by Sam Crescent
“Paige can’t just disappear, Donnie.”
“I’ve got a plan for Paige.”
“You’ve got a thing for her, haven’t you?”
“Luiz, I’m twenty-one years old, and I can have any fucking woman I want.”
“Yeah, but none of those women are Paige. I’ve heard what some of the bitches are saying about you.”
Donnie clenched his hands around the steering wheel getting angrier by the second. “They need to learn to keep their fucking mouths shut.”
“Bitches talk.”
“And wives learn how to keep their mouths shut.”
Luiz stared at him. Donnie felt his calculating gaze. “Holy fucking shit, that’s what you’re going to do, isn’t it? You’re going to marry Paige.”
It was one of the plans he had.
“Step marriage.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Sorry, man, but it is a little fucked up.”
He didn’t need to hear what his friend already said. “We’re not related.”
“Still, The Family may consider it an act of craziness.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I’ve got a plan, and if that means I marry Paige, so be it.”
Donnie pulled up outside of the diner as Paige was leaving with Jake and Tonio. Her long raven hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was smiling, and her sparkling blue eyes turned to him. Her smile didn’t diminish. If anything her smile seemed to shine a little brighter.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had a lot of business to attend to?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. The uniform showed off a great deal of cleavage, and Paige had a great set of tits. Some men liked slender women, but he loved a woman that he could grab a hold of. Paige, to him, was perfect.
He loved watching her eat, and she was a brilliant cook, better than her mother.
“Business is attended to. I’ve got to take you out shopping.”
She groaned. “Why? I hate shopping. Can’t we do something different for a change, like go to the movies?”
His friends chuckled. Out of all the women he’d been with, Paige was the only woman who hated shopping, in a bad way. She would try to find any reason not to do it.
“I hope I find a woman like you,” Tonio said.
Paige shrugged. “I don’t see the attraction with shopping all the time. In fact, I hate it. What’s the point in constantly putting clothes on to take them off? It sucks, and if the shop doesn’t have air conditioning you end up sweating like a fucking pig.”
He took her hand leading her back to the car. “Your mother is planning a party, and Dad wants me to take you.”
“He’s not my dad.” The smile disappeared. Whenever she mentioned his father, she always thought of her own, which only served to upset her. Donnie hated seeing her upset.
“Forget about him. You’ll be dragging me around the shops to pretty you up.”
She nodded, resting her head against his shoulder. “You’re such a good brother to me.”
“Stepbrother.”
“I know.”
He wrapped his arms around her. Donnie hadn’t done anything brotherly to her. His thoughts were anything but brotherly when it came to Paige. He’d used women, fucking their pussy, ass, and mouth while imagining it was Paige.
She tilted her head back to smile at him. He stroked his thumb across her bottom lip. Her lips featured in his fantasies all the time.
“Come on, let’s go shopping.”
His cock was rock hard, and he didn’t know how he was going to survive a trip with her in his car.
****
Paige dragged the red dress up her body trying to reach around to grab the zipper. It was no use. She couldn’t reach it.
Opening the clothing room door, she smiled at Donnie. He was sitting against a sofa, watching her.
“Could you do the zipper? I can’t.”
“Come here.”
He was always so good to her, so brotherly. No, not brotherly. He was a good friend. She hated it because she didn’t once think of him as a brother, but she thought about him as a friend, and more.
Closing the distance between them, she turned so that her back was facing him. Biting her lip, she locked her fingers in front of her as his fingers found the zipper, grazing the flesh at the base of her back.
“Your skin is so smooth.”
Slowly the back of his fingers glided up her back, sending electric shocks crashing all over her body. She closed her eyes, loving his touch, never wanting it to end.
Finally, he finished.
“Thank you.” She took a step away, but Donnie caught her hand. Glancing at him over her shoulder, her heart started to pound.
He was staring at her back, and his hand squeezed hers. “You’re welcome.” Donnie released her.
Stupid.
She was starting to imagine things now. For a split second she’d really thought Donnie was going to kiss her. Over the last few months she’d started to see him watching her. It all had to be in her head, imagining it. There was no way he’d want her, not with all the glamorous women she’d seen on his arm. He didn’t hide away the fact he was fucking everything with a vagina. At first, she didn’t care, but over time, it had started to really hurt. She didn’t know why. They were only friends. However, that friendship had started to develop. Paige tried to remind herself at every opportunity that he was her stepbrother. Their parents were in fact married.
“You look beautiful.”
His hand rested on her hip for the slightest second.
Pulling away, she gave a little twirl. “This dress will do? I hope so. I can’t stand to change again.”
Running her hands down the front of the dress, she let out a breath. Was it her, or was it getting hot in the room?
“Yes, that dress will have to do for now.” He sat back down on the sofa, but he no longer leaned back. “Go on. We’ll take that one.”
“Are we going home afterward?”
“No, I thought I’d treat you to dinner.”
“I’ll be okay in my uniform.”
He shook his head. “Get changed in this.”
It was the first time she noticed the bag at his side. Taking the designer bag, she looked inside to see an expensive pair of jeans and a green shirt. “Put them on for me. The restaurant won’t allow you inside in that uniform.”
“They can’t stand the competition, can they?” She chuckled, taking the clothes from him.
“What about your zipper?”
She’d forgotten. Presenting him with her back, she waited for him to release the zipper. This time his fingers didn’t touch her skin. She didn’t know if she was thankful or not.
Get a grip. He’s your damn stepbrother.
Taking a deep breath, she removed the red dress once she was inside the dressing room. She placed it back on the hanger, while pulling on the clothes that were a perfect fit.
Don’t think about how he knew your size.
No matter how many diets she attempted her size sixteen curves refused to budge. She refused to not eat to lose weight.
Putting her uniform in the bag, she finally left the safety of the dressing room. He was waiting for her.
Neither of them spoke while they went to the main desk to pay. The women tried to draw Donnie into a conversation. He simply glared at the woman, presenting her a card to pay. When they were outside, Paige blew out a sigh of relief. Jake was waiting by the car.
“Wow, you were all glary in there. What was the matter?” she asked, trying to break through the tension.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“That woman was trying to flirt with you, but you shot her down at every turn.”
“I wasn’t interested in her.”
“Okay, I thought all women interested you.”
“Not now they don’t. Get in the car.”
“Why are you being so grumpy? I’m not the one who forced you to go shopping. You had to force me, remember?
”
“I know. I’m tired. It has been a long day, and Dad said something to piss me off.”
At the mention of his father, she relented. She knew firsthand what a total asshole his father could be. “Sorry,” she said, touching his arm. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No.”
The one thing she’d learned about Donnie and his father, there wasn’t anything she could do. The Family, which she learned was the nicer way to say the mafia, wasn’t a place for men to express their feelings. Her thoughts turned to Maria, Luiz’s sister. It wasn’t a good world for nice women either. Maria was such a lovely woman, but her spirit had been destroyed by a violent bastard of a husband. Paige would love to be alone with him and a baseball bat, providing she was the one who held the baseball bat, of course. She’d show him a lesson in respect.
Climbing behind the passenger seat, she waited for Donnie to get in the car. Jake gave her a quick smile before turning back to face the front.
“Where’s the other two?” she asked, referring to Tonio and Luiz. The four friends were rarely separated, and it was a shock to see them alone now.
“They’ve got business to handle.”
She shuddered. One night she’d heard commotion outside of her room, and she’d sneaked a peek into the corridor between her room and Donnie’s. She’d seen all three friends covered in blood. Without speaking to them, she’d closed the door to give them privacy. She didn’t have much longer and she’d been free and clear of The Family, of Anthony, and of her mother.
The past year hadn’t made the pain of losing her father any easier to bear. She’d learned to channel her pain into her studies. When she was with Donnie she didn’t feel her father’s loss as hard. It was strange for her to find friendship in a man she still considered scary as hell, and attractive.
She still didn’t know for real if he’d try to kill her or not. Paige figured she’d try not to make him chose between killing her and letting her live.
“Jake, I want Paige and me to eat alone when we get to the restaurant.”
“I already arranged to have a seat to myself. Don’t worry, I’m not going to be sharing this with you.”
Donnie nodded, and Paige frowned. Okay, something was seriously up if Donnie wanted to eat together, alone, away from his friends.
“What’s really going on? I know you, Donnie.” She didn’t know everything about him, but at least she knew enough, or at least, she hoped she did. Biting her lip, she wished she hadn’t brought it up.
“It’s something I’m going to talk to you about in the restaurant.”
She didn’t push. There was no point. Donnie would tell her what she wanted to know in his own time. No one pressed her stepbrother. God, she hated thinking of him as her stepbrother, but then life did suck at times.
Sitting back in her seat, she enjoyed the small view she got of the city before they arrived at the Italian restaurant. She loved Italian food, and she’d shared this love with Donnie many times over the last several months.
Climbing out of the car, she received a glare from Jake and an even bigger glare from Donnie. She didn’t care. Her life was never at risk no matter what people said.
They entered the restaurant with Jake walking behind them.
Donnie said his name, and they were shown to a private table in the back. They passed a couple of celebrities, but no one talked to Donnie. He’d taken her hand as they left the car, and he only let her go after he helped her into a seat. His jacket opened, and she spotted the gun tucked away.
Gasping, she pulled back instinctively.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“Kind of hard not to. You’re packing like there’s danger all around.” She reached for the menu, for anything to do with her fingers. There were sparse moments when she was around him where she completely forgot about him being part of The Family.
“There is danger all around, Paige. I’ve been trying to warn you about it.”
Opening up the menu, she bit her lip trying not to think about the real danger. “I’m not part of that world.”
“Are you really that stupid?”
She glared at him, wanting to snap his head off at his rude comment. “No, I’m not. I’m nothing to The Family, remember? I’m an outsider.” She heard him sigh.
“You can’t be that naive.”
Paige stared at him over the menu. “When I finish school in a couple of months, I’m going straight to college. I won’t have anything to do with you or with The Family.”
Donnie sat back and chuckled. “You really believe that, don’t you?”
“What’s not to believe? Everything is in order for me to leave.”
He was smiling as he leaned over the table. “Have you heard from the college recently? What about your dorm accommodations? You’ve not even gone for an interview.”
Paige frowned. He was right. She hadn’t received anything else from her college. Donnie opened his jacket pulling out a letter. “Have a look.”
She took the letter from him, sliding it open. Reading through the words, tears sprang to her eyes. “What the hell is this?”
“This is confirmation that your slot for the college has been revoked. My father saw fit to make sure you weren’t going.”
“Why would he do that?”
Her future was shattering all around her.
“Because, if you like it or not, you’re part of the family.”
Chapter Five
Donnie saw her breaking apart, and he reached across the table to take her hand. Paige wouldn’t let him, pulling away from him.
“I’m not part of the family. It’s all lies.”
He took the letter from her. “My father is intending to show you off on your eighteenth birthday bash.”
“Why?” The tears that had filled her eyes spilled down her cheeks. Donnie had never been affected by tears, but seeing them on her face, cut something deep within him.
“You’re his responsibility, and women are a commodity.”
“I’m not his fucking daughter. I’m not going to be sold off like cattle.” She turned to look out of the window.
He glanced over at Jake to see his friend was looking at his cell phone. Donnie wasn’t under any illusion that Jake wasn’t watching everything. He gave the appearance that he wasn’t paying attention, but that was indeed false. Jake had his eye on everything, just like Donnie did.
“Keep your voice down.”
“Fuck you.” She stood up, and before either of them could catch her, Paige was out of the door.
“Handle it,” he said to Jake as he passed.
Running out onto the street, he saw she’d already taken off across the road.
Without watching for a car, he ran across the road catching up to her and yelling her name.
“Paige! Paige, slow down.”
“Fuck off.”
They were drawing attention to themselves, which he hated. The last thing a Martinez needed was to draw attention.
“Leave me alone. I swear it, Donnie, I don’t want to say anything to you anymore. In fact, screw you all. I hate it.” Donnie figured she wasn’t really thinking about what she was saying. It wasn’t his fault that her mother screwed up.
She kept storming off, but he finally grabbed her arm, stopping her. “I said stop.” He hauled her against him. Any other time he’d have relished the feel of her soft curves against him, but today wasn’t one of them. He was more concerned about getting them out of view. Donnie saw one of the clubs owned by The Family and shoved her inside. He didn’t stop, nodding at several men as he passed.
“What are you doing? Let go of me.” She fought him, and he had no choice but to throw her over his shoulder. “Get the fuck off me.”
She kept slamming her fists against his back, telling him to leave her alone. There was no chance of that. He walked into the room where he knew there were no cameras to watch them. Putting her to her feet, he pressed her against the wall.
Paige di
dn’t stop there. His little hellfire of a stepsister kept on fighting him. He grabbed her wrists, keeping her locked to the wall. She continued to fight while Donnie just got horny as fuck with her wriggling body.
“Let me go.”
“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry my dad is a complete and total bastard. I know you wanted to go to college more than anything.”
“I’ve been wanting it for years. I couldn’t wait, and he stole it from me. I’m not even his daughter, and he fucking stole it from me, Donnie. What did you do about it?”
“Nothing,” he said, admitting the truth without remorse.
“Why did you do it? Why? I’ve talked about it for hours, and you’ve kno—”
“No, I didn’t know, baby. I found out a couple of weeks ago what he’d done. I found the letter in his drawer.”
“Weeks? How can you have known?”
“There wasn’t anything I could have done.”
She shook her head, trying to pull away from him again.
“Stop fighting me.”
“I’m not part of your world, Donnie.”
Staring into her eyes, Donnie sighed again. He was forever letting her down. “From the moment Sharon brought you to my father’s house, you were part of this world. There wasn’t any getting out of it.”
“I can’t accept that.”
“You’ve got no choice. I can’t let you go. It’s too dangerous, and our enemies will hurt you to get to us.”
Slowly sliding his hands up to lock their hands together, Donnie no longer felt like he was restraining her.
“I don’t want to end up like Maria. If I get abused by a man who claims to be my husband, I’d kill him. I couldn’t take it like I’ve seen so many women do.”
“Look at me, Paige.” He stared into her eyes, wishing she’d stop breaking down on him.
“No.”
He did something then that completely shocked them both. Slamming his lips down on hers, he changed her thoughts. Taking her lips against his own, Donnie gave in to the need that had been building from the moment he first met her.