HIS BOUND BRIDE: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance

by Sophia Gray

  I hadn’t exactly expected Enzo to ask about my folks. He’d seemed so shocked when I admitted to sending them money. Wasn’t that actually kind of normal? Well, maybe not for people like Enzo. But growing up, I’d always vowed to repay the people who had raised me.

  Even though my parents hadn’t exactly kept me out of poverty, I never wanted them to worry about food the way we had when I was growing up. After all, I was their daughter, and children took care of their parents in old age. It was something that I would have felt horrible giving up.

  # # #

  Now, I was perched in Enzo’s office, going through scads of old emails. He’d handed me a stack of printouts as large as my head, and my head had begun to swim when he’d told me what to do. What do you mean, look for anything weird? This all looks weird! I don’t even know this guy! But after staring at the paperwork for ten minutes, I knew that I couldn’t just keep doing that. Eventually, I’d have to start reading and try to figure some of this shit out on my own.

  Enzo was sitting behind his giant desk, scrolling through something on his computer. Occasionally, I’d glance up and find that his attention was completely on his screen. I could study him without him even being aware. As I stared at him, I was only slightly aware of my own reaction: increased heartbeat, dry mouth, nervous pangs in my chest every time he moved.

  Enzo was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, but now when I looked at him, I was reminded of the artful ways in which he’d seduced me the previous night. I couldn’t look at his luscious mouth without thinking about how it had felt on my body, or look at his sculpted jaw and think about the strong way that we’d kissed.

  Before I knew it, I was blushing from head to toe.

  “Audrey?” Enzo’s voice was strained. “Are you finding anything?”

  My blush deepened, and I dropped my gaze immediately to the paper in my lap. I was ready to lie when I actually did notice something weird—the same expression that I’d seen in the last three emails.

  “Actually, yeah,” I replied, biting my lip. “Um, he keeps using a certain phrase. Or rather, he keeps referring to what he’s calling a shoe store. But I don’t think it’s an actual store, or maybe it’s code for something?” I gave him a puzzled look. “Did you guys ever buy a store together? Or did he talk about shoes a lot?”

  Enzo frowned. “No.” He shook his head and stood up. “No, I can’t think of a shoe store.”

  I glanced down at the papers. “See, this email mentions it three times,” I said, shoving the piece of paper under Enzo’s nose. “Isn’t that unusual?”

  Enzo took the paper from me and circled something with a red pen. “Thanks, Audrey,” he said in the same strained voice that he’d used before. “This means a lot. Thanks for your help.”

  “Oh, I’m not done with the papers,” I said quickly. There was still a stack over two feet high on the table.

  Enzo nodded. “Why don’t you look for other mentions of the shoe store?” He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, and a flash of lust gripped me. “I think that’s definitely unusual.”

  I nodded. “Got it. Will do, Enzo. Thank you.”

  Enzo grinned, and my heart slammed against my ribs. “Thank you,” he purred in a silky voice. “I appreciate your help, Audrey.”

  With that, he sauntered out of his office, and I was left alone, with my own desire and uncontrollable emotions.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Enzo

  I could barely look at Audrey without feeling completely mad. She was sitting there, staring down at the papers in her lap, twirling a strand of thick brown hair in her fingers. She looked desirable, she looked sexy, and now I wanted her more badly than I ever had before.

  This is fucking insane, I thought as I ran a hand through my hair. You’ve never gone batty like this over a chick! What the hell is her deal? But even trying to rationalize it didn’t make me feel any better. Audrey wasn’t like any other girl I’d ever slept with. I knew it, she knew it, and I didn’t think there was anything I could do to change that.

  On top of that, the shoe store thing was really bothering me. At the end of the day, Audrey delivered a stack of papers to my desk. Everything was neatly outlined and marked in red pen.

  “These are all the times he used that phrase,” she said, licking her lips and leaning down over me to show with her finger. As she leaned close, her scent of strawberries and talc washed over me, and I had to close my eyes and dig my fingers into my thigh so I wouldn’t grab her and throw her over the desk. Audrey had no idea how desirable she was, how very attractive I found her. It was dangerous, having her this close. But I knew that I didn’t have any other choice. I was addicted to her now, and I had nothing to do but ride out the addiction until I was free from it.

  I’d never felt the way I felt about Audrey. It scared me. The only other time I was ever close was when I was growing up. My friend, Tony, had come from a rich family. My family had been poor as dirt and from the wrong side of the tracks. I never thought that I’d amount to be anything in life, and that was probably one of the reasons Tony befriended me in high school. We were fourteen years old, in the same algebra class, and one day he leaned over and slipped me a joint…

  “This’ll relax you, Lennox,” Tony said with a smirk. We snuck out of class and shared the joint under the canopy overhang by the teachers’ parking lot. It was the first time I ever remembered enjoying myself at school.

  Tony was suaver than me, more confident. He’d already had two girlfriends, and he’d fingered one of them by the time we became friends. Teachers hated him. He was good-looking, cocky, and completely arrogant—basically, their worst nightmare come to life. When the two of us were together, we ran around town with Tony’s older brothers, causing hell for any girl who dared cross the street.

  We’d been friends for almost a year when I met Cindy. She was beautiful. Seventeen years old, amazing tits, perfect tanned skin, and blonde hair. She hung around Tony’s house all the time—I thought she had a crush on one of his older brothers. Whenever I saw her, I thought my heart was going to explode and leap out of my chest.

  My parents were so poor that I was ashamed of where we lived, so Tony never came over to my place. Instead, I spent most of the summer living with him. We’d stay up all night playing video games and gorging ourselves on the snacks and candy that his mother would lovingly provide. We’d sleep in until noon, then go wake up by taking a swim in Tony’s backyard pool. I remember being deliriously happy in that summer. I envied Tony so much, but I was starting to enjoy my life as his friend.

  “Cindy’s smokin’ hot,” Tony said one night. We were taking a late-night swim, the pool lit up with submerged lights. “I want to bang her.”

  I snorted. “She’s too hot for you,” I teased. “She wouldn’t even let you touch her.”

  Tony smirked at me. “She’d do anything for my brother,” he said wistfully. “I wish I knew how to tell her he’s already got a girlfriend.”

  I laughed. I knew that Marco, Tony’s older brother, was just as self-involved and cocky as he was. Marco probably had three girlfriends, all of them as gorgeous as Cindy. But he wouldn’t ever tell a girl to stop paying attention to him. It went against his ethos, like some kind of sacrilege. I admired him and hated him all at once. Even though I’d just turned fifteen, I felt as scrawny as ever. My chest caved in, and I had the thin, freckled arms of a little girl.

  “Cindy looks at you sometimes,” Tony said with a sly smirk as we hauled ourselves out of the pool and lay panting on the still-hot concrete. “She’s such a babe. I bet you could get her number.”

  Even though I didn’t believe him, my heart started thumping hard at Tony’s words. It was unbelievable that someone like Cindy would want anything to do with me. She wore perfume, she smoked cigarettes—she was so clearly above being involved with a teenager. Marco was twenty, and I understood her attraction to him; he was burly and muscular, with a hot car and a never-ending supply of pot. Tony use
d to pinch enough off of him just to roll joints for the two of us to share.

  “I swear it,” Tony said. He nodded up and down. “I caught her checking you out the other day.”

  In my rare moments alone, I fantasized about Cindy until I thought my dick was going to fall off from jacking off so often. I imagined her coming to me and sitting on my lap, pressing those amazing tits against my chest until her stiff nipples rubbed at my bare skin. She was the hottest thing I’d ever seen—my ultimate fantasy girl. I knew that I wouldn’t have been able to talk to her, but I always wished that she’d say something to me just the same.

  One day, I got my wish. Tony and Marco were leaving for vacation, and I was hanging around their house like always. Their parents were taking them to Greece to meet their family, and even though I was only Tony’s best friend, I was offended at not being invited to go along. Tony and Marco were trying to make me jealous—telling me that in Greece there was no drinking age.

  “We’re gonna get blasted every night!” Tony cried out, making a fist and slamming it down on the counter.

  I glared at him. I wasn’t looking forward to two weeks spent in my mom’s shitty apartment with no air conditioning. Compared to home, Tony’s house was a palace.

  “Yeah, right.” Marco smirked. “Hey, Enzo, don’t cry,” he added with a nasty grin. “We’ll bring you back something real nice!”

  I rolled my eyes and hopped off the counter. Pretending to be too cool for the situation wasn’t a trick that I’d mastered yet, but it was something I was working on. “Whatever, asshole,” I said, slapping Tony in the arm. “Have fun with your fat, hairy cousins.”

  I let the front door slam behind me, dragging my toes along the asphalt of their long driveway. Cursing under my breath, I reached down and picked up a rock before throwing it hard across the street.

  “Hey!” Cindy’s voice was indignant. She popped up and glared at me. “Watch where you’re throwing that, you creep!”

  I gulped hard. She’d been sunning herself on Marco’s car, and she was clad only in a thong bikini and a triangle top that did little to hide her luscious, amazing tits. My mouth went dry as Cindy sat up and rubbed lotion over her already-bronze arms.

  “They’re leaving today,” I said matter-of-factly. “They’re not going to take you with them.”

  “I don’t care.” Cindy pouted. Her mouth was the perfect shade of bubblegum pink, and I watched as her lower lip stuck out. I wanted to lean over and suck on it until she was moaning. “I don’t give a shit about Marco, anyway. He’s such a selfish asshole.”

  I rolled my eyes, suddenly feeling more confident. Even though Cindy wasn’t drooling over me like I was her, I could tell that she was watching the way I walked down the driveway. Her bright green eyes honed in on me like I was a faraway target.

  “Hey, why don’t you ever talk to me?” Cindy snapped her gum and rolled over onto her belly. When I saw the way the thong material strained between the rounded cheeks of her perfect ass, I felt my cock spring into a hard erection.

  “Because,” I said, shrugging and trying to sound casual like I didn’t even care, “you’re chasing Marco.” I laughed suddenly. “You look so ridiculous waiting around for him here right now.”

  Cindy crossed her thin, tan arms over her perfect chest and glared at me. She climbed off the hood of Marco’s car and strutted over like she was on a catwalk. Just watching her move… my cock was going to explode. I wondered what it would be like to touch her skin, to slide my tongue around in her mouth. I’d made out with a few girls, but none of them had been as gorgeous as Cindy. She made me realize how much I actually loved women.

  “You don’t have to be such an asshole,” she said, narrowing her perfect eyes. But I sensed something behind them: vulnerability.

  “You’re right,” I replied, puffing my chest out and walking over. I tried to make myself seem as tall as she was. “I think I’m jealous, too.” I looked back towards the house. “I hate the idea of going home for two weeks.”

  Cindy laughed. It was a nice laugh, a real laugh, not the stupid girlish giggle she tried whenever Marco was around. “You’re sweet, Enzo,” she said finally. I watched as she licked her lips, feeling my cock twitch with the most intense lust I’d ever felt in my short life. “You should call me sometime.”

  That evening, she pecked me on the cheek and gave me her phone number. Normally, I would have been too chickenshit to call her. But with Tony out of town, I had nothing to do. Finally, I worked up the courage after three days and asked her out. To my immense surprise, she said yes.

  We met at the movies and saw something with a PG-13 rating because I wasn’t old enough to get into an R movie yet. As soon as the theater went dark, Cindy slipped her hand between my legs and began stroking my cock until I was having a hard time not groaning loudly. When she turned towards me in the little seat, I pressed my mouth against hers and kissed. She tasted like warm sugar, like candy that’s been sitting out in the sun. I knew that I was in love. I knew that what we had would last forever.

  In her car, after the movie, I fingered her. It was my first time ever doing anything sexual with a girl, and I came in my pants as she moaned against me. Sex was pleasurable and intense, but more work than I’d thought—it wasn’t like I could just put my hands on a girl and thrill her.

  Still, it was the best night I’d ever had. I tried to act cool and deserving of her attention, but inside I was jumping for joy. I couldn’t wait to tell Tony about what I’d done, and how Cindy Lawson couldn’t get enough of my cock. Fifteen years old or not, it was a defining, religious experience.

  Cindy and I hooked up every day that Marco and Tony were gone. She taught me a lot about women—how to find the clit, how to pinch and rub her nipples until she was soaking wet, how to kiss. I felt like I was getting really good at pleasuring her, and I was feeling more confident than ever before. My skinny chest and arms didn’t matter so much because I had a hot older girlfriend, and I knew how much she wanted me.

  The day that Tony and Marco came back, I rode my bike over to Cindy’s. Her car was gone, and no one was home. I remember that gave me a bad feeling in my stomach, but I couldn’t name it at the time. Instead, I rode over to Tony’s, desperate to tell him what had happened. I knew he was going to be so jealous. I didn’t even care about hanging out at his place anymore, I just wanted to brag about my conquest.

  What I saw stopped me dead in my tracks. Cindy and Marco were sitting on the hood of his car, kissing so hard their heads looked merged. She was wearing a crocheted bikini top and a denim miniskirt, and Marco’s hand was buried inside her panties. Cindy was moaning and rubbing her tits against Marco’s chest. She didn’t even see me as I snuck into the house.

  Tony was watching at the window with a pair of binoculars. “This shit’s been going on all morning!”

  I shook my head, feeling sick and nauseous inside. “She’s a terrible person,” I said under my breath. “I mean, she was with me the whole time you guys were gone.”

  Tony frowned and turned to me. “Dude, I know you’re mad that I didn’t ask you to come, but stop lying about that shit! It’s fucked up!”

  “Enzo?” Audrey knocked on my open door. “I’m leaving for the day.” She stepped closer to my desk, bringing a wave of strawberry scent with her. “Is there anything else I can get for you?” She licked her lips and watched me intently, her eyes focusing on my face. I felt an overwhelming wave of lust attack my body. Audrey was no Cindy; she was even better.

  “No, thanks,” I said dismissively. I gestured down towards the papers on my desk. “This stuff was great, Audrey. Thanks for your help.” I narrowed my eyes. “You know, Hodges used to use a lot of code that I never bothered to figure out… maybe I should take another look, too.”

  Audrey nodded. “That’s the way it seems to me. Based on the context of those emails at least.” She nodded her head slowly. “I mean, he never mentions anything about shoes. Just the store, and only at certain ti
mes.”

  “Thanks,” I told her again. “Actually, you know what? Wait a second,” I added. “You’re coming with me. There are some things I want to explain to you.”

  Audrey blinked. “Now? At the end of the day?”

  I nodded. “As my secretary, you have to be privy to this information.” And I am dying to get you alone because I don’t think I can keep myself from touching you here. “It could be useful in the future.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Audrey

  I waited at my desk as Enzo gathered some things together in a chic, black leather bag. I had no idea what he would need to speak to me about outside of the office. Suddenly, my head was filled with terrible thoughts: Enzo yelling at me and telling me that I wasn’t good enough to work for him anymore. Enzo telling me that I was being too obvious at work. Enzo telling me that he’d found another secretary and that I’d be transferred to another part of LennoxCo.