Wed to the Bad Boy (9 page)

My ass was pressed against it, showing to the rest of the world in the middle of the day, and I fucking loved it.

I wanted to be fucked in front of the world. I wanted them to know that he was mine. And I was his. The moment he plunged himself into me I moaned so loud that if no one saw at least someone heard.

Even if it was only because of some stupid arrangement.

I clenched on to him as he slammed himself into me over and over, using the glass as leverage against my body.

“This, this is what I want,” Again and again he delved into me his hands pinning me to that wall. I wanted him. I had him.

He was mine.

“Oh, Greyson. Oh,” I said, “please, baby.”

“Cum with me,” he growled.

So when I came this time, it was different. It was whole body and soul. He came with me, his guttural moans bringing me back to reality. The smell of him. The feel of him.

He was everything I never thought I wanted, but everything I needed. At least at that moment.

Greyson

It was just like I fucking thought it would be. The look in her eyes, the disappointment, the fear. She didn’t fucking want me. Well, fuck her.

I sucked in a breath as I looked over her sleeping body. The way the top of her breasts reflected the light streaming in through my windows, the way her mouth parted just a little bit as she breathed.

No, fuck it all.

And fuck the way my chest constricted when she turned her head and cried into the window of my car. The way the tears streamed down her cheeks, the way her face reflected against the tinted glass of the window. The way her heart broke at the thought of marrying a man like me.

And fuck the fact that I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I wanted to kiss those tears away and then smack her ass for good measure like I did earlier. My palm still tingled with the memory. God damn, this girl was going to be my undoing.

Just as I started to walk towards her, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I could hear it from across the room. I ran over, scooped up my pants and pulled it out.

It was my mom.

“Hey, mom.”

“I don’t know if that is an adequate greeting for everything you have done, Grey.” I could hear the disappointment, but also the curiosity edging her voice.

“I’m sorry, mom. I fucked up.”

“You could’ve at least brought her home first,” she chuckled. I sighed in relief. She wasn’t going to hang this over my head. “So when do I meet her?”

“I-“

“Tonight, you’ll bring her for dinner tonight.”

“What?”

“We’re having a roast anyway, might as well add a couple of extra seats to the table. I’ll make extra sides. Bring her over early, she can help.”

“How early?” I asked looking at my watch; it was almost four.

“Now.”

“Ma-“

“Look, you're marrying her, I’ve got to plan her wedding. Don’t you think we ought to get to know each other?" my mother asked.

“Yes, but it’s only temporary. Just to appease her uncle. She doesn’t want this.” I pushed my hand through my hair and thought about what I said. She doesn't want this. Not I don't want this. She.

What the hell was happening to me?

“And it sounds like you might?” It didn’t matter if I was sitting in front of her or not. My mother could always read me.

“That’s not what’s important. Anyways, I don't know what I want. I've never felt this confused about something before in my life,” I said. I couldn't lie to my own mother, she would see right through it.

She knew me too well.

“It is, Greyson, and you know it. Bring her over, let me get to know her. I promise I won’t embarrass you too terribly. Okay, well, a little.”

“Alright.”

“Besides, I want to assess her myself. I really don’t believe you when you say she doesn’t want you. How could any woman resist my son?” Her voice filled with defensive pride. “I don’t believe you.”

“See you soon, mom,” I said then I hung up the phone.

She didn’t see the way Joanna cried when confronted with the truth of what was going to happen. The anger in her eyes when she saw me. The way she demanded to be her own woman. She saw the man I really was. The monster.

There was no way this woman wanted to be with me. Unless it was in the bedroom. Well, that was how I was going to have to convince her. Fuck her into submission. But right now I had to wake her up and do the one thing I really didn’t want to.

Let her meet my parents.

Chapter Nine

Joanna

“Are you sure I look okay?” I’d barely had any time to find my clothing, so I threw on a pair of dark jeans and the first respectable top I could find. It was light and floral and pretty enough.  All my life was in disarray, but especially my clothing.

They were still in boxes in the bedroom next to my dresser. I still couldn’t believe that they moved all of my stuff in the course of a few hours. And without my permission.

But it was the Fitzgerald family, and I was sure if anyone could do it, they could.

“You look perfect. Besides, my mom intends to put you to work. She told me herself.” Greyson’s eyes were still half lidded as he looked at me, the want on his face clearly evident. I saw the lust in his eyes, and the only thing I wanted was to tell him to turn around and take me back to his place.

To bury himself inside of me again and again.

I swallowed. Hard.  It was going to be a long, and most likely embarrassing night. I had to play the part of a willing participant in all of this, and Greyson was going to have to act like he wanted it too.

I knew he didn’t, even if he did want one thing. My body.

“Are you seriously going to stare at me like that all night? It’s going to get creepy,” I joked, making sure to keep my voice light.

He didn’t find it funny. Instead, he just turned away clenched his jaw and adjusted his jacket.

I’d never seen the man in anything but a tie and suit before and looking at him now was so strange. He was wearing a pair of jeans, a black v-neck shirt, and a leather jacket. It was casual, for him, but still completely put together and totally sexy. Not to mention entirely foreign to my eyes.

All I wanted to do was devour him.

Get it together.
I chided myself. I knew it wasn’t the time to let any of my emotions spill out. I couldn’t let him see how much I wanted him, how much I wanted all of him.

I'd never seen this side of him before, and I wanted to explore it. But I couldn’t. If I let any of my walls down it would get ugly.

And I wasn’t about to let that happen.

This was nothing more than an intelligence gathering. Any information I got here would be useful to my uncle, and it would get him off my back. It would get him off my father’s back.

All I had was my father. I didn't have a family like Greyson did. I didn't have people who wanted me to come to dinner, who loved me.

We must’ve been in Severna Park by now, I could tell by the change in house style and the sprawling expanse of yards. It was a wealthy part of the county, but still relatively close to Annapolis and Baltimore. The way the homes grew in size and the yards grew in expanse I knew we were out of the city and into the suburbs.

Damn, these houses were gorgeous. Not every single one of them was a mansion, but they were all well kept and nice. Nothing like the apartments I grew up in. Glen Burnie had nice areas, but I wasn’t in one of them growing up. I looked up at them with big eyes and tried to imagine what life would've been like growing up here.

No, I just couldn’t imagine it.

My mom took off a long time ago, and life with my dad wasn’t exactly easy. He was drunk most of the time and depressed even when he wasn’t. I didn’t want for things, but only because my uncle did send care packages.

Who knew that all his generosity would come at such a steep price?

We pulled into a long drive and eventually ended up at the end of it where a large brick home stood. It wasn’t grand by any stretch of the imagination, but it was large and simple. A two-floor brick home with expansive windows and separate garage.

It was huge to me.

“Home sweet home,” Greyson said, only a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“You don’t like it?” I asked.

“It’s like anywhere you grow up, I guess. It’s nice enough, but it still feels like a cage.” He shrugged, but I could see the sadness etched on his face. Sometimes I swore I saw behind that projection of who he was to the truth. And it was peeking out. “Mom is great, though, she carries the family. It's hard, being married to the mob.” As if I didn't already know that. But it was more than just that.

I could tell by the look on his face.

There was so much more to it, I could tell that much, but he was just so closed off. I didn’t even know him, and I wasn’t sure if I ever would.

He got out of the car and walked around the side, opening the door for me. I got out and smoothed out my blouse looking up at him.

“You’re sure this is a good idea?” I asked.

“It wasn’t my idea. It was my mom’s. I think it would be a worse idea to disobey her,” he said, but he winked. Any chance of serious conversation was gone. I was only going to get the facade of him, and I knew it.

Greyson was so many things, and I couldn’t pin any of them down. It intrigued me. It made me want him. Hell, I always wanted him, but this was different.

It made me want to know him.

I just wasn’t sure how I was going to convince him to show me any of it. We were stuck in this impossible situation together, and now I doubted he would open up to me. I doubted everything.

“Grey! You didn’t tell me your bride to be was so adorable!” A smiling face greeted us and took me in immediately for a hug. I could tell by the smell lingering on her clothing that she’d been cooking all day. “I’m Greyson’s mom, Maeve, but everyone calls me Mae, and you can too.” When she smiled, her eyes turned into small creases revealing the roundness of her face, her plump body hidden behind an apron and a flared skirt. She looked like every mom I’d ever imagined in my fantasies. A kind smile and a warm house.  I never had anything like that, and even now I could feel the pain of it deep within my soul. Soft and warm and just… mom-like.

And she raised a man who probably murdered a hundred men.

Looks could be so deceiving.

“Let’s get to the kitchen so that we can get dinner ready, huh? I’ve already got the roast in the oven, but I need help with the potatoes,” Mae wrapped her arm around my shoulders and turned towards the kitchen. “Grey, your father is due home any minute, help yourself to a drink.”

We ducked into the room, and I smiled when I saw two other girls in there working. One looked to be around my age, the other a little older and they were both doing dishes by hand.

“This is Maggie and Mary, two of my girls. Kathryn is still at school, but she should be home soon. We made a mess of it when we did the rolls, but that’s okay. Here let me get you set up with some potatoes and a peeler.”

I got to work immediately, losing myself in the monotonous activity. I didn’t need to talk if I was working hard. I didn’t need to even think about what was going on. About the man sitting in the next room, or the fact that his father was being forced by my uncle into a marriage of the families.

It was all so scary and weird and just unreal to me.

“So, Joanna, how did you meet my son?” Mae grabbed a potato from the basket and started peeling next to me.

“I was working for him, servicing drinks over at the warehouse in Glen Burnie.”

“Ah, I see. And what do you think?”

“He’s strong.”

“He is, all of my children are strong. And he’s fair. At least I hope he is. And smart,” I could tell by the way she was speaking that she wasn’t bragging she was just telling the truth in her mind. I couldn’t disagree. At least not when it came to what I’d seen so far.

“And he took you out and got trapped into a marriage, is that true?” she asked.

“I-” I started, but she held up her hand.

“I do not mean it as an insult. My son has been avoiding settling down for almost ten years now. I’ve tried, but nothing else has worked. I’m almost glad that you came along when you did. You work hard, as I can see, and don’t think I didn’t notice the way you looked at him.”

I blushed, was it that obvious? Was his repulsion as obvious?

“He is blind to any type of affection, at least, outside of my own. His father… he wanted tough. At any cost. You have an uphill battle. I won’t lie.” I looked around. The girls were gone.  They'd been so quiet I didn't even notice it.

“They are setting the table,” she answered the question I didn’t ask. “I wanted to get you alone, to look into your eyes and see what was there. You are a good person. I could tell the moment I hugged you. Most women wouldn’t have hugged me back.”

I nodded.

“It will be a lot more fun that I thought, planning your wedding. How can I get in contact with your mother, so that she can help?”

I bit my lip. “I’m afraid it’s just you and me.”

“Oh.” Pity, that was what I saw when I looked into them. I didn’t need anyone’s pity. I was about to shrug her off when I realized what was behind it. Concern.

“It doesn’t matter, we’ll figure it out, right? Greyson never brought another woman home, even when I asked. You must be different.” She looked at me with knowing eyes. “Anyways, let’s get these boiled up so we can finish the potatoes. It’s been a long day, and I’m starving!”