ROMANCE: Bear Naked Seduction (Billionaire Bear Trio Book 1) (52 page)

GO TO THE INDEX

Bad Boy to the Rescue

Bad Boy to the Rescue

Chapter 1

“So what's been going on at work? Your boss still giving you a hard time?” Danny asked, taking a long sip of whiskey and wiping the drops off his scratchy stubble. He leaned on the bar and his dark hair drooped over his forehead, looking all broody and mysterious.  As they passed, women were drawn to him and when they caught his eyes their hearts fluttered with desire as they imagined what a night with him would be like. He had an edge to him, a roughness that meant he was unpredictable and wild, and this was exuded from him in a way that seemed to pull people towards him. He couldn't explain it, and neither could the women that fell for him, some of whom were already married or in relationships, and yet when they came across this fine specimen they were helpless and slaves to their base desires.

The only one immune to this affect was the woman sitting beside him, his best friend, Carrie. The two of them were enjoying their bi-weekly late night drink together. She had a glass of white wine and her fingers were resting on the gold edge of the bar.

“Yeah, but that's just the way he is. He's such a jerk but what can I do? I have to just put up with it.”

“I don't know how you do it every day, go into that office with all those people. Does it not drive you crazy?”

“Gotta make a living, right? And I'm done struggling. You know I spent far too long trying to make my dreams come true. It's better this way, I get to put food on the table, I'm much less stressed, and I don't have to worry about things anymore.”

“But do you actually enjoy your job?” he asked pointedly. Carrie's eyes darted down and she raised the glass to her lips in order to avoid answering the question.

“I thought so,” he said smugly.

“Well, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. It's not ideal, but you have to pay your dues in this business. I'll keep my head down and work hard, then hopefully next year I'll get a promotion and I won't have to deal with that jackass anymore, and then eventually I'll be the one barking out orders.”

“You really think you'll be with the company for that long?”

Carrie shrugged, “I don't see why not. It feels nice to have some solid foundations for the future. Makes a change to the last few years of my life.”

“It feels weird, seeing you like this.”

“What, happy?”

“No,” he said, laughing, “Just, well, okay, don't take this the wrong way, but having your shit together.”

“Thanks.”

“You know what I mean, you were always the dreamer, the one that just floated through life and did whatever she wanted.  I actually liked that about you. It's kind of a shame to see that part of you die, if I'm honest.”

“You've never had a problem with being honest before. And that part of me isn't dead it's just...taking a break. I have to be pragmatic, you know? Life isn't going to wait for me to get up on my feet and I don't want to be one of those people that held onto a dream for too long, only to turn around when they're forty and realize that they missed out on all of the fun stuff.”

“I still think you could have made a go of it, you were so close, I mean you had that story published in that magazine right, you could have gone on from there.”

“I think that magazine had a readership of about fifty people. I mean, look,  okay, yeah, if I had my way then I'd be a bestselling author and I'd be able to make a living from writing but sometimes these things just don't work out. At least this way I can still write for fun but I can do other things as well. I know this is the best thing for me in the long run,” she said,  trying to sound convincing but she wasn't sure if she pulled it off, especially not in front of Danny, who knew her better than anyone, even  herself.

“Sounds like Martin talking, not you,” he said, narrowing his eyes and swallowing the remaining golden liquid in his glass. When he set it down, the ice that was left clinked softly, and he immediately signaled to the bartender to pour him another.

“And what's wrong with that?” Carrie said, bristling, knowing that another argument was coming. Danny inclined his head and exhaled deeply, unable to prevent himself for speaking the blunt truth.

“You know there's something wrong about that guy. He's trying to change who you are. I mean, look how much  different your life is to what it was just a few months ago.”

“Yeah, instead of worrying about where the next meal is coming from I'm actually able to treat myself to things, and instead of crashing on my best friend's dirty couch I have a comfortable bed. The only changes I can see are positive ones.”

“I'm just saying be careful, that's all, there's still a lot you don't know about him and there's just something that makes my spider sense tingle.”

“You're just being your usual over-protective self. I'm not a kid anymore, I don't need you fighting my battles for me,” she said, and the words  came out more bitter than she wanted. She was perhaps the only person that could speak to Danny in that way without him yelling back, although more often than not they did have very loud arguments.

“I'm not trying to fight your battles, I'm just expressing my concerns. You always told me that it's bad to bottle my feelings in so I'm just trying to be honest with you.”

“Well Martin is here to stay so there's no use you getting all upset about it.”

“Isn't it weird that you work with him as well though, don't you feel like he's just keeping tabs on you?”

“No, he's not here, is he? Anyway, I appreciate him getting me the job. And we're not really working together. He's got his own office. We only go into work together and then come home together. Sometimes we see each other for lunch. It's nice. It's homely. It's something that I've never had before and it's something that I really value so I don't need my best friend giving me hassle for it.”

“I'm not trying to give you hassle,” Danny said, putting his hand in his head, “I'm just...god, I don't want to argue about this. Let's just forget I said anything.”

“Yeah,” she said. Then her phone buzzed. She opened it and a smile curled on her face. Speak of the devil. Danny scowled and finished off his drink, and immediately ordered another.

“I have to get going soon.”

“Ordered you back did he?”

“I'm in a relationship, we like to spend time together. It's called being courteous, something that you would know little about. Adult relationships are a lot different to the one night stands that you're used to Danny, so don't go  judging  me for something that you don't understand,” she said, and followed it up by draining her glass of wine and sending it back down to the table  with a loud crash. Danny shifted his body so that he was looking away from her. She hung her head.

“Why do we always end up like this lately?” she asked.

Danny knew what he wanted to say but he thought better of it, and remained silent. Interrupting them was a group of three men that came up behind Carrie and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around  to face their smirks.

“Hey, I've always heard that fat chicks are better in bed because they try more, you want to try and prove that right?” Carrie flushed crimson and found her arms folding across her body, trying to hide it, just as she had done when she was younger. Danny stood up and flung his glass on the floor. It smashed and everyone turned to face them.

“What did you say?” he growled, stepping in between Carrie and the men.

“Are you her boyfriend?” the leader asked. Each of the men tensed and raised themselves to their full height but Danny was not intimidated by anyone. He stared back at each of them in turn, sizing them  up and thinking about how he was going to hurt them.

“No.”

“Then it's not really your fight, is it, I was talking to the lady.”

“You're done talking,” Danny said, pushing the man's shoulder.

“Danny leave it, it's not worth it,” Carrie said, trying to pull him away, but once Danny felt the heat of anger rush through his blood he went into a red haze and there was little that could shake him from it. The bartender tried to calm them down but his words just echoed around them. It just so happened that on that night a cop had stopped into the bar for a drink after his shift, and he walked up to them.

“Is there a problem here fellas?” he asked, with a tone of voice that let them know they'd better not do anything stupid. Danny snarled.

“No, there's not officer, we were just leaving,” Carrie said, having to use all her strength to drag Danny away. 

“I'm not bailing you out of jail again,” she said as they walked out of the bar. As they left Danny continued to look back at the men, glaring at them.

Chapter 2

When Carrie got home she kissed Martin on the cheek and smiled at the idyllic life they had built together in just a short few months. Things had changed dramatically ever since she had met Martin, and sometimes it scared her to think of how quickly her life was moving forward, but she reminded herself that it was what life was supposed to be like, and it was what she had wanted ever since she was little, or at least that's how she remembered it.

“Did you get those files sent off today? Jodie was on at me about them,” Martin said without looking up from the TV.

“Yeah, it was the last thing I did before I left,” Carrie said, dumping off her stuff and grabbing a yogurt from the fridge before settling down beside Martin, dragging his arm so that it rested around her curves. “What are you watching?”

“Oh, I don't know really, just some cop show. I'm not really paying attention. How were drinks?”

“Yeah, they were good, had a bit of trouble at the end though.”

“Oh, what's up?”

“Just some stupid  guys making stupid comments. Danny was ready to blow up at them.”

“But you're okay?”

“Oh yeah, there was a cop there so he came and defused the situation, which was great because it's hard to stop Danny when he feels like he wants to be a hero.”

“Well, I'm just thankful that he was there. I hate the thought that anything could happen to you.”

“I was fine. They weren't the first stupid guys I've had to deal with and I don't need people to fight my battles for me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of things myself.”

“No, but it's always nice to have someone in your corner, especially someone as strong as Danny,” he said. Then, after a few moments of silence he added, “But don't you think it's a little strange that the two of you are so close?”

“Not this again, Martin. We're just friends. There's never been anything between us,  okay?”

“I know, and I'm not saying there ever was, but are you sure he doesn't have any designs on you? Usually in my experience when there has been a close friendship between two people of the opposite sex there's usually one who  feels a greater affection for the other. I  just think it'll be awkward, especially in the future when we're married and have a family, do you really want him hanging around all the time?”

“You want to get married?”

“Not right away, but it's in the plan, and then after that there are kids to think about as well. We've got to have the future in mind Carrie, even if it is a long way away. And I'm just not sure that I see a place for Danny in it. I appreciate that he's your friend and that you've known each other for a long time but it doesn't seem to me that there's going to be a place for him in your life. And really, is a grimy mechanic someone you want your kids to be hanging around? I don't think he's the greatest role model.”

“Danny is a great a guy and if you got to know him properly then you'd see that as well. He's my best friend and nothing is going to change that, and yeah if we have kids I will want them around him because I know that they'd always be safe with him and that he'd never let anything bad happen to them.”

“Okay, but I still think you're making a rash judgment there based on your life so far. Just think about it, okay? When you get a promotion you'll be working a lot, when you have kids you can make friends with other new moms and you'll be going to nursery, etcetera... All I'm saying is that do you really think Danny is going to fit into that life? I just think that at some point you're going to outgrow him, I mean, the man is basically a relic from the 80s, he doesn't strike me as the type that's going to change and there's nothing sadder than seeing a man being stuck in the past.”

Carrie rested her head on Martin's shoulder, too tired to argue. She watched the TV as two cops shot their way into a building and apprehended the criminals. The good guys won and everyone went home happy, all the beautiful people got together and had beautiful sex in their beautiful beds but while her eyes were seeing those images her mind traveled back to the past, when she was a teenager, in the first days of her and Danny's friendship.

Her body had been changing and growing and she had no idea what was going on. Hormones were raging around her body and causing massive explosions of different sensations. It seemed like everyone else knew what was going on and she was left alone, cast away in a lonely sea of confusion. All the pretty girls started talking about boys and sex and in gym class Carrie eavesdropped. It was all cloaked in mysteriousness and innuendo, and it made Carrie's heart beat with anticipation for her first time.  But it wouldn't come until  much later than high school. She was bigger than all the other girls and she knew that others knew it too. She felt ugly and unattractive. Every morning she would look in the mirror at the lumps on her body and wonder why she had been cursed by the fates while other girls had the perfect skin and the perfect smiles and those sweet supple breasts that perked up and greeted everyone with a smile. Self-esteem ebbed away every day and doubts tore at her mind, dragging her down until she wallowed in self-pity and confessed to herself that she would always be alone because nobody would ever love her.

That was even before the bullying started. The girls and boys all talked and they all started sniping at her. It started with a few small comments but they got more and more nasty and cruel until Carrie was reduced to tears. Her pillow was always wet at night and in the dark hours of midnight she thought how easy it would be to just stop everything and end her life.

But she never could.

The teasing continued. The days became an endless drag and she walked through them as though she was drifting in a mist. There seemed to be no end to them, all she knew was that she was unlovable. Then, one day, some boys from the football team followed her home and called out to her in an alley. They were the best and brightest of the school, heroes to everyone else as they carried the team to another record-breaking season but in that moment Carrie stared into their eyes and knew that they were villains. They licked their lips and prowled at her like wolves, moving in for the kill. Carrie wanted to run but her stumpy little legs wouldn't have carried her far, and there was no way she could have escaped those athletes with their big strong muscles, their tight torsos, and their rigid cocks, filled with a dark lust.

“We thought we'd do you a favor. No-one else is going to fuck you so we thought we'd let you lose your virginity to us,” the leader said as they stalked up to her. Carrie shook her head and tried to scream for help but she was trembling with fear and her words came out like a squeak, which only made the boys laugh.

She fell to her knees when she felt the wall behind her because she knew there was nowhere else to go. The three boys towered above her and as they encircled her they blotted out the sun, and all became dark.

Then, suddenly, they yelled as they were hauled back. Carrie dared not lift her head but if she had done she would have seen Danny swoop in and throw them all about. Carrie had seen him around but he had always been a loner, turns out they had that in common. He sent the other boys scurrying and then spoke softly to the trembling Carrie. She looked up and saw the sun shining behind his head, but she was the only person to see him as good.

After that nobody bothered her again although nothing happened to the boys, nothing bad anyway. They ended up going undefeated and getting scholarships. Carrie tried to put her pain down in a book and within a year of finishing high school she had finished her first novel and was soon starting her second, but she didn't have faith in the material or in herself and it languished for years until she was able to find a publisher. In the meantime her friendship with Danny flourished although it only remained a friendship. In her early twenties she finally started to date and have boyfriends. He had one-night stands. Every one of their partners remarked how strange it was for the two  of them to be friends, and they didn't seem to believe Carrie or Danny when they said that nothing romantic had ever happened between them.

But even through all that Carrie still struggled with  self-image issues. She'd tried losing weight but could never seem to shift enough, and it didn't help that she felt worthless in life because she hadn't achieved her dreams and was approaching her late twenties without having accomplished anything of note.

That's when Martin had come along. They'd met randomly at a bar and to her surprise he took an interest in her. He was a little older and had a steady job and he knew exactly what he wanted. He told Carrie that she was the most beautiful, sexiest woman in the world, and while at first she didn't believe it she was soon convinced that he meant it after their first time together because he was like a wild animal, ravishing her with a primal savagery. She had never been made love to like that before and she enjoyed it.

He was very strict through and quickly took control of the relationship, making it clear that if she wanted to be with him then she would have to go at his pace, not hers. Early on she was still trying to get her book published, having finally worked up the courage to send it off to publishers, but he told her that it was a forlorn dream and sometimes these things just weren't meant to be, that there were other ways of being happy in life. That's when he told her that he knew of a job in his company. He pulled strings and Carrie got it. Then he asked her to move in. It had been a whirlwind but Carrie couldn't refuse. She never thought she'd have someone be so interested in her and want to build a life with her, and she was grateful for that.

Laying in bed, Carrie had the covers pulled tightly over her. Martin came into the room and slid in next to her. The familiar heat of his body seeped through to her own as his arms wrapped around her. He started to kiss the back of her neck and his hot breath washed down. His hardness pressed against her.

“Not tonight, baby. I'm feeling kinda tired,” she said, closing her eyes and nestling into the pillow. Martin continued to kiss her.

“Come on Carrie,” he whispered in her ear, “you're so sexy I just can't help myself,” he said, his hands moved around her breasts and squeezed, and he started to peel away her clothes.

“You love me don't you,” he said.

“Yes,” she found herself saying in a breathless whisper.

“And you want me?”

“Yes.”

“And you want us to make each other happy?”

“Yes.”

“Then let's make each other happy.” Her eyes clamped shut as she felt him enter her.

“Yes,” she said, as they rolled around under the covers, cloaked by darkness.