Page 31 of Bound to Him
“You understand perfectly, Edison.” Alton smiled smugly. “Your father, Walden Divine, didn’t like you very much, did he? He didn’t trust you, so he left the business to Noah in his will. You were only the caretaker until Noah hit eighteen.” He turned to me and smirked. “Did you know you owned the company, little mouse?”
“No.” I blinked at him. Granddad and I had always been close, but he’d never mentioned anything about leaving the business to me. He knew I’d wanted to go to art school and had encouraged me.
“Well, you do. Your father wasn’t supposed to make any rash decisions without consulting you first.”
Dad threw his hands up. “This is absurd.” He pointed a finger at Alton. “I won’t let you do this. Was this your play the entire time? Marry my son for his company?”
“So, you admit that it is his company?” Alton drawled.
“I won’t have it.”
“You don’t get a choice. Whydidyou think I married Noah? For his tight body? I could get any ass I want.”
I winced, shame swirling inside me.
“I thought you wanted to rub your money in my face,” Dad hissed, leaning forward and lowering his voice. “Being married and fucking my son for six months was the perfect win for you.”
“No.Thisis a win, Edison. I now have an arguable, legal right to the company you love. You can’t say you think I’ll run it into the ground in a court battle, there’s no basis, and you wouldn’t want an audit to go public besides. You will no longer be in charge of the Divine Conglomerate. I’m taking over.” Alton kissed me on the cheek, a smooth move he did for dramatic purposes, or so I assumed. “Which reminds me, that house you live in isalsoNoah’s. Your father left it to him.”
Dad paled and stumbled back, but Alton grabbed his arm and yanked him closer so only we could hear.
“We could kick you out on the streets with nothing but the clothes on your back for warmth, but out of respect for your son, I won’t. But don’t think for one second I won’t throw you out on your ass if you piss me off, Edison. It’d be my absolute pleasure to do it.”
Dad turned furious eyes on me, stepping in closer. “Are you going to let him talk to me like this, Noah?”
“Yes,” I whispered, surprising myself. “Yes, I believe I will.”
Alton looked like a Cheshire cat with his big grin. “And while we’re talking, Edison, you’re going to show my husband respect. He’s a Bouchard now, after all.”
“If you think for one moment—”
“Do you want to be homeless? Because none of that money belongs to you. It’s Noah’s.” He tightened his hold around my waist. “I don’t remember hearing you congratulate your son on his wedding.”
Dad’s shoulders slumped and defeat washed over his face. He was a man who’d lost a battle of wills. I’d never seen himloseanything. The smugness I was used to seeing from him was gone, leaving him a sad little man. It was... weird. “Congratulations, Noah.” His voice came out strangled.
All I could do was nod.
“Was that difficult?” Alton laughed. “Now if you’ll excuse us, I’d like to take my husband home for our wedding night.”
Dad swallowed, nodded, then left. He walked away like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs and a new feeling slid through me.Strength.And it was because of Alton.
I turned to stare at him, unable to break my gaze from the man who’d changed my life in a matter of days. He’d made me feel powerful in minutes, and there were no words for how much it meant to me. But I had to remind myself he hadn’t done this for me. He wanted my dad’s—my—business, and now he had it.
Alton guided me to the door and we said our goodbyes on the way out. We stayed silent once we made it back to the limo. He tapped on his phone during the trip to his house, and I stared out the window, watching the darkness swish by. It was done. I was married to him now, and for six months I would let him fuck me whenever he wanted. Admitting to him that I was a virgin earlier in the afternoon had been embarrassing. He’d stared at me like I was from outer space. Maybe I was. How many other guys my age didn’t fuck? Not many.
“We’re home.”
I blinked, so lost in my own mind I hadn’t realized we’d arrived at his mansion until he opened my door and spoke. I hadn’t even heard him get out of his side of the limo. He held out his hand, and I took it, using his strength to get to my feet. Alton kept me steady as we headed to the house, his arm wrapped around me in a surprisingly gentle hold.
He led me through the mansion and up the stairs toward his bedroom, and it took all my effort not to freeze. I knew what he wanted, but fear twisted through my insides and made it hard to breathe. This was it, the moment I was fully losing my virginity. Even though I knew it was a social construct, it was stillmine, and I’d wanted to give it away when I was ready. Now I didn’t get a choice.
He guided me into the bedroom, and I took a deep breath when he let me go. I didn’t look at him, too afraid to see the expression on his face. To my surprise, he kissed me on the cheek, then traced the shell of my ear with his tongue. There wasn’t anything rushed about what he did.
“Are you scared, little mouse?”
“No.” I raised my chin. He’d created a monster—in making me feel powerful, I realized that I was, and I wouldn’t show him my terror. “If I’m a mouse, you’re a cockroach.”
He laughed, the sound working its way under my skin and making me tremble. He had a pleasant voice, deep and full of Texas, and his laughter was just as sexy. “Or I’m the fox, sly and conniving.”
