I watched him, waiting until he disappeared inside before pushing into my own.
My place was small, the opposite of what I was used to growing up. My bedroom as a child was bigger than the entire studio apartment, including the tiny ass bathroom. I locked the door behind me, heaving a sigh as I kicked off my shoes and moved toward my bed. Just an air mattress on the floor near the small kitchenette area, a thirty-inch TV screen resting on the floor near it. I’d only bought what I’d needed, tried to be as cheap as possible about it since I didn’t know when or if I’d get a job. It wasn’t like I knew I’d work at the Dollhouse and bring in over a thousand dollars my first night, not including my actual paycheck.
I collapsed on my bed, thinking back to last night. No matter what I did, no matter what I tried to force myself to think about, my mind kept going back to Roman. Roman and Carter. How could a man like that exist?
And why couldn’t I stop thinking about him?
Rolling over, I tried to think of something else, but my mind kept replaying the intense expression Roman wore, how his dark eyes seemed to follow you no matter what moves you made.
And I wasn’t even the one on display; Crystal was. I can only imagine how powerful that gaze was when you were bent over before him, getting railed by his bodyguard—or whatever the hell Carter was to him.
God, it was hot. A man like that could make you want to do things, things which you never pictured yourself doing. I’d only been with that two-faced Bryan, but something about Roman made me want to throw in the towel, spread my legs, and let him have at me.
Did he ever go after the girls, or was it always Carter sticking his dick in them? The answer didn’t matter, not really, but just for right now, since I was alone and daydreaming, I’d let myself think that Roman always kept his hands off—and his cock. That he simply watched and got off from it.
That, maybe, he’d felt the bizarre connection between us last night and would make me his first and only.
But that was something out of a fairytale, and my life was nothing like those happy, stupid things.
My next shift at the Dollhouse wasn’t for a few days. They’d started me off slow, just in case I decided I didn’t like working there and quit. I could definitely see how some girls wouldn’t care for it, but I was at the point in my life where I literally couldn’t care less about what I did. I just needed the money, and to have men drooling over me, trying to inconspicuously stroke their boners over their pants because they couldn’t keep it together while watching me… it was nice.
Made me feel all powerful and stuff.
Pink hair up in a bun, I wore sweats as I made something in the oven. Just a cheap frozen pizza, nothing too extravagant. I literally only left my place when I had to either go to work or go to the store, and I still had some things in the freezer to make.
I wasn’t a cook; the very opposite, but I’d make do. I had to, unless I wanted to go crawling back to Mom and Dad, apologize for stressing them out and worrying them by running away. Yes, I’d be the one apologizing, even though they’d known about Bryan and Willow. It was a type of infuriating you could not understand unless you’d been in the same situation, and frankly it was a situation I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.
Except Bryan and Willow, I mean.
With the pizza baking in the oven, I went back to my bed, sitting cross-legged as I watched whatever was on the TV. I hadn’t paid for cable; the apartment had a few channels for free I could hook up to, so that’s what I did. One channel was entirely in Spanish, which didn’t do me any good.
A knock on my door caused me to jerk my gaze away from the TV, glancing over my shoulder at the offending door. Holding in a groan, I got up and headed to it, peeking through the peephole before opening it. Thankfully, it wasn’t Lake. Don’t get me wrong, the guy was cute and he seemed really nice—I just wasn’t in the mood for nice. Not now. Not for a while. I’d been conned by a nice guy already and didn’t want to repeat it.
No, the person standing outside my door was, in fact, Crystal.
I opened the door, taking a step back to welcome her in. “Hey,” I said. “What’s up?”
Crystal walked in, leaning her backside on the small kitchen counter as she took in the smell of the pizza in the air. “You know you’re starving when a pizza in a box smells good,” she remarked, staring at the opened box beside her. She wore jeans, along with a thin tank top. Not her work outfit by any stretch. Today must be her day off.
“You could have some, if you want,” I offered. “It’ll be another ten minutes.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll let you handle that,” she spoke, grinning. She ran a hand through her blonde hair, looking a bit out of sorts. “I did want to talk to you, though.” When I said nothing, only stared at her with confusion on my face, she went on, “About what happened on your first night at the Dollhouse.”
I blinked. “Oh, Crystal, it’s fine.” I tried to wave it off, not really wanting to have this conversation, you know, ever.
“I shouldn’t have left you alone on your first night,” she said, shaking her head, not having any of it. “It’s just, my niece’s birthday is coming up, and there’s this gaming system she wants—” Trying to explain why she was so quick to go in the back with Roman and Carter, but really, she didn’t have to.
Even if money wasn’t involved, I understood. Both those men were fine as hell.
“It’s okay,” I said.
She looked at me with those blue eyes, their color a few shades darker than mine. “Good,” Crystal spoke with a smile.
I wasn’t one to kick people out of my place, but my pizza was almost done. “Is that all?”
Crystal blurted out, “He came looking for you, the next night.”
Inside my chest, my heart skipped a beat. “Who?” I shouldn’t have asked; it was obvious who she meant.
“Roman. He came to the Dollhouse looking for you, and when he found out you weren’t working, he left.” She let out a disbelieving chuckle. “He never just leaves. He always takes someone to the back—”
I honestly didn’t know what to make of that. “Why would he be looking for me?”
Crystal shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because you’re new? Maybe because he wanted to see if he could get you to go in the backroom with him and Carter? I really don’t know. I’ve never seen him so disappointed before.” She bit her bottom lip, hesitating before she admitted, “He came to me and asked me when you were working next. I hope it’s okay, but I told him.”
I couldn’t blame her for wanting to remain on Roman’s good side. Being on his bad side seemed unhealthy.
“If you’d rather I didn’t, I can always go to Autumn and get your shifts moved around a bit—”
“No,” I cut in with a shake of my head. “No, it’s fine. I’ve actually been thinking about him a lot.” Not something I should’ve admitted, because once I did, Crystal’s gaze narrowed in curiosity. That, or she was preparing herself for a fight, like she was worried I’d steal Roman and the backroom from her.
“You have?” She still sounded civil, even though she gripped the counter behind her so tightly it sounded like her fingernails were dragging on it.
I tried to play it off. “Yeah, you know, I dated someone who was supposed to be a good guy all throughout high school. Found him fucking my sister one day—it wasn’t their first time, and both my parents knew about it before I did. Maybe it’s time for a palate cleanser, you know?”
She sighed. “Damn, that sucks, chick. Just be careful where Roman is concerned. And Carter. They’re both dangerous, not guys you want to get messed up in, unless you’re willing to pay the price.”
“Aren’t you messed up in them?”
“What I do with them is business. I don’t let my heart into the equation when it comes to work. You’re still new at this, but you’ll learn to keep the two separate eventually. I just hope you don’t end up making any mistakes with them.” Crystal pushed off the counter, giving me a
sad smile as she reached for me, trailing her long nails down the side of my cheek. “This world swallows up anyone who isn’t ready for it. I’d hate to see that happen to you, Zoey.”
She said nothing else, and after she pulled away, she walked out, leaving me to my pizza, which I hurriedly had to take out—nearly burning my fingers in the process because I didn’t have anything good to pull it out with.
As I ate, my pizza haphazardly torn into pieces and piled onto a paper plate, I couldn’t help but wonder what that was about. I liked Crystal, I did, but at the end there, she seemed a little miffed that I’d admitted I’d thought about Roman.
Roman wasn’t hers, and it was obvious him and Carter had made the rounds through the Dollhouse. She had no reason to be jealous. None at all.
I wasn’t looking for commitment, for something that would last. All I wanted to do was forget what I was running from, take a blank slate to my past and let it go. Was that too much to ask?
The next time I had to walk to work, I ran into Lake in the hall. Thank goodness I had a jacket zipped up over my shirt. I still wore my pink tennis shoes; I wouldn’t give those up. However, I did take some of my money and buy some new tops.
Lake was taking his trash out, and he visibly brightened when he saw me. Today he wore a blue t-shirt coupled with faded blue jeans. The color brought out his eyes, made him look even brighter-eyed and bushier-tailed than he usually was. His blonde hair was a bit tousled, dimples on his cheeks as he grinned.
“Fancy seeing you again,” he spoke, hitting the elevator’s button before I could. This place didn’t have a trash chute; you had to take your trash down and throw it in the dumpster in the corner of the parking lot yourself.
All I did was smile at him and glance at the glass above the elevator doors to see what floor the elevator was at. It figured I’d leave my apartment the same time Lake did.
“Where are you going on this fine Tuesday night?” he asked, taking a teeny step towards me.
“Work,” I said, hoping he’d leave it at that.
“Really? Isn’t it kind of late—” He stopped when I met those baby blues and asked him my own question.
“Isn’t it late to take out your garbage?”
Lake grinned, clearly unaffected by my glaring. The man couldn’t take a hint, it seemed, because he kept inching closer to me. “I don’t like to procrastinate. I’d rather do it tonight than have it sitting and waiting for me tomorrow morning.”
The elevator doors finally opened, and I hurried inside, wishing I could close him out, stop him from getting on with me. Alas, I wasn’t so fortunate. Lake and I were the only ones on the elevator, so I’d be forced to talk to him more.
“Where do you work?” he asked, trying to pry more information out of me.
Was this what people did? Talked to each other like this? Maybe I was so out of touch with everything I couldn’t focus on the fact that he was just trying to be nice. Maybe. Or maybe Lake was only trying to get in my pants—I was wearing short shorts, after all. A bit of my butt cheeks might be hanging out.
I gave him a smile. “It’s a secret.”
Thankfully, the elevator didn’t stop at any other floors on its way down, so the doors opened moments after that. I was the first to step out, Lake right behind me, carrying his black bag of trash as he tried to catch up to me.
“Are you walking?” he asked, hurrying around me to hold open the building’s door with his back, letting me walk out first. “I could drive you—it’s probably safer than walking, I mean.” Was it just me, or were his cheeks a bit pink at the suggestion that he’d drive me?
“I’ll be fine,” I said, parting ways with him in the parking lot.
“Oh, okay. Well, have fun at work?” It sounded like a question coming from him, and even though I shouldn’t, I found myself smiling softly as I turned away.
I gave him a wave as I headed to the sidewalk near the road. That one… I needed to keep my guard up when it came to him. Just because he seemed nice did not mean he was actually nice, and you know what? I totally meant what I’d said to Crystal the other day: I needed a palate cleanser. No more douches pretending to be good guys.
I wanted a bad one. A dirty one. I wanted a man who wasn’t afraid to take what he wanted and never apologize for it.
I wanted a man like Roman.
Chapter Four – Roman
Carter and I sat at one of the tables beside the stage at the Dollhouse. We’d gotten here a bit early at my insistence, all to wait for her. Zoey Marbella. She was nineteen years old, from a well-off family a state away. Until recently, she’d been going to college, but something happened to make her run.
Oh, yes. I’d looked into her after getting her full name from Autumn. It was only a matter of time until I knew everything there was to know about her.
The music was loud, though no woman danced on the stage yet. The Dollhouse wasn’t as full as it was on weekends, but I didn’t doubt there would be more who would trickle in as the hour grew late and the moon rose higher in the night sky.
I tugged on my tie, loosening it up somewhat as my eyes landed on Carter. The man sat beside me, eyeing up the place. Though his gaze lingered on the bodies of the women working, I knew he was keeping a careful watch on everyone else. At any given time, he knew the best course of exit, who could possibly pose us the greatest threat. Always on alert, always ready, even when his cock was shoved into a mouth or a pussy.
Eventually, those green eyes of his landed on me. “What are we doing here, Roman?” he asked, his jaw hardly moving as he spoke. He ran a hand through the brown hair on top of his head, sighing out a loud breath I could hear over the music’s beat. Unlike me, he did not wear a suit; he did, however, wear all black.
A small round table sat between us, two glasses of whiskey on it. The good stuff. The shit that made you wince as you drank it.
I reached for my glass, taking a small sip, leaning back as I set the glass on my knee. “You know why.”
“The new girl—”
“Zoey,” I growled out her name, giving him a glare.
Carter’s posture straightened. He knew better than to make any comments regarding her and my thoughts about her, but since he’d known me for so long, he felt comfortable enough to say, “I just don’t get it, Roman. She’s pretty, sure, but so is everyone else here.”
“I don’t care. I need her.”
“And you’ll have her, but do we really need to stick around and wait for her?” Carter was itching to either leave or take someone in the back and have at her like the animal he was. I’d made him hold back lately, waiting for Zoey, which I believe only exacerbated the issue with him.
I frowned. “Go wait near the door. The moment she walks in, bring her to me.”
He knew better than to argue. Carter stood, brushing past my knees as he left, taking his drink with him. I sipped from the glass again, itching to see her.
Perhaps it was wrong, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about her these last few days. The hollow look in her eyes, the almost morbid curiosity when it came to what we did in that backroom. The bright hue of her hair, the tattoo lining her side… tattoos on a woman were always sexy.
There was something about her that instantly drew me in. I needed to know more about her, needed to see her again. Maybe, after watching her body give in to Carter’s, I wouldn’t be nearly as obsessed with her. It was quite possible that’s all I needed.
Still, it somehow felt different when it came to her. I could not say why.
The already dim lights near the stage dimmed even more as the music changed. A woman sauntered her way to the pole, putting on a show. She was pretty enough; a short, lean body, small but firm tits. Ruby, she called herself here.
Yet another thing that separated Zoey from everyone else. Zoey used her real name. She’d been a fool, because with that I had access to everything.
I watched Ruby on the stage because there was nothing else to watch. The way she move
d those hips, how flexible she was… she certainly could put on a show. My mind instantly replaced her body and face with Zoey’s, imagining her up there, dancing for only me.
That girl would be mine. Mark my words. I would make her mine, and she would learn to like it.
I couldn’t say how long it was until Carter returned with a stunning pink-haired beauty in tow, but it was a while. When she stood before me, giving me a glare, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I got up. Still holding onto my glass, I gestured for her and Carter to follow me into the back.
They both did, seeing as how neither of them had any other choices.
Carter must’ve grabbed her the very second she walked in, for she still wore her jacket, zipped up to her collarbone. Her gaze was a bit wilder than it had been on her first night, and my body warmed up when I pictured that expression glazed over in carnal bliss.
I gestured for Carter to wait near the door, to block her from exiting, slow to sit in the same chair I always did. Meeting her eyes, I took a slow sip of whiskey, baring my teeth at her as I swallowed it.
“I’ve missed you, Zoey,” I murmured, my voice a low rumbling in my chest. Whether or not she believed me was her prerogative, but I did. I missed her almost an unreasonable amount, something I’d never done to any of the other women here.
She was different, and she called out to me like no one else did, a primal urge to take her as mine.
Those eyes, such a clear, beautiful light blue, studied me. “I doubt that,” she spoke after a moment of silence, her arms crossed over her chest, her hip cocked with an attitude.
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“I ain’t calling you a truther,” she retorted, drawing her gaze to Carter, who seemed to be ready to either tackle her to the couch and fuck her brains out or throw her out of the room entirely.
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