Obsessive Cravings (Wicked Cravings Book 1)

Chapter 13

The last two days had been excruciating. With my obsession so out of control, I’d convinced myself to keep my distance from Riley. As much as I’d wanted to indulge in her, I needed her to crave me as achingly as I craved her. So I’d bided my time, avoiding the office and working from my home instead, making the rounds with Den to check in on my businesses. By the morning of the third day, I could no longer contain myself, vowing I’d play with her and indulge my fantasies some more. The Christmas party I threw for my employees and associates was in a few more days and that was when I’d make my big move, letting her tell me how much she wanted me and fucking her like I craved, without a blindfold, without sneaking in. This time, she would invite me back, if I could wait long enough to make it to her apartment, if I didn’t take her against the wall right there in the middle of the party. She wanted me enough. I’d sensed it in my office, and she might just be as needy as I was, needy enough to wrap her legs around me as I pounded her into the wall of the closest empty room.

But for now, I was playing my part as her unseen suitor, leaving her gifts and relishing the feel of her coming against my mouth. She’d fallen apart so hard, her cry was still resounding through my ears. It was a sound that would stay with me forever. One I wanted to hear repeatedly for the rest of my life.

I stared at the camera as she went back to sleep, my dick too hard to keep from stroking myself. She’d accepted my offer, waiting naked for me, the sight riveting me when I watched her crawl into bed. My cock was still throbbing from the experience, and I cursed my weakness, pulling it free and letting my hands replicate the way I imagined her muscles would bear down on me, the way they had on my fingers. With every thought of her body, the taste of her, the feel of her clenching down around my fingers, my motion quickened until my release hit me, ricocheting through my body. Cum climbed up my stomach, my groan filling the quiet room. I closed my eyes, Riley still on my mind as my body finally quieted.

I’d wanted to break my resolve and fuck her, but she’d stated her rules again and I’d honored them. Some part of me suspected she’d welcome it even with her protests, but I wouldn’t test that suspicion, no matter how much I wanted it. It was better this way. There was no way I could hide my identity if I was buried to the hilt inside of her. I needed to be patient.

My plan was moving into the next stage, but that plan had morphed. I was in too deep, and I couldn’t find my way back out. I’d almost lost control with her in my office. That fucker Matt had dared boast that he’d slept with her. I knew he hadn’t, but that hadn’t stopped the talk around the office. I’d paid him a visit, ensuring he knew never to step foot in my city again and warning him that if he went anywhere near her again, he wouldn’t live to spread rumors about it. I had Den escort him out of my city once I’d left him too bruised and bloodied to protest.

No one took what was mine. And Riley was mine.

Cursing myself for my weakness, I cleaned up and left, hating the distance it put between us. I wanted her now like I’d never wanted anything, and nothing would stop me from having her. I spent a sleepless night with Riley on my mind, rising early enough to slip a small gift and a cup of coffee into her apartment before she woke. Standing over her, I watched the peaceful rise and fall of her breathing, noticing how she still clutched the blindfold in her hand. The way my heart beat at the sight had me worrying that I’d fallen deeper than I’d intended.

I kept my distance from her for the next few days, leaving small tokens for her each morning. The emerald bracelet I’d left her was on her wrist when I stood hidden in the shadows as she walked into the building. This evening was the Christmas party, the night I planned to fully claim her, to let her know I’d had her this entire time. I didn’t go into the office after her, instead I had my men drive me to her apartment where I had one last gift to give her. I draped the blue dress I’d bought Riley on the table in her apartment, tucking a note in the stilettos I’d chosen for her. Buying women’s clothes wasn’t my usual thing, but I wanted her to look just right when I finally took her. Before heading out, I placed the shoes and a diamond necklace on the dress.

I had a meeting out-of-town, and it had me on edge. I didn’t like leaving Riley. Something about how she had run from Treemont still bothered me. I knew she was running from her brother, but instinct told me there was more to it. Mason was still hunting for her, which was part of the reason I was leaving town. He’d asked for a meeting on neutral grounds, his tone serious. And I knew if he asked to meet me, something concerning was on his mind.

His men were still scouring for his rogue henchman, Clint Randall, and suspicion told me this meeting had something to do with him. I took Den and Tinge with me, letting Den drive. Another car followed with two more of my men, armed and ready if Mason pulled anything. Like Den, Tinge was a beast of a man, all muscle and loyal to a fault. All my men were loyal, which made me question what had happened with Mason’s man. He’d been at this for fewer years than I had, but he was still experienced enough to vet anyone on his team. It was the nature of the business.

My knuckles cracked as I stepped from the car, ensuring my jacket was far enough back to show my gun. Mason wasn’t stupid. I didn’t think he’d attempt anything. We were enemies, but there was an unspoken rule, one he’d crossed when he’d dared venture into my territory. He’d retreated, but it had left me planning my vengeance, something Riley had walked right into. Although I wasn’t so sure my plan was going how I’d intended because the thought of devastating her now was wrenching.

“Grey,” Mason said, a bit too cocky for my taste. His green eyes reminded me of his sister’s. The same black hair fell in waves over his forehead.

“I don’t count you among my friends, Brinks, and not even my friends call me Grey.”

“Do you have any friends, Grey…son?”

He was a smartass and my need to teach him a lesson reared back to the forefront.

“Why did you ask me to meet you? I can’t imagine any reason you would have to reach out to me.”

His bravado faltered, and I saw the worry behind it. He was too sharp. There was no way he would mention Riley’s disappearance. She was an asset to anyone who found her. A wild card, an advantage that could weaken or even destroy him, which was precisely how I’d planned to use her. And exactly why I didn’t like being so far from her.

“I have a man who’s gone rogue. He needs to be put down, but he’s gone underground,” he admitted.

So, that’s what this was about. Clint Randall. “Must have done something serious to have you asking me for a favor.”

He narrowed his eyes, and I could see the way he was gritting his teeth at having to admit that was exactly what he was doing.

“It doesn’t matter. But it’s serious, and he’s a threat. His name is Clint Randall. Has he surfaced in Bridgeville?”

Time to get some answers. “What did he do, Brinks?”

He clenched his jaw, his eyes darkening. “He damaged something of mine.”

That had been an unexpected answer.

“What?” I pushed, needing the details. Something bothering Mason Brinks enough to go to this extreme was serious. “If he’s that big of a threat, I need to know what might be lurking in my city.”

The muscles in his jaw stood out as he gripped his fists. “He hurt my sister.”

I had to hide my reaction because his answer was one I hadn’t expected. No wonder Mason was hunting him.

“Tell me how and I might help you.”

“What the fuck do you need to know for?” he snapped.

“Your emotions are your weakness, Mason. You may want to work on that. Now tell me what the fuck this Clint Randall did to your sister to have Mason Brinks this worked up.”

“Let’s just say he used her and put her in the hospital.”

I couldn’t stop my hiss and he narrowed his eyes.

“No wonder you”re hot,” I said, recovering. “If someone did that to my sister, I’d want him dead, too.”

“You have a sister?”

“No, but I wouldn’t tell you, even if I did. What’s in it for me if I help you?”

Rolling his neck, he remained quiet. I could see he didn’t want to give me anything, but I didn’t do things for free.

Tyson walked closer to us, and I sensed Den do the same, both men ready to attack if either Mason or I made a wrong move.

“What do you want in exchange?” Mason asked, his teeth gritted.

And there was my opening, a way to finally get the brat under my control. He really was desperate, and I imagined this wouldn’t be happening if Riley was under his watch. But with her on the run, he had no choice.

I folded my arms over my chest. “You fall in line, continue to stay in your territory, but if I need your assistance, you don’t blink. I bark, you jump from now on.”

He narrowed his eyes, and Tyson flexed his muscles.

“Don’t pull that shit, Raines,” I said to Tyson. “You two are asking me to use my resources to fix your problem,” I growled.

“If I agree, it goes both ways,” Mason said after a few moments of contemplation.

“A truce between our sides?” It was an interesting prospect, but I needed him under my control and not the other way.

“Yes.”

“Only under my lead, always my lead,” I said, loving the tick in his jaw.

“You want me to give control to you, Tides? Are you shitting me? I would never do that.”

I didn’t bother responding. Instead, I turned my back on them and walked to the car, Den following.

“Fuck you, Tides. Fine, but conditionally!” He was losing control and having him begging was almost as rewarding as having his sister come against my mouth. I hid the smile that thought caused and turned.

Mason was scowling like the pouting brat he was. “Conditionally?” I asked. “I don’t do conditionally. Let’s try this, Brinks. You fall in line and stay out of my territory. I’ll do the same, but you will fall in line behind me. You align with me, and we become the combined force of the province. It will ensure the others keep their noses out of our business and won’t dare try to move against either of us.”

He studied me. Mason was an intelligent man. I’d watched how quickly he’d risen to his position, gathering resources and power that had taken me years to gain. Until he finally took down the family that had run his city for decades. That kind of skill came naturally to him, just as it did to me, only I had been at this a lot longer than he had.

“Deal,” he said. “But if you cross me, Tides, I won’t hesitate to take you down.”

It was an empty threat. I held the true power in the province, and everyone knew it. “You weren’t successful the first time, so I’d keep that bravado in check or I’ll let your little problem fester.”

The muscles in his jaw were so tight it looked like they might pop.

“I’ll need everything you have on Randall. And I mean everything,” I demanded.

Tyson walked to the car and returned with a folder. I took it from him, flipping through the details and pictures. Clint Randall looked like trouble. He was nothing but muscle. His tattoos covered every inch of his arms and extended up his neck. His brown eyes held only contempt, and I wondered how Mason hadn’t seen past the sneer that screamed distrustful ass to me. I spotted the marking on his bicep and brought the picture closer to study it.

“You let a Bad Omen in your ranks?” The Bad Omen were a family I’d run out of Bridgeville twenty years earlier. They worked underground, infiltrating other families and taking them down from the inside. They were notorious and those of us who’d been around when they first formed knew what to look for. Mason didn’t.

He snatched the picture from me.

“The tattoo on his left bicep,” I explained.

“Fuck,” he grumbled before he shoved it back to me.

“So he got in and almost took you down. Didn’t think I’d see the day another family would take you down, Mason.” It was a compliment laced with an insult and he knew it.

“He didn’t take me down.”

“No, he didn’t succeed, but he almost did.” I flipped through, looking for anything on Riley. “I need to know exactly what he did to your sister.” I didn’t need it to find Randall, but I needed to know.

“What the fuck do you need to know that for?” Tyson barked.

“You want my help?”

“You don’t need to know those details,” Mason said.

“Then I don’t need to help you. If you let a Bad Omen escape and there’s a chance he’s in Bridgeville, I can easily turn that into a reason to turn on you, Brinks. Now tell me what the fuck he did to your sister.”

I didn’t play and my enemies knew it. That was one reason I was the most feared boss of the provinces. I didn’t hesitate to kill if anything threatened my business or my people.

“He manipulated her,” Tyson said, running a hand through his mop of brown hair. He seemed just as upset as Mason, and I wondered how close he and Riley were. Close enough to have slept with her? I looked between the two men, but they didn’t seem like that mistake had ever come between them.

Mason shot him a look.

“What Mace? He wants to know. Why not tell him?” He glanced back at me. “Seduced her?—”

“Fucked her?” A stab of envy jolted through me at the thought.

Mason growled.

“Wow, you really dropped your guard, didn’t you, Brinks?”

“Fuck off, Tides.”

“So your rat fucked your sister and used her to hurt you, hoping it would weaken you.”

“He didn’t weaken me. I found the prick.” He was gripping his hands so tight the veins in his arms were raised. “Found where he had her and…”

The emotion surfaced, and I knew the asshole had hurt Riley enough that there were scars. “Found her?” I asked, thinking back on her reaction when she’d first seen the furniture I’d given her. The fear in her eyes, the tears as she’d sat and cried.

“He had her sneak around behind our back,” Tyson said. “Kept it secret until he was ready to strike. Lured her out of town and held her hostage. He turned on her, then on us. We found her…” He looked over at Mason, who nodded for him to continue. “Bruised and bloodied. He used her as a shield so we couldn’t kill him.”

My anger was rising as I tried to keep my reaction from showing. He’d done what I’d set out to do. Exactly what I’d wanted to do—manipulate her and throw her back at her brother to weaken him, then kill them both. Only I’d become distracted, my plan taking a backseat to what Riley did to me.

“He stabbed her and in trying to save her, we lost him,” Mason finished for him.

“Smart man,” I said, hiding the vile hatred I had for Clint Randall. Mason may not have killed him, but I would, and I would make him suffer for daring to lay a finger on Riley.

“Consider him dead,” I said, loosening my hold on the folder, which had ripped from the pressure I had on it. I turned away and walked back to my car. “I’ll send you his body when I’ve suitably tortured him.”

I didn’t look back, signaling for Den to drive off. I couldn’t have stayed or said anything more because the anger was spilling over.

“Fuck!” The dashboard buckled from the force of my punch.

Den stayed quiet, and I stared at the file for the rest of the trip, angry at the fucker who’d hurt Riley. Angry at myself for not knowing, for doing the same things he’d done and causing her more fear, more pain. I’d stalked her, broken in, tied her up…although she’d given me consent, trusting that I wouldn’t hurt her for reasons I still didn’t completely understand.

Regardless, I’d brought up memories she was running from, and I hated myself for it. Hated that I had intended to do exactly what I now regretted because I was falling for Riley Brinks. And that was a place I had never expected to be, one that made me vulnerable, one that left me confused. I was tired of the game because I wanted Riley Brinks to be mine completely. That way, I could protect her and keep Clint Randall from ever touching her again. Mason may have failed at keeping her safe, but I wouldn’t.