by Marie Kelly
“Give me another chance Mia” he had groaned softly against her ear, his words suddenly snapping her out of the trance she was in, as she had pushed him away from her, her eyes flashing with the confusion and desire she felt. Suddenly caught off balance Drake had let her go, his eyes mirroring the desire his body clearly showed, as she had found herself free and with a small whimper she had quickly moved from the room seeing how he had continued to watch her, until the door had closed behind her.
Drake had let out a small breath of air, his hand thumping the wall in frustration as he had watched her leave, his fingers running through his hair as he had fought to bring his breathing back under control, before he had stood deep in thought his hands thrust deeply into his pockets. Her kiss had been dynamite, and as she had exploded beneath him he had been stunned by his own reaction and need to have so much more, angrily he had hissed at himself.
“Way to go Drake”
From a small room, Jake Black had watched and listened to the exchanges between the two on the television which picked up the signal from the small camera in the room. He had smiled seeing the obvious desire for her the tall man held and in his devious mind a plan had begun to form. Finally he had found a weakness in Drake Tent and he was going to use it to get what he wanted.
As Drake left the room Jake Black had sidled up to him.
“Was everything to your satisfaction” he was asked by the shorter man, who he had taken an instant dislike to
“Everything was fine Mr Black” he had responded, not wanting to add more as he had made to move past him. However, the man had continued to move in front of him causing Drake to pull up, frowning angrily at the other man
“Good. I wondered if you would be interested in coming to my house this week-end for a small party I’m throwing” he had said, his eyes watching the man before him
As Drake had made to shake his head he had added
“It’s just a small affair, myself a few people in the hotel and entertainment business and some of the girls…including Mia” he added his smile making his meaning very clear
“It will be her first time at my house; I like to reward the girls for their efforts.. show them a good time” he whined.
Drake Trent was very clear about what was being offered, a loud voice at the back of his head warning him about getting too close to Jake Black, while not liking the thought of any woman being offered to him like some kind of speciality dish, particularly when that woman was Mia, but somehow, the thought of her ending up with somebody else filling him with an uneasiness which he was not able to fully understand. After the kiss they had just shared, he was determined that no other man would be enjoying Mia that week-end and with a smile which did not reach his eyes he had accepted the offer from the man before him.
“I like to bring my technician with me though” Drake had added, seeing the look of confusion on the other mans face
“Last year somebody tried to bug my room” he said his face sombre “So I like to take precautions”
Jake Black had looked at him with a hurt expression
“surely you don’t think I would….” He began before Drake had cut over him
“Of course not…but you would be amazed how often other guests or employees like to take advantage” he said with a small smile
“I really must insist….or..”
Jake Black had smiled back
“Whatever makes you comfortable Mr Trent” he had said watching as the other man had nodded, before taking down the details and leaving.
With a curse, he had stood thinking. Damn the man, it was almost as though he had read his mind. This would take some more thought, but Jake Black was not somebody who gave up easily, and having him there to start with was a beginning, and Jake had known that he would figure out something, some way to get something on the tall arrogant man who made him feel so inferior, hating men like Drake Trent he had savoured the knowledge that soon he would be singing a very different tune.
In the changing room all alone, Mia had paced up and down, her hands wringing at her side. What the hell had just happened in there she kept asking herself wildly as she had remembered the feel of his hands on her and the possession of his mouth on hers. As a shiver had moved through her she had groaned at the way she wanted more, chastising herself. Hearing the sound of footsteps coming towards her, she had sat down quickly lifting a brush to look busy.
“Mia… you were great” Jake Black had enthused, “wonderful…and to show you how much I appreciate your help, I want to invite you to a party at my place this week-end”
“A party” she asked with suspicion, “What kind of party”
He had smiled at her “I invite friends over once a year to stay for the whole week-end, they bring their wives or significant others…do you have a boyfriend you want to bring” he had asked warily
Mia had shaken her head, comforted by the thought that it was to be a couple event
“Not to worry, it should be a good week-end, good clean fun, a car will pick you up tomorrow at 9 in the morning, OK,” he said as she had nodded her head before handing her a list of clothes to bring.
“Thanks again Mia” he said as he turned to leave, a large smile on his face
Mia’s heart had jumped. She was being invited to his house with no strings attached. It all seemed too good to be true, and suddenly she hadn’t minded doing the lap dance for Drake Trent. Finally she would be able to search his house for the letter. With a wide smile on her face she had made her way home to tell her sister the good news, carefully leaving out the incident with Drake, not fully understanding why.
That night Sarah and Mia had looked over the list. On it she required to bring 3 cocktail dresses, which Sarah had managed to find from the outfits she had worn at the many social functions she had been expected to attend with Adam. Mia had tried on the dresses, choosing 3 which seemed to fit her best. While she and Sarah were the same height, Mia was more curvatious than her sister, and the dresses had fitted neatly at the chest, causing her to look even more stunning as she wore them
Sarah had whistled
“Wow, Mia, wish I had looked like that in those outfits” she had said with a note of envy as her sister had giggled
“God compared to what I normally wear at the club, these are positively granyish”
They had also laid out bikinis and clothes for the day time enjoying the act of packing as they laughed excitedly. When she had finished packing she had gone to bed to rise early the next day to wait for the car.
As it had arrived, the driver knocking on her door, Sarah had hugged Mia
“Now remember Mia, don’t take any chances, and if things get bad then get the hell out of there.. Adam and I will find a way” she said with concern in her eyes. Mia had given her a warm smile
“Don’t worry, I’d be out of there so quick you wouldn’t see me for dust” she had said before leaving the flat and entering the car.
Chapter Five
The journey had taken nearly two hours, and with concern Mia had had no idea where they where. She had expected them to be going to his town house, but was surprised to find herself stepping out into the manicured lawns of a grand mansion deep in the countryside. With a small grimace she wondered which of his blackmail victims had paid for this place seeing the large gardens enclosed within a large wall which kept prying eyes from seeing what was going on within the grounds. Not that there were many prying eyes she realised, as the house was so isolated, feeling the prickles of wariness on the back of her lovely neck.
As she moved forward Jake had rushed towards her with a woman she didn’t know
“Mia, like you to meet Mary” he had said pulling the young nervous woman forward. Mary was about the same age as she was with lovely red hair which fell around her supple body. Dressed in a skimpy bikini, Mary had looked scared to be there leaning close to Jake as he had talked.
“Your bags will be taken up to your room. Why not grab a bikini and join everybo
dy” he had said before grabbing Mary from the rear and moving away towards the large swimming pool already full of men and women.
Mia had looked uneasily at the pool side. With a frown she had seen how the six men and six women were loudly flirting with each other around the large pool with waiters moving around liberally dispensing drink to everybody. Mia doubted if many of the women were wives as she had recognised some of the faces from the club, the faces of those girls closest to Jake, who were attentively talking to a variety of middle aged men, who were already reaching for many of the girls, their hands over familiar for her liking. Mia had felt her stomach knot as she realised that she had been duped, and with a determined lift of her chin, had moved into the house with the intent to stay away from the pool and the many wandering hands for as long as she could, until she had had the chance to search the house and get out of there.
As she had moved inside, Mia started to search the ground floor while the house was relatively quiet. She had to find where his study was, deciding that it was the most likely place for the letter to be hidden. As she had moved into a grand living area she had gasped to see Drake Trent, standing playing pool.
Hearing her, he had turned around, his face taking in the look of shock on hers, while his body had reacted to the sight of her
“What are you doing here” she had asked with a look of horror on her face
He had smiled softly at her
“I was invited for a relaxing week-end by your boss” he had said evenly, watching her face as she had looked so confused at his presence there.
Mia had moved further into the room, to look out of the window to see if everybody was still occupied her eyes scanning the pool area to make sure that Jake and his two security boys, Jim and Allan were still busy.
“So you do work for Jake” she asked her tone contemptuous not seeing how his eyebrows had arched in surprise
“Hardly” he had answered “Do I look like I work for him” he had said a note of disdain in his voice
Mia had shrugged not looking at him “You’re here aren’t you” she said
“No, Mia I don’t work for Jake Black” he had said with a hard note to his voice which she had been surprised to hear as she continued to look out of the window so that he wouldn’t see the myriad of emotions which where rushing through her at his presence
“So why are you here then” she asked, feeling her whole body pulsing at his presence
“Your boss wants something from me…so he thought he would try to butter me up”
Mia had quickly looked over at him taking in his casual attire, the jeans which moulded perfectly to his slim hips and the tea-shirt which accentuated the long lean lines of his back and contoured body. Dropping her eyes at the sudden sensations which ran through her she had turned back to resume her search.
“So how did he get you here” she had muttered angrily still looking through the throng of bodies at the pool
“He dangled something in front of me that he knew I wanted” came back the reply
With a small laugh she had asked “Oh yeah, what was that” her eyes finally resting on Jake
There was a small silence before he had said so softly “You”
Mia had spun around her eyes full of shocked
“Me” she gasped before her whole body had become rigid with anger
“I don’t think so” she bit out “I am not some little love toy for him to pass around to his friends” she had said those wonderful eyes sparkling with rage
“So I am very sorry Mr Trent, but he has got you here under false pretences, I am not about to fall into bed with you so that Jake can butter you up”
Drake Trent had smiled, while inside he had felt as light as a feather. The thought that she had been prepared to sleep with him by command had not sat well with him, and the fact that she had so obviously been tricked had brought a sense of relief to him. The Mia he knew, no matter how fleetingly, would never have allowed herself to be used like that, but he had been confused by her agreement to dance for him at the club, as he had been sure she would have told him to go to hell.
She had started to move forward
“I am not staying here one more damn minute” she said as she made to move past him, suddenly feeling the need to put as much distance between them as possible
Drake had grabbed her by the shoulders stopping her in mid stride
“Wait, just wait one minute” he said softly
Looking at his hands on her shoulders she had once more felt the strange sensations travelling through her body, biting her lip as she had looked at him her eyes like pieces of flint
“Take your hands off me” she said in a low dangerous tone
“Ok, Mia, but will you hear me out” he asked looking down on her “I promise that I am not about to leap on you and molest you”
Mia had stood still her eyes still watching him warily as he dropped his hands from her
“Yesterday at the club he invited me to this week-end, telling me that you would be here to entertain the guests” he said with an unpleasant twist of his lip. “I couldn’t believe that you would go along willingly with that.. so I came along to make sure that nothing bad happened to you” he said “I only came because I was worried about you”
Mia had looked at him in disbelief
“Why didn’t you just phone me to tell me what he had planned” she asked coldly, “you had my number”
He had looked down at her with a sombre look on his face
“Would you have answered …or even believed me” he asked quietly
Mia had frowned, knowing that she would not have answered.
“Why did you come here” he asked her gently “surely you must have guessed what he had planned”
Frowning, she had lifted her hand to push the hair away from her eyes as she had suddenly looked so bleak
“I had my reasons” she said softly “But I really thought it was an up front party… not..not some kind of gang bang”
As he watched she had looked so tired and deflated as she had sat down on the leather couch. Looking at her he had thought how defeated she looked, and he felt a pang of compassion towards the beautiful woman before him
She had gently said “I needed to be here, but now…” she had bit her lip feeling as the tears had started to rise at the realisation that she would not be able to search the house, realising that of all the places she had seen this was the most likely place for him to have hidden the letter. She had frowned as he had moved over to sit beside her
“There is one way that you could make it through this week-end unmolested” he had said seriously as Mia had looked at him in surprise
“How”
He had smiled grimly “pretend to be with me” he said, adding as the cold look had once again returned to her eyes
“I promise that I will not take advantage of the situation… I would much rather pursue our relationship in a more private and intimate setting… not under the watchful eye of Jake Black” he had said his dark eyes very serious
She had looked at him, her eyes uncertain
“We don’t have a relationship” she had replied, her mouth breaking into a gently smile as he had added
“Yet…, but Mia I would like to try to have one…..starting as friends” he had quickly added, before looking at her sombrely
“I don’t think that he is going to just let you walk out of here Mia, and I’m not sure how you will be able to call for a taxi, this place seems to be in a damn mobile black spot. By being my date, he will leave you alone….and more importantly so will everybody else… and despite what you might think I can control myself”
Looking over she could see only a truthful honesty in his face, which she had smiled gently at
“Thank you Drake”
Hearing her say those words and speaking his name so gently caused something deep within him to flip flop as he had once more stood and turned back to his game, the need to look away so she did not see
the look of want in his face strong
“Want to play” he asked finally smiling over at her, seeing as she had sat so still on the couch, the many emotions all crossing her lovely face, before she had seemed to make up her mind and looked back at him.
“I didn’t fancy hanging around the pool myself” he had added glancing out of the window at the party taking place by the poolside.
Mia had smiled standing up
“Me neither” she agreed, before moving over to where he stood and with a laugh admitting that she had never played before
Drake had given her the pool queue offering to show her as they leant over the table, his arms around her, as he had shown her how to hold the queue. Mia had laughed at how badly she was doing, while very aware of his body against hers as warm tremors passed through her.
