Fake Wife Needed (A Bad Boy Romance) Read online

  FAKE WIFE NEEDED

  Mia Carson

  Contents

  FAKE WIFE NEEDED

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  PRETEND BOYFRIEND

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the author.

  COPRIGHT 2017 MIA CARSON

  FAKE WIFE NEEDED

  I need a bride. Today.

  My empire depends on finding a wife, any woman. I need a pretend wife for a few weeks and will pay handsomely too.

  No strings attached.

  No commitments.

  Not even a kiss.

  No wifely duties required. I have other women for that. That’s exactly why I’m known as a brute.

  I walk into the pub, intent on leaving with a bride, but instead, I’m fighting some woman’s battle, saving her, and taking her home with me because she has nowhere to go. Then I get a bright idea.

  Perhaps this spitfire of a woman will marry me.

  1

  Her leg bouncing under the desk, Mia Destros logged into her account and scanned the small crowd at the local library again. Her eyes flitted from one side of the vast room to the other before returning to the screen as soon as she entered the chat room. For months, she’d spoken to someone online, trying to make a friend—any friend—outside her small suburb, but it was hard and she was losing faith in this plan.

  A hand settled on her shoulder, and she jumped out of the chair with a yelp. Several people close by glanced up as she clutched her chest, her heart pounding as Gina, the other librarian, laughed and waved them away.

  “Sorry, everyone, just startled my co-worker,” Gina announced with a laugh.

  “It would be nice to not jump at shadows,” Mia muttered as she searched the list of user names in the chatroom for one in particular. Come on, please be here, please be here.

  “You seem worse today than normal,” Gina pointed out as she wheeled over another chair and sat down behind the circulation desk. “What did he do this time?”

  Mia stiffened, remembering exactly what she’d come home to last night after closing the library and pushed the images to the back of her mind. “Nothing I can’t handle.” It was a lie, but she was getting better at those. She had to. For two years, she’d been down this rabbit hole, and now, she was done. Finished. She had to get out before she completely lost her mind. Last night crept back up on her, causing her fingers to stumble over the keys as she remembered walking in to find Keith waiting for her with a present she should never have opened. He wanted them to try new things since she refused to have sex until they were married, but what was in that box… Mia cringed and shook her head violently.

  “You need coffee,” Gina stated.

  “I need a drink—several drinks,” Mia argued. “And I need this man to be online… ha! There he is.”

  This man, this ‘Carl,’ was her way out of her abusive relationship with Keith. Her chance to get away and start over. She’d joined the online community to simply talk and escape her world while she was at work, but she met Carl and everything changed. He was nice, understanding, and one morning, she spilled her whole sad, pathetic life to the man. He wanted to help her and was supposed to set up a room in his small apartment this week for her to crash in while she figured out the rest of her plan. She researched the man as much as she could, and from what she could tell he was a decent guy. At this point, she was too desperate to care. She closed her eyes as doubts rose again in her mind until she recalled the last few days with Keith: the insults and the near hits that landed with his fist in the wall inches from her face. One day he would snap, and she feared what he would do to her on that day.

  So far, all she had to do was get her damn driver’s license—something her abusive dad had never allowed—buy a car, and drive until the thing broke down. If she had to stay with Keith another month—hell, another week—she would lose what little strength she had left.

  “Here, coffee,” Gina said and set a steaming mug down in front of her.

  Mia picked it up and took a large sip, choking at the burn she hadn’t expected. “Whiskey? You hide whiskey at the library?”

  “Why not?” Gina patted her arm kindly. “Remember, once you figure out your plan, you don’t come back here and you don’t call me. You stay away, got it? You don’t want anything leading him to you once you’re gone.”

  Mia nodded. “I will, I swear it.” Her hands shook as she ran through her plan again, waiting for Carl to respond. “What happens if he finds out?” she whispered, looking at her friend for reassurance.

  “Don’t even think that! You’ll jinx everything,” Gina warned and cupped her cheek. “You only think of how much better your life will be once you’re gone.”

  The older woman spoke from experience and had the scars to go with her stories. For twenty years, she’d endured an abusive husband until her children were grown and gone. Then she had decked the man and left him far behind. The last they heard, he had been arrested and was sitting in jail for the next ten years on some charge or other. Mia hadn’t said a word when things changed at home and Keith started with the emotional and mental abuse, beating her down every day. Gina saw it in her eyes and the slouch of her shoulders, and though he’d hadn’t hit her so far, she was not going to stick around until he snapped. Mia wanted out, and Carl, she prayed, was her path to freedom.

  Keith watched her like a hawk. He drove her to work in the morning or came home for lunch to take her in the afternoon. Gina was the only person allowed to drive Mia home, but he voiced how much he hated the old bat every time. She had no friends anymore, and with her parents dead, she was utterly alone. Her only communication aside from Gina was Carl.

  The computer beeped, and she pulled herself back to the desk to check the message.

  “He’s ready, says we can meet at this place downtown Friday night and he’s got space for me to stay a week at least.” She sucked in a shaky breath and leaned back in her chair. “How the hell am I going to get there?”

  “Get where, hon?”

  Mia’s blood ran cold and the hair on the back of her neck stood up as she plastered a smile on her face and spun the chair around. Keith leaned his massive form on the front desk, grinning, but his sharp gaze said she was in trouble when they got home.

  “There’s a book fair soon,” Gina supplied for her. “The branch usually asks one of us to go, and I can’t this season, so Mia was thinking of going, but with no car…”

  “Right, and I hate to drag you away from the office,” Mia filled in. “It’s not a big deal, though.”

  “If you need to be there, I’ll make sure you can be,” he assured her. “When is it?”

  “Not for another few weeks,” she said and reached for the mouse. She closed the chat room before standing to greet him. “What are you doing here so early? I don’t get off work until five.” />
  “I’m not an idiot. I know my girlfriend’s work schedule.” His eyes glimmered with annoyance, and Mia was thankful for the desk between them. “Can’t I just surprise you at work every now and again?”

  “Of course you can,” she replied sweetly. “You know I like seeing you during the day.”

  His lip twitched and his hands tightened around his elbows as he leaned further over the desk. “Then come here and give your boyfriend a kiss to prove it.”

  Her smile faltered, but she walked quickly to the desk and rested her lips against his. Keith’s hand snatched her wrist, holding her against him. His tongue darted out along her lower lip. She considered biting it, but she was so close to getting away from him. She could survive a few more days of his controlling behavior.

  “Are you hiding something from me?” he whispered against her ear.

  “What? Why would I hide anything from you?” she asked lightly.

  “A good future wife wouldn’t hide anything from the man who puts a roof over her head, food on the table, and takes care of all her needs. You wouldn’t hide anything from me, would you, Mia?”

  His grip tightened on her wrist. “Keith, you’re hurting me.”

  “Think of the pain as the pain I feel when you have that look on your face.” He dragged her even closer, the edge of the desk cutting into her ribs. “You are mine, Mia. You understand me? You will always be mine, no matter what you’re thinking of doing. Remember that, because if you run, I will find you, and I won’t be the loving husband you dreamt about.”

  He let her go and she staggered back a step into Gina. The older woman held her protectively as Keith winked and, whistling, sauntered for the door. “I’ll see you at home, hon,” he called then stepped outside.

  “Rotten bastard,” Gina whispered. “I ought to throw a book at his head.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Mia said and sank into her chair. “Friday… it’ll all be over with Friday night. I have to get there, Gina. It’s my only chance.”

  She planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks before she grinned. “You know, I think I’ll be sick Friday night and you’ll have to work a double shift.”

  “And when he comes to pick me up because you’re sick?”

  “He won’t, because my niece is in town visiting and she’ll take you home for me. She’s new in town and looking for a job, so she’ll be here with you to train.”

  Mia tapped her fingers on the desk. “Gina, you don’t have a niece.”

  “I do now,” she said. “You make your plans, and we’ll get you wherever you need to be. Trust me.” She walked away, looking mighty pleased with herself, and Mia logged quickly back into the chat room.

  Carl was still there. She told him she would be there Friday night at nine-thirty. She sent the message, and as soon as he responded, she logged out and went back to work. Most days, she could lose herself in the comfy quiet of the shelves of books and the whispering of people across the room, but today, Mia’s mind rattled and her nerves frayed going over the possibilities of what would happen if this worked. If she managed to get away from Keith, she could start over, have a life, and not have to look over her shoulder even when she slept at night.

  But if it went wrong—and there was a chance it would—she feared the line he refused to cross due to his twisted view of having a pure and untouched woman would disintegrate in his rage. His no-hitting rule would disappear as well, and Mia gulped. She had to get away. It was now or never. She had to.

  Keith groaned and yanked harder on the woman’s hair, driving his hips forward as she lifted her ass higher into the air. He spanked it, loving the red mark that appeared on her pale skin and did it again. She cried out, and he ground against her, burying himself as deep as he could go as he spilled within her. If only it was Mia with her legs spread and not the floozy from his office.

  He tugged her hair back and shuddered with his release before he pulled out and let her go. She collapsed onto the couch in his office. “When are you going to leave your girlfriend to be with me?” Alice asked as she crawled across the couch, glancing at him over her shoulder.

  “Never,” he grunted and used her panties to wipe himself off before tossing them to her. “Now get out. You have work to finish before you leave today, and I have calls to make.”

  Alice pouted, but she should be used to it by now. Keith relished the knowledge that Mia was untouched by any man and that when he finally took her, he would be the first one to stretch her, fill her, and hear her cry out as he claimed her. She’d told him she wanted to wait, and he found the idea exciting. But he was not going to be celibate just because she was. A man had needs, and if she refused to give in and take care of them, Keith would find others willing to do it for him. Alice was always willing, usually with an under-the-desk blow job, but today, seeing Mia in her tight sweater and jeans and the way she trembled as he held her, he had to get it out of his system with a good hard roll in the sack… or bending Alice over the couch.

  “One of these days, you’ll give in,” Alice purred and slid her panties up her legs.

  Keith glared at her and jerked his thumb towards the door. “Never. Out.”

  She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair. Her hips swaying, she left his office. Keith clicked his tongue in thought, wondering if maybe Alice would be a better fit for him. But no, he wanted Mia. He’d hoped, last night, his present would awaken the sleeping seductress he knew lurked within her, but she paled at the sight of the leather handcuffs, collar, and whip instead of falling to her knees and begging to be tied up and used. One of these days, he would break her. It only took time. His dad had told him that. Sometimes, a woman needed to be beaten down before she gave in and did what was best for her, letting her man take care of her in every regard. A woman needed to be instructed, to be corrected when she stepped out of line.

  Keith sat down and ran his fingers over the photo on his desk of himself and Mia from the first few months they were together. Her smile was brighter then, freer, and her eyes shone with a fire that had since dimmed. Keith’s lip twitched. He wanted that fire extinguished for good so there would be no fight left in her to defy him. He refused to mar her perfect skin, not until he had her right where he wanted her.

  Ensuring his office door was closed, he tilted his monitor away from the windows leading out to the main office and clicked through image after image of what he wanted Mia to be like, what he wanted her to do for him. Soon, she would quiver for his touch and he would give it to her, all of it.

  Unless, of course, she lied to him. Then, he would have to move his plans along faster. If she wanted to be married first, fine. He had a ring in his desk just waiting for the right time. Maybe this weekend, he would rope her in and convince her being engaged was close enough to being married.

  2

  On Friday, Mia was driven to work by Keith, as always, but when she opened the car door, his hand snapped out and grabbed her wrist before she could climb out. She stilled, praying she didn’t give anything away as she settled back into her seat. He caressed her cheek with his fingers before pinching her chin and turned her sharply to face him.

  “Tonight, we have something very important to discuss when you get home,” he informed her. He moved closer and sniffed her hair, sighing in her ear as his other hand slipped to her thigh, squeezing hard as he moved higher.

  “Keith, I can’t be late to open,” she tried to say happily, though she cringed on the inside, screaming for him to stop. “Please.”

  His hand inched higher but stopped just short of palming her completely under her skirt. “You can’t expect me to keep my hands to myself if you wear skirts.”

  “I thought you liked me in skirts,” she purred, feeling sleazy.

  He grabbed a handful of her hair and she winced. “I’d like you if you let me rip it off you and bend you over like a normal woman. But you… you have to make things difficult, make me suffer. You enjoy it, don’t you? Watching me walk around, cravi
ng you and unable to have you.”

  “That’s not it. I told you, I want to wait until we’re married.” Just let me get out of the car… please, let me get out of the car.

  “I know, but I’m wondering if your purity is even worth it. What’s the difference? You’re going to be with me anyway.” His gaze raked over her body from her lips to her breasts, then to his hand lifting her skirt to expose her black panties. His jaw tensed and the muscles strained in his neck. “You’re missing out on so much, Mia.”

  “I said I want to wait,” she snapped and immediately shrank back from the rage on his face.

  “Are you smart-mouthing me?”

  “No, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

  His hand squeezed her thigh painfully before he let go and yanked her skirt back down. “Get out of my car,” he growled and removed his hand from her hair. “Tonight, we’re going to talk about that mouth of yours and how every time you use it like that, you’re going to be using it for something more worthwhile later. Got it?”

  Her eyes widened and her hands shook in her lap. “I’m not comfortable with that yet.”

  “Did I say I was giving you an option? Don’t I do enough for you? And all you do is take from me,” he grunted. “All you do is use me without me getting anything in return.”

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

  “Speak up, woman.”

  “I said I’m sorry you feel that way,” she emphasized. “I’ll… I’ll do better.”

  His gaze penetrated her, and she held her breath, waiting for him to say he knew exactly what she was up to. “Good, that’s what I like to hear. Now, get inside before you’re late. Can’t have you being so irresponsible.”

  She nodded stiffly and fumbled with the door handle. He laughed darkly behind her, and she fought back the tears of hate in her eyes, stepped out, and dug her keys out her purse. He sped away from the curb, and she sagged with relief against the glass doors, catching her breath. Standing there, she could still feel his hand on her leg and the threat in his eyes. He was going to take what he wanted, no matter what she said, unless she got out.