What's Your Price?

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2021 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-0-3695-0382-4

  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.

  WHAT’S YOUR PRICE?

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2021

  Chapter One

  Laura Smith didn’t like being told what to do. After getting out of the foster care system at eighteen, she’d sworn to never allow herself to be in a vulnerable position and to certainly never show fear to any man. Gabe Moore wasn’t just any man, but one of the most feared men in the city. He commanded attention and power wherever he went. He owned everyone in it. Even people who had no idea of his presence were owned by him or connected to him in some way. Be it a workplace or restaurant. Sitting opposite him now, she stared right into his blue eyes.

  He was a handsome man and could have any woman he wanted. She’d heard the rumors about him. How women would gladly strip naked just for a chance to be with him. Each piece of gossip she heard sounded even more absurd than the last.

  “You’re not happy to be here?” he asked.

  “Why would I be happy?”

  “It’s a beautiful restaurant. Your clothes look stunning. You don’t have to pay for a single thing.”

  She glanced around the dimly lit restaurant. Other diners were present, but she saw the tension in each of their gazes. They were scared of this man. A mob boss, crime lord, she didn’t know how to describe him. He was a businessman and a crook.

  “This restaurant has a bad reputation for firing the staff that don’t fit their mold. The dress is a size too small for my chest. I’m not stupid. Nothing in this life comes for free.” She covered her glass as one of his men went to fill it with wine. Drinking wasn’t on the cards for tonight.

  This meeting shouldn’t be happening.

  “Interesting. You don’t like wine.”

  “I don’t like being told where to go or what to do. Your men gave me no choice.”

  Gabe smiled but made no sound.

  The biggest mistake in her life was not backing down from his gaze. Yesterday, he’d gone to the bar where she worked. It was after hours, so the place had been a mess. As per instructions, she stayed to help clean up said mess, only Gabe had been intent on punishing one of the bosses who owned the place. She’d never seen him before. The other employees had looked away, bowed at his command. Not her. He’d looked at her, and she’d stared right back.

  To look away showed weakness. Once you showcased it, others exploited it. She knew all about that firsthand. She’d gone through a lot of shit and wasn’t proud of it, but that was why she had her own place and worked her ass off. If a guy so much as touched her, he would get a fist to the face.

  Playing the role exhausted her, but life didn’t let her be herself. The moment she let her guard down, she was often fucked.

  She’d gone home tonight after working at the diner for ten hours straight, intent on curling up and going to sleep, to find three men waiting for her.

  Now she sat in one of the nicest restaurants in the city, opposite the most ruthless bastard she’d ever come across. Rather than shake or cower, she sat tall, staring into his eyes, waiting.

  “I knew the dress was too small, but then I wanted to see how fucking sexy those tits were.”

  She held her hands out. “As you can see, I’m not ashamed to fill out a dress.” The bodice was tight and it flared out across the hips. The gown that was designed for a princess, but she’d lived in the gutter. Some women would be ashamed of her body. In fact, she’d had plenty tell her she needed to cover up. Revealing any part of her fuller figure was disgusting. She’d embraced her curves, flaunted them. With the life she’d led, she’d gone many days and nights without food. Nearly starved. Earning her own money, she always ate heartily, and diets weren’t something she was going to do. She stayed active and lived her life by her own rules.

  “I also know you like to reveal it a lot,” Gabe said, holding up his cell phone.

  She glanced at the profile of her social media account. “I reveal what I like.” She didn’t do full-body shots, but what was on display was tasteful. Showing everything and yet nothing.

  “Do you want to be a model?”

  “No.”

  He frowned.

  This time, she smiled. “Did you think I’d want help with that?”

  “Why show your body if not to attract attention?”

  She tapped her finger against the stem of her glass. “I don’t need to reveal my reasons for doing things, now, do I? Why did you bring me here?”

  “To entertain me.”

  “You’ve got plenty of women at your beck and call. You don’t need me.”

  “But you fascinate me, Laura.”

  She raised a brow.

  “You’re not surprised I know your name?” he asked.

  “Not at all. I know who you are and what you’re capable of.”

  “And yet you’re not terrified.”

  She shrugged. “I’ve done nothing to offend you. I work hard. I haven’t gone running to the police. It wouldn’t do me any good and yet, it doesn’t tell me why I’m sitting opposite you right now.”

  “I’m curious. If you don’t want to be a model, what do you want to be?” he asked.

  “Left alone.”

  He lifted his cell phone and scrolled through the images. There were quite a few, considering she only opened the account three months ago. “This is not a woman who wants to be left alone.”

  “Then look at the first picture. It will tell you all that you need to know.”

  Seconds ticked by. She rested her elbows on the table and placed her chin on top of her hands, watching. There was no denying Gabe was an attractive man. He was older than her. The suit he wore was a complete and total bullshit camouflage.

  He chuckled. “You don’t like being told what to do?”

  “Who does?”

  “You’d be surprised.”

  “I’m not one of them.”

  “And what happened to this woman? The one who told you that you would never gain any followers because of how you looked?”

  “I proved her wrong. There are a lot of people who want to see a curvy body.” She shrugged.

  “You’re certainly an interesting woman.”

  She tilted her head to the side. “What about you? Do you like being told what to do?”

  “I’m in the business of doing the telling.”

  She already knew that.

  They were silent as the waiter brought them their food. She wrinkled her nose at the small portion. Who actually ate this kind of food and felt full afterward?

  “You’re not happy?”

  “I haven’t tried it yet.”

  “But you’re glaring at the food.”

  “I’m not surprised at the small portion. At the end of the day, I was fired from here because I didn’t fit with the owner’s image of being slim enough to work here.”

  “Excuse me?”

  She looked up and saw his hand clench into a fist. “I used to work here. Apparently, the owner didn’t like that fact and said customers didn’t like having their food served to them by a fat girl.” She shrugged. “I found a much bett
er-paying job.”

  Gabe signaled behind him, and a man came forward. The conversation between the two was quiet, which intrigued her, and then she understood.

  “You own this restaurant?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, Gabe Moore, why on earth are you having dinner with me?”

  “You’re finding this all very entertaining.”

  “At least it beats watching some kind of soap opera. This is kind of fun.” She twirled her fork in her spaghetti and ate the smallest portion ever. After this, she was so going to have to go find a burger, or maybe a diner. That would be amusing. She’d enjoy the world’s largest milkshake or something.

  “Is it good?”

  “Yes, it is.” She wasn’t petty, and she finished her plate a few seconds after him.

  “Dessert?”

  “No, thank you. I don’t enjoy sweet foods. Tell me why I’m here,” she said. Even though she’d been ordered to this restaurant, forced to eat with him, and realized quite frankly he knew way too much about her life than was comfortable, she wanted it to end now.

  She wasn’t happy with constantly being the one playing catch up with him.

  Gabe sat back as their plates were taken. He shook his head at the dessert menu.

  “Tell me what you want out of life.”

  “No,” she said. “I’m happy in my life. Thank you. What do you want?”

  He pursed his lips, staring at her.

  She had an inkling of what he wanted, but he also didn’t like being pushed at his own game. Gabe wasn’t like any other man she’d ever known. Sitting back in the fancy restaurant, she waited.

  “I merely wanted to enjoy a meal with a woman who isn’t afraid of me.”

  “Good. You’ve experienced that. Can I go?”

  ****

  Later that night, Gabe cleaned the blood from his knuckles, but he still wasn’t happy. The owner of the restaurant had admitted to firing people who didn’t fit his own desired look to serve the customers.

  To think Laura Smith could have been right within his grasp and he’d lost the chance to find her, just because this fucker was intimidated by her body. The same body he couldn’t wait to get his hands on. To own. To possess. One look at her at the bar she’d been working at, and he’d been fucking smitten. The clothes she wore served to enhance her large tits, small waist, flaring hips, rounded ass, and thick, juicy thighs.

  He’d enjoyed his fair share of women, but Laura, fuck, his cock ached to be inside her. All he wanted to do was take every single part of her. To have his name spilling from her plump lips, or better yet, wrapped around his cock as he fucked her face.

  He left one of his men to clean up the mess. The owner would walk, but he was going to have to take an extended vacation to deal with the messed-up face he’d just earned.

  Felipe, one of his most trusted men, stood beside the car, looking a little uneasy.

  “What is it?” He didn’t mind bad news.

  Running this city, he could handle anything that was thrown at him and often did.

  “She handed it back.” He held up the dress he’d sent for Laura to wear, along with the lingerie.

  Gritting his teeth, he took them from his man and climbed into the back of the car. “What did she say?”

  “‘I won’t be needing these. Take them back to your master.’” Felipe wouldn’t look at him.

  “What exactly did she do?” he asked.

  “In the doorway, she turned around and stripped, throwing the clothes at me. I didn’t see anything, sir.”

  He knew differently. “Take me home.” He pressed the button that would separate him from Felipe and tugged at the tie that suddenly felt a little too restrictive.

  Laura was not like anyone he’d ever known.

  First, she was happy with her own company. That was unusual.

  Women flaunted themselves all over him. They wanted him. Hungered for what he could provide for them. Whenever he’d taken a woman before, the dress and the restaurant had guaranteed him a good night.

  Not with Laura.

  She’d looked so unimpressed by everything. He wasn’t used to having a woman clearly not care about what he could do for her. It infuriated and delighted him.

  She wasn’t like any other woman. Taming and claiming her would be his ultimate reward.

  Sitting back, he rested his head on the back of the seat. His cock was still rock-hard from being near her.

  One day soon, he’d have her with him, on her knees, taking him into her mouth. Until then, he had to find her weak spot. Have her begging for him.

  Felipe parked the car at the private underground parking where he lived. There, Gabe climbed out of the car, excused his man, and made his way toward the penthouse suite.

  Upon entering, he walked straight to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city and stared down.

  No one could see him, but he saw everyone.

  After a few seconds, he turned on his heel and made his way toward the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and removed his jacket.

  His men had already done their work, and before him lay the file that exposed every single tiny secret Laura possessed. He put his hand on the brown card and then flipped it open. Not a lot of paperwork inside, but he looked at her picture. It was one taken from her social media account. She wore a swimsuit, and her knees were up. She turned toward the camera smiling, and the sun shined through her body, making her look like a sinful angel. He’d spent a lot of time scrolling through her images, trying to understand the woman who’d captured his attention, and yet, he could find nothing.

  “Who are you?”

  Starting at the top, he discovered she’d been found on the steps of a church and sent to an orphanage. From a baby until five, she stayed at the home, no one even caring to adopt her. Other children had found homes, but the lonely, mousy-haired girl had no one.

  He saw a couple of pictures of her standing with a stern-looking woman.

  There were a couple of placement foster homes. His men had even included some rumors of said foster homes and what they did to some of their kids.

  Rape. Abuse. Torture.

  Had Laura experienced that?

  More questions flooded his mind.

  At the age of sixteen, she ran away. Three months later, she was found working part-time and attending the local high school. Rather than work with Laura to see what she wanted, she went back to her home. She never ran away again but stayed until the day she turned eighteen.

  She got a job, part-time, and worked until graduation. Then she left town the moment she did. From there, she traveled around the city, working in places he owned. For the last seven years, she’d been so close to him and yet so fucking far.

  His men had also supplied images, including one of her dressed in the restaurant’s attire where he’d taken her tonight. She held a smile, but again, he saw it in her eyes.

  Laura had seen a lot in this world.

  Why wasn’t she more … damaged?

  He ran a hand down his face and closed the report.

  She was reserved. She didn’t like being told what to do. Her attitude was refreshing. Especially as the last fifteen years, he’d gotten used to women tripping all over themselves to do whatever the hell he pleased.

  How could he claim a woman like Laura?

  He finished his bottle of water and tossed the empty container into the recycle bin. Leaving the file, he made his way into his bedroom, going straight to the en-suite. He put his gun on the counter. Spread his hands out and stared at his reflection.

  At forty years old, he looked good. Even with the life he lived, he took care of himself. He’d seen nothing but ugly all of his life. Knew the scum that lived among them. As he rose to power, taking over the city with an iron fist, he’d come to see that the wealthy could be even uglier than he ever imagined. Their greed knew no bounds. They came to him for every single dirty secret.

  He stepped back, stripped o
ut of his clothes, and got inside the shower. After he turned the water on, the rush of coldness ran down his back, soaking his hair. Tilting his head back, he wanted the cold to wash away the rampant need to fuck.

  His cock ached. His balls were tight. His length stiff and ready to pound Laura’s pussy. No other woman would do.

  Gabe wrapped his fingers around his length, closing his eyes and imagining the woman he wanted to possess more than anything.

  Laura enticed him as no other. She was the prize he wanted to take.

  He started from the base and worked up to the tip. Up and down, he slid his hand over his dick, feeling the need driving him.

  She was more fire than he could ever have hoped for. The thought of her going to her knees, taking his cock between those lips, it was too much. Even better was her spreading her legs and begging for him. Hungry for him.

  He worked his dick faster, feeling his orgasm build.

  Slamming his hand against the tile wall, he spilled his cum onto the waiting shower floor below. His cum drained down the plug as he caught his breath.

  It had been years since he’d used his hand to give himself pleasure. Women were at the push of a button, but the only woman he wanted was Laura.

  After rinsing his body, he climbed out of the shower and headed back to the bedroom.

  Laura would belong to him. It was just a matter of time. Every woman had their price, as did every single man.

  With this woman, he was going to make her fall for him and what he could give her. She’d had power taken away from her as a young child. No one had wanted her. That kind of pain left a scar, he was certain of it. He’d repair it by offering her everything and only expecting her body in return. She’d belong to him by the end of the week. There was only so much a woman could take before she belonged to him.

  He picked up his cell phone and organized the first delivery for tomorrow. A bouquet of roses.

  Gabe flicked to her social media account again and noticed the rose tattoo on the inside of her arm. The only piece of ink on her skin and on her right inner wrist. The woman must love roses, and that was exactly what she was going to have.