Chapter One

Emily Sutton smiled at the small mixed-breed dog in the cage, hoping to offer him some hope. Bernie had been in the animal shelter where she worked for nearly four months. He was a gorgeous dog, but he'd only known a life of pain and abuse. That was why, even though it broke her heart daily, she continued to work at the animal shelter. She had seen awful cases of neglect and abuse, but she'd also seen hope.

People could be awful, but there were some that made the world a much better place.

"It's okay. You're going to find your forever home soon."

She lived in a small apartment that didn't allow animals, otherwise she'd have taken every one of them.

All her life, she'd loved animals: cats, rabbits, dogs, even farm animals. It had driven her mother up the wall every time she'd come back to the trailer with a new animal. Most of them were injured and she'd nurse them back to health. Sometimes the original owner would come and collect, thanking her for taking care of their pet.

She'd been a good friend to the animal shelter for some time, so when she became old enough, it only seemed right to join the team. The pay wasn't great, but it was enough to get her out of her mother's trailer and into a small place of her own.

Emily lived with the dream that if she was frugal enough, she'd be able to save up enough money to afford a nice house with some land. It was a pipe dream, she knew.

"Have you heard the news?" Casey, one of the regular volunteers, asked.

"What news?"

"About Dalton Moore?"

The name rang a bell. She was crouching near the cages when it suddenly came to her. How could it not? Dalton Moore was a guy she remembered from high school. A bully. He'd been in the same grade as her, but he'd been three years older. He'd ended up repeating some years because he'd failed them or missed too much time. She wasn't even sure if he ever graduated.

She'd tried not to think about him for a very long time. He'd been cruel. Not only had he constantly called her fat, and every other word associated with being overweight, he just liked to humiliate her. She remembered one time in senior year, finding a brown paper bag in her locker with eyes cut out, no hole for the mouth. Dalton had been there. He'd wrapped his arm around her neck, not too tight, almost friendly, and told her as loud as he could, that if she wanted him to fuck her, that was the only way it would happen. The laughter had rung out.

Emily was used to it and simply pressed the bag into his chest, not caring as it fell to the floor, then grabbed her books and left. She learned long ago not to cry in public or show any kind of weakness. The moment she did, it all got worse.

She waited until she got home to allow the tears. Her mother was useless when it came to emotions. Growing up at the trailer park, her mother had been a selfish person. She liked nice things, but she didn't like to work for them. Emily had lost count of the number of boyfriends her mother had, all of them seeming to come from wealth. Her mother had been a gorgeous woman, but her looks had slowly faded, and as they did, the men didn't want to come around as much either.

"I remember him," Emily said.

"Yeah, that's right, didn't you two go to school together?" Casey asked.

She nodded her head.

"I wonder why he's back. I heard the news from Diane, who says he's looking so fine. Like, melt-your-panties fine."

Dalton had always been a good-looking guy in a nontraditional sense. He'd been a rebel from the wrong side of the tracks, but Dalton didn't know that she knew he had a hard life. With her years of rescuing, she had seen and heard some of what Dalton had gone through. She'd even tried to call Social Services to help him from time to time, but no one ever took the calls seriously—either that, or they were afraid. It was a secret she was going to take to her grave.

"Do you think this little guy is ever going to get rescued?"

"Emily, baby, I'm surprised any of these dogs want to be rescued from you. You love them too much."

She laughed. "Thanks."

"Besides, Bernie is a cutie. There will be someone out there who's going to love him. Come on, I know you. Rachel told me I've got to make you leave on time tonight. She doesn't want you burning out. She knows how bad this job is."

Reluctantly, Emily left.

She spent most nights at the shelter, so she was there in case any of the dogs needed her. It's not like she had much to do at home anyway.

Casey insisted on escorting her out of the animal shelter and waited until she was safely in her car. She turned over the ignition, and just as she was about to pull out of the parking lot, her cell phone rang.

She was tempted to ignore it, but if it was her mother needing groceries, she would hate herself for not responding sooner. Emily didn't have much cash, but she did what she could.

Pulling her cell phone out of her tote bag, she saw it was indeed from her mother.

"Hey, Mom, what's up? Do you need groceries again? I'm heading to the store now. I can pick something up for you."

"Hello, Emily."

She'd recognize that voice anywhere. It didn't matter how long it had been since she last heard it, Dalton Moore's voice was etched on her brain.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"It's simple. Come to my house immediately, or I'll have your mother arrested for theft."

With that, he hung up. The next thing she received was a text with his address.

****

Dalton waited for Emily to arrive.

Everything was moving nicely. For the past eleven years, he'd been waiting for this exact moment. He always planned to come back to his old town, to where all the shit began, as a fucking king. Not only was he a king, but he knew the underbelly of this supposedly sweet town hid a drug ring—one that had nothing to do with him—and he was going to fix that.

This town belonged to him now.

Ever since he rose the ranks, he had made things clear—this place was his.

He got the call from one of his men at the front gate that Emily had arrived, and he smiled to himself. It was like taking candy from a baby.

Her mother was such an easy target. A woman who liked shiny things she couldn't afford. It had been so sweet watching the cameras as he left her alone, waiting for her to attempt to steal the gold necklace he'd left out on display.

She'd come to ask him for money and even attempted to offer him the full use of her body for a price. He declined.

Now he had everything he needed to keep Emily in place.

Emily Sutton, the sweet girl from his childhood. The girl obsessed with all things animals. He'd kept an eye on her these past eleven years. She hadn't tried to leave town. She no longer lived at the shithole trailer park with her mother, and she worked at the animal shelter for a pittance.

Still, he knew her financial situation and even though she had saved a lot of money, there was nothing she could pay him that would stop her mother from going to prison.

The car she drove looked awful. The paint work had rusted off, and it rattled like it was on its last legs. It came to a stop and then Emily climbed out.

The years had been so fucking kind to her. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but he still saw the curls in the band. She wasn't wearing glasses, so he assumed she wore contacts now.

As for her body, the jeans didn't hide the fullness of her ass. The shirt she wore strained across her chest, showcasing her ripe tits, and she'd tucked the shirt in, revealing her small waist. The perfect hourglass figure.

He'd spent many nights with his hand on his dick, imagining fucking her. From all his sources, none of them knew if she had been on any dates, or had anyone in her life. If so, she'd kept it a real fucking secret.

Emily looked up at him and he saw her hesitate for a second. He also spotted the fear as it flashed in her eyes.

She walked up the steps until she was close, almost within touching distance.

"How did you get my mother's phone?" Emily asked.

"All in good time." He moved aside. "After you."

He watched as she visibly squared her shoulders and then stepped through the door. The moment she did, it was the biggest mistake of her life, because now he wasn't going to let her go.

Closing the door behind him, he walked ahead of her, going straight to his office.

"I know your mother is a lot of things, a slut being one of them, but I didn't have her pegged as a thief." He stood in front of his desk, then perched on the edge as Emily entered his office.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. My mother has never stolen anything in her life."

Dalton smiled, picked up the remote, and pressed "play" on the damning evidence. "Your mother came to me tonight. She was begging for money, but I only give loans to those who can afford to pay me back. She offered to fuck me for the cash. When I refused, as you can see, I went to take a call and she attempted to take that gold necklace from me."

It was there, clear as day.

Of course, he had everything ready. What the video didn't show, was that he'd insulted her, calling her an ugly whore and a waste of space. No one could ever want her. He did everything he could to drive her to steal the necklace.

The video didn't reveal that as she picked it up and appeared to take it, she was about to put it back. The video had been edited a little, but he had computer geniuses at work.

Emily wouldn't have the funds to hire anyone to check the authenticity of the video, and he doubted she'd think it wasn't real in the first place. Her mother was no saint.

"Now, I can call the cops, and I'm quite happy to do that to teach your mother a lesson. I'm pretty sure she'd be a good bitch to someone inside." He lifted his phone and pressed two numbers. They were not to call the cops. Just two random numbers, a four and a six.

"Wait! You can't be serious. My mother would never steal anything. I mean, I don't think she would. I can pay you back. What do you need?"

Dalton put the phone down. "Good, I can see we're both on the same page."

"We are?"

"Yes, you see, while I don't want your mother's pussy, I'd be more than willing to overlook these charges for yours."

Emily took a step back. "What exactly are you saying?"

"Become my little fuck toy, to use as I want, or I make sure your mother goes to prison and you never see her again. Also, you don't get to negotiate shit. You become mine, and you do exactly as you're told."