by Julia Sykes
My entire body flushed, and my heart fluttered in my chest. My stomach did a funny flip, and my mouth went dry.
It was another drawing of me. But this time, I was naked. Bound with rope.
And Joseph was standing behind me, holding the coil as he wrapped it around my body.
“What…” I gasped for air. “What is this?”
“It’s you and Joseph, obviously.”
My heart leapt into my throat, and I tried to swallow it down so I could speak. “He wouldn’t… He’d never…”
Marco made a soft humming noise, considering. “So, he hasn’t tied up his pretty little princess? Does he not want to pervert his perfect angel?”
Angel. Joseph’s sweet name for me was heavy with mockery.
“This is… You’re…” I couldn’t find the words to express my feelings. They were jumbled, my emotions roiling. I was too hot; I was practically panting. Marco was far too close, his body heat stifling.
“There’s that pretty blush,” he observed, his voice thick with pleasure I’d never heard from him. “You are innocent, aren’t you?”
I wasn’t blushing. I was burning up. I had to get away from Marco before the inferno engulfed me.
The sketchbook slipped from my hands, and I darted past Marco, sucking in a deep breath as I rushed through the bedroom door. His low, dark chuckle followed me out into the hall and down the stairs.
When I burst into the kitchen, I flung my arms around Joseph, looking to him for the protection he’d promised. He cradled me against his strong body, holding me with care.
“What’s wrong, angel?”
“Marco. He…” I took a deep breath. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Joseph about what I’d seen. It was too lewd, too embarrassing. The image of Joseph looming behind me holding the coil of rope burned in my mind. “You’d never… hurt me, right?”
“Of course not.” He curled two fingers beneath my chin, lifting my face to his. “Did Marco say something that scared you again?”
I bit my lip. I’d been the one to pry into his privacy and look at his sketches. Marco had every right to be angry at me for that.
But he hadn’t been angry. He’d been… I wasn’t sure how to describe the thick atmosphere that had built around us as he loomed over me, commanding me to look at the perverted depiction of me with Joseph. Why would he draw something like that?
I didn’t answer Joseph’s question directly. I simply hugged him tighter.
“I don’t like him,” I whispered.
“Marco won’t hurt you,” he promised. “And I won’t, either. I’d never hurt you, Ashlyn. All I want is for you to be safe and happy.”
I nodded against his chest, knowing he fully believed what he was saying about his dangerous friend. I wasn’t at all certain that I was safe around Marco. He made my belly quiver and my pulse race.
“Stay with me?” I pleaded, not wanting to leave Joseph’s side with Marco in the house.
“I’m right here,” he reassured me, stroking his hand up and down my back. “I’ve got you.”
With that promise, I finally relaxed into his strong arms, knowing deep in my soul that he would protect me.
Chapter Ten
Joseph
“If you’re down here, I’m guessing she’s still asleep,” Marco said as I joined him in the kitchen for breakfast. “You can’t even leave her for five seconds while she’s conscious. You two are kind of nauseating in real life.”
“What do you mean in real life?”
He shrugged. “When I sent people to find you, they took pictures of you together. You looked happy. Then, once you came back home, I saw how you were without her. You were completely fucked up. I thought bringing her here would make you happy again.”
“I am happy,” I said, not really understanding where he was going with this.
He turned the stove off and faced me, abandoning his bacon. His eyes were intent on me, his mouth drawn and serious.
“You’re not being yourself with her. You’re holding back.”
My brows rose. “And how would you know anything about that? Is this about what you said to her last night? I know you scared her again. She was practically shaking when she came downstairs for dinner. You have to stop fucking doing that. Ashlyn isn’t from our world. She’s innocent and gentle, and—”
“She’s definitely innocent,” he cut me off. “That’s why you’re so obsessed with her. You want her innocence.”
“That’s part of it,” I admitted. “I like that she’s not part of our world.”
“That’s not what I mean. You want to take that innocence. You want to corrupt her.”
My fists curled at my sides. “I don’t.”
“Don’t lie, Joseph. I know you better than anyone. You like that she’s so sweet and pure, but you want her to be your dirty little angel, just for you.”
“Fuck off.” I couldn’t hear any more. I couldn’t bear to hear the awful truth I’d been trying to deny. I wanted to shelter Ashlyn from all the ugly things in my life. I wasn’t ashamed of my kinks, but I knew she would be frightened by them. I wouldn’t do that to her.
“She saw my sketches,” he announced, keeping me fixed in his implacable stare.
Anger surged. “You showed those to her?” Marco’s sketches were supposed to be private, something only the two of us knew about.
“No. I found her snooping. She was staring at them, Joseph. She didn’t know I was watching her. Those pretty pink lips were parted, her eyes wide. I could practically see her pulse jumping at her throat.”
“Because she was scared. You scared her.” If Marco was trying to allay my anger, he was only riling it.
“Maybe she was scared. Just a little. Just the right amount. You should have seen her, Joseph. She couldn’t stop staring. And when I showed her the one of the two of you together, she licked her lips and blushed the prettiest shade of pink. I don’t think she even realized it. She wants it, Joseph.”
“She doesn’t,” I countered, even though something tugged in my chest. “She ran down here after. She was holding me so tight, and she was trembling.”
“I like seeing a woman tremble,” he said, his eyes sparking with a rare hint of light. I wasn’t the only one who found Ashlyn’s innocence alluring.
“She doesn’t like you,” I informed him, the words paining me. I hated that she seemed to dislike my best friend so much that she’d seek shelter from him in my arms. “You can’t keep scaring her like this.”
“She wasn’t scared. Not of the drawings and not of me. She was scared of how they made her feel. Stop pretending to be someone you’re not, Joseph. If you really are meant to be together, she’ll accept you as you are. She’ll welcome it.”
“You don’t know her like I do. You didn’t know her in Cambridge. She’s led a charmed life, Marco. I was relieved she wasn’t a virgin. I’d thought she might be when I first met her. That’s how innocent she is.”
“And that’s part of why you want her,” he circled back around to the crux of his argument. “How long do you think you can keep fucking her like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re some vanilla, boring man with a vanilla, boring life. You might not like our violent world, but you do like your toys. You like playing with women, dominating them. You like the control. You know this about yourself. I know this about you. Ashlyn isn’t made of glass. In fact, I’m sure she’s quite flexible. Can’t you imagine what she’d look like, tied up in your ropes?” His voice got rougher as he spoke, his dark words affecting him as much as they were tempting me.
“We can’t,” I forced out. “I can’t. Ashlyn’s not built for that kind of play.”
“I think she is. I think she was made for it. She wouldn’t be so infatuated with you, otherwise. I’ve seen the way she looks at you, the way she reacts when you touch her. Think about it, Joseph. She’s innocent, but you could be the first one to corrupt her.”
The first one? Fuck tha
t. There wouldn’t be anyone else in her future. She was staying here, with Marco and me.
“I don’t want to discuss this anymore,” I said in clipped tones. “I’m not going to do anything that might frighten her. She’s scared enough as it is. A couple of days ago, she was a normal college student whose biggest worry was studying for finals. Now, she’s faced with the fact that she’s caught in the middle of a war within our family. She’s dealing with enough as it is. It’s a miracle she’s not trying to claw my eyes out for keeping her captive. She’s agreed to stay here, under our protection. If that means I have to protect her from myself, from us, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“Then it’s my mistake to make. Ashlyn is my responsibility, Marco. Mine.”
He flinched ever so slightly. If I hadn’t known him so well, I wouldn’t have even noticed it.
I knew he was interested in her. Any man would want her, but Ashlyn’s innocence would call to him as strongly as it allured me. Marco’s reasons for finding her appealing might be different from mine, but we’d always wanted the same women. That had never been a problem before. We liked to share.
But he didn’t understand Ashlyn like I did. He didn’t know her at all.
I’d do whatever it took to keep her happy, including denying my perversions and shielding her from Marco’s darker urges.
Chapter Eleven
Ashlyn
A week had passed since I’d seen Marco’s perverted drawings, but I still hadn’t told Joseph about them. It would be weird to tell him about his friend’s intimate, kinky sketches.
Wouldn’t it?
I couldn’t shake the image from my mind: Joseph looming behind me with a coil of rope. Every time he pinned me to the mattress or pushed me up against the wall, trapping me in place while he fucked me, the lewd drawing would pop into my head.
It was distracting.
Inappropriate.
And it always entered my mind right as I reached orgasm.
But I couldn’t tell Joseph about it. He’d think I was a pervert for even looking at Marco’s drawings. I couldn’t imagine what he’d say if I told him I thought about them when I climaxed. Not to mention what it might do to their friendship if Joseph found out that Marco had drawn me like that, bound and naked. Joseph might not seem particularly possessive of me when his friend was around, but this was on a whole other level. I highly doubted Marco showed Joseph his sketches. It would be like sharing porn, and that was just weird. Men didn’t do that.
Did they?
I supposed I didn’t really know that much about men. I’d had one boyfriend for a month in junior year of high school, and I’d dated a guy freshman year of college—Jimmy. He’d cheated on me, so I’d ended the relationship. I hadn’t really felt much of a connection, but the betrayal still stung. It only set me further back with my deeply-ingrained trust issues.
I’d thought I could move past those issues when I’d first met Joseph, but it turned out he’d been deceiving me all along; he hadn’t told me about his criminal lifestyle. There was honesty between us now, but I was still holding back my feelings for him. He hadn’t fully earned my trust back.
That barrier between us prevented me from bringing up Marco’s drawing. I couldn’t reveal the depth of my depraved thoughts to Joseph. Not when I couldn’t put my heart in his hands without hesitation or fear of getting hurt.
“What’s wrong, angel?” Joseph called me out of my brooding thoughts.
“Nothing.” I sighed and leaned my cheek against his shoulder, trying to focus on the TV again. We’d moved on from Stranger Things to Sons of Anarchy. I liked the show, but it wasn’t enough to hold my attention when I couldn’t get that lewd drawing out of my head.
Joseph picked up the remote and turned off the TV before turning to face me. He took my hands in his, staring into my eyes as though he could read my thoughts if he just looked hard enough.
“You’re not happy,” he finally said. “What can I do?”
I shifted, uncomfortable with his scrutiny. I cut my eyes away, unable to bear the weight of his crystalline stare.
“It’s just… I don’t know,” I hedged. “It’s hard being away from school.” That much was true. I was stressing about falling behind on my coursework, and while I loved being with Joseph, I was feeling a little cooped up in the big, empty mansion.
“Do you think Marco’s scheduled for the pool to be filled yet?” I asked, hopeful. If I could just go for a nice, long swim, I could clear my mind.
“I’m not sure. I’ll ask him again.”
This would be the third time Joseph had to ask about it. I wasn’t sure why Marco was dragging his feet. It shouldn’t be hard for someone with his kind of money to get the pool cleaned and filled in a few days.
“Thanks,” I said, holding in my irritation. It wasn’t Joseph’s fault that Marco wasn’t as concerned with my happiness as he was. Joseph adored me, pampered me. There was no reason for me to expect the same kind of treatment from Marco. He’d barely looked at me since I’d seen his sketches. I would have thought he was embarrassed, but he didn’t strike me as the type to get embarrassed. He certainly hadn’t seemed at all ashamed when he’d commanded me to turn the page and look at his drawing of Joseph tying me up.
The memory made my face heat.
Joseph’s gaze flicked to my pink cheeks and back to my eyes. A fine line appeared between his brows as he studied me, as though I was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out.
“I’m going to take you out to dinner,” he announced. “You must be getting tired of being on the estate. I know Marco is a great cook, but I think you need to get out for a little while.”
“Yes,” I agreed quickly. I really did want to get out of this house. It was huge and lonely, but on the rare occasions when Marco was in the room with us, it somehow seemed stiflingly small.
Joseph beamed at me, and I found myself grinning back. He was beautiful when he smiled, his sensual features lighting up with joy. I could hardly believe that this gorgeous, kind man was mine.
I closed the distance between us, initiating our kiss. His lips were still curved with pleasure when they met mine. I melted against him, losing myself in his arms for the rest of the afternoon.
“Why is he here?” I whispered in Joseph’s ear once Marco got out of the car. He’d driven us here in his shiny black BMW, and Joseph and I had sat in the backseat. I caught his hand, lingering in the privacy of the car for a few seconds.
“He’s here to protect you, just like I am.” Joseph squeezed my hand. “And this will be good. We can all have dinner together, and you’ll get to know him better. He’s not as scary as you think he is. At least, not where you’re concerned.”
Before I could say that I’d wanted to have a romantic date alone with Joseph, Marco opened the car door for me.
He held out a hand to help me out of the car. Since Joseph was getting out on the other side, I didn’t have the option of clinging to him. It would be rude not to take Marco’s gentlemanly assistance.
Even if I didn’t want it. I didn’t like being near him. It was… uncomfortable. Overwhelming.
I sucked in a breath when his thick fingers closed around my hand, engulfing my palm. It was the first time he’d touched me since the night he’d abducted me, when he’d trapped me against the wall and pressed his hand over my mouth to smother my screams.
A shiver ran through me at the memory, but he wasn’t acting aggressive right now. He held my hand as carefully as Joseph did, as though he might accidentally break my fingers if he squeezed too hard.
He probably could.
I got to my feet, and he closed the car door behind me. He didn’t release my hand.
I glanced up at him, and I found his black eyes burning down into me. His nostrils flared, like a predator scenting his prey.
I didn’t try to pull away. I couldn’t. All I could do was stand there, trapped in his dark stare. I felt small and
helpless in his shadow, his huge hand on mine a reminder of his massive size in comparison to my much smaller body.
Joseph’s hand touched my lower back, and heat flooded my body at the familiar, intimate contact. The electric attraction that always danced around us surged, making the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. My hand tingled in Marco’s, and I became very aware of the heat of their bodies surrounding me, shielding me from the chilly night air.
Despite the warmth, I shivered. The corners of Marco’s mouth curved, and streetlights caught in his dark eyes, flashing across his onyx stare. His thumb brushed across my knuckles, and I drew in a sharp, shocked breath at the light caress.
Joseph was standing right beside me, but he must not have noticed. He couldn’t have, or he would say something. He wouldn’t allow Marco to touch me like that.
He’s just holding my hand, a more rational voice in my mind reminded me. There was no reason for Joseph to get territorial over something so trivial.
I tugged my hand free from Marco’s grip, as though he’d scalded me. His expression went carefully blank, and he stepped back. Joseph’s touch on my lower back firmed, steering me toward the restaurant.
It was a small, quaint Italian place set on the small main street of a little town near Marco’s estate. I still wasn’t sure exactly where it was located, but it had only taken us ten minutes to drive here, so we weren’t as isolated as I’d thought we might be. I hadn’t seen a soul except Joseph and Marco since they’d taken me from school, and I’d assumed we were in the middle of nowhere.
Marco’s family must be even wealthier than I’d imagined, to own that much land so close to a heavily populated area. The real estate must be worth a fortune.
When we entered the restaurant, a pretty brunette showed us to our table—for three.
It was strange, being seated in an intimate corner with both Joseph and Marco. I glanced around, wondering what people must think of us. Surely, the other patrons thought it was odd, too.