BORDEN 2 by R.J. Lewis Read Free Book Online

eyes glazed, staring off into space while hands invaded every inch of their bodies.
     
    I was nowhere near a prude. I’d seen this sort of thing from time to time growing up, and I treated it with a shrug on the shoulder. I was full blown desensitized. I’d never reacted, never really cared, because kids during my teenage years did all kinds of rambunctious over-the-top shit – myself included. So I really shouldn’t have been so surprised by this, but my body cringed involuntarily anyway. All of it felt sleazy and icky. I caught Hector’s eyes on me, noticing my reaction with this smug look in his eye. I glared back, cursing him with my eyes, but that only seemed to feast on his ego, until I could do nothing but turn away entirely. It was becoming habitual at this point, the whole act of looking away from his sexist ass.
     
    I could feel Borden’s anger rolling off of him, and his hand around mine tightened. He growled orders at Graeme, and suddenly the man was standing on the other side of me, keeping me boxed in between both of them. I found it slightly ironic that Borden would be protecting me from bikers he was now depending on to keep me safe if the situation arose. I almost wanted to say something about it.
     
    “When they’re drunk, they’re not very manageable,” Graeme suddenly told me. “But they are very friendly when you’re on their side.”
     
    He was right. The second Hector announced to them their deal had gone through, the men were infinitely more approachable. None of them paid me any attention as they greeted Borden, and they did so very mindful of their behaviour. I felt my body loosen in relief. But Borden’s grip around my hand didn’t slacken. He seemed more charged, his jaw locked tight, his eyes hard. I think it really dawned on him what he’d just done.
     
    He looked like a man who’d just sold his soul to the devil.
     
    And it felt like it was all my fault.

Four
     
    Emma
     
    Cold.
     
    That’s what I was.
     
    Just…cold.
     
    I was thankful to escape the club after a brief walk around with Borden. It was a silent ride back. I didn’t look at him as Graeme drove us to his place, but I could feel his eyes on me, burning me. I knew if I met them, I’d feel that pulsing desire I had for him, and right now it felt wrong to feel that way.
     
    I feared him, and at the same time, my heart was heavy with need for him. I was so conflicted, mostly because I knew how wrong it was for me to care for him. Tonight was the first time I’d seen beyond the curtain of his… activities . He’d let me in, just like that, and it was so purposeful that I had to wonder what his motives were.
     
    We rode the elevator in silence. He had his hands in his pockets, still studying me from the corner of his eye. He sensed my mood and was keeping a distance. I was grateful for it.
     
    Then we finally made it to his place. It was luxurious. The modern penthouse he owned was fifty-two hundred square feet, with floor to ceiling windows, half a dozen bedrooms and a kitchen that at first left me breathless in its degree of elegance; it was very ying-yang with its light marble countertops and tall dark cabinets. We usually sat around the island on our barstools in the morning, chatting while I made my “feral” coffee. Then we’d move to the lounge, another area with warm colours, but still fairly clinical. I tried to feel at home here, and it worked for a while when I was with him, but walking into the place now, I just felt out of it.
     
    It was nothing like my crappy little unit that took fifteen steps to walk from one corner to the other. The bathroom didn’t have my cracked shower head that spurted out water from half of the holes, leaving me huddled in one corner for a century just to have my hair soaked. I didn’t hear police sirens at night, or men brawling on the streets during the weekend, or the air brakes of a bus stopping at five in the morning, disrupting my sleep.
     
    My life had