Page 4 of Monster Bully

“Can I be … blunt? I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind, Eve. I’ve never encountered anyone like you.”

She had never had anyone speak to her like that, nor be the subject of such an intense stare. Eve couldn’t look away, nor did she want to.

Graham made her pulse race, her stomach flutter, and feelings between her thighs began to stir. She was so distracted by her body’s reaction that she didn’t question how he knew her name.

Chapter Two

One Year Later

Grim didn’t like the fact he had to pay the men the reward, but they had gotten Eve back to him alive.

“You can’t do this!”

He heard the screams over the camera and ignored them. The moment his men were paid, he dismissed them. They knew not to breathe a word of it. He was pleased it was men he could semi-trust, otherwise, he’d have killed anyone else who attempted to bring Eve home.

With them out of his room, he turned back to his surveillance cameras. His wife, his beautiful, sweet precious wife, was at the door to their bedroom, fists clenched banging on the hard wood.

The door was bolted. All the windows had been sealed, and he’d also removed anything sharp from the room, in case she decided to get any ideas. He’d been worried sick since she decided to take off. No, not take off, run away.

Eve had run away from him. Not that he could blame her. They’d been enjoying a quiet vacation, some alone time, when one of his guards had dragged a minion to one of his many enemies into their cabin.

Grim had wanted to handle him swiftly and had taken him outside so as not to alert his wife. For an entire year, he’d been able to keep his identity a secret. Eve had never realized his name wasn’t Graham, and he’d been able to avoid any direct questions about his line of work.

That one night in the cabin, he should have sent his men off to one of his many warehouses, where he could deal with the traitor intent on hurting his woman. Instead, his anger had gotten the better of him. No, not anger, as that was too subtle a description for what he felt when it came to the man who intended to invade his home and hurt Eve.

That had been the mission. Grim didn’t know when it happened, but his enemies had discovered who Eve was. He’d been so careful, and he never made mistakes, but he clearly had made a big one because her presence was indeed known by quite a few people.

He had to keep her close. So, her running away hadn’t been good. Anyone could have grabbed her. He didn’t want to even think about what they could have done to her.

Running a hand down his face, he looked at his beautiful wife.

For six months they had dated. Every night he had gone to the animal shelter, picked her up, wined and dined her. In the back of his mind, he’d been hoping for the act to slip. For Eve to be like everyone else—cold, manipulating, a woman who was selfish and only after what she could get.

He got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Eve was perfect. She was sweet and kind, and she cared about people and animals. They were everything to her. And now, they were everything to him. Well, not quite everything.

Staring at the screen, Eve stepped back from the door. She wore a faded pair of jeans and an old ratty sweater. It was winter once again, and cold outside. He’d been so worried because he knew she didn’t have much money to her name. Eve had left without a credit card or a means to take care of herself.

He also didn’t like that when she had left him, she hadn’t taken anything he had bought for her. The clothes she currently wore were the ones she had come to him with. Grim had paid for everything new. A new wardrobe, a new home, everything had to be the best that money could buy as he’d not accepted anything less.

And now, he didn’t have a clue what he was going to do.

His only plan—if he could call locking his wife up in their bedroom a plan—was all he had. He couldn’t leave her there, though. This was his mistake and he was going to fix it.

Eve had assumed many things about him during their courtship and marriage, none of them accurate. He didn’t dissuade her from thinking any of it.

So, their marriage had been going strong. His wife came to him on their wedding night a virgin. He had taught her everything. They had explored together. It had been the perfect deal between them. So perfect.

Only, now it was well and truly fucked, and he didn’t have any way of fixing it. Eve was all good, and he was all evil.

He couldn’t allow her to just withdraw into herself. She’d felt guilty for that man losing his life. She felt responsible, even though it had been him that made the decision to enter his territory and try to take the only woman who meant anything from him.

Grim knew where the real problem lay, and he’d already taken care of that little minion’s boss. The little drug lord’s name didn’t matter. Grim had taken care of the pathetic little start-up, who thought with a few men he could overthrow him. The only reason Grim had allowed him to continue, was because it entertained him to bring assholes like that down a peg or two.

He liked to hunt, and he knew when the right time was to strike for maximum effect. He’d been waiting for that opportunity, and then he had to send that prick to come and do his dirty work.

His rage had known no bounds. There hadn’t been any patience in him when he went to the guy’s run-down apartment that had half-naked women spilling out, all of them with needles sticking in their skin.