Echo: A Dark Billionaire Romance (Bleeding Hearts Book 1) (8 page)

“I changed my mind.” I reached for the cloth over my eyes.

Before I could remove it, a hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled my arm back into my lap.

“Again,” he said. “Not your decision to make. I agree its better this way.”

“What are you doing in my apartment?” I asked. “My roommate will be home…”

“She’s out with a friend,” he replied.

“How do you know these things about my life?” I croaked.

He pulled me against his chest, smoothing his palm up and down my back as held me close. It was a gesture of comfort, one I really didn’t understand.

“I wanted to check on you,” he said. “To make sure you were alright.”

This time it was regret in his voice, and I wanted to laugh and tell him how ridiculous that was. To pretend he cared about my welfare at all.

“I’m fine.” I pulled away from him, curling my knees into my chest. “So just do what you came here to do.”

He sighed. “That is all I came here to do, Brighton. I was rough with you today. And although I liked the things I did with you very much, I want you to know I would never take things further than that. I’d never really…
hurt you.”

Something about the way he said those words, so wracked with emotion, made me believe him. But it changed nothing between us, and I wasn’t dumb enough to think it did. This man was a monster, and I needed to remember that. To remember the reason he was here, in my bedroom, and the pain he had caused my family.

“With that being said,” he continued, the weight of the bed releasing as he stood. “I gave you an order, and you disobeyed me. I will have to punish you for it. There is no leniency in this agreement, and you need to understand that. But I will allow you some time to recover. We’ll meet again on Thursday.”

He leaned down and brushed his lips against my cheek, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not feel anything. I wanted to stay numb or angry, because that’s what I thought I should feel.

“Until then…”

His footsteps carried him from the room with a soft click of the door behind him. I waited a full minute until I removed the blindfold. There, on the table beside me were two dozen blood-red lotus flowers.

Chapter Eight

“Brighton?”

I glanced up at Nicole, who was staring at my untouched cereal in front of me. I didn’t know how long it had sat there, but it was soggy now.

“Are you okay? You’ve been acting really strange the last few days.”

I snorted, because she was one to talk. Her face had been a little pale the last few days, and after our encounter the other night, she’d hardly said two words to me. It didn’t bother me since my mind was otherwise preoccupied, but I did wonder why our friendship had become so tense.

“I’m okay.” I gave her a weak smile as I stood and scraped the contents of my bowl into the garbage. “I just have some family stuff going on.”

It was a lie, but I was sure she would believe it. She never shared anything too personal, and it worked for us. The last thing I wanted was someone asking questions about my family.

Her cell phone rang, and she frowned before hitting ignore. Something else she’d been doing a lot lately. My curiosity got the best of me as she walked back to the coffee maker, and a quick glance at the name surprised me. Ryland was calling her, and the fact that she chose to ignore him made me wonder if there was something more going on between them. I tried to swallow the sudden bitterness that coated my tongue as I walked to my room.

I didn’t have any claim on him, of course. It was ridiculous for me to feel any jealousy at all. A man of his caliber would most certainly never date a girl like me, and even if he wanted to, I couldn’t. I had my blackmailer to deal with now, and it would be that way for the foreseeable future. I made myself a promise right then that I was going to stop thinking about Ryland Bennett.

Today was Thursday, which meant I had something more important to worry about. Something dark and terrifying waiting for me inside a hotel room. He had promised me punishment, and I didn’t doubt I would be receiving it. But what he planned to dish out, I had no clue.

Almost as if on cue, my cell phone chirped.

Send me a photo of one of the marks I left on you.

I swallowed as I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, my fingers tracing over the fading marks on my shoulder. Whenever I looked at his brands on my body over the last two days, something strange happened. Even now, my heart beat violently in my chest. My skin was hot and flushed, but I couldn’t understand why. I should have been furious. Repulsed. Disgusted. Horrified. But I was none of those things.

His brand of kink was marking me in every possible way he could think of. At first I’d assumed it was a cruel way to remind me I belonged to him, but now his request made me think otherwise. He was the one who wanted the reminder.

I didn’t know this man. I had no idea what he looked like, other than that he was solid and strong. He was a complete stranger, and yet it seemed he knew my body intimately. As though he knew things about me that even I didn’t. Things I would like. Things that I shouldn’t.

The thought was disturbing on a level I couldn’t even process. But once I’d gotten over my shame in that hotel room, I realized something. Shame couldn’t have a place inside of me if there wasn’t a part of me that had enjoyed it. Enjoyed the terrible things he did to me. What kind of person did that make me?

I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath, and the phone chimed again.

Don’t make me ask twice, Brighton.

I snatched it up with a glare and turned on the camera, angling it towards my shoulder. No way was I sending him the one he’d left on my inner thigh. I sent the text through and tossed the phone on my bed, resolved not to think about it for the rest of the day.

When I walked to my closet, I chose an outfit that reflected my mood. Black. The dress was a size too large and sort of resembled a paper bag. It had cost me five dollars on a bargain rack three years ago, and it had well and truly seen better days. But I took pleasure in wearing the most unappealing thing I owned. He didn’t deserve my primping.

Which led me to my makeup and hair decisions. I rarely wore much makeup anyway, but today I opted for only the bare minimum of mascara. My hair was thrown into a messy bun, and I removed my necklace and earrings. I wanted him to know I wasn’t making an effort for him. He wanted control of my body? Fine. But he didn’t control how much time I spent on my appearance.

I held my head high as I walked out the door and left for work. The more distant and cold I could remain in this situation, the better. I’d even managed a smile as I stepped into the elevator. One of my co-workers could barely hide her disdain at my clothing choice. It was all very humorous until I got to my desk.

A blank envelope waited for me. It was your typical run of the mill manila, but my stomach dipped at the lack of anything on the front of it. Sure enough, when I opened it up I found a hotel key card along with a date and time. Seven o’ clock this evening.

I glanced around the office with red cheeks, wondering if anybody had seen who delivered this. But they were all milling around without any notice of me. Or at least that’s what I thought until I saw Matt.

His dark brown eyes met mine across the office, and they held a hint of concern. My gaze dropped, and a moment later, he was in front of me.

“Brighton, are you alright?”

He wrapped his large hands around my arms in a way that reminded me of Brayden. I had the sudden urge to hug him. To confess everything and beg him to help me. Only, he couldn’t, and I was being ridiculous.

“I’m okay.” I gave him a watery smile.

He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a sharp voice broke the tension. We both turned to see Ryland summoning him from his office with an icy smile.

Matt cursed under his breath as he released me and walked off. I hoped I would see him again at lunch because I could have used a good dose of his lighthearted humor. But he dashed those hopes when he told me he had to leave the office to work on a project.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at my desk, even working through my lunch break. It wasn’t until Ryland set a yogurt and a banana in front of me that I broke my trance.

“You need to eat, Miss Valentine.”

The warmth in his voice surprised me, but when I looked up into his eyes, I saw a hint of unease there. He was making it very difficult not to think about him when he continued to pay me little visits like these. Could he see through my act so clearly? It was odd considering he didn’t even remember me. He wasn’t the type of man who would forget names or faces. The more I watched him, the more I knew that was true.

Even now, he was adjusting the stack of papers on my desk, lining them up with the edges. I doubted he even realized he was doing it. I stared at his fingers for far too long before I caught myself.

“Thank you, Mr. Bennett.” I smiled up at him.

“Please call me Ryland.” He leaned against my desk, scrutinizing me.

“Ryland,” I corrected. If only he knew that’s what I’d been calling him all along… inside of my head.

“Stacey told me you hadn’t eaten lunch,” he explained. “I hope she’s not working you too hard.”

Just the mention of Stacey had my muscles tensing. Thank God she’d eased up on me over the last week. I wouldn’t have been able to handle her on top of everything else.

“Of course not,” I replied. “I just wasn’t that hungry today.”

“Well, you should eat,” he encouraged. “And take a break. I don’t want people to start thinking I’m a slave driver.”

There was a hint of a smile on his face now, and my heart did a little flip inside of my chest. Our eyes locked, and for a moment, I was transported back to five years ago. I was on my back porch, completely under his spell. And if he kept looking at me like that, then maybe he would kiss me too…

I bolted up out of my chair and nearly knocked over my paperclips again. Ryland frowned.

“I’ll take my break now,” I blurted. “Thanks again for the food.”

Ryland nodded, but he didn’t leave. I wished he would. I couldn’t stand there with him looking at me that way. Making me feel things that were no good for me. And yet my eyes wandered over his body, imagining what it would be like to have his hands on me again. To feel their warmth and their strength, and to know I had invited them. That it wasn’t something I’d been coerced into doing. It was a fantasy I could entertain, if only briefly.

For once Suffering Stacey appeared at a good time, popping up with a mug of coffee for Ryland.

“Mr. Bennett, I have those files you requested.”

He didn’t take his eyes off me as he jerked his chin towards his office.

“Enjoy your lunch, Miss Valentine.”

***

I woke to his breath skating over my skin, his scent surrounding me as the heat of his body pressed against mine.

It wasn’t any particular cologne that I could narrow down. It was a simple, clean scent. A faint hint of soap and laundry detergent. I wondered if that was intentional, so I couldn’t identify him later.

The blindfold was on, but judging by my sleepiness he was late. Very late. I must have been asleep for at least a couple of hours. He didn’t speak as I came to, he simply continued to worship my body with his lips.

Admittedly, it felt good. I’d been between the clutches of a dream and reality when I finally woke. Only, it was Ryland’s face in my dream, hovering over me as he kissed every inch of my skin. Traces of cinnamon and amber bathing my body everywhere he touched. I wanted it to be him. Oh God, how I wanted it to be him.

“Brighton,” he groaned.

It was such a simple word. Just my name on his lips. But the way he said it was different from every other word I’d heard him say so far. His voice was always tight, in control. But when he said my name, he lost that control.

His hands trailed up the delicate skin of my rib cage, and I shivered beneath them. How had he managed to take my clothes off without me feeling it?

“Where’s my dress?” I asked.

He didn’t like my question. His hand tangled in my hair as he brought his lips to my ear.

“Clever girl. You think I don’t know what you’re doing? That
dress
, as you call it, was cut off the moment I stepped in here.”

“Cut off?” I repeated, my voice trembling.

“That’s what I said,” he hummed. “You are a very beautiful girl, Brighton, and I like to look at you. But do I need to put something as simple as pride in your appearance in the agreement as well?”

Whether it was his intention or not, his words actually hurt me. I grew up being treated like trash, and anyone who saw the way we lived would have agreed. But I didn’t like to think it was true.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I don’t have a lot of nice things, but I’ll do better next time.”

“You have a lot to be sorry for today.” He nipped at my ear. “Are you ready to redeem yourself?”

My entire body stiffened beneath him. He said he would punish me, but a part of me had secretly hoped he’d forgotten while he explored my body.

I bit my lip and waited, but he simply pulled it free with his thumb and kissed me. It was soft and gentle. Hesitant even. With the blindfold on, I was so attuned to his every sound that I could hear the change in his breathing. Was it excitement, or duress? What I wouldn’t give to see his face now. To unlock this mystery.

“It won’t be so bad.” He reached forward and tugged a lock of my red hair. “In fact, I think you may even enjoy it. I can tell there’s a little bit of darkness inside of you too, Brighton. Whether you like to admit it or not.”

His words were worse than a slap to the face.
Was he insinuating I was like Norma-Jean?

“I’ve often wondered what your vices are,” he continued. “There has to be something. I didn’t believe the sweet and innocent act for a moment. Not until I was inside of you for the first time.”

He flipped me over on the bed during the middle of his little speech, positioning my body on all fours.