Present
DON’T BE ALONE WITH HER.
My one rule. The one thing I’d kept to myself and promised to heed, and now I’d broken it.
I breathed hard, my arms folded across my chest as I glared ahead at the rising numbers on the elevator wall. No one else knew her.
Not the way I did. I knew better. I knew how good she was.
Erika Fane played her parts well. The dutiful, self-sacrificing daughter for her mother, the pleasant, agreeable girlfriend for my brother, and a shining student and beauty in our seaside community growing up. Everyone loved her.
She thought she was nothing to me, insignificant and invisible. She wanted me to open my eyes and see her again so fucking badly, but she didn’t realize that I already did. I knew the deceiving cunt that stewed underneath that perfect little sheen of hers, and I couldn’t forget.
Why the fuck did I take her to her apartment? Why did I have to make sure she was safe? Being near her made me falter. It made me forget.
She’d burst through the stairwell doors, frightened and flushed, looking small and fragile, and instinct immediately kicked in.
Yeah, she played her parts well.
Don’t be alone with her. Don’t ever be alone with her.
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped directly into my foyer, rounding the corner into my darkened living room, but then I slowed, noticing the girl I had sent up and nearly forgotten about. She sat in the middle of the floor, straddling a wooden chair.
Completely naked.
I held back a smile, surprised at her ingenuity. Most women waited for direction.
I narrowed my eyes, approaching the chair as her lips quirked in a small smile. Her forearms rested on the top of the chair-back, while her legs were spread wide and her high-heeled feet were planted on the floor on either side of the chair.
Stopping a foot in front of her, I let my eyes fall to her exposed body: supple, open, and ready for me. Her breasts were perfect and round, and I gazed down at her tan stomach, letting my eyes drop to her bare pussy and wondering if she was already wet.
I reached up, running the back of my hand over her cheek, and she leaned into it, eyeing me playfully as her long, silky hair draped over her breasts. And then she darted out, catching my thumb between her teeth and biting it gently.
I stared down at her, waiting to see what she would do next. Suck on it? Lick it? Maybe bite it harder? I liked it when I got as good as I gave. When a woman showed the fire in her instead of sitting idle.
But then she just let it go, offering me a shy look and leaving the ball in my court. It was my job to attack and hers to be the willing piece of meat, I guess. God, I was so fucking bored.
I tipped her chin up, ordering in a gentle voice, “Stay here.”
I needed a breather to get in the mood for what I no longer wanted.
I walked past her, up the stairs, slipping off my jacket as I climbed. Entering my bedroom, a large space with a king size bed and plenty of room to relax, I walked for the shower, which sat between the bedroom and the master bathroom. It was out in the open and completely visible from the bed. Sometimes it came in handy when I had a girl or two over and wanted to watch them play.
I stripped out of my clothes, tossing them on the ground and stepping into the shower, in no hurry to return downstairs.
The rainfall overhead poured down, immediately drenching my hair and spilling its heat over my shoulders and back. I wished I could say it was all the hours logged in at the gym, the personal trainer making sure I was ready for the season, or the constant practices we’d been attending since they increased our workout schedule, that caused the tension in my head and body, but I knew that wasn’t it. I was twenty-three, in the best shape of my life, and contending with demands I’d lived with for nearly my entire life.
It wasn’t basketball. It was her.
After three long years, she was here, they were here, and I could hardly think of anything else.
I wondered if she’d still want me when all was said and done. After all the years of watching me, probably wishing I’d touch her, wouldn’t it be fucking ironic when I finally did take her in my hands and pressed my body into hers, that she despised me?
Yeah, you’re going to be in my bed, baby, but not until you wish you hated me.
I let out a breath, bowing my head and closing my eyes.
Jesus. I wrapped my hand around my cock, feeling it throb and pulse as it grew thick and hard at the thought of her.
I ran my thumb over the fat tip, wiping away the cum that was only a small measure of what was begging to get out.
Goddamn.
All it took was the thought of her, and how I’d almost given myself away in the elevator with her earlier.
She’d been amusing. The way she tried so hard to not look like she was losing her fucking mind with me around. How her shallow breathing made her tits rise and fall, and how those nipples poked through that tight, little tank top of hers, making me want to take one between my teeth and teach her how to scream my name so well she’d say it in her sleep.
That golden skin, tan from her summer in Thunder Bay, looked like a feast, and that hair, blonde and straight and brushing across her face and neck as it spilled down her back. It looked so soft, I couldn’t resist touching the bright strands.
I’d done very well at ignoring her during my life, at first because she was too young for me to care and then because I needed to be patient.
Now, the timing was perfect, she was here, and so was I.
Only I wasn’t alone.
And the best part? She didn’t know that we knew. She didn’t know that we were coming for her.
Turning off the water, I breathed in and out, my cock aching and damn-near sticking straight out, needing release. I wrapped a towel around my waist and combed my fingers through my hair, walking out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
Alex, the young woman I’d taken to the team party tonight, still sat dutifully in the chair, her heart-shaped ass somewhat more appealing now that I was rock hard.
But I still wasn’t quite ready. Pouring myself a drink, I walked to the windows overlooking the city. The lights and the energy lit up the night, making it look like a sea of stars floating ahead of me, and it was one of the first things I learned when I’d visited this place as a kid. Meridian City was certainly more inspiring from a distance. Most things were, I’d come to realize.
The closer you got to anything beautiful, the less beautiful it became. Allure was in the mystery, not the appearance.
Letting my gaze fall, I spotted Rika through her windows. Her apartment sat on the level below but not directly beneath mine, so my windows offered an excellent view into the courtyard, as well as into her apartment. I narrowed my eyes, watching her flit about and wondering what she was doing.
She had splayed out a drop cloth below a wall, and there were cans of paint sitting on the living room floor. She stepped up on a ladder and arched up on her tiptoes, reaching for where the wall met the ceiling, smoothing something over with her hands.
She must’ve been putting up painter’s tape. It was nearly two in the morning. Why was she painting?
Her nice, little ass jutted out, and the black lace trim around the bottom of her tank top rode up, revealing the skin of her stomach.
Heat spread over my chest and down to my groin, my heart beating harder. Rika had a hell of a body, even though she didn’t have a clue how to use it.
Soft, cool hands ran over my shoulders as the girl came up behind me, standing naked at my side. The privacy glass wasn’t on, but neither were the lights, so Rika wouldn’t be able to see anything up here if she looked.
Alex gazed out the window, probably seeing what I was looking at, and then turned back to me, slipping her hand under my towel.
“Mmm…” she moaned, feeling how hard I was. “You like her.”
I stayed still, watching Rika as the girl stroked me. “No.”
One time I thought I might. For a few hours, long ago, we looked through the same eyes, and I felt like I could trust her.
It had been a mistake that cost my friends their freedom.
“But you want her,” she pushed, rubbing me faster and knowing exactly where my hard-on came from.
I let her handle me, but unfortunately I had no desire to reach out and touch her. I stared down, seeing Rika step off the ladder and drop to her hands and knees, running tape along the crown molding as she arched her back, taunting me.
I grunted, feeling the girl’s strokes get faster.
“Yeah,” she taunted. “So sweet and innocent, isn’t she?”
I swallowed through the dryness in my mouth and glared down at Rika. “She’s neither,” I gritted out under my breath.
“Maybe not,” the girl teased. “The shy ones tend to be the baddest after all.”
And then she leaned in, burying her lips in my neck and whispering, “I’ll bet your brother can tell you what a bad girl she is.”
Jesus.
I planted my hand against the window, leaning in as Rika sat back on her knees and looked up at the wall that she appeared to be getting ready to paint.
I hoped that wasn’t true. I only wanted two things…that my brother hadn’t broken her in as well as he bragged and that Rika had as much fight in her as I hoped.
“Yeah,” the girl breathed, kissing a trail down my jaw. “I’ll bet he knows exactly how she likes it.”
I instantly straightened, turning my head and placing a hand under her jaw, holding it tight. “My brother is the last person that knows anything about her,” I bit out, glaring down at her. “Now go home. I’m not in the mood.”
I pushed her away, and a shocked breath escaped her as she pinched her eyebrows together, looking confused.
“But you’re…,” she protested, gesturing to my cock tenting the black towel.
“That’s not for you, and you know it.”
Facing the window again, I tightened the towel around my waist and watched Rika pull her hair up in a ponytail and then bend over to pick up a can of paint.
But then I heard the ding of the elevator behind me, signaling that it was descending to pick up whoever had called it, and I quickly glanced over my shoulder to see the girl still standing there naked.
“You’d better hurry,” I warned. “I’ve got company coming up, and they’d love nothing more than to find you like that.” I let my eyes fall down, indicating her naked form.
Her eyes shifted side to side, hesitating and looking displeased. I didn’t know if she was really disappointed or just offended.
I really didn’t care. I’d already paid her, after all.
She finally turned, hurrying for wherever she’d dropped her clothes, and I heard rustling as she got dressed.
Looking back down, I saw Rika pour paint into a tray and then dip in a roller, soaking it in red.
My favorite color.
It was brave and confident but also aggressive and violent. Not sure why I favored it, but I always had.
The elevator bell dinged again, and I stood up straight, steeling my back as I heard deep voices enter the penthouse.
Turning around, I saw the girl, Alex, slip on her last shoe and grab her clutch purse before hustling in the direction of the elevators.
But regardless of whether or not she was dressed, she wouldn’t go unnoticed.
Damon, Will, and Kai emerged from around the corner, dressed in similar black suits, having just been out themselves, smiling over a shared joke.
Alex stepped quickly, trying to scurry past, but Damon caught her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Whoa, where do you think you’re going?” he teased, tightening his hold against her fake struggles. “Did Michael use his full hour already?”
Will laughed, shaking his head as he and Kai kept walking, making their way into the apartment.
Damon walked her backward, into the living room again, one of his hands squeezing her ass.
I leaned over to the chair, picking up the lounge pants I’d thrown there this morning. Slipping my legs in, I pulled them up and then whipped off the towel, tossing it on the floor.
“Just leave her alone,” I told him.
But his dark eyes, nearly black, drifted up to me, a challenge lurking there that I was getting fucking tired of seeing.
His lips curled in a smile as he reached into his pocket, taking out a roll of bills.
“I’ll be gentle,” he whispered against her cheek, holding up the money.
She turned her head, eyeing me, probably wondering what the protocol was. Was she supposed to indulge an opportunity while another was still in the room?
I didn’t care what she did. She was available, and when it came right down to it, it was her business, not her pleasure. I’d simply needed someone on my arm tonight for a private party, and Will knew her well enough to know she was discreet and hassle-free.
I was just sick of Damon’s antics.
But she turned back to him and slowly took the money.
And he didn’t hesitate. Yanking the top of her dress down to her waist, he picked her up and guided her legs around his waist.
“I lied,” he said, baring his teeth next to her ear. “I’m never gentle.”
He dived for her, covering her mouth with his as he carried her down the hall, disappearing into a spare bedroom.
I exhaled a hard breath through my nose, aggravated with the constant tug of war with him. It never used to be like that.
My friends and I all butted heads over the course of our friendship. Of course. We had our own temperaments, vices, and senses of right and wrong.
But those differences strengthened us back then. As individuals we had weaknesses, but as the Horsemen we were invincible. We each brought something different to the table, and where one lacked, the others stepped in. We were a unit, on and off the court.
I wasn’t so sure that was true anymore. Things had changed.
Kai sat down on the couch while Will walked for the refrigerator, grabbing a sandwich off the plate of leftovers and a bottle of water.
I twisted around and grabbed the game ball I’d been awarded after we’d won the state championships in high school and shot it over at Will, slamming him in the upper arm.
He jerked, dropping the bottle of water and glaring at me with a mouthful of sandwich.
“Ow!” he barked, holding out his hands. “What’s your problem?”
“Were you in 2104?” I shot out, already knowing the answer.
There was a reason we’d moved Rika to the twenty-first floor. It isolated her from neighbors. But I was also well aware that my friends probably wouldn’t let the vacant apartment next door to her—or the opportunity to fuck with her—go to waste.
They didn’t live in the building, but they’d somehow gotten a key to the apartment.
Will averted his eyes, but I caught the grin on his face. He swallowed his food and faced me, shrugging. “We may have brought a couple of girls back from the club,” he admitted. “You know Damon. It got a little loud.”
I shot Kai a look, knowing he wasn’t in on it but pissed that he hadn’t stopped them.
I combed my fingers through my damp hair and pinned Will with a stare. “Erika Fane may be young and inexperienced, but she’s not stupid,” I pointed out, looking between him and Kai. “You’re going to have fun with her. I promise. But not if you get her running before we have her where we want her.”
Will bent down to retrieve the basketball. At six feet tall, he was shorter than the rest of us, but his build was just as strong.
“Kai and I have been out for months,” he charged, pressing the ball between his hands in front of his chest and looking at me as he approached. “I agreed to wait so Damon could have his part in this, but I am done fucking waiting, Michael.”
His patience was wearing thin, and I’d known that for some time. He and Kai had received lesser sentences based on the charges, but to be fair to Damon, we’d held back doing anything until he got out as well.
“Like that stunt last night?” I threw back. “Showing up at her house in masks?”
He laughed to himself, all too pleased. “It was for old time’s sake. Give us a break.”
But I shook my head. “We’ve been patient this long.”
“No,” he retorted. “We’ve been patient. You’ve been in college.”
I stepped up to him, a good four inches taller, and grabbed the ball out of his hands. I kept my eyes on him as I shot it out to my side and let it roll off my fingers, seeing Kai catch it in one fluid movement.
“We wanted her in Meridian City,” I told Will, “and she’s here. With no friends and no roommates. We wanted her in this building with all of us, and there she is.” I tilted my head to the window behind me, gesturing. “All that separates her from us is a door. She’s a sitting duck, and she doesn’t even know it.”
His green eyes narrowed on me, still listening.
“We know exactly what we’re going to take from her before we take her,” I reminded him, “so don’t fuck this up. Everything’s going according to plan, but it won’t if she feels she’s in danger before it’s time.”
He hooded his eyes and looked away, still pissed but obviously letting it go. Taking a deep breath, he slid off his black jacket, tossed it on the sofa, and left the room, heading down the stairs into the private basketball court off the living area.
Within seconds, I heard the echo of a basketball pounding against the hardwood court.
Kai rose from the sofa and walked for the windows, crossing his arms over his chest and staring silently outside.
I stepped up next to him. Planting my hand on the windows, I followed his gaze, watching Rika run the roller up and down, her once-white wall now turning blood red.
“She’s alone.” I spoke low. “Completely alone now. And soon she’ll have nothing to eat but our goodwill.”
I shifted my eyes to Kai, seeing his narrowed ones studying her. His jaw flexed, and at times he could be more formidable than Damon. At least Damon was an open book.
But with Kai and his stern dark eyes and hardened expression, it was always a guess what he was thinking. He rarely spoke about himself.
“Are you having second thoughts?” I asked.
“Are you?”
I continued staring out the window, ignoring the question. Whether or not I wanted this or liked any of it, it was never a question.
Three years ago, curious little Erika Fane wanted to play with the boys, so we indulged her, and she betrayed us. There was no way we’d forget. Once restitution was paid, my friends could have peace.
Kai kept his eyes on her as he spoke. “Damon and Will are blind action, Michael. Over three years, that hasn’t changed. They act and react from the gut, but for two men that once believed money and power could get them out of anything, they now know that’s not true.”
He turned his head, locking eyes with me. “There were no games in there. No real friends. No hesitation. Act and commit. That’s what they learned.”
I turned my gaze back out the windows. In there. That was as much as Kai had talked about prison since he’d gotten out.
I hadn’t asked, either. Maybe I knew he’d talk when he was ready, or maybe I felt guilty, knowing that it was all my fault. I’d brought her with us that night, after all. I’d trusted her. This was on me.
Or maybe, just maybe, it was because I never wanted to know what the last three years had been like for my friends. What they’d lost. How they’d waited.
How they’d changed.
I shook my head, trying to brush off his warning. “They were always like that,” I argued.
“But they were always controllable,” he challenged. “They were appeasable. Now they don’t have limits, and the only thing they truly understand is that they are the only person they can trust.”
So what was he saying? That they might have their own agendas?
I let my eyes fall to her, working vigorously as she rolled on the red paint.
And something coiled inside of me, twisting and tightening until my chest ached.
What would I do if they jumped ship? Took their own course of action? I didn’t like that idea.
But for three years, I’d been forced to look at her in my house, hear about her, and bide my time when all I wanted was to be her nightmare. She was here, and we were ready.
“We can’t stop,” I nearly whispered. We could control Will and Damon. We always had.
“I don’t want to stop,” he retorted, his dark eyes pinned on her. “She deserves everything that’s coming to her. But I am saying that things never go according to plan. Remember that.”
I picked up the glass of bourbon I’d set down and tossed it back, swallowing the remainder of the liquid in one gulp. The burn sat at the back of my tongue, my throat tightening as I set the glass down.
I’d remember it, but I wasn’t going to worry about it. It was finally time to have some fun.
“Why is she painting at two a.m.?” he asked as if just finally realizing what she was doing.
I just shook my head, looking down at her and having no idea. Maybe she couldn’t sleep after Damon and Will’s escapade next door.
Kai exhaled, gazing down at her with a slight smile curling his lips. “She grew up nice, didn’t she?” His voice turned soft but kept its threatening edge. “Beautiful skin, hypnotic eyes and lips, tight body…”
Yeah.
Rika’s Dutch South African mother married her way into money and power, using a face and body that was still only half as beautiful as her daughter’s. Rika may have inherited her mother’s blonde hair and blue eyes, her full lips and mesmerizing smile, but the rest was all Rika.
The sun-kissed, glowing skin; the strong, toned legs from years of fencing; and the way she looked so alluring and sweet but with a hint of mischief in her eyes.
Like a baby vampire.
“Yo!” Will bellowed from below. “What the fuck are you guys doing? Let’s play!”
Kai smiled, dropping his arms and turning for the court.
But I hesitated, still thinking about his warning.
He was right. Damon and Will leered, waiting to dive in for the kill. But what about Kai? How far would he go with her?
We had rules, a way that this was supposed to work. We weren’t going to hurt her. We were going to ruin her. I knew Damon and Will would try to break those rules, but what about Kai? Would he step in and reel them back in as he’d always done?
Or would he follow this time?
“What about you?” I finally asked, making him stop. “Did prison change you?”
He turned, looking at me with eerie calmness. “I guess we’ll see.”
