Beast's Demands (Crude Hill High Book 3) Read online

  “You’re not going to lock me in a cage and throw away the key?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Some men may enjoy that, but not me.”

  “This is so weird,” she said.

  I couldn’t stop my smile. “Why?”

  “You’ve kidnapped me. You’re going to take my virginity, so sex is happening. Er, and I’m being paid more than I’d ever thought possible. You’re going to keep my friend safe, and I’m going to be taken care of.” She let out a laugh. “My mom would be so jealous of me right now.”

  “And yet you look like you’re going to throw up.”

  “Because this isn’t what I had in mind. For my first boyfriend, I imagined kisses and hugs. Love. I saw a future planned out. He’d know I was his first and he wouldn’t have to be a virgin. I get that.” She covered her face with her hands. “I’m making this sound like a really bad romance movie.”

  “You’re a young woman.”

  “It’s a school girl’s fantasy. I haven’t been a young girl in a very long time. There’s no way that’s going to happen with me.” She rubbed at her temple. “I feel a little sick.”

  “How about I take you out exploring?” I asked.

  “Exploring?”

  “It’s time to get off this yacht. We’re about to dock in a port. There’s a quaint small town. We’re restocking our supplies. If you promise to be a good girl, I’ll take you with me.”

  “And if I’m not a good girl?”

  “There will be consequences for your bad behavior, Ashley. I won’t hurt you, providing you don’t give me any cause. Do you understand?”

  “So you’ll hurt me?”

  “Only if you give me cause.”

  She stared at me, but I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.

  “I’d like to go with you.”

  “Good.” I snapped my fingers and organized a small party for us to leave the yacht and go into town.

  “We’re not going alone.”

  I smiled at her. “You think Emily would stop the Monsters from looking for you?”

  “Wait? They’re looking for me?” Ashley asked, standing as I did.

  “Of course. Emily loves you and she doesn’t like me.”

  “Do you wish it had been her?” Ashley asked.

  I watched her as she brushed a wrinkle out of her dress. Did I wish Emily stood before me?

  “No, I don’t.” I was glad it wasn’t Emily. I was having way too much fun with Ashley.

  Chapter Three

  Ashley

  I loved spending the past seven years with Emily. She was my sister. My best friend, and I’d die for her. But today had to have been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I was totally blown away, shocked, and a little scared.

  We left the boat at around eleven, and we’d only just gotten back.

  Earl had made sure I was on the boat before he turned away from me and made his way in the opposite direction. No one stopped to see if I needed any help. I had a small bag hanging from my wrist. Rather than feel like a spare part, I made my way to my room, finding it completely barren.

  The bed that had been made up was bare. The mattress had no bedding. After going to the wardrobe, I saw it was empty.

  I sat on the edge of the mattress, not really sure what to do. I was alone.

  With nothing around me, I recalled that first night Emily and I were alone in our brand-new apartment. How much she cried. I had let out a few tears too. At the time, Emily had thought I was crying because of my mom, and in a way, I was, but I was also so happy. The Monsters had given me freedom. Something I didn’t think I was ever going to get, and just being in that apartment, even holding a sobbing Emily, it meant something to me.

  I’d gotten out.

  Holding the bag open, I pulled out the square box and lifted the lid. We’d passed several stalls and designer shops. While Earl had been taking a call, I’d stared into the window and I’d seen this watch. It was silver. The face had a few diamonds, or crystals, I wasn’t sure which. Small. Delicate. I’d wanted it.

  Earl had finished his call, joined me, and within ten minutes, it was boxed up. I took it out and slid it on my wrist.

  I’d never been given anything so pretty. Of course, this came with a price. Everything Earl wanted from me had a price. I’d been with him two days, and my hatred of him had changed. Seven years ago, I despised the very sound of his name.

  Emily was terrified of ending up with him, especially as she had four of her own men she wanted.

  The man I’d spent time with, who was paying me for the pleasure of my company, was not the man I imagined. First, I did think of him as an old man with a sick, twisted mind. Earl was old, but he wasn’t old old.

  Resting my hands in my lap, I felt the weight of the watch on my wrist. I can get through all of this. I can.

  Time ticked by, and still, I sat in the same place. What the hell was I doing?

  Just as I was about to get up, Earl cleared his throat. He’d changed, and there was a frown on his face. “What are you doing in here?”

  “This is my room.”

  He sighed. “No, Ashley, you agreed to share my room. All of your things have been moved to my room.” He held out his hand. “Come and see.”

  I stared at his hand, worried at first that it would bite me. I had issues.

  Standing up, I placed my hand within his and followed him out. Again, I didn’t take in any of the views as we made our way past several doors. People moved out of our way, but I kept my gaze on the floor. The truth was I was so close to tears, and I didn’t get it. I didn’t have any reason to cry.

  We stopped outside of a door, and he pushed it open, waiting for me to go inside.

  See, a monster could be a perfect gentleman, and that was exactly what I was getting. I stepped into his bedroom, and the sheer scent of him assailed my senses. I liked how he smelled, how it was musky and sweet at the same time. Catching sight of the bed first, I stayed still and tense, not wanting to think about everything that was going to go down on that very bed. Ugh, the thought of losing my virginity out at sea was enough to make me feel sick. Knowing my luck, the moment it happened, we’d have world domination by sharks.

  Weird.

  I was about to turn toward him when something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.

  “Is that … my notebook?” In fact, as I looked closely at the room, I noticed several of my things. On the vanity table were my makeup box and the clips I used to pull my hair back. Without waiting for permission, I went straight to my notebook, and there it was. My food notes. I didn’t keep a journal. Talking about my feelings on the pages never appealed, but here, I had everything I’d ever cooked. Well, just a volume of part of what I’d been doing with my life. “How did you get this?”

  “The same way I got you. Easily. I emptied yours and Emily’s apartment.”

  “All of my stuff is here?”

  “Some of your stuff is here. The rest I’ve had sent to one of my residences.”

  I looked at him, rubbing the back of my neck. “Your home?”

  “I have several all around the world. My mood depends on where I go as to what I do.”

  I licked my lips. “You’re not just going to be done with me in a couple of days?”

  Earl moved across the bedroom and picked up a picture frame. It was one of Emily and me, taken a few months ago. In a rare circumstance where I got Emily to smile. It had been hard to do, but she’d tried for me. “You two are really close?”

  “Of course.”

  “One day, you’ll get to talk to her.”

  “I will?”

  “I’m not a complete beast.”

  “You never refer to yourself as a monster,” I said.

  “That title is claimed, and I’m nothing like the Crude Hill lot.”

  “You make them sound like children.”

  “They are.”

  “It’s rather insulting, don’t you think?”

 
“I’m not here to win any games with them. I’m not looking for a competition. Do you like your new room?”

  “This is your room?”

  “Yes.” He leaned back on his hands.

  My gaze fell to his crotch, to the obvious outline of his erection. He was hard and looking right at me.

  “It’s nice.” I opened my book, seeing a cross through fennel. I was making some soup, and I clearly didn’t like the addition of the vegetable. Beside it, I’d put seed, and again, this was crossed out.

  “Put the book down and come here.”

  I looked up at him and found that he was still watching me. Slowly, I put the book down, but I didn’t want to do that. I knew I didn’t. With each step I took, I got closer to him until I stood right in front of him.

  He took my hand and locked our fingers together. “You did really good today.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Always so polite.”

  He lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. I watched him close his eyes and then let go of me. The tips of his fingers brushed across my thigh, teasing along the edge of my dress.

  His touch should have repulsed me.

  It didn’t.

  I didn’t understand why not.

  Staring at him, I waited for the chills, the sick revulsion, but nothing came.

  “Sit. Put your knees on either side of me.”

  “What?”

  He sat back on the bed and tugged me close. I had no choice but to put my knee on either side of his waist, moving onto the bed. The angle put my pussy directly over his dick. I didn’t sit down, but his hands went to the curve of my ass as he moved me into place.

  The hard length of his cock touched me. He was still wearing pants, and I wore my underwear, but I felt him. Pure steel. I gripped his shoulders, trying to hold on. I was far from sickened. I liked it.

  Staring into his green eyes, I waited for him to strike, to make me do something I really didn’t want to do.

  His hands went back to my ass, and he held me in place.

  “You know, all day, there was something I’ve been wanting to do to you. Do you know what that is?”

  “Fuck me?” The words spilled from my lips before I could stop them.

  He chuckled. “I want to do that. It’s a given, but no.” He pressed his face against my neck and I gasped. He hadn’t even kissed me yet. Just the tip of his nose brushing across my flesh. This shouldn’t feel so good.

  I was a horrible friend. The worst kind of person.

  “I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment I saw you this morning.”

  I jerked back, but I didn’t get far as his hands were on my ass. “You do?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  I couldn’t help but look at his lips. They looked tempting.

  They belonged to my enemy. Earl Valentine was the enemy, wasn’t he? I shouldn’t want to kiss him. His cock between my thighs shouldn’t arouse me. There were so many things wrong with this picture. The fact I was enjoying all of this made me a horrible friend. Emily deserved better than me.

  Even as I screamed and cursed myself, demanded better, I put my hands on his cheeks.

  No words formed on my lips. I moistened my own as I looked at him.

  One hand glided from my ass to grip the back of my head, and then he pulled me down, just a little. Our mouths were so close, sharing our breath. Would it be so bad? One kiss. I’d never experienced this before.

  I didn’t know who moved first, him or me, but in the next second, our mouths met. Eyes closed, I didn’t even imagine it was anyone else. There was no reason to. Earl consumed me. His lips danced across mine, and I knew I had to be awful at this. There was no way I was any good. I’d never taken the time to practice kissing. Not even on my hand. There was no point to it.

  Men never held any appeal.

  His fingers massaged the back of my head, and I gasped. This gave him an opening, and he deepened the kiss. When his tongue touched my lip, I jerked back, breaking the kiss. I hadn’t been expecting it.

  I covered my mouth with the back of my hand. “I’m so sorry.”

  He was smiling though. There wasn’t a hint of anger in his gaze. “I’m trying to kiss you.”

  “I’m so horrible at this.”

  “You’re a lot better than you realize.” He rubbed my knee. “You’ve got to learn to relax. It will go much better.”

  “I am relaxed.” The lie fell from my lips with ease. I wasn’t. I was tense and angry and upset with myself.

  Earl, as strange as everything was with him, hadn’t done a single thing wrong. He hadn’t taken. He’d asked. I was over him. He wasn’t dominating me.

  I had all the control, and I wasn’t sure I was completely happy about that.

  “Do you want to stop?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you want to stop?” He grabbed the back of my neck and tugged me down. Any control I thought I once had was shattered out of the water as he consumed me, plunging his tongue into my mouth as he took my mouth. I was putty in his hands. He was the one who had the power here.

  My nipples hardened and the heat between my thighs was nearly at a fever pitch.

  I couldn’t stop driving my pussy against his cock, wanting him to go deeper, desperate for him to not stop.

  I was a hungry woman.

  I’d never been touched, kissed, made love to, or fucked. All of this was new to me. With one single touch of his lips, he’d awakened me, and I hated and loved it with equal measure. It shouldn’t have been this easy.

  All too soon, it was over. Earl broke the kiss, and I wished he hadn’t.

  “You’re amazing,” he said.

  Another gentle kiss brushed across my lips, and then he eased me off him. As he got up, I sat a little dumbfounded on the bed.

  “You might want to get dressed. We’re having dinner in a few minutes.”

  What the hell happened?

  ****

  Earl

  I hadn’t taken care of my orgasm like that in fucking years. I wasn’t a horny teenage boy. I could have women at my disposal with the click of my fingers. They came to me. They always came to me and yet, within minutes of ending the kiss with Ashley, I was in my shower, dick in hand, beating one off. What the fuck was wrong with me? She was willing. I felt the way she pressed against my cock.

  She was desperate for it, hungry. I could have had her. The truth was, yes, I wanted her to crave me and to beg me for it, but more than anything, when I finally took her, I didn’t want her to be thinking of this arrangement.

  Right now, Ashley believed there was an end in sight to our deal.

  There wasn’t.

  Once was not going to be enough. She would belong to me. Her entire life was mine. I wanted it all with her. She wouldn’t be able to deal with just how badly I wanted her. Everything would be revealed all in due time. Until then, I had to be happy with just enjoying the time I spent with her. I was trying to build up a relationship, and that shit was fucking hard.

  We sat out on deck again. The sun had already set, but the lights from the yacht provided enough illumination for us to enjoy our meal. We were safe and sound. Every time Ashley was out with me, she was always clenching her hand into a fist, terrified. We weren’t near any shark-infested waters. I found her nerves cute. As if I’d do anything to jeopardize her life. She was mine. I sat pondering this as she came toward me.

  She was dressed in some shorts and a simple crop top. Her long hair was bound at the back in a ponytail. No makeup. If she was trying to be defiant, she was wrong. I loved her fresh-faced appearance. She looked even more innocent now than ever before.

  She took a sip of the water and leaned back.

  “You look tired.”

  “It has been a long couple of days.” She rubbed at the back of her neck.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Just a little tension.”

  Snapping my fingers, I instructed the nearest woman t
o give her a back massage.

  “No, you really don’t need to do that.”

  I ignored her, as did the woman, and she sat there tense, glaring at me.

  “Could you please tell her to stop?” Ashley asked.

  “Relax.”

  “I’m not going to relax.”

  “Why?”

  “What’s her name?” Ashley asked.

  This made me pause. The truth was none of the women who worked for me had names.

  “Do you even know?”

  The connection we’d experienced back in my room was fading. By bringing the woman closer, it made Ashley even more aware of my dealings in the purchase and sale of women. I was pissed off now.

  She leaned back. “What’s your name?”

  “I don’t have a name.”

  Ashley’s hands clenched. “Please, stop.”

  The woman continued.

  “Please,” Ashley said.

  I clearly wasn’t fast enough. She threw herself out of her chair, forcing the woman to stop. Ashley panted, and in truth, I was enthralled by the passion and lust shining within her gaze.

  “You’re fucking sick.” She spun away and left.

  Ignoring the woman, I followed after Ashley, who stopped within a few feet, whirled around, and glared at me.

  “Stop following me. I don’t want you near me.” She walked backward.

  “Ashley, stop this.”

  “No. You … how could you?” She put a hand to her stomach. Tears filled her eyes. “There was a time she was someone. A daughter, a girlfriend even. Are all the women here purchased?”

  I clenched my jaw.

  “What a stupid question. That’s what you do, right? Steal women, then send them off to their fate when they’ve done nothing to you.” Ashley shook her head. Her lip quivered. “Is that what you would have done with Emily?”

  “She was supposed to be my wife.”

  “Is that what you’re going to do to me? All this niceness fooling me. At the end of it, why would you let me go?”

  I took a step toward her, and she held out her hand. “Stop. Do not touch me.”

  I ignored her request. This was my fucking yacht. She belonged to me. I wasn’t going to feel anything for her. She was my property. Not the other way around. She would do as she was told. I was so fucking angry, but not at her.