Dirty (10 page)

The hot
scalding
tears burned the corners of her eyes but she hastily blinked them away. “Is that why you came here? To degrade me?”

Paul flared
his
nostrils. “You enjoy being degraded
. Does
it really matter who’s doing
the
degrading? If you really wanted me to stop
,
you would have said so.” He paused catching her gaze with his. She couldn’t look away from his magnetic gaze if she tried. A lump formed in her throat. “Don’t stop. Fuck me, Paul. Hard. Fast. Hurt me. Do what you have to do. Just don’t stop.”

He nodded in understanding as he eased out of her. “Turn around and get on your hands and knees.”

“What?”

“Hands and knees
,
Simone.”

Slowly she obeyed his command, thankful now that her back was to hi
m
because
he wouldn’t see it when she cried. Once she was in position, Paul wasted no time sliding back into her. Simone didn’t think it was possible for him to be any deeper inside of her, but he was. Paul gripped her hips and tore into her like a man possessed. Even as tears slid down her cheeks, her body responded to his, craving every stroke and the way he dug his fingers into her rear. When he grabbed a handful of her hair
,
it only intensified the sensations coursing through her.

Her climax happened so suddenly that it took her by surprise but Paul continued to plow into her, grunting, growling and making noises that didn’t sound quite human. He rode her until she came again. It was only then when he howled his release. By the time he was done with her, Simone didn’t have the strength to support herself in that position. She collapsed to the floor.

Paul pulled away and stood up. Simone was able to raise
her
head just long enough to see him adjust his clothing. He hadn’t bothered to remove any of
it
. Without another word, he turned and headed out the door, leaving Simone on the floor.

Chapter Ten

Paul hated bullies, hated them with a passion. Once he’d grown big enough to stand up to his father, he did
. He did
his best to protect his mother and sister from an abusive alcoholic father who viewed his family as people to push around because he wasn’t satisfied with his own miserable life.
Paul ha
d earned a reputation in school for protecting the smaller kids who couldn’t fend for himself. His deep sense of justice was one of the things that gave him a purpose after years of feeling so helpless.

It was why he’d fought so hard for custody of his sister and had taken care of her at an age
when
most young men were finding themselves. It was one of the reasons why he felt such an affinity for his business partner
,
Noelle
,
who had been in an unhealthy relationship at the time of their meeting.
Paul felt it was his duty to watch out for her.
Admittedly, she’d gone on to marry the man who happened to be his former boss, but until James had done right by her
. Paul
was the guy who would get extra groceries for the little old lady who used to live in his old apartment building because he knew she lived on a fixed income. He was also the guy who gave boxing lessons to disadvantaged children in his spare time. It
went
against everything in him to be the bad guy.

Except now he was. He was the bully.

It made him sick to his stomach how he had left Simone laying on the
floor
, shoulders trembling. He didn’t see her tears but it didn’t take a genius to know that she was crying. And the really fucked up part about the whole thing was that he was the cause of her grief. He’d treated her worse than a two-bit whore on the street who’d given him an
STD and
all because he was still angry over an incident that had nothing to do with her. The fact that he was now cut off from the fights or that Misha was expecting some favor from him that could jeopardize his freedom had nothing to do with her.

Deep down, he knew his personal issues
weren’t
the thing
s
that bothered him the most. It was the fact that he still had feelings for Simone despite telling himself that he was over her a long time ago. When he’d first seen her, something about Simone Carter had called out to him. He wanted to get to know her better. Not only was she beautiful,
but
she was smart, had a great head on her shoulders and seemed kind. He’d learned a lot about her through Noelle who constantly sang her praises, so when they finally met face to face Paul fell hard. This woman had soon became the star of every single one of his fantasies. He had casually asked Noelle if Simone was single and he was thrilled to learn that though she dated sometimes, it was only casual.

Getting dates was never a problem for him since he made it past his awkward adolescence but when she turned him down it was crushing. Around that time, she was just opening up her boutique and he figured she wanted to focus on that so he backed off and bided his time. After a few months
,
he tried again only to be rejected again. And shortly after she’d told him no again, he’d overheard that damning conversation between Simone and Noelle. It was a blow to his ego that hurt him down to his soul. This was a woman who he could actually see himself having a future with
,
but it seemed as if she didn’t even view him as a man. That would have been a blow to any man’s masculinity.

The kicker, was seeing her getting fucked against a building in a dirty alley with someone he was almost positive she’d just met that night. It made him sick to his stomach. He focused on his own business venture and dated around to forget about her
,
though she was never far from his mind. None of those women were able to make him forget about her. It was Simone who made his dick hard from just the thought of her and his pulse race whenever she was close. Just a whiff of her sweet scent was enough to get his hormones racing like a teenager with his first crush.

Paul had convinced himself that if he could have sex with her, he could exorcise Simone out of
his
system. It was gratifying to know that she wasn’t as immune to him as he’d previously thought but it seemed he was only able to get through to her when he treated her in a less than gentlemanly way. He’d teased and tormented her, making her crave him as he had her. He wanted her to know what it was like to lay awake at night unsatisfied because
she
couldn’t have the one person
she
wanted to be with the most. He wanted to punish her for making the mistake of calling him
nice
.

So tonight with his adrenaline still pumping and all the thoughts swirling in his head, like his father, Misha, and how he’d nearly killed a man he didn’t know
, he texted Simone.
Why
he thought it would be a good idea to contact Simone
, he still didn’t know
. But when he touched her, he wanted to be gentle, take her in his arms and hold her close to him. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was and how long he’d dreamed of having her naked beneath him. Instead, he
was
reminded
of
that godforsaken conversation and visions of her and the stranger in alley infiltrated his brain. It brought out the monster in him. It shamed him that he didn’t have the guts to face her after what he’d done.

If any man had ever done that to Alyssa
,
he would have fucked them up in ways that would make the man not want to live, but he was the villain
of
the scenario. He wasn’t sure how he would face her again, but he’d have to.

Paul tossed and turned in his bed trying to get some sleep but to no avail. He’d been up for the last twenty-four hours. The last time he’d missed this much sleep was when he was a kid and stayed up
to
make sure that when his father came home from the bar drunk, he would be the target of his father’s abuse instead of his mother.

After leaving Simone, Paul
had come straight home and took a cold shower, standing under the water until his skin was blue as atonement. By the time he climbed into bed, the sun was just starting to come up. He’d been trying to sleep for the past five hours to no avail. His mind wouldn’t slow down enough for slumber to be possible. Besides, the guilt that gnawed at his gut didn’t help either.

With a heavy sigh, he rolled out of bed, and dropped to the floor. His body still acted from his fight the night
before
but he was still able to get out his routine
one
hundred push-ups. When he stood he grabbed his phone
,
which he’d put on vibrate when he came home, to see that he had handful of missed calls and several text messages. A couple of the calls and all of the text messages were from Alyssa. Three calls were from Noelle and another was from a blocked number.

He opted to call his sister back first because she was the type to file a missing person
’s
report if she didn’t hear from him in a certain amount of time. Alyssa answered the phone on the first ring. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch with since yesterday. It’s not like you to not call.”

“I’m sorry Lis, I’ve been very busy.”

“I understand that but I’m sure you can take five minutes out of your day to call back. He contacted me again.
Somehow
he got my landline number. How the hell did he get my number? I feel like I’m being watched. I don’t feel safe in my own home.” With each word spoken, Alyssa’s voice became higher pitched.

Paul cursed under his breath. “What did he say to you exactly?”

“He said that he missed me and wants to see me. He says he has something important to say to me.”

“Have you told Craig?”

“Of course
,
I have. He’s my husband.
Craig
said there’s really nothing I can do if he hasn’t threatened me. But I think the very fact that he’s even contacted me is a threat, especially after what he did. I don’t want to see him, hear him or have anything to do with him.”

“And you won’t have to. My suggestion at this point would be to get rid of the landline. The only time I’ve ever seen you use it was when you’ve misplaced your cellphone and need another phone to locate it. I’ll find out the terms of his probation. If we’re lucky, he might be violating the terms by getting in contact with you. That way we can send his ass back to prison so he can rot.
”

“I feel like such a wimp for calling my big brother about every little problem. Craig is starting to feel a little uncomfortable with how I look to you to solve all my problems.”

“Most men would
,
Alyssa
,
and in most circumstances, I’d tell you that you and your husband need to lean on each other. But this is no ordinary
circumstance
. I don’t want either one of you getting involved because we don’t know how dangerous he is. I’m reckoning he’d be in is late fifties right about now
,
which means he can still do a lot of damage. I’ll take care of
him
for you. I promise.”

Alyssa let out a deep breath which sounded a lot like relief. “Thank you, Paul. I can always count on you.”

“You’re my baby sister. I’ll always be there for you, even when you’re a grandmother with a handful of children.”

“And what about your own kids? When are you going to settle down with someone special?”

The last thing he wanted to admit to his sister
was how
he’d found the woman of his dreams but things between them were all kinds of fucked up. He didn’t think she’d ever forgive him after what he did. “Has it occurred to you that I’m more cut out for the bachelor life?”

“If any other guy were to say that
,
I’d believe them but not you. Paul
,
you’re the nurturing type. You’d make a great husband and father. You’re not a bad looking guy.”

“Uh, thanks. I think.”

“You know what I mean. You know you’re pretty hot. All my single girlfriends have been begging me to hook them up with you, but I don’t think you’d take to
o
kindly to me playing matchmaker after the last disaster.”

Paul remembered when his sister had introduced him to a friend of hers who he was initially attracted to. Sabrina had been attractive, a recent college graduate who aspired to get her PhD in psychology or so she said. The more Paul got to know Sabrina
,
the more he realized she just said the thing
s
that she though
t
he wanted to hear. She had little ambition
other
than snagging a rich husband so she could live a life of leisure. He saw nothing wrong with that
,
if that’s what she wanted out of life, but he preferred his woman with ambition and the ability to carry on a conversation that didn’t always center on them. “You’re right, if I’m ever so inclined to settle down, I’d prefer to do my own choosing.”

“It’s too bad Paul because you’d make someone the happiest woman alive.”

Getting uncomfortable with this topic, he decided the
best
course of action was to change it. “The special this week at the bakery are those blueberry cupcakes you like so much. The next time I stop by, I can bring you a box.”

“Way to switch topics, but yeah I’ll bite. You know I can’t resist those cupcakes. But just bring a half dozen this time because I’m trying to lose a few pounds. Marriage has made me very comfortable and let’s just say my pants have been a little tight lately. I’m just finishing up my lunch break and I’m headed back to the office so I’ll catch you later
,
okay? And I expect you to come by for dinner on Friday, with those cupcakes.”

“You got it.”

Just as he clicked off the phone, the doorbell rang. Paul frowned not sure who would be contacting him
at
this time of day. All he wore at the moment were his boxer briefs, so he quickly donned a pair of jeans he’d discard and a clean t-shirt. By the time he made it to the door, the person on the other end had run
g
it
twice
more.

“Hang on, I’m coming.” He glanced out the peephole. “What the fuck,” he muttered upon seeing who it was.

Cautiously
,
he opened the door. With shades so dark he couldn’t see the other man’s eyes, Paul stared back at Misha Petrov. “You’re a very hard man to get a hold of.”

“You said I wouldn’t hear from you for a few days.”

“An opportunity presented itself and I found I had to act quickly before it vanished. As I said, I have a package to deliver to you.”

Paul wanted to slam the door in the Russian’s face but doubted that would do
any
good. “Where is it?”

Misha turned around, “Come, little one. You’ll be safe here.”