by Penelope Sky
“I guess I don’t see the girls as people,” he said with a shrug. “Just asses and tits.”
I’d never been a gentleman or the type of man to defend a woman, but his attitude rubbed me the wrong way. I might not go out of my way to protect a woman, but I’d certainly never considered raping or hurting one. Only a true psychopath thought that way. “Well, the girls here are a different story. Step out of line again, and I’ll have to remove you. Just gamble, make some money, and go home. It’s not that hard.”
“Or lose some money,” he said with a laugh. “That’s how you make your cash, right?”
“I gamble as well.”
“What’s your game?” He kept turning his head, like a bird that couldn’t sit still.
“Poker.”
He nodded slowly. “I’ll have to play you sometime. Wipe you out.”
“I’m up for the challenge. Assuming you’re still a member in the next week.”
He grinned a little too hard. “Alright, boss. I’ll be on my best behavior. I guess I’ll have to get my urges out elsewhere.”
I didn’t agree with his statement since it felt morally wrong to encourage a man to harass women like that. It made me sick to my stomach, not that I should care what he did or who he did it to. “Strike one, Butcher. There better not be a strike two.”
My men secured a perimeter with a three-mile radius, and I walked past the windows of the flower shop before I stepped inside. It’d been a few days since I’d spoken to Carmen. I’d been busy with work—and with The Butcher.
Carmen must have been in the back room because no one was in the store. I admired the arrangements she had on display and looked at the pictures she had on the wall. There was a calendar next to the register, and feminine handwriting was scribbled everywhere, dates she had to remember for specific events.
I was in jeans and a gray hoodie, dressed casually on this cold winter day. It was overcast because of the thick clouds, and it looked like it might rain. Tomorrow was Saturday, and I hoped I’d be spending the weekend in between Carmen’s legs.
She emerged from the back room, wearing skintight dark jeans, brown boots, and a dark blue sweater that fit the beautiful curves of her body. Her hair was in loose curls as it trailed past her tits to her stomach. She had exceptionally long hair, perfect for fisting when we were in bed together. She looked up to address me, clearly in a good mood because she was doing what she loved for a living. But when she realized it was me, all that happiness instantly vanished from her face.
“You don’t look happy to see me.” I stood at the counter and stared her down, a smile on my lips but not in my voice. When she left my penthouse the other day, she kissed me hard on the mouth and reluctantly left my shirt behind. Now she acted like I’d just ruined her day.
“I just…” She glanced out the window, as if she were afraid someone would see her. “Griffin and Vanessa drop by pretty often, and so does my father. The last thing I want is for any of them to see you.”
“Ouch,” I said sarcastically.
“Maybe we’re sleeping together monogamously and we have some sort of relationship, but my feelings about the situation haven’t changed. My father would lose his mind if he ever found out about this. He would tell my uncle, and it would turn into another world war. Trust me on this, I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes. And Griffin…he’d probably be even worse. So you need to stop dropping by like this.”
“You’re mine, and I can do whatever I want.” I gripped the edge of the counter as I stared her down. I wasn’t the kind of man that lived a lie. I was exactly who I wanted to be, and if someone didn’t like it, that was their problem.
Her eyes flashed with hostility. “My family means everything to me. They’re the single most important thing in my life, and I would rather die than ever hurt them. So if you really want me, you have to accept those terms. You will always be a dirty secret and nothing more. If you can’t accept that, then get the hell out of my shop and don’t show your face again.” Like a fire that started from a single twig, she came to life instantly.
Her fearlessness never failed to surprise me, and I found myself so hard in my jeans I might break through the zipper. Other men dispersed when I walked into a room, intuitively feared me and dropped their gazes out of dread of my hostility, but this woman had no problem telling me off.
She wasn’t afraid of me at all, at least not when it came to her family.
Fucking hot.
She kept looking at me with that same rage, like she was prepared to fight me if necessary.
That would be even hotter.
“Just a dirty secret, huh?” I asked. “That sounds pretty hot.”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she reached her hand under the counter to do something discreetly. She did a good job of hiding it from me, but nothing could escape my notice.
“I can do that. But don’t expect to be my dirty secret.” I intended to wear her on my arm, to show the world she was mine—and mine alone.
The phone at the counter started to ring, so she walked away to answer it. “Hello, Carmen’s Flowers. How may I help you?” Her back was turned to me as she grabbed the pad and pen to take the order.
I moved behind the counter to see what she’d been hiding.
A gun.
I picked it up and checked the magazine—it was fully loaded.
And the safety was off.
I put it back where it belonged, but I couldn’t wipe the smirk off my face. This woman was prepared to shoot me if she had to, to put a bullet right in my chest if I crossed the line. She knew I was lethal and took that seriously, arming herself because that was the only defense she had.
Now I wanted her even more.
I returned to the other side of the counter and pretended I hadn’t discovered the gun.
She finished the call and came back to me. “I have a lot of orders this week. A few funerals.”
“That’s too bad.”
“I guess the flu is hitting people pretty hard.” She tore off the piece of paper and put it in a pile along with her other orders. She stood right in front of the gun, strategically placing herself in case she needed it.
I’d never wanted a woman more. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, finding her courage the sexiest thing in the world. She was willing to do anything to keep her family safe, even go head-to-head with me. She would have to put at least three bullets in me to slow me down because the first two just wouldn’t be enough.
She kept her eyes on me, studying me the way I studied her. “Look…I know that came off rude. When Vanessa brought Griffin around, my family refused to accept him. It was a really difficult year, and her parents went through a lot. I understand why she did it because he was the man she loved and wanted to marry. But I’m not gonna put my family through that. My parents don’t have to love the guy I want to be with, but they at least have to accept him. If they knew about us…” She rolled her eyes. “My family wouldn’t stop until you disappeared. They’re very protective of me.”
I couldn’t blame them, not when she was such a bombshell. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, independent, smart, and sexy. She was every guy’s fantasy—but only my reality. I couldn’t blame her father and her uncle for having high standards for the man she chose. I might be rich and successful, but I had more flaws than positive qualities. Not to mention, I was fucking dangerous.
“So don’t show up in my shop or at my apartment. You have my phone number—use it.”
While I appreciated the calm way she spoke to me, I respected the gun under her counter a lot more. I liked the way she got big and loud when it came to her family. I’d always been the same way about my brother, willing to do anything for him at any time. He was all I had left now, the only person who would always have my back—no matter what. “I’m going to give you some advice.”
“Advice?” she asked, surprised by the change in subject.
“Always stand up for what you believe
in and never back down—not even to me.” I nodded downward, indicating the gun she had stashed away. “Never settle for less than what you deserve. The more respect you earn, the more power you earn—and the safer you’ll be.”
I texted her when I got into the car. I’m coming over. I’d been waiting around for her to finish her day at work and head back to her apartment. The second she walked through the door, as my men informed me, I told her what I wanted.
I just walked in the door.
Yes. I know.
I didn’t get a response, which told me she was pissed by that answer. I’ll be there in ten minutes.
I was escorted to her apartment, and I walked up the stairs until I reached her door. Like last time, I snapped through her locks and invited myself inside. “Beautiful, I’m here.” I locked the door behind me.
She came down the hallway, in the same outfit she’d been wearing earlier. “Knock.”
I raked my eyes over her body as she came close to me, treasuring the sight of her beautiful curves and even more beautiful face.
“You can’t just—”
I didn’t hear the rest of the sentence because I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her, squeezing her hard against me in the entryway.
Her anger died in her throat, and she kissed me back, forgetting the reason she was pissed in the first place. Her arms locked around my neck, and she kissed me like she’d missed me all day, despite the cold way she spoke to me.
I backed her up against the wall and dug my hand into her curls, loving the way they felt in my fist when I held on to her. I hooked her leg over my hip and breathed into her mouth, feeling her tits through her bra right against my chest. Just because she told me not to come into her shop didn’t mean I wouldn’t keep an eye on her and make sure no one bothered her. When I told her being with me was the safest place she would ever be, I meant it.
I would protect her—even if I weren’t there.
When I pulled away, all the anger she had was gone. She looked at me with the same expression she wore in bed, like I was the one thing that mattered. It was the only time she was soft toward me, when our naked bodies were combined together and our mouths dragged across each other’s skin.
The rest of the time, she hated me.
Hated everything I stood for.
I rubbed my nose against hers. “I missed you.”
She gave me a light kiss on the corner of my mouth. “I missed you too.” Maybe she only meant it in that moment, or maybe she didn’t mean it at all, just wanted to repeat the words back to me because of the heat between us.
It didn’t matter to me. I just enjoyed listening to her beautiful voice. I lifted her against my chest and carried her to the couch in the living room. I sat back and held her with me, remembering the time we’d fucked in that very spot. Now I just wanted to look at her, wanted to feel this beautiful woman in my arms. “How about I make dinner tonight?”
“You’re going to cook for me again?” she asked, cocking her head slightly.
“Yes.” My hands rested at her hips, the sexy curve in her perfect body.
“And what are you going to cook?” she asked, her hands rubbing against my chest.
“Whatever you want.”
“Hot sex and a home-cooked meal? I’m one lucky lady.”
“No.” I brought her left hand to my lips and kissed it, keeping my eyes on her. “I’m the lucky one.”
Her eyes softened slightly, but she quickly forced the look away, like she was embarrassed for feeling anything in the first place. She had a good poker face, but the longer we spent together, the harder it was to keep it up. The armor she wore was slowly coming undone, and she began to drop her guard, allowing herself to want me. She was still scared of me, sensed the danger in my rough exterior, but she was starting to disregard it. “What have you been doing for the last few days?”
“Checking up on me, huh?” I asked, wondering if she’d thought about me during our two days of silence. So far, I was always the one to contact her. She’d never called me or texted me. She was too proud to do it. But that would change soon enough.
“Just curious.”
“I worked at the casino. Gambled a bit.”
“Win or lose?”
“I lost a hundred thousand.”
She cringed.
“But then won two million.”
“Oh, wow…that is a nice casino.”
I shrugged. “I’m just a damn good poker player.”
“Yeah?” she asked, sitting on my hard-on like it was the perfect seat for her.
“You should watch me play sometime.”
“I’ve played poker a few times.”
“Yeah?” The idea of her gambling turned me on. Watching her sit at a table with powerful men and hold her own was sexy as hell. I hooked up with all kinds of women, none of them fitting into a specific category. But my obsession with Carmen told me I found her characteristics particularly attractive, the way she held herself with so much confidence. To my surprise, a strong woman was my weakness. She ran her own business, lived alone, and she didn’t cower in the face of a more powerful enemy.
“With Vanessa and our fathers. We just play for fun, but it’s a good time.”
“Do you clean them out?”
“Oh, always,” she said with a laugh. “But they probably let us win.”
I’d probably do the same. “Come to the casino with me tomorrow night. You can sit on my arm and watch me play.”
All of her playfulness evaporated into thin air. “That’s not a good idea.”
“And why not?”
“This is just a fling—no public appearances.” Regardless of how she melted for me when we were in bed together, she held on to her beliefs. She was determined to keep this relationship as secretive as possible.
“That’s a shame.” I pulled her slightly toward me, making her move up my length. “I wanted to show you off. Have you wear a beautiful dress with a slit up to here.” My hand moved to the top of her thigh, where the skin would be exposed in the fabulous dress.
“I can wear that dress behind closed doors. Then you can take it off me.” She held my gaze with a hint of fearlessness, her confidence so unbelievably sexy.
“That’s not a terrible compromise.” I lifted her sweater until her cleavage was exposed in the bra. I kissed the soft flesh of her beautiful tits, smelling her perfume and tasting her delectable goodness.
She released a sigh at my touch. “You love my rack, don’t you?”
“Nicest tits I’ve ever seen.” I cherished the voluptuous curves of her breasts, loving how soft they were against my tongue. “And I’ve seen a lot of tits.” I saw them every day at the casino as the women danced in their cages all around the floor. They had nothing on this woman right here.
I gently moved her off me then walked to the front door. Just as I got there, there was an audible knock. I opened it, took the bag of groceries one of my men had picked up, and then shut the door again.
Carmen appeared behind me, her shirt pulled down and her tits hidden. “How did you know they were there?”
I set the bag on the counter and pulled everything out. “I just know these things. So, are you hungry?”
She stood beside me and watched me take out the chicken and vegetables, along with a bag of cauliflower rice. “I’m always hungry.”
“Really? Because I rarely see you eat.”
“Because you make me nervous,” she blurted, being honest as always.
I hid the smile that wanted to creep into my mouth, enjoying the fact that I made her tiptoe around me. “Then don’t be nervous.”
“That’s a little difficult when you subtly threaten me all the time.”
I folded the bag then turned to her, my veins flooding with testosterone and desire. “Obey me, and you have nothing to worry about.”
Her eyes flashed with their usual look of rage. “We both know I’m not good at obeying.”
I was hypnotized by her bea
uty, by those intelligent eyes and sassy persona. She was nothing like the other women I brought home. She had a brain, an attitude, and a fearlessness that made her borderline insane. Every time she defied me, I wanted her more. Every time she stood up to me, I respected her. Every move she made only made my obsession grow, made me hold on to her tighter with no intention of letting her go. “I’m aware.”
I turned away and got to work on dinner, letting my subtle aggression fill the air between us. This woman was unconquerable, a woman who wouldn’t submit to a man unless he’d earned it. I was up to the challenge. In fact, I was drawn to it. Her constant rejection only made me want her more. There was never a woman I couldn’t have—until now. With someone else, they’d be whispering I love you in bed by now. But this woman was too smart for that.
She spotted the other small bag I’d left on the ground in the entryway. “What about this?”
“Leave it.” I pulled out all my tools and put the pans on the stove. “I’ll show that to you later.”
It was one of the rare times she listened to me. She left the bag there and then came to my side. “Can I help?”
“Yes.” I pulled her in front of me and gripped her waist with my hands. “Start cutting.” My mouth found her neck, and I kissed her as she grabbed the large knife sitting on the cutting board.
She held the handle and turned her head a little, allowing more kisses down her neck. “You trust me with this knife?” She sliced the stalk of asparagus and breathed quietly as she felt me kiss her everywhere.
My fingers moved under her sweater, and I felt the soft skin of her body, touching her piercing before I moved farther up her ribs. “Beautiful, if you stabbed me, I would only want you more. So, go ahead.”
9
Carmen
Bosco wasn’t the right man for me. Territorial, aggressive, and threatening, he was the kind of man that could ruin my life. He seemed tame compared to other criminals in the world, but there were always hints of his darker side. If I really wanted to leave, I didn’t know if he would let me go.
