I Have to Have Her Read online

  “My brother is going to give you a job,” Rhianna said.

  “Oh.” Her gaze fell on him. “You are?”

  “Yes. I’ve got a spot. Don’t worry about your eye. Everything will be fine. You can start tonight if you’d like?” He expected her to turn him down but she was already nodding her head.

  “Yes, of course. Er, I’ve got to do some laundry.”

  He perused her body and shook his head. “I’ve got some errands to run but I’ll bring you back something to wear. Don’t worry.”

  “But my size—”

  “Don’t worry,” he repeated. Pushing the paper to one side, he dug into the breakfast she’d made for him, closing his eyes and enjoying the flavors. It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed a delicious breakfast. “When did you learn to cook?”

  “She’s self-taught,” Rhianna said. “Most of the time her mother forgot she even existed and she never had the money for takeout.”

  “Thanks, Rhi,” she said.

  His sister beamed. “Come on, let me brag a little about you. I remember you learning in school and then at home. You nearly gave yourself food poisoning once. Her chicken was raw and she nearly ate it. After that, you only ate vegetables.”

  “I got better.”

  “How is your mom?” he asked. He didn’t really care as he hadn’t gone back to the small town where they had originally grown up. His family had left to move to the city and in doing so, he’d found Claire there more often than not. The move was for his parents to be closer to him. He’d started making a name for himself and they wanted to reap the rewards. His parents had been money suckers, going wherever there was easy cash to make.

  “I don’t know. She left the trailer on my graduation day. I went there the next day with my bags waiting for me, packed, and another family already there.”

  “Your mother was a bitch,” Rhianna said. “Still is and I hope she has herpes.”

  Claire laughed. “I find it easier to not think about her. She hated me, made me aware of it whenever she knew I existed, and I chose to not let her get under my skin.”

  “You’re the bigger person?” Gabriel asked.

  “I try to be. I don’t always succeed but I’m trying.” She didn’t look at him.

  “What was your boyfriend’s name again?” He knew exactly what would happen. Claire jerked her head up but his sister was a wealth of knowledge, spilling all the details he needed to hear.

  He smiled, quite content with what he learned. All this time, he winked at her, waiting for her to explode or do something. She didn’t do anything but he knew deep beneath the cool façade, she was boiling. Good. She was going to learn he always got what he wanted and he didn’t have to pay a price to get it.

  ****

  Her clothes were now clean but Gabriel wouldn’t let her wear any of them. He came back to his apartment with a dress.

  Claire couldn’t believe what she was wearing. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she pressed her lips together. She hadn’t worn any makeup because she didn’t actually own any. Her hair fell around her in curls, and no matter how many times she tried to flatten them out, they refused to be controlled.

  The dress she wore was modest, yet indecent. She didn’t know what to think of it. At the chest, it was tight, squeezing her breasts together, but doing it in a way that didn’t show the half-cup bra he’d also bought. At the top, it opened up with straps around the neck, a strip of fabric to cover the bra, and then opened up at the waist. The dress covered her ass, stomach, hips, and then at the sides were two large slits that gave glimpses of skin when she walked.

  It felt sexy, dirty, exposed, and daring all at the same time. Her body was covered but also gave a hint of what could be.

  Gabriel hadn’t spoken a word but she was very much aware of his closeness. This was a punishment. Working for him hadn’t been on her agenda. Even without Rhianna giving her little hints and tips, the name Gabriel Locke spilled fear and arousal across the city. She’d heard whispered rumors. At one of her last jobs, she’d overheard some women who’d claimed to have graced his bed.

  He was known for being dominant, the one always in control. When you entered a relationship with him, you played by his rules. She’d also heard that he didn’t actually do relationships. Women were given an amount of time. That was it.

  She didn’t know why she was thinking about him or sex, or anything like that. Glancing out of the window, she tried not to think of those hands on her body or giving her pleasure. She and Gabriel had never gotten along and she wasn’t about to even think or believe in the possibility of them being friends.

  The car came to a stop in a parking lot. She saw several expensive cars outside, but there weren’t any lines. In fact, she’d been so lost in her thoughts she didn’t even realize they’d entered a private residence.

  “Come with me,” Gabriel said, climbing out of the car and holding the door open for her. She’d been Rhianna’s friend her entire life and knew not to ask questions when it came to her brother. She didn’t want to know about the men who followed him, or the fact they wore guns. Sliding out, she hoped she didn’t make a complete fool of herself with the heels she wore.

  He held his hand out.

  “What is this place?” she asked.

  “One of my clubs. This is where you’ll be working,” he said.

  The club looked more like a private mansion. The doors were opened by two security guards who bowed their heads as if Gabriel was royalty. She kept her mouth shut as they entered.

  The hum of music filtered through the rooms.

  “What you are about to see, you must never speak of. Not to Rhianna, not to anyone. This is a completely private place and must remain so.”

  “But what do I tell her when she asks where I work?” she asked.

  He smiled. “One of my strip clubs.” He opened the door and waited. “It’s this or you’re on your own.”

  She didn’t know what to say or do. This was all a little too much. Glancing back at the car, she knew she didn’t have anything to do. Work was hard to come by in the current market.

  “I won’t sleep with anyone and I don’t dance.”

  “From what I saw, you dance all right.”

  She shook her head. “That’s not funny.”

  “I’m not trying to be funny. Just taking it seriously.” He winked at her. “You’re here as a waitress. Nothing more. The men here, they know the rules. As a waitress, you’ll serve drinks, food, nothing more.”

  She nodded. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.” She stepped into his world and in the pit of her stomach she couldn’t help but wonder if she was making a mistake. There was no backing out now. She couldn’t change what was going to happen. This was what being screwed over by her boyfriend looked like.

  Gabriel grabbed her hand and marched her toward the back of the house. He walked so fast that she didn’t get a chance to look into each of the rooms. They entered the kitchen where a woman with hair tied back at the nape, little makeup, and a cigarette in her hand was speaking to the chef.

  “Casey,” he said.

  The woman was in her early thirties, or even late twenties, Claire didn’t know. The moment Casey saw Gabriel, she smiled.

  “Is this the girl?” Casey asked.

  Gabriel pulled her in front and all she wanted to do was cover up her body.

  He stepped away from her and Casey circled her. Claire wanted to cover up but instead, she kept her hands fisted and waited.

  “She’s got fire. I like that. You know men are going to offer for her.”

  “I don’t care. She’s here strictly as a waitress. She’s … she’s family.”

  Claire glanced at Gabriel, shocked by his admission. She was Rhianna’s best friend, but he’d always considered her a bug, at least that was what he’d told her.

  “You know how to serve drinks? I’m not going to have any trouble with you?”

  “No. I’ve worked in a few bars. I’m good
, I promise, and I’m fast.”

  “No, no, honey, we don’t do fast here. The idea is for the men to stay as long as possible. To relax. To slow down. That’s what you’re going to be here for. I don’t want speed. You will take your time, move your body, and make every single guy wish they were taking you home instead, understood?”

  She jerked her head in what she hoped was a nod but doubted it looked that graceful. In truth, she wanted to run back home, but she was a fighter. With a mother who slept around and rarely remembered her, she’d gotten used to sticking up for herself, and she wasn’t going to stop now.

  “I will leave you to it. Enjoy this experience, Claire.” Gabriel placed his hand at her back. The touch was fleeting but his hand was gone within the next second. She watched him leave the room. Turning back to Casey, she found the woman watching her.

  “I think the best thing for you to do is to take your allotted tray and get to work. Don’t stare at the clients. Just serve them and leave. Smile and be gracious. Whatever you see, you don’t see. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Good. If you survive the night, we’ll see how long you can last.”

  With a tray in her hands, Claire squared her shoulders and prepared for the night. She could do this. Even with her black eye.

  Heading out into the main bar, the lights were dark and she entered the first room, coming to an immediate stop. This wasn’t like any strip club she’d ever seen in the movies. Three women were all dancing together but that wasn’t all, they were teasing, kissing, and making out. The men and even women were watching, like a visual orgy.

  “Don’t just stand there, serve!” Casey hissed at her and she quickly jumped into action.

  Moving to the first man, she took the orders, and she made sure to take her time, working the room, bringing back orders.

  She met Daniella who worked as a bartender and was dressed in the same way as Claire. When one room was done, the next room was where she needed to go. Each room far more revealing than the last. There were some places where the men were enjoying a drink and conversation, but until her black eye healed, she was told to leave them. Casey’s orders.

  By the end of the night, it was nearly four in the morning. She was tired, her feet were killing her, and Gabriel waited outside.

  She climbed into the back of the car and settled beside him without a word. There was nothing to say to him. What went on in the club would remain private and she wasn’t going to break his rules to ask him questions.

  Sitting back in the car, she removed the heels and groaned. She needed to get used to the shoes, the clothes, and what she was going to see. She wasn’t a prude. None of what she saw tonight disgusted her; if anything, it intrigued her.

  From the moment she’d lost her virginity to Tony, she’d found sex to be … boring. She’d had two partners. David, who was her date on prom night, and that had been awful. Then Tony, who only fumbled in the dark. She didn’t exactly see the whole addiction to sex, but tonight, her body had awakened and she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be with a man who knew what to do.

  Chapter Three

  Two weeks later

  “She’s hard-working. The men love her. I’ve had a few inquiries as to if she’s for sale for the night,” Casey said.

  Gabriel wasn’t really paying attention. Instead, he watched the monitors as Claire worked the room. The bruise around her eye had finally faded. He’d already located her ex and at this moment. Tony was being dragged into one of his casinos for a nice talking to.

  He shouldn’t be here.

  For the past two weeks he’d dropped her off, he got a basic update on her progress from Casey and left. The dresses she wore were all the same as the first night, just different colors, each one designed to enhance her beauty. All of his waitresses were dressed in clothes that complemented their figure.

  Claire was all curves. A nice pair of tits, hips, ass. Just watching her, he wanted to fuck her.

  He’d found himself arriving home more often than not wondering what delight he’d encounter, only to see she’d stopped dancing in her underwear. She covered up and was rarely in his apartment. He had men following her. She was interviewing for other jobs but hadn’t said anything to Rhianna about it.

  His curiosity irritated him. For the longest time, he hadn’t cared for this woman. With her being in his home, part of his world, she’d started to invade more of his thinking space and he needed her out of it. This was for himself only.

  “She’s not for sale.” He stepped away from the monitors and left the building.

  Sitting in the back of his car, he pulled out his cell phone and saw the confirmation that Tony was indeed waiting for him.

  He gave the orders for where they were to take him and with that, he sat back. Glancing down at his cell phone, he checked over his sister’s social media accounts. Every now and then, he liked to make sure she wasn’t getting into trouble and as he did, he started to notice the pictures of Claire. There was one taken this morning. They were lying on the sofa, smiling, clearly with their legs across the back of the sofa. There were several like this through the years. Not all of them with a nice, black leather sofa.

  There were a couple of them at parties. He noticed one with Tony and Claire. The couple didn’t exactly look happy. Claire leaned against Tony, but the man in question appeared to be looking at another woman’s ass.

  Claire had a great ass.

  He closed his cell phone. He didn’t need to go through pictures to look at Claire. She was everywhere he fucking looked. He hadn’t been with a woman since she’d been in his world and with his sister also hanging out regularly at his place, well, it was making things difficult.

  He arrived at the casino and went straight down to the basement again.

  “Look, I don’t know what this is about. I swear I didn’t do anything. Someone’s trying to frame me. I don’t have nothing. I promise. I swear.”

  “You do a lot of talking,” Gabriel said. He grabbed a chair and pulled it close to the man in question.

  He was crying and sniffled. Snot ran down into his mouth. It sickened him, but he was used to men being so weak, begging for their lives. It was amazing what people would offer and plead with to save their own skin.

  “I don’t know who you are, man.”

  “And you’re not going to know. We have a mutual friend,” he said.

  “I don’t know no friends of yours,” Tony said.

  He snapped his fingers and one of his men produced a picture. It was a snapshot of Claire with her black eye.

  “I don’t know what that bitch has done but I swear I’m done with her. She’s in this on her own.”

  “You gave her the black eye.”

  “She was yelling at me and I was done with hearing her shit. She’s a fucking waste of space. Fat bitch and she’s crap in bed as well. She doesn’t know what she’s doing. She clings. I got rid of her.”

  “I know her. She’s a friend of the family, Tony.”

  “Whatever she told you, it’s a lie.”

  Gabriel stared at the man, watching, waiting. As if on cue, he pissed himself.

  He sighed. This was the kind of man Claire went for?

  “Please, don’t hurt me. I didn’t do anything. If you want her, she’s all yours.”

  He wrapped his fingers around the man’s neck and squeezed. “I suggest you be very careful what you say to me. I’m finding it all a little insulting right now, hearing you say shit about her.” He kept on squeezing, not really sure why he cared, just that it bothered him.

  So far, from what he could tell, Claire was hard-working with a bad taste in men. He didn’t know of any other boyfriends.

  “Where’s her money?” he asked.

  “That was my money for putting up with her. She can get money any time.”

  Gabriel pulled out his knife and slid it into the muscle of Tony’s thigh. The high-pitched scream echoed around the basement. No one other th
an himself and his men could hear him scream.

  There were parties going on upstairs, people who were living their lives and wouldn’t have a clue what he was doing.

  He pulled the blade out and for good measure, stabbed him again.

  “My name is Gabriel Locke.”

  The moment he said his name, Tony whimpered.

  “I see you know me. Well, Claire is like family and I don’t take kindly to someone hurting them. You’re going to bring back all of Claire’s belongings, and her money. You’re going to have my men go with you so I know you won’t try anything stupid. Am I understood?”

  Tony nodded and Gabriel slammed his fist against the bastard’s face for good measure. Removing his blade, he cleaned the blood off and left the basement, heading back into the casino.

  This time, he didn’t linger but headed back into his car, to go take care of some other business. A local MC wanted to do a drug run through his streets. It was polite to ask permission, but seeing as he had his own product to deal with, he was going to decline. When it came to bikers, he kept a wide berth and always tried to come up with a reasonable outcome.

  Tony was a piece of shit.

  What had Claire seen in him?

  Why the fuck did he care?

  Running a hand over his face, he tried to clear the fog from his mind. He wondered what Claire would say when Tony arrived with all of her things. He hadn’t done this for Claire, but for his sister.

  When it came to Rhianna, he didn’t want her to ever go without. All his life, he’d made sure she never suffered. Their parents had been poor excuses for human beings, their deaths a blessing, and he’d gotten full guardianship of his sister.

  He would protect her. Even as he thought about his sister, he couldn’t help but think about Claire. The two came together, but soon he’d have her out of his life for good.

  ****

  The bar was closed.

  Claire stood in the doorway, watching one of the women. She was the final dancer to work her magic on three men. It didn’t come as a shock when one man opened his pants and pulled his cock out, and started to work the length. She’d gotten used to such a blatant display.