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  From her vantage point, she could admire him.

  Caleb was a sexy as sin kind of man. He always looked in control and confident. He was the man every woman wanted, and every mother wanted as well but told you to stay away from.

  She wondered what he thought of her now, knowing she wasn’t a virgin. Had he hoped for a virgin?

  What would it matter anyway? He would never look at her with interest. The women that threw themselves at him were probably gorgeous model types.

  She was fat and had an ugly scar down her face.

  There was no way they were even in the same league, and he was older.

  He glanced up at the window, and she couldn’t look away from his piercing eyes. Did he always get what he wanted?

  Faith couldn’t handle the stare, so she looked away, biting her lip as she did.

  Climbing off the window seat, she left the library, complete with the book she’d been reading, and made her way upstairs to her room. Caleb’s home had a lot of stairs. Opening her bedroom door, she stared inside, once again amazed at the luxury before her. The apartments she’d lived in were nothing compared to this. In fact, this room was easily the size of two apartments.

  Closing the door, she made her way to the closet and opened it up. Only a couple of pairs of jeans and shirts hung there, but she could imagine it full of clothing.

  “Dream on, girl. You’re not going to live the fairy tale princess dream. This is not what this is about.”

  In fact, she imagined once Caleb was bored, she’d be thrown out onto the street, or worse, forced to work for her keep.

  Her future didn’t look good at all.

  Chapter Two

  “I don’t want you in my house,” Caleb said, glaring at his nephew.

  “Come on, man, please let me stay. It’s gross being at home. I walked into the room, and seriously, they were fucking, and I don’t need to see that shit.” Dwayne snuggled down into the chair, and Caleb stared at him.

  Anne had alerted him that Dwayne arrived a couple of hours ago. So far, he’d not seen Faith, and that was the way Caleb liked it.

  He loved his nephew. He simply didn’t trust him.

  Dwayne was an impulsive, spoiled, little brat at times, and as far as Caleb was concerned, he didn’t trust him, not yet.

  Trust in the Carson family had to be earned, and so far, he wasn’t impressed by what he saw from the youngest member.

  “You’re not staying here.”

  “Why not?”

  “I work for Beast. I’m a Carson through and through. I don’t have time for your bullshit parties, or thinking you can get away with shit. It’s not going to happen. Not in my house.”

  “Come on, Uncle Caleb!”

  “No. I’m not falling for that little pup lost routine. You may have Beast wrapped around your finger, but I see through your bullshit, Dwayne. I’m not interested.”

  This life wasn’t easy.

  It was fucking dangerous, and if Dwayne didn’t take it seriously, then he was going to end up dead, and that wasn’t something Caleb was willing to deal with. Not now, not ever. Beast wouldn’t ever forgive himself if Dwayne ended up dead.

  This was what made him and Beast different.

  His brother had that protective feeling inside him when it came to this boy. Caleb just saw him as reckless, and in no way fit to serve them.

  Dwayne sighed. “What will it take for me to become like you and Beast?”

  Caleb stared at him. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. I don’t want to be the odd one out of this. I know what you guys do is the real shit, and I get it. I know it’s serious, and whatnot, but I want in.”

  Caleb couldn’t help but start to laugh, and the weird thing was, the moment he started, he couldn’t fucking stop. The laughter just kept coming, bubbling up inside him, and he bent over, holding his stomach.

  “I’m being serious here. Ass.”

  Dwayne went to walk past him. Reaching out, Caleb grabbed hold of Dwayne’s neck, and pressed him up against the nearest wall.

  “Being serious is realizing that walking away like that, is bullshit. Don’t even think of having a temper tantrum in my house, Dwayne. I’m not interested. In fact, I’d rather shoot you and end whatever crap you’re going to give us because right now, it’s half-assed. All you want to do is party, fuck around, and spend the money we earn. And guess what, you have a right to that because your last name is Carson. You’re not even close to being ready.”

  “Then how do I get ready?”

  “Report to me at five o’clock, every single day. I’ll see if I’m ready to take you seriously.”

  “In the evening?” Dwayne asked.

  “No, in the fucking morning. Our days start early and end late.” He released his nephew. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

  He watched Dwayne leave.

  The young kid was throwing his arms all over the place as if he had a reason to, and Caleb found it fucking amusing.

  Once there was no trace of Dwayne, he headed to the kitchen.

  “Is that boy still alive?” Anne asked.

  “He’s alive, and gone for now. I don’t want him anywhere near Faith.”

  Anne smiled. “I doubt that’s going to be a problem. She avoids everyone who comes here, and I can’t get her to do much more than mutter a few replies. I don’t think she’s used to talking all that much.”

  Caleb leaned against the wall, staring out of the window. He caught sight of Faith in the garden. She wore another overly large shirt, and a pair of jeans again. She leaned over a rose bed and inhaled the scent.

  “Why doesn’t she wear different clothes?” he asked.

  Anne came to stand next to him, and smiled. “She can’t. Those are her clothes. I thought the same thing, and then I went to check out her closet while she was waiting in the library. She doesn’t have anything else, sir. Her clothes are all well-worn, and do not do her figure well at all.”

  “I want you to buy her clothing,” Caleb said. He pulled his wallet out and handed her a credit card. “I don’t want you to spare any expense.”

  “I certainly will. Do you want me to tell her anything?”

  “Yeah, tell her to buy things she likes, and not to worry about anything else.” He turned toward his cook. “Do you have her food ready?”

  “I do.”

  He took both of their sandwiches and made his way out to the garden. Faith hummed to herself as she stroked the petal of one of the roses.

  “You like them?” he asked, drawing her attention.

  She nodded.

  The air was cold, and he didn’t like the light jacket she wore.

  Putting their plates on the nearby table, he removed his jacket, and placed it over her shoulders. “I’ve got plenty of jackets near the door. Wear them. I don’t want you getting cold.”

  “I don’t need—”

  “I’m not arguing with you over this. Pick a jacket, or don’t come outside.”

  He left, grabbing himself another jacket and joining her at the table.

  “You’re very bossy.”

  “It’s the only way to be to get things done.” He sat down opposite her, and once again, they ate their sandwiches.

  Caleb found it hard to look away from her. She was a bit of a mystery to him. Even in the middle of his workday, he wondered what she was doing, and if she was okay. He wasn’t used to a woman getting under his skin like this, and he wasn’t sure that he liked it either.

  He watched as she ate her food. Every now and again her gaze would move toward the rose beds before returning back to him.

  “You like roses?”

  “I never really gave much thought to flowers, to be honest. They were just … there. I know it sounds weird, right? Flowers are so important to everything, and yet, I never realized how beautiful they were. Roses would have to be my favorite. They stand out. They’ve got thorns, so sometimes people may not want to pick them up, but if they took their time, and jus
t held them properly, maybe they’d see how beautiful they were, too.”

  Caleb stared at her scar, and wondered if not only was she referring to the flowers but also her face.

  “Have you been hurt a lot?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Not as much as people would think. I just … sometimes it’s doing nothing that hurts the most.” She shrugged. “Forget I said anything.”

  “Do you miss your dad?”

  “Nope. That is one thing I know for a fact I do not miss.” She chuckled.

  “What happened to your mom?” he asked.

  “You ask a lot of questions.”

  “I’m a curious guy.”

  “She died.” Again, she gave him another shrug. “I don’t really remember her. It was me and Dad for so long, it seems weird to even think about her at this point. I like to think she wouldn’t have agreed with his choices in life.”

  “Your dad was selfish.”

  “Was?” She looked at him, tilting her head to the side as she did.

  “Eat your sandwich.”

  She didn’t need to know yet that her father was long gone, and would never be coming back.

  They finished their food in silence. She wouldn’t look at him, and he couldn’t stop staring at her.

  The scar on the side of her face didn’t look ugly to him. It looked like it had hurt like a bitch, but it didn’t take away from her beauty. He adored her green eyes. They held so much warmth, which to him meant a good deal.

  “I wanted to talk to you about school.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. My father pulled me out of school a few years ago.”

  “Didn’t you get school, you know, understand it?”

  “I got it, but I was tired of moving from place to place. Always feeling out of my depth because classes had changed. I’m not interested in that. I never knew if I was going to be in the same place for longer than a few months.”

  He didn’t push as he already saw that she wasn’t happy. Glancing down at the time, he saw he needed to be getting out.

  “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  He grabbed their empty plates and stared down at her. “Have fun.”

  ****

  “Why do we have to go here?” Faith asked.

  “You need some new clothes, and seeing as I don’t trust you to come home with any of them, I guess I’m going to have to come shopping with you.”

  She climbed out of the car and followed Anne as they made their way into the shopping mall.

  “I hate shopping.”

  “Which is why I’m here, and you’re going to get some new clothes.”

  She turned toward the woman who’d ordered her out of the house, and even threatened to get one of the men to force her into the car. Anne was … scary. She didn’t see that coming. She liked the older woman, as she didn’t take shit from anyone, and she also admired her for sticking around.

  Anne must have seen some serious stuff working for the Carsons, but she seemed loyal to them.

  “I don’t have a lot of money, Anne.”

  “Money is not a problem.” She held up a plastic credit card. “We can have a whole lot of fun without worrying about the price.”

  “Is that Caleb’s?”

  “Yes. We’re here on his orders that you have some new clothes, and I’m not going to hear any bad-mouthing. Do you understand? You’re eighteen, and even though you’re Caleb’s property now, you’re going to look good.”

  “Property?”

  “The moment your dad handed you over, you became his.”

  Her stomach turned. She hadn’t thought of it like that, and now she was … scared.

  There was no way she was getting out of this mess. Her father was dead. She knew it. She didn’t feel anything about it though. Her father had been dead to her for a long time, and there was nothing she could do to make herself care. Why should she?

  All he ever cared about was finding his next gambling fix, and getting himself thousands of dollars into debt.

  “How about we have some fun? I know I’m old, and you probably don’t think this, but I can be a laugh.” Anne held onto her arm, and smiled up at her.

  Faith giggled. “Okay.”

  “Caleb’s not going to hurt you. I hope you know that.”

  “I don’t know what to think anymore, to be honest. I’ve never … I don’t know what to do.”

  “Learn to have a little faith, dear.”

  This time she did smile. “Like my name.”

  “I think your name is beautiful.”

  “Dad told me that my mom gave it to me. He didn’t want her to name me that, thought it would make me too big for my boots.”

  “Men don’t get it, sweet. They never do.”

  “Do you have any children?”

  “Nope. I don’t have any, and I never want to have any either. I’m happy taking care of my Carson boys. I’ve been with them for so long they feel like mine.”

  She laughed. “I bet you’d have made one hell of a mom. Baking cookies, and just being you.”

  Faith liked Anne. She felt comfortable with the other woman, more so than anyone else in her life.

  “I’ll never know. Now, let’s get you dressed.”

  Before Faith could argue, or try to get out of going shopping, Anne took her from one shop to another. She’d never liked clothes shopping. There was nothing more boring than looking through piles of clothes, hoping to find something that fit. This was just another of those reasons that she never fit in.

  Of course, no matter how difficult she made it for Anne, she still ended up in a changing room trying on jeans, shirts, skirts, and even dresses.

  She hated it.

  Some of the dresses showed off her knees. Others fit to her curves, which she didn’t like. After years of wearing her father’s hand-me-downs, or just buying clothes way too big for her to grow into, she wasn’t used to this kind of luxury.

  “You look absolutely beautiful. Now, we’re going to have your hair cut.”

  She quickly pulled away from Anne. “No. My hair stays.”

  “I don’t mean all the way off.” Anne held up some of her hair. “Just the split ends to clean it up a bit. Don’t worry about a thing, sweetheart. I’ll be right there.”

  Faith hated being treated like a child, but seeing no point in arguing, she followed Anne toward the hairdressers, where she then sat for over an hour while a man worked. She didn’t even get a woman working on her hair, which only served to piss her off.

  Anne at least stayed true to her promise. She stood right there the whole time, talking, and making sure the guy did a damn good job.

  By the end of the day, Faith was exhausted. She didn’t want to do anything else other than collapse in her bed, far away from everyone and everything.

  When she entered home though, there was no such luck as Caleb was waiting for them. Anne had asked her to dress in one of the skirts and blouses, and Faith had only agreed to one that fell below the knee. It was a blue one with flowers all over it. The white shirt went well with it, and she also wore a jacket.

  “Did you have a nice day?” Caleb asked.

  She looked toward Anne, who shrugged. “She hates to shop, and I don’t think you should get used to it. I got as much as I could this time.”

  Anne left, making her way up toward Faith’s bedroom.

  Caleb stepped in front of her. “You don’t like shopping?”

  “I know. It makes me weird, right?”

  His gaze traveled down her body, and she didn’t like the way she responded to that look. How she liked it. Her nipples tightened, and she was so pleased the jacket covered her reaction so he didn’t see it.

  In the past few weeks, she’d noticed that she responded to him in ways she never had to any other man.

  She wasn’t immune to him, and she found that hard to deal with.

  “You look pretty, and this really suits you.”

  She ran a
hand down her skirt, lifting it just a little. The fabric was soft and nice. “I like it.”

  “But you don’t like shopping.”

  “Nope. Anne made it fun though. She’s a hard one to say no to.”

  “That’s why I put her in charge.”

  “Will you be staying for dinner?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “I don’t know, Faith. Will you be joining me?”

  She tilted her head to the side, thinking about it. “I may.”

  “Good, I’ll stick around for dinner so long as I have you for company.”

  Before either of them could say anything else, his cell phone rang.

  “Excuse me.”

  He stepped away, moving toward his office, and for a long time she just stood there, watching him.

  Finally, after several minutes had passed, she shook her head and made her way upstairs where Anne was already putting away her clothes.

  “I can do that.”

  “It’s no trouble.”

  “I think Caleb is staying for dinner.”

  “Right, okay.” Anne handed her a dress. “Will you be downstairs to join him?”

  “Yes.” Other than the few sandwiches they’d shared, this would be the first time that she had dinner with him.

  She watched Anne go, and finished putting her clothes away. They were all so beautiful. She’d never had any fine things before.

  Once everything was done, she sat down on the edge of her bed and simply stared into space. There was nothing else she could do.

  Could she sit across from Caleb or by his side, and have dinner? It seemed almost too much for her to even consider. She didn’t know why she was worried.

  Pressing her thighs together, she knew why she was worried.

  No one had ever gotten such a response from her. She wanted him, there was no denying that.

  At eighteen years old she wasn’t a fool about her needs.

  Other than that one guy, she’d never had sex with anyone else, and even that one time, it had been awful. It had hurt, and it had been over within a matter of seconds.

  She really didn’t see the appeal with younger guys.

  “You’re not going to sit here thinking about Caleb, or what it means to be with him, or anything else.”

  Shaking her head, she finally stood up and left her bedroom. She didn’t want to chicken out. The thought of having another meal by herself filled her with a loneliness she didn’t want to feel.