Stolen: A Bad Boy Romance (11 page)

Janson

“I’ve got some news I’ve been waiting to share. Because we don’t have enough shit on our plate.” Greyson looked so tired as he said it. “I’m so fucking tired.”

“What?” I asked.

“David’s been spotted in town.” Greyson grabbed a pair of glasses and a decanter. Every time I saw him lately he was drinking something and it had me worried.

I didn’t want him to go down that road. It was one he’d been down before. Before Joanna. I’d watched him dry out twice and I didn’t want to make it a third fucking time.

“Don’t you think we should wait a while for that?” I asked. He’d been drinking a damn lot lately. “Might want to cut back a little, don’t you think?” We’d always been straight with each other.

He considered what I said, then pushed the drink away. We needed to figure out how to rule without vice. “You’re right. I’ve just been so worried lately.”

“But you aren’t your father.” I’d said it to him several dozen times over the years. And he said it to me in return.

“And you aren’t yours,” he said. It was the truth. I didn’t need to hear it, but it was something we reminded ourselves of whenever things got sticky.

It reminded us exactly who we were and what we stood for.

“So,” I asked. “What do we do?”

“We find him. We take care of him. We end this once and for all. That’s what we do.” Greyson looked more like himself as he said it, and I knew it was the turning point for us both. We had a company to run, a family to take over, and David was not part of that equation.

Kathryn

“Do you love him?” I jumped at the words as soon as Joanna said them. I wasn’t expecting anything like that to spring forth from her mouth. But she sat there, a smoothie in one hand, a funnel cake in the other, staring at me.

It didn't matter that we were sitting outside looking over the fall foliage as it draped against the Inner Harbor. No, she was asking me this very question right now.

“What?” I asked, like if I blinked and acted like I was stupid, she would forget she said anything.

It wasn't going to work. I could tell by the smile on her face that she was not going to let this go.

“I asked you if you love him. Janson. I see the way you look at him. I’m not a fool, Kat.” She shot me side-eye, and I knew there was no way I was going to get out of this one.

“Are you going to tell my brother?” I asked. I wasn’t ready to address her question.

“There are no secrets between us, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make an exception. Your emotional state is not any of his business. Or mine. But I’m nosy, and it seems pretty obvious.” She raised her eyebrow as she looked at me and I knew the truth. I couldn’t deny anything to her.

“I do,” I said slowly. “I have for a long time. He’s one of the few people in this whole fucking thing that seems to have a genuine heart.”

"Why? What made you feel this way?" she asked.

I didn't need to think about it. I already knew. I'd never told anyone this story before. Joanna was the first and probably the only person I’d ever admit it to.

"I was sixteen years old, and my first boyfriend dumped me. I remember sitting on the steps of the school just crying. No one was around, it was after tutoring, and Greyson was supposed to pick me up. But he was busy, so Janson came instead."

She nodded.

"I tried not to let anyone see me, but I was so heartbroken that I didn't care anymore. I mean, I thought about giving my virginity to that guy." It still hurt to think about it. "So there I was, bawling my eyes out and Janson just sat down next to me and handed me his pocket square. He didn't say a word for a long time. When I was finally tear-free, he looked me right in the eyes and said, 'This is just temporary. It feels like you are dying, but you aren't. Someone better will come along and sweep you right off your feet.'"

I knew at that moment that I wanted that someone to be him.

"And then what?" she asked.

"He asked me if I wanted him to beat the son of a bitch up. I laughed, and he took me home. But he was so kind to me that I knew there had to be more to him than just a thug. I'm still certain of it." I could feel my throat starting to close as I thought about it. It really was the moment I decided that I had more than just a schoolgirl crush on him. It's why I acted on what I wanted. Why I had him when I had the chance.

“Does he love you?” Joanna asked.

Dear god, that was not the question I wanted to hear. She knew exactly how to ask them so that they kept me off balance.

More importantly, I didn't have a good answer for it.

"I don't know if he loves me. I know that he is willing to see where this goes, but that's it."

"And where is it going?" she asked.

I shot her a look of annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to be the fun sister-in-law?" I asked.

She giggled. "I get to be whatever I want. I'm nine months and one week pregnant."

She had a point.

"I dunno. I don't know if Greyson will understand, so we've been keeping it hidden for now." I looked down away from her and over the harbor. It really was gorgeous.

"I hear you, but I know him. If he sees that you both actually care for each other, no one will get hurt." She smiled. "But you know if he hurts you, he's dead."

I swallowed. Hard. That was exactly what I was afraid of.

"How's your funnel cake?" I asked.

She grinned at me and then took a bite. "Perfect. Exactly what I wanted with my pineapple smoothie."

"You're past cravings now, aren't you?" I asked.

She nodded. "I am, but that's not the reason for the pineapple. It is supposed to help naturally induce labor. I'm holding out for it. My midwife says my dates may have been off, and I might actually be eight months, so they aren't ready to do anything drastic yet."

I nodded, that made sense.

"Are you ready to be done?" I asked.

She nodded emphatically. "I just want this baby out of me and in my arms."

A huge part of me wondered if I would ever have that. I wanted to say yes, but I honestly didn't know for sure. Would it be with Janson?

Could it be?

I didn't know the answer to any of those things either.

"Come on, let's go back to my place. I have a bunch of clothing I need to donate, and Greyson says you have nothing to wear? It sounds like a worthy cause to me." She stood, her big belly jutting out from her as she waited for me. I could tell by the smile in her eyes that she thought of us as family.

It was the first time in a long time that I actually felt a title like that belonged to a group of people.

Maybe I didn't need to go to Chicago to find what I was looking for after all.

Maybe I just needed to come home.

Chapter Twelve

Kathryn

“Are you sure I can do this?” I asked Janson as I looked down at him. It was my first night here. I’d been practicing for a week, and I still didn’t feel ready.

Just like I wasn’t ready to go back home. Every time the idea came up, I just pushed it away. I didn’t want my father to know I was here. Not yet. I needed more time with Janson.

I needed more nights with him. Every night that I spent tangled up in his arms was another one that made me want more. I couldn’t get enough of that man, and I knew as soon as I went back home it would all come to an end.

It was selfish, and I knew it, but I was too afraid, and no one was pushing me to do it. Not yet. I had to wait for Michael’s signal, and I knew that, but it was still terrifying.

The prospect of my father finding out I was here on my own was also so scary.

“And you are sure he won’t know to look for me? That he won’t know it’s me?”

“It isn’t your name on the setlist, Kathryn. I hardly think he’ll look twice at the name Kat and think it is you.”

He had a point. There were probably a million of us in the Metro DC area alone. I still was so nervous.

“You just have some stage fright. But you’ve done this before. In bigger crowds. You told me all about Chicago. About the swarms of people. This is nothing compared to it. A few dozen compared to hundreds, Kathryn.”

It wasn’t like this. Me on a stage under lights. This felt so personal. So terrifying.

But it was my goal. The one I’d been working towards for so long. Sure, it was handed to me, but every opportunity feels that way. It’s what I could do with it that mattered. I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not about this.

I just had to put my big girl pants on and deal with it.

So I stepped out on that stage, and I waited for my introduction.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we have a real treat for you. From the streets of Chicago, we have a newcomer to the Crystalize’s stage. Kat. She’s playing a compilation of her own music.” A tall, dark, handsome figure named Matt introduced me, and I smiled.

I’d brought my setup, including my backtracks for this piece.

I worked best when my violin was the centerpiece that was complimented by an electronic beat.

It started before I did, the rhythm section setting the mood.

Dark. Everything was dark. This was my moment. It wasn’t long before the music swept into my bones and took over my body. I played the violin like nothing I’d ever done before. I was a part of it. Every time it felt this way. It felt like I was my instrument and it was me.

I loved that about playing. I loved that about my life. I could lose myself in my music. Each piece was an expression of the things I’d been through. It was the climax of all the experiences I’d had.

Most of what I wrote was sad and soulful. But not this first piece. This one was angry. It was scared. It was beautiful.

It was the culmination of what I felt when I saw my father for who he really was, and it told the story without words.

It didn’t need it. It was so fueled with rage that anyone listening would know that this was a part of me. A deep piece of my soul.

I rushed my fingers as I got to the most complex piece. It had to be just right. It had to have the desired effect.

I knew they were all staring at me. That everyone was looking at me. Willing me to continue.

But the pause came at just the right moment, and the audience held on through it. Until the music broke again and I hit the finale.

It was perfect. Every piece of it.

I ended it and looked around.

Jaws. I saw jaws drop.

Then the applause.

It was the moment I’d already dreamed of.

That was when I saw him at the edge of the stage, staring at me.

Janson. Pride. Admiration. I never expected to see those things from anyone when it came to me. Especially not him. He was a good man but he was hard. And it was so impossible to see what he was feeling. To understand what was going on in his mind.

“Thank you so much for having me,” I said as bent down and played the next piece. Then the next. My set went perfectly and I was so proud of myself. Of everything I’d ever done to get there.

Of my brother for suggesting this. It was just what I needed.

When I finished, I took a deep bow and hurried off the stage.

“That was amazing, Kat,” Matt said as he greeted me. “I have to go announce the next musician, but I want to talk to you about doing more work for us. I know we had you on as a favor, but damn, girl. You can play.”

I grinned. It was the kind of feedback I was looking for. Matt was an objective observer.

“What did you think?” I asked Janson as I came off the stage.

“If that’s how you play anger and sadness, I can’t wait to hear joy. And lust.” He grabbed the small of my back and pulled me in for a deep kiss. “You have no idea how crazy you make me.”

Oh, by the feeling of his cock on my belly, I had some idea.

But we couldn’t do that here. Could we?

“Where are you taking me?” I asked as he started to pull me off stage.

“I can’t stand this anymore. I have to have you.”

“Here?” I asked. It sounded like a silly fantasy, but I couldn’t believe it was going to happen.

“Yes. Here. Now. You have no idea, do you?”

“No idea?”

“Every man had his eyes on you while you were playing. Every man wanted you. Well, you are mine. I have you, baby girl, and I am not letting go.” He growled as he bent down and kissed me, pushing me up against the hallway in the backstage area.

“There has to be a room,” I said, trying to convince him to at least take it somewhere a little more private. Lighting hands and other stage workers were walking around, staring at us.

“You better find a place soon, or I am going to take you right here, baby girl. I can’t fucking wait much longer.” He sounded so angry as he said it, and I knew that I was going to get yet another side of him. He had so many faces, wore so many masks, a part of me wondered if any of what I got was really him.

But I knew that they were all him. He was so complex, so mercurial, that I couldn’t be surprised. I shouldn’t be surprised.

He was exactly what I wanted and what I needed. And somehow, his moods always matched up with mine.

He opened door after door until he found a little room with a couch in it. “This’ll have to do,” he said as he pushed me into it.

I slammed against another wall, and he held me there, pressing my body against his as he assaulted my senses.

His hands moved quickly under my skirt, pushing my panties to the side where he found me wanting. Waiting for him. Completely fucking wet.

It was instantaneous. The moment he touched me, the second he whispered in that deep throaty voice of his, my body responded. I was a slave to it. I was his pawn.

He could do with me whatever he wanted, and I was powerless to stop it.

I loved him. I would do anything for him.

But I couldn’t tell him that.

“Already wet, baby girl?” he asked. “Does playing on stage do that to you? Does it spike your adrenaline and get you off?” he asked.

“Not as much as your touch does,” I said honestly. It was the truest statement I’d ever uttered.

“Good,” he said as he pulled off those damn panties. They were only in the way. “That’s a good girl.”

He undid his pants, not even bothering to push them down as he pulled his monster cock out of them.

He was huge, and I wanted it. I wanted him. I needed him now.

My body wasn’t going to take much more of this.

So I grabbed him and I kissed him, but he held my body still against the wall. “I need you, Janson.” I said.

It was half demand and half plea. I needed him and I was going crazy wanting him.

He was there in an instant, giving me exactly what I wanted. His cock filling me to the brim. Dear god, it felt amazing.

I couldn’t believe the way he entered me. Pulled my legs up and wrapped me around him, my back supported only by that flimsy wall.

“Fuck,” I cried out as he shoved himself into me over and over again. It was rough, it wasn’t slow and gentle. But each thrust brought me closer and closer.

We were hurried, and anyone could walk into the room at any moment.

That only added to the excitement.

I clutched onto his shoulder blades, my fingers digging into his back as I held on tight while he plowed me.

It was crazy, it was wild, and he was all mine.

“Fuck, Kat. I’m going to fucking cum,” he said as he groaned out. He kept going, not ready to be stopped. Sweat poured down from his forehead. His muscular body made it look easy, but that man was getting a total workout.

When he came, I came with him. His pleasure pushing me to my own. It was the first time. The first time he came first.

And I liked it.

When he was done, we just stood there, my legs wrapped around him. He stared into my eyes and didn’t say a damn word.

I knew that we belonged together, and I wasn’t going to accept anything else.