I Have to Have Her

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2020 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-0-3695-0236-0

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Audrey Bobak

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  I HAVE TO HAVE HER

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2020

  Chapter One

  “It’ll only be for a few days, I promise. And then everything will be fine. I mean, it will probably be longer than a few days. That asshole she was with took the car and all of her belongings, and even got her fired from her job for making a scene. He hit her too. You should see it, it’s really bad. So please, please, please, Gabriel, can she stay?”

  Gabriel Locke half-listened to his sister over the phone as he stared at the man who’d tried to steal from his casino. Not that he himself needed the money, but still, he couldn’t have anyone stealing from him.

  “I don’t want her here,” he said.

  “If you don’t do this, I will be the biggest royal pain in your ass.”

  “I haven’t seen this girl since she was eighteen. I don’t know what kind of influence she has on you.”

  “That was years ago, and I told you all the time, I’m the one who convinced her to go out to parties with me. Not her. You’re being unreasonable. Why am I not surprised? I should have known you’d react this way. It’s what you always do. You just react without being given all the facts.”

  If he didn’t nip this in the bud, he was going to hear this all day. With prolonged nagging, Rhianna’s voice was like nails down a chalkboard.

  “Fine, but only for a couple of days. Don’t push me on this.” He hung up the phone to the sound of her squealing. At least she was happy, which was more than he could say about this man in front of him.

  “Please, please, I didn’t mean to do it.”

  After rolling up the sleeves of his jacket, he cracked his knuckles and his fist flew across the bastard’s face. He repeated this four more times.

  Stepping back, he admired his handiwork. He needed a bit of blood, the pain that dug into his knuckles. He didn’t like people who tried to steal from him. He’d built up this casino along with the six more he owned, as well as his strip clubs, and a couple of other illegal businesses on the side.

  No one fucked with him because he hit right back. This was who he was. He’d built up his reputation and his businesses on pain and fear. The only weakness he had was his little sister and he made sure she was covered with plenty of protection at all times. Their parents were gone, killed years ago in a shootout at a diner. They’d been unlucky and Rhianna had been home, sulking over something.

  He knew she felt personally responsible for their parents’ deaths. If she hadn’t been arguing with them, they would’ve gone to a different restaurant. No matter how many times he told her it wasn’t her fault, she still blamed herself.

  Grabbing his gun, he pressed it to the thief’s temple. The man whimpered at the cruelty of it all. Gabriel took no prisoners and without a second’s remorse, he fired his weapon. The shot echoed around the basement.

  His work complete, he ordered the disposal of the body, put his jacket back in place, smoothing out any wrinkles, and left, heading back up to the main casino party. Stepping out onto the balcony, he was the king, overlooking his empire. Men and women were all throwing their money away. All taking a chance on what could be. Could they double, triple, or quadruple their money? The temptation clawed at them.

  Of course, he had distractions. Men and women dressed to impress and gain their focus. Sex and money.

  He’d come to learn everything had a price. Even women who played hard to get, who thought you wanted the chase. Several of his waitresses had tried to seduce him, but he didn’t fuck where he worked. He had women who knew the score and if he dialed, they’d be waiting. He didn’t do love or relationships.

  He fucked.

  Hard.

  Fast.

  Dirty and fucking incredible. He couldn’t be done with a prim and proper woman who needed to be coaxed to touch herself. He liked wet, willing, begging, desperate women. Some of these men tonight would take one of the waitresses to bed and fuck them into oblivion.

  He smiled. This was his hard work paying off.

  Now it was time to move on. On a Friday night, he always liked to make an entrance at several of his establishments. He left the balcony, aware of the men following him. His own personal bodyguards. Paying for the best, he got his men’s loyalty, and he only took men who were the hardest motherfuckers in town. He didn’t care if they punched first and asked questions later. This life was hard and it was fucking dangerous.

  His car was already waiting outside. Pulling out his cell phone, he checked to see if his lawyer had been in touch about a property he wanted to acquire. For the past couple of months, the owners hadn’t wanted to sell it to a company, and so he’d changed tactics and made it a more personal venture. They didn’t need to know he intended to strip their home down and build it as an exclusive sex club.

  Still nothing from his lawyer. He made a quick note to call him in the morning. Even though his world never slept, he allowed his people to get some sleep. He was used to power napping. A couple of hours here or there, never with anyone. If he took a woman to bed, she left it before he got any sleep.

  Staring out at the night, he watched people coming and going. Some were dressed to party. Others were homeless, and a couple looked like they were just finishing work. The hard, gritty world.

  This was his paradise. He’d made it his bitch and he ruled over all of it. Anyone who tried to take any of his territory, he slaughtered them without a second thought. This was his part of the world and no one was going to take it from him.

  ****

  Claire Sutton’s eye still hurt. She’d pressed peas over the damn thing, and she’d gone to the emergency room, all for nothing. She was going to have to wait for the swelling to go down. How was she going to get a job looking like this? A nice black eye because of her ex.

  That fucking bastard. Tony would pay the moment she found him. If he thought he could get one over on her like this, he was very much mistaken. She was pissed off. Sticking her earbuds in, she turned up a rock song so that it was blaring, killing a few brain cells in the process.

  She closed her eyes, lifted her hands in the air, and started to sway her hips from side to side.

  The bedroom Rhianna had given her was just amazing. It was a spare in her brother’s penthouse suite, and it was bigger than the apartment she’d just gotten kicked out of. Again, another of Tony’s mistakes. He hadn’t paid the rent even though she’d left the money out to be paid. Stolen.

  She had the worst taste in men. Simple as that. She’d sworn off men now. They weren’t worth her time. There was no way a few orgasms was worth any of this. It just wasn’t happening.

  She was thirsty and hungry. Rhianna was taking a private phone call in her own room, and Claire had already been told to treat the place like it was her own. Glancing down at her panties and vest top, she shrugged. Rhianna had said her brother was never home, and she didn’t want to fight through her dirty clothes to find something decent. All courtesy of her landlord. She’d come home from getting fired to find her clothes strewn out on the street as
if she was worth nothing, which to him, was probably the truth.

  No matter how many times she tried to tell the man she’d paid him, he had shown her his records and she’d seen that no money had been paid for two months. It didn’t matter her promises, he was done. So now she had no clean clothes, and Tony had taken off with her savings. He’d cleaned out her checking account as well.

  Broke.

  Opening the bedroom door, with her music still blasting away, she kept on dancing. There was no way in hell she was going to let all of her worries bother her. She was bigger than them. Swinging her hips harder, faster, she allowed the music to seep into every fiber of her being and just consume her.

  She opened the fridge and found a yogurt. Smiling to herself, she couldn’t recall the last time she’d enjoyed a fruit yogurt. After pulling off the lid, she looked through the drawers and found a spoon. Dipping into the creamy dessert, she swallowed it down with a moan. Flavor exploded on her tongue. She hadn’t eaten since last night, and she was starving. Before coming to Rhianna, she’d tried to figure something out. It seemed people didn’t like to hire someone with black eyes.

  She wasn’t going to think about it.

  Just keep on dancing and eating. That was all she could do.

  When a pair of hands wrapped around her neck, and she was crushed to a very hard, large chest, she let out a squeak.

  The earbuds were removed.

  “What do I have here?”

  She clawed at the hand around her neck. Her heart raced and she closed her eyes as his breath brushed across her ear.

  “I didn’t leave a woman half-naked in my apartment.” He was so strong as he lifted her and moved her with ease, pressing her against the fridge. She let out a start as the coldness touched her butt cheeks.

  Claire would recognize this man anywhere.

  So much for Rhianna’s brother not coming home.

  He stared at her.

  She hadn’t seen him since she was eighteen at their graduation. Gabriel Locke had always been scary. He rarely spoke to her and when he did, it was always filled with disapproval.

  He believed she was the reckless one, always convincing Rhianna to go to parties, which turned out to be the other way around. His sister liked to go out and party. She mostly followed along. She adored Rhianna and loved her like a sister.

  “I know you,” he said.

  Knowing this was Gabriel and not some thief, she offered him her best dazzling smile.

  “Claire.”

  The way he said her name was filled with contempt.

  “Gabriel.”

  “I don’t recall giving you permission to walk around in your underwear.” He glanced over at the mess she’d made.

  “Gabriel, what the hell are you doing?” Rhianna said.

  Slowly, he let her go. He hadn’t grabbed her too tightly to leave a mark. His gaze focused on her black eye and he stepped back.

  “I was giving your friend a welcome,” he said.

  “Yeah, well, most people tend to do that with a shaking of the hand, or saying hi. Claire, so sorry about my brother.” Rhianna glanced down at her and smiled.

  She held her hands up. “I thought you said he was never home.”

  “I come home every single night. It’s after two,” Gabriel said. He nudged her away from the fridge and she stepped into the yogurt, nearly falling over but his arms captured her before she hit the ground.

  She quickly stood up, trying to gain her footing before she took a tumble again. There was a towel on the kitchen counter and she used it to wipe her foot. “I’ll just clean this mess up.” She got on her hands and knees and started on the spilled yogurt, very much aware of his gaze on her.

  Could their first impression have been any worse?

  “You two better learn to place nice,” Rhianna said.

  “I don’t play nice.”

  Gabriel didn’t linger. He grabbed his beer and left. She watched him go, breathing out when he finally left.

  “What were you doing?” Rhianna asked.

  “I was hungry. I didn’t think he’d be back. When did he get so…?”

  “Asshole brotherly?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” She was thinking sexy, hot, and dangerous, but she wasn’t going to speak those words aloud. Rhianna hated it when people wanted to date her brother rather than be friends with her. It was a sore point and seeing as she’d never really liked Gabriel, Claire had promised her best friend to never date him. To not have anything to do with him.

  But wow, the man was … different.

  “Don’t worry. He’s harmless and he’ll help you out. Maybe we could ask him to keep an eye on Tony. He could help get your money or some of your possessions back.”

  “I doubt it. Seeing as I’m staying here for free, I don’t want to ask for more than I already have.” She hated to be in anyone’s debt and she wasn’t about to start now.

  Chapter Two

  After his morning swim, Gabriel entered his apartment to the scent of coffee and food being cooked. Rhianna couldn’t cook and often resorted to takeout, so that left one person.

  He stood in the doorway, watching Claire as she stood at his stove. Her long, brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, the natural curls all bound up. Today, she wore shorts that were too tight for her, so he knew they came from Rhianna, and one of his shirts.

  “Don’t you have any clothes now, either?” he asked.

  He’d noticed her shapely legs and body. Even last night as he had her back pressed up against him, the curves of her ass nestled quite nicely against his dick.

  She turned around and he saw she was listening to music again but this time, only had one earbud in.

  “Huh?” She glanced down at herself and he noted the deep blush of her cheeks. “Oh, yeah, er, my landlord decided to throw all my stuff out on the street. I’m going to be doing the laundry today. Rhianna lent me these.”

  He stepped up close and he touched his shirt at her waist. “This wasn’t hers to give.” She smelled like vanilla. He didn’t like that flavor in anything.

  Her lips were nice and plump. He could imagine them wrapped around his cock as he fucked her mouth.

  Claire had turned into a beautiful woman, there was no denying that. One he had no intention of tasting or touching.

  “Do you want it back?” she asked.

  Her nipples were pressed against the front of the shirt and she sounded breathless. He got to her too. Nice to know.

  “Not right now. I think a little modesty is in order.”

  “From what I heard about you, you don’t believe in modesty.” Her cheeks were pink as she spun back to the stove.

  He couldn’t resist. Stepping up close behind her, he put his lips right next to her ear. “You’re right. I’m used to having women parade naked around me. Now, Claire, you’ve got me curious. What have you heard about me?”

  “N-nothing.”

  “Don’t lie to me. I don’t like liars.” He wanted to bite her neck, to suck on her pulse and leave his mark. “Who hit you?”

  She turned her head. “My ex did.”

  “Give me his name.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m curious.”

  “No.”

  “I can find out.”

  “Then use your time and money to find out. I don’t care. I’m not telling you anything.”

  He liked her fire, her passion.

  Smiling, he stepped back without a word. He poured himself a coffee, grabbed the paper, and made his way toward the table. He’d gotten comfortable and took his first sip as his sister joined them.

  “You’re not helping cook?” Rhianna asked.

  “I don’t cook.” He did, but only sparingly. His life was way too busy and hectic to take on the joys of cooking. The coffee was good though. He couldn’t help but enjoy the smells of breakfast or the warmth that seeped into his chest.

  No woman had taken the time to cook for him, certainly not a woman who wasn’
t getting paid by him.

  “You look really smart today, Gabriel,” Rhianna said.

  “I went swimming. I’m not even ready yet,” he said.

  “Well, the swimming is really working out. I can just see it now, all those women swooning over you.”

  He put his paper down and gave his sister his full attention. “What do you want?”

  “What makes you think there’s anything I could want?”

  He raised a brow.

  “What? Can’t a sister compliment her brother?”

  “Normal sisters, yes. You’re not normal.”

  “That’s, like, really rude and unfair.” She nibbled on her lip.

  “We got over this years ago. Tell me what you want.”

  She rolled her eyes. He’d been taking care of her since she was ten years old. Their parents hadn’t exactly been good role models, and neither had Claire’s. Their parents had preferred not to acknowledge they had kids or responsibilities. Growing up, he’d lost count of the number of times he’d gotten a beating. Not that he looked back with any remorse. It helped to build him into what he was now.

  “It’s Claire,” she said.

  He had no doubt.

  “With her eye, and well, she’s got nothing. No one is hiring.”

  “And?”

  “She’s a good waitress, Gabe. Honestly. She’s hard-working and smart.” If his sister was calling him Gabe, she was desperate. “Claire hates charity and I worry about her.”

  “You want me to hire her?” he asked.

  “Yes. Please. Any job, that is you know, legal. She’s not into all that dark stuff.” Rhianna nibbled on her lip again.

  He wanted to say no but after his little encounter in the kitchen, he smiled. “Sure. I’ll hire her.”

  Rhianna squealed and threw herself at him. “Yes. Thank you. Thank you.”

  Claire walked in from the kitchen, carrying two plates. “Here you go.”