I took a deep breath and broke my father’s embrace. I didn’t know who these thugs were, but they were messing with the wrong person now. They weren’t going to come in here and hurt my dad, threaten his life, then take over our business in one fell swoop.
“How much money is it that you owe them?”
“One hundred grand.”
I exhaled sharply. “Okay, that is a lot, but we can figure something out. Maybe work out some kind of payment with them.”
My dad grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Tay, it’s past that now. It’s one hundred grand in two weeks, or it’s all over.”
After making sure that my dad was okay in body, if not in spirit, I left him tucked into bed in the apartment and made sure that everything was dead bolted behind me. He was right, we couldn’t call the cops if we didn’t want him in deeper for something involving the mob or whatever these guys were involved in.
I was reeling and unsure of what to do, but I hopped in my car and got on the road. I thought of my mother, who died giving birth to me. I had never known her, but I wondered in this moment what she would have wanted me to do to help my dad. Maybe she would have told me to let him take care of it. What kind of fucked up decision was it to get into that kind of deal with people who were very likely criminals? Maybe he didn’t know that at the start, but it was generally a good guess that in our part of the country any kind of high stakes sports betting went back to a certain group with a terrible reputation. He had made his bed, he could lie in it.
But this was my dad. I couldn’t let this happen to him. He had worked hard on the garage, building it up from nothing. It was his second child! It was all that he had to give to me. I didn’t really care if I inherited it, even though I would have liked to. I would do anything to make sure he was okay. It was one thing to threaten our business, but it was another to threaten my dad’s life and think they were going to get away with it.
I sped to Club V. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was going there, other than to tell Samantha what had happened. She was my closest friend and confidant, and while I hated to bring this drama into her workplace, I needed her. I needed her support, composure, and common sense. She would have some idea of what to do, or she could pat my back and convince me that everything would be okay. If it came down to it, I would go to the police. If that was what it took to make sure my dad wasn’t harmed, I would do it. There was no way of being certain that he wouldn’t go to jail or that we wouldn’t lose the garage, but I could be sure that he wouldn’t be killed by these men.
I raced into the back entrance of the bar but slowed my pace as I approached the bar itself. I had texted Samantha to tell her I was coming and she was waiting there. She motioned for me to sit by her.
“I’ve got some time. It’s a slow evening and they don’t really need me at the moment. What’s going on?”
I spilled it all out from beginning to end. Samantha was as shocked as I thought she would be, but she tried to play it cool so that I wouldn’t lose it anymore than I already had. Celeste was eyeing us from the other end of the bar but giving me some privacy with my best friend.
“Okay, let’s think about this. What are your options here?”
I shrugged, completely baffled as to what I could do to fix this situation.
“Well, you could call the police, which doesn’t appear to be the thing you want to do, so we’ll move that down the list. I don’t think you can get rid of these guys on your own. I guess the only natural solution to the problem is to come up with the money.”
I looked at her with exasperated, red-rimmed eyes. “That is one hundred thousand dollars in two weeks. Where on earth am I supposed to come up with that kind of money in such a short period of time?
I didn’t know how long he had been standing there. I had never felt him arrive, but clearly, he had been there long enough to pick up on the most vital details of the conversation.
“Taylor,” Jake Mesa said my name softly from just behind where we were sitting at the bar.
I turned to face him, surprised to see him standing there. He wasn’t the last person I wanted to see—no, the thugs who had beaten up my father had taken that coveted spot on my most hated list, but I wasn’t that excited to see him there either.
“What?” I asked abruptly.
“I think I may be able to help you.”
Chapter 8
I took a seat across from Jake’s desk, the same place I had been the night before. That was three nights in a row now and I wasn’t looking forward to whatever conversation we were going to have here tonight.
“Can I offer you a drink?”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” I had no desire to repeat the previous night’s bourbon escapade. “I’d rather keep a clear head until I find out exactly what it is you’ve brought me here to talk about. Why do you think you can help me?”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. To tell you the truth, I didn’t expect to see you here again after last night. I was pleasantly surprised to walk out onto the main floor this evening and find you there. Now, I heard what you were saying to your friend, but why don’t you spell it out for me.”
I sighed. “I work for my father in his garage. I’m a mechanic.” I thought I saw his jaw tighten at that, but I kept talking. “Today when I showed up at the garage I found my dad there. He had been beaten up by some thugs who took off when I arrived. Dad had gotten behind on his mortgage payments and was trying to make it up somehow and he got into some shady betting. These guys were coming back to collect on what he owes them or whoever they work for. I guess technically they weren’t coming to collect today. It was just a warning that in two weeks he owes them.”
“And how much did you say it was?”
“One hundred thousand.”
Jake wrote something down on a notepad and studied it. It looked like he was doing some math before he closed the small notepad and stuck it in the inner pocket of his blazer.
“Okay, I think we can work something out.”
“What do you mean? I am not coming to work for you here. Celeste already talked to me about it and it just isn’t for me, especially not after the thing last night with that guy. I can take care of my own shit and look after myself, but there is no need to put myself in the line of fire where I could run into a guy like that.”
Jake shook his head. “Nope, I don’t want you to come to work here. And for what it’s worth, I completely agree. Not that I don’t value the people who work here and respect them, but I don’t think this is the line of work for you. You’re special, Taylor. Do you believe that?”
I looked at him warily. “I don’t know what you are getting at. Please get to the point or let me go. I’ve got to go figure some things out and if you aren’t really going to help me—which I doubt, to begin with—then I need to be out there figuring out something to do.”
He nodded. “You’re a business woman. I can appreciate that. You want to have the deal out on the table, so let’s put it out there.” He pulled out a checkbook from his desk drawer. “I’m prepared to write you a check for the amount you need. No questions asked. You’ve told me enough and I believe you. I don’t think you’d be here in the state that you’re in if this wasn’t true.”
For the first time that evening it dawned on me what I was wearing. I looked down at my clothes. I had shown up at the club dressed for work in my grease-stained jeans and an old shirt. It fit me well, and for being dressed like a mechanic I guess I looked pretty good, but still—I was at Club V in my work clothes.
“What’s the catch?” I knew better than to think the guy was just handing out money because he cared.
“It’s not a catch. It’s a deal. I want to make a deal with you, Taylor. I’m offering you one hundred thousand dollars in exchange for you.”
“Me?” I asked, touching my hand to my chest. “What could you…”
Then I realized what he meant. He wanted me. He wanted to have me. While a few days ago that sounded appealing wh
en I stood in this office and saw him pleasuring the other girl, now it seemed a little less so.
“Before you turn me down, hear me out. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me around here. I’m sure there are rumors swirling around about what I like, but I promise you that it’s not much different from any other guy you’d run into on the street.”
“I’m not running into many guys on the street.”
He grinned. “That’s why you’re so valuable. I don’t get to be with virgins very often. I can’t say they’re my favorite, but I do enjoy them from time to time. And you look like you would be quite a bit of fun. Please understand—I want you for more than your body though. You’ve got a mind that intrigues me. I want to get in there, I want to know you. But I want you to give yourself to me freely. This isn’t some kind of slavery thing you’re going to sell yourself into. I want you to decide that you want this. I’ll make it very clear in the documents that you’ll sign. You are going to know exactly what you are signing up for ahead of time. Do this and you will save your father’s life as well as his business, and you’ll insure your future.”
My thoughts were flying all around me and I tried to pull them all back in, capture them and contain them in the birdcage of my mind, but it was all too much to deal with.
“You’re talking about prostitution.”
He shook his head. “I am not. I am talking about an exchange of gifts between two people. I am gifting you with this money. You are gifting me with your presence in my home for two months.”
“Two months? You have got to be joking. I don’t want to spend two minutes with you, let alone two months.” It was a lie and I knew it the moment the words left my mouth. He knew it too, but he kept himself in check. How could he know the effect he had on me? Was he just so used to women being a certain way around him?
“I’m not joking. I really think you’ll be quite pleased with things in the end—no, I can guarantee that. That’s one of my major goals over the next two months, that you will know pleasure like you’ve never experienced before. There’s just one condition with it.”
“What is that?
Jakes' face was serious. “You must submit to me completely. Anything I ask of you, you will do. Everything will be agreed to beforehand, so nothing will be a surprise. But I mean in the moment, when you are commanded to do something, you must do it. I want to teach you to be a true submissive—to know what it is to give yourself over to someone else completely. To let someone else be in charge for once.”
It was strange, the feeling growing inside me. I felt both anger and arousal, disgust and intrigue. But strangely, most of all what I felt when I looked at Jake Mesa was…trust. Whatever he might have been, he was not a liar. I could see the truth in his eyes and I knew then that I could trust him. It was almost appalling, to think of handing myself over to another person to be used for their pleasure. And for two months? I didn’t know how I would survive it. He would not hurt me though. He would command me and care for me; he would take me over and over again until I didn’t know where I was anymore. All of that I could see there in his eyes and before I could change my mind, I asked him where I needed to sign.
Jake Mesa gathered the necessary cash and had it delivered to my father. I told him not to ask any questions, that I knew someone who could pull some strings, and that I was going to need the next two months off of work. My dad, the man who trusted me more than anyone in the world, nodded his head and let me go. With the cash delivered and the gambling debt paid off, he was in the clear for now. I knew we were still going to have to deal with the mortgage, but at least we were out of that mess. Now I just had to keep up my end of the bargain.
I told Samantha what was happening on the condition that she swore not to tell anyone else. She was scared for me, based on what she had heard about Jake, but I tried to reassure her.
“It’s not that I think he loves me or anything like that. I’m not delusional, but I do honestly think that it’s about showing someone how enjoyable the submissive life can be. I know it’s not for me, but it’s only for two months. I can handle anything for two months, right?”
Samantha shrugged and helped me pack. Jake had given me a list of things to bring but said not to worry about too much, that almost everything I needed would be there in his townhouse when I arrived.
“Just remember. I am only a phone call away. If anything gets weird I want you to call me.”
I nodded, trying to assuage her fears. “As long as you don’t tell my dad where I am. He’s not asking questions, I think out of fear of who might have given me money. He probably thinks I’m working with the mob now.”
Samantha laughed uneasily at this and finished helping me pack. A little while later the car arrived and I said goodbye to her as the driver whisked me away to Jake’s neighborhood.
The townhouse was on a treelined street, the kind of New York street you often saw in movies. It was picturesque, the kind of street you could raise a family on if you had tons of money. And Jake did, that much I knew. Outside of that though, I didn’t know much about the guy.
I was surprised to see him answering the door and ushering me into the house. It shocked me and set me on edge. For some reason, I had expected staff or at least that I wouldn’t be seeing him until he got off work later that day.
“I was due a vacation,” he said as if reading my mind. He closed the door behind me and I noticed how dim the room was. The blinds were drawn, but I could see that this first floor area had a very dark colorway.
I looked at him, dressed much like he had been the times I had seen him at the club, only without a jacket this time. He was wearing jeans that hugged his perfect ass and a tight white t-shirt. He looked like the kind of guy I wished I had dated in high school.
“First things first,” he said. “You’re going to have to lose your clothes.”
I looked at him, mouth agape; then remembered all that I had agreed to when I signed the legal documents. I began stripping and watched him watching me, my eyes never leaving his. As I peeled off the layers of clothing, revealing more and more of myself to him, I watched his jaw tighten. The guy wanted me right then. Of course, he did, I was a 19 year old virgin stripping to nothing in his living room. When at last I had removed my panties and stood completely naked, he smiled and nodded.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, looking me in the eyes when he did so. I had no doubt that he meant it and it made me feel funny to hear the words coming from his mouth. For the first time, I noticed that mouth. Lips full, but often pressed together tightly in thought. Here I stood naked in front of this man and he had never kissed me before. I got a little nervous wondering when that might happen and checked my emotions—why was I feeling giddy about this guy?
He moved in closer, close enough that he could touch me, but he didn’t do that. I could feel his breath on my cheek and how the proximity made my body rise to his, wanting so badly to be touched and taken. I could feel my nipples harden and poke out toward him. He noticed it too as I heard him breath in suddenly.
“I will tell you this every day,” he said softly against my ear, still not touching me. “I want you to know how lovely you are. You are extraordinarily gorgeous, Taylor, and for the next two months you are mine.”
The blindfold came first. He tied the silk around my head and the world went black.
“This is the first step. Your senses are going to be deprived. For a day or maybe two. It depends on your behavior. You will rely on me for everything, but touch will be very limited early on.”
Next, after taking me to the bathroom and letting me relieve myself, he led me to the bed where he tied me to the four posts.
“I want you to be comfortable because you will be here for a while,” he had said before he left me there. I kept waiting for him to come back and I wasn’t sure how much time passed before he finally did. When he returned it was with food that he hand fed me. At first, I found it odd, but strangely exciting. In some ways, I was j
ust glad to have him there in the room with me so that I wasn’t alone. I was naked and prone, completely exposed to him, but with the blindfold on I had no idea how he was reacting to me. Maybe not at all. This was a very new experience for me, but for Jake, it might have been something that he did often. We weren’t talking about it. I was silent other than to answer whatever questions he asked me.
“Who do you submit to, Taylor?”
“You.”
“And who am I?”
“Jake?”
“That’s fine for now. We may work on something else later.” I thought I detected the hint of a smile in his voice.
He got out a feather or something that felt like one and traced it up from my feet to my thighs, from my fingertips to my shoulders. He made circles around my breasts with the soft implement but avoided my nipples entirely. He brushed as far down as my pubic bone, but no further.
I was wet. I could feel it growing even damper between my legs and the cool air brushing against my wetness gave me a chill and I shuddered.
“I know what you want,” Jake said. “But it will have to wait.”
Blindfold still on, sometime later he took me to the bathroom again. Then he drew a bath and touching only my hand, he helped me into the water.
“I’ll be here to watch you bathe,” he said as he handed me soap and a sponge. “Do not even think about touching yourself. You will wash and that is all you will do.”
I did as I was told and when I was done he helped me out and allowed me to dry myself, before leading me back to the bed. Putting me back in my restraints, this time he took a seat beside the bed and began speaking to me in a low, husky tone.
“How much longer do you think you’ll be a virgin, Taylor?”
Undone (Club V Book 2) Page 7
