Size matters, p.9
Size Matters, page 9
“It is?”
“Yep,” Maddie said.
Bull put the menu down and folded his arms. “I’m intrigued.”
“About?”
“Please tell me you’ve had one successful date. At least one where the guy has shown you how much pleasure there is between a man and a woman.”
Her face was on fire. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t the topic of conversation she wanted to talk about. This would make their date head to disaster straight away.
****
Bull didn’t get off on learning about Maddie’s previous experience with men. In fact, the very thought of another man being anywhere near her pissed him the fuck off, and he wanted to slaughter every single man who had ever touched her. But he was … vexed.
“Not every date leads to sex.”
“Maddie.”
She tilted her head to the side, and he’d come to see that action meant she wasn’t happy. She was uncomfortable. He wanted to know why.
“Bull, please, this date was going so good. Let us just enjoy our date. Okay?”
He looked at her and he didn’t know why he knew, he just did.
“The only time you’ve had sex is with that fucker at prom, isn’t it?”
Maddie gasped and looked around the restaurant. “Could you keep your voice down? I don’t want everyone knowing my business.”
She kept on glaring at him, but she could glare all she wanted, he was pissed off. Actually, scrap that, he had gone past pissed off to downright fucking angry. She didn’t need to give him a name. He had resources and ways of finding that shit out.
“It’s true,” he said. “Tell me.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” She slammed the menu down.
“You’re not leaving,” he said.
“You’re not the boss of me, Bull.” She went to get up, and she didn’t know what Bull had done, but her chair wouldn’t budge.
“I told you, you’re not leaving.”
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked.
“I want you to answer my question.”
She glared at him, wanting to spew a lot more hatred his way.
****
Bull was more determined than ever to get the answers to his questions. Maddie wasn’t very forthcoming unless he counted her stare as an actual answer.
He looked at her and waited.
She kept her arms folded, and fortunately, it meant no one dared to approach their table. He was getting hungry.
“You can’t keep me here.”
“True, I can’t, but you see, we can either do this here as civilized people, or we can do it out in the street. Your choice.”
“There’s no choice here. I don’t have to tell you anything about what happened in my life, and to be frank with you, I think this is rude.”
“If I’m being honest with you, I find the kid who fucked you when you were eighteen exceedingly rude. Make that every single asshole who has been on a date with you. Not to mention the ones who didn’t even bother to show. I think all of them are assholes.”
She sat up, putting both of her hands flat on the table. “Why is this even any of your business?”
“You’re right, it’s not my business, but I want to know exactly what my woman has been through.”
“Your woman?”
“Yeah, my woman.” He put his hands on the table, the same way she had, and leaned forward. “I don’t like the thought of any man putting his hands on you, Maddie. Least of all, doing it the wrong way.”
Her stomach chose that moment to growl. “This was a big mistake.”
“No, it’s not. You know it.”
She laughed. “So you think you know me now?”
“I do know you.”
She shook her head. “Let me clue you in then, my parents, especially my mother right now, would be turning in her grave. She never liked you, or your club. She hated every single one of you.”
He shrugged. It wasn’t like there was anything new in that statement. A whole lot of people didn’t like him or his club, and they had a right. He wasn’t known for being nice.
There hadn’t been a lot of chaos in the past decade, and that was because of his careful choices, but if her mother had remembered even a smidge of what the club was like when his father was in rule, then he couldn’t blame her.
“She sounds like a sensible woman.”
“Oh, believe me, the woman was never known to mince words. Not even to her own daughter. She told me plenty of times what my faults were.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. He had liked her mother for a split second, but Maddie was so easy to read. He saw the pain in her gaze.
Maddie’s mother had hurt her in such a deep and profound way. Every instinct in Bull told him to protect her. To pull her close and to not let anyone get to her, but he had a feeling if he even attempted to do that, she’d run in the opposite direction.
All the fight Maddie had evaporated, just like that. She collapsed back in her chair and picked up her menu. “I don’t want to talk about it. Can we just eat so we can leave?” she asked.
He didn’t want to do that. Tilting his head to the side, he watched her.
“You know our parents are known to be fucking liars,” he said.
“How would you know?”
“My dad’s dying words were to tell me how much I’d fuck up the club.”
“You haven’t though. You guys are so successful,” Maddie said.
He chuckled. “He told me I didn’t have what it took to walk in his shoes. I’d ruin the club and the entire town with how I’d handle things.” He wasn’t about to tell Maddie that he was the one responsible for killing his father. There were a few details of his life she didn’t need to know.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Then don’t listen to your mother.”
Maddie smiled. “My mother is a little different.”
“How?” He wanted to get the truth out of her one way or another.
She shrugged. “She just was. She told me the truth. Kind of like your brother.”
“What does my brother have to do with this?” If he needed to, he’d kick Grant’s ass all over town for her.
Maddie sighed and tucked some hair behind her ear. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope, and if you want food, you’re going to have to tell me.”
She took a deep breath and put the menu down. “Fine. I will tell you, but you’ve got to promise me you won’t react to anything I say. It’s the truth, and I know it, so I don’t need lies or pity. Got it?”
He liked her like this. Somewhat dominant, hardcore, sexy as fuck.
“Got it,” he said.
Bull didn’t know what he expected. Maybe for her mother to say she had to work harder at school, to get the grades she needed. Maddie had never gone to college, and just a brief background check showed she’d never left town.
“She would tell me often that I was ugly. That I was too fat, and even if I lost the weight, men wouldn’t go for me, because I was never classically beautiful. She always told me that the women who succeed in this world and get the real man are beautiful, slim women, and I didn’t stand a chance right from the start.” She had a smile on her face, her hands pressed together. “Can we eat?”
He was … gutted.
Maddie didn’t even flinch as she spoke each of those words, almost as if she’d been repeating them in her head, over and over, for the past thirty years.
He had to wonder when it all started. When she was a child? Older? A teenager? Either way, Maddie believed those words.
Lifting his hand, he signaled for a waiter to come and take their order. He didn’t even need to look at the menu to know what he wanted, and told the waitress who’d come over.
Maddie gave her order as well, being sure to make the bulk of what she wanted a salad.
The waitress left soon after, and he couldn’t look away from Maddie.
She turned toward him with a sigh. “So, how are you?”
He kept on staring at her, curious as to who her mother looked at. Maddie, to him, was a very beautiful, very sexy, very desirable woman. He knew this for a fact, seeing as he’d spent a great deal of time admiring her from afar.
“You know your mother’s a piece of shit, don’t you?”
“You shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.”
“It doesn’t stop me from being right.”
She licked her lips, reaching for her small glass of water and taking a sip. He couldn’t help but admire the shape of her neck, seeing the way it moved as she swallowed sips of water. In his mind, he saw his cock in her mouth. Her plump lips wrapped around his length, taking him deep. He’d hit the back of her throat, making her gag on it. She’d be so fucking beautiful, taking it as well.
He’d hold himself between her lips, waiting for her to milk him of every single drop, and she’d drink all of him. Her throat contracting around his spunk as she swallowed every drop.
His cock went stiff at the very image.
“We’re not going to talk about this.”
“I’m not pitying you,” Bull said. “I’m simply stating a fact here. Your mother was fucking wrong. I’m guessing she was a piece of work. Is that why you accepted your asshole prom date?”
She rolled her eyes. “Honestly, you need to drop all of this. It’s all in the past. So very long ago, and you’re making a big deal out of nothing. Please, don’t.”
He shrugged. “I don’t think I can help it. I think you’re a very beautiful woman, Maddie.”
“Okay.”
She was so stubborn.
He got to his feet and held out his hand.
“What are you doing?”
“Dance with me.”
“But our table?”
“It’s my table, Maddie. No one will sit in it.” And if anyone did, people would immediately intervene.
Maddie looked at his hand as if it was going to bite her. He did like to bite, but he wouldn’t embarrass her too much in public.
She slowly slid her hand into his, and there was that feeling again. Bull couldn’t deny the zing of electricity that worked its way up his arm at the single contact of her hand on his. He felt on fire, connected to her.
Locking their fingers together, he walked her onto the dance floor. It helped that people moved out of his way when he was near. He wasn’t going to be embarrassed by that. People knew to get the fuck out of his way, and it was exactly how he liked it.
Bull pulled Maddie close, putting his hands on her hips after he wrapped her arms around his neck. He drew her as close to him as possible.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
The music pulsed in the background, but it all faded away. He didn’t need the music to dance with her.
“I wanted to talk to you without a table separating us.” He moved his pelvis against her so she had no doubt as to his aroused state.
Her eyes went a little wide. “Bull?”
“Yeah, that’s me. I’m a stubborn asshole. I embrace that about myself.” He pressed a kiss to her neck. “Your mother was a liar and a fucking bitch, Maddie. You are not ugly. You are perfect. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to talk to you, to get close to you?” He couldn’t resist a little nibble on her neck.
She released a gasp, and he groaned. He couldn’t wait to get her in his bed. She would be so vocal. She was so responsive already with the few smallest of touches and just hearing her was making him harder than he’d ever been in his life.
“Bull, you don’t have to lie.”
“Oh, baby, I’m not lying. I don’t believe in lying. I think nothing good ever comes from liars.” He had been known to torture a couple in his time. Even kill a few. Not that he was about to tell Maddie the bright colorful past that was part of his very existence. She didn’t need to know he’d taken a lot of lives. So much so people were afraid of him. “I’ve watched you around town. The way you walk, the sway of your hips, that’s so fucking sexy, and it calls to me. I’d watch your ass, your tits. Did you know I could sit and watch you walk toward me, with those tits swaying, for days?”
He flicked his tongue across her neck. “It’s true. All of it. I want to fuck you, Maddie. I want to make you mine in every single way possible. I want to take your pussy, your mouth, your ass, until you can’t walk because you are so full of my cock and my cum.” He wasn’t going to delve into another deeper fantasy, one that involved her taking his cum like a good woman and getting pregnant with his kid. The latest one was a new fantasy. One he was a little surprised at because he’d never wanted children, not for a long time.
“I’m not lying to you, Maddie. I want to show you every single dirty, amazing thing that could be had between a mad and a woman. I’m not wanting to show you this out of pity either. I want to show you because I can’t get enough of you.”
He’d hired her to keep her close, and now, he intended to stake his claim on her.
Chapter Eight
The following day, Maddie was still in an alternate universe inside her mind. After Bull’s revelation on the dance floor, their food had been ready. They enjoyed a meal to which the topic of conversation had changed quite quickly and rapidly. Bull had talked about the garage, the diner, the upcoming town fair that helped to raise money for the local foster kids. Not to mention the animal shelter’s latest event as well.
She didn’t like thinking about the animal shelter. Hellen had called her to say that George hadn’t arrived at work yesterday. She wasn’t due to go to the shelter until this afternoon.
Running fingers through her hair, she glanced down at the appointment book.
Bull was in the main shop.
Once they had finished dinner last night, Bull had danced with her for some time before taking her home. She hadn’t been ready to invite him in for a coffee or anything else. He had stayed in his car and waited for her to enter her building.
It had been the best date of her life.
Since arriving at the shop, Bull had been busy. He already had two cars up on the ramps. Pat had been with him, and they’d been talking for a good half an hour while she tidied up from the previous day, did a bit of dusting, and then headed out for breakfast for them. She’d already delivered their pastry to them along with the coffee in the main shop. It was rare for them to eat out on the main floor with all the muck and grease, but there was always a first time for everything.
Maddie sipped at her coffee.
Her weight loss kick had hit a snag last night with ordering a burger. This morning, she’d woken up and enjoyed a small bowl of oats with non-dairy milk and a single banana. Coffee was more than what she needed.
She had a brown rice bowl in her bag she’d made herself for lunch, complete with a hummus sauce.
“Hello, beautiful,” Bull said, coming out of the shop. He placed a hand at her back and kissed her cheek.
At first, she tensed up from the contact, and then, slowly, she accepted his touch and smiled.
“Morning,” she said.
He’d been the perfect gentleman to her.
Bull rounded the counter so he stood in front of her. He took a large gulp of coffee before tearing open his pastry. It was a special Carl had done for him. Breakfast wrapped in some puff pastry.
“Apparently Carl said to give him a real challenge next time,” Maddie said.
Bull chuckled. “Don’t worry, I will.”
“What is all that about?” she asked.
“Ah, Carl is a good guy. He’s a fantastic cook. He told me he could cook anything. Every now and then, I throw out little tasks to see if he can handle it. The key is to cook what I want, offer it out to the diner, and to see if it sells good. Most of the people of Carnage are little taster bunnies.”
She smiled. “Carl is the best cook around, no doubt.”
“Got it right. So, how are things looking today?”
“Slow. Not too many challenges.”
“I’m going to need to order a whole new engine,” Bull said. “I’m going to need Neilson’s contact details so I can give him the bad news. I don’t want you handling the call.”
She moved toward the shelf where the files of current projects that were ongoing were. She found Neilson’s file and handed it straight to him. She had no problem with him dealing with that particular client, especially as he had a reputation for being … mean.
“Everything you need is in there,” she said.
“I want to take you out tonight.”
“You do?”
“Yep. I’ll pick you up at the shelter.”
“You know I’m going.”
“I know I can’t stop you, but I’m not going to worry. I’ve got a few of my guys close by. They know to keep an eye on you. Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
She wasn’t worried at all.
“I better go and deal with this asshole,” Bull said.
“Bull,” she said, stopping him from leaving. She closed her eyes and internally groaned.
“What is it, babe?”
“What is this?” she asked.
“What’s what?”
There was a whole lot of whats flying around.
Her mouth was suddenly dry.
“What is going on between us?” she asked. “What is this?”
“I guess that’s for you to know and you to tell me, babe. I know what I want, but the real question here is what you want.”
He turned on his heel and left, leaving her with more questions than she thought were possible.
Pushing some hair out of her face, she got to work on the paperwork he’d left behind. Bull was always so thorough.
She jumped a few minutes after Bull left when she heard him yelling. Neilson was not a good man. There was more arguing.
Glancing toward the main shop, she saw Pat laughing. She couldn’t help but smile as she went back to work.
The day flew by. It wasn’t long before she had to go out and get lunch. Bull was back in the main shop when she delivered it. He stopped what he was doing to kiss her, but he didn’t touch her. His hands were covered in grease.
Bull let her know that she could leave slightly earlier if she wanted to head to the animal shelter. Maddie made sure to complete all the tasks that were expected of her before she left at three. This was early for her.
