The Taking of Clara 2: Taken by the Boss Read online

  THE TAKING OF CLARA 2: TAKEN BY THE BOSS

  Sam Crescent

  Erotic Romance

  Secret Cravings Publishing

  www.secretcravingspublishing.com

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  A Secret Cravings Publishing Book

  Erotic Romance

  The Taking of Clara 2: Taken by the Boss

  Copyright © 2013 Sam Crescent

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-61885-683-8

  First E-book Publication: May 2013

  Cover design by Dawné Dominique

  Edited by Theresa Stillwagon

  Proofread by Elaine Meyler

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Secret Cravings Publishing

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Secret Cravings Publishing

  www.secretcravingspublishing.com

  Dedication

  I would like to dedicate this book to Theresa Stillwagon for her patience while working on this. You’re a wonderful editor and I appreciate all that you do.

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  A war is brewing, a war that could destroy an entire vampire race if left unchecked, and Julian Marino has been requested to participate in it. He stops his search for a long time friend to go home and discovers there is more at stake than just his wants.

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  THE TAKING OF CLARA 2: TAKEN BY THE BOSS

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2013

  Prologue

  “Come on, Mr. Baines. Surely you’ve got something else to throw into the pile,” the man holding the pile of cards asked. “You’re either in or fucking out. Which one is it going to be?”

  Matthew watched the older man lick his top lip before looking down into his wallet. The man before him was Clara Baines’s father. The disgust he felt shocked him. Matthew had despised Edward Baines at first sight.

  Edward’s losses were legendary and so were the means by which he tried to pay for them. Right now, Matthew watched him look down into his empty wallet. Wherever or however he got the money baffled Matthew. Edward had suffered a big loss at the tables just last week. How he’d managed to get the money to play tonight plagued Matthew.

  If he left the table then he was out of the game but with nothing to bet what would the man pull out of his empty wallet. The guy didn’t work. From what Matthew learned the guy spent most of his time in the gambling places. When he did manage to win, he booked into a room with a woman for the night. None of the winnings ever went to his daughter.

  Matthew was only present because of a call he’d received. He wanted to meet the father of the woman he wanted to fuck. All he felt at seeing him was pity. He felt pity for Clara for having such a poor role model in her life.

  The hands he’d been dealt all night were pretty good. He wouldn’t lose too much but he wouldn’t win big either.

  “Well, gentlemen, how about I raise the stakes? We’re all upstanding men.” Edward placed a photograph face side down on the table.

  The sickening feeling in his gut intensified at the single image.

  “What’s this, Baines? A photograph is not stakes, mate.”

  “You can have her. I guarantee you she’ll help me out if necessary,” Edward said.

  One of the men in the circle of players picked up the photograph then placed it down for all to see. Matthew saw that all the men recognized the woman. They’d all seen her plenty of times paying off his debt or doing something to help him. Clara Baines stared back at each of them. Matthew had seen her in the flesh. The picture didn’t do her justice. His dick went rock hard at her image alone. Her lips were fuller and redder in real life. Her skin looked pale in the picture almost like a ghost whereas Matthew had seen her blushes whenever he got near her.

  No, the image really
didn’t do her justice. The intent on her father’s face pissed him off. The bastard intended to use her as leverage in a fucking card game.

  “Go on then, Baines. What are you saying?”

  “She’s my stake. If I win the hand my daughter remains untouched by you guys. Whoever wins the hand gets her.”

  The desire to slam his fist in the guy’s face grew with every passing minute. How dare he use Clara in such a way?

  Matthew stared at the deck of cards with new urgency. This wasn’t about money anymore. Clara’s life hung in the balance. Staring around the table at the bastards leering at the photograph, Matthew had far more to fight for than a couple of hundred grand. The money on the table didn’t dent his fortune. Licking his lips he tapped the table.

  “I’m in.”

  How could he walk away? If he walked away Clara would be at the mercy of one of these men. The very thought made him sick to his stomach. Even as he stared around at the men waiting to see who would play and who’d walk away, Matthew felt disgusted with himself.

  All of his years, he’d never known such hatred for another person than he did for himself. He should have taken Clara the moment the chance arose. Now, he was fighting for her like a dying man.

  None of the men left the table. Clara became a worthwhile prize to keep on going. Her green eyes stared up at him. The pleading look he saw in them startled him. Did she always look like that?

  Saving her wouldn’t solve his need. After tonight he’d make sure Edward never got a chance to hurt her again.

  For the first time since he’d made his fortune, Matthew counted the cards. He liked to gamble for fun. Counting cards took all of the fun out of playing. He needed to concentrate if he held any chance of winning.

  Three men growled and threw the cards on the table in annoyance. They all stayed to see who’d claim the main prize.

  After twenty minutes of staring and contemplating, three men remained. Matthew, Edward and the casino owner stared at each other. The look of pure lust on the casino owner’s face startled him. He didn’t know why he was surprised. Clara made you feel special in the world. Her innocence called to his protective side.

  Her father looked desperate.

  Then the casino owner folded.

  Matthew stared at the man opposite him.

  “Do you love your daughter, Baines?” he asked.

  Edward licked his lips as he put down his hands.

  Victory.

  Matthew shook his head and Baines moved to grab the winnings.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Matthew put down his hand on top of Baines. “I win, and now I want a word with you.”

  Chapter One

  Clara stared at him across the desk. He sat in the big leather chair, gazing down at the contract binding her to him. He looked every part the powerful man. His questions caught her off guard. Why should she know something about him?

  What could she know about the contract or about his actions?

  Tears filled her eyes as she thought about everything happening around her.

  “I don’t understand what is going on? I’ve never done anything like this.” She turned away to glance around his room.

  Books filled every available shelf.

  “This contract doesn’t change anything,” he said.

  Turning back Clara glared at him. “How doesn’t it change anything? I’m not here of my own free will. I’m here because you paid for that right.”

  “I saved you in a fucking card game, Clara. Do you really think your father cared about you?” he asked.

  “He’s my father. Of course he cared.”

  Matthew opened a drawer then slammed down a photograph of her. “That’s what he gave us all. His stake became you for the night. He told all of us you’d do anything for him. Would you have slept with any man who won?”

  She picked up the image, shocked by what Matthew said.

  Had her father really used her in such a callous, manipulative way?

  “Why did you do it?” she asked. “There were other men who could have won. Why did you pick me? You can have any woman you want. What’s so special about me?”

  Pressing a finger to her chest she glared at him, hating the sight of him for what he’d done to her.

  What had he really done? He’d saved you from another man.

  He stood, moved around to her side and captured her face against his palm. Matthew rested his head against hers. His sigh brushed along her face like a loving caress. The tears she’d kept at bay for so long spilled over. The emotions of the past few weeks were too much for her to bear.

  She needed to regain control of her senses.

  “Don’t fight me.”

  “Tell me why?” she asked. The sob escaped from her lips before she contained it.

  His other hand cupped her face, trapping her against him.

  “My sweet, Clara. You really have no idea how amazing you are. You’re a rare find in this hard world.”

  She closed her eyes and listened to him speak.

  “Everything I did, I did because I needed to. You’re a submissive woman, Clara. You’d never survive in this cutthroat world without a protector.”

  She wanted to hear words of love and friendship. His words only helped to confuse her.

  “You don’t love me?” she asked. Clara waited for his answer. The desperation inside her to be loved startled her.

  She’d never known how much she craved such emotion.

  “I do, Clara.” Matthew grabbed her hand, placing her palm over his heart. “I love you with my whole heart and with every part of my being. I know you feel the same. You love me even though right at this moment a part of you hates me for what I’ve done. I can accept that. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

  Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes to look at him. His intense brown gaze stared back at her. From his gaze alone she felt her body weaken under his sexuality.

  Moving her hand up from his heart she cupped his cheek.

  For the first time in her life Clara didn’t want an explanation anymore. Her body awakened with a new hunger. A hunger that would remove all hurt from her. Pulling on the back of his neck she pressed her lips to his.

  “Kiss me, Matthew. Make it all go away.” She licked along his bottom lip. His gasp filled the room. He’d bought her. She was his property no better than an animal picked at the pound. Her father had put her on the table as if she was a slab of meat for sale. A hardness consumed her as the thoughts ran riot around her mind.

  She wanted to hurt the man who’d helped create her. Most of her adult life she’d spent helping him. Her hard earned money paid to get him out of debt and now her body was the price she needed to pay to keep him out of debt.

  “I love you, Clara.”

  “Shut up.” Never in her life had she spoken to a man in such a way. Her heart sped up at the flash of anger in his eyes. She wanted to push him. Clara wanted to see where the passion would lead. What would Matthew do if she sent him over the edge of his careful control?

  Unbuttoning his shirt Clara removed the pristine white fabric from his body revealing his tanned flesh.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  The answer, she didn’t know.

  In the matter of the contract, her father and now Matthew, she needed the sweet oblivion of release.

  Her world kept spinning around her. Wherever she went men were there to fill the void trying to change her.

  “Fuck me,” she said.

  “What?”

  The self-assured man no longer stood in his place. She laughed at how confused he looked staring down at her.

  Clara removed the dress she wore, staring at him openly. The desire to cover her body still remained. Her hands itched to cover her breasts and pussy from his view. Instead, she tugged at his belt trying to free his thick erection from the confines of his pants.

  He pushed her hands aside then removed his pants.

  In the
next instant, Matthew took over. He picked her up and laid her on his desk. The fire in her veins threatened to take over. She needed him to take control of her. Clara wanted him to hold her in place as he took his pleasure.

  “This is not what you want,” he said. “I know what you need.”

  “Then give it to me.”

  He stared at her without moving. “Say please.”

  “Please,” she said without hesitation.

  Matthew grabbed his cock, ran the tip against her slit before thrusting home inside her. She felt him stroke her walls. Her pussy contracted around his hard shaft. Each time he thrust inside her Clara was shocked by how hard and thick he felt.

  She’d never known a man like him.

  “Do you feel me?” He grabbed her hands pinning them by her sides. His grip hurt but she refused to tell him to stop. She needed this. The bite of pain with the pleasure he’d give her.

  “More. I want more.”

  “You’re being a little too greedy today, Sub. I’ll take you when I’m god damn ready.”

  He let go of her hands to touch her breasts. “Such pretty tits and they’re all mine. You can be pissed at me about the contract, babe. I don’t give a fuck.” He pulled out of her pussy only to thrust to the hilt inside her. She loved him. Clara knew she did with all of her heart. There was nothing she could do to stop the way she felt.

  She was in love with a man who’d won her at a card game. What did that say about her?

  * * * *

  Matthew stared down at the woman he loved. He saw the pain in her eyes along with the need to obliterate all feeling from her body. In the short time they’d been together he knew her so thoroughly.