?"

  The Baron looked away, "You heard something last night?"

  "I did." She hurried to add, "Only from my room, my lord. I stayed in ask you ordered."

  "Good." The Baron sighed and lowered his pen to the paper once more, though he did not write. "A long time ago someone in my family did something foolish. The beast is a result of that. Don't let it trouble you."

  "But sir..." Bella bit her lip. "It sounds so lonely."

  He stared at her then in shock, his eyes wide and vulnerable. "What?" he asked, his voice harsh with surprise.

  Almost again, Bella caught herself wanting to go to him. Whatever the truth of this beast was, it haunted the Baron. "My lord, I only meant..."

  "Forget it." He passed a hand over his eyes, his expression returning to its normal stoic beauty. "Do you hear me, Bella? Forget it. Go to your room, if you have finished your labors, and stay there."

  "Yes, sir," she whispered, and fled.

  ~

  Her life fell into a strange sort of routine. And though Bella had promised herself she would soon ask again about returning to her apartment with her father, it somehow never seemed the right time to ask the Baron to ch
ange the terms of their agreement.

  Most of the time, he was cold and brusque with her, but then there were moments he was almost kind. When he found her polishing a medal of his father's with especial care, he said nothing, but there were flowers in Bella's room that night when she retired. It began to matter more to her than Bella liked to admit, finding little things she could do for him to please him.

  Those were the good times. And then...

  And then there were moments when he looked at her, and her whole world seemed to disappear except for his eyes.

  She found herself daydreaming about him as she worked, not only as an employer she wanted to please, but as something more. Her father's warning rang in her mind, but Bella couldn't help herself.

  The way he moved, his muscles rippling under his shirt... how his hair fell over his eyes... and the way his lips caressed her name.

  “Bella.”

  Startled out of her reverie, Bella stood, flustered. She could feel her face burning and prayed it wasn't too noticeable in the dim light. He moved as softly as a predator stalking prey, and she had been surprised by him more than once, but never before while she was thinking such... things.

  Bella cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. “Sir?”

  “I wanted to show you something.”

  The tone of the Baron's voice gave nothing away, but set Bella's heart to pounding nonetheless. She nodded. “As you wish, sir.”

  He turned and walked away without waiting to see if she would follow.

  Bella hurried after the Baron as he lead her through Castle von Ursus' winding halls. His long strides kept him far ahead of her, far enough that she kept being distracted by his form as he walked, especially the way his buttocks clenched...

  She shook her head and tried to keep pace without being distracted.

  The Baron led her through the halls so quickly she was very nearly lost, even after she had been cleaning the castle top to bottom. Finally, he led her out into the grounds behind the castle from a small door she had never before noticed.

  Bella tried to gather her breath to ask where they were going, but he stopped not long after, in front of a small stone cottage that must have once been the home of a gardener or groundskeeper back when the castle held a larger family.

  Now, of course, it was only the two of them.

  “I wanted to you to see this.” The Baron's voice was quiet and strangely withdrawn. “I know how much it's been bothering you to have your father far away. This cottage hasn't been used in some time, but I wanted you to know it was here.”

  He took a deep breath. “If you wish, I will have it repaired so your father can live here on these grounds for as long as you work for me.”

  Bella's heart leapt in her chest. She didn't know what to say. She had been second guessing herself, wondering if she had made up all of her thoughts of the Baron's inner gentle side, but this – she had never expected he would do something like this.

  “Sir...” she whispered, overcome. “I don't know what to say.”

  The Baron smiled. “Does that mean you like it?”

  “Sir...” Bella stared at him, marveling.

  Not daring to think too much about what she was about to do, Bella took a step forward and kissed him.

  His eyes widened in surprise, and then closed. Bella felt an electric shock pass between them, a pang of need so strong she might not have believed it if, when she broke away, the Baron hadn't had the same look, dumbfounded, on his face.

  “Thank you, sir.” She whispered. “I won't forget this.”

  ~

  That night, Bella lay awake for long hours, remembering the Baron's lips on hers. How could she have been so daring? And yet, every time she thought on it, she felt a desire like she had never known and didn't think she would have ever been able to have him be so kind and not want to kiss him.

  What was she going to do?

  But surely the Baron wouldn't fire her – he knew she appreciated the gesture, that was all.

  Bella tried to calm her beating heart and keep her thoughts from him, but it was hard, so hard not to imagine kissing him once more, sliding her hands down his muscled arms and letting him clutch her tightly. Feeling their bodies press together as they bared their flesh, drinking each other in. The way it would feel when he buried his cock deep inside her...

  A mournful cry echoed through the castle, shattering her fantasy.

  Whatever beast roamed these halls sounded particularly pained tonight. It made her heart ache until she could bear it no longer. Somehow she knew in her heart of hearts it was in pain. Something or someone had changed things here in the castle, and Bella had the sinking feeling it was her.

  Sliding from her four-poster bed, she moved to the door on bare feet. The luxurious carpet gave no sound as she tiptoed across it, her silken nightgown brushing soundlessly against her smooth legs. She knew she shouldn't. But she had to.

  The knob too worked quietly, as though the whole room was conspiring to free her. Taking a deep breath, Bella stepped out into the hall.

  She could see nothing in the gloom of the night-shrouded castle, but footfalls not her own still echoed on the stone. Bella was not alone here.

  Her heart beating so loudly she felt sure someone would hear, Bella took one step, then another. Still no one.

  She turned the corner, and found herself face to face with the beast.

  A dark form loomed before her, great and terrifying. At first, she thought it was turned away, that she might back up and it would never know, but then the great head swung towards her, and Bella knew she had been caught.

  She froze, heart pounding.

  Oh please, oh please, pass me by.

  But her prayers fell on deaf ears, and the dark shape did not pass her by.

  Instead, it loomed before her, greater even than she would have thought possible by the sound of its footfalls and the size of the castle halls. It seemed blurry and indistinct in the dark until she realized that the shape itself was indistinct. It was a great beast after all, one covered in fur.

  She thought at first it stood on two legs like a man, but as it approached it was on all fours. Bella could smell it now, a deep musky smell that filled her with terror and a strange longing. Heart in her throat, she waited to die.

  But the blow she expected never came.

  Instead, she heard a heavy breathing and realized the beast was smelling her. She could feel a soft exhale on her belly, then her thighs, as the creature lowered its head. The thin gauze of her nightgown swayed with the beast’s breath, but Bella didn’t dare move away lest it provoke the creature into attacking.

  It breathed in deeply once more, and Bella felt a cool wetness press against her legs. The beast’s nose touched her through the thin silk of her nightgown. She struggled not to flinch or scream.

  The nose traced its way down her leg, until it reached the hem of her nightgown and its muzzle brushed against her bare ankle. She could feel its warm breath on her fair skin.

  Her pussy tingled with each exhalation. Now she pressed her lips together not to hold back a scream, but a moan. Why was her body responding to the touch of such a beast? How could this be happening?

  If the beast was smelling her, then he – and Bella suddenly felt very sure the beast was a he, though she could not have said why – he must know of her desire. The thought was strangely troubling.

  She felt him exhale once more, her nightgown swaying and her traitor body responding. The beast’s head lifted, and she felt as though she was being studied.

  With a low whimper she was not able to suppress, Bella closed her eyes, terror once more winning out. Whatever was happening here, she did not know if she could take it. This night had grown so strange, and she was not ready to die.

  Seconds lengthened into long moments with her heart in her throat. As her pulse calmed, Bella dared to open her eyes once more.

  She was alone in the darkened halls of the castle Ursus. Whatever beast h
ad come for her, it had passed her by. She had come to no harm in the night.

  ~

  "Bella."

  She looked up from her labors at the sound of the Baron's voice, unusually gentle. "My lord?"

  "A moment of your time."

  Bella bit her lip and stared after his retreating form. He must have known what she had done. Or maybe he wanted to speak about the kiss the day before.

  She sighed, almost too tired to be nervous. Everything in this house was shrouded in mystery, and even though she was trying to make a difference here, she couldn't help feeling she was making things worse.