“I think it turned out quite lovely. It’s very fitting with the engagement party coming up. The way that you have your hand stretched out with you and your friend admiring the ring, it’s perfect for the upcoming event.”
“Speaking of that, it will be you dealing with these party planners, right?”
Gretchen turned and eyed me, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. Her hand reached out to cover mine as sincerity radiated through her eyes. “Yes dear, you have nothing to worry about. I know how to handle the people that Anthony deals with and I will always protect you.”
“I’m not weak Gretchen, it’s just that it’s very hard for me to hide the disgust that I have towards people who have a less than admirable agenda. It’s like they are always digging for some kind of dirt and there are things that even you don’t know about me.”
I could feel a surge of guilt as I wondered if she would hate me if she found out that I had been a prostitute when Anthony met me.
“Dear, I probably know more than you think that I do and there is nothing that anyone could tell me that would change my thoughts or opinions of you. Anthony loves you and that is enough for me. He has very little in his life that is real and you fit the bill of being real. Life is messy at best and we have all done things that we wished that we hadn’t. That is why the press digs so hard for dirt, they know that if they keep digging they will eventually find something.”
Even though she was trying to make me feel better it wasn’t working, but I loved her for trying. I grabbed my coffee and the paper and kissed her cheek.
“I’m staying home today and I am going to spend the time here transferring phone and computer info for the new ones that Anthony got me. I need to write in my journal too. Just yell for me if you need anything.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Julia
“Mother, how could he? She is right there on the front page of the social section flashing an engagement ring. I hate her! He put me off every time I asked about ring shopping, but he wasted no time with her.” Julia lifted her tear-stained face from the kitchen counter with a look of horror and stated, “Do you think he loves her?”
“Love is a relevant term, dear. Men like the Governor don’t love anyone but themselves. Did you talk to a P.I.?”
“No one will take the job. Everyone acts like they are scared of him. I never saw anything in him that led me to believe that he was dangerous.”
“Men of power are always dangerous. You just haven’t asked the right people. If pushed I’m certain that the Governor could be quite dangerous. Maybe you need to ask someone who is of a shall we say... someone more of a less than savory reputation.”
“I don’t know people like that. Are you talking about some street person?” Julia spit the term out, as if it were a foul taste in her mouth.
“Yes dear, I am. Let me make some phone calls. I know just the man who would be perfect for this job.”
Julia’s mother sat down and eyed her with a solemn look. “Once this is done, it can’t be undone. You are going to have to do much more than ruin this girl’s reputation. Whatever kind of hold that she has on him can only be broken if she is completely out of the picture.”
“Are you talking about killing her, Mother?”
“I’m talking about doing whatever it takes to get rid of the competition.”
Governor Anthony Johnson
“Have you done what I asked you to do concerning our little problem?”
Carl chuckled, “I have to give it to the girl she is a consistent trouble maker.”
Carl looked up to view his boss and there was anything but a look of amusement on his face. He set his phone that he had been toying with down and gave the Governor his full attention.
“Anyone with a reputable image has been taken care of. But what concerns me is if she going to begin looking for someone less reputable? It’s evident that this girl is not the kind to just give up. Sooner or later, she is going to hit the streets looking for a thug to do her dirty work. If she does that, someone could be seriously hurt or even-”
“Don’t even say it!”
“Get Miller on this case today, tell him to drop anything else that he is working on. Money is not an issue.”
“Calling Miller in is extreme, Sir.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Carl couldn’t help but notice the look on his boss’s face. The last time that he had seen that look, someone had gotten killed. Yes, this girl must be different than the others. It was then and there that Carl realized that his boss’s obsession went much deeper than a mere year long contract.
The Governor had every intention of marrying this girl to keep her from getting away. Carl would do everything in his power to be certain that the Governor got everything he wanted, because in Carl’s world—when the Governor was happy—everyone was happy.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Julia
Julia could feel her heart racing as she pulled up in front of the housing project. She began to second guess her decision to not let her mother come along. Suddenly the thought she was only a phone call away wasn’t as reassuring as it had been when she had used the excuse as a way to go alone.
Her cream colored SUV stuck out like a sore thumb, as did her apparel of pure innocence, which was nothing but a façade anyway. Julia was probably craftier than the questionable character she would be dealing with momentarily.
She felt a wave of relief go through her when she viewed a man coming out of the door of the address she had been given. She waited until he got right to the door before she unlocked it and was shocked when he spoke¸ “Move over I’m driving.”
“I can’t let you drive.”
“Then I can’t do your bidding to get rid of your competition, little Ms. Priss!”
Julia reluctantly exited the car and got in on the passenger side. She watched as Roderick got in on the driver’s side and she couldn’t help but feel like she had embarked on a journey in which there would be no turning back. She had reached the point of no return.
She looked over at the young man seated beside her and studied his profile. His face was set like he was on a mission and his lips almost had a snarl in appearance. He was tall and thin but yet he seemed to be of a solid build. His long dark brown hair fell down to the middle of his back and he hadn’t bothered to pull it back, so it hung down over the black leather jacket that he wore. A small gold hoop was in one of his earlobes and his face was clean shaven. He had chocolate brown eyes and Julia knew that he had a blunt demeanor.
“Get your purse out and give me some money.”
“Excuse me, are you trying to rob me?”
“If you consider you buying me lunch robbing you, then yeah, I’m trying to rob you.”
He pulled into a fast food drive thru and began placing an order. “What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
“She’ll take a coffee with cream and sugar and I’ll take a double cheeseburger, fries, and a root-beer.”
Julia reluctantly handed him some money and watched with interest as the cashier ogled Roderick. It was easy to see how his bad-boy image could lure a woman in. That and the fact that the man was very easy on the eyes did not go unnoticed by Julia, or the cashier.
Roderick pulled out and began making his way towards the industrial side of town.
“Get that burger out and un-wrap it and put a straw in my cup.”
“I don’t eat in here and you’re awful bossy.”
“Well, I do eat in here and since I’m the one making the rules, I can be as bossy as I want to.”
Roderick
Roderick licked his lips as he eyed the socialite seated beside him. His mind began to wander and thoughts of spreading her open then tasting her while she was tied up made his cock jump.
“Why do they call you Rod?” Julia asked in an accusing tone.
“Because I’ve got a cock that is ten inches long and as hard as metal in the right circums
tances. I’m beginning to think that you might be the right circumstance, little red riding hood.”
He chuckled as Julia straightened her cotton dress and turned as red as a beet before she looked away from him. “Eat some of those fries, you look like you could use some food.”
“Excuse me?” Julia screeched. “You are rude.”
“Lady, I don’t give a fuck about that high and mighty act you’ve got going on. If you gave me half a chance, I would have your little prissy ass pinned down and crying out my name in a matter of minutes. You may fool everybody else, but there is a dirty little slut buried deep down inside of you. I would love nothing more than to be the man who brought her out to play.”
Roderick knew that behind her white cotton dress with yellow daffodils and a cardigan, Julia was just as tainted as he was. She had just learned to hide it for social reasons and he didn’t give a shit about hiding it for anyone.
He pulled up to a warehouse and exited, pocketing Julia’s keys.
“I don’t like this. Where are we?”
“We are where I do my best work convincing people.”
“Convincing people of what?”
“Convincing people to do whatever the fuck that I want them to do. Welcome to my humble abode, sit,” Roderick commanded her, pointing to a fold out chair in the middle of the empty warehouse.
Roderick leaned back against a pole and eyed Julia. “Now tell me what you need little red riding hood and then I’ll tell you if the big bad wolf can help you.”
Julia smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her dress and spoke. “Well, I was engaged to the Governor and he has been led astray by some hussy. I want her dealt with so I can have him back.”
Roderick ran his tongue over his teeth and replied, “Maybe he just doesn’t want you anymore.”
“Excuse me?”
“Is that what you say anytime that you’re offended?” Roderick raised his hand to his mouth in a melodramatic gesture mocking her and screeched in a high pitched voice, “Excuse me?”
“I did not come here to be humiliated by the likes of you.”
“By the likes of me? Lady you don’t even fucking know me and you already think that you’re better than me? You’re the one that is willing to kill someone for a man who doesn’t even want you.”
“I’ve seen enough,” Julia hissed rising from the chair.
Roderick leapt to the front of her chair stopping her and placed his palms on the sides of it pinning her in.
He glared, saying nothing for a moment before he spoke.
He let his hand slip between her legs and settle on the top of her thigh.
“You’re not going force yourself on me are you?”
His gaze pierced into her clutching her thigh in his grip. “No, but from the looks of it you wish I would.”
His fingers lightly trailed their way up to the wet spot that had formed between her thighs. He slipped her frilly little panties to the side as he spoke. “Ten grand lady, half now, and half when the job gets done.”
Julia squirmed, but made no attempt to fight off the welcome intrusion. He thrust a finger into her opening as he began to threaten her. “I know where you live. Hell I might climb into your window and fuck you some night. If you ever tell anyone about me, you won’t live long enough to regret it.”
Roderick slipped his finger that was now coated with her juices into his mouth. “Mmm, I’m looking forward to the day that I can taste this right from the source. I’m going to make you taste it too.”
He reached into his wallet that was secured on a chain to his hip and handed her a card after he had written something on the back. “Now you be a good little girl and deposit half of the money in this account and call me when you’re ready to get fucked by a real man. Get out of here Julia!”
“What about you?”
“I’m a ghost. You never know when I might appear or disappear, now get out of here.” Roderick cocked his head to the side and grinned through perfectly straight white teeth before tossing her car keys to her. “Unless you’ve got something else in mind.”
Julia just about tripped over her feet trying to get out the door. She took one last look at the warehouse opening as she left.
Roderick already knew that it wouldn’t be the Governor that she would be thinking about when her fingers found their way into her folds later this evening—it would be him—the big bad wolf.
Governor Anthony Johnson
I stood around the corner listening to her conversation with her best friend on speakerphone.
“I’m in the paper and it is a great pic of us, Talia!”
“Well just remember Kat that the press is a double edge sword and it cuts both coming and going. Don’t ever let them back you into a corner and get any info about me. It worries me that I could be the cause of potential problems for Anthony’s career. At times I think about leaving without him knowing, just to protect him.”
“I think that you underestimate the Governor’s power to watch over and protect what’s his.”
“You sound like him now.”
“Great minds think alike.”
I made my presence known and came around the corner. I reached down taking her face in my hand and tilting it up towards me. She looked so vulnerable looking up at me that I wanted to open her up, scoop her out, and then refill her with me.
“I need to go, Kat. Love ya.”
“You too, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Take your clothes off.” I watched her hands tremble as she pulled her t-shirt and bra off before she pushed her jeans and underwear down. “Bend your knees and spread your legs. Now dip that finger into your wet little pussy for me. Give me a show, dove. I came home to watch you touch yourself. That’s it, wet your thumb and flick it over your nipple. Don’t you dare take your fucking eyes off of me!”
I pulled my cock from my tailored trousers and never took my eyes off of her. I pumped slowly watching as her mouth fell open and she looked at me like I held all the answers to every question she would ever have. She looked so anguished. I placed a finger in her mouth and she groaned sucking on it and watched me as I slathered her moisture over her pert little nipple.
“I want to see you come, show me.”
Her body bent like a tight little bow. “I’ll punish you if you take your eyes off of me.” My threat pushed her right over the edge, just the way I knew it would.
She scrambled to her knees gobbling at my cock before I could stop her. By the time that she wrapped those sensual lips around its thick bulb and I looked down to see that wine colored lipstick of hers running up and down my cock, I didn’t want to stop her.
“Don’t you dare take your eyes off of me,” I groaned as she looked up at me through thick dark eyelashes. Her hands gently massaged my sac as she flicked her tongue from side to side. My thrusts became more urgent and I began to hit the back of her throat. My legs felt like they would buckle beneath me as she took everything I had to give. This girl was getting deeper and deeper into every part of me, I couldn’t get enough of her.
I waited until I had gathered my wits after my release before I spoke, “Throw some clothes on and freshen up, we’re going shopping.”
“I don’t want-”
I cut my eyes at her and she stopped talking. It didn’t matter what she wanted. I wanted to be with her when she picked out a gown for our engagement party. I wanted her to look a certain way and I needed to be there with her to make sure I got what I wanted.
“Hurry up, we have an appointment.”
She padded off towards the bathroom with no more arguments.
I would finish a couple of calls that I needed to make while I waited. I had one thing in the forefront of my mind and that was making Talia mine in every way possible and that included her having my surname.
Talia
I watched as the shop owner turn the sign over and locked the door. I wondered if she hadn’t made a special trip into the boutique to wait on the Governor first
hand.
She wasted no time getting me undressed and taking my measurements. When we finished she took me back out to Anthony and began showing us swatches of material and immediately he picked out a satin cream colored material that had sporadic sprays of silver glitter going through it. The glitter was so light and minimal that the light had to hit it just so for it to show up.
The design for the gown was very simple with its thin spaghetti straps and low, but not too low neckline. It was the epitome of innocence and sexy woven together in perfect harmony. I knew that was why he had chosen it. His voice cut through my thoughts.
“You’ll need to put a rush on this, I want my future bride to be the most beautiful woman there.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem Governor, she is lovely.”
“Yes, she is, isn’t she?”
Accessories were purchased, right down to the lingerie I would wear with the gown. When Anthony was finally satisfied with things we made our way back out to the car.
I eyed him as he started the car and spoke, “Most men can’t be forced to shop and I can’t keep you out of the stores when it comes to me.”
“I’m not most men.”
“You most definitely are not,” I agreed.
The look that he turned and gave me sent chills up and down my spine.
“You would do well to always remember that.”
“So intense,” I mumbled.
“You have no idea.”
Even though I kept telling myself I had no intentions of marrying this guy, I had the gut feeling that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I waited until we reached the house before bringing the topic up. I would wish I would have waited longer than that.
“Anthony, I just don’t think that this is going to look good, having some big blow-out engagement party when we are not getting married.”
I immediately began to back up as he stalked in my direction. The snarl on his upper lip clearly let me know that he wasn’t pleased.
The Governor Page 9
