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Conrad was the opposite.  He always had lots of friends.  He has an energy that draws people to him.  Unfortunately, I missed out on that.

Flopping onto my couch, I pull off my socks and shoes and bring one foot up to rub it.  My heels are full of blisters because my shoes are a touch too small, but I’ve been saving up and I’m going to buy a decent pair soon.  It’s not like I don’t have any money – I do.  I just don’t like to be frivolous with it because of my upbringing.  So, I’m very careful with my spending and save up for each purchase, regardless of how badly I need something.

Taking two washcloths, I run them under some hot water and then lay them over my heels, soothing the blisters.  Once my feet stop aching, I take a quick shower and then climb into bed.

While my eyes are open, I manage to beat away the thoughts of Oak, but as soon they close, my mind wanders to him.

My hands run over the rippled contours of his stomach, feeling them shudder beneath my touch.  His head moves in and he suckles on my neck, flicking his tongue over the pulse point.  I turn my head into him and suck his earlobe into my mouth before biting down gently.

His cock grows in his jeans and he presses into me, moving me back into the wall.  My head falls back as his fingers find my tightened nipple.  He rolls it between his fingers and my stomach clenches.  My hands come up over his head to run my palms over his short black hair, loving the way it tickles my skin.

“Oak,” I whisper, my mouth finding his.  His soft, plump, full lips dance with my own and his tongue slides inside my mouth.  The kiss is heated, full of passion, and scorching hot.  I grip the sides of his face before sliding my hands down over his chest and once again I find his stomach.  My hands go up under his shirt, desperately craving the feel of his warm skin. 

His large hand grips the back of my neck before sliding down to cup my ass, while the other continues raining torturous pleasure on my nipple.

“Taste so fuckin’ good, Willa.”

The burn in my lower stomach rages and my sex throbs.  I push forward into him, seeking his touch.  He pushes back, his rock-hard erection pressing into my stomach.

“Oak, I want you,” I whisper.  “Please, take me,” I beg.

“You want it, baby, you’re going to get it.”  His hand goes between us and he swiftly pulls his throbbing cock from his jeans.  I look down at it in wonder and lick my lips, aching to swirl my tongue around the head, tasting the bead of pre cum mocking me.

I don’t get a chance to go down on my knees.   Instead, he grips me under my ass and boosts me up.  My legs immediately wrap around his waist and my lace-covered sex collides with his length.  A long, drawn out moan escapes me and I rub myself against him.

“Fuck me,” I say, my hooded eyes staring right into his own lust-filled, chocolate brown pools.

He brushes his cock over my swollen clit and my pussy flutters.  Then he lines himself up.

“Oak.”  My breath catches in my throat in anticipation, waiting for him to plunge inside of me.

“When I fuck you, you call me-,”

The sound of someone banging on my front door has my eyes springing open.

No!
  I grab my pillow and shove it over my face before screaming into it. 

The person bangs on the door again, threatening to splinter the wood, so I climb out of bed and stomp toward the door.

That dream was just getting really, really good!

I swing open the door and see my brother standing there.

“Were you sleeping? Sorry,” he shrugs, shaking off my glare, clearly unaffected.

Oak steps out from behind him as Rad moves to come in.  He glances down at my shirt, which is not at concealing my hard nipples.  My face feels hot, so I know it’s flushed and I can only imagine what he is thinking.

“No!  No, you’re not coming in.”  I attempt to shut the door in his face, but he blocks it with his foot.  I know how ridiculous I must look, but there is no way I can handle having him in such a close proximity after the dream I just had.

No way.

Not happening.

He leans into me, his minty breath floating across my face.

“Is that for me?” he asks, his eyes flicking down to my chest, his tone more gruff than usual.

My breath gets caught in my throat and my heart hammers in my chest.

God, yes.  Yes, it’s all for you.

“Never,” I grit out through clenched teeth, hating the way he affects me.

“I think you’re lying,” he accuses, and a smirk begins to spread across his lips.  Lips that I wish were sliding over my body.

“Stay out,” I whisper.

He moves in closer, his body skimming mine and I shrink back into the door as my body threatens to detonate at the slightest touch from him.

“Liar,” he whispers, before brushing past me into my home.

I grind my teeth and take a moment to calm down.  He’s only playing this game because he knows he affects me.  That’s what men like him do.  I need to be unaffected – or at least
portray
that I’m unaffected by him.

Studiously ignoring them both, I pour myself a mug of coffee and take my time making my way into my living room where they’re sitting.

I perch my butt on the corner of my couch and wait for one of them to speak.

When neither does, I ask, “What’s up?”

“Nothin’ much, sis.  Just came by to tell you we got a new rule.”

A new rule.

I want to roll my eyes, but I don’t.  Since I moved here and Rad organized the job at Club Z for me, he has had a few rules that I have to abide by.  The most important is that I am never, not
ever
, allowed to go in or near the Zephyrs’ Clubhouse.  He said it’s for my safety but he didn’t elaborate any more than that.  Another important rule was I was not allowed to ever speak of anything I might overhear from the Zephyrs or about the Zephyrs.  Pretty much, I wasn’t allowed to speak about them at all.

Suited me fine.  It wasn’t like I had friends to talk to about them anyway.

“What’s the new rule?”

“From now on, when you leave work, Tiny will walk you out to your car.”

“You can’t be serious?” I scoff.  The look on his face tells me he’s serious, all right.  I consider not even bothering to look over at Oak but then I decide fuck it. 
Fuck him.
  This is all his doing and I know it.  Asshole.

“I think you’ll find Tiny will be too busy doing his own job to worry about babysitting me,” I tell him, knowing I’m talking out my ass, because if he’s anything like Bosso, by the time I leave Tiny will have already left work.

“You don’t walk to your car alone.  I mean it, Willa.  There’s shit going down you don’t know about, so you do as you’re fucking told.”

“Whatever,” I say flippantly.  He had this rule for me for the first few weeks, and then all of a sudden Bosso – the security guy at the time – stopped walking me out.  I just assumed Rad had told him to. Bosso has obviously been replaced by Tiny.

“She always this way?” Oak asks my brother.

“What way?” I ask, my back automatically straightening.  “This is all
your
fault,” I accuse, poking a finger in his direction.  “If you’d of just shut your,-” the words clog in my throat as he stands, fury radiating from him.  I realize I’ve made a monumental mistake – I’ve pissed off the bear.

“Do what your brother says,” he grinds out. 

I nod like a scared little pussycat and watch as he turns and stalks from the room.  I watch his back as he opens my front door and then slams it behind him.  Once he’s gone, I turn to my brother and try to shrug off the fear that gripped my heart when he stood.

“What’s his problem?” I say with a nervous laugh.

“Do as you’re told, Willa.  Promise me.”  The way he says it has me agreeing without further argument.  I don’t want to make him worry; he does that enough.  He’s not the young, carefree brother I remember.  He’s older and there’s a permanent anxiousness lingering his eyes, day in, day out.  I wish it wasn’t there, but this is the life he chose for himself, so I have to respect that.

“I better go.”  He jerks his chin toward the door.

“Okay,” I whisper.

“Love ya, sis.”

“Love you.” 

He kisses my cheek and then leaves.  I take a sip of my coffee before sitting down on my couch.  There is something going on, and the worst part is, I don’t know whether to sit back and ignore it, or dig deeper until I find what is going on.  Though, I’m afraid if I dig, I won’t like what I find.

Willa

Tiny is by no means
Tiny
.  He’s actually a massive giant of a man who is pretty scary to look at.  I saw him without his shirt once and almost gagged.  He has the hairiest back I have ever seen.  I really didn’t think men had that much hair on their backs, but let me assure you, in Tiny’s case at least, they do!

He is big, broad, and intimidating.  He rarely smiles or talks, and he spends his night standing up against a wall in Club Z scanning the perimeter. 

“Ready, Tiny?”  I ask with a smile, knowing he won’t return it.

He grunts and opens the door for me.

Guess that means he’s ready.

He walks me to my car in silence and waits until I’ve unlocked the door.  The minute we stepped outside, the hairs on my neck have been spiked so I look around, trying to see through the darkness, but the night is dark and the lights out here are non-existent.

I fold into my car and start it before driving away.  In my rearview mirror I see Tiny standing there, watching me, until I exit the parking lot.  Then, he walks toward his own vehicle while I keep driving.

When I arrive home, I decide to soak in the bath for a while.  Even though I’m tired, I’m not in any hurry to go to bed, seeing as I don’t have to work tomorrow.

The water is warm and inviting and I slink down into the tub, watching the bubbles slowly swallow my body.  My head falls back and I close my eyes, savoring the peace and letting my body relax.

Heaven.

I take my time shaving my legs and washing my hair before climbing out and wrapping a towel around me.

That’s when someone knocks on my door.  Great timing!

“Just a second,” I yell out, quickly darting into my bedroom to toss on a robe.

The door bangs again.

“I said just a second,” I yell again. 
Fucking impatient ass.

I swing it open and immediately a man forces his way.  Behind him are two more, and I swear to God I almost pee myself.  My hearts slams into my chest, threatening to bust through my ribcage.

“C-can I help you,” I stutter, trying to sink into my wall.

His sleazy eyes look me up and down slowly before he speaks.  “Willa Burke,” he starts and my eyes widen in surprise that he knows my name.  “Been looking for you a while.”  His tone is conversational but his body language is anything but relaxed.

“Why?” I ask, my voice a breath above a whisper.  “Who are you?”

“I think we should take a seat,” he says menacingly.

“I’d rather stand,” I reply a little too quickly.

“Sit,” he growls.

“Fine,” I say under my breath.

The man in front of me walks over and takes a seat in one of my chairs.  He looks like a businessman – his hair is slicked back and he is wearing a sharp black suit.  The two men with him do not take a seat.  They stand near my front door and one of them occasionally peeks out my white curtains.  They are also dressed in suits, but they are also wearing dark sunglasses that, even though they are inside, they haven’t taken off.

I’m scared, but I don’t want it to show.

I take a seat and wring my hands in my lap.

“What’s going on?” I ask, unable to stand the silence any longer.

He cocks his head and looks at me thoughtfully.  “You really have no idea, do you, Willa?”

I’m not sure that requires an answer, since I’m pretty sure it was rhetorical question.  Still, I reply, “No.”

“Let me tell you a little story,” he starts and I instantly feel sick to my stomach, knowing this little tale isn’t going to end well.

“Once upon a time.  Actually, let me ask you a question first.  How did your parents die?”

“Um, they had a car crash,” I answer hesitantly.

“Ahh.” He grins.  He actually
grins.
  “What if I told you they
didn’t
have a car crash?”

“I wouldn’t believe you.  The police told me they had a car accident.”

“But,
did
they?  Or did the police lie to you?”

“They wouldn’t lie.”

“Oh, but they did.  You see, your parents owed me a lot of money and since they couldn’t pay me and kept dicking me around, they had to pay the consequences.  Nobody fucks with me,” he warns sternly.

Tears spring to my eyes as his words sink in.  He killed my parents.  Or he
had
them killed.  Either way, my parents’ blood is on his hands.

“Why are you telling me this now?” I whisper.

“I thought I could let it go, but then I saw you and I realized you had the potential to make back the money that’s owed to me.”

“I don’t have any money.  I mean, I have a few hundred dollars saved up, but that’s it.  I’m sorry if you thought I looked like I had a lot of cash, but I don’t.”

He chuckles sardonically.  “Silly girl.  Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently?  Your hair is long and brown.  Clean and healthy.  Shiny.  Men love that – it’s good for twisting around your wrist as you sink inside from behind.  Your eyes are kind and innocent.  Men love that, too.  They like pure little girls in need of corrupting.

“Your body is toned and athletic.  Your ass is plump and makes men think of fucking it.  And while your breasts are a little on the small side, all of your other qualities are enough to make a man pay a lot of money to fuck you any which way he wishes.”

The blood drains from my face and I feel my mouth fall open, though I’m still in too much shock to even try to close it.

“No.” One word. Firm. Sure.

“I had a feeling you might say that.  Still, I’ll leave you to think about it for a few days.  You either come and work for me for a period of twelve months, or you pay me the money owed.”

“How much?” I manage to ask.

He stands and flicks some invisible lint from his suit jacket.  “Sixty thousand.”

“Si-sixty thousand?” I swallow hard.

“I’ll be in touch.”  He moves toward the door.  “And, Willa, I’ll be watching, so don’t dare think of doing something stupid – like, say, informing your big brother of my offer.  You might find he ends up like your parents.”  His tone is light-hearted but the warning is heavy.

“I won’t.”

“I trust you’ll make the right decision.”  He gives me a pointed look before sweeping his leering gaze over my body again.  Seemingly as an afterthought, he adds, “You can call me Miguel.” Then he leaves the same way he came in; with his goons following him.

Holy fucking shit!

There is no way I can come up with sixty thousand dollars. 
Sixty-fucking-thousand.
  I feel sick.

Oh jeepers, what I am going to do?  I feel like I’m backed into a corner.  A tiny, scared mouse, cowering from a large tomcat, unable to see past the predator bearing down on me.

My head falls into my hands and I start to sob.