Street King Read online

“Stop it. Help.”

  The rest of his employees stayed in their seats.

  “Aren’t you going to do something? He’s taking me against my will.”

  Still, they did nothing.

  “You may as well stop trying to get them to help you. They already know who you belong to, and getting them on your side is not going to work.”

  “I fucking hate you. You asshole. I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. It’s so unfair. Let me go!”

  He slammed the door closed. They knew not to disturb him. Pressing her up against the wall, he captured her hands as she tried to push him away.

  Keeping them above her head, he stared into her dark brown gaze. He’d never thought much of brown eyes until he met her. Now he’d gladly spend all of his days looking into hers.

  “You can fight me all you want to, but you and I both know who you belong to. Who makes you wet. Who you think about in the darkest night when your books won’t get you off.”

  “You need to stop watching me.”

  “I will never stop watching you. If you think for a second this is me backing off, giving you time, you’re fucking mistaken. I’m not going to be your fucking whipping boy, Hannah. I’m not going to be the one you blame. So I took things a little extreme. I gave you a college education free of stress and needing to find a job. A friend that adores you. Emily is different. What do you expect after all you’ve been through? You don’t like her, then I’ll kill her.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “But I can. I can do whatever the hell I want. That’s the kind of man I am. I’ll take out anyone who hurts you. I will tear this world apart to be with you. There’s no getting away from me. So, go to your desk and if you even try to leave, I will make it impossible.”

  “There’s nothing you can do.”

  “I’ve got eyes on you.”

  “I know Rome and Cage.”

  “You don’t know everyone I’ve got keeping an eye. They all know what their job is. What I require of them. Everywhere you go, I will make the people know that you’re unfit to work for them. Your reputation in this town will be ruined, and I’ll make sure of it.”

  “How can you do that?”

  “Simple, I will do that to keep you here where you fucking belong. Test me, Hannah, try me. I’m willing to wait so long but not forever. Now get out there and do some work.” Before he let her go, he slammed his lips down on hers, taking the kiss he’d been wanting to from the moment she walked in. “And you’re welcome.”

  He opened the door and watched as she walked to her seat with her cheeks the red of ripe strawberries. He shot a glare at the rest of his employees. They better keep their damn mouths shut if they knew what was good for them.

  With that, he took a seat behind his desk.

  He wouldn’t ruin her.

  Not even a little.

  Her reputation would always remain intact, but he wouldn’t allow her to think she could walk away from him without any consequences.

  He had no doubt she was confused about her feelings for him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make it perfectly clear to her.

  She belonged to him.

  If he had to repeat it to her over a thousand times, he would.

  She’d been his five years ago, and now that he had a taste of her, he wasn’t letting her go, not ever.

  ****

  One week later

  Hannah’s feet hurt. Rome had dropped her off, and she knew he hadn’t left the building. Like every other day the past week, he’d wait until she was safely indoors and then take a seat outside. West’s orders.

  Someone had to be with her at all times, and it was driving her crazy.

  She didn’t have any time to think.

  If it wasn’t West, then it was someone else, Rome, Cage, Emily. They were always there, asking her how she felt and what she wanted to do.

  None of them seemed to understand that she just wanted to have a few moments of complete privacy to do her own thing. To be allowed to think about all the changes going on in her life.

  Entering her apartment, she closed the door and flicked the lock into place.

  She walked down the short corridor, rounded the kitchen and there was Emily. She reached into the cupboard on the highest shelf.

  It wasn’t her friend that got her attention though.

  Nope.

  It was the large display of flowers in a vase on the table.

  “Are those for you?”

  “Oh, hey, Anna, I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “The flowers? You got a secret admirer?”

  “I wish. They’re all for you, girlfriend.”

  Hannah sighed, walking up to the large bouquet and looking at the card.

  You can’t hate me forever. With all my love, West.

  “You accepted them?”

  “Of course. They’re beautiful and expensive, and they’ll look great at the table that we never eat at anyway.”

  “I wish he’d stop this.”

  “He’s never going to stop, Anna.”

  She turned on her feet and walked back into the sitting room, slumping down into her position on the sofa.

  Seconds later Emily joined her, handing her a steaming cup of coffee.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “We’ve been through this already. It’s not like he’s not going to hear,” she said. She pointed around the room to all the hidden cameras.

  “There’s not one in my room or the bathroom.”

  “There’s not?”

  “Nope. We can talk in private if we really want to.”

  Getting to her feet, she walked into the bathroom as she believed that was the safest option.

  “You don’t want my bed?” Emily asked.

  “I wouldn’t put it past him to install something after this.”

  Emily chuckled, but they sat on either side of the small bathroom. Emily’s back leaned against the bathtub while she leaned against the cupboard near the sink.

  “So, let’s have it all out. Why do you have a problem with the flowers?”

  “Don’t you think it’s creepy that he keeps sending me things?”

  “He loves you. I don’t think that’s creepy at all.”

  “What about the way we first started? You don’t find that at least a little strange?”

  “So the guy has some controlling issues. I’m not going to judge him, Anna, you know this. You and him, it’s going to be.”

  “I don’t get a choice?”

  “You get one hell of a choice. We’ve been through this. I get that you’re upset about how it all ended up, but you love him regardless.”

  “How can I love someone who lies to me?”

  “To protect you. We live with our parents all the time and they lie to us.”

  “No, they don’t.”

  “Okay, normal people’s parents lie to them. Let me think.” Emily stared up at the ceiling. “They lie about Santa Claus. About if you’re a good singer and you’re not. The talent you may not have but really want. How awesome your picture is when we all know it really wasn’t.”

  “That doesn’t count.”

  “It does too. So, come on then, tell me what really bugs you about this whole ‘West lied to me’ thing?”

  “The scholarship.”

  “Why exactly?”

  “I thought I earned it.”

  “So it’s an ethical issue.”

  “I worked my ass off for those grades.”

  “No one is disputing that. Does it matter if it came from him or some loser guy down the street? You got the scholarship and the grades. That was all you. Move on.”

  She saw that no matter what she said, Emily was going to have a reason for why he did those things but also the positive outcome for herself. She didn’t need her friend to point out the obvious to her, as she was doing it herself repeatedly and it was driving her crazy. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint where it was in her life that she’d started to b
e ungrateful.

  West had done all these things for her when no one had, and it upset her.

  He’d been the only one she could rely on.

  “He’s killed people. He’s not who he said he was, and that scares me. It scares me that I feel for someone that one day could lose their temper and I end up dead,” she said.

  “Oh, sweetie,” Emily said.

  “It scares me. Seeing him every single day so far, I want to run into his arms where I know I’ll be safe, but at the same time I’m afraid. What if it’s not safe? What if he gets fed up with me and I end up at the bottom of some pit? I don’t want to die. I have fallen in love with him, and I don’t know what to do. Everyone is telling me all the time what to do. That I should love him and trust him.”

  “He won’t kill you.”

  “You don’t know that. Twenty years from now, ten, maybe, I don’t know.” She shrugged and sipped at her hot coffee.

  “At least you’ve now admitted that you love him.”

  “What do you think I should do now?” Hannah asked.

  “Whatever you need to do. There’s no getting away from this. The question really is, Hannah, do you really want to?”

  Pressing her lips together, she refused to think of the answer that sprang to mind.

  “You know what we should do?”

  “Not talk about this?”

  “Besides that, I think we should totally go out and party.”

  “It’s a Monday night.”

  “I don’t care.” Hannah laughed. “You’re always telling me I should live a little. Why wait until Friday or Saturday? Let’s party right now.”

  “I only have one question for you?”

  “What?”

  “Sin or Dirty?”

  “Dirty it is.”

  The club where she’d met West. She didn’t know why she was doing this, just that she had to get out.

  To go and have fun.

  To not think about the monster lurking behind the camera.

  Emily got to her feet, pulling her up.

  “Then get into your sexiest outfit ever.”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Hannah said. “What are we going to do about Rome?” There was no way he’d let them leave.

  “He’s been told to protect you, Hannah. Not keep you locked up where you can’t have fun. You can do whatever the hell you want, so long as you know what it is you do want, and also tell him this was totally your suggestion and we’ll be fine.”

  Thirty minutes later, heading downstairs with Rome in front made her even more nervous.

  She wore a small cocktail dress that showed off more of her cleavage and legs than she’d ever worn before. The dress molded to every single curve like a second skin, and she felt sexy in it even. Her long brown hair was curled, and she’d let it down completely.

  Rome had tried to think of a million different arguments and arrangements that meant she stayed indoors.

  There was no way she was playing the nice girl. Not even close. Not anymore.

  Hannah sat in the back of his car, and Emily rode up front.

  Staring out of the window, she felt her heart beating so fast as they neared Dirty.

  Would he be there?

  Would he even care that she’d decided to party on a Monday night?

  Biting her lip, she couldn’t help but smile at the thought of him being crazy, wanting to take her into his office and punish her for being naughty.

  Not that she was being naughty.

  She was a grown woman who could do whatever the hell she wanted to do.

  She didn’t need a man ruling her life or telling her what she could or couldn’t do.

  “How are you holding up?” Emily asked, turning in her seat.

  “I’m doing good.”

  “Do you know if West is at Dirty?”

  “No,” Rome said.

  “Aw, what’s wrong, handsome?”

  “Don’t even start with me, Emily. You know he won’t like it.”

  “Won’t like what? Her having a good time, or should I say attempting to have a good time? You’re totally ruining our buzz, you know. Totally.”

  Hannah laughed. “Yeah, Rome, we just want to have a good time.”

  “I hope you ladies know what you’re doing.”

  “We totally do.”

  Hannah wished for just a moment she could have Emily’s confidence. She didn’t have a clue what she was doing, only that she wanted to do something reckless.

  Maybe to even see how he’d react if she wasn’t doing what she was told.

  She sat back, listening to Emily and Rome banter.

  By the time he pulled up to the nightclub, her nerves were on edge and she felt a little sick.

  Emily was out and pulling her along. They didn’t even have to wait in line. The guy on the front let them go, much to the annoyance of the people already waiting.

  “See, some perks to being the girl West Gallo wants. Come on.” Emily marched on ahead and she just followed behind her.

  They grabbed a drink, and she downed her cocktail in one gulp in the hope of it doing the trick and not making her nervous.

  Within seconds she felt lighter, happier, looser.

  When Emily next dragged her onto the dance floor, she went willingly.

  All thought of West’s bad temper disappeared from her mind as she focused on having fun. Of not thinking about what could be or if he had a temper.

  Dancing with Emily helped a lot. She threw her head back, hands in the air, and just let the song take her to the next level. Sweat clung to her skin, and by the third song, she needed another drink.

  Making her way to the bar, she saw Rome sitting all by himself.

  The nightclub was crazy busy considering it was a Monday night.

  “Hey there,” she said.

  His gaze was on the dance floor where Emily stood. Glancing back at her friend, and then at Rome, she wondered if she was detecting a little hint of jealousy.

  Two men were dancing with Emily right now.

  Her friend wasn’t flirting, but she was having a good time.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “You should totally ask her out.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Emily. The way you’re looking at her right now. It’s like you’re wanting to eat her.”

  “I will never date a woman like Emily.”

  “How come?”

  “We work together.”

  “Ouch, that stung. That wasn’t very nice.” She stuck out her lip to pout. “If that’s the case, seeing as you’re both here to make me happy, you should totally ask her out.”

  Rome and Emily would be a pretty serious couple.

  “Not going to happen.”

  “Oh, please. This doesn’t have anything to do with her past, does it?”

  “No, of course not. We all have a past.”

  “Do you?”

  “I work for West Gallo. Anyone that doesn’t have a past doesn’t work for him. Why do you think you were so enthralling to him?”

  She stared at him, not liking the way this conversation was going.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You were everything innocent in his world. A virgin. Untouched by the cruelty of the world. Your parents kept you safe, and you can even see it now when I look at you. You don’t see that we’re working together to make you happy. You’re just seeing a lonely guy and a friend that would totally be amazing together.”

  “What’s wrong with seeing it like that?”

  “Because you don’t understand that for us, it’s not that simple. We don’t get to just wake up and the past be forgotten. It’s not easy like that for us. Besides, Emily is damaged goods.”

  “No, I guess it’s not.” She looked over toward Emily.

  Did Emily even like Rome?

  She didn’t know, and here she was encouraging him to go and dance with her.

  “Excuse me.” No longer in need of
a drink, she made her way back onto the dance floor.

  Before she made it to Emily though, someone banded an arm around her waist, holding her close.

  “Hello, baby,” West said.

  She should have known it was him. The sheer power of his arm around her waist and the feel of his rock-hard body against her back had her melting just a little bit. Not too much. Who was she kidding? Her body was on fire for him.

  Just that one touch made her go putty in his hands.

  “So, you decided to come out and party.”

  “We wanted to dance. Nothing wrong with dancing.”

  “You’ve got work tomorrow.”

  “And I’ll be there.”

  He spun her around, his hands on her back, near her ass.

  Staring into his blue eyes, she felt herself want in ways she never had before. Would it be so bad to give herself to this monster?

  “You look stunning tonight.”

  “Thank you.” She hadn’t dressed to please him. That was wrong. While finding the perfect dress, she’d tried to think of what would drive him crazy. Suddenly, he turned her so that her ass was pressed against his dick.

  “You feel what you do to me?”

  She couldn’t help but close her eyes for a second. His cock was rock-hard as it rubbed her ass.

  “Please, West,” she said.

  “You can’t beg me like that with your sweet voice and not expect me to want you. Are you wet for me right now? Do you want my cock deep inside that tight little pussy?”

  She loved it when he talked dirty to her.

  “Yes. I want you. I want everything.”

  His hands moved to her stomach, and she lifted her hands to wrap around the back of his neck.

  His fingers skimmed beneath her breasts, slowly stroking the underside of the curve. She wanted his hands on her body.

  Swaying her hips, she felt his cock, needing him inside her.

  She’d only been in his arms a matter of seconds and already she was desperate for him.

  “Do you want to come up to my office?”

  “Yes.”

  He released her, taking hold of her hand, and she followed him, refusing to look back at Emily and Rome. She didn’t want to see the smiles or the knowing looks.

  The moment they were in his office, he pressed her against the door. Sinking her fingers into his hair, she gasped as he lifted her up. The dress she wore was no match for him. He lifted it up, and his hand cupped between her thighs. The panties were flimsy as well. He tore them off her with ease and dropped them to the floor. His fingers pushed inside her pussy, two going deep to the knuckle.