Spiked Roses: The Complete Top Shelf Series

by Alta Hensley

  Something about him. Something about what he had done to me in the last twenty-four hours made me relate to all the stories from the staff. I could see what they spoke of now. I could understand. I could finally agree. Up until now, I had thought the women were only blinded by the wealth. It had nothing to do with sexual dominance or the need to surrender to it. I’d thought it had boiled down to money and how desperately we all wanted even a fraction of what those men spent in one day. It wasn’t sexual… until now. Yes, with Kenneth, it had nothing to do with money. Hell, I lusted after him in a run down, cheap travel lodge.

  I wasn’t naïve. I knew perfectly well what Kenneth would think of my actions when I left the cool water of the pool. I knew my nearly naked body would stir something in him. He was a man, plain and simple. I was a woman, and I knew the powers I too possessed. But for some reason, Kenneth was different—or at the least he made me feel different. The way he looked at me made me feel sexy, sensual, and beautiful. I had never felt beautiful before. It’s why I had the tattoos. They were beautiful. The colorful ink and the intricate artwork were all beautiful. I had beautiful on me, even though I didn’t feel it was in me.

  Despite my unwillingness to show this man any surrender—at first—I found myself craving to know more about what this man wanted, what he desired, and even hungrier for him to demand my surrender again. Why? Why did I want this man to force my submission? Why did I like dancing along the dark edge of the cliff with this man? Why did I feel that I could unearth the devil from inside of him? And I wanted to. I so desperately wanted to.

  I had never thought I would allow any man to truly dominate me. Maybe my body, for a price, but never my soul. I would never care what a man thought of me. Never. I believed that all men who frequented Spiked Roses were arrogant, entitled, cruel, selfish, and at times, even monsters. Filthy, disgusting, monsters.

  I needed to remind myself of that belief, and stop giving Kenneth the power. I was letting him win. He was winning. He was seducing me, drugging me with his allure. I needed to get it together. But fuck! I wanted Kenneth to look at me more, with those eyes that made me feel beautiful… so beautiful.

  Beautiful…

  Yes, maybe I could use that to my advantage.

  Maybe I would be able to change his mind and coax him to let me go free. Was it possible to seduce this powerful man? Could I get to his heart and not just his cock? He did think I was beautiful. I could see it. I could feel it. Could I use that as my weapon?

  All my questions almost drowned me in thoughts, muddled my mind completely. I couldn’t think straight anymore, a weakness I couldn’t afford unless I wanted to get pissed on again by Marco. Or worse. Marco would make sure he did much worse to make me atone for what I had done. I’d run. I’d made him look weak. So he would no doubt prove to me he was far from it.

  Getting dressed, I reminded myself that Kenneth had done little more than lead me back to his room. He had control. I wondered if I would be able to weaken it even the tiniest bit. I began to doubt he had even noticed my state of undress. Why should he? Women at Spiked Roses were near naked all the time, and he could have them naked with a slight nod of the head or flick of the wrist. Seeing me in a cotton bra and panties was nothing in his world. Being the man he was, Kenneth no doubt was immune to the female form. A man such as he, a rich bastard, was no doubt accustomed to desperate women throwing themselves at him, paying him with their carnal delights to guarantee their job at the club, or in hopes that they could get a taste of his life that he only showed to his girlfriends. Yes, his girlfriends had a luxury and a life we all dreamed of.

  I exited the bathroom, prepared for my day. I needed to get away from this man and soon before he managed to return me to Marco, and before he could confuse me any further with his sexy draw. I couldn’t lose focus. I couldn’t give him that power. He already had enough.

  My eyes settled on Kenneth’s figure standing near the window loading the bag. He was a very solidly built man, something I was sure had been obtained from good genes and maybe a personal trainer. Rich people always had personal trainers and chefs, but regardless how he did it, his muscles pressed against the fabric of his basic black tee. He was much taller than me, almost a full foot it seemed. His dark clothing seemed to match the dark aura he exuded. He glanced over his shoulder at me, obviously hearing me enter the room.

  “We’ll be heading out now,” he said with no emotion at all. “Are you ready to go, baby doll? The driver is meeting us at the car.” His arrogance had returned—fucker.

  Walking up behind him, I stopped only a few feet away. I wanted to reach out to him, to beg him not to return me, but I doubted he would suddenly hear my pleas of mercy and change his mind. If I was going to escape, I would have to be smart about it. Count on myself and only myself. If I had learned anything in my life, it was that one fact. If you wanted something, you needed to make it happen yourself. No one else would. You had to be your own defender, your own champion, and your own savior.

  “Please call me Anita,” I finally said, my tone so soft, my words barely able to be heard. I expected to have more force, but I was storing up my fight. It would come. The fight would fucking explode from within, but I had to plan it right. “Pet names are for people you either care about, or are given in a condescending way. So, since it is obvious you don’t care about me, please stop calling me baby doll. Give me that, please. A little respect?”

  Kenneth’s hands fell from the bag he’d been loading, and he turned to face me. “Number one, I will say and call you whatever I want. You have no dictate over me. Number two, if I wanted to be condescending, there are a bunch of other names I could call you. You aren’t calling the shots here, baby doll. The sooner you accept that fact, the easier it’ll be for you.”

  I nodded. “I know my situation loud and clear. I do not need your constant reminder that I’m trapped in a world full of arrogant assholes.”

  Kenneth huffed at my rebuttal. “We need to leave,” he said, walking over to the door and looking over his shoulder at me. “But you got that right. You are in a world full of arrogant assholes. I won’t argue with you there.” He stopped and stared at me. “Wait. What are you wearing?” he asked suddenly, looking up and down my body as if for the first time.

  “What I wore yesterday. It’s not like you gave me time to pack.”

  Kenneth stared at me for a few moments before squatting and digging into his bag. He pulled out a tiny black dress. It was a simple tank top style dress made from a soft light fabric. He tossed it at me and stood back up.

  “What’s this?” I asked, confused as I caught what he tossed.

  “I’m not going to deliver you to Marco looking like that. You look inexpensive. Lacking class. Spiked Roses does not deliver classless and inexpensive gifts.”

  “Fuck you,” I snapped, feeling his insult like a slap to the face.

  His eyebrow rose and warning washed over his face. “What was that? I’m sure you didn’t just say those words to me again. Not after last night.”

  I paused, my heart skipped, and I swallowed hard, hoping to God he would allow that little outburst of mine a free pass. “You don’t have to insult me.” I unraveled the bundle of fabric and held it up to my body. “You want me to wear this? How do you know it will fit?” I asked awkwardly, never having someone buy me clothes since I was a child. I glanced down at the price tag still dangling from the dress. A quick peek told me the dress was worth more than I spent on rent last month. Jesus Christ. It was just a black dress.

  “Yes. I didn’t bring you shoes, but your black boots will have to do. We’ll just go with the edgy look I suppose,” Kenneth said. He stepped aside to give me enough room to enter the bathroom again. “Go change. Hurry.”

  “It’s not like you haven’t seen my body.”

  Kenneth didn’t crack a smile and appeared annoyed. “Anita, I don’t care what you do, or where you change. Just hurry up.”

  I remained in place, studying his fac
e, his stance, the way his eyes glared at me. Who was this man? “Or?” I taunted, knowing damn well I could be waking the beast though I couldn’t help myself. I felt like a junkie staring at a needle full of heroin knowing it could kill me and make me sick with addiction, and yet I couldn’t stop.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Or what? What if I don’t change my clothes?”

  Closing the distance between us, Kenneth’s hand went behind my head, his fingers lacing in my hair, pulling me hard enough that a sting attacked my scalp. He kissed me hard, his tongue forceful against my lips, demanding entrance, his hand lowering to rest on my thigh, moving up to my ass. He swatted me hard, matching the sting on my head to the one on my behind. He swatted me again and again, yanking my hair even tighter as he dominated my mouth with his.

  I gasped as my mind resisted, but my traitorous body pressed against his, wanting more of what I hoped he’d deliver. The sharp pain of his dominance fueled a desire inside my core. The harder he spanked, and the more he yanked on my hair, the more my body craved for more. I all but purred against his mouth as his tongue battled against mine. My palms rested on his chest as my mind wanted me to push away and fight back against his assault. But my hunger paralyzed my fists to where they were.

  Kenneth reluctantly broke our embrace and growled, “Do not test me, baby doll. If you continue to do so, I’ll fuck you before I deliver you to Marco. Don’t think it stopped with what I did last night.”

  He let out a steadying sigh, his hand releasing my hair as he took a step away from my shaking frame. “Now get dressed. Do not make me tell you again.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kenneth

  I needed to keep my emotions in check. I couldn’t risk looking at this woman as anything more than a staff person who had a contractual obligation to fulfill. I needed to remember why I was returning her to New Orleans and just who was paying me in a round about way to do so.

  “I’m dressed,” I heard Anita say softly from behind me.

  When I turned, I saw a beauty that made my traitorous cock twitch. The tiny black dress on her body accentuated her natural curves even more than before. The fabric was barely thick enough to hide her perky nipples. There was no doubt about it; I wanted to claim her again. I wanted to caress every inch of her delicate pale white flesh, reveling in the sweet taste of her submission as she screamed out my name.

  Fuck Marco.

  Fuck Spiked Roses.

  I wanted Anita Kyle for myself.

  Losing all control, I walked over to her, my fingers traced unseen patterns along her cheek and down the dip between her breasts. Leaning into her, I kissed her lightly, silently begging her to push me away. Out of all the fucking times to choose submission, this was when she finally did.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  She returned the kiss, and never offered the slightest resistance. I wanted her to resist. Why wasn’t she resisting?

  Fuck.

  Finally, I left her mouth, our stares hungry with passion. Wisely, I took several steps away from her, turning away, silently cursing myself.

  Fuck. I had to regain control. I had to regain control.

  “Where are you going?” Anita asked.

  I stopped, turning back to face her. “I can’t do this,” I explained, my tone steady. “I won’t do this. I’m here to bring you to Marco for the good of Spiked Roses and the reputation of The Tasting Room parties. Nothing more.”

  Again, I tried to turn away from her. Again, she called after me, stopping me as I opened the hotel room to leave. “Kenneth… where are you going?”

  “We need to get on the road. The driver is waiting for us downstairs.”

  “Stay.” She swallowed hard. “Please. I don’t want to leave yet.” She reached around me and closed the door, shutting us up in the room again. “I don’t want to leave you.” Her eyes gazed up and down my body, silently exposing her thoughts.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t fucking take it anymore.

  I held Anita to me, my hands feverishly yanking her tiny dress over her head and away from her impassioned body, my own self yearning to feel this woman’s limbs tangled with my own. I knew I shouldn’t be here with another man’s property, certainly not about to fuck her into oblivion. I had a duty and obligation. I needed to stop this now before it went any further.

  Yet, my throbbing cock, begging for release, ruled.

  Having this woman here with me now, the softness of her only a breath away. The sweet smell of her desire adhering to my skin… the taste of her kiss on my lips… the spell.

  I knew I had only meant to kiss her to show her what could happen to a woman who did not follow orders. To demonstrate to her there were consequences for her actions. To show that I was alpha and not to be crossed. What I hadn’t expected, though, was for her to return my kiss so eagerly, her hands clinging to my body as if her life depended on it.

  And fuck. Maybe her life did depend on it. Maybe it fucking did. I’d started this trip not giving a fuck about this woman’s well being. But now I did—maybe the truth of the matter was that I always had. I cared.

  Maybe that was her plan all along. Maybe she was using her pussy to seduce me. Maybe I was a fool being led around by my cock. But fuck me if I wasn’t growing weak.

  The fact that she’d swum in her underwear prohibited her from wearing the wet garments. Her nude body standing before me revealed perky nipples begging to be touched. I couldn’t hold back my involuntary moan. My hands went to her breasts, cupping them gently, expecting any minute for her to resist my touch. I wanted her to resist my touch. This had to stop. It had to fucking stop.

  I was weak. She made me weak.

  Giving up all hope of holding back, I dipped my head into her breasts, my lips sampling her soft skin at the rise of her naked breast, my senses going into chaos at the mere taste of this woman. Taking her entire erect nipple into my mouth, the crash of pleasure filled me. My greedy hands moved from her thin waist around to cup her now exposed ass. I spun her around, holding her against me. Her back pressed up against my chest, letting her feel the hardness being restrained in my pants. This was my warning to her. Not that I could have stopped now had she wanted me to.

  Anita turned to face me as her hands went to my chest, pushing me back away from her slightly.

  “Do you want me to stop?” I asked, unsure if I would be able to contain the beast inside of me about to be unleashed.

  With a look of surprise in her eyes, she asked, “Would you? Would you stop if I asked? If I demanded?”

  “Would you ask me to?” I ran my finger down her stomach to the top of her pubic bone awaiting her answer as I teased the tiny patch of curls.

  She didn’t answer me as her hands tore off my shirt effortlessly and then slid down the firmness of my stomach to the waistband of my pants. She struggled to try and unfasten the button, stopping only when my hands went to hers, halting them as her fingertips rested on the hair on top of my groin.

  Her eyes went to mine, her look almost pleading. “Please, Kenneth… I know…” She swallowed hard as her eyelashes fluttered “I know what I’m doing.” Before waiting for my reply, she lowered my pants, releasing my pulsing cock from the painful confines.

  I repositioned her, my arms holding her to me as I guided her gently to the hotel bed still unmade from the night before. I laid her back, supporting her head as I gazed at her up close. I tried to read her eyes, wide and excited, a light brown that twinkled in the sun rays beaming through the hotel window like an autumn leaf. I ran the back of one finger across her cheek, admiring the satin softness of her skin. I then used that same finger and trailed it down her body, stroking softly across her breasts, my eyes catching the flash of arousal and need in her face.

  I smiled as I rubbed her breasts again, enjoying the firm globes and the pebble-hard tips as my fingertips brushed them again and again. Bringing my lips to the curve of her neck, I kissed a trail along her collarbone, to her stomach, and
then to the little mound of curly hair between her thighs. Spreading her legs, I lifted one of her knees to my side, opening her pleasure to me.

  Moving down, I rubbed her little clit, her skin soft as plush velvet. I growled a warning as her thighs clenched together. “Don’t.” One word was all it took for her to open her legs again. I wanted her spread wide before me.

  Placing my finger at the wet seam of her pussy, I spread her lips gently. Her entire body trembled as her breathing turned to pants, and soft mewling cries spilled from her lips. This must be done—she would be mine. I had no choice. I had to taste her, lick her, soak up her juices as if my life depended on it.

  I spread her slit wide with my exploring fingers, making room for my tongue. My upper lip twitched as I caught her scent—musky and sweet, spicy and wet. My mouth watered as my tongue slid inside her, plunging deep, savoring her essence with each pass of my tongue. I reveled in her, rolling her taste around my palate. Arousal flashed through me in an upsurge of sexual need. The primal hunger brought a pulling to my balls, and my cock begged to be satisfied. I needed her lips around my dick first, and then her tiny little cunt milking me dry. Yes, she unleashed the beast in me. I fucking needed her. I wanted her until she was raw, crying out, begging for me to stop.

  I growled softly, drinking her honey, further roused at her response. Her taste drove me fucking wild as I swallowed her excitement, enjoying how it coated my lips with her delicious essence. Keeping her legs spread, I brought my finger back to her folds. Sinking it deep inside her, I penetrated her pussy, never taking my eyes away from watching a part of me enter what would soon be followed by my cock. Rubbing her walls, moving in and out, coating my finger with her juices, slowly I brought a second finger into play. One finger penetrated her, finger-fucking her slowly. The other finger gently rubbed her tiny clit that beckoned me from beneath her dark patch of curls.