Shamefully Broken: A Dark Romance Read online

  “You’re avoiding the question,” she insisted. “How long have you had a crush on me… liked me… whatever?”

  He stayed silent, and for a second, she was sure he wasn’t going to tell her.

  “Please, Mav,” she said softly. “It matters to me. I can’t give myself to someone else who never even liked me. I can’t do that again… I can’t…”

  “Alright,” he relented, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand comfortingly. “It was the night of your eighteenth birthday party. You came out with your father and I didn’t recognize you at first. I thought he’d divorced your mom and gotten some young trophy wife…”

  “You did not,” Elliot snorted.

  “Oh, I absolutely did,” he replied with a chuckle. “Then I got a better look and I realized it was you. You’d grown a lot. Changed a lot.”

  “I got my braces off,” she said with a smile.

  “Mhm, and then some,” he said. “That was the first time I saw you for you. You weren’t Aiden’s little sister anymore. You were a very attractive young woman. Then, later on, I had you in my arms for a few minutes and that was it. I knew I had to have you. Even when you were screaming at me and cursing me out.”

  “So you waited seven years? You never tried to get in touch with me? You never…”

  “I’m a patient man,” he said. “You weren’t going to be with me back then. I knew that. I didn’t have anything you needed, Ellie. I didn’t have any stability, any power. A woman like you needs a man who can match her and then exceed her.”

  “So you went out and exceeded me,” she said, looking at him with wonder.

  “I had plans for my life, Ellie. You’ve been part of them for quite some time.”

  “But you didn’t call me, ask me on a date, you didn’t…”

  “You’ve been engaged for the past two years,” he pointed out.

  That was true. Eric had wanted to get married quickly for reasons that had seemed sweet at the time, but weddings took time to plan, especially Taylor-Chapman weddings. Two years was practically the bare minimum amount of time it took to arrange the flowers and the catering.

  “I could have gotten married before then. I could have had a gaggle of brats by now.”

  “Gaggle or not, you’d have been mine in the end,” he said with a supreme confidence that made her wonder how he could be so certain.

  She shook her head. “You’re something else, Mav.”

  “I know how the world works,” he said calmly. “I know that preparation is everything. And I know that you were made for me.”

  There was a certain something about the way that he spoke that sent a tingle down her spine. She was an innocent in his lair, and though he was safer than the men who had first come to her door with their guns and threats, that didn’t mean he was safe.

  “You’re tired,” he noted as she stifled a yawn. “You need some sleep.”

  “I could sleep,” she agreed. The spanking had tired her out, and sitting here, curled up with Mason, she felt her eyelids getting heavy. It would be nice to snuggle up with him, close her eyes, forget all this being owned stuff… it was silly and she was sure he didn’t really mean it.

  “Come on,” he said, slipping his hand over hers. “Come with me.”

  She followed him from the couch, through the halls of his home. Everything was so perfectly Mason. A lot of newly rich people tended to splurge their money on gaudy accessories, festooning every surface in sight with gold. His home was solid and understated, but every part of it was quality, from the soft wool carpets beneath their feet to the angular crystal light fittings above their heads. Contemporary, minimalist style was everywhere, somehow managing to avoid feeling cold and barren with placement of modern, yet quality artworks. Whoever had done the interior decoration certainly must have really understood Mason as a man.

  The place was far too big for just one person to be living in, though she imagined he must have guests and entertain frequently. The house didn’t feel empty though, it just felt calm and quiet, like a sanctuary.

  His bedroom was on the top floor, up several flights of stairs. He led her through double doors into his private sanctum, a room larger than many people’s entire homes. It was beautiful. There was a bed big enough for six and a window to the north with rolling country views across land she knew must be his. She could have stared at everything for hours, but the silk gray coverlet drew her eye and made her want to sink into its soft embrace.

  “That bed looks so good,” she sighed. “I can’t wait to lie down.”

  “Not so fast,” he said, turning her around by her elbow. On the other side of the expansive room, taking up most of the corner was a semi-circle of steel bars fastened from ceiling to floor surrounding a small round mattress of some kind. “That is where you’ll be sleeping.”

  Elliot stared at it, then at him. He appeared to be serious. There was no humor in his gaze, just determination. She looked back at the… cage. That was what it was. A fucking cage. It wasn’t all that large either. In fact, it looked like she’d only just be able to lie down and stretch out in there.

  “Mav… why do you have a cage in your bedroom?” She could barely believe she was asking the question. It sounded surreal coming out of her mouth.

  “I told you. I like to be prepared.”

  “To cage women?”

  “Some women like to be caged,” he smirked.

  Fresh suspicion flared. He couldn’t have done all this on her account. “Are you with someone?”

  “No,” he said. “There’s nobody else.”

  “But the cage…”

  “It’s yours.”

  She looked at him, realizing that this had been planned. She didn’t know how, she didn’t know why, but the preparation was obvious. He was ready for her. Which could mean…

  She turned to him, her expression fierce. “If you had anything to do with Aiden getting into trouble…”

  “You’ll what?” He smirked at her. “Are you going to whine me to death?”

  “You asshole!” She aimed a slap at his face. He caught it before it made contact, shaking his head with a small tutting sound.

  “Naughty girl,” he drawled. “That’s not very nice.”

  “You tricked me! You set me up!”

  “I did nothing of the sort. I saw where things were going with Aiden. I knew you’d need somewhere to go.”

  “So instead of helping out, getting in touch, stopping Aiden—you built a cage for me… you’re sick, Mav.”

  He kept hold of her wrist, and it was a good thing too, because she absolutely would have tried to slap him again. She tried to lift her arm, but there was no struggling against his strength. He kept her subdued easily, his eyes locked on hers as he explained his dark machinations.

  “I’ve been thinking about you, Ellie. For a long time. I thought about coming to tell you what was happening with Aiden, but I knew you wouldn’t listen. I knew you wouldn’t come to me until it was almost too late. And I knew by the time you did finally put your pride aside, you still wouldn’t have learned anything you needed to learn. This cage is yours. You’ll come to like it soon enough.”

  “If you put me in there, Mav, I swear to god…”

  He shook his head and put a finger to her lips. “Shh, Ellie. Your threats will only lead to tears.”

  “I’m not going in there.”

  “Of course you are,” he said, as if there was no argument to be had on the subject. “You agreed to my terms. You agreed to be mine. My girl sleeps in her cage.”

  “I hate you so much,” she hissed through her teeth. She couldn’t believe this was happening. How sick and twisted was he? How could she have allowed herself to believe for a single second that he had her best interests in mind? He was taking advantage of her just like Eric had.

  It wasn’t enough for Mason to take her in and look after her. He had to turn it into some weird kinky shit as well. He had to humiliate her and imprison her and… she didn’t say
another word, but the loathing was pouring from her gaze, she was sure.

  “Hate me all you like,” he said, taking her chin firmly between his thumb and forefinger. “But do as I say.”

  His eyes bored into hers, their green intensity overwhelming her in an instant. He meant it. He wanted her in the cage, and there was no way to fight him. She could feel her bottom tingling in anticipation of what would happen if she didn’t do as he told her to.

  She looked back at the cage, shaking her head. “No. You’re going to give me a proper room and I’m going to sleep in a real bed, and you’re going to stop being so fucked up to me just because you can… ow!”

  He grabbed her by the back of the neck and slapped her butt hard enough to reignite the earlier sting.

  “You’re going into the cage, because you’re mine and you’ll sleep where I say.”

  He swung the door open and gestured for her to enter. There was no way that was going to happen. She stood outside the cage, her arms folded over her chest, shaking her head furiously. This was so far beneath her. It was beneath anybody. And he expected her to accept it.

  “What the hell is that?” She pointed to a silver bowl on the floor that had suddenly caught her eye.

  “You must know what a water bowl is, Ellie.” His drawl was amused.

  “You expect me to drink from the floor?” She looked at him, utterly shocked. “Mav, every second you get more fucked up than you were the second before.”

  He smirked, unashamed. “You’ll earn everything in this house. Even simple things, like glasses and cutlery. Until you start adjusting your attitude, you’ll eat and drink from the floor.”

  “Fuck that,” she said, her temper flaring. “Take me home. I’d rather take my chances with some gun-slinging madman. I’ll hire my own security. I don’t need your help.”

  “True,” he said. “You could hire your own security. You could even hope that they’re not working for the same people looking for Aiden. You could hope that the men who came to your place with guns, who somehow walked right past the security in your building, haven’t paid off every other group in the city. You could leave here right now, if you wanted. I’m not going to stop you. You and Aiden can take your chances without my help, but Elliot, if you want my help, these are my terms.”

  Fuck. He held all the cards and he knew it. She was entirely at his mercy.

  “You know, Mav, you better hope that I never get the upper hand,” she swore. “Because everything you do to me is going to come back double. I promise you that.”

  “Into the cage,” he said, ignoring her threats as he swatted her skirt-clad rear hard enough to make her take a step forward. She grabbed at the bars on either side to prevent herself from actually going into the cage, and wedged her feet on the outer bars too.

  “You realize this makes you more like a naughty animal than ever, right?” He smirked again and took advantage of her splayed legs to deliver a firm swat not to her bottom, but between her thighs. His fingers caught her bare pussy under her skirt, the sudden sting on her lower lips making her leap and close them. Another hard slap landed on her butt and she was in the cage and the door was closed.

  “Let me out!” She turned and made the strident demand as he stood outside the cage, his arms crossed over his chest, a satisfied smirk on his handsome face. She wanted to slap him so badly she could feel her palm itching.

  “You’re going to learn that only one thing will work with me, Ellie,” he drawled. “And that’s submission. The sooner you settle down and accept your place here, the quicker you’ll enjoy some sort of freedom.”

  “You’re fucked, Mason,” she growled back at him. “When I get out of here, I’m going to call the cops on you.”

  He reached into his pocket and took out a phone. “You want me to call the police for you? I’ll call them if you like. You can tell them that you’re being held as my little fuck toy and spanked for misbehavior in return for my help keeping your drug addict criminal brother alive. I’m sure they’d be very interested to hear everything you’ve got to say on the subject.”

  Fuck. He’d called her bluff again. Going to the police wasn’t an option because criminals weren’t the only people looking for Aiden. The police were too, and thanks to him being a flight risk, she knew he’d never get bail. Once they caught him, he’d be sent straight to jail, and Aiden wouldn’t last in jail. She didn’t know if he’d last on the outside either.

  “You haven’t done a thing to help him since I got here,” she complained, changing the subject. “All you’ve done is torment me.”

  “Now I have you nice and safe, I can start to do something for him,” Mason said as he put the phone away. “I don’t want to hear any more threats out of you. You agreed to this, remember?”

  “I didn’t agree to being kept in a cage…”

  “You agreed to be mine,” he said. “And you are. Now you stay there and get some rest. I’m going to get some work done.”

  With that, he left her alone in the room, locked up and imprisoned. Elliot swore furiously under her breath, and then louder, but it didn’t help. She was captive, and it wasn’t fair. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Aiden was the one who had gotten into trouble and here she was paying the price.

  She resisted sitting down for as long as she could, but her legs were starting to get tired and eventually she sat down. The mattress was a few inches thick, enough to make the floor slightly less awful to lie on, but hardly comfortable. There were two pillows and a blanket, which she pulled over herself just to block out the view of the bars.

  The worst part of all of it was that she was agreeing to this. He’d told her she could leave. He’d even offered to call the cops on himself. And she was here, allowing this to happen to her. Maybe her parents had the right idea. Maybe she should have hitched a cruise to Jamaica and waited for this all to blow over one way or another. She could be lying in a hammock sipping a piña colada and watching handsome pool boys stroll by, their burnished bodies exposed to the sun. Instead she had Mason glowering at her, spanking her, even her pussy. She reached her fingers down and rubbed the spot he had slapped. He’d left her bottom, her sex, and her pride all stinging, and there was nothing she could do about it but wait until he came back, and hope that he kept his side of the deal.

  *

  She must have dozed off, because when she opened her eyes again the room was only dimly lit. Mason had come in quietly, she supposed, and was getting ready for bed. Elliot stayed where she was, tucked up in the blankets, watching him through the bars. He stripped the suit from his body and she saw him naked from the waist up first, his torso powerful, probably from working out, or maybe from forging steel bars for his latest cage. She wouldn’t have put it past him. Mason had always been practical… oh, god.

  He slid his pants down and twin muscular rounds came into view. He was ripped. Probably from all the years of manual labor he’d done to support his mother, though she doubted he had to haul hay anymore. He had long powerful thighs and muscled calves. Every part of him rippled when he moved. His iron discipline obviously extended to himself; she could only imagine how much work it took to maintain that physique.

  Mason had an incredible body, and suddenly she hated the cage for a very different reason. Not because it was keeping her in, but because it was keeping him out. She bit her lower lip and pressed her fingers between her thighs. She was wet, tormented both by her captivity and her need for him.

  Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She sat up and moved toward the edge of the cage. She couldn’t believe she was about to beg him, but desperate times…

  “Sir, please… let me out,” she whimpered softly through the bars.

  “Go to sleep,” he said as he got into his bed. He slept naked, apparently. She instantly hated the blankets that obscured him from her view. “Tomorrow you can start earning your place in my bed.”

  She let out a little growl under her breath. She’d lowered herself to call him sir and
the gamble hadn’t worked. He was going to make her stay in there all night, and she couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t tired, and she wasn’t willing to be some calm little prisoner.

  “Mason, please… I’ve been in here for hours… let me out…”

  He didn’t respond. She frowned to herself. Was he ignoring her? There was nothing she hated more in the world than being ignored. It was social death, and she would not abide it.

  She rattled the bars, testing the door. They made a clanging sound, but the door didn’t open, of course.

  “Settle down,” he growled from the bed. “If I have to get up and get you, you’re going to be sorry.”

  “Let me out, or we’ll both be sorry,” she said, standing up and rattling the bars more. There was no way she was going to stay in this cage. No way at all. If he thought he could just put her in the corner and make her live like an animal and she wouldn’t so much as complain, he’d lost his mind.

  “There are seventeen other bedrooms in this house,” he said, sitting up to glower at her. The sheet fell down, revealing the muscular plane of his abdominals and his broad chest. She was almost distracted enough by the sight alone to ignore his growled threat. “I can leave and you can bang all you like.”

  In the low light of the room he was more handsome than ever, the dark scruff of late night shadow enhancing his rugged jawline, his annoyance only serving to make him look sexier.

  I’d bang you all night, she thought to herself as she shook the bars again. God. She hated him so much, but she wanted him just as bad.

  “Elliot! Enough!” He snapped the words so forcefully she stepped back from the bars. He let out a sigh and laid back down, but his relaxation was premature as she looked around and saw opportunity for something a little more persuasive.

  The bowl. The one he expected her to drink out of. She’d see about that. She waited for a few minutes, long enough to let him start to relax, perhaps even start to fall asleep. Then she acted. She smirked to herself as she picked the bowl up and tossed it at the bars of the cage. There was a clang as it hit the steel and then water cascaded out and onto one of his expensive rugs.