Bound By Love Story Collection

Storm

They fucked, they made love, they laughed; they did everything together.  But it was all in secret. Everything.  No one had ever seen them together, no one knew about them.  And that was the way he wanted to keep it.  That was how she wanted it at first too.  But slowly, over time as her feelings for him transitioned from purely physical to more emotional entanglements, her mind began to change, she started to toy with the idea of going public with him.  She didn't want to be someone's dirty little secret.  Something they were ashamed of and kept hidden.

She understood why he wanted to keep her a secret though, to a certain degree their lives were too different.  She was every mother's nightmare when it came to their little boys. On the outside, she was the epitome of bad. But on the inside, deep down where no one could see, she was just like everyone else in the world,  hoping for love and affection that would be everlasting. Too bad she wasn't meant to get it.

She owned a bar. But it wasn't the bar that people were repulsed by, no it was her. Ever since she was younger she had a thing for tattoos. The idea of her body being a blank canvas that could be decorated with riveting art excited her. And so when she was old enough she got her first one and ever since then had been adding to the collection.  She co-owned a tattoo parlor with her best friend Maze. With a love and passion for the art of tattoos, they pooled together what they had and opened the shop. Their drastically different backgrounds, complicated every aspect of their non-existent relationship. His wealthy judgemental family couldn't grasp the idea of getting a tattoo, let alone a full sleeve. 

The responsibility of raising her younger siblings when she was barely old enough herself was as exhausting as it was fulfilling. One of the ways she handled the stress, was through the tattoos. She got a tat for every little accomplishment in her life. It started out slow and then built on from there.  Her most recent one was on her hip. It spanned her side. Wrapping around her waist in interacting patterns, Maze did it for her and it took forever but finally, it was done. 

The first time she met him was at her bar. She was serving drinks because one of her workers called in sick last minute.  He sat with his friends as they laughed and joked around. She didn't think anything of it. It was just another Friday night. And he was just another rich guy trying to experience life outside of a Michelin restaurant 

When their eyes connected something zinged through her, it was a cliché but that is the only way she could describe it. Something happened. The chemistry they had was amazing. It surprised both of them. Him more than her maybe because he couldn't believe he would be attracted to someone like her. That night she did something she had done very few times in her life. She had a one night stand. What started as a steamy encounter after a night of sexual tension soon develop into sneaking around with each other like high school teenagers. 

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When she swung open the door she didn't expect anyone on the other side. She certainly didn't expect him to be on the other side. "What the hell are you doing here?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth. Anger which was a short distance behind shock registered within her.

"Hi". He said back looking at ease and completely comfortable. His face registered in the dim light and memories came flashing back. Bombarding her with flashes of what used to be, of what they had and of what could never be. Dark grey eyes assessed her. Taking in their fill and flashing at certain areas of her body. His broad shoulders took up the space of the doorway. He looked imposing but he didn't scare her, not physically anyway. His physicality was one of her favorite things about him. He was a giant; tall, broad. A narrow waist led down to strong lean legs. Legs that supported her countless times as he took her against the wall; he was the only man capable of making her feel feminine and small. He made her feel cherished and wanted. But he was also capable of hurting her. In fact, he was the only man she ever let close enough to do just that. It was a stupid mistake, especially on her part. She should have listened to Maze when he warned her how this would end. But she had been defiant and hopeful, thinking just this once things had to go the right way,  her way.

Bracing herself, she repeated it again "What are you doing here?" She needed the answer like she needed air.

"I'm back". Was his genius answer, just like that he was back? After leaving the way he did?

She nodded, "Great, good for you!" She jeered, sarcasm lacing every word. She pushed past him pretending she didn't feel the tingles that shot up her spine as she brushed past him.  

"Come on Niks please, I need to talk to you". She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around pinning him with a death glare, "Don't call me that, ever!" shame and anger clawed its way inside of her at the reminder of what he used to call her.

"Why, you liked it once Niks, you liked it when I called you that".

She bit her tongue to refrain from screaming. "You don't get to say that anymore! You don't get to call me that, its Storm to you just like everyone else," she gritted through her teeth.

"But that's where you're wrong; I'm not like everyone else". He deadpanned before taking the few steps separating them and getting in her space.

"You're right; you're not like anyone else," She said, staring him dead in the eye. "Because you mean nothing to me."  For the first time, that night he recoiled as a look of surprise came over his features. Good, maybe he was getting the message of 'Get Lost' after all. 

With an extra bounce in her step to get away from him, She turned and speed-walked towards her car in the parking lot, hoping he wouldn't follow, but luck wasn't on her side tonight.

"Niks... eh Storm, please wait. Come on I need to talk to you please just give me a second". His voice drifted over to her as she walked ahead of him. He sounded desperate which was very unlike him. Ash Hamilton was never desperate, at least not in the brief time that she had known him. Cocky, sure of himself, and used to getting his way, yes, but never desperate. She assumed when you were a Hamilton, desperation wasn't a word that was in their vocabulary. 

"We have nothing to talk about Ash," She gritted through clenched teeth. God! Even saying his name still hurt.

"Yes! We do Nikki". The use of her full name stopped her dead in her tracks. He never said her full name before. It was something she realized after the shit hit the fan and she was left broken-hearted and picking up the pieces while he left. At first, she thought she was hallucinating, maybe making it up? She was pretty messed up after it all went down. But then when the haze of alcohol lifted and the cloud of anger and embarrassment cleared she realized she wasn't making it up. He actually never used her full name. It was always either Niks or Storm, one or the other.  She didn't know what to do after she realized this; cry, laugh or drink some more.

After much thought, she realized why he never did, why it was always Niks or Storm and never Nikki. It was his defensive shield. His way to keep a distance. She applauded him for that. She could learn a thing or two about building and maintaining her defenses. The irony was, he was the only person who ever managed to sneak his way behind her walls. He was so stealth about, but it was also unintentional. He didn't actively try to sneak behind her defenses, he just did. the unintentionality of it all was salt to the wound. She wondered if things would have been different if she had maintained that same degree of distance. They probably would have been; a prime example of that would be this exact moment. She wouldn't be here, running away from Ashford Hamilton, the man who broke her heart if she had kept her guard up.

She realized after he walked over to her and gently tapped her shoulder that she was standing there taking a trip down memory lane.

With a sudden burst of renewed anger, she said the only thing that came to mind, "What are we going to talk about Ash? How you wanted to fuck me but keep it a secret? Huh, how I was your dirty little secret that no one in your family and friends knew about? Or  How about how you dumped me in front of everyone and then left town? Which one of those would you like to talk about?" she said, her voice rising with each part.

The look on his face was not only priceless, but it also lifted the world off her shoulders when she finally said all that she'd been dying to say.

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 Excerpt from Storm.

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