Traded

by Rebecca Brooke

  “God-fucking-damn it.” I pulled out my other phone, the one that couldn’t be traced, knowing the only way to fix the situation was a call to Dad. He was either going to be pissed as hell or agree whole-heartedly.

  The phone rang a few times before he finally picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Dad, we’ve got a problem.”

  “Don’t tell me you got arrested.” His voice got louder with each word. I heard Mom yelling in the background.

  “I didn’t get arrested, at least not yet.” I searched the room for my missing glasses.

  “What do you mean, not yet?”

  I found them on the other side of the room and placed them on one of the tables to make sure they weren’t bent. “Yeah, if you don’t get someone over here to help me clean up the mess.”

  “Well, if you stop with fucking vague-ass bullshit and give me an idea of what we’re dealing with, I’ll send people over.”

  I groaned and flopped back into the seat. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off I was exhausted and wanted to get the hell out of there. “Elena’s piece of shit husband wanted to make a payment tonight. I met him at the stadium and right off the bat he starting spouting off all kinds of bullshit about her. I lost it.”

  “Did you kill him?” Dad asked, no emotion in his voice.

  “No, but he’s out cold. Eye swollen shut, broken nose.”

  “Sounds like the fucker deserved it.” There was some shuffling on the other end of the line. “What inning is it?”

  I looked at the scoreboard again.

  “Bottom of the fourth.”

  “Okay, give me about half an hour. I’ll have someone over there to deal with it. Is Brock with you?”

  “Yeah,” I said, just as Brock returned to the seat next to me and stared at the blood on the floor, shaking his head.

  “I want you to leave at the top of the ninth. Tell Brock to stay until the end of the game. I’ll have a car pick him up.”

  “All right, I will.”

  “Stop by tomorrow on your way to the restaurant.”

  “Okay.”

  We hung up and I stared at the floor. All of the reasons why I wasn’t thrilled with being part of my father’s business were sitting in front of me. Getting into fights wasn’t something I did—at least, not since elementary school. There was a difference between a non-payment and flying off the handle.

  A bag of ice appeared in front of me.

  “Otherwise you’re knuckles will swell and it’ll be obvious you were in a fight tonight,” Brock explained, his shirt covered in blood. He needed to change too.

  Taking the ice from him, I placed it over the bleeding splits. It burned the second the cold touched my skin and I had to hold back the wince. How the hell was I supposed to explain to Elena what happened tonight?

  “Thanks.”

  “Fucker deserved that. Had you not beat his ass, I would have.”

  “Yeah, except now I have to go home and explain it to Elena.”

  “If she hasn’t learned what a cocksucker her husband is already, this ought to do it.”

  I sat forward, my arms on my thighs, keeping the ice on my hand. “Oh she knows. I’m more worried about her reaction to me knocking him senseless.”

  Brock held up his hands. “Look it may not be my place, but I’m going to give you a bit of advice. I may be wrong, but it seems like you’re not ready to give this chick up. Maybe it’s time to introduce her to what you do—like your dad did. This way she won’t be shocked when shit like this happens.”

  “You do know that if I didn’t consider you a friend, you’d be next with comments like that.”

  Brock smirked. “You wouldn’t lay a hand on me.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck trying to release the tension. “You’re probably right though. I was supposed to bring her the other night and decided not to.”

  “Don’t chicken out. Just do it.”

  I watched the scoreboard count the innings until I could leave. During the seventh inning stretch there was another knock at the door. Dominic hadn’t made a sound until the sixth inning and that was just grunts and groans.

  Brock got up to answer the door.

  “Good evening, Mr. Hawes. I’m Victor, you’re father sent me to take care of a mess for you.”

  “Yes. I guess my father called ahead to the will call booth.”

  He nodded. “He did. It’s almost the top of the eighth. During the change in innings, you should leave while the crowds are out of their seats. I’ll send Brock on his way between the eighth and ninth. By then, I’ll have everything ready to go.”

  Whoever this man was, my father obviously trusted him and by the looks of it, dealing with a simple fistfight was probably an easy night.

  “Dad said wait until the ninth.”

  He nodded. “I know. We talked. This would be less obvious.”

  “Thank you, Victor.” I looked around the box.

  “Go, I got this,” Brock offered, holding out my jacket. I shrugged it on, fastening it at the front to cover the bloodstains. “You need to get yourself together before you draw attention to yourself out there.” He pointed at my hand. “Make sure you leave that in your pocket until you’re in the car.

  I nodded curtly. “Good-night.”

  Without another word, I left the club and stadium behind.

  CHAPTER 16

  Ashton

  Despite the number of people at the game, the parking lot was desolate as I walked to my car, the disarming of my alarm the only sound. I climbed in and started the ignition. My knuckles were still bloody and raw.

  “Fuck,” I yelled, slamming the palm of my hand into the steering wheel.

  Never once had there been an issue with a collection. Obviously there had been incidents like the one with Reynolds, but nothing this bad. They always left on their own two feet, with the understanding that they were to not call attention to themselves. They knew the consequences of not being able to pay back the money. This was the first time I’d had to call for a cleanup.

  My hands tightened around the steering wheel until pain flowed up my arm, forcing me to loosen my grip. Backing out of the space, I peeled out of the parking lot; probably not the best way to stay under the radar, but my temper was such that I didn’t really give a shit. Thoughts of Elena and the whole fucked up situation paraded through my head. I must have been on autopilot because I was surprised when the turn off for my street came into view.

  Pulling up the driveway toward the garage, I noticed the lights at the front of the house were off. Elena must have gone to bed early. The conversation about what happened tonight would have to wait until morning. There was no way I’d wake her up just to upset her.

  Quietly, I walked through the door of the garage into the kitchen. I moved through the house cautiously so I didn’t run into anything. Light shone from the upstairs, brightening the stairwell enough for me to climb without a problem.

  I reached the landing and realized the light was coming from my room. Julia must have left it on for me, knowing I’d be home late. Too bad Elena had told me no when I asked her to stay in my room. My dick grew hard just thinking about her in my bed.

  Stepping through the door, I froze in my tracks.

  Elena lay asleep in my bed.

  “Holy fuck,” I whispered. Excitement poured through me.

  The sound woke her, her long lashes fluttering open to reveal her warm brown eyes.

  “Ashton?” she called, her voice still thick with sleep.

  I sat down next to her on the bed and brushed a few wayward strands out of her face. “You said no”

  She shook her head. “No, I said I wanted to do it because it was something that I wanted, not to please you. I actually started out in my room tonight and realized that I missed your warmth, the smell of you on the sheets.”

  My mouth swooped down, taking possession of hers. When her luscious lips parted, I wasted no time slipping my tongue inside for a taste of heav
en—exactly what I needed after the night I’d had. Forgetting all about my knuckles, I slid my hand under the little pink nightie she wore to bed and winced when the fabric caught on the raw skin of my knuckles.

  I’d hoped she wouldn’t notice, but Elena was too smart for that. She pulled back and watched me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” I moved my hand out of sight.

  “Don’t you dare lie to me, Ashton,” she warned, sitting up and crossing her arms over her chest. I reached my good hand up toward her face but she smacked it away. “I don’t think so. Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

  Sighing, I pulled my hand out and showed her. The bruising had started to come out and dried blood caked around the cracks.

  “What the hell happened?” Without waiting for an answer, she climbed from the bed and went into the bathroom. A few seconds later she brought back a damp washcloth and placed it over my hand.

  “Did you just curse at me?” I laughed.

  “Don’t start. What’s wrong with your hand?”

  “Boy, did you get bossy.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me and my cock jumped in my pants. Not once in my entire life had a demanding woman ever turned me on. Something about Elena made everything sexy—even angry. Everything was different with her.

  “Your asshole husband showed up tonight and couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

  She flinched at the mention of Dominic. “What did he say?”

  I shook my head, really not wanting to tell her, but I knew she’d push after the way she’d acted so far. “A bunch of shit about you that no husband should ever say about his wife. I lost it.”

  “You defended me?”

  “Of course I did. What would you expect?”

  “I’m just not used to it.” Her eyes sparkled. “I have to say I like it. You’re not going to get in trouble are you?”

  “No. My dad sent someone down to the stadium to take care of it.”

  Gently peeling away the washcloth, she examined the cuts, the heat from her hands warming the cold skin, and all I could think about was those delicate fingers wrapped around my cock.

  “Elena.”

  Her eyes darkened but she made no move to touch me. Not once since the first time I tasted her lips had she taken the lead. Probably another fucked up thing her husband taught her.

  I plunged my hands into her hair, ignoring the pain, and captured her lips with mine. The taste of strawberry mingled with the flavor of whiskey on my tongue and her hands slipped up my chest, stopping there.

  Nipping at her bottom lip, I sat back on my heels and began unbuttoning my dress shirt. Her breath hitched when I popped the last one and pulled the shirt off, dropping it to the floor. Elena’s hand came forward, abruptly stopping and dropping to the bed. I caught the longing in her gaze before her eyes shifted away from me.

  “Put your hands on me, Elena.”

  Her head jerked up. Questioning eyes caught mine. Taking her hand from the bed, I placed it on my chest. Her eyes rounded and I needed to know how deep it went. “You’ve never touched a man?”

  Her head shook, eyes filling with moisture. “Not like this. I wasn’t . . . wasn’t allowed. Dominic told me where to touch.”

  Fuck.

  Her hand trembled under mine as I held it against my body. Without breaking eye contact, I told her, “That man doesn’t deserve anything other than someone’s fist or a fucking branding iron. I want your hands on me anytime you want to put them on me. Unless I have you tied up.” I leaned forward and licked her quivering bottom lip. “And then, that’s only because I want to bring you to heights of unmatched pleasure.”

  She moaned at my words, the sound going straight to my cock. Her body responded to me but I had a feeling if I let go she’d take her hands back, and that wasn’t happening. Using my own to guide her, we traced over the skin of my chest. I let her explore without fear. My muscles jumped when her hands grazed over my nipples. It took all of my self-restraint to keep from bucking my hips, afraid of destroying the progress we were making. Not to mention the fact I found the whole situation erotic.

  When her hands continued to explore on their own, I moved mine to remove my belt and open the button on my pants. Freeing my dick, I breathed a sigh of relief. Pulling a few fast strokes, I noticed Elena’s hands had once again frozen, her eyes wide but she didn’t look shocked.

  She looked aroused.

  I took hold of her hand again, guiding it down my body. Our hands reached my cock and I bent forward, close to her ear.

  “Touch me.”

  If felt weird to have those words roll of my tongue, yet for some reason they felt right.

  Her delicate fingers wrapped around my shaft and stroked lightly. Everything about it was tentative, but that just made it so—much—better. Sensation traveled everywhere, igniting a firestorm in my body and the desire to flip her to her back and plunge into her over and over again surged through me. Gritting my teeth, I kept my ass rooted to the bed.

  Tonight was about Elena.

  Tonight, she was in control.

  Hooded, molten brown eyes watched me, her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, her breathing keeping time with each stroke. Our bodies were in sync. The atmosphere in the room turned electric, and something flipped in her gaze, and when she leaned forward and for the first time kissed me there was no way I could keep my hands completely to myself. Cupping her face, I tilted her head to gain better access to her mouth.

  Passion ignited and she pushed me back onto the bed, and a low growl rumbled up my throat. She pulled back from the kiss and I opened my eyes to find hers wide, her fingers pressed to her lips.

  “I—”

  “Don’t stop now.”

  I guided her back down. Our lips connected and the heat returned.

  Suddenly she sat up again but when I opened my mouth to protest she covered my mouth with her finger. I stilled and waited for her to make her next move. Her hands went to the hem of her nightie, pulling the skimpy material over her head and letting it drop to the floor. Her panties quickly followed.

  I lunged off the bed, removing the rest of my clothing and grabbing a condom from the drawer. Taking her hand, I placed the foil in her open palm and closed her fingers over it. Her nose scrunched.

  “Tonight is about what you want. I want you to take control.” To show her I was serious I lay back on the bed, hands behind my head.

  Her eyes searched mine. “And if I don’t want you to keep your hands to yourself?”

  I laughed, my dick bobbing against my stomach with the movement. “Oh sweetheart, I have no intention of keeping my hands or any other part of my body to myself. I simply want you to take you lead. If you haven’t noticed,” her eyes followed mine as they ran down my body towards my cock, “everything you’ve done up to this point has me harder than nails.”

  “Then touch me, please.”

  Reaching up I cupped her breast, rubbing the pad of my thumb over her already hard nipple. A soft whimper passed her lips. Her hands landed on my chest and her leg slipped over my stomach to straddle me, the weight of her body pressing down on me only heightening the pleasure. Her wet core slid over my shaft and I had to grip the sheets to keep from thrusting up and finding my way inside her delectable body.

  I noticed the glint in her eyes and knew I was in serious shit. Whatever had been holding her back before, she’d obviously pushed it to the back of her mind. Bending down she ran her tongue over my nipple.

  “Oh fuck, Elena.”

  Her tongue traced a path down my chest and back up, laving the other nipple with the same attention and the shocks that raced through my body had me wondering if I was going to die before the night ended. She licked back up my chest, her tongue trailing from the hollow of my throat, up my neck, until she captured my mouth. Letting my eyes slide closed, she devoured my lips, hunger and passion leading the way. Some small functioning part of my brain recognized that this is what women felt when I had their gor
geous bodies below me. Fuck, it was amazing.

  “Do you like that?” she whispered against my lips.

  “Feel for yourself.”

  As she pushed my desire higher, my cock grew harder, and my body began to tremble. “Oh God, Elena, if I don’t get inside you soon, I’m going to come all over my stomach.”

  She nipped at my ear. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

  Leaning back, she ripped open the foil pack and her hands shook as she attempted to roll the condom down over my shaft.

  “Relax, you’re doing just fine.”

  She watched me for a moment then nodded. She took a deep breath and her eyes focused on my cock, seamlessly gliding the rubber along my length, the gentle squeeze of her fingers making my stomach ache. Clenching my eyes shut, I held the orgasm back before it exploded with the soft touch of her fingers. Lifting up, she held herself over me, pausing for a moment before she slammed her body down on mine.

  “Holy hell.”

  “Shit, that feels good.” My eyes popped open and I watched in wonder as her face flooded with something indescribable and her eyes hooded with lust.

  “Cursing twice in one night.” I chuckled, unable to hold it back.

  She cocked a brow. “You feel like laughing?”

  Oh shit.

  She lifted up like she might get off, but the breath punched out of my lungs as Elena began to ride me. I held my hands up for her to grip. Her pace picked up and I felt my body building faster than ever in my life.

  “Please tell me you’re close,” I begged, my words hissing out from between my clenched teeth.

  “So close,” she panted.

  I reached down to thumb her clit and her back arched, her pussy gripping my cock as she exploded around me. It was all I needed to follow her. Finally, her body settled and she collapsed on top of me. I brushed the hair from her face and placed a kiss to her upturned lips.

  “I knew you had it in you.”

  She shook her head, her eyes drifting closed. “I didn’t.”

  Her breathing evened out. After one, truly fantastic round of sex, sleep sounded perfect. I slipped from beneath Elena to clean up and ditch the condom. I needed to talk to her about getting tested. Elena I trusted; the fuckwad she was married to, not so much. Tolley probably couldn’t keep it in his pants, but hopefully he’d worn a condom with his other women.