Spiked Roses: The Complete Top Shelf Series

by Alta Hensley

  I felt the sting of his teeth on my neck and mewled, trying to not focus on the fact that I stood completely naked before him.

  He picked me up and carried me to the bed before I could fully comprehend what was happening. I was in his arms, I could feel his muscled chest flex beneath me. I could hear his heavy breathing thick with desire. I could smell his intoxicating scent. My head spun; I was consumed with lust, drunk with passion.

  Before I could regain composure, he threw me down onto the bed. I saw him grab a pink satin ribbon from the waist of the doll dress I had worn the night before. Tearing it in half with his teeth, and then ripped it in half again, he took a piece and watched me with hungry eyes. He grabbed one of my hands and tied it to the bedpost, and then he did the same with the other. I had never been tied, never been defenseless. I tugged to see if I could escape, pulled to see if this was for real. With a mixture of fear and desire, I allowed myself to trust Victor, but at the same time, take delight in the sizzle of fear that coursed through my veins. I was helpless. There was nothing I could do to fight him off. I couldn’t stop what would happen next. And yet, even as my heart skipped, I loved the feeling. The complete abandon. Knowing he was now fully in control, but that I had absolutely nothing to fear. I didn’t have to fight anymore. I didn’t have to struggle. I didn’t have to count on only myself. I had Victor Drayton. I was in his hands, in his life, and under his protection always. I knew this. I felt this.

  He stood before me and took off all of his clothes in the same rush and fury that had landed me naked and tied to the bed. His ripped, tight body stood before me in all its glory. With hungry eyes, he stared down at my body stretched out on the bed and seductively smiled.

  “I’m saying goodbye to my doll, and saying hello to my muse. But I have to warn you again,” Victor practically growled. “My art will always be dark, kinky, and twisted in the best of ways.”

  He reached for the rest of the ribbon, tore it in half with his teeth again, grabbed one of my legs, and tied one ankle to the bedpost and then secured the other, spreading me wide open. In mere moments, I found myself sprawled out on the bed, under Victor’s control. I tried to move, tried to test the strength of the bonds. A shiver ran down my spine when I couldn’t move. I was his. Yes, I was his.

  “Victor…” I moaned.

  He kissed one breast and then the other. He sucked each nipple, slightly nipping with his teeth. I gasped; I moaned. I had never been restricted before and not able to hold onto someone. The feeling of being defenseless was terrifying but electrifying at the same time.

  “Please. I want to hold you,” I begged. The need to touch his skin consumed me.

  Ignoring my plea, he continued his descent down my abdomen with kisses. He reached his final destination, his lips caressing every ounce of flesh, licking my entire mound until I was desperate for more. I was dying to feel his tongue delve into me. I wanted to feel the invasion, the penetration. The man had a way to intensify every emotion and sensation in my body. I needed him. I hungered for him. I craved everything about him. Yet, I knew the ultimate power was his, and he would lead this delicious dance as he saw fit.

  “Victor!” I screamed when his tongue connected with my clit. A surge of sensation stole my breath. “I want you,” I pleaded as I tested the ties again. I was aching to touch, desperate to have some control back.

  My body frantically searched for release any way that it could as I shamelessly ground my pussy against his face and mouth. I needed to come. God, I hoped he’d make me come. But I needed more than his mouth. I needed his cock in me, and just as I was about to demand he fuck me, he moved away from my needy cunt and lowered his body on top of mine. I tried to reach for him. I tried to embrace his body. But the constraints of the ties held me in place.

  “Untie me,” I begged.

  He simply shook his head and slowly eased his way in between my legs. He captured my gaze and never released it as his cock spread me wide. He stared deep into my eyes, linking our souls, connecting our energy.

  He pressed deeper with every gasp from me as if my sounds of pleasure fueled the energy and desire inside of him.

  I moaned.

  He pressed on.

  I cried out.

  He fucked me harder.

  His own moans became the soundtrack to the most amazing sex of my life. Just when I thought it couldn’t be better with this man, he proved me wrong.

  Victor pressed deep within me and suddenly stopped. Without either of our bodies moving, I could feel nothing more than his dick deep within me. Taking that moment of stillness did something to me. I felt a connection and closeness I hadn’t known possible. I looked into his eyes and just smiled. It began with just my lips, but staring into Victor’s face, I knew my pleasure was reflected in his eyes.

  “I’m yours,” I admitted freely. “Not as your doll, but as yours.”

  “I wanted nothing more than to hear those words.”

  “Untie me. Let me show you how much I’m yours. Let me prove how much I want to belong to you,” I whispered.

  Victor lightly touched his lips to mine, pulled his cock out of me, and then slowly untied one hand and then the other. He took his time to untie and after each bond was removed, he kissed and licked the reddened area to soothe the sting. I hadn’t realized how much I’d fought against the restraints until he did so.

  Once all the ties were removed, I crawled into Victor’s lap, pressed my lips to his neck, and took the moment to just be held and feel protected. I enjoyed the soft, the calm… the love. I moved my lips to his and kissed him until I felt that our lips had melted together. His breath was mine, my breath was his. I felt his tongue lightly move along mine, his hands caressed, we embraced.

  Victor eased me onto my back and slowly rubbed his cock along my throbbing clit. The sensation sent an emotion through me that nearly brought tears to my eyes. I became whole, so complete. Having Victor so close to me felt… right.

  He moved the tip of his dick at a slow and sensual pace. He caressed my hair and smiled softly while looking into my eyes. “I can’t do soft any longer. I need to fuck you hard before I explode,” he confessed.

  A growl worked its way past his lips as he grabbed me by the hips and in one hard thrust, drove himself deep within the warmth of my body. I wrapped my legs tighter around his back and thrust my hips to drive him even deeper. I moaned at the feeling of him spreading me. I craved more. I wanted him to drive in and out at a rapid speed.

  I felt like a sex-crazed vixen beneath Victor as he pumped in and out with a force and speed that brought an impending orgasm near. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled my lips to his again. He drove his tongue deep within my mouth, never letting go of his grip. He dominated me with the pull, with the thrust of his hips, and with the power he had over the building explosion of pleasure begging for release.

  “Let go for me. Let go, baby,” he demanded with a deep sensual voice.

  Knowing—through all my time of being trained as one of his precious dolls—that I should never go against one of Victor’s commands, I let the climax take over. The fire worked its way from my toes all the way to my head. My moan became louder, louder until it became a scream.

  With the sound of my release ringing throughout the room, Victor pumped hard one last time, filling me with his seed. Claiming me. Marking me. Forever his.

  No longer his special doll.

  I was simply… his.

  The End

  Devils & Rye

  Chapter One

  Alec

  Written words have the power to punch you in the gut and knock the air right out of you if they are delivered correctly.

  And as I sat in my favorite black leather chair on the second story of Spiked Roses, I felt as if I had been beaten repeatedly until all signs of life had left my body. Holding the letter in my hand, as I sipped an aged rye, I struggled to regain my composure.

  What the fuck just happened?

  How did this happen?r />
  I had left that life behind, but now it was staring back at me in my old business partner, and best friend’s handwriting. Was I a fool in thinking I could run away and leave it all behind me? That I could leave Athens, Georgia, to start a new life in New Orleans owning a members- only, exclusive men’s club called Spiked Roses and start anew?

  Yes, I was a damn fool.

  I took a sip of my drink and ignored all the scantily-clad women who worked my high-end establishment. I usually paid closer attention to how their bodies moved—a perk of my ownership—but tonight I had other things on my mind. Glancing back down at the letter, I read it again, hoping the words had somehow changed and the news before me wasn’t as nightmarish to read the second time around.

  Alec,

  My dear and oldest friend. Yes, I know it has been a long time. Too long. But you were wise in getting away when you did. You warned me. Hell, you all but begged me to step away gracefully with you while I had the chance. But I couldn’t. The pull was too great.

  That blue blood runs too strong inside of me, and I will forever be haunted by the past. And I’m sure you heard the rumors that the past has finally caught up with me.

  She’s gone. But you know that, and you know what I did to try to stop it.

  Though I knew the day would come—most likely come too fucking soon—it doesn’t ease the pain in the slightest. I miss her every single day and have not been able to move on. Losing a wife is the greatest pain a man could experience, and I hope to God you never have to experience such agony.

  Was her death enough to have me step away from the dark temptation of my own demons? Should I stop and think what losing two parents would do to Makayla?

  Yes.

  I should.

  But, I have never claimed to be a wise man.

  I did my best by Makayla. I sheltered her the best I could—maybe too much. I protected her, guarded her, and damn near suffocated her. I tried to keep the shadows of my past from seeping into the twisted haven I tried to create… but clearly have failed in doing so.

  You are my last hope for her. Makayla has no one else.

  I have no one else.

  I first sent her to New Orleans to find you and to secure a job at Spiked Roses. I thought this would give her the opportunity to be on her own, finally live life as an adult, and to break free from her gilded cage. She would be free from my prison, but still have you—her Uncle Alec—close by to keep an eye on her as she discovered her new freedom.

  But like everything in my life, it isn’t that simple. Setting her free only puts her life at risk, and I know that.

  They know. They know where she is.

  Her name was on the stone.

  I beg of you, Alec. Please help.

  I don’t want to pull you back into their grasp, and I wouldn’t involve you if I had any other choice. But her life depends on it. Depends on you.

  You know I am a dead man, even as I still breathe, for my answer to them was no.

  They will never have my daughter.

  I will still try to fight. To see if there is anything I can do, but you and I both know…

  I fear there is nothing I can do to change my fate, but I sure as hell hope to change Makayla’s. But I turn to you to help me make that happen. Please keep her safe from them. Give me the time I require to cast off those dark shadows that threaten to take her away. I will not make Makayla pay for the crimes of her father and her father’s father and all the fathers before.

  So, Alec, I beg of you. If our friendship meant anything to you—which I believe it truly did before I got myself deeper into this mess—take her to our place. It’s safe there and it hasn’t been used for a decade. Makayla will recognize it and feel a sense of home. I think it will help comfort her in what could be a challenging time. I don’t know for how long, but I will send word. You know I wouldn’t ask this of you if there were any other way.

  When I sent Makayla to Spiked Roses to find you, she was excited for her new adventure. This was her chance to finally experience life as a young woman should. No doubt, when you hand her the letter attached to this one for her, she will not be happy. The idea of being locked away in her gilded cage again will devastate her, but I know she will still do as I ask. The question remains, will you?

  If anyone can keep her safe and protected, I know it is you. Step in and be the protector that I no longer can be.

  Until my next correspondence,

  ~Rhett

  Fuck.

  It was just as nightmarish as the first time I’d read the letter. Even worse. My friend was a dead man. I knew this. He knew this.

  Fuck.

  I had warned him. I had begged him to leave.

  Fuck.

  Finishing my drink with one long swig, I fought the overwhelming urge to puke. There was nothing I could do. Nothing. My ears rang and my vision dimmed. If I didn’t get my shit together, I was going to faint like a damn southern belle wearing a corset that was too tight.

  I had to focus.

  Makayla. Fucking Makayla needed me.

  Me. What the hell was Rhett thinking? I was as far from the knight in shining armor as one could get. Saving the pretty damsel in distress wasn’t my thing.

  “You all right, dude?” Harley Crow—a friend and current business partner—asked as he sat down next to me with a glass of vodka in his hand. “Your ass looks like it has seen a ghost.”

  Glancing at the man, but lost in all the swirling thoughts going on in my mind, I mumbled, “Yeah, a fucking ghost.”

  Harley glanced at the letter in my shaking hand. “Bad news?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Anything I can help with?”

  I was half tempted to say yes. Having the notorious Harley Crow get involved could possibly fix it all, but I also knew that even a ruthless assassin such as Harley couldn’t kill them all. Demons have a way of multiplying. And I couldn’t get the man involved, even if he could wipe them all out. Asking anyone to step into that dark and twisted world of my past was a different kind of murder.

  “I wish. Just my past coming back to haunt me.”

  “This have anything to do with your niece we just hired?”

  I shook my head side to side slowly and closed my eyes as if I could shut away the nightmare. “She’s not my niece. I told you all that at the meeting.”

  “Whatever, dude. She calls you Uncle Alec. So she clearly thinks she’s your niece.”

  “Yeah, it’s complicated.”

  Complicated wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the situation we were now in.

  “Where is she, by the way?” I asked as I opened my eyes to find Harley scrutinizing me with his dark and narrowed eyes.

  Harley shrugged. “Haven’t seen her. My guess is with Tennessee, training.” Harley took a slow drink, never breaking his stare. “You sure you are all right?”

  I stood up with a heavy sigh. “I have some things I’m going to need to handle. I need to go away for a while. Do you mind letting the other guys know? I’ll keep you all posted once I have a better feel of what I need to do and how long I need to be away.”

  “Yeah, no problem. But why don’t you just tell them yourselves at the member’s meeting in fifteen minutes?” Harley said.

  Shit. The meeting. I had forgotten all about it.

  “You look like hell,” Harley said. “If there’s anyone who can help you deal with your shit, it’s the men who will be at the meeting. There isn’t anything we wouldn’t do to help each other. You know that.”

  “Yeah, well you all have enough shit to deal with on your own. Did Victor ever find the fuckers who attacked his dolls?”

  Harley scowled. “No. The problem with that is the bounty was so fucking high on those dolls that it really could have been any shithead wanting to profit off the black market. Shutting down the dolls was really the best thing he could have done.” He took another sip of his drink. “But right now isn’t about Victor. It’s about you. What’s u
p?”

  “I just have some fucked up demons lurking that I need to battle.” I stood, determined to face this head on. “I doubt I’ll be at the meeting. Just tell them that I had some family affairs to deal with and had to get out of town for a little bit. I’ll be in touch when I can.”

  Without saying another word, I left Harley sitting with his vodka as I went to search for Makayla. No one could help me battle these demons, but sadly these same demons had Makayla by the throat and were squeezing the life out of her. She just didn’t know it yet.

  Chapter Two

  Makayla

  “All right, sugar pop. We are going to start you off working the front door. At least until you turn twenty-one. No jail bait working the floor under my watch. I don’t care who you are related to. Rules are rules, and you can’t waitress until you’re old enough to drink booze. I’m not going to risk Spiked Roses being shut down because of you,” Tennessee Charles said as he handed me a red lace dress. “You’ll wear red as your uniform. I usually put the blondes with pale skin in black, but I’m going to have to make an exception with you. I don’t think your uncle would be too thrilled with me dressing you in a black leather leotard and chained collar. We’ll save the kinky side of the club for another day.”

  I was prepared to do anything Tennessee wanted me to do. This was my first job ever, and I knew I had a lot to prove. I also knew the only reason I got hired was because of my Uncle Alec vouching for me. Especially since I was only twenty years old and had absolutely no experience. But I was determined to show Tennessee and all the managing members that I was an asset to Spiked Roses regardless of my age and inexperience in just about everything.