All Chapters of TIED IN HIS BED: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The first rays of morning slipped past the floor-to-ceiling windows, painting the penthouse in gold.Justina lay against the pillows, wrists tingling from where Carson had tied them, her body still humming with the aftershocks of the night. Every nerve was alive, every memory a burn on her skin.Carson had touched her like a man starving, kissed her like a man furious, bound her like a man desperate for control. And she had given in. God help her, she had surrendered not just her body, but pieces of herself she swore she’d never hand over.Her chest tightened. She had wanted to resist. She had wanted to keep her walls. But Carson Wills tore through them like they were paper, leaving her bare.Beside her, he was already awake, propped up against the headboard, the crisp lines of his body outlined in morning light. He wasn’t watching the city. He was watching her.The weight of his gaze made her pull the sheet higher over her chest, as though it could protect her from the truth written

The following morning dawned in shades of gold and silence.Carson’s penthouse was unusually still, save for the rhythmic hum of the city below. He stood by the window, hands in his pockets, watching the sunlight crawl across the skyline like a patient predator.Behind him, Justina Juliet slept curled on the couch, his shirt draped loosely over her shoulders. It should have been peaceful. But peace, he knew, was temporary.His phone buzzed on the marble table.One message.From his private investigator.Carson’s grip tightened around the phone until his knuckles whitened.He glanced back at her, the faint light glinting off her hair. So fragile, so unaware that the ghosts she’d tried to bury were clawing their way back to the surface.He had promised to protect her.Now he’d have to prove it.Juliet woke to the smell of coffee,strong, dark, the kind that always lingered on Carson’s breath.He handed her a cup without a word. Their fingers brushed, and something flickered in her chest.

The penthouse had never felt so cold.Not even when the storms outside raged like they had last night.Justina sat by the window, legs pulled to her chest, wrapped in one of Carson’s black shirts. The scent of him,leather, cedar, and quiet danger still clung to the fabric. But this morning, it no longer comforted her.It accused her.Every heartbeat echoed like a clock counting down the time she had left before everything fell apart.When Carson finally returned, hours later, the sunlight had just begun to cut through the haze. He didn’t say a word. Just set his gun on the counter and poured himself a drink.“Where were you?” she asked softly.He didn’t look at her. “Finding answers.”“And did you?”A bitter laugh escaped him. “Not the ones I wanted.”She stood, the hem of his shirt brushing her thighs, the storm outside nothing compared to the one rising between them.“Carson, please. Let me explain”“Explain what, Justina?” His voice cracked through the air like a whip. “That your n

The morning came like a blade. Cold. Sharp. Unforgiving.Carson stood in the private conference room of Wills Enterprises, the skyline burning gold beyond the glass. His team, four men, all silent, all dangerous, waited for orders.On the screen behind him glowed a single name:Lucien Hale.The man who had nearly destroyed Justina.Carson’s tone was clipped, decisive. “I want every offshore account he’s touched, every flight he’s booked, every alias he’s used in the past five years. He’s in the city I can feel it.”One of his men, Rafe, frowned. “You’re sure he’s not just trying to draw you out?”Carson’s jaw tightened. “He already has. Now I’m going to make him regret it.”He dismissed them with a wave, waiting until the door closed before exhaling. His pulse was steady, but underneath it, something else stirred a fury he hadn’t felt in years.Justina’s voice echoed in his mind. He used to be my boss. I thought I loved him.That was the kind of truth that carved itself into a man.Ju

The day began too quietly.Carson had always mistrusted that silence was never peace, only a pause before something broke. The penthouse was still, except for the faint hum of the city outside and the low rhythm of Justina’s breathing from the adjoining room.He sat at his desk, the glow from his laptop casting harsh light across papers he hadn’t read. The message from the night before still burned in his mind.You thought the past was buried. It’s not.No name. No context. Just a reminder that ghosts don’t stay dead when money and guilt are involved.He deleted it, then restored it again. His fingers hovered over the keyboard. There was only one person who could have sent it,someone who knew about his brother, about the night the fire started, about the deal that had made him rich and cursed in the same breath.He shut the laptop.When he looked up, Justina was in the doorway, wearing one of his shirts again, her hair a dark curtain around her face. The morning light softened her, bu