Wed to the Bad Boy (16 page)

Joanna

I did it. I came home from UMBC and pressed my body against the door. I resigned, I picked up all my stuff, and I was officially on leave.

My life was on hold.

Greyson wasn’t home, but he’d been here since I left. I could tell by the way things were arranged. By the folders left out.

He didn’t expect me back here. I was supposed to be heading to the hotel tonight, and I’d counted on it. Retrieving my stuff was just an excuse.

I looked down at my phone and bit my lip. This wasn’t going to be enjoyable.

I want something to hold over Fitzgerald. Get it to me, Jo.  I hate to harm my own brother.

A single text from my uncle told me what I had to do. It reminded me why I was here with Greyson. I swore Uncle Dennis wouldn’t hurt me or my father, but from the threat I could tell I was wrong.

I’d underestimated the man, but I couldn’t afford to do that again. I wasn’t here because I got to be with Greyson but because I had to steal from him. I didn’t want to help my uncle, but I had no choice.

Grabbing my things was all an excuse to get me back into the apartment when he wasn’t expecting it. I had to do the one thing I didn’t want to. The one thing I’d been sent to do. I had to get information.

My uncle wanted information, and he was expecting me to get it. He’d threatened me, my father. I knew that he would make good on those promises.

If I just gave him what he wanted he would leave me in peace.

He would leave my family in peace.

I walked towards the folders on the coffee table and sat down. Research was my forte, and this was going to be easy. It would take time, but not as much as pulling documents from an archive.

Two hours later I had nothing. I leafed through each document. Invoices, employment records. It was all mundane. Nothing that was going to help me at all.

Dammit.

I stood up and sighed. I needed a drink.

I padded out to the kitchen and grabbed the rum that I knew was in the freezer. I’d put it there two nights ago. What I needed was a mojito.

Just as I grabbed a glass I heard the door shut.

“Joanna?” Greyson’s voice called from across the room.

“Yeah, I’m here.” I tucked my hair behind my ears and set the unopened bottle back in the freezer. “Had to bring back my things from the office.”

“So it’s done?” he asked as he entered the kitchen.

I nodded.

“It doesn’t have to be forever, Jo. I told you, we just need to be married long enough to appease our families, then we can walk away and you can get back to your life.” Why did it sound like he didn’t want that?

Did I?

“Can we not think about that right now?” I said as I wrapped my arms around him.

“We can do whatever you want.”

“How about a shower, you’re sweaty.”

“I was working out at the gym down in Glen Burnie.”

“You drive all the way down there?” I asked.

“I made a promise, and besides, it’s close to work.”

I nodded. “How about that shower?” I asked.

“I’ll get it started,” said, but I stopped him, and pulled him close.

“Let me undress you,” I said as I started stripping off his clothing. It didn’t take long, but it was all I could think of. If I could get his cellphone, I could get what my uncle wanted.

I kissed his neck as I stripped off his shirt and then started working on his pants. I pushed them down along with his boxers. It was a job only I could do, but damn, if I didn’t enjoy it.

“You’re in a hurry to get me naked, aren’t you?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Go turn on the shower?” I asked.

“What are you going to do?”

“Pour you a drink.” I grinned.

“Deal.” He turned and walked out of the kitchen leaving me alone with his discarded clothing. It only took me a second to rifle through his pants and find what I was looking for. His phone.

I grabbed my cellphone and dialed my uncle. “I have his work phone,” I whispered. “Is that enough?”

“That’s perfect,” he said.

“I need you to send someone to meet me, and you have to get it back to me, can you do that?”

“How long do I have?”

“An hour, two at most.” I said, honestly.

“I’ll send a delivery by right now.”

“You have a guy?” I asked.

“I always have a guy,” Dennis answered. He hung up the phone, and I walked out to the wet bar, pouring that drink I promised.

I jumped when I heard the knock on the door.

“I’ll get it!” I said, “Mary said she was having last minute arrangements sent to the apartment,” I shouted towards the shower.

Greg was waiting at the door. He was my oldest cousin.

“You were quick,” I said as I handed him the phone.

“Returned invitations, you need to call Meg and Sarah and let them know about the wedding.” Meg and Sarah were my cousins over in Bowie.

“Gotcha. I need that back. Soon.”

“Shouldn’t take more than fifty minutes. Travis knows what he’s doing,” Greg whispered.

I closed the door and set the invitations on the coffee table.

“What was it?” Greyson asked, his voice echoing in the bathroom.

I walked through the bedroom to find him standing there, waiting for me. Handing him his drink, I answered, “returned invitation. I need to get ahold of my cousins.”

“Can it wait?” he asked as he grabbed the edge of my shirt and pulled it up.

I smiled at him.

“It can always wait.”

“Are you expecting any more interruptions?” he asked.

“Honestly? Yes. But  not for a while.” I admitted. Greg had to return the phone, but I needed to distract Greyson.

I felt so dirty for doing this, but it wasn’t something I could help. This was my life now.

I kissed him hard and wished it all away. I could lose myself in his arms for just a few moments, forget what I had to do to make good on my promises to my father.

I kissed him, hard. “Shower? Now?”

I had a feeling we were going to do more than just get clean.

Chapter Sixteen

Joanna

“Are you sure we can do this?” I asked Greyson as we stood at the door of the banquet hall. I swallowed, hard. I didn’t know if I could go through with this.

The story was that we’d been dating in secret for months. That he’d given up his playboy ways long before we announced our engagement but kept up the facade. We didn’t want anyone to know about our relationship because of the family feud.

It was a Romeo and Juliet story and it was the exact one that we were promoting. It was easier than telling them the truth. That we were thrown together and forced to marry despite our wishes. That we were falling in love in spite of it all and that we were afraid of the consequences of it.

“It’s just dinner among families. An engagement shower meant to be a good thing, Joanna. You have to relax.”

“Right, but it’ll break apart into two parties?” I asked. I needed him to go over the plans one more time. Really, what I needed was to hear his voice.

“Bachelor and Bachelorette,” he confirmed.

Mary had thrown everything together, and she did it with so much finesse that it all looked planned. I spent almost every day of the last week with her in some capacity, dealing with the reservations, arrangements, and venues.

Somehow whenever a Fitzgerald came calling they dropped whatever or whoever they were dealing with and did exactly what Mary wanted.

The extra added weight of O’Brien behind it only seemed to hasten the process.

I looked down at my dress, the dusty rose cocktail outfit foreshadowing the colors of the wedding. I’d opted for simple and classic, and it worked in my favor.

“It’s going to be okay. You don’t need to have cold feet.” He kissed my temple and pulled me into him. His grip was as possessive as ever, but it only felt reassuring to me.

“You’re right, because there is no chance I could run away,” I joked.

Greyson didn’t seem to think it was funny. He grabbed me and pulled me in, kissing me hard.

“Do you want to run away?” he asked.

“No,” it was the honest truth. Even if I could, even if it was a possibility it wasn’t one that I wanted. I was tied to him, and he was a part of me.

The whole prospect, though, made me feel horribly light headed. I’d been dealing with stress nausea all week. Everything was so up in the air that my body had started to rebel.

I grabbed my handkerchief and dabbed at the cold sweat beading up along my hairline.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he looked me over. I’d been getting a lot of those worried looks lately.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. Just nervous.”

“Well, don’t be. I’m here. I’ll protect you from the big bads.” He smiled but somehow I knew he wasn’t kidding.

“Even your father?” I asked as I nudged him.

“Especially him.”

Shit. Another truth.

He opened the door, and we entered the room buzzing with conversation. Everyone noticed us, though, and they all started clapping.

The hall was filled full of people. Family, friends. Yeah it wasn’t the entire guest list of the wedding, but it was a lot of people. All here to celebrate our engagement.

“Well there she is,” Willa grabbed me in an embrace. As soon as I’d called Mary she’d put the word out to Willa. They were to be my joint maids of honor, and they’d come through brilliantly. Willa pulled every string she could to help, but it wasn’t necessary. Still, I was glad she’d tried.

“Hi there, it looks like you’ve been enjoying the champagne,” I giggled as I took the glass from her and drank right from it. I was going to need a good bit of alcohol to get through the night myself.

“Well, when your fiancé got the top notch stuff, I thought, why not?” she winked at Greyson. “Mind if I take her around the room? She needs to make the rounds.”

“Not a problem. I’ll find my father and Janson.”

Willa took it all in stride. She was one of the only people who knew the circumstances of the wedding and she hadn’t let the secret slip. Hell, she didn’t even treat him with the disdain I thought she would.

“You know, he’s one handsome devil,” she whispered to me, not quiet enough. He heard it and then grinned, winking at her and turning out towards the crowd.

I watched as her already rosy face turned an even deeper shade of red.

“You realize we have all night to get drunk, don’t you?”

It was early.

“It’s not my fault the parties had to all be jam-packed into a single day. You didn’t even do a rehearsal!”

“We couldn’t get use of the venue for that,” I explained. We were lucky to get St. Vincent DePaul to lend us the venue at all. Turns out Father Patrick was a cousin of Alexander’s.

“I see your point,” I said.

“We ready to do this?” Mary asked as she came up and threaded her arm through Willa’s. The three of us became close instantly and those two hit it off extremely well.

I could tell by the way they rolled their eyes in time that they would be friends even after the wedding.

“Yes. The sooner we do this the sooner we can get to the real party.”

“Real party?” I asked. It was mostly in jest because I knew they were planning something a little bit more lively than this.

“You bet your ass. We have penis shaped cake, Joanna. You aren’t getting out of that,” Willa said.

She pushed me around the room introducing me to just about everyone. Mary was there with us the whole way, letting me know who each individual was and how important they were to the family.

It didn’t keep her from rolling her eyes though. I liked Mary.

“Okay, rounds complete. Now the adults will get to sit and talk and we can get to the fun,” Willa said as she pushed me out the back doors.

“Wait, what about Greyson?” I asked. I wanted to at least get the chance to say goodbye.

“He has his own party to get to,” Mary answered.

It was going to be one long night.

Greyson

“Are you fucking serious?” I asked as I looked up at the name on the sign.
Verge
. It used to be one of my favorite haunts.

“What? I got us the VIP room.” Lenny said. He was one of my cousins and a guy I used to go out with.

Janson just crossed his arms and sighed. “I told him you wouldn’t like it.”

“No, it’s fine I could use a good drink.”

“Now that’s more like it,” Lenny said as he pulled me into the club. There were about ten of us all in tow every single one of them connected to the family somehow. Cousins of sorts.

“Greyson,” the bouncer said at the head of the club and I nodded at him. I’d been a couple months since I’d been by, but I was a regular before that. It was an easy place to find ass when I wanted it, and I never had to sample the same wares twice. Unless I wanted to.

And I almost never did. Except when it came to Joanna. I just wanted to be home burying myself into her with a nice buzz going on. I didn’t want to be here, pretending to live up the last night of my “freedom”. It wasn’t freedom to me.

This was the jail. This was the cage. Having to live like I didn’t give a shit about anything else.

The flash of lights in the club made me a little nauseous as we threaded our way through the bodies and towards the VIP lounge. Body brushed against me on the left and right, reminding me of all the women I’d danced with, ground up against. All the times I drowned my worries in alcohol and women.

It was a familiar taste, that’s for sure, but it wasn’t mine anymore.

No. I wasn’t the man I used to be. For better or for worse Joanna had changed that part of me. I didn’t want to take any of these women home tonight.

“Bunch of hotties, huh?” Lenny asked as he raised his eyebrows. I fought the urge to slap him on the back of the head and brushed past him.

“Yes. Hotties.” Janson said it in a singular disjointed way that made me chuckle. He’d never been one for places like this, and when he went it was only to act as my personal bodyguard. But any time he could get out of it, he did.

It was where I met his sister that one night. Why I ended up in on the rack for that well deserved beating. Without it I may never have met Joanna, or at least noticed her.

So many things had to happen for me to get to know her and I was thankful for every single one.

“Come on man, let’s get some bourbon and sit a spell, huh?” I asked as I found my way to our usual spot.

Sean was already there leaning against the bench seat with a drink in his hand. He was a good guy, a hard-ass, but a good guy.

This was my crew, the only one I had, and when it was my turn, when I came to power they knew that they were going to be promoted. That things would be different when I took over the family.

We didn’t talk much, didn’t need to.

“Greyson, hey hon. Haven’t seen you around in a while, what can I get you?” Millie, our server smiled at me with those knowing eyes of hers as she laid down the coasters.

“Bourbon tonight, doll.” I said with my usual charm.

“We’re celebrating tonight, bring your best,” Lenny betrayed us.

“Oh, whatcha celebratin’?” she asked, her eyes never leaving me.

She fucked me with those eyes every damn night but I never took the bait.

I didn’t want some bitch spitting in my drinks.

“Grey’s getting married, the son of a bitch.”

Her eyes widened. “I never thought I’d hear that happen.”

“People change,” I said slowly.

“Not that much,” Lenny countered. “You mark my words, man, you’ll have a sidepiece in six months tops.”

This time I did smack him upside the head.

“What the hell?” he asked rubbing his head.

“Shut your fucking mouth you fucking putz.” I glared at him.

“A round of bourbon for everyone,” Janson spoke up and handed her a couple of bills, “and buy yourself something too.”

“You got it, hon. Congratulations Grey, though I gotta say, that’s too damn bad.”

I clenched my jaw. “Maybe.”

“Lighten the fuck up, man, it’s your fucking stag party.”

“No, it’s drinks and then we go home,” I said slowly. I wasn’t fucking around.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Janson said.

“Jesus, who the fuck pissed in your cheerios.”

“You knew  when you fucking took me away from the only piece of ass I wanted to get with tonight,” I answered then I stood up and walked away. I wanted some air. I had a cigar in my pocket and that was the perfect excuse. I wasn’t much of a smoker, but I liked a stogie now and then. “I’m going out for a smoke.”

I walked away from them and headed towards the exit.

“Grey,” a familiar set of emerald eyes flashed at me as I tried to avoid the rest of the room.

Mia.

I’d taken her home once, no, twice. Twice. Fuck. She probably thought that meant more than it did. I could tell just by the look in her eyes that she was hoping for a third time.

“Mia.” I said then I winced. She lit up at the mention of her name.

“You wanna come dance with me?” she asked as he wrapped her arms around my torso and pulled herself into me.

“Maybe some other time,” I said as I pulled her off me.

“You sure?” she pouted, hanging on tight. “We don’t have to dance, we can just go straight back to my place.”

“You’re drunk.”

“That ever stop you before?” she asked, then chuckled. Maybe not. But it didn’t matter.

“It’s not going to happen, Mia. Keep walking.” I turned her away from me and shifted through the crowd until I found the exit. Fucking hell.

I wasn’t going back in there. No fucking way.

I had one location in mind.

Joanna.

***

I knocked on her hotel room. My mother insisted that she stay elsewhere the night before the wedding so that I wouldn’t see her on the wedding day, but I didn’t give a shit. I wanted to see her now.

A bunch of women giggled when I knocked a second time.

Christ. She was having her bachelorette party. Now I remembered. I wasn’t drunk, but I was buzzed enough to forget about shit like that.

“Who is it?” she asked, her voice nervous.

“It’s me, open up.”

I could hear their groans.

“What the hell, Grey, you aren’t supposed to be here.” Mary was on the other side of the door.

“I need to see her, Mar. Please?” I asked. She could never say no to me. Not when we were kids and not now. “Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, make it quick.”

The door cracked open and Joanna slid out of it. I grabbed her up into my arms before she could protest.

“You aren’t getting a stripper are you?” I asked.

“I don’t know, I think so.”

I glared down at her. “No. You tell those little sluts no.”

“It’s tradition.”

“I don’t give a fuck. I don’t want you looking at another man, Jo. I’ll fucking break every last one of his fingers if he touches you.”

I was on the edge of violence and I know it.

“Greyson, you’re squeezing me too tight,” she complained, but I just shoved her up against that door and grabbed her by the hair.

Fuck, she looked so good with her neck exposed.

Sometimes I wanted her slow and sweet but right now I wanted to beat her ass just for thinking about a stripper.

“Mmm,” she let out a little moan. She liked it to. My girl was so fucking dirty.

“No. Stripper.” He said.

“How about I talk Willa into letting him strip for her and I sit in the back.”

I considered it for a minute.

“Fine, but he better not fucking touch you,”

“No one could touch me like you do,” she whispered and her hand dipped down and found my rock hard cock pressing hard against my jeans.

Jesus Christ.

“Fuck, Jo.”

“Not tonight. Tomorrow,” she said.

“You realize it won’t be pretty if you walk away now. You’re not going to like the punishment you get for this.”

“Oh, I think I will.” She grinned at me with mischief in her eyes.

Then she kissed me. Her breath smelled like lime but no alcohol, she hadn’t been drinking. So this was all her. Fuck. I kissed her again.

She tasted delicious.

“Tomorrow,” she said again, but she gave my cock a squeeze.

“You fucking tease.” I growled. “If you aren’t going to let me cum you’re going to get it right here.”

I slipped my hand up her skirt and between her thighs. It was easy to slide her wet panties to the side and insert myself there. My fingers knew her pretty little cunt well by now and I had her begging for more as soon as I called her hither.

“That’s not” she sucked in a breath. “Fair.”

“I don’t fight fair and neither do you,” I said as I increased the pace. She was at my mercy like this, her back against the door as she panted hard.

If they were quiet they could probably hear the whole thing, but the girls were talking so loudly it created a buzz in the background.

“You are going to cum for me right here in this hallway, Jo. You are going to cum so hard your panties will be fucking ruined and you are going to wear them the entire night remembering what I did to you, do you hear me?” I asked as I shoved my fingers in and out of her, my thumb rubbing her clit.

“Yes,” she said softly, her breath hitching on the ‘s’. I could feel her shaking, she wasn’t far from orgasming.

“You are fucking filthy, Joanna.” I said slower. “So filthy.”

“Ngh,” she bit back a moan and came, her juices coating my fingers, and all over her panties.

“Good girl.” I pulled my fingers out of her. “Now suck your juices off of me.”

She hesitated.

“Do it.”

That woman put her lips over my fingers and sucked them dry, then she bit her lip.

“You uncomfortable?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Good.” I was going to have to fucking jack off in the shower tonight, but it was worth it just to see the look of desire on her face. To see the discomfort that her cum was going to cause.

Try thinking of that fucking stripper now.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, “But your punishment is far from over.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, sir.” I commanded on instinct.

I’d never forced her to call me that before.

“Yes, Sir.” It was a breathy little phrase on her lips but it almost made me fucking cum right there in my pants.

“Now get your ass back in there and have fun, but not too much.”

She nodded and opened the door, but before she slipped back in she wrapped an arm around my neck and kissed me.

That girl was all mine.