I didn’t share that with him, with any of them. They had lives and wives now. I would protect us all.
Dane had always been a loner. Even with us, he still liked to take off by himself. He traveled constantly for work. Until Aspen. He, along with the rest of the crew, had settled down, found love, and all that nonsense. Not one man close to me left without their woman now, except on the occasion Dane had to work. Only then would he leave her, but only long enough to handle the task and return.
I wasn’t about to drag him into some bullshit with a greedy bastard looking to buy pussy. Onyx and Dane put in the work to support Paxton and I as we went to college and built our careers. Whatever needed to be done to pay tuition, books, living expenses, they did it. All so Pax—who had always been our numbers guy—could be a licensed accountant, and I could be a lawyer.
As kids we spent countless hours on a busted game of Monopoly. Over time, it became more than a game. Somehow those busted pieces we created for ourselves worked into the core of the men we were growing into.
For me, I longed to go back in time. Back before I was sent away. I guess that came with the foundation of my childhood. I had a good life, until I didn’t.
Onyx, Paxton, and Dane were the only reason I made it out of those years in the orphanage with my sanity. It was easy to get lost in being lost. As a kid I grew up with a grandmother who loved me. She raised me when my mother died of an overdose and my father … wasn’t there to take me in. Then Grams got old. I was a twelve-year-old boy who she was beginning to forget. She thought she was doing right by me, sending me to Amos. She thought I would be well cared for. Sometimes even if the deed came from a heart of gold it didn’t make a situation solid. She couldn’t have known that then. She only thought she was doing the best for me.
Grams and I played lots of board games and cards too. She liked the quality time and truthfully, I was grateful for the memories now.
Still, I remembered when I found the old busted Monopoly box at the orphanage. It was like a treasure to me. We were missing pieces. Being the creative and curious boys we were, we made our own. Onyx made a portrait of himself on the Monopoly man’s body off the game board. He saw himself as the man in charge of us back then and even now. Paxton was his own money bag, and to this day was the best with all of our dollars and cents. Dane was the gun. “I’ll always protect what’s mine,” he proclaimed. I made a briefcase. Even as a boy, I knew owning property meant being a boss, and a boss I would become.
Which was why we now owned homes across the world. Some of them were group properties and some were individually owned, but available to us all because we were a family who shared. Like this little gem in the Virgin Islands. By far and away this was my favorite place to be. This was my sanctuary, my private oasis.
Originally, my plan was to use a company home. Dane had one he preferred to visit in Arizona. I set everything up for Beacon to think we went there. At least until I finished getting things aligned, he would be wasting time looking in the wrong place. Eventually, he would learn of the switch, but by then he would be impacted by other things besides finding my location.
After all, our side business of babies finding parents afforded us multiple properties all under a business front. Beacon would be wise to assume we had homes off the radar too, but I wasn’t sure the man was thinking as clearly as he thought he did. Age and distractions tended to do that to a man. He didn’t know it yet, but the distractions to his business were coming. I had it all worked out; step-by-step his empire would crumble at his feet.
Onyx handled the business more than the rest of us. It was his calling to be in charge. Paxton kept us all in the green on budget, and by green I meant large wealth and investments galore. Dane was the man with a reputation for being ruthless and cold. His skillset served us well in protection of our assets, mostly being the surrogate mothers. I was an attorney and knew exactly how to keep all of our asses clean. Well, more like under the radar; none of us were innocent or clean. Our sins damned us to Hell long ago.
It was also why I knew better than to bring her here—my place.
This was my escape. My comfort. My safe haven. There was something about the waves rolling in, the crisp blue sea, and the continual sun rays day after day that soothed my soul.
This place was personal.
She was a business transaction.
The biggest rule in business—never make shit personal.
Bringing her here was most definitely personal.
Involving myself like this, I had already broken my cardinal rule of mixing business and personal. I should have sent the old man packing. I should have refused him. Except I had my reasons, and I couldn’t pass it up. One thing life taught me was never squander your opportunities.
Beacon didn’t ask for details on where she was going. I had left a trail to lead him to a home our holding company owned in Arizona. His focused bullet point was for thirty days I kept her safe and softened her attitude about their arrangement. Did he mean for me to personally keep an eye on her for the next month?
Fuck no.
In fact, his initial instructions were to take her to California to a home he had there and keep her locked down in seclusion. I told him that wouldn’t work for me, and that I would take her where I saw fit and left it at that.
Surprisingly, he didn’t argue about my change of locations. Then again, stocks in many of his businesses were taking hits, so I wasn’t completely sure I had his full attention as I made the necessary changes to his plans. Maybe he was getting soft in his old age. I didn’t know nor did I fucking care. Bottom line, I would never give someone working for me any level of power to change a deal, but he did. It showed his weakness.
But I was the kind of man who liked to press limits. I liked to go beyond boundaries that anyone considered safe.
Because I was a dangerous kind of man.
The kind with nothing to lose.
Enissa approached me tentatively, her steps a bit unsure. Extending my hand, I offered her a greeting. She looked at me as if I might devour her.
Truthfully, I wanted to.
Not right this second, though. That would come later.
Charles Beacon was an intelligent man. He went out of his way to remain vague in the details of their arrangement. While the fine lines didn’t really matter in what I was hired to do, the man I was simply wanted to know how to tip the scales so I had all the power. Therefore, I hacked into their phone conversations and email discussions and knew every detail of their arrangement.
I wasn’t about to leave a single stone uncovered. I knew everything there was to know about Charles Beacon and Enissa Mitchell as well. The whole lot of it was rather surprising. The more I learned about Beacon, the more I found I needed to know. Every new piece of information only made me more determined to ruin the man. Enissa was the perfect play to set the game in motion, and she would be the piece I needed to win.
Life was like a board game. Strategy was everything. She was my key.
“Hello, Enissa,” I said, leaving my hand out for her to take.
She wiped her palms down her sides before returning my gesture. Her hand slipped into mine, and immediately energy zipped through me. It felt like static electricity shock but sharper.
Instinctively, I yanked without releasing, forcing her to fall toward me. With my other hand, I held her against me as I fought the multitude of things I happened to be feeling.
Reacting to my forcefulness, she pressed her palm to my chest and pushed off me.
“You are not Charles Beacon,” she stated firmly while pulling her hand from mine.
I nodded but didn’t elaborate on who I was. Well, at least she knew who she was doing business with. I had wondered if she really knew she signed her life away to a senior citizen. I had heard of those age-gap fantasies, but of everything I learned of Enissa Mitchell, she wasn’t chasing a man for a happily ever after. No, she had reasons, valid ones to enter into this agreement. I actually found a
little admiration inside of me for the woman and her dedication to family.
It was something you didn’t see much of these days.
“When will he arrive?”
Ahhh, she wanted to stick to business. Another admirable trait. It was rare to find people determined to keep their word in today’s world, where everyone looked for a loophole or an easier way out. The path of least resistance wasn’t always best.
“In a month, maybe two. That all depends on you.”
Her faced paled. She shook her head and then looked around like she was trying to find an escape. There would be no leaving for her … not until I said so.
“You’re safe with me, Enissa,” I said, aiming for reassurance.
She didn’t meet my gaze, and I swore she muttered under her breath, “I’m not safe with anyone.”
Curious statement she made, even if she wasn’t expecting me to hear it. Charles Beacon didn’t intend her any physical harm that I knew of. While I was certain she felt vulnerable in her situation, I didn’t like her statement. Not feeling safe.
She lived a life with two loving parents. Nothing I dug up gave any indication she was facing any form of abuse. Until this agreement, Enissa Mitchell lived a drama-free, textbook life. The kind of shit kids like me dreamed about.
“What is expected of me until that time? Are you the butler? My security?”
I paused to study her. I could ease her tension.
Easily.
Except, I wasn’t that kind of man.
And this whole situation, well, it wasn’t even about her anymore. She just didn’t know that.
She stood in front of me with her shoulders square. While she didn’t make eye contact easily, she wasn’t avoiding my gaze in a way that screamed insecurity. No, her demeanor was more put off like she would remain strong no matter what came next.
“I’m the man to break you,” I told her honestly.
Technically, that was Charles Beacon’s intention in tucking her away with a stranger for a month. I didn’t have a single intention of following his plan. I still figured she deserved the truth, though, and the truth was I would break her. Break her in ways she never knew she needed. Her breath hitched, causing her plump tits to rise and remain in place. For a moment, I actually craved her fear.
Alas, she gave me no satisfaction in any emotion or reaction beyond the slight shift in her breathing. Commendable … even if it was driving me nuts.
I imagined if I were to take my hand to her neck and press my thumb to her pulse spot, her heart would be racing. I waited for her to move. I waited for some sign that she understood what she agreed to with Charles Beacon.
Stock-still, she remained in place as if she was challenging me to what came next.
It made my cock hard.
She was fierce.
Her strength only made me question her situation more. Most women in her situation would show fear, humiliation, and desperation. She didn’t. In fact, she was harder to read than I anticipated.
She was a challenge.
And I fucking loved a good challenge.
“I’ll show you the house and to our room.” I smirked, waiting for her to ask me about the reference to our room.
After all, she was not my ward. She was his.
She took the first step in front of me as if she was ready to take on the world; it was then it hit me.
She was not a possession of Charles Beacon’s. She was not some arrangement with the old fucker.
There were many things she was not.
And only one thing that I could say she currently was without a doubt.
That was…
Mine.
3
Enissa
His eyes stared at my ass up the entire flight of stairs. Truthfully, I had no clue where I was going. I simply wanted to escape the tension and power between us, so I moved past him into the entry.
It was this huge open space with a spiral staircase to the right in black iron. My attention went to that, and I moved. I didn’t care where I was headed. I wanted distance between us. I could feel his stare burning my flesh, but ignored it and stopped at the top and allowed him to go in front of me. Two wide doors stood in front of him, and as he pushed them open and stepped to the side, the room came to life.
This wasn’t just a bedroom. No, it had a huge seating area that looked out over the water. Windows lined one wall completely, giving a beautiful panoramic view of the ocean. The windows were currently wide open, and I felt myself instinctively inhale deeply.
The breeze came through, and I just knew if I were left alone, sleeping here would be peaceful. At one time, when I was a baby, my mother would put on the sounds of the ocean to get me to fall asleep. It did the trick every time even as I grew up.
A ginormous bed with four pillars sat in the center of the room facing the view. I’d bet it was absolutely breathtaking to see. There was an area with a couch, side tables, and a recliner to the right and two doors to the left.
My lips opened, but I stopped myself. I didn’t even know this man’s name. How was I supposed to ask him any questions?
“What’s your name?” I asked, going to the window and getting a bird’s eye view of the beach.
Something crossed his features, and I couldn’t read it as he answered, “Garrett.”
When I looked at him, I didn’t see a Garrett. I saw more of a Diesel or Hawk. Something with a punch. Garrett seemed too plain for all that was this man. Not that I’d ever tell him any of that.
“Okay, Garrett. The doors?” I pointed to my left.
“Bathroom and closet.”
Making my way there, I opened the first one to the left. The closet was about as big as half my house back home. The top racks were all empty, but the bottom had all different kinds of men’s clothing. “What, do you have something to wear every day of the year without doing laundry?” The words tumbled out of my mouth.
I heard a muffled chuckle, and as much as I wanted to turn around and see it, I didn’t.
“The top is all yours.”
“My clothes will take up this much”—I held my hands out about a foot—“room.”
“I saw you only had the one bag. Were you planning on shopping?”
Shopping? Was he serious? There was no money to pay for my mother’s illness and if there were, not one dime of it would go to me getting new clothes. I wasn’t going to share this information with him.
While all my expenses would be paid for, me not bringing many clothes had nothing to do with shopping. It had to do with not getting comfortable. Not allowing this to become my true reality. About me distancing myself from the situation as much as I could.
Anyway, Charles Beacon most likely had told him all about me. No need to wallow in my financial situation by divulging this to him. I didn’t have much, but I still had my pride.
“Nope. I know how to work a washing machine.” I said this moving to the bathroom which was about the same size of the closet. All in all, the bedroom, closet, and bathroom were bigger than my home. What did someone do with all this space?
Did Garrett have a big family or something? Maybe this wasn’t his home; maybe it was Charles’, or maybe it was a rental. I had questions, but I didn’t dare ask.
“Right. We’ll get you sorted tomorrow.”
For a moment, I wanted to ask what get me sorted meant, but again, I decided against asking anything right this moment. Frankly, the more questions I asked this man, the more uncomfortable I became with his answers. From saying he was ‘breaking me’ to a name like Garrett that I wasn’t completely sure was his actual name, my head was spinning.
The bathroom sparkled. Yes, actually sparkled with the sun shining in. There were windows, but they had this frosty glaze on the bottom to give privacy, but still have the light.
The tub.
Holy hell, the tub.
At home, we didn’t have a tub. Only a shower. I’d seen movies about women taking these long baths and always wonder
ed what it would feel like. Probably like heaven.
Before I left I promised myself I would find the good things where I could and hold onto them. I was going to make the best out of this if it killed me. Which meant I was getting in that tub soon. I had determined this could be the most miserable experience of my life, or I could find ways to make it tolerable. That tub was a start to tolerating the worst.
There was a shower off to the side with several different sprays and big enough to fit a football team.
Turing around, I jumped when Garrett was right behind me and gasped for breath. “Jesus.” Was the man like a damn ninja or something?
“No need to be so jumpy, kitten.”
Kitten? Where the hell did he get kitten? He didn’t even know me.
But, I let it go. KISS—Keep it simple, stupid. That was going to be my motto. Keep everything compartmentalized and just make it through my time here.
There was something bothering me. I needed to know, therefore, I steeled my nerves and let it out. I didn’t miss his phrase, our room, but he couldn’t be serious? Could he?
“Why are your clothes in the closet if I’m sleeping in this room?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his shoulder into the doorjamb. “Because I sleep here too.”
“What, on the floor?”
“Nope.”
“Outside on the deck? It’s not like I’m going to run away.”
“Nope. We’re both in the bed.”
It was time for my arms to cross over my chest. “We are not. That was not the deal.”
“If I remember correctly, your deal was to do whatever Mr. Beacon told you to do. He told me you would be doing this. Therefore, we are most certainly going to be in the same bed.”
Why on earth would a man who ‘owned’ me, wanting me as a possession, want me to be in bed with another man? Thoughts assailed me thinking of a Lifetime movie. The one where the husband shared his wife around to all of his friends. By the end of it the woman was so broken, she barely pulled herself out of it.
Broken.
Break you. His words rattled in my skull. Garrett was to break me in. Sexually? Physically? Mentally? What was going on here? While crazy thoughts ran through my mind, I kept my emotions at bay. Garrett could kiss my ass.
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