Borden (Borden #1) (17 page)

Borden

VIP room? Really?

Emma didn’t strike him as a girl who partied it up. In fact, he’d known her to be a hermit in her little unit apartment where she sat on her only couch and watched stupid shows all night.

But no.

Not tonight.

Tonight, little Miss Emma Lynne Warne wanted to party in the VIP room with a guy who sat dangerously close to her and was watching her tits more than her face.

That’s what Emma Lynne Warne wanted to do tonight!

Borden clenched his teeth and sniffed. Whatever. If that’s what she wanted to do then that was her fucking choice.

Yep.
Whatever.

The place was crowded. People were dancing around their tables and some men were fawning over the dancers on the stage. The lights flickered from colour to colour, the music thumped its party mix, and Borden just stood there in a sea of people, staring at the table where she sat with a guy who stared at her tits more than her face.

He was angry. Always that anger that he couldn’t cool. It’d been a while since he’d found a release for it. Nobody was stepping on Borden’s toes! And it was really starting to piss him off. What was wrong with this city? Was it so hard for someone to just stir the nest and break him out of this perpetual boredom?

Was boredom the reason he was standing here now?

He was looking for trouble. Yes, yes, that must be it. It wasn’t
her
. Fuck no. It wasn’t her brown eyes that screamed obscenities at him on a daily basis, or the way she licked those unbearably soft lips when she was nervous around him, or the way she moved so fluidly without realizing how fucking gorgeous she was.

No. No. No.

Borden was currently following Mr Titty-Eyes to the urinal because… because he was
bored
! That’s all.

Titty-Eyes was already standing in front of the urinal when Borden stepped in. He crossed his arms and leaned against the sink, watching Titty-Eyes do what was natural to him.

Men were already doing one-eighty’s when they stepped into the restroom and spotted him. It was good that way. The room was reserved just for Borden and Titty-Eyes.

“You liking that girl you’re sitting with?” Borden asked with a friendly smile on his face (there was no such thing as a
friendly smile
on Borden’s face, but Titty-Eyes didn’t need to know that).

His eyes widened when he saw Borden.

Christ, was this the type of guy Emma was interested in? Tall, lanky body, with moppy hair gelled in ridiculous directions and… Were those skinny jeans on the fucker? A man…A man in
skinny jeans
?

It would be a serious disservice to the male race if Borden allowed this boy in skinny jeans go home with a woman that needed a real man.

“Score on you,” Borden added with raised brows. “Very impressive.”

Titty-Eyes relaxed and smiled back as he tucked that tiny little boy thing back into his skinny jeans and zipped it up. “Yeah, man, she totally digs me, right? She’s been all over me all night, man.”

No, she fucking hadn’t. “Yeah? Holy shit. She’s a looker, isn’t she?”

“Fuckin’ oath she is. I’m gonna destroy that pussy.”

Borden tensed. Oh, it would be so easy to drag this fucker into a stall and beat those skinny jeans off of him.

“Well, that’s fucking fantastic for you, man,” Borden smiled as Titty-Eyes went to walk past him. “Except,” he added, extending his arm out suddenly to stop the guy, “that looker whose pussy you want to destroy… is
mine
.”

Oh, this was his favourite part of being who he was. The shrinking of the shoulders, the widening of the eyes, the wobbling in the knee caps and the trembling of the lips –
this
was the common result of coming face to face with him.

Borden’s smile vanished and he was looking harshly at Titty-Eyes now. “You wanted to destroy pussy that’s mine, little man?”

Titty-Eyes shook his head quickly. “No, no. I didn’t know.”

“And even if she wasn’t mine, you’d have only looked at her as a fuck for tonight?”

He continued to shake his head. “No, no! I wouldn’t have done anything.”

Borden sighed in disappointment. “I don’t believe you, little man. Empty your pockets.”

Titty-Eyes immediately did as he was told, pulling out a wallet and car keys. Borden grabbed both off of him, setting the keys on the counter before opening his black leather wallet that had skulls on it.

The name on the driver’s licence read Jake Barnett. There were two fifty dollar bills, some loose change and… Borden inhaled sharply as he withdrew two condoms. Titty-Eyes gulped as Borden set the wallet down and flashed the condoms in front of his eyes.

“Didn’t plan on fucking her tonight, Jake?” Borden asked edgily.

“N-No!”

“Why do you have cock gloves in your wallet, little man?”

Titty-Eyes didn’t answer. His fear quadrupled at the intensity of Borden’s eyes as they narrowed in on him like crosshairs.

“You were going to glove yourself in my woman?”

Titty-Eyes’ face crumpled and he… he cried! “Oh, man, I had no idea. I swear. I swear to fucking God, Mr Borden! I had no idea! Please! Please don’t hurt me! Please!”

Borden’s nostrils flared as he regarded the crying lanky boy in skinny jeans. This was… This was just fucking pitiful. People were scared of him, sure, but it usually took them some time to fold under the pressure of his gaze. This boy did it at the drop of a hat.

Borden was disgusted.

Really, Emma?

Really
?!

Emma

I sighed.

How long did it take for a guy to do his thing in the toilets?

While I didn’t enjoy Jake’s company so much, it was better than being alone. Because being alone meant guys giving you attention you didn’t want.

I’d had a bit of fun. Blythe and I danced for a good while. It was nice to let loose despite Jake trying fervently to get me to drink. I turned him down several times before he finally gave up and gulped down the alcohol himself.

“Go easy on him,” Blythe had told me, referring to Jake’s attempts at intoxicating me. “He just broke up with his girlfriend, so he’s not really acting like himself.”

“So he wants to get me drunk?”

“Well… you might loosen up if you drank. You’re a little uptight, babe.”

Then she disappeared with her guy, and suddenly the whole club thing wasn’t much fun anymore. Maybe it was because I was the only sober one there. There was too much noise, too much chatter, and even though we were in an elegant VIP room, there were too many people.

Finally, I saw Jake emerge from the crowd. He looked… different than before. Gone was his confident demeanour. He was pale and feverish-looking.

“You alright?” I asked him the second he made it to the table.

He didn’t sit down and was uncomfortably looking away from me.

“My intentions were to fuck your brains out and I’m sorry for my seedy thoughts,” he suddenly said, and the words sounded robotic. “I’m going to go home without you because I’m a filthy asshole in skinny jeans.”

What the…

Before I could even process his words entirely, he turned around and speedily took off into the crowd.

“What the hell?” I whispered.

My jaw dropped to the floor. I couldn’t move for an eternity. That was random and… and weird. I figured his intentions weren’t noble, but why come out and say them? I pressed my lips together and shook my head in disgust. Men! I mean, did he not care how I would make it home tonight? Didn’t it bother him in the least that I was on my own?

Unbelievable.

I watched the crowd for several minutes, trying to wrap my head around his words.

“You having fun there, doll?”

The familiar voice pulled me out of my clusterfuck of thoughts and I looked up at Borden’s passive face. Where the hell had
he
come from?

He stood in front of the table with his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. He wore a white button up top that wrapped around his large arms tightly, and I had to remember to look at his face and away from his obvious muscle. The guy was a bloody tank.

“Um… sort of,” I stammered out in surprise.

His brows were knitted together in thought, his big lips pursed too as he regarded me. Against my better judgment, I felt better being around a familiar face, even if that face was Borden’s.
Especially because that face is Borden’s
, the hidden part of me whispered.

“You want to sit down?” I asked, motioning to the seat beside me. It seemed the right thing to do.

He stood there for a few seconds, debating my offer, and I was close to feeling silly, until he slid into the seat beside me. His shoulders brushed against mine and his unique smell enveloped me. He was vaguely looking around the room and I watched as the colours of the spectrum lights washed over his face. I observed his perfect profile, the way he licked his bottom lip, and how the movement of his head caused some of his brown hair to fall an inch over his forehead.

Marcus Borden, Emma. This is Marcus fucking Borden. Not some random hot guy.

I was a little shrimp next to him, and it made me feel a little vulnerable. It wasn’t like being in the office where I did all I could to not look at him, and he was certainly never this close to me either. Not unless I was kissing him on his cheek, something I hated to admit I looked forward to doing.

He pulled out that zippo lighter again and circled it in one of his hands.

“So I’m sitting down,” he said, flashing his blue eyes at me. “What now?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I’m the male here, should I offer you a drink?”

“No, I’m alright.”

“Oh, right,” he said seriously, “you don’t drink.”

He closely watched me as I nodded and said, “That’s alright.” Honestly, I couldn’t believe he even remembered me saying that. That was months ago!

“Why is that exactly?” he wondered. “Are you some reformed alcoholic or something?”

I laughed, my mood instantly improving. “Um, no. My parents were, though.”

“So they’re the reason?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded, and thankfully, he didn’t prod for more information. I was very grateful of that. Talking about it would have been a serious mood killer.

“Where are your friends? You said you were coming with a group.”

“Blythe took off with a guy, and the guy I was sitting with just… left me.” I was still shocked and confused by Jake’s abrupt departure.

“Left you?” Borden raised his brows. “Why the fuck would he do that?”

“I have no idea.”

“Did he not tell you?”

“Uh, well, he did, but it was weird.”

“Hmm.” He looked thoughtful and a little amused. “You look disappointed. Did you like him?”

“No,” I admitted with a shy smile, “but he was company and I’m not good around crowds.”

Why I was telling Borden this, I have no idea. But he was doing that normal thing again by not being an intimidating asshole that flaunted his power around. I really liked this side of him. It made me believe less that he was as mental as I allowed myself to believe. Borden was a mystery, and I was pretty sure he wanted to remain one to everyone around him. He wanted distance and yet he seemed to lose it when he was near me. It didn’t make sense to me why he wouldn’t just push me away, fire me, and let me live my own life if I was bringing out that side of him.

I see colours when I’m around you.
Those words shot through me again, like they sometimes often did, and I would gladly beg him to explain it to me. But ever since being in that office, all lustful sides of him had, for the most part, disappeared.

He moved his eyes over every inch of my face and then looked away.

“You look beautiful tonight,” he suddenly said, almost too quietly.

I tried to contain my surprise at his compliment. He’d never complimented me. It was always some kind of criticism. Like how red didn’t suit me, or how my office shirt had been baggy that one time, and just last week he’d said,
“What’s up with that feathery clip in your hair? It looks ridiculous. Are you a bird? You’re not a fucking bird. Take it off.”
When I took my hair clip off, he tossed it in the bin and shook his head as if I’d lost my mind.

“Nothing wrong for once?” I asked curiously.

“No, this little handkerchief white dress suits you,” he answered, looking down at my dress with way too much concentration.

“Handkerchief?”

“Doesn’t leave much to the imagination, does it?”

I laughed lightly. “No, I suppose not.”

“Got too used to you in your office clothes. I might have to force you to wear dresses like this once a week, doll.”

I bit my bottom lip to stop from smiling like a dumbass. “Why just once a week and not every day if you like it so much?”

God, he was suddenly fucking me with his eyes. “Because I can only handle a little taste of you. You show more and I’m going to demand the whole fucking cake.”

“The whole cake?”

A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips. “Fucking, doll. That’s what I meant.”

I nodded. “I know, Borden.”

“And if I fucked you, it’d be forceful, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, that’s what rape is, Borden. Forceful.”

He shrugged. “You can have consensual forceful fucking, right?”

Before I responded, I felt fingers brush against me and I looked down at the side of my bare thigh where his hand was. My heart sped up at this random gesture. Casual Borden was long gone, and he was back on his power trip.

Don’t react.
I told myself.
Play by his rules.

But it’d been so long since he’d touched me, and I’d thought about it every day, almost yearning for it. The noise around us no longer bothered me. I was too enveloped in the presence of this man to notice anyone besides us, too observant of the fingers tingling across my skin, giving me goose bumps. My heart was going a million miles an hour and I just knew nothing good was going to come of this.

“Do you ever think about our kiss?” His words broke through my thoughts with a crash. “Ever think of how good it felt?”

I hesitated. “I think about it.”

“Ever imagine what would have happened if I’d stayed?”

I pressed my lips down hard, unsure of how much I wanted to admit. “Sometimes.”

“How do you think it would have gone, Emma? When you daydream about it, am I going down on you? Licking your pussy before shoving my cock inside you? Or am I already spreading your legs wide on that nasty desk and plunging inside your wet cunt with your arms around my neck?”

Holy fuck.

I was deprived of oxygen. I stared into his eyes, every inch of me hot as those images flooded my mind when he spoke them.

I murmured almost inaudibly, “Spreading me wide and plunging inside me with my arms around your neck.”

He ran his teeth over his bottom lip slowly. “Straight to the point. I like that, Emma.”

I didn’t respond. I turned away and blinked rapidly, trying to get my heart to stop from bursting inside my chest. Jesus, he had a mouth on him.

“Did you intend on getting fucked tonight?” he then asked. “Is that why you wore this dress?”

He was deadly serious with that question. I felt myself squirm and then hated myself for allowing him to have this effect on me! It wasn’t fair. Why wasn’t I returning the favour? The man had an obvious soft spot for me, and if he was going to purposely rile me up, then why not do the same?

“Yes,” I answered as casually as I could.

His eyes widened in surprise and then darkened. “Is that right?”

I nodded certainly.

“Has it been that long that you’re so desperate for a fuck with a gangly looking man in skinny jeans?”

Oh, God.

It was
him
. He was responsible for scaring Jake away.

Well, that made a lot more sense.

“Hasn’t been that long,” I replied calmly. “A little over a week.”

His fingers abruptly left my leg. Now he was angry. “A little over a week?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re a liar.”

“Nope. You think it’s hard getting away from your muscle? Moustache Man sucks at what he does –”

He gripped my chin suddenly and forced my face up to look at him. His grip was tight but not painful. I looked up into his thunderous eyes. The passive exterior he’d tried so hard to contain had broken through, and he was seething.

My whole body came alive and adrenaline surged through me again. I was mortified at myself for feeling…
excited
.

“Don’t you ever fucking lie to me again,” he growled. “There was no one last week, and there was no one the weeks before that. It’s been a very long time since you’ve been touched by another man, so stop bullshitting me, Emma. It was me, and only me.”

He leaned in forward until his nose was barely touching mine. His eyes looked deeply into mine and my heart squeezed painfully as he softly added, “And no one’s going to be touching you either. You got it?”

Though he waited impatiently, I made no movement.

“Emma?” he said threateningly.

I finally nodded and he let go, swiftly looking around the room with his face all screwed up. His anger was exploding right out of him, but he held it in with remarkable effort.

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I had to look away so he couldn’t see it. What was it about me that made him able to hold back from losing his shit? And why did that satisfy me so damn much?

“While this has been…
interesting
, I should go,” I said after some silence. Time to flee Mr Mercurial and return to my safe haven of a home. Moustache Man was most likely still kicking around outside somewhere.

“I’ll take you home,” he replied.

“It’s okay,” I protested with a shake of my head. “I’ll call Graeme –”

“That wasn’t a fucking offer, Emma. I’m telling you I’m taking you home. Get up and let’s go.” His voice was hard and that frightening gleam shadowed his eyes as he waited for me to respond.

Eventually I nodded. He wouldn’t quit until he got his way.

I stood up with him and quickly pushed down my mini-dress after it’d hiked up to my thighs from sitting down for so long. I ignored his eyes as they lingered around my ass and legs.

Thankfully, he kept his distance as we trudged out of there.