Coerce (Death in Bloom, #1)

by Candice M. Wright

“You can love a monster, it can even love you back, but that doesn’t change its nature.” ~ Eliza Crewe

money and power do not wash away a man’s sins and make him pure. It just buys him a larger closet in which to hide his skeletons.

He nods. “My number is in your phone and so are Kenzo’s and Pete’s. Call when you’re ready to leave and a car will come pick you up.” I shake my head. “That’s not necessary.” “It wasn’t a request. I want to see you again and for that to happen, you need to be able to get to and from work in one piece.”

“Undressed you? I did. You think I’d let anyone else see your body but me?” He shakes his head emphatically. “It rained, and when you fell, your clothes got wet. I couldn’t leave you like that.” I rub my hands up and down my arms.

“Nothing. I…well, I just wondered why you didn’t put me in one of your spare rooms?” That makes him stop. He turns on the bottom step, squeezing my hand a little tighter as he pulls me closer to him. “When you’re here, you’ll never sleep anywhere but in my bed.”

“That’s true. Urgh, what a mess. Thank you for looking after me, Atlas. I’m lucky you decided you wanted to be my friend.” I smile. “I don’t want to be your friend, Ivy. I want to fuck you.”

“I’ll let you run for now, Ivy, but know that I always get what I want.” “Well, it’s good for you to experience a dose of humility then, isn’t it?” I fire back, embarrassed by my body’s reaction to him. He laughs, the deep sound making my already rapidly beating heart threaten to beat right out of my chest. “We’ll see about humility, little one, when you’re tied to my bed begging me to fuck you. And you will, Ivy, mark my words.”

“What are you doing?” “Watching TV. Why?” I question, confused as to why he sounds pissed. “You sound really fucking breathless for watching TV.” I sit up with a frown, not sure I like what he’s implying. “Well, yeah, but how else am I supposed to wind down after hot sweaty sex? It’s not like I smoke, so a cigarette is out of the question.” “I’m gonna kill him,” he snarls before the phone goes dead.

“Who is he?” His voice is a whisper, but it’s anything but calm. With his temper frayed, his words may as well be bullets fired. “There is no he. There’s nobody. And if this is what everyone means when they rave about alpha males, I’ve decided I don’t want one. I’m going to become a spinster cat lady instead,” I babble as I register his hard length pressed between us. “You said—” “I lied, okay!” I shout. “You were being a dick! I was out of breath because I was watching the stupid crime channel when the phone rang. It made me jump and fall off the sofa.”

“Besides, nobody touches you but me. The only time you get on your knees for a man is when I’m sliding my cock into your throat, understand?”

“You’re mine. You might not understand it right now, Ivy, but you will. I’m not a good man, but I can be good to you.” “We’re like fire and gasoline, Atlas. This is gonna explode in our faces.” “Undoubtedly, but it’s too late to turn back now.” “We’ll burn up and burn out, Atlas. Neither of us will escape without scars,” I warn him one last time as I feel myself capitulate. “Silly girl. There is no escape, not now.” The worst thing is, I know he’s right. And down the rabbit hole I go.

“Are you getting wet at the thought of my hand making your ass red? I wouldn’t go easy on you. If you earn a punishment, you’ll get what you deserve. But if you take it like a good girl I might reward you.”

“Friendly guys. Not.” “They know better,” he answers, tugging me down the steps after I tell him how unreliable the elevator is. “Know better than to be polite?” “Than to look at you. I’d hate to have to gouge their eyes out now,” he jokes. Or at least I think he’s joking, right?

“I…Atlas…we just met. We haven’t even been on a date.” “I don’t date, Ivy. I fuck. And I intend to fuck you in every conceivable way, but right now I want to eat you out before we get coffee. And something you should know—I hate waiting.” “I…you…but…ah fuck it. You only live once, right?” “You have a dirty mouth on you, Ivy. Maybe I should shove my cock between your lips to keep you quiet.”

The world could use a little more of the glass-half-full kind of attitude.” “If a glass is half empty, it just means there is more space for tequila.”

“I’m no hero, Ivy. You start thinking like that and you’ll only end up disappointed.” “You can be whoever you need to be out there, but you’ll always be my hero even if the only person you’re saving me from is myself.”

A real man, a man who is worth his salt, will treat a woman with respect. That means showing her in a thousand different ways that she’s the only woman for him. If his eye wanders, it does more than break her faith in him. It breaks the faith she has in herself.

“Alright, sweet Ivy. You get yourself all glammed up and I’ll take you out on a date tonight, but…” I look up at him. All gentleness is wiped from his face. “If anyone touches you, I’ll cut their fingers off and shove them down their throats.”

“When you’re finished eating, I want to fuck your face and cum down your throat. I think if you’re old enough to swallow my seed you’re old enough for a glass of champagne, don’t you think?”

“This pussy is mine now, Ivy. You hear me? No fucker will ever see it, taste it, or touch it, bar me. When my cock slides inside your tight wet heat, know that not only will it be your first cock, it will be your last.”

“I know enough and this isn’t a fucking request. It’s a statement of fact. You let me in your life. You opened that door and opened your legs. That was your choice. You don’t get to take that back.” “You make me sound like a possession. Like a piece of property to be bartered. Or a business acquisition.” “Then consider this a hostile takeover,”

“Good girl. I can’t wait to come inside you, Ivy. Fuck, it’s all I can think about. I want to fill you with so much cum your belly bloats with it.” I want to do more than fill her pussy. I want to possess every inch of her, but that will have to wait for now.

“You got a little something on your hand, boss,” he remarks. “Hmm…I know. It was dessert.” “Was it good?” Oh my god. Stop talking. Please stop talking. “Oh yeah but then I always did have a thing for cherries.” I’m gonna kill him in his sleep.

How a man can go from fucking me with a knife to washing my hair, I don’t know. But the dichotomy of those two acts sums up Atlas perfectly. He’s like Jekyll and Hyde.

“Where the fuck are you?” I pause on the sidewalk and glance down at the screen, a shiver working its way through me and it has nothing to do with the cold. “Excuse me?” “I said where the fuck are you?” “Not that it’s any of your damn business, but I’m getting coffee.” “Everything about you is my fucking business,”

“How did you know I’m not at home?” He doesn’t answer, which just makes my blood boil. “Answer the fucking question, Atlas. How did you know I’m not at home? Do you have someone watching me?” I turn to look around but can’t see anyone who stands out. “Watch how you speak to me, sweetness, or you’ll earn yourself a punishment. Now tell me where you are,” he orders. “Fuck you,” I snap

“You’re tracking my phone?” His breathing sounds hot and heavy on the other end. “Do not fucking hang up on me ever again.” His angry words sound lethal

I’d bring her to the brink before swapping my fingers for my mouth, ripping her orgasm from her before drinking it down. Only then would I climb up between her toned thighs, now slick with need, and thrust inside her. I’d wrap my hands around her throat and fuck her hard enough that she’d feel me everywhere the next day.

“You tried to roofie my girl? You wanted inside her pussy, huh?” I smash his face again, his sob like music to my ears. “I’m sorry,” he gasps. “No, you’re not. But you fucking will be. Open your mouth.”

I grabbed my knife once more and cut the T-shirt from her body, shredding it in the process. I’ll never allow her to wear another man’s clothing. She should know that. I yanked the ruined material away and tossed it to the floor before arranging Ivy on the bed in a more comfortable position. Well, comfortable for me. I laid her head against the pillows and allowed my eyes to rove over her body. Pushing her legs apart, I leaned in and inhaled deeply before swiping over her entrance with my tongue.

“It seems I was remiss while addressing the rules.” I step to the edge of the bed and reach out, snagging a handful of hair when she tries to escape over the side of the bed. “Now, Ivy, you really don’t want to make me any angrier, do you?”

do. When you belong to me, you are mine to protect, whether you’re with me or not, and I can’t fucking do that if I don’t know where you are!” I snap. “How did you find me at Marvin’s? Oh my god, what did you do to him?” “I didn’t do anything to your little friend but if you mention him once more, particularly in this bedroom, I’ll cut out his heart and gift it to you. Maybe then you’ll remember who you belong to,” I snarl and watch as tears fill her eyes.

“Tell me, Ivy. Tell me you get me. This body is mine, this heart is mine, and if I have my way I’ll steal your soul from the reaper himself to bind you to me for an eternity. Now tell me you fucking understand me,” he roars.

“You’re mine now, Ivy. It will be my ring on your finger and my seed in your belly. If you try to run from me again, I’ll lock you up, shackle you to me figuratively and literally to keep you by my side. Don’t push me, baby, because you’ll never win, not against me,” he warns me before licking away my tears.

I suck his tongue, eliciting a growl from him as he rips his mouth from mine and sinks his teeth into my shoulder.

Leaning his weight on one arm, he wraps his free hand around my throat, demonstrating how easy it would be for him to hurt me. It’s only his restraint holding him back and even I can see how frayed that is right now.

Popping open my fly, I slide my hard dick out of my jeans and stroke myself as I flip through images in my head, each one more erotic than the last. It doesn’t take long before I come, spilling myself over her rumpled sheets and pillow. Knowing she’ll sleep tonight oblivious that my cum seeps into her skin means my dick won’t soften completely. I’ll be adding more before the night is over at this rate.

Using his fingers, now liberally coated with his cum, he traces my nipples before dipping them inside me once more. This time he rubs his cum into my stomach and chest. “I like my cum on your skin. I enjoy knowing you’re wearing me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” I close my eyes and nod. “I know, but we both know you will anyway. What can I do?” I shrug. “Hold on to me and when you fall, take me with you. I don’t know what love is, Ivy, but if I could ever love anyone it would be you. I just don’t know how to fall.” I smile. “That’s okay. I’ll just pull an Atlas and push you.”

“Don’t do anything you can’t come back from.” “Oh, sweetness, if you only knew the man you let between your thighs. I’ve done so much shit in my life that there’s nothing I can’t come back from. Don’t worry about me. Worry about you because when I come to you later, I won’t be able to hold back.” “I don’t care, as long as you come back,” she whispers, gripping my wrists when I cup her face. “I’ll always come for you.” I kiss her.

“You touched what’s mine.” I lift the gun, aim it at Jim, and pull the trigger. I watch with glee as a hole appears in his head, red mist coating Kenzo, who doesn’t so much as flinch. “Now I’ve touched yours. Checkmate.”

Your safety is not something that will ever be open to negotiation. I’ve been more than fair letting you stay here all this time—” I cut him off, his words igniting a fire inside me. “Let me stay? You let me stay here? This is my fucking home, Atlas. You don’t get to come in here acting like a king and treating me like a peasant that should bow to your orders.” He fists my hair and pulls it sharply, making me hiss as he dips his head and nips my lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Yeah, I like that idea. I could lock you up and treat you like a sex slave. I’d keep you on your knees and make you beg for my cock. I’d take you in every hole and coat you in my cum. I’d make sure you’d never question who owns you again. Is that what you want?” he growls,

“Get dressed and pack.” “Atlas.” “Ivy, do not fucking test me on this.” He tucks himself away and zips up before heading for the door.

“I know you feel like you’re losing everything but you’re not. I want this, us. I can’t fucking breathe without you, Ivy.

“Be my wife, Ivy. I want to wake up next to you for the next however many years I’m lucky enough to have with you. I don’t want to waste time seeing each other or dating or whatever bullshit steps society says should come next. I’d have married you the day I met you if you’d asked because I knew even then you were destined to be mine.”

Honestly, I figured love was just a bunch of shit. A fictitious tale told to children along with stories of dragons and magic. I never believed in it until you. What I feel for you can only be love because nobody in this life has any power over me, except for you. I’d rip my heart from my chest and hand it to you, just to show you it’s yours if I could.”

“I don’t need you to sign a prenup. What’s mine is yours.” It’s not like I’d ever let her leave me anyway. Marriage is for life. The only way out is death.

“You have me,” I tell her and it’s the truth. I’m all she needs. It was always part of my plan to alienate her from everyone else because I don’t want to have to share her.

“What the—?” A punch to his shocked face stops him from finishing that sentence. “You can’t—” Another punch and his nose pops, blood gushing from it, making him wail. “Oh, see I can and I did. You dare look at my wife with lust in your eyes?” “I didn’t—”