Motown Takedown (Motown Down Book 3) (3 page)

“Why do you look at me like that?
”
she asked cocking her head to the side.

“Like what?
”
I ask in return. She may be fourteen but there was nothing childish about her. As she studied me from head to toe, I waited for her to speak her mind. One thing about Cinn, she never held back.

“Like I’m yours.”

“Because you are,
”
I say, keeping my hands balled into fists. I knew if I freed them I’d use them to pull her to me. “Don’t you want to be mine?”

“Yes,
”
she whispers. “I do. I mean, I thought I already was.”

“One day,
”
I promise her. “One day we won’t have to hide.”

“I don’t like how he looks at me,
”
she confesses. She was right to dislike it. Savage may be pretending to raise her but for every day she matured, his sharp eyes caught it. “If he touches me, I’ll kill him.”

“If he touches you,
”
I growl. “You won’t have to kill him because I will.”

She wasn’t used to being worshipped.

Listened to, yes.

Feared, absolutely. But worshiped? No.

She was caught off guard and cautious. We’ve been kept apart for too long. She’s uneasy and skeptical. It’s not every day that a man gets on his knees to pay homage to his female. It’s also not every day that his men willingly do the same. My soldiers have waited for her as long as I have. From the day I found her there was one name that brought me to my knees, a prize that was worth winning, a treasure a man would kill to possess.

Cinn.

She had made Savage a legend without even trying. She ran his den and she did it well, too well. Any boss in this game knows who she is, what she represents. She was a strategist, merciless and curious. Loyal and lethal. But she was never free. Now she belonged to me and it didn’t seem real. Jesus Christ, I couldn’t stop looking at her. My men could hardly believe it either. You have beautiful women, but they have nothing on her. She was beyond beautiful, she was flawless, perfect, and mythical.

It actually hurt to look at her, you want to touch her at any cost. You want her to speak to you, command you and you want to die for her. She knows this of course, because it’s what has kept her alive. She’s earned our respect and right now we were giving her what she deserved.

Our loyalty.

But there was still a small part of me that wondered if here is where she wanted to be. Had I mistook the message from the assassin? I recalled her words, each one. No, she wanted to be here, now she was.

“Hello boys,
”
she says breaking the silence. Looking up at her I didn’t quite know what to say. I’d rehearsed it, of course, but found those words weren’t enough. My God, her voice
…
“I belong to you now, to them, my will is yours.”

“We belong to each other,
”
I tell her standing up but not releasing her, couldn’t if I tried. “My army is your army. Command them,
”
I announce and then in a lower tone, “Command
me
.”

“Monarch?
”
she asks quietly.

“Yes?”

“I missed you,
”
she says for my ears only. In front of my men I didn’t show emotion of any kind, ever. But her thanking me did me in. Pulling her closer to me, I give the order to stand and in each of their eyes I saw approval.

“Would you like to see our quarters?
”
I manage to say instead of sealing my mouth over hers. I was her first kiss and as promised, I would be her last.

“I’d like to meet the men first if you don’t mind,
”
and it wasn’t a question but a statement. The true testament of a ruler. “As you wish,
”
I bow moving her forward staying at her back.

And so it went for the next hour. Cinn would step forward and introduce herself to each member of our army. Several were speechless, several more too eager for my liking but all showed her the respect she was due. All these years they’ve only heard about her, what’s she accomplished and the power she held in her prefect body. For them, to see her here on their turf, our turf, the energy was thick. She was no longer a fantasy but a reality and trust me, she was even more than they bargained for. Dismissing them, otherwise we’d be here all night, I handed her a glass of wine and showed her where she’d be spending the rest of her nights.

Opening our door at the far end of the hall, she steps in and just stops. Noticing the picture of her above the California king-sized bed I’d purchased for us, she smiles and says, “I remember this day, I was trying on gowns and hating every minute of it. If memory serves, you thought it was hilarious.”

“You were, you did and it was,
”
I agree remembering it myself. Putting a sixteen year old in a gown made for a woman was sick but she at least she made it entertaining. “Do you think you can be comfortable here? With the men, with me?”

“Yes,
”
she says then turns to me and it hit me that this was the first time we’ve spoken freely without the threat of war. The first time since meeting her when she was a scared kid at thirteen that I couldn’t touch or hold. But she was here now and I could do anything I wanted because she belonged to me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.
”
Pulling her into my side, her arm curls around my waist, she looks up with those beautiful eyes and smiles.
I’m undone…

“What took you so long?”

And before I could answer she stood on her toes and fucking kissed me.

“Your arms go around my neck,
”
he gently instructs. “Like this,
”
he says pulling me close. He smelled so good I was getting dizzy. It’s rare I’m ever allowed time with him, let alone that he took the chance to touch me. But today he did. Because today he was teaching me how to slow dance. Where I was tall, he was taller. Where I was lean he was thick. Where I was beautiful, he was rugged. So when I saw an opportunity to touch him back, I took it.

“Where do your hands go?
”
I ask with a smile.

“For this lesson they rest on your hips, Cinn.
”
Then I watched him place one on each side and closed my eyes when his fingers sunk into my skin. Swaying from side to side, I followed my instincts and rested my head on his chest. His heart beat was strong and I felt protected. No music played and I knew it was because he needed to hear if any men approached.

“What about the next lesson?
”
I asked removing my hands from his neck and tightening them around his waist. Sucking in a breath, he leaned down and buried his face in my neck.

“You’re not ready for that lesson yet,
”
he groans. But our moment was cut short when a man did approach, took one look at us tangled in each other and saw an opportunity for career advancement. He didn’t get that chance however; because Monarch slit his throat before he made it to the hall. That night when Savage demanded answers, Monarch shrugged and told him the man dared to touch me. Satisfied with that, he took Monarch to the den for a celebratory drink on a job well done. As for me, I stayed in my room tracing the imprints his fingers left in my skin.

I learned early how to use my looks to my advantage. I’m one of those rare cases that is beautiful on the outside but dead on the inside,
unless
I’m near Monarch. The stolen times I had with him reminded me I was alive. Since he’d left me, at best, I managed to exist. When he didn’t come back I realized it was up to me to stay alive. Five years had passed and though we were kept apart, both of us had been working toward the same goal.

Finding our way back to each other.

So I put my looks to use. Yes, I am her. The woman who is impossibly gorgeous and revels in it. Five foot eight, one hundred twenty pounds and fucking flawless. Raven colored hair that’s layered and hangs to my tiny waist. A heart shaped ass that’s caused car accidents, full C cup tits with perfect blush nipples and we haven’t even made it to my face yet. I have deep olive skin, bright green eyes, long eyelashes that curl, perfect skin and teeth with pouty lips all men want their cock sliding between.

My voice was cunning and seductive. You would kill for me if you thought it would get you between my thighs. Hell, you’d kill for me even if it didn’t. You’d kill for the privilege of my time and you’d thank me as you bled out. Nothing about me is flawed. Even my hands and feet are perfect. My skin tastes like ambrosia, pure addiction. I’m irresistible, period.

I hate to correct people when they say it but, perfection does exist because
I
exist. I’m proof, in the flesh. But my perfection doesn’t stop there, hell no. I’m extremely smart, due to living in books. I cook like a chef and fuck like a porn star. I run a crime family for fuck’s sake and now I’m lined up to run another because again, I am
that
good. In this business there is none better. Yes, I know I’ve always been property but by Monarch’s side I have the opportunity to be more.

A Queen.

Leaning up and kissing him, I went at him full force. Fuck seduction, or a slow burn, I wanted him more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. I was done waiting. I was here now, he’d saved me and I didn’t care what he needed me to do, I’d do it. If that meant using my talents, I’d use my fucking talents. Slipping my tongue in surprises him while his hands wrapped around my wrists causes bumps to raise on my skin. Not much shocks me but he did, especially when he pulled back.

“Why’d you do that?
”
he asks while fighting for breath, looking both confused and angry. He’s looking at me like kissing him was the last thing I should be doing and this confused
me
. Men wanted me, Monarch most of all. I knew this as fact. Another fact was I haven’t been intimate with a man in two fucking years and I’d wanted him long before that. I’ve wanted Monarch since the day he slayed the four men attacking me in the alley. Monarch was six feet three inches of alpha crime boss. He rocked a three-piece suit like no other, wore steel toe dress shoes, a man bun and  had eight gold teeth. His tattoos that were visible started at his knuckles and went to his neck. He was big, mean and smelled like patchouli. What he wasn’t was classically beautiful and I thought he was more attractive for it. If my appearance was considered perfection then his was imperfection. He had stubble, scars and thick eyebrows. But to me he was the most beautiful male in the world. A male who’s cock I wanted in my mouth. I’ve dreamt of his mouth sucking on my pussy while his hands fisted my hair. Yet none of this happened because he pulled away, from
me
.

“Why’d you kiss me, Cinn?”

“Because I wanted to,
”
I felt this was obvious.

“You
wanted
to?”

“Want wasn’t the proper word,
”
I tell him running my hands up his chest. “More like, I needed to. You were my first kiss and now you’re my last, just like you promised. The question is, why did you stop?”

“Mo chuisle,
”
he whispers running his hand down my arms and squeezing. Unlike Savage, his grip did not hurt. No, it enticed.

“What does that mean?”

Taking my wrist, flipping it over and placing his thumb there he repeats, “Mo chuisle, means my pulse or pulse of my heart.”

“That’s beautiful,
”

“That’s
you
,
”
he says leading me back to the center of the room. “I’m giving you a choice, Cinn. This is a one-time offer, if you want freedom the door is unlocked. I will not make you stay, I will not take your freedom away. I want you by my side not under my foot. Money, I can give you. Material shit too. But I plan to spoil you, covet you and please you. If that’s not the life you want with me, as much as it would ruin me, I’ll let you go.
”
That speech did it for me, not that I was looking to run, mind you. He’d given me the one thing I’ve ever wanted,
the choice
.

“You’ll spoil me?”

“Rotten.”

“You’ll covet me?”

“Waited a long time to do it, Cinn.
”
He says this sincerely and I melted.

“You’ll please me?”

“Or die tryin’.”

“I choose to stay,
”
I tell him boldly. “I choose you, Monarch.”

“You’re the first to choose me,
”
he says hugging me tight. “You will never regret that choice. When you didn’t call for me I assumed that you weren’t ready to come home. After what your girl did for us with The Greek, the shit she told me
…
I realized I was wrong to wait for you. I needed you here, I needed to put the heat on Savage. That shit took a month. It killed me to wait, Cinn. Fucking killed me.”

“Call for you?”

“You didn’t call, Cinn.”

“How in the fuck do you suppose I would have done that, Monarch?”

“By picking up the phone,
”
he says in my ear. “Telling Savage personally or sending one of your men. Hell, you could have sent the assassin.”

Pushing out of his arms, I level him with the most exasperated look I could muster. Which by the way, I no doubt pulled off effortlessly. “Back the truck up,
”
I say shaking my head. “In what dimension would I have gone to Savage and said, hey crypt keeper I wanna bounce over to Monarch’s side of town?”

“In this one,
”
he says reaching for me but though difficult, I stepped back.

“What are you talking about?
”
I demand. “If I so much as spoke your name I was choked within an inch of my life. If I dared ask about you, he’d send men to kill you after he finished, let me repeat, choking me! I’ve lived in isolation for the last fucking year! I was glued to his God damn side years prior to that! Do not pretend this is news to you. I had to call in a favor to ax The Greek and to let you know I was still alive and sick of waiting! You promised me we’d be together again only you never came for me! I risked my life making this happen and you’re going to stand there and tell me all I had to do was fucking
ask
?”

“Cinn,
”
he says losing the look of love and devotion, replacing it with death. “The day I left I said to you, you’ll know when the time is right and when you called, I would come. That was the deal. You telling me you didn’t know about the deal?”

“Deal? What fucking deal?
”
I scream to the ceiling. “Jesus, I thought you were just being romantic! You struck a deal with him?”

“You really didn’t know?
”
he asks, then when I throw my hands up like
what the fuck
he roars and I wanted to second that fucking notion. “Step,
”
he orders and doing as I was told he wraps me in his arms and proceeds to tell me what I didn’t know. Apparently the two of them did in fact strike a deal. Savage wanted to branch out and gave Monarch his own den to run. The only catch was he had to leave me behind to do it. But, they both agreed if at any time after I turned eighteen if I wanted to leave and join Monarch all I had to do was say so. The bitch of it was, Monarch fucking bought into it and I had suffered for it. Honestly, I was livid he didn’t know better. Who trusts a fucking crime boss?

Going completely still, I absorbed the information and let out a roar of my own.

“He never told me I had an out,
”
I growl. “He never told me anything when it came to you other than if I didn’t behave he’d kill you. You don’t think if I had an out I wouldn’t have called that shit in on my God damn birthday? You didn’t stop to think the very reason he made the offer was because he never planned on letting me near you again? You saw what you’re leaving did to me and not once did you wonder why I never called for you? You expected him to keep his word when it came to me? Seriously, it took you this long to realize you’ve been duped? I’ll give him credit, it was clever. Giving me the key to my own happiness but keeping the fucking key hidden and never telling me how to use it!”

“He dies for this,
”
he decrees right then and there.

“God damn right he dies,
”
I snap. “Call a meeting, Monarch. I need to kill him, right fucking now.”

“If I was strong before you, I’m untouchable with you,
”
he says running his fingers through my hair which I know feels like silk only better. “This is our empire, Cinn, the meeting can wait. His death can wait. Tonight is about you. About
us
.”

“I’ve waited forever for this, I need you, Monarch. I can’t wait. This happens now. We’ll kill him after. When I’m wearing your scent and he dies with it in his nose.
”
I say starting to move the strap from my shoulder but he stops me.

“No,
”
he says putting it back up. “When I take you, you’ll be ready, you’re not ready yet.
”
Oh bullshit
I thought to myself but then he escorted me from our room to the roof where he had dinner waiting.

Okay, I could eat.

A queen needed her nourishment.