The Vanity of Roses

by Lily White

  Seeing that Jacob truly was out of the game, Connor nodded at me and walked off to do as he was told.

  I stepped back, my body leaning forward as I braced my hands on my knees to catch my breath.

  The violence was too thick at that moment, and while I should have felt bad for hurting Jacob and knocking him out of the fight, I couldn’t gather my thoughts enough to get them under control.

  Just outside the room, Haley and Lisbeth stood watching, their eyes filled with concern for Jacob...and for me.

  Lisbeth, especially.

  I straightened my body and stared down at my best friend. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this.”

  “What the fuck ever, man. You’ve been a raging dick since you showed up this morning. I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but get that shit under control.”

  Had it been any other person speaking to me the way he did, I would have made an example of what happens to those who challenge me. But Jacob was loyal to me, a brother in every way but blood. For that, I’d allow the anger.

  Not that he was wrong to feel it. While it was true he was practicing for a fight that carried heavy consequences, sparring was never intended to be a full match. Care was to be taken between opponents, patience given.

  Jacob had lost his focus, but I’d been wrong to take advantage in such a violent way.

  I shot a look at Haley, and when I caught her eyes, I inclined my head toward Jacob. She rushed over immediately, her hands gentle as she reached for him. Their voices were a whisper beneath me as I turned to watch Lisbeth shrink back.

  She blamed herself for this, that much was obvious in the concern lining her face, and while she may have been part of the cause, she wasn’t the one at fault.

  Closing the distance between us on a long legged stride, my hands went to her waist, a squeak sounding in her throat when I lifted her up to walk her from the room.

  Instantly, her legs wrapped around my hips, her arms coming up to lock over my shoulders as she ignored the sweat running down my body.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I didn’t think we’d cause that.”

  But I wasn’t in the mood to talk, wasn’t in the mood to console her. Especially not after her body folded around mine on a teasing promise.

  All I wanted at that moment was to take what she would give, to drain the adrenaline inside me until I could shake off the rage that held me captive since the time I’d walked from Franklin’s office.

  I walked us into the showers before I answered her, our bodies and clothes soaked as soon as we moved beneath one of the powerful sprays of water.

  Pressing Lisbeth’s back against a wall, I growled when her legs tightened around me, my hand coming up to grab her face and force her mouth open.

  Speaking against her lips, I warned, “Do me a favor and shut up.”

  My mouth dipped to hers, her body melting with the need to submit, my grip loosening as she danced her tongue across mine regardless of the threat of my teeth or the violence she’d witnessed as soon as she’d walked into the gym.

  The trust I felt in her was staggering, a woman unafraid despite everything I’d already done. It was almost as if she knew I needed her to help balance me, as if she somehow could read my thoughts and become the only influence that would calm me down.

  Trailing my lips down her neck, I shuddered when she tipped her head back to give me full access to her throat, a move that shattered me in place while I took full advantage.

  Lisbeth moaned as my teeth dragged across her skin, her hips moving against mine, fingernails gripping my shoulders to help chase away the tension that kept them bound for hours.

  So fucking hard that it was painful not to be inside her, I didn’t wait for permission to run my hand up her thigh beneath her skirt, fingers ripping her panties aside to explore skin that was swollen and ready, heat that was slick with arousal.

  She moaned as my thumb circled her clit, her lips finding my mouth as I shoved my shorts down, notched my cock at her opening, gripped her hips and claimed what was mine.

  It didn’t matter that I’d exhausted her the night before, didn’t bother her that my temper was on edge with the threat of pain. Lisbeth’s trust in me had somehow developed regardless of everything, her willingness to let go to me proving that I’d been right to leave her this morning with the freedom from an escort, with my trust that she wouldn’t choose to run off again.

  This moment was the first time we came together without the masks and armor we usually wore, and it drove my body faster, my cock thrusting inside her as if I could never go deep enough to take everything I wanted.

  Her body clenched around mine when I’d pushed her through her first orgasm, her mouth opening on a moan that I swallowed with a kiss.

  It wasn’t long before I joined her, my cock driving balls deep as I spilled my release into her body.

  Our breath mingling, I pressed my forehead against hers, watched the drops of water that slid down her face as we both came down from the high we’d found.

  “Are you better?” she asked, her eyes meeting mine, lids heavy, cheeks red from the blood rushing through her body.

  Oddly, I was, my eyes searching hers as my pulse rate slowed, my aggression draining out of me as if the water above us could wash it from my skin.

  It was the first time I could remember that I hadn’t needed to fight, hadn’t demanded pain in order to lose the heat of anger inside me.

  Staring at her, my body still trapping hers against the tile wall, I felt wonder at the openness of her expression, the peace in her eyes despite knowing what I was capable of doing to her.

  “You’re not scared.”

  Her brows tugged together. “Of what?”

  It was a whispered conversation, soft and subtle. “Me.”

  A small shake of her head, a warmth so heady that I felt dizzy in response to it. Lisbeth reached up to brush the hair from my face, her touch gentle, her body still tight to mine.

  “I think we’re past that now. At least, I hope we are.”

  “I was testing you today.”

  I didn’t know why I told her that, couldn’t understand how our battle had ended so suddenly. If was as if both of us realized we were fighting ourselves more than the other person, and we’d both surrendered to the inevitable at the same time.

  “I know.” She laughed. “Although I think I failed already.” A lift of her brow. “You might be mad when you speak to Colton.”

  My lips twitched at her confession. “You stole Haley, didn’t you?”

  She nodded, a shy grin curling her lips.

  Laughter shook my chest. “Not even twenty-four hours and you’re already causing trouble.”

  “The good kind, I hope.”

  Considering I was standing in a very public shower with my naked ass exposed to whoever would be unlucky enough to walk in, I thought her brand of trouble was something all of us would have to get used to.

  I gripped her chin, my thumb pulling down her bottom lip as I dipped my head to taste her. She was immediately obedient, so deliciously malleable that I worried I might break this woman eventually.

  Speaking against her lips, I felt my cock filling with blood again, my body reacting to her as if it couldn’t get enough.

  “I may have to start spanking you for the trouble you cause.”

  Blue eyes flashed with heat, the challenge in them driving my pulse into a hard beat once again, but for very different reasons.

  “You’ll have to catch me first.”

  Quiet laughter spilled out of me, the sound cut off when her hand reached between us to grip my cock.

  “Again?” I asked, a shudder running over me when her thumb swept over the head.

  “Again.”

  It was so simple to lose myself in her. And while I took my time driving us both to another release, I forgot about the problems weighing on me.

  I forgot about the threat that loomed like a dark cloud over everything I’d fina
lly found.

  It was too bad that threat would be staring us both in the face in the days to come. But for now, I let go to a woman who had always been a focus in my life, to a woman who had changed as much as me.

  Lisbeth

  “Stay close to me tonight.”

  Callan’s amber eyes shot to mine as we walked into the arena through a back entrance, his large hand gripping mine in a steel vise. It didn’t hurt, the way he held me, but I could sense the tension in him, the temper that could be easily pushed to violence with little provocation.

  Glad it wasn’t him that would be fighting tonight, I nodded my head, my steps steady as we approached the doors to the main room, the guard nodding his head in Callan’s direction before opening the door to let us through.

  I wore a black dress that was tight around the bodice but flared out at the hips, my short height pushed up three inches by stiletto heels that strapped up my ankles.

  Callan was dressed up as well, and to say the man cleaned up well was an understatement. The seams of his suit jacket fought against the breadth of his shoulders, the white shirt beneath doing nothing to hide the lethal strength of a fighter.

  It surprised me to see him in something other than his usual casual attire, but he’d explained that on the nights he didn’t fight, Franklin insisted he represent the Rose family in the way most expected.

  It was still early enough when we arrived that the spectators hadn’t filled the seats yet. Even though the only people around us were the guards and other various staff members employed by our family, the air was already charged with the violence I knew was to come.

  I was on edge after my conversation with Callan in the car. He warned me about Antonio Moritze, explained that his father was the man who I was being sold to due to a blackmail attempt. Frightened to hear that a threat against the family was still very much real, I looked to Callan with the assurance that he would find a way to protect me.

  Still, I was a Rose, a member now in good standing, and I wouldn’t betray any weakness when facing a man who hoped to hurt us all if he wasn’t given what he was after.

  Griping Callan’s hand tighter as we rounded the top edge of the walls surrounding the pit, I kept up with his quick pace, my head held high as we entered the viewing box I remembered seeing Franklin and Jacob in the last time there was a fight.

  Already, Franklin was there, Jacob next to him with a bandage around his sprained ankle. Franklin, as usual was dressed to impress, but Jacob wore a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.

  I assumed the fighters weren’t held to the same standards as the rest of us when it came to appearance on these nights.

  “Gentlemen,” Callan said as we approached. “Is everything ready?”

  You could tell Jacob was still pissed about not being able to fight tonight, his eyes catching Callan’s and narrowing slightly. The expression faded, though, his head nodding in answer.

  “Connor’s downstairs getting prepped. Colton will be bringing Melinda in as the slave tonight.”

  “She’s new,” Callan commented, his palm slapping against Jacob’s in that weird male bonding thing they always did. I wondered briefly if the handshake was taught to them as soon as they left the womb. Everybody with a dick seemed to know it.

  “She’s ready,” Franklin answered, his eyes scanning the arena as if looking for something. “The guests should begin arriving soon. I’m surprised Moritze hasn’t brought his guy in yet.”

  Jacob laughed. “Maybe we lucked out and they decided not to come. Anybody he brings has to know he’ll be leaving in a body bag.”

  While they talked, I turned to watch the staff working quickly to prepare the arena. Already, most of them had changed out of their cleaning uniforms and into the sleazy server outfits I remembered all too well.

  Thankfully, Holly wasn’t asked to come tonight, and I wouldn’t have to worry about her, but I wondered if it would be possible to make changes to the system Franklin had in place. It wasn’t fair that women be subjected to the rude comments and wandering hands of the assholes who filled this place when the fights began.

  Making a mental note to talk to Callan about it, I watched as the double doors opened and guests poured in, a low din of conversation starting as the seats were slowly filled. Like last time, every person was dressed as if attending a semi-formal event. Expensive suits mixed with the flash of sequins and silk of the dresses their female companions wore.

  Dread filled me as the audience grew larger with the passing minutes, my eyes scanning for one person in particular.

  Warm breath cascaded down my neck as a mouth pressed to my ear. “Are you okay?”

  I shivered at the feel of Callan’s lips, at the strength of his body when I pressed closer.

  “Just nervous,” I admitted.

  “About Moritze?”

  Turning so that our gazes met, I was struck at the beauty of his eyes. The rich amber color was flecked with green sometimes, but only in certain light.

  “That, and for Connor.”

  Callan’s brow arched. “He’ll be fine. I trained him.”

  Nodding, I tried not to remember when I’d fought him the last time we were here. Despite my nails scratching his face and my hand tearing his shirt, Connor had shown restraint when he could have easily hurt me.

  I still needed to apologize to him for that.

  Beside me, Callan tensed, his eyes staring over my head as his arm wrapped around me. He tugged me closer, and I wondered about the sudden change in him for only a second.

  It was Franklin who first spoke to Moritze as he stepped into the viewing box.

  “It’s about time you show up. We thought you might have already known you were beat and decided to tuck tail and run.”

  Mortize’s eyes slid my direction, disapproval and anger flashing behind them to see how Callan held me.

  Bile crept up my throat when those slimy eyes slid down my body and back up again, his expression giving nothing away by the time he turned to Franklin.

  “It’s only a matter of time before one of your men go down.”

  Jacob laughed, the sound anything but funny.

  “Good fucking luck. All you’re doing is building up a body count. How many more victims are you willing to give us before you finally give up?”

  It didn’t escape my attention that Callan remained quiet, the threat of him a wave of heat against my body, his arm a steel band that held me close.

  When Moritze looked at me again, Callan’s hand tightened over my hip, a low growl vibrating his chest that I wasn’t sure anybody but I could hear.

  “Lisbeth,” Moritze crooned. “I see your handlers have given you a promotion. Are you finished playing servant and are now Callan’s full time whore? Seems fitting, given you were the daughter of one.”

  My brows tugged together at the comment, but then Callan moved as if to lunge at him. Franklin and Jacob both stepped between the two men, and I buried my face into Callan’s chest, silently begging him to behave.

  Moritze only laughed when I refused to answer, his voice grating my skin. “It’s fine, gentlemen. He’s only keeping Lisbeth warm until I have my turn with her.”

  “Good fucking luck,” Callan growled. “You’ll lay a hand on her only when I’m dead. It’s unfortunate you’ll be in the ground long before that happens.”

  I glanced up to see Moritze roll his eyes. “Says the man who can’t stay out of the ring for long.”

  Franklin spoke up. “We have enough fighters to keep your men busy.”

  Laughing Moritze straightened the cuffs of his sleeves. “Then it’s a win-win for me. The only man here that worries us is Callan. And with him out of the fight, then I’ll start making incredible sums of money.”

  Jacob took instant offense. “The fuck ever. I’ll be sure to send your boy home in a wooden box next week.”

  I didn’t like the way Moritze dropped his gaze to Jacob’s injured ankle, his lips curling into a sick grin when he answered, “Sur
e you will.”

  Five minutes...

  The announcer’s voice boomed through the arena. Thankful for the interruption, I clung tightly to Callan, happy to walk with him to the opposite side of the viewing box, as far from Moritze as possible.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t far enough for Moritze to stop poking the bear, practically begging for Callan to let go of the tenuous hold he had on his restraint.

  “Tell me, Lisbeth, now that you’re back in the good graces of your family, have any of them mentioned any secrets they may have been hiding from you?”

  My head snapped his direction, but it was Franklin’s expression that drew my notice more. Staring between the two men, I swallowed the bile that crept up my throat every time Moritze spoke.

  “What secrets? Like the fact you had to blackmail the family for me rather than being able to attract a woman’s attention yourself?”

  He grinned, his eyes darting Franklin’s way before returning to me. “No, actually. And for the record, I have plenty of women in my bed. I just happen to want you on your knees in front of me.”

  Callan’s body tensed. “Say one more thing, asshole, and I swear to fucking God I’ll kill you right here.”

  Rage emanated from Callan, his body going stock still beside me.

  It didn’t affect Moritze, he only kept his stare directly on me. “Would you like to know what I know about you?”

  “Save it,” Jacob interrupted, his body moving to block Mortize’s view of me. “The fight is starting.”

  I couldn’t help my curiosity about what secret he supposedly knew. But, then again, Moritze wasn’t exactly the type to be trusted. More than likely, he was making shit up, attempting to rattle both Callan and me because he was jealous I wanted nothing to do with him.

  Forcing the question from my thoughts, I turned to watch the large gates open at the side of the ring, a knot of apprehension clogging my throat as the men were asked the same question as before.

  “Do you both understand that this fight is to the death? One winner. One loser. Once you step inside and the gates close, there is no turning back.”

  Connor and his opponent both answered that they understood and were allowed down into the ring, their bodies rigid, their expressions hard as the gates closed with a final thump.