While She Sleeps: The Dirty Heroes Collection Read online

  “I’ll see what I can do.” The promise is there, but somehow, I don’t think Herbert is going to want to see his son. There is so much bad blood, and still, I’m not sure everything makes sense.

  “Oh, before you leave,” Moritz says, handing me a letter. “This was addressed to you. We found it when searching your mother’s apartment. She was living in a semi-permanent rental in the city.”

  “Thank you.” My voice is a whisper. I’m not sure I want to know what’s inside. Perhaps she’s given me a reason for leaving, but then again, maybe she’s written all the lies she could’ve told me to my face in the letter.

  I have a choice.

  Do I want to know?

  Or do I move forward, putting her behind me?

  * * *

  I’ve been sitting on the couch staring at the letter for hours. Logan made dinner, we’ve eaten, and now he’s at his desk working on something for Dax while I debate whether I should open the can of worms my mother left me.

  “You know you don’t have to open it,” he tells me from where he’s seated.

  I glance over at him, smiling at him as he looks at me over his dark-rimmed glasses. “I know. I just . . . it’s the unknown that keeps niggling at me. You know?”

  “I get it, but don’t force yourself to do something that may hurt you.” He stands, makes his way over to me, and pulls me to my feet. “I’m here for you. No matter what.” Logan presses a kiss to my forehead before he leaves me and heads down the hallway until I’m alone.

  I pick up the envelope and rip it open. Pulling out the letter, I unfold it slowly, my fingers trembling. I allow my eyes to scan the page.

  Vera Rose,

  Growing up in our family, with our name, it was never easy to make a life for yourself because there were certain things expected of you. I learned from a young age to agree, no matter what. My father already had my marriage arranged to Stephen before I could ever tell him I was in love with someone else.

  Sadly, I didn’t fight. I didn’t run. I walked down the aisle, and I was Mrs. Conried before I was ready. My heart craved to be an Oakridge because they had everything. That is until your father came into his own, and suddenly, I was no longer a poor girl married to a man who wasn’t anywhere near the upper-class society I craved. But as much as your father tried to give me, I never loved him.

  After having you, I thought it would change. I thought I would change. But my heart wasn’t in it, and I walked away. I am not a mother. I never claimed to be. What I wanted though, was the name I’d admired for most of my life. When I saw you were in line to claim that last name, I was angry.

  I was jealous.

  My daughter would have the one thing I always wanted.

  I hated you.

  I wanted you to pay.

  And that’s when I knew what I had to do—take your firstborn. I would finally gain the fortune, the name, and everything that came with it. I knew Herbert would leave everything to your child because Logan never wanted that life.

  The information about Herbert killing his wife because she was planning to leave him, along with his embezzlement, wasn’t enough. At least that’s what I believed. But when I found out, he was running an underground sex trafficking ring for, under eighteens, I knew I had him.

  The fear in that man’s eyes was nothing short of bliss for me. For years he thought I was nothing more than a whore who spread her legs, but what he didn’t realize is, I’m shrewd, and I’m good.

  I wanted everything he had. Including a grandchild because I knew you wouldn’t forgive me for leaving. But I was blinded, I didn’t care, all I wanted was the money, the name, and the respect.

  But if you’re reading this, I failed.

  I made mistakes.

  And I don’t expect forgiveness; I just needed you to know. You may never understand, and that’s okay.

  Goodbye, Vera Rose. Take care of the name you’re going to gain.

  I flip the page around, but there’s nothing else. Her final words to me weren’t I love you, darling, or something like that. Instead, she was more concerned about a fucking name.

  I head to the kitchen. Flicking on the gas burner, I hold the page to the flame and watch it ignite. Slowly, the white page turns black as my past burns away with my thoughts of a mother who might have loved me.

  “Are you okay?” Logan asks from behind me.

  Once the letter is gone, I turn to regard him. “I’m just fine. Nothing I needed in there anyway. I’m stronger without her, and I realized something,” I tell him, stepping into his hold. “I’m nothing like her, and it’s the best thing I’ve come to realize about myself.”

  And I know it’s the truth. I never want to be anything like a woman who could do what she did. One day, when I do have a baby, he or she will know love, happiness, and a family that doesn’t forsake you for material things. I’ll love that child because it’s a part of Logan and me.

  “There’s something else she said,” I whisper, knowing that the confirmation will certainly break him. But he needs to know, to have closure.

  “What is it?” His dark eyes burn into me, searing me with more question than he voiced.

  “Your mother,” I start slowly. “She’s… she’s dead, Logan.” When I look at him, I see the sadness flit across his handsome, rugged face. And I wrap my arms around him. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” he mumbles into my hair as he buries his face into the crook of my neck. He doesn’t want to show me his emotions, and I allow him to hold me as he comes to terms with the news.

  We stand together, holding each other up for a long while. Silence is calming as it surrounds us. I’m not sure how much time passes when Logan finally pulls away, cupping my face in his hands and smiles.

  “Thank you for being here with me. You’re a beauty,” Logan says. “And I love you.”

  “I love you too, my Broken Prince,” I tell him as I snuggle into his warmth.

  Epilogue

  Four months later

  My father looks at me like I’m a princess. Today of all days, I feel like that girl I read about in books when I was a kid. I feel like I’m special, more so than normal because as Dad takes my hand, I take a deep breath and turn to the aisle.

  “Make sure I don’t faceplant on the carpet,” I whisper to him, causing him to chuckle.

  “Never, sweet girl,” he tells me before leading me to my destiny.

  When I was ten years old, I met a boy.

  When I was eighteen, I ran away from home because said boy didn’t want me.

  And now, I’m all grown up, and I’m marrying said boy. He’s no longer convinced he’s a monster, just a broken man who grew up too quickly. It’s what happens when monsters raise us. Logan has come to terms with himself, with his desires and mine over the time we’ve been together. We’re both older, grown up.

  By the time I reach Logan, he’s become blurry because the tears threatening to spill are sitting on my lashes. The moment I blink, they slowly trickle down my cheeks. Logan takes my hand, bringing my knuckles to his lips.

  “You look perfect,” he tells me before we turn to the man before us. Words are spoken, but I don’t hear them because my heart is thrumming wildly in my ears. It’s a rhythm I find solace in for the moment.

  As time passes and we turn to each other once more, Logan takes my left hand, lifts it, and places the sleek, golden band on my ring finger.

  “There was a long time where I thought marriage was for fools. I believed that finding love was not something I’d ever do because I could never find a woman who would see past the exterior and look deeper. But you, my beauty, did just that.”

  His voice catches, and I have to swallow back my own emotion, or I’d be a basket case of tears right now. But they’d be happy tears. Definitely happy.

  “When you accepted me for who I am—not your knight in shining armor—but your Broken Prince, I knew I’d found my Sleeping Beauty.” His words warm my chest, my heart beat
s against my ribs, and I can’t stop the tears from falling now.

  “I love you,” I whisper.

  “I promise you forever.” Logan slips the ring all the way to the last knuckle. The golden band sits beside the diamond ring he gave me only a month ago. Even though we’re not perfect apart, we’ve found flawlessness together.

  “Logan.” His name on my lips feels so natural as I take his hand and slip the thick gold ring onto his finger. “You’ve taken my wants and needs and made them your own, and I’m so thankful you did. Even though we walked a very strange, long, and winding path to get here, my heart is filled with more love and happiness than I’ve ever experienced.” The ring fits perfectly, and I smile up at him when I say the last few words. “Forever and a day, my Broken Prince.”

  The priest says his final words, announcing us as husband and wife, and the few guests we have whoop loudly when Logan pulls me in for a kiss. The guys who helped us when we needed it most—Dax, Kael, and Axel—along with their partners are here. My father and Abigail, his friend that has been around a few times over the past few weeks. I’m so happy to see my father has found a friendship that had long since fizzled out because of my mother’s wrongdoings.

  We don’t need much more than this. And there’s still one more thing I need to tell Logan, but not here. Our hands lock in a tight hold as we make our way down the aisle and out the doors into the sunshine.

  “By the way,” I whisper quickly before everyone follows us. “No drinking for me tonight.” With a naughty wink, I tug him toward the car that will take us up to the cabin, where we’ve set out tables for our guests to join us for dinner.

  * * *

  Logan

  “You’re a bad girl for teasing me,” I tell her in the cabin as our new puppy races up the steps behind me as I carry my wife to the bedroom. She wanted a dog, and I got her one. “Prince!” I call out to him, and he stops for a second before bounding onto the bed we bought for him.

  “I wasn’t teasing,” she mumbles, “Merely stating facts.”

  “You’re pregnant, and you waited until after the ceremony to tell me.” I set her on the bed, and she compliantly lies back. She waits for me, like always, as I slowly undress her. First her sweater, then the blue sweatpants she was wearing. Soon enough, she’s in a pair of panties and her bra, both white and lace.

  Looking down at her, I take in her perfectly curvy frame, beautifully smooth skin, and her tits cupped in the soft material, which is making my cock ache. Tonight, we’re trying something new.

  I reach for the silk ribbons and get to work in binding Vera’s wrists to the bed frame. Once they’re secure, I move to her ankles and do the same. She’s bound, mine, and she’s looking at me with mischief in her gaze.

  Her breathing slows as her lashes flutter, and she closes her eyes. “I’m ready,” she whispers in the low-lit bedroom.

  My cock throbs when I see her looking like a perfectly bound Sleeping Beauty. Silence stretches between us, and I move to the bedside once more, picking up the sharp steel blade. With a gentle murmur of, “Don’t move,” I slice away her underwear, tugging the scraps away from her body, and bring her panties to my nose. “Your pussy smells like dinner and fucking dessert,” I tell her as I unbuckle my belt and shove my pants, along with my boxers, down.

  Stepping out of my clothes, I move over her, kneeling on the bed between her splayed thighs. “Logan.”

  “Look at me. I need your eyes on me.” It’s not what we planned, but something inside me craves her gaze. She opens her eyes, and I take the panties, drape them over my erection, and I stroke myself slowly.

  “Logan,” Vera gasps in shocked desire. With my other hand, I tease her pussy, finding her wet and needy. Her folds open to me as I slip two fingers inside, feeling her tight heat, and a groan escapes me.

  “Do you like watching me jerk off with your pretty panties, Beauty?” I arch a brow at her, and she nods at my question. I continue stroking myself, while finger-fucking Vera. Her hips rise, meeting my thrust, and I can’t help but smile at the wet sounds her body is making.

  “Logan, please,” she whimpers, which only makes me harder. My arousal coats the material, and I tug the scrap of underwear free before bringing it to Vera’s nose. She opens her mouth, shocking me, and I slip the bundled panties into her mouth. A smile curls her perfect lips, and I stare at her in awe as she sucks on the wetness.

  “Dirty fucking girl,” I grit out while teasing her entrance with my cock. Gently, ever so slowly, I slide into her. Feeling her open for me, feeling her accept me, has every nerve in my body alight with need.

  Her head falls back, and her eyes roll as I thrust deep in one long movement, and then I still. “Fuck,” she mumbles through the material, which I pull from her mouth. “Please, Logan, just fuck me.”

  Her hands and legs are bound. I’m in control, and I smile as I torture her some more with rolling my hips just enough to give her slight friction where she needs it. I don’t fuck her. I make love to her.

  I raise up on my knees, still inside her, and untangle the knots at her ankles, bringing her legs up and over my shoulders. Our bodies move in unison as I pull out and enter again. My hands grip the cheeks of her ass, squeezing before I open her. Trailing one hand closer to the tight ring of muscle, I feel her clench because she squeezes the life out of my dick.

  “Jesus, Vera, you’re going to make me come. Just relax,” I murmur, coaxing my index finger around the entrance. She breathes. Her legs start shaking as I move the tip of my finger, slipping it into her ass.

  Once again, her cunt pulses wildly, and I take it as a sign she’s nervous. Her eyes are wide, but she doesn’t shake her head; doesn’t stop me. So I push farther, deeper, and the moment I’m up to my third knuckle, she seems to relax, and I taunt both her holes.

  “You’re filled with me, Beauty,” I tell her. “I’m here inside you with you looking at me as I claim your body.”

  “I’m yours,” she tells me, and I focus on the pleasure, not the fact that she’s speaking. All this time, I needed the control rather than her asleep. That sends heat racing through me, and I insert a second finger where the first one worked her over. With my free hand, I tease her clit, circling it, pressing down hard, and pinching it. I alternate while finger-fucking her ass and thrusting into her tight, pulsing heat.

  “Oh fuck, Logan!” Her cries bounce off the walls. She’s close, so fucking close, but I don’t stop. My hands move, my cock thickening inside her, and seconds later, she’s gushing over me, wetness drenching me as Vera screams my name.

  It doesn’t take me long to join her in euphoria. Her cunt sucks me in so deep, I fill her with my seed, and I know that this is the first of many nights I’ll keep her awake, claiming her in every way I can.

  THE END

  Bound in Sacrifice - Sneak Peek

  Once upon a time, a scorned Queen opened a box, unleashing horrible evil on the world's heroes.

  Instead of gallantry and chivalry, they now possessed much more perverse traits.

  They’ve fallen victim to their darkest and most deviant desires.

  This is one of their stories...

  A regular at my club racked up a large debt that he couldn’t afford, so I sent my men to collect. Instead of delivering the money I was owed, they brought me her. Unable to fulfill her father’s debt, I told her he would pay for it with his life. When she begged to trade her father’s life for her own, I was intrigued. But she couldn’t hide the shiver of fear cloaked beneath the façade of strength and bravery she tried to portray.

  Silly girl, you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into. I’m going to snuff out your pride and stomp on your courage.

  My father was a good man with strong values, who put his family above everything else. We weren’t perfect, but we were happy. Then, Mom died and took our happiness with her. Dad quickly got caught in a downward spiral that spun our world into chaos. The warm, caring man that I knew from my childhood was replaced
with a complete stranger.

  It sucked the light from my world. Now, I fear I will pay greatly for his transgressions.

  Chapter 1

  Beast

  The club is crowded tonight, but then again our open houses always are. Everyone wants a glimpse of what goes on inside of The Tower. It’s the country’s most exclusive BDSM club, and everyone who’s anyone comes here to play, whether they’re open about their propensity for kink or not.

  Of course, there's a lot more to be desired when our non-members are here. We want to tease them; to work them up, and turn them away. It drives them mad in all the right ways. Inevitably, they end up begging us to take their money just so they can see more, so they can scratch their itch. Once they get a taste, they never want to leave.

  They’re only allowed on le côté débutant. Things are more relaxed over there since it’s usually filled with beginners and people who are here for a good time. People who want the chance to try different things, meet new people, or possibly connect with a new Dom or sub. It’s where our beginners go to learn, but sometimes it’s more like New Orleans in the middle of Mardi Gras over there; a fucking shit-show. No one is allowed on le côté avancé until they pass our course. That side is solely for our advanced members, people who have been in the lifestyle for a while and know how to behave. It also tends to be where our wealthier members opt to play, so we like to give them a sense of privilege while they’re here.

  There are two sides to the club for a very specific reason. I’ve seen my fair share of idiots who think that it’s okay to walk into a scene and start participating, simply because they’re at a BDSM club. They think that everyone who is here is ready and willing to be touched.

  Wrong!