ROMANCE: Bear Naked Seduction (Billionaire Bear Trio Book 1) (53 page)

Chapter 3

The following morning Carrie was looking at herself in the mirror. Her skin had bruised where Martin had held onto her tightly, and in the cold light of day they didn't look like marks of love. But she told herself that Martin was enthusiastic, and it was just a sign of his uncontrollable desire for her. That's how she always explained it away, and Martin always made sure to leave his marks in places that were covered by clothes. She dared not tell Danny about what Martin was really like, and she only admitted it to herself deep down inside, and only when she was alone, for when she was with Martin it was easy to forget the ways in which he took control, and how he often expressed his love in hard and cruel ways, ways that hurt her, ways that reminded her she was unlovable and unattractive, that tapped into her adolescent doubts and fears, the ones she had yet to grow out of, the ones that she was afraid would always be with her like a specter haunting her as she walked through the graveyard of life, always whispering in her ears, never letting her settle or be happy.

Just after she and Martin had made it official Danny had expressed some concerns that things were moving too quickly and that he was pressuring her into being with him. Danny had asked her point blank whether she actually loved him or not, and although at the time she had said that she did in her heart she knew that it was a lie, and even months later after they had been living together for a while Carrie still didn't know whether she loved Martin or not. But then again what was love? Was it equitable with happiness or contentment, or was it simply feeling safe and secure with someone? Or was it just having someone to be there to take care of her. The last one fit her and Martin, and she hated herself for taking the easy way out but it was the only way out of loneliness.

She didn't think that Danny believed her but he had never pressed her for it, although he had come close, and her relationship with Martin had caused a lot of friction between the two of them and she tried to keep the two spheres of her life as far from each other as possible. It didn't always succeed and when she was forced into arguments with one or the other she hated on. On the rare occasions when the of them had met there had been palpable tension between them and she feared that at one point she would have to choose between one or the other.  It wasn't the idea of being forced into a choice that provoked such feelings, but the fact that she wasn't sure which man she would choose.

Martin had been dropping more and more hints that at some point she would have to excise Danny from her life but she knew that was wrong, for Danny was the one man that had stood by her through everything she had gone through and he was her only true friend. But Martin was the man that was planning to marry her, to build a life together with her and she wanted that badly, for if she didn't marry Martin then she couldn't imagine that anyone else would want her.

It was a sorrowful existence and Carrie's heart was filled with a deep melancholy, one that was inescapable, no matter how often she looked up to the stars and prayed for some salvation. So instead, she endured it and excused Martin's behavior. If that was how he wanted to express his love then she would allow him to do so.

Things with Danny were becoming difficult as well. She was worried about him. While her life had been filled with change his was stagnating. He'd been working in the same garage ever since high school and seemed to have no ambition to give himself better opportunities in life. His relationships were always infrequent and impermanent, and it saddened her to think that he was going to be swallowed up by life without ever having really lived at all. It was her worst fear realized, and she hated the idea of Danny suffering from it.

But it seemed like there was little she could do apart from go on and continue stumbling through life, hoping that somehow it would all work out for the best, because that's what life always seemed to do.

Work was hard and stressful and over the course of the following few weeks she had less and less time for Danny, so their interactions were done mostly via text. But every night she saw Martin and cuddled up to him. Some nights they made love, other nights he made love to her, but always he made veiled references to the future.

“I told you that this would happen,” he said after Carrie replied to another text from Danny, “this is what life is like. It happened with me as well. I had a great bunch of buddies that I used to hang out with all the time but I got myself a job and other responsibilities while they kept goofing around and eventually we just went our separate ways. I think that's one of the problems with the world. People keep trying to hold onto things when they need to let them go. Not everything has to last forever, and that's perfectly fine. Better to leave something when it's golden rather than watch it twist and fade into bitterness. And you think it's going to get any better? Danny's not the type of guy to want to come around here and play with kids. He wants to go to bars and drink himself until he can forget about the emptiness of his existence but you won't be able to do that when you're a mom. You'll have too much to do. Please, I'm not trying to get in between the two of you I'm just trying to show you what's going to happen because it'll hurt you more in the long run.”

When they had first met, Carrie liked the fact that Martin was older. He spoke with such authority about things and it seemed like he knew all the mysteries of the universe. She liked the idea that a man with such experience saw something in her, something that set her apart from all the other women that flung themselves at him, for he was handsome and successful and there were no shortage of people blinded by the glow of his success. But as time went on his 'advice' became less helpful and more sanctimonious. He spoke as though he knew best in all things, including her relationship with Danny, and that was one area in which she didn't appreciate him interfering.

Chapter 4

The days and nights rolled by. The sun and moon performed their eternal dance among the twinkling stars. Martin continued to needle Carrie about Danny. He rolled his eyes whenever she sent him a text or called him  on the phone, and Danny was getting annoyed at her as well for he felt like she was being kept captive, and nothing she said reassured her. Then, one day, while at work she was on the way to drop off some important files to Jodie, when she overheard Martin's voice coming from the office. To this day she can't explain why she stopped and listened at the door. It wasn't something she usually did but there was something in her gut that told her to listen to what was being said.

“Are you sure about this? You've been piling the work on her. Why are you trying to make her work so hard, is this a way to fast track her to a promotion because it's not going to work. All you're going to do is burn the poor girl out,” Jodie said. Martin snorted with a laughter of derision.

“This isn't about work. I'm  trying to keep her away from a bad man. Trust me, this is what's best for her.”

“Well, you know her better than me, and you're the boss, but if you give her too much more there are going to be questions asked by the others. People are already gossiping that she only got the job because of her relationship with you.”

“She did,” he said bluntly, “she gets everything because of me and that's exactly the way she wants it. I'm going to work her until this guy leaves her life and then I'm going to ask her to marry me and there's going to be no-one to stand in our way.”

Carrie gasped and almost dropped what she was holding. She turned away and ran, only knowing that she had to get out of there as quickly as humanly possible. Her mind whirled with horrid, dark thoughts, and she didn't know what to believe, but she was forced to face the truth about her and Martin's relationship and she didn't like what she saw.

When Martin returned home that night he acted like everything was normal but he knew something was up when he went into the front room and found Carrie sitting on the sofa with her hands folded in her lap.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“I'm not sure. I'm not sure of everything anymore,” she said.

“Sounds heavy. What happened? You left work early. I'm a little hurt that I didn't hear it from you.”

“There's a lot of that going around,” she said. Martin looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face. He sat down beside her and tried to take her hands, but she pulled them away and stood up. Martin's expression twisted into something dark.

“What's going on?” he asked, spitting his words out in a staccato rhythm.

“I overheard you in Jodie's office. I know everything. That I only got the job because of you. That you're the one who's been giving me all this work, all to come between me and Danny. Who do you think you are? You don't get to choose who I'm friends with. I'm my own person!”

“Yes you are but I know what's best for you. I'm your future husband. We've talked about this. I'm only doing what's in your best interest. You won't end your friendship with that animal so I have to do it for you, and in the meantime you're getting a lot of work done which can only help your chances at getting a promotion when your position is reviewed at the end of the year. I'm only doing this for you so don't act like I'm  the enemy or something, just calm down. Frankly I think I'm due a thank you.”

“A thank you?!”

“Yes. You know as well as I do that we shouldn't have a man who has been in jail around our kids.  I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them with him and if this is the only way to get him out of your life then so be it. I don't regret anything I've done.  Soon enough he'll show his true colors. He'll throw you to the side like every other man has done. I'm the only one that stands by you. I'm the only one that's going to be there until the end.” And as he said that Carrie knew that inside Martin lay a horrible, deadly beast, and it was as though he transformed before her very eyes. She saw the cruel malice in his face and the way that he held himself like a bird of prey, ready to swoop down and pick at her carcass. She saw the way he had manipulated her into giving up her dreams and moulding herself to the image that he wanted. She looked down at what she was wearing. Clothes he had chosen for her. A job he had convinced her to take. A life he had manipulated her into believing she wanted when all along Danny had been there, trying to save her again, just like he had in the alley all those years ago.

Martin tried to hold her again and use his silver tongue to work his magic but Carrie was immune to that now. She saw him for the monster he really was, and pushed him away.

Martin didn't like that. As she slapped away his hands his face contorted into a look of rage and he swung at her again with the full force of his strength. The back of his hand came slamming down against her cheek, sending her to the floor. Waves of pain rippled through her and her cheek stung. She looked up at him, hair strewn over her face as he stood over her, fists clenched, bristling with fury. She swallowed hard as he took a step forward. She crawled to the edge of the room but found herself up against a wall again. Nowhere to go again. Martin kept coming forward.

“You stupid bitch. All you had to do was what I said and I could have given you the perfect life. But you've ruined it and now you're going to pay,” he growled. Terror was written all over Carrie's face as he came towards her. She closed her eyes until he was almost on top of her and then she found within herself some deep, inner strength that she had never tapped into before. It rose within her like lava in a volcano that was ready to erupt after years of being dormant. All her desperate anguish that had built up over the years fueled her strength and when she curled her fists up into a tight ball and let fly a punch that cracked into Martin's jaw, it was a punch that was meant for not only all the bullies that had tormented her over the years, but also to her own inner doubts and fears, and as she watched Martin reel back in shock and pain all of the hurt inside her was vanquished.

Chapter 5

She knocked on Danny's door loudly. He was wearing a stained t-shirt and jeans, and he was looked rugged and unkempt, as though Carrie had just woken him up. As soon as he saw the bruise on her cheek he flew into a rage.

“I knew he was no good! I'm going to kill him,” he snarled, and went to pick up the keys to his bike. Carrie had to do all she could to stop him.

“No, look it's fine.”

“Don't try and defend him for this! I'm done. I don't care if it makes you hate me but I'm not letting this go on, and if it means the end of our friendship then fine, but this has to stop.”

“No, I mean I took care of it. Danny, this isn't about him it's about me. I've dealt with it, but I need my friend with me, here, now,” she said, and went to the couch. Danny looked her and the rage faded. He breathed deeply and made her a drink, then sat beside her on the couch. She told him all about the conversation that she overheard and everything that he told her, and then the truth about their relationship.

“I should have known something was wrong all this time but I was blind to it. I guess I just wanted something normal. I wanted to believe that someone could love me.”

“Carrie, why would you need Martin for that?  You're the most amazing person I've ever known and you certainly deserve more than that piece of shit.”

“That's easy to say, harder to believe.”

“Did you ever even love him or were you just with  him because it was comfortable?”

“Maybe there was a point when I thought I could have loved him, but that's all over now.”

“I don't know why you wanted that kind of life anyway. It wasn't you.”

“Because I was tired of the way my life was. I was tired of getting nowhere.”

“Why is  everybody obsessed about getting anywhere? Is it not good enough just to be happy anymore? You were finally getting to a place where you were ready to send off your book and then you gave that all up to be with him and work in some crappy office.”

“Yeah, because I didn't want to spend my life regretting not making any changes, just like you are by working in that garage,” she said. Their voices were beginning to rise as the stress and frustrations boiled over. They hadn't seen each other for what seemed like an eternity and their bodies were charged with emotion.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“I mean that you could be anything you want to be, but you waste your time working in that garage and I don't understand why? You never give yourself enough credit.”

“Like you do?”

“You know I've always struggled with things.”

“We all have our problems Carrie, and how do you think I felt? You're the one person I know that's always tried her best to survive and has always fought to do what she wants, and then the first time you meet a guy who you can get serious about you throw it all away for some generic job. If you can't chase your dreams then why should I? You were the one person I looked to for hope, the one person that I thought could actually show me how to live but at the first opportunity you just left it all behind, so don't act like you're better than me. I'm just doing what I can to survive, same as all of us,” he said.

Carrie was shocked and the two of them were staring at each other, breathing heavily, their chests heaving.

“Is there anything else you're pissed off about? She asked.

“Yeah, I'm pissed off that I haven't done this sooner,” he said, and promptly cupped her head in his hands and kissed her.

*

“What the hell?” Carrie said, more out of surprise than displeasure.

“I think part of the reason why I've been so angry was because I thought I missed my chance when you started going out with him.”

“Why? After all this time?”

“I don't know, I just know that I can't stop thinking about you and I know that I'm not good enough for you. I'm just a mechanic. I ain't smart and I ain't going to be anything big in this world, so I thought if I could be your friend then at least I could keep you safe. The you started going out with him and it killed me.”

“All this time?” she said.

“All this time,” he repeated, and kissed her again. One hand was pressed into the small of her back while the other ran through her hair, and he thrust his tongue in her mouth. Her neck arched back as she surrendered to the passion of the moment, and she too realized that all along it had been Danny. Ever since he had first saved her in the alley it had always been him.

In a torrent of passion they tore each other’s clothes off and kissed each other fervently, as though they had to make up for all the time they had lost. She ran her hands down his thick neck and broad shoulders, and rested them against his chest, feeling the beat of his heart under his tight t-shirt. His hands ran down her spine and lingered just above her ass. He kissed her deeply, lifting her up onto the tips of her toes. She felt as though she was floating.

Muffled moans escaped their lips as they kissed, and Danny was more tender with her than she had imagined. All their lives he had been labeled as the wild one, as a dangerous beast. Everyone else she knew had tried to get her to stay away from him but she saw something they didn't. She saw his heart and he had seen inside her too, he had seen her true beauty.

“You should never let anyone tell you anything other than that you are the most beautiful woman in the world. I've always thought it and I hate that it's taken me so long to say it.”

“Better late than never,” she replied, and kissed him again. She pushed him down on to the couch and pulled away some of the mess that was on there. He grinned as she pinned his wrists back and lowered herself down upon him, straddling him and wriggling over his crotch, feeling his erection swell and harden beneath her. They were both smiling and their eyes sparkled with arousal. Carrie leaned in to give him a longer, deeper kiss, before leaning back and keeping out of reach, hovering her lips close to his, brushing hers against his so that her hot breath teased him, while still restraining his wrists. He had the strength to hold her and push away but he played her game and let her take control for the first time in her life.

Although they had been friends for a long time there was no weirdness about breaking through this new barrier. Everything seemed right and natural and perfect. When he pulled up her top she felt a thrill, and there was a little burst of pain as he ran his hands over the bruises caused by Martin. She winced a little but Danny leaned forward and kissed the sensitive skin, making it all feel better. She in turn pulled his top over his head. His body was masculine and hairy and the mere sight of it sent a pulsing wave through her head and she began to feel intoxicated. Her hands moved lower, down the rippling abs and the scars on his stomach until she was wrestling with his belt and diving into the hot warmth, feeling the hardness beckoning her to go deeper and deeper. His hands, now free, ran along her body, caressing her soft curves and her breasts, feeling all around her body. As he took away his clothes she felt like she was going to be naked for the first time. Their flesh pressed against each other, erupting in tingles, their kisses getting deeper and deeper until there was nowhere else to go but inside each others' bodies. 

Carrie's curves slid over Danny and her mouth hung open as he penetrated her. His hands rested on her thighs, holding her in position tightly as they started to move back and forth, finding their steady rhythm that brought with it such delights. Carrie's eyelids fluttered and through blurred vision she looked down at Danny, a surreal sight to see her best friend underneath her, fucking her.

“This is so weird,” she said, leaning forward and whispering in his ear.

“But so right,” he replied, and she couldn't argue with that.

The heat rose between them and Danny started to get stronger and stronger, controlling the rhythm between the two of them, getting faster and harder as the passion burned in each others' hearts, their bodies becoming one giant mass, the big beautiful woman and her bad boy best friend coupled together in a kaleidoscopic haze, hands clasped together as their bodies sang to the same rhythm. Anguished groans filled the small apartment as they made love together, Carrie's tight pussy rode Danny's thick erection and he gazed in awe at all of her beauty, enjoying the sensations of her body riding his, and when she saw the way that he looked at her it was almost enough to bring her to orgasm by itself  but her vision was blurred by sweat and her skin felt as though it was vibrating as she saw that moment in Danny's eyes when he knew that he couldn't stop the climax from hitting and she clung onto his hair and head and body as a burst of sweet joy swept through his mouth and he released himself, and their juices mingled in a potent cocktail.

*

“Are you ready for this?” Danny asked, resting a hand against Carrie's back. The day was cold and yet the sun was shining. The two of them held coffee in their hands. Steam rose from the small lids in the cups. Carrie handed hers to Danny as she pulled out a thick envelope from her bag.

“I hope this is alright,” she said, her voice trembling.

“You proofread it, right?”

“Yep, the first three chapters, and a synopsis, and a biography about me. I can't believe it's finally done. You think they'll like it?” she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“I think they'll love it, just like I did,” he said, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her on the end. She took a deep breath, and placed it in the mouth of the mailbox, but let it linger there while she looked back up at Danny.

“Thank you for not letting me forget who I am,” she said. He leaned down and plucked a kiss from her lips, and as he did so her fingers left the envelope, letting it drop down into the bowels of the mailbox with a dull thud. With that done the two of them walked away hand in hand, sipping on their coffee.

THE END