Owned by Him Read online

  ****

  Elijah sat inside his sister’s house, staring up at the ceiling. He really needed to get a job or do something with his time. Staring at a ceiling all day was driving him stir-crazy. There had to be something he could do. Over the years he’d been doing odd jobs, but his main job had been in the BDSM clubs. Club Kink was not the only club he’d been part of. He’d not taken a sub, but he’d trained other Doms on how best to approach their submissives.

  Rubbing a hand down his face, Elijah wondered how he was going to get a job in his current situation. His last employment was at Club Kink.

  Working at the bank was a no. He was good at math and with communicating with people, but he’d go mad staying in four walls.

  Elijah wasn’t a bum. He worked well with his hands and loved helping people out. In college he’d gained a business degree and could do anything he wanted. At thirty-five, he was undecided on what he wanted to do with his future. He wasn’t hurting for money as he’d been sane enough to save from a young age.

  The sound of the door opening had him jerking to his feet.

  “And he said what?” she asked. “Oh my God, Amber, why didn’t you say yes?”

  He tensed at the sound of his woman’s name. Leaning against the door frame he watched his sister drop her bag onto the floor. She was slowly moving out and in with Julian. He helped when he could.

  “You’ve got to go out with him even if it goes nowhere.”

  Silence fell on the house. Heather glanced up and finally saw him looking at her. His sister let out a sigh. “I’ve got to go. We’ll talk some other time.” Silence again. “No, my shit-head brother is staring at me. He needs to get a job. Yeah, okay, bye.”

  Heather folded her arms, glaring at him.

  “Who was on the phone?” he asked.

  “You know the answer.”

  “So, Amber has a hot date?”

  “Yeah, well, she’s thinking about it.” Heather walked past him to go straight toward her kitchen.

  “Who with?” he asked, following her.

  “A guy from work. Why are you so interested?” She filled the kettle, keeping her back to him.

  “No reason. She’s your friend, and I’m trying to be supportive.” Jealousy coursed through him. Amber was his woman. No other man should be allowed to touch her.

  “It will be good for her. I’ve never actually seen her with a guy. She’s not even been on a date. This should be good for her.”

  Heather turned to him, smiling. “How are you?” she asked.

  “I’m good.” He was pissed off. Finding out Amber had a date had really made him angry.

  “Any luck on the job front?”

  “No. I’ll find what I’m looking for soon enough.”

  “Good. You shouldn’t be sitting around here waiting for stuff to happen. Julian and I are going to Wade’s tonight. Do you want to come along?”

  He knew his sister was trying to build a relationship with him. At that moment, he couldn’t care about her effort. His thoughts were filled with Amber and her proposed date with a guy from work.

  “No, I’m going to stay around here. I’ve not got anything planned at all.”

  “All right. I’m going to grab some more stuff. Are you still good paying the rent, or do you want me to pay it?” Heather asked.

  “I’m good.” They stared at each other. “I’m going to go for a walk. I’ll see you soon.”

  She smiled, and he turned to leave.

  “Love you,” she said, making him pause.

  “I love you, too.”

  He left then with a smile on his face.

  Checking the time he saw it was after lunchtime. He went to the nearest café he could find and ordered himself some food and a coffee.

  His thoughts were all over the place. Amber had a date. He didn’t like it. Why would she accept a date after the weekend they’d shared together? None of it made any sense. He stayed in the café for a long time. The waitress kept smiling at him. Elijah ignored her and only wished to know the answers to his questions.

  When it was about to close, Elijah paid his bill and left. He couldn’t handle not knowing the answers.

  Before he could turn around he hailed a cab and headed toward her apartment.

  It was insane the way he was feeling. He’d never been jealous of anyone, and yet in the last few months of living in Heather’s home, he’d grown jealous of both his sister and the guy who’d asked Amber out on a date.

  He arrived at Amber’s apartment a little after five. Elijah knocked to discover no answer. Biting his lip to contain his anger, he sat down by the door and waited.

  The time passed slowly, and his heart broke with every minute that passed. At a little after six, the elevator pinged and suddenly Amber was walking toward him. Her head was lowered, and she hadn’t spotted him. Elijah stayed on his butt, waiting to see what would happen.

  Her head lifted, and she paused.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. Her steps turned slow.

  “I needed to come and see you.”

  He stood back up waiting for her. She grabbed the keys from her bag as she approached.

  “I didn’t think I’d see you today,” she said, slotting the key in the lock.

  “It has been a pretty strange day.”

  She nodded, opening the door.

  “I heard you got asked on a hot date.”

  Amber tripped over her own feet. He caught her before she hit the floor. Elijah went hard at the scent of her subtle perfume and the feel of her warm curves flush against his.

  “I guess that’s true then.”

  She pulled out of his arms, pressing her hand down her front. “I don’t know where you heard it, but yes, I have a date.”

  “Why?” he asked, doing everything he could not to break down.

  His woman looked away from him.

  “Don’t do this,” she said.

  “Do what?”

  Her arms were thrown in the air. “This. Stop acting like the jealous boyfriend. You’ve never been jealous before, and I don’t see a reason for you to start now. This is not the kind of guy you are, so stop it.”

  Elijah gazed at her. He saw the anger and the upset flit across her face so fast, he almost missed it, and he suddenly realized the pain he’d caused her over the years. They’d both walked away at some point, but he’d always been the first to start it.

  “I don’t want you to go on this date, Amber. You’re mine.”

  She dropped down, grabbed a glass vase and launched it at him. He moved out of the way before the glass could hit him. “Would you stop saying that?” She screamed the words at him. The glass smashed on the floor. “I’m not your woman, Elijah. If I was your woman you wouldn’t be treating me like this. You wouldn’t be walking away from me at every turn. You wouldn’t be meeting blonde women at BDSM clubs hoping to get a better, thinner, prettier submissive.” She slammed her palm against her chest. Her face was red with her anger. “You wouldn’t be treating me like your fucking whore.”

  Her words made him gasp. “Don’t you ever talk about yourself like that.”

  “Why not? You use me when you see the need, and when you grow tired you fucking leave me. I’m nothing but a glorified whore who does what she’s told.”

  Elijah saw the error of his ways. He’d scarred her in the most painful of ways.

  “I never meant to hurt you. I love you, Amber.” The words left his lips, and another vase was thrown at him. He shouldn’t have told her the truth.

  Chapter Six

  Elijah’s words were a lie. Amber was so angry with herself for allowing herself to feel anything other than lust. Growling in frustration, she turned around, searching for something more to throw at him.

  His arms banded around her middle, stopping her from picking anything else up. She fought him, trying to get away. Amber let loose the pain she’d kept deep down inside. Tears filled her eyes as she stared ahead of her.

  “Let me g
o,” she said.

  “No! I’m not letting you go.”

  The tears finally spilled down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and cried out. “I don’t want you in my life anymore.”

  She didn’t mean the words. Well, part of her meant them.

  “I’m here, Amber. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

  Eyes closed, she took a deep breath until she finally gained control of her sanity.

  “I’m fine. I need you to let me go.”

  Slowly he released her, and she sat down on the sofa. Pushing the hair out of her eyes, she stared straight ahead.

  “When you fucked me on Heather’s eighteenth birthday it was the best and worst day of my life,” she said.

  He took the seat next to her.

  “I had the biggest crush on you, and I wanted you to be my first. In the morning, I didn’t know what to do and I heard my friends talking, so all I wanted to do was get away.” She licked her lips. Her throat was dry, and she was exhausted. “You spanked me that day, and it turned me on. I was confused, and for months afterward I didn’t know what it meant. I ran away that first time because I was scared. You’re a lot to take in, and I was only eighteen. Every time we’ve met since we’ve always had an excuse to run away from each other. The only area in our life that makes sense is the sex and the domination. I know you’re not the only one at fault. I’ve never fought for more. ”

  She turned to look at him. Amber saw the tears in his eyes.

  “I’m twenty-five years old, and I’ve not even been on a proper date with a man. Waiting for you has made me tired. I need to go on this date, Elijah. You may not like it and I accept that, but you can’t stop me.”

  Accepting Dale’s date had made her happy. He would be the first man she’d ever been on a date with.

  “You spent the weekend with me,” he said.

  “Dale knows I was seeing someone and that it wasn’t official. I never want to hurt you, Elijah. Regardless of what you think, I do love you, very much.” Amber wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “I love you, and you love me. Why can’t we make this work?”

  Amber gazed at her hands. “I don’t know.”

  She wanted more than anything to wrap her arms around him and let the future pan out. Their past together stopped her.

  “I’m not backing down, and I’m not giving up. I love you, Amber. I love you more than you’ll ever know or understand.” He stood, and she heard him take the steps toward her front door. “When are you going on a date?”

  “This Friday. He’s picking me up here.”

  “I’m not giving up,” he said.

  She flinched as the door closed. Grabbing her cell phone, she did something that she should have done a long time ago. “Hello, Ashley, will you come over? I really need to talk to you.”

  Waiting for Ashley to arrive, Amber changed into some pajamas and tied her hair into a ponytail. An hour later, Ashley rang the bell.

  “I bought chocolate ice-cream. You sounded in need on the phone.”

  She made them both hot chocolates as Ashley went to her room to change. Amber’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking. She needed to tell someone about Elijah, and Ashley was the only person she knew wouldn’t judge. Heather would get angry at her brother, while Connie would try to reason with her. Ashley was the only one who would listen in this situation.

  Amber waited for her friend.

  “Right, I’m here, and I’m all ears,” Ashley said, eating ice-cream.

  Now that the time came to be honest, Amber felt a wave of sickness overcome her.

  How could she speak the truth to her friend?

  What was she supposed to say?

  “I’ve been sleeping with Elijah since Heather’s eighteenth birthday.”

  Ashley’s mouth opened wide, staring at her. The silence started and kept going putting Amber on edge.

  “Say something. You’re the only one I’ve ever told.”

  “I’ll say something when I’m ready. You’ve been fucking Heather’s brother?”

  Amber nodded.

  “The guy with the long hair and the well-built bod?”

  “Yes and yes. What’s the matter with you? I need to speak to someone about what’s going on, and you’re the only one I can trust.”

  “You want me to keep this from the others?”

  “Yes. I’m not stupid, Ashley. I know you keep shit from us. I could never talk about this with Heather or Connie.”

  “I don’t feel comfortable keeping something like this to myself,” Ashley said.

  “Please, let me finish, and then you can comment all you want.”

  Amber went into a long explanation detailing what happened between her and Elijah. She didn’t leave anything out other than the more sordid, twisted bits. Amber opened up about the domination and her part with Club Kink. The blonde and the weekend she spent with him were also discussed.

  By the end of it, Amber was in tears and in Ashley’s arms.

  “I agreed to a date with Dale, and Elijah says he loves me. I don’t know what to do. I can’t tell Heather, and I’m totally screwed. I hate this. I hate feeling like this.” She sobbed out the words, wishing something would happen that would take her away from all the pain and the heartache.

  “Look, you’ve never been on a date before, and Elijah’s never asked you out on a date, right?” Ashley said.

  “No, he hasn’t.”

  “This Dale knows the score. Go on a date with him. God, get him to feel you up and kiss him. Take full advantage of the date.”

  Ashley wiped the tears away. Amber felt like a child and pulled away. “What about Elijah?”

  “Bastard had his chance. He’s done nothing but use you, and I don’t like to hear about my friends being used.”

  “I love him as well, Ashley.”

  Her friend shrugged. “Dale is not expecting anything from you. Go, date, have fun, and do everything you should have done before being Elijah’s woman. You’re acting like he has some prior claim over you, and that’s not the case at all. He has no claim at all.”

  Amber agreed. Lying down on the sofa, Amber rested her head on her friend’s lap. “Stay here with me tonight?”

  “Of course, on one condition?”

  “What condition?” Amber asked.

  “The instant you know how you feel, you tell the others. I’m not keeping a secret for Elijah. He doesn’t deserve it, and I’m pissed at him.”

  Amber agreed with her friend and closed her eyes.

  ****

  Ashley left her friend’s apartment early the next morning. She put a note on the fridge under a magnet so Amber wouldn’t worry. There was no judgment for Amber’s secret relationship with Elijah. No matter what Amber thought, there was a relationship going on between the two.

  Hitching her bag high on her shoulder she headed toward the bar where she worked. Wade had offered her a job at his bar, but she didn’t fuck and work in the same place. She picked guys up from Wade’s place on a regular basis. There was no way she’d work in a place where her exes could find her when she wasn’t prepared for it.

  After listening to what Amber had to say, Ashley knew she needed to do something about her own problem.

  She’d been working at Flirt for a few weeks now, and she loved it. The people were friendly, and the guards at the door did a great job. It was closer to being a nightclub rather than a bar. The women were young, thin, and wore barely any clothes.

  Last night, before Amber’s phone call, she’d met her real boss and the guy who owned Flirt. The guy was none other than Jonathan Cook, the football captain who’d taken her virginity and broken her heart in high-school. She recognized him instantly. The years hadn’t changed him at all. Jonathan was still good looking, only now, there was a maturity to his boy-next-door looks.

  Wiping at her eyes, she forced the tears down. Seeing him for the first time in over seven years had sent pain spearing through her heart. Staring into his eyes she’d felt
like she was drowning with no way out.

  Ashley had quit on the spot and stormed out. Working for an ex who humiliated her in high-school and hurt her deeply was not something she’d ever do for kicks.

  The problem was, she needed this job. Going back to work as a secretary or an assistant would drive her crazy. She needed the buzz of working behind a bar. Smelling like alcohol wasn’t nice, but it was better than being in the tight formal clothing that was demanded of her.

  She walked the whole way to Flirt. Outside the front, the path was a mess. She knew, come night, the place would be immaculate.

  Opening the door, she stormed inside to confront the man from her past. Ashley found the barman filling up the counter.

  “Where’s the boss?” she asked, startling him.

  “’Round back, in his office. He’s not in a good mood.”

  “Then he matches my fucking mood.” She didn’t wait and stormed toward the general direction. Her feeling toward Jonathan was purely hatred. The bastard had ruined high-school for her. He’d said things that made her believe she was so special, and then, he’d crushed her into dust. Since that day, she’d never been the same carefree Ashley. There was a time when she’d need more than a smile and promise to get her in the sack.

  The men she fucked now only ever needed to promise a good time for the night, and she was happy. She’d lost count of the number of men she’d taken to bed.

  Slamming the door of his office open, Ashley stopped and looked at him.

  Jonathan looked up, glaring. The instant he saw her, his gaze changed.

  “You came back.”

  Stepping into the office, she closed the door then took a seat opposite him. “I need this job. I don’t want to go back to working in an office. Flirt suits me. It’s what I want, and I don’t want to change.”

  “I was going to call you to make sure you didn’t regret your decision.”

  She held her hand up. “I don’t like you. I want nothing to do with you. The way I see it, I’ve avoided you for the last few weeks, and I can go on avoiding you.”

  “I’m your boss.”