“On the contrary, there most certainly is something between us, bella, and I can’t wait to explore it—preferably while you’re naked, and I’m pounding my cock into that sweet pussy of yours. But I’m a patient man. I’ll wait.”
My breath catches in my throat, preventing me from responding, before he walks away. Arousal like I’ve never experienced before floods through my body, drenching my panties and scaring the hell out of me.
Men cause nothing but pain. Men cause nothing but pain. Men cause nothing but pain.
Taking several breaths, I attempt to get my body under control. Once I feel more collected, I stomp out from behind the bar and over to the table Gabriel and Aldo have taken over. I can see surprise flash across both men’s faces the second I stop in front of them.
Bending at the waist, I place both palms on the table and lean into Gabriel. “Stay the hell away from me,” I demand. “You aren’t welcome in this pub or anywhere near me from here on out. Just stay out of my life!”
With that, I turn like the hounds of hell are on my heels, and I do what I always seem to do when it comes to Gabriel. I run.
***
“You stupid cunt! Where is she?”
“I-I don’t know. S-she must have snuck out.”
I awoke to the sound of someone pounding on the door just a few minutes ago. When I heard the loud voices, I knew who it was.
I can’t do this. Not now. Not tonight.
I squeeze my eyes tighter and shove myself even farther into the crawl space in the back of my closet. I’ve never hidden from them before, but I still haven’t healed from the last visit. If I let them near me this time, I’m certain they will kill me. I send up a silent prayer, thanking God that my mother hasn’t discovered this crawl space.
“I don’t know where she is,” my mother pleads, “but you don’t need her. I can do anything she can. Just let me—”
“Get your fucking junkie hands off me, bitch!”
The cruelty in his voice causes a gasp to escape my lips. I cover my mouth with both hands and try to breathe as quietly as possible. Judging by the sounds of their voices, I’m pretty sure they’re still in the kitchen.
“No one wants your skinny cracked-out ass. You’re all used up.”
“Please, Victor, I just need one hit. I’ll do whatever you want. Come on, baby, you know I can make you feel good.”
The desperation in her voice makes me gag. I am so disgusted by her that I feel physically sick.
“Sucks for you, huh? You know the deal, you stupid cunt. You want a hit, then we get that fine-ass daughter of yours. No daughter, no coke.”
“Victor—”
“Sorry, babe. You know the rules.”
I listen closely at the sound of the front door opening and a car starting up before pulling out of the driveway.
“Marlena!” my mother screams as she rips the house apart looking for me. “MARLENA!”
Curling into a tight ball, I lie down and try to find a comfortable position. Eventually, sleep finally takes me, allowing a temporary escape from the hell that is my life.
***
Two weeks.
Two weeks since I told Gabriel to stay out of my life.
Two weeks of avoiding him at every turn because it’s becoming quite clear that the man can’t listen for shit.
Two weeks, and I’m still having an internal battle between wanting him and fearing his power over me. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t even know the guy.
So then, why do I feel this way about him?
“You’ve got to stop avoiding him,” Carmen says from behind the punching bag she’s currently holding in place for me. “The dude’s obviously not going away. What’s one date gonna hurt?”
“More than you can imagine, Carmen.” I wipe the sweat from my brow and then let loose a series of punches and kicks, releasing all my pent-up frustration—sexual and otherwise—that I’ve been dealing with for the past two weeks.
“Christ,” Carmen mumbles, losing her balance before righting herself and holding back on to the bag. “Chill the fuck out, Chuck Liddell.”
I drop my hands to my waist and suck in huge lungfuls of air. “Damn it, Carmen. For all we know, this dude could be some sort of stalker serial killer or something.”
All of the sudden, Carmen’s face morphs into an expression of guilt.
“Jesus, Car. What did you do?”
“I’ll tell you, but maybe step away from the punching bag first.”
I narrow my eyes and take a threatening step in her direction.
“Okay! All right! Just calm down. I might have…Googled him. Just a little.”
I open my mouth to argue, but I immediately decide against it. My curiosity outweighs my need to ream Carmen for invading Gabriel’s privacy. “What did you find out?”
She shoots me a self-satisfied grin, knowing she’s piqued my curiosity. “Well, there wasn’t a lot of stuff out there about his personal life, but what I did find out leads me to believe you don’t need to be worried about him being some sort of psycho rapist.” She pauses, knowing that dragging this conversation out is going to drive me crazy.
“And?”
“And…turns out the guy is totally loaded—as in, owns half, if not more, of fucking Chicago!”
What? Based on his attire alone, I knew that Gabriel had money, but I certainly never expected it to be on this kind of scale.
Seeing my expression, Carmen continues, “Yeah, apparently, Gabriel is the Bertozzi in Bertozzi Enterprises. His company is responsible for all those high-rise condos going up all over downtown. And as if that isn’t enough, the man owns most of the hottest nightclubs in the city! I bet he wipes his ass with hundred dollar bills. Dude’s a millionaire playboy with a capital M. And the best part? He. Wants. You! Gah! I’d totally hate you if I didn’t already love your lucky ass so much.”
My head is spinning. This information doesn’t change how I feel about Gabriel despite how hard I’ve tried to turn that off or how he affects me. Money means nothing to me. But now, I know for certain that when he said he always gets what he wants, he wasn’t exaggerating.
“How do you consider me lucky? You just said yourself, the man’s a playboy. He’s probably got a string of women lined up around the block. He’ll use them and then set them out like trash as soon as he gets what he wants. You think I want to be just another notch in his bedpost?”
Carmen walks up to me and places her hands on my shoulders. “I’m not telling you to fall in love with the guy and start picking out china patterns, babe. I’m just saying that this is the perfect opportunity for you to actually live a little. You need to get laid, Marley.”
She’s on a roll, so she misses how my body tightens and my spine stiffens at her words. Memories from my past try pushing their way to the front of my mind, but I fight to keep them at bay.
“Take a man like Gabriel for what he’s worth. Ride him like a fucking cowgirl and be done with it.” Her once smug grin fades away, replaced with something more serious. “Besides, I see the way you look at him when you don’t think anyone’s watching. There’s a fire in your eyes that I’ve never seen in all the time that I’ve know you. If he can make you light up like that, he can’t be that bad…right?”
I give my head a little shake. “I’m not so sure about that, Car.”
“Just think about what I said, okay? You’re amazing, honey. You deserve something good even if it’s just for a little while.” She removes her hands from my shoulders and places them on her waist. “All right, now that we’ve gotten all the serious shit out of the way, I say we go out tonight. I’m in the mood to dance.”
When Carmen says she’s in the mood to dance, that typically means she’s in the mood for debauchery and copious amounts of booze.
“No, Carmen. No, no, no, no. You know I don’t like partying.”
She hooks her arm across my shoulders and starts pulling me toward the locker room. “Too bad, Marley. You need to get your a
ss out of that apartment and out of your head even if it’s just for one night. Don’t worry. I’ll stick to your ass like glue the whole time. Hell, I’ll even force Matty and Caleb to tag along for reinforcement. It’ll be unforgettable. You’ll see.”
I have no doubt about that, just not for the same reasons that Carmen was thinking.
***
“Damn, woman, you look good enough to eat!” Caleb calls out over the music as Carmen and I join him and Matt at the bar.
Carmen talked me into wearing a deep blue mini dress. The top is loose and flowing and hangs off of one shoulder, but the skirt part hugs my body like a second skin, accentuating every one of my curves before stopping mid-thigh. She lent me a pair of tan closed-toe, platform heels that add an additional five inches to my five-foot-four frame. Looking in the mirror before leaving my apartment, I couldn’t deny that I actually look amazing in this dress, but now that we’ve made it to the club and men are openly appreciating my attire, I’m starting to get really uncomfortable. I’ve made it a rule to never draw attention to myself. I can feel my chest begin to tighten, and it’s becoming increasingly hard to breathe.
“Calm down, baby doll,” Matt rasps in my ear, pulling my back to his front and wrapping me in the protective cocoon of his arms. “You’re safe here, Marley. The three of us won’t let anything happen to you.”
I absolutely love him in this moment. His comfort causes my anxiety to lessen and release the hold it has on my heart.
“That’s right,” Caleb chimes in. “We’ve got you. If you want to shake that sexy ass on the dance floor, at least one of us will be with you at all times. No one’s getting past us.” Clearly, Matt has the best boyfriend in the world. “Now, ladies, what’s your poison?”
Carmen orders a shot of tequila, and the guys each get a beer, but I stick with water. I don’t drink—ever. I refuse to do anything that can impair my judgment. I’ve made it a rule to stay conscious of my surroundings at all times.
Sipping my drink, I turn and scan the crowded room before me. The bar is located along the back wall, raised three steps above the rest of the club. The lights are dim, and dark cherry wood is everywhere—from the tabletops to the bar to the pillars that separate the different sections of the club. Drapes in rich burgundy and soft ivory enclose the different VIP sections on the second level, making it so the outside patrons can’t see anything that’s going on. Everything about this club screams opulence.
I notice a huge man in a head-to-toe black suit off to my left. He’s standing in front of a door that reads Members Only as if he’s guarding it or something.
I turn back to Carmen and lean close enough for her to hear me. “How did you hear about this place?” I yell over the loud music and deep bass vibrating through my feet and all the way up into my chest.
“A friend from the catering company told me about it!” she yells back before pointing over at the man keeping watch in front of the Members Only door. “Apparently, there’s some super secret part of the club back there that’s totally exclusive. She said it’s the hardest place to get into in all of Chicago.” She pulls back and gives me a little wink. “And that’s just where we’re headed.”
Everything in my body tells me this is a bad idea—a horrible idea. I can feel it deep in my bones. “Carmen, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Besides, if it’s so exclusive, there’s no way for us to get in.” I wave my hand back at the man in black. “How are you planning to get past the gatekeeper anyway? By tazing him?”
An evil grin spreads across her face. “I have the password.”
My head begins shaking back and forth the minute hers starts to nod up and down. “No way, Car. Uh-uh.”
“Oh, yes. This is happening.” She turns to Matt and Caleb, pulling them close to whisper in their ears.
I can’t make out what she’s saying, but she’s pointing back at the secret door, and the guys nod their heads before tipping their chins over to the dance floor.
Seconds later, Carmen is back in front of me. “They’re going to stay out here while we check it out.”
“Maybe we should follow their lead and stay out here, too, Car. We aren’t members. This isn’t smart.”
She rolls her eyes dramatically and grabs my arm. “You only live once, Marley. Lighten the hell up. It’s not like we’re going to get arrested or anything. I have the password. We’ll just go in, take a look around, and head back out here. What’s the worst that can happen?
Famous last words, I think as she drags me toward that ominous door.
“Password?” the man at the door asks, giving us an indifferent look as we step in front of him.
“Indulgence,” Carmen replies.
And just like that, the Johnny Cash wannabe opens the door and waves us in.
Maybe Carmen was right after all.
If that’s all it takes to get in, maybe it isn’t that huge of a secret.
“Enjoy your evening, ladies.”
We make our way down a dark hall, the only light coming from dim wall sconces hanging every few feet. The sounds from the club outside disappeared the second the door closed behind us. The Top 40 music that was playing outside has been replaced by something much darker and more sinister. Whatever the melody is, it’s haunting as it pumps its way through the sound system. The feel of this place is so much different than the room we just came from. It’s hard to explain. It almost feels as if we’ve stepped into a totally different world.
“What the hell is this place?” Carmen whispers as we round the corner into what could only be described as a great room.
I hear her sharp inhalation, and as soon as my eyes adjust, I realize we’ve just stepped foot into a world where we most definitely don’t belong.
“FUCK!” Grabbing the first thing I can get my hands on from my desk, I pick it up and hurl it against the wall of my office in the back of Indulge.
Two weeks.
Two fucking weeks, and the woman won’t say a goddamn word to me. She won’t even look me in the fucking eye! And it’s driving me crazy. Every day I can’t touch her is like the ultimate test in willpower. I’m starting to question my own sanity. I can’t, for the life of me, understand what it is about her that has me following her around like a goddamn pussy or why I want her so badly. All I know is that I can’t take it any longer. I should just forget about her and move on. But there’s something in my gut telling me that owning that woman’s body, taking her to bed and acting out all the things my imagination has conjured up these last couple of weeks, would be so worth the hell I’ve been putting myself through.
Regardless of all that¸ this isn’t me. I don’t sit around pining after some woman who doesn’t want me.
Fuck that.
Just as I reach for another defenseless office item to take my frustrations out on, there’s a soft knock at the door.
Fucking finally. This is exactly what I need to get my head straight. “Come in,” I call out, knowing just who’s on the other side of the door.
“You wanted to see me?” she asks.
I let my eyes scan over her body, starting with those patent leather fuck-me heels and going up her toned long legs. I take in her barely-there dress and her fucking perfect tits. My hands clench in anticipation from just thinking about how good they’ll feel as I hold on to them while I pound into her from behind. I continue moving up, stopping at her full red lips, and I feel a sinister smile spread across my own. She’s just what I need. I’m in the mood for hard and dirty tonight, and no one does that better than this bitch right in front of me.
“Yeah, Tatiana,” I reply, walking around the desk and taking a seat on the edge. “Get in here, and shut the door.”
I can see the pupils of her bright blue eyes dilating from here. She knows what I’m about to do to her, and she can’t fucking wait. I bet as soon as I slip my hand up that short-ass skirt, she’ll be soaked.
“What can I do for you, sir?” she asks, walking forward until she’s standin
g directly in front of me.
“You can start with getting on your knees and sucking my cock.”
I watch as her chest starts to rise and fall faster, and that pink tongue darts out to lick her lips. She drops to her knees and goes for the button of my slacks, trying to get at my cock like a fat chick going after the last piece of cake. In seconds, she’s released me from my pants, and she begins pumping her fist up and down. Her red lips part slightly as she leans in and licks the head like it’s a goddamn lollipop. I try to watch the erotic scene as it takes place, but when I look down into those blue eyes, all I can think about is how wrong they look staring up at me. They’re supposed to be green.
Squeezing my eyes shut tight, I throw my head back and try to get lost in the sensation of what Tatiana is doing to me. I’ve got a fine-ass woman on her knees, eager to do whatever I ask, and all I can think about is Marley. Son of a bitch!
Grabbing hold of her dark hair, I yank her down on my cock as far as she can go. That’s just one of the many great things about Tatiana. Bitch has no gag reflex. “Swallow it,” I grunt as I begin to fuck her face even harder, desperate for the release I’ve been craving for weeks.
But it’s not working.
Sliding my hands under Tatiana’s arms, I quickly lift her from her knees and spin her around until her tits are smashed against the top of my desk. I reach down and slide her dress over her ass, revealing the tiniest G-string I’ve ever seen. It’s a waste of material if you ask me—especially after I slide my fingers into the sides and rip the damn thing clean off.
She lets out a low moan and begins to writhe on my desk. Reaching into my back pocket, I remove my wallet and the condom I keep in there. I quickly open it and slide it down my hard cock.
“You ready for me?” I twist strands of her black hair around my fist and give it a harsh pull, causing her to whimper with pleasure.
“I’m always ready for you, baby. I’m so fucking wet.”
She starts to turn her head to look at me over her shoulder, but I tighten my grip on her hair to keep her head in place.
“Don’t fucking move,” I growl out. “And no talking.” This is the main reason I called on Tatiana tonight. Fucking her from behind, I can look down at that black hair and those luscious curves, and I can imagine I’m burying myself balls deep into the woman I really want beneath me.
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