“Are you going to blackmail me? I don’t know where that would get you. I don’t have any money.”
He laughed loudly at that. “You think I want your money? No, I’ve got more money than I’ll ever need. No, Taylor Dawson, I want to know what it is that makes you tick. I want to know what you thought about what you saw in here last night. Tell me, honestly. What was your reaction? You stayed in here watching for some time. What exactly was happening while you were in here? My apologies, I was busy at the time.”
I swallowed hard, realizing he was serious. I was determined not to back down from whatever bizarre challenge he was throwing my way.
“You had her tied to the chair. You were licking her and then you punished her when she called you by your first name.”
He nodded. “Ah yes. She was a bad girl, wasn’t she? Tell me, Taylor…” he leaned in closer as he spoke. “How bad are you? I think you are really bad. So bad, I think you were standing there last night watching us, getting really wet. I bet you could hardly take it. Am I right?”
I was nearly fuming. His teasing about the subject matter wasn’t making anything easier for me either. As angry and uncertain as I was about this situation, I was still rather turned on just being in his presence. That combined with the way he was talking about the events from the night before made a heady perfume.
“It’s a pretty natural reaction to seeing other people fucking. I was just talking to Celeste about it, about how I don’t understand how any of you can stand to work here day in and day out when it’s nothing but a fuck fest.”
“Why? Because you’d want to join in all the time? Me too. It’s one of the perks.”
I didn’t want to admit that he was right about the reason and I also didn’t want to get any more personal with him than things had already been. He knew too much about me. In some ways, it wasn’t much at all, but I felt like this guy had a read on me that not many people were capable of, yet here he was, digging down deep, getting the real story on me.
“What do you look for in a guy?” He asked as he looked at me from the other side of the desk. “What is it you want in a man? Tell me about some of your past partners.”
I was caught short there. And like a cat, he pounced on it. I wasn’t sure if he saw it in my eyes or if he was somehow able to sniff these things out. I didn’t think Celeste would have told him, but then again I wasn’t close to her. Maybe she scouted for these things. Virgins had to be a pretty hot commodity around here, but I doubted very seriously she would have shared that kind of information with her employer.
“You haven’t had any partners, have you?” The words were slow, like melted caramel pooling around a juicy, red apple. “Well, that’s a surprise. I am usually much better at guessing. It’s not that you look like you’ve been around the block—not that there would be anything wrong if you had, for every thing, there is a reason—but you have an air of confidence, of knowing what you want from the world. I feel like you probably just go out and grab whatever it is you want, am I right?”
I chose my words carefully. “I have found that generally, I can have whatever I want, as long as I play my cards right.”
He seemed to appreciate that answer. He smiled and nodded at me. “You’re really something, Taylor Dawson.”
I rolled my eyes and wished that I could get up and go.
Jake stood abruptly then and turned to grab a bag from the corner. “I hope you don’t mind,” he began as he unzipped the duffle bag. “I hate to be late for the gym, so I’m just going to go ahead and get ready while we finish talking.”
“I don’t think we have any more to talk about.”
He chuckled. “What did you think of her?”
“Who?”
“The girl I was with last night,” he said as he shrugged out of his jacket. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt underneath and I could see how ripped he was. It was hard to focus on his questions whenever I had to look at him.
“She was beautiful.”
He narrowed his eyes and glanced at me suspiciously. “Is that all?”
I thought back to the girl’s appearance. There wasn’t a lot that had stuck with me about her.
“She was tall.”
He nodded. “You’re not that tall. What are you? Five foot…six?”
“Yes.”
“I’m usually good at guessing. Now, as for the rest of you…I didn’t get a good look last night, but now that you’re in that dress…” he let out a whistle. “The dress looks like a 6 and I’m going to say your breasts are about 36C.”
“You’re disgusting,” I said without thinking.
He stared at me as he pulled the shirt over his head, revealing the muscles of his chest and stomach. I tried not to let it show how impressed I was with his body. But he wasn’t going to let me get off that easy. He unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and with one fluid motion, he stepped out of them.
I sucked in my breath as I saw Jake’s naked form for the first time. Cut like a Greek god, I wasn’t surprised that he looked just as good out of his jeans and blazer as he did in them. In fact, this was much, much better. Jesus Christ! The thing that was catching my eye was the tattoo—on the right side of his body, there was a dragon, snaking down the right side of his torso and down his thigh. The thing was intense. I knew the kind of time and work that went into a piece like that. This guy was cut from a different cloth entirely.
If I hadn’t already been wet from his intense teasing, I knew I would have drenched my panties from the sight of him standing before me, his glorious form revealed to me.
His muscles rippled as he squared his shoulders, visibly holding himself back from…from what? From lunging toward me and ripping off every shred of my own clothing? The thought of that was enough to make me lose my mind, but I wanted to remain composed. There was no way I was going to let this guy get the better of me, even if he had me more turned on than I had ever been in my entire life.
“Still think I’m disgusting?”
I bit down hard on my lip to keep from giving away the fiery lust that was burning inside. Fuck, I wanted Jake so bad. It was as if I could finally admit it to myself, no matter what I had been saying up to that point. I knew he would be up for it. I could see it in his eyes. And there was no way, if I offered myself up to him, that he would dare deny me that pleasure. It was clear how much he liked being in power and taking control of a situation. This left me feeling a little uneasy because I wanted to be in control. The thought of throwing him across his desk and riding his cock to a screaming orgasm almost made me convulse and fall out of the chair right there in front of him. God, what kind of kick would he get out of that—bringing me to orgasm from nothing more than the thought of having that thick, bulbous cock thrusting inside me. How out of line would it be for me to demand he take my virgin cunt right then and there?
Way out of line, I thought as I took a deep breath and flexed the muscles in my neck. I had no idea if he could tell what I was thinking. Mind reading would be a game changer in this situation. A part of me wished that he did and that he would throw all his other thoughts away and take me right there. Another part of me warred against that little devil sitting on my shoulder, fighting hard to keep from giving in too soon. Maybe it was what I wanted, but there was no way in hell that Jake Mesa was what I needed.
After what felt like an eternity, Jake finally put on his gym clothes. I stood to go and turned toward the door. He reached for me and put a gentle hand on my shoulder, something that was entirely unexpected.
“Don’t be afraid to let go, Taylor. There’s a lot out there for you.”
I pulled away and moved to open the door. Jake might think he knew something about me, but he was mistaken.
Chapter 7
I had a message from my dad that night when I got home that said not to bother coming in the next day as we had several cancellations and he was just going to be catching up on some paperwork. I thought it was a little odd, but I was grateful to have th
e morning to sleep in. The bourbon had gone to my head and after Sam had driven us home that night, I crashed in my bed, grateful for the comfort of home. Chadwick Fontaine was the last thing on my mind now, as annoying as the run in with him had been at the bar. Now I had the vision of a naked Jake Mesa in my head.
It wasn’t an altogether unpleasant sight—no one could say that. But it was something I wished I didn’t have in my head. Now it was there forever and as nice as he was to look at, I really never wanted to see him again.
Like I had suspected, the guy was cocky as all hell and thought he could get whatever he wanted. He was probably getting off saying all those things to me, trying to get me to admit that I had been turned on when I saw him with the girl in his office. Of course, I was turned on. Who wouldn’t have been when they encountered that? It was like stumbling into some really hot porn. I could tell that Jake had wished that I tried to join in, but I had a feeling that wasn’t something I would have enjoyed very much at all.
I tried to sleep that night and I was grateful for the knowledge that I wouldn’t have to get up early the next morning for work, but all that had transpired through the evening left my mind racing and I had trouble finding the sleep I so desperately desired. When it finally came to me it was fitful and full of dreams. Nothing about it was restful and I woke the next morning with a terrible headache. That was it for me, no more bourbon.
Samantha didn’t go into work until much later, so when she found me curled up on the couch in a blanket at 11:00 a.m. she looked a little concerned.
“Are you sick? Coming down with something?”
I shook my head. “Dad said he didn’t need me this morning. I had the message on my phone last night. Talk about luck. I really didn’t sleep well and I’ve got a horrible headache.”
Without being asked, Samantha made me a cup of tea and brought the steaming cup to me where I sat on the couch.
“Thank you, Sam. Sorry, I’m such a mess.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what there is to talk about.”
“Well, you weren’t very chatty on the way home last night and I heard from Celeste and some of the other bartenders that there was an incident at the bar.”
I nodded. “There was a guy—truly, the biggest douche I’ve run into in a long time—and he was hitting on me. Only he wasn’t taking no for an answer. And I mean…he was getting serious about it. Trying to take me to one of the private rooms, putting his hands on me. I had it taken care of for the most part, but Jake Mesa showed up there and took over the situation. He saw the guy out and then asked me to come back to his office for a drink.”
“Tell me you didn’t.”
“I did.” I sighed.
“And?”
“And I think everything you told me about him was right. Don’t worry, I’m not going to waste my time on him. At the very least he is not my type…at worst, well, I think we could be combustible together. And not in a good way.”
“Well,” she frowned. “I can’t say that I’m glad to hear it. I’m sorry you had a bad experience, but I am glad you saw that side of him if it will keep you away from the guy. I would just hate to see you hurt.”
“That’s not all,” I said as I blew on the tea in an attempt to cool it.
“What?”
“He knows that I was in his office. He found me on the security tapes.”
Samantha went pale. “You’ve got to be kidding me! He saw you? What did he say? Was he angry?”
“I don’t think angry is the right word for it. I think he was intrigued. I also think he’s a little on the pervy side…as if that wasn’t already established. He was asking me how it made me feel to see him. The guy was really digging for some answers about that sort of thing, but I didn’t give him much. I just wanted to get out of there, get you, and go home. I’m not sure I ever want to go back there again. I don’t want to see him. Not after last night.”
“Is that all? He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“No,” I said as I shook my head. “He did strip completely naked to change into his gym clothes in front of me, but he didn’t do anything.” I didn’t mention the look I saw in his eyes, the one that made me think Jake Mesa wanted to do something to me. Not just something—everything. And I certainly wasn’t going to mention how in that moment I wanted it—badly.
She grimaced. “That’s…intense. Maybe you should stay away for a while. I can get another ride home, it’s no big deal. You were going out of your way to pick me up anyway. Maybe if you stay away for a little while he’ll turn his interests elsewhere and forget about you. He doesn’t have any of your contact information, does he?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think I ever gave him anything. But Sam, the guy is a billionaire. He can probably track me down if he really wants to talk to me.”
She shrugged. “I suppose that’s true. But I can say one thing—they are serious about people following the rules there. He saw someone getting too close to you when you didn’t want it and he stepped in. I’m glad he was there to remove the guy from the premises. I’m not saying that anything he said or did afterward was appropriate, but I do think that in the moments before that his heart was in the right place.”
“I do think you’re right about that.”
“How’s the headache?”
I considered it. “Subsiding. I think I’ll feel well enough to head into work later this afternoon. I know my dad said I didn’t have to come in, but since he let Rodrigo go yesterday I think he might need the help. In any event, it will help me keep my mind off things.”
Sam smiled. “Do whatever you feel like. Just let me know if you need anything. And don’t worry about picking me up tonight. I’ll find another ride. There’s no need for you to see Jake Mesa ever again.”
When I pulled up to the garage it was almost five in the evening. I had no idea if my dad would still be there, but I was surprised to see two black Cadillacs parked outside the place. They didn’t look like they needed any work and the fact that they were matching seemed odd to me. Instead of entering from the front of the garage as I normally would have, I went around the back, planning to head up to dad’s apartment first to see if he was there.
I heard the shouting as soon as I stepped inside the garage. It made me pause and all of my senses were alerted. I knew better than to rush into whatever kind of situation it was. If the place was being robbed there was no need for me to get in the way of a bullet. I pulled out my cell and readied it to call 911 if I needed to. In hindsight, I wished I had dialed the number right then.
I caught little pieces of broken speech. Things like “Listen up old man” and “we mean business this time.”
Dad. My dad was in there. Startled, I bumped into a stack of tires and sent them crashing across the garage. The sound was so loud that it startled the men in the office and they came running out. Six of them fled the garage, hopped into the cars I had seen parked out front, and left quickly. Happy that they had been startled enough to leave, but still scared for my dad, I went running to the office.
I didn’t see him at first, then I realized he was there on the floor of his office, curled into a ball behind his desk.
“Dad!” I yelled. “What happened? Is everything okay? Do I need to call the police? Did those guys rob you?”
I knew I was asking too many questions and that he was in no state to answer. My chief concern was making sure he wasn’t terribly injured. Upon initial examination, it all appeared to be minor. They hadn’t kicked him or done anything that could have caused internal bleeding. I helped him into his chair and pulled one up beside him.
“Dad, do I need to call the police?”
He shook his head. “Please, don’t call the police. We can’t have them getting involved. It’ll just get messier. It can’t get any messier than it already is.”
“It’s looking pretty messy right now. What did they want?”
I could t
ell then there was something he wasn’t saying to me, something he had been holding back for a while. Suddenly his strange behavior around the book keeping was starting to make sense.
“Come on, Dad. You can tell me.”
He shook his head. “I am so ashamed, Tay.”
“Just tell me. Then we can fix it together.”
“I’m afraid it may be too late for that. I fell behind on some mortgage payments and I was trying to find some way to fix it. One of the guys I play cards with told me about some fellas he puts in sports bets with. I didn’t know who they were. Didn’t know the kind of power they have. I made some bad bets, got behind with them. Now I owe them more than I can ever come up with. I thought letting Rodrigo go would be enough to spot some of the money, but it isn’t nearly there. They were here today to remind me that they are coming to collect. The beat down was because of missed payments.”
“Fuck!” I shot. My dad hated it when I swore, but he didn’t seem to notice at that moment.
“We can’t mess with them, Tay. I am so sorry. We’re going to lose the garage over this. They’re going to take it because there is no way I’m going to be able to come up with the money I owe them. It’s too much. It was too much, to begin with when I was behind on payments and it’s far too much now. There’s no way I’d ever be able to put it all together. They’re serious business, Tay. They mean it. Next time they are coming for me and you can’t be here when they do.”
“Dad, that’s a shakedown. They can’t just come in here and take over the garage. It’s mine too. We’re a family and we’re going to take care of it together.”
“It’s more than that though,” he said with a sigh that made me think he had lost all hope.
“What? What is it?”
“They’re going to do more than take the garage. If I can’t come up with the money, they’re going to kill me. They’ll bury me, Tay. I want you to stay far away from here. If they know you’re connected they might hurt you too.” He pulled me close into a hug. “I can’t lose you. I can’t let them hurt you. They’ll do anything to get to me and the moment they know you exist, you’re in danger. Please, whatever you do just stay far away from this. I can’t have you getting involved.”
Undone (Club V Book 2) Page 6
