PAYBACK (A Bad Boy Romance) by Alexx Andria

hating that I had to rely on him for everything.
    “No.”
    His terse answer gave power to everything I secretly feared. Maybe he was trying to starve me. Maybe he hadn’t liked what he’d seen last night and thought I could stand to lose a few pounds.
    Surprisingly, that thought cut deeper than anything else.
    Which was plainly stupid because why would I care what a man like Cason thought of me?
    I was fast becoming irritated with my own thoughts. I longed for a good book, one where the heroes were two-dimensionally awesome, kind, loving and perfect. I knew men like that didn’t exist, but that was okay because I much preferred living my life within the pages of a story rather than the grim reality.
    Reality sucked.
    I must’ve fallen asleep. One minute I was awake and the next it was hours later, the sun had dropped into the horizon and Cason was pulling into a narrow alley, swinging around to the back of an older building to park.
    There was no sign on the door and it looked deserted but the faint pulse of music filtered through the old brick.
    Cason pulled me out of the car roughly.
    I glared. “Do you have to jerk me around like that? I’m not a side of beef.”
    “Keep your mouth shut and stick with me,” he warned with a growl as he banged on a rusted metal door.
    A thick man with ferocious eyebrows and tattoos crawling up his entire arm stared then droned, “Password.”
    Cason didn’t miss a beat. “Pineapple.”
    Pineapple ? Why not Bloody Skulls or Shattered Souls ? Seemed more appropriate than a sunny, tasty fruit that went well with barbecue pizza.
    The guard nodded and allowed us into the smoky darkness. I held Cason’s hand in a death grip.
    Music throbbed as shadows gyrated on the dance floor, glitter sparkled on the floor and people wore masks.
    Where the hell were we?
    Cason wound his way past the throng of people, most oblivious to anything around them, and we traveled down a creep corridor, lit only by the dimmest flickering lights embedded in the wall.
    It smelled sour, like sweat and other bodily fluids that I couldn’t even imagine.
    Wherever we were made Tito’s place look like the Taj Mahal.
    Cason opened a door and pushed me inside, locking it as he closed us in.
    I gasped as I stared at the grotesque room. A large bed with skulls and crossbones bedding was off to the left and to the right…I turned to Cason, my mouth parted with incredulous horror. “You brought me to a sex dungeon! Are you out of your mind?”
    Cason mocked, “Now what does a virgin know about sex dungeons?” but before I could sputter an answer, he pushed me up against the wall, his big body towering over mine.
    I shivered as I tried to quell the knot of fear and excitement pooling. “What are you doing?” I asked, jumping when he pulled my arm up to clamp a manacle around my wrist.
    “You played on my weakness,” he said, securing my other wrist even as I struggled to get away. “But that’s not going to happen this time. This room is used for other purposes but I think it’ll serve my needs just fine.”
    “You’re going to leave me shackled to this wall!” I cried, unable to believe his cruelty. “I can’t sleep like this.”
    “Who said I will allow you to sleep?” he returned coolly.
    My breath caught. I didn’t know what he meant but I instantly thought of the other night and I had to squeeze my thighs together to keep from squirming.
    Cason was so close I could see his eyes flare with something powerful. I didn’t know if it was arousal or anger but being helpless to prevent whatever was coming did something strange to my insides.
    “Please Cason,” I pleaded, trying to appeal to some sense of decency in the man. “You know this isn’t right. I’m innocent in all this. I’ve done nothing to hurt you. Please…”
    Cason dragged a knuckle softly down my cheek. “You are sweet when you beg,” he murmured, losing himself for a moment in the hungry perusal of my body. I was still