I was confused and looked down at myself. There was a dark bruise on my chest and lower, too, still covered by the shirt. Shit! I thought in dread. I knew this would happen. I knew Andy would react when he saw the bruises.
Oh, when we had been living under Uncle Herbert’s reign, he’d seen enough bruises on me to last both our lives. That was why he’d vowed to protect me, whatever may come, even putting himself in the firing line. That was why he never wanted to see another bruise on me ever again.
Andy undid the rest of the buttons and took the shirt off me. With only my bra on, he twisted me around to examine me closely. I was more than a little shocked by his aggressive treatment.
“Andy! What the hell are you doing?”
He growled. “How the hell did you get all these bruises?” he asked through gritted teeth.
Well, what could I tell him? That I’d gotten those bite marks and bruises from James during our lovemaking sessions? No way!
“Mia? Tell me who the fuck hurt you!” he demanded.
I bit my lip and stammered, “No one hurt me, Andy. It’s fine.”
He raked his hand through his hair in frustration. “Fuck me!”
I was pissed too. “Andy, you never use that type of language.”
He laughed sadly, as if to mock me. “Well, Mia. When you come here and go through so much shit, yeah, your language changes.”
My heart ached. “Oh, Andy…”
He looked both shocked and sick at his own aggressive reaction toward me. He worked to rectify himself by pulling me into his arms. “I’m sorry, Mia. I’m just so shocked, that’s all. Tell me who did this to you, please?”
“I told you. It’s nothing.”
“Shit! Mia, it’s not nothing. The bite marks. The bruises. Those only happen during…when… Fuck!”
I was shaken and said, my voice trembling, “When what?”
He growled in frustration. “Sex, Mia! When you have sex. Real. Hard. Core. Sex.”
“What? But it wasn’t hard. At least…not that hard,” I stammered.
“Were you raped?” he asked urgently.
“What?” I was confused.
“Were you raped, Mia?”
I shook my head. “No, of course not.”
He was quiet for a moment and then said, “Oh, I get it.”
“What? Get what?”
“It was Mr. Maxwell, wasn’t it?” he asked, his eyes bright and dark at the same time.
Slowly, I nodded.
“Shit! I can’t believe he did this to you,” he said in disbelief. Then he chuckled sadly. “I thought he was different from Matt. Shit! They’re friends, aren’t they? But I thought Mr. Maxwell was different since he was married once and everything.”
I didn’t get what he was talking about. “Andy?”
He turned to me. “Mia, what type of contract did you make with Mr. Maxwell? I know I said I’d sort everything out before you left… But now it looks like I have to sort it out immediately. I can’t leave you in his hands. You’ll suffer more than this; you know that. And I know… Oh fuck!” He raked his fingers through his hair again in frustration. “I won’t let you suffer…the pain…the humiliation… Shit! I won’t let you go through what I went through!”
I was scared at his strong emotions. “Andy, please. It’s nothing.”
He shook his head. “No, Mia. No. It’s not nothing. You always say that. It’s never nothing. Tell me what type of contract you signed with Mr. Maxwell.”
I sighed. “Me,” I said. “I signed myself over for the two million.”
He looked confused. “What? Come again?”
I swallowed and took a deep breath. “I signed a contract as James’ mistress in exchange for the two million.”
He just stared at me as if he couldn’t believe what I’d just said. Well, I wasn’t surprised, of course. I wouldn’t believe him either if he told me he’d just signed his life away as an escort or whatever in exchange for a debt.
“Fuck!” he swore. “Oh, Mia. It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
“It’s for the debt, Andy. The two million, like I told you last night.” I couldn’t believe he actually forgot about that. I thought I’d mentioned it to him already. Unless, of course, he’d heard but refused to fully accept it, accept I was now a mistress to some billionaire in order to pay off his debt.
He took a deep breath and nodded. “For the two million.” When he stared at me closely, I saw the determined look in his eyes. “I’m going to fix everything, Mia. Please trust me on this one.”
I bit my lip. “I trust you always, Andy. But please don’t do anything stupid.”
He just looked at me for a moment. “I promise he won’t hurt you again.” Then he took a few steps back. “Get changed. I’ll be back soon.”
“Where are you going?” I couldn’t help asking, panic in my voice.
He raked his fingers through his hair again and shrugged. “Personal business,” he said, his eyes on the floor.
Relief swept through me. So it was nothing to do with me and my bruises then. Thank God. I nodded, clutching the shirt and pants against my chest.
Before he closed the door, he said, “And don’t leave. Promise me you won’t go back to your own room, okay. Please wait for me until I get back.”
I nodded. “All right. But don’t be too long, okay?”
He gave me a smile and nodded. “See you soon.”
He closed the door before I could ask him what type of personal business. But I held myself in check as I didn’t want to overstep my boundary yet again. Even though we were close as siblings, I had no right to intervene in his life. And I personally wanted what was best for him, to let him enjoy his life and his freedom, which we both never really had since our parents’ death.
Then when I turned eighteen, I’d had enough of being under our aunt’s and uncle’s thumbs. I’d taken Andy and moved to another town, a smaller one, where hardly anyone knew we existed, where no one knew us or our history.
I returned my attention to dressing myself, shaking my head, wondering if Andy was overreacting about my bruises. But then again, he’d always overreacted where I was concerned, hadn’t he?
Once I was dressed, I turned to look at myself in the long mirror. I wanted to laugh. I looked like a senior high school girl in boy’s clothing. Andy’s shirt fit me just right though. To make it look more fashionable, I rolled up the sleeves and then tugged the hem under the waist of the jeans. I cocked my head to one side and nodded with approval. Yes, I looked pretty good. If I were a few inches taller, I could be a model. I smiled at the thought and headed back out the door to wait for Andy’s return.
James“You know how hard it is to keep those bastards under control,” Matt said, rolling his eyes heavenward. “Fuck! The police are useless. Drugs and prostitution are booming in Las Vegas.”“All you need to do is keep our turf save,” James said. “Make them understand we’re not to be fucked with.”Matt laughed. “No need to worry.” He crossed one leg over the other. “It’s taken care of.”“How’s Andy going with the infiltration?” James asked, his eyes dark.“Good, I guess,” Matt said, shrugging. “Can’t we put him in another job? That boy’s too fucking tempting for most men.”James laughed. “Come on, Matt, you know how it works. We need someone like Andy. Someone with the good looks and the brain, who still looks innocent and gullible enough to be lured and fall into a trap. He’s smart enough to look after himself.”“James, I get it,” Matt muttered. “You don’t need to lecture me. He just worries me sometimes.”James wasn’t surprised by that. Matt was falling in love with Andy, and he did
James“Please, Mr. Maxwell. Sign a contract with me.”James raised a brow mockingly. “I did, remember? And look where that got us.”Andy’s face flamed red, but he wouldn’t give in. “Please, let my sister go. She’s been through enough.”James sighed in agitation. “Look, Andy, I understand you want to help your sister. But it’s too late. It was her decision.”Andy shook his head. “No, you don’t understand, Mr. Maxwell. You just don’t. Mia doesn’t deserve this. She—” He stopped short, frustrated.Matt watched with interest while James frowned in suspicion.“What?” James finally asked. “She doesn’t deserve this? Are you claiming I’m mistreating your sister?”Andy snapped, “Yes. That’s exactly what you’re doing, aren’t you? I saw the bruises.”James raised a brow. “It’s just sex play. You of all people should know that.”Andy looked sick. “I know it’s sex play,” he said quietly. “I’ve experienced it enough to know. But Mia… She can’t handle it. She’s been through enough. I can’t stand seei
MiaThere was definitely something wrong about James. I could feel it in my gut. Though his face was as stern and expressionless as ever, I could still sense something was amiss.Once again, I took a peek at him, and instantly my heart skipped a beat. Gazing at that handsome man and standing so close to him in the small space of the elevator did nothing to ease my fascination and craving for him. My foolishness of molesting him in his sleep last night did nothing to soothe the sudden urge of wanting him the moment I’d seen him at the door just moments ago. Even though I did vow to myself last night would be the very first and last time I’d do such an embarrassing and naughty thing.But it was quite nice to be naughty sometimes. The feelings of just letting go and doing whatever you desired most were wonderful. Apparently, making love to James while he was still deep in slumber was one of those things for me.Even right now, all I wanted to do was to kiss him and throw myself into his
MiaThe moment I heard that voice, my stomach fluttered with delight and my heart did a somersault. Clutching the dress even tighter against my chest, partly to hide my nakedness against the arrogant man who appeared without invitation and mostly because I was nervous around him, I turned to look at him. I tried my best to look pissed, but I didn’t know if I could manage that. I really just wanted to throw myself into his arms, naked and all.“What are you doing?” I asked, my throat dryer than it should be.“Checking on you,” he said, leaning against the doorframe and folding his arms across his chest as if he had all the time in the world.I frowned. “I’m half naked here,” I said. “It’s the female changing room. I suggest you leave before Rose calls security.”He smiled, his eyes twinkling. “She won’t.”He sounded confident in his statement, which irritated me. I bit my lip and said, “You’ll be sorry when you get an ear blasting from one of those guys.”He laughed and came into the s
MiaI stared, wide-eyed, at the ten or so boutique shopping bags sitting prettily on the sofa and felt more than a little awed. Those were all for me. I couldn’t believe it. James had bought all those for me, those clothes I’d tried on three or so hours ago back at Fleur.After that unexpected, intense lovemaking session in the changing room, after I’d finished organizing myself into some sort of a decent girl who hadn’t gotten ravished by a billionaire in public, he’d purchased every single item given to me to try on, including, of course, some undergarments.And now…now he expected me to get ready for dinner? With him and Tory and his other friends? I suspected William was one of those friends mentioned.I made a sour face and thought it would have been nice if he’d told me earlier instead of just a few minutes ago before he left to attend to his business once again.I sighed and grabbed a bag. I peeked inside, and instantly my eyes brightened with delight. It was the pink dress I l
MiaWe were definitely late for dinner as we stepped into one of the fanciest Japanese restaurants in Vegas called Nihon Restaurant and Bar. Of course, after our quick sex session, James had himself ready in fifteen minutes, while I had to redo my hair and makeup and rearrange my dress completely.As we came through the door, a waiter greeted us. “Irasshaimase.”James nodded and simply said, “Tory.”The Japanese waiter understood immediately and politely ushered us up a grand staircase to the next level. It was very quiet here, with only the soothing, light music of Japanese instruments. The decor and lighting here were also designed in a very traditional Japanese style. The atmosphere was beautiful and relaxing.The waiter slid open a door and bowed as we walked in.“James,” I heard a man said. “Finally made it, eh?”“Mm-hmm,” James replied.As I stepped to the side, I finally realized who spoke. Darkly handsome, Tory came and gave James a manly hug and handshake. Then he turned his
MiaThe moment James shut the door to our hotel room, he said, “Take the dress off before I ruin it.”I glanced at him over my shoulder, a perplexed look on my face. “Excuse me?”He chuckled. “You like that dress, don’t you?” At my nod, he continued. “Or would you rather I tear it off you?”I understood the meaning behind his words immediately and blushed profusely. “How rude. You’re not allowed to destroy any more of my new clothes,” I said clearly.He raised a brow at me in challenge. “I paid for them.”I folded my arms across my chest. Heck, I knew I looked insignificant and small compared to him, but I wasn’t about to let him annihilate my beloved new garments, even though he did pay for them.He came to stand right in front of me and said, “Go on. Take that dress off.” He was lightly caressing my collarbone as he stared down at my cleavage. His fingers trailed down toward that area of interest as he said, “I can’t trust myself not to damage your new dress.”I swallowed. I was bec
MiaWhen I told Andy to have fun at work yesterday evening, when he’d kissed me on the forehead fondly and said, “See you tomorrow then,” I thought of nothing but the fact that yes, I’d see him again tomorrow. It’d be just like our life previously, when we used to live together, going about our daily routine. We’d been poor and struggling financially, but at least we were free and content.How naïve I was.I was still green in this cutthroat, dark, and dangerous world I’d just entered when I had decided to come here to the West Coast of America, first to Los Angeles and then Las Vegas. It was the world of James Maxwell, my brother’s creditor and, more recently, my master and lover.At first I had no idea why I suddenly awoke. I was a light sleeper, always waking up in the middle of the night, my eyes wide open as I stared at the ceiling in the dark, my mind alert and my body tense. It was hard to change old habits, especially when fear played a huge part of your daily life. When your