The Precious Ruby (The Precious Trilogy Book 1)

by C Renee

  It looks great, for a strip club or a BDSM club. I now understand why Matt wanted to tie me up the other morning. Is this for people’s pleasure or their pain? Seeing all that equipment makes me feel sick.

  I find myself looking closely at the back booths and gasp.

  There is Matt and he isn’t alone.

  He has a brunette sitting on his lap. She isn’t facing me but I can see that her top is halfway down to her waist. Matt has one hand in her hair and the other squeezing her ass. I can just make out what he’s doing; he’s sucking on the woman’s breast. I can faintly hearing her moan from where I’m standing. I see Matt move his hand away from her hair and travel it down the front of her to slip it between her thighs. I’ve seen enough.

  I stalk off to the bar in anger and motion for the bar tender to give me a drink.

  “What would you like?”

  “I’ll have your strongest scotch.” I look over my shoulder at Matt again and I’m sick to my stomach.

  The bartender places the drink in front of me; I pay him and throw back the drink. I feel the burn as it goes down my throat and shiver from the after taste.

  I look back over to Matt and feel someone standing beside me. It’s Rick who gives me a questioning look.

  “See something you like darling? Would you like to join in? I’m sure Matty boy wouldn’t mind since he does it often enough.” He winked at me before he walked off.

  Wow… not only is Matt cheating on me right now but apparently he does so often and with multiple women at the same time.

  I think it’s best I get out of here and pretend like my heart hasn’t just hit the floor.

  I look towards Matt one last time and he looks up, zones in to where I’m standing, and I see his jaw tense and a frown appear on his face. Oh shit, he’s making his way towards me.

  I quickly turn away from the bar and head out the way I came in. I feel a hand grab my upper up and I stop in my tracks. Matt turns me around and there he is standing right in front of me. I freeze, my heart has jumped up from the floor and landed in my chest with a thud, it’s beating so loud.

  “Hey sweet thang, what can I do for you?” Matt asks me. He doesn’t seem to know who I really am. If he knew, he’s putting on a good goddamn show.

  “Hi, ah… nothing… I just wanted to stop by, grab a drink and to see if you are hiring, I need a job but it seems like… um… you aren’t hiring right now, so I must be getting back home now,” I stutter, I’m so nervous.

  I try to turn to leave but Matt’s hand is still firmly placed on my arm, he leans towards me and whispers in an angry voice.

  “It would be best if you made it home in one piece Lou, I’m not in a good mood.”

  I’ve reached the front door of the club and I push it open with a bang. I’m having trouble breathing. Of course he knew who I was, how can I be so stupid.

  I’ve taken off my heels and I run to the car. Once I’m inside safety I begin to reflect the last hour that I was at Paradise.

  The club is nothing I ever expected it to be.

  Paradise is nothing but a strip club with a twist.

  I saw couples leave and enter the rooms down the hallway, and some of the people were dressed very unusually.

  As one couple left a room, I noticed the male had his hands tied behind his back, completely naked, and a ball gag in his mouth, while the woman had a whip in her hand and she was dressed in full leather.

  That explains the back wall I saw full of items I’ve never seen or thought of in my life and some I had. No wonder Matt started using rope on me; he wanted me to be like those girls he’s been with on a daily basis.

  I put my head in my hands and start sobbing. I’m shaking with so much fear and remorse of my stupid actions. How will I be able to face Matt at home now?

  I’m scared of what he will do, he must be so angry with me.

  I disobeyed him and now he’s out to get me.

  The car ride home was the longest of my life. I thought about continuing to drive far away but I’ve left everything back at home and I can’t start my life over with nothing.

  I made it home in one piece and I run inside to change out of this ridiculous outfit. I don’t know why I bothered going to the club; it was pretty stupid of me to think I could face that head on.

  I hear the front door open and close, heavy footsteps are starting to get closer to the bedroom and I sink into the bed, dreading of what is coming.

  The bedroom door swings open with a loud bang, there’s probably a hole in the wall now, and Matt appears from the doorway. His face shows no sign of emotion except rage.

  I’ve defiantly brought this upon myself.

  “What the fuck have you done,” he yells at me as he stalks closer to the bed. He’s shaking with anger and his hair is a mess from running his fingers through it.

  “Look at me bitch when I’m talking to you!” He pauses,

  “Did I not specifically ask you to not go to the club?” He inhales a shaky breath before continuing.

  “Well, fucking answer me!” He’s now standing at the foot of the bed, getting ready to lean over and make a grab for me.

  “Yes, y-y-you told me not to go, I… I saw the note on the kitchen counter and got curious, so I went.” Tears have sprung up in my eyes. I quickly wipe them away when he turns to look out the window. I can’t show him weakness. That only means he’s won.

  He’s looking back at me now deep in thought, trying to decide my best punishment.

  “What’s done is done, I will punish you for disobeying me and I will teach you to never cross me again!” He leans over, grabs me by the legs, and drags me down the bed.

  I hold back a sob when he has his hands pressing down so hard on my skin I’m sure I will have bruising tomorrow.

  He picked me up and threw me across the room, my back hitting the wall. I’m slouched on the floor trying to catch my breath.

  Matt is standing right in front of me, he hunches down and that god awful smirk is back. I have no idea what he’s going to do next.

  I brace myself for the next impact.

  Matt reaches forward and grabs a handful of my hair, lifts me to my feet, fists his other hand, swings back, and punches me in the gut. The air left my lungs in a quick whoosh and I can’t seem to be able to catch my breath.

  The next thing I know my head is pounding from hitting the wall behind me.

  Matt isn’t done with me yet. He drags me to the bed, lifts me up, and throws me on it. The bed dips from his weight and he’s now straddling me. The look on his face is pure rage and blinding hate. His cheeks are turning red with frustration and he’s beginning to get tired. I see him swing back his right arm and he throws a punch towards my face. I was bracing for the impact but the sharp pain shoots straight to my eyes and head, when the punch makes contact to my cheekbone and my eye socket. Matt knows that’s the hardest spot to cover up.

  Matt loves a challenge, but tonight I give in, I let the pain seep through my clouded mind and I welcome the blackness that starts to slowly sip through.

  I start drifting off, my eyes are getting too heavy and I feel the bed dip from his weight before I’m unconscious.

  The next morning I woke up to find I couldn’t open my left eye. My face is fully swollen and I look down at my pillow to see that it is covered in bloody patches. My heads’ pounding and my entire body is stiff.

  I slowly rise from the bed and head straight for the bathroom. I look into the mirror to examine myself and I freeze. I’m unable to move except to slowly blink away the tears that are threatening to run down my face.

  I take a hard look at myself and see I’ve got a black, puffy eye that I can hardly see out of, dried blood from numerous cuts on my face, bruised cheekbone, hand print marks around my throat from when he choked me, and black bruises on my arms and legs from where he grabbed me.

  I’m a complete mess.

  How am I supposed to cover this up for work tonight? That’s if I’m allowed to leave this
house ever again.

  I walk towards the shower and turn it on. I wait until it’s hot enough to step inside.

  I welcome the burn on my skin from the hot water rushing down. I grab the soap from the hanger and wash away all the dried blood, Matt’s evil touch on my skin, and all the bad mistakes I’ve made lately.

  I wash away the tears that now freely fall, my heart aches for my family right now. I just want my mother’s embrace to make everything go away.

  I can’t even have a feeling of peace knowing one of Matt’s boys is out there in the house somewhere watching my every move while Matt isn’t home. He is always at that damn club!

  I know I’ve made terrible choices in the last three years, but yesterday’s is at the top of the list.

  I’m too scared to leave, and know that if I do, I’ll end up dead.

  Chapter Three

  Louise

  THE NEXT FEW DAYS have been on repeat: I wake up and go to work, at night I come home to bed. I haven’t eaten in two days, and Matt hasn’t said one word to me since that night. I’m losing more and more weight and now my clothes are too big for me.

  It’s Friday night and Matt normally invites the boys over to play poker while I’m at work, but my boss rang and said I didn’t have to come in until tomorrow, just great… now I have to put up with Matt and the boys, hopefully I can stay in my room and stay invisible.

  “So the boys are on their way, you will stay in our room until they leave, I don’t want to be embarrassed,” Matt says once he walked in to the kitchen. He’s been at the club organizing the weekend schedule and tonight’s poker plans.

  “Yep, no worries,” I say with bluntness, grateful I don’t have to wait on them hand and foot tonight.

  I’m in my room, cleaning out clothes that are way too big for me, and I hear the front door open and close, well the boys are here now. Let’s hope the next six hours go so fast and I can escape by going to sleep and look forward to going to work tomorrow.

  I’m on my hands and knees going through old shorts when the bedroom door swings open and there stands Matt. I turn on my side to look at him. He’s got on his favorite pair of jeans, a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and his hair is neat yet messy above his ears, but what causes me to freeze is the look in his eyes. The intense look of anger causes my stomach to drop and my heart to pick up speed. I am scared for my life when he slowly walks towards me, grabs me by the arms and lifts me to my feet. He’s lifted me over his shoulder and now we are making our way to the living room where all the boys are. This is bad.

  He’s set me down on one of the three couches in the living room. The one in the middle faces the TV. I glance up through my hair that’s fallen over my eyes and see Rover, Jax, Sanders, and the new guy Rick sitting on the other two couches with confused looks on their faces. Looks like I’m not the only one confused about why I’m even out here.

  “Louise, since you went out on your own and found about what happens at my club, I just thought it would be a better night if we had some fun with you. What do you think boys?” Matt is standing in the middle of the room facing me, arms crossed over his chest, his biceps popping out of his sleeves and an aggressive yet calm look on his face.

  “Fuck Matt, what are you thinking? I thought this was a man’s night?” Sanders stands and heads over to the fridge to grab another beer, while the others are either too frightened of Matt to speak up or they are just sitting back and enjoying the show.

  “Well it is, isn’t it? Maybe Lou can give us a hand with a few of our extra manly requirements…” Matt lets the last word hang in the air for a while, I do not like where this is heading. Not one bit.

  It’s Rick’s turn to pipe up, and clearly he’s interested in what Matt is now offering. “Oh yeah, what do you have in mind Matt?”

  “Oh you know, have our way with Lou here. Do whatever we want to her.” Matt is now kneeling right in front of me, trying to coax a reaction out of me; well he can wait all he wants because he isn’t getting anything from me.

  He didn’t wait long for me to reply when slapped my left cheek hard.

  “Fuck man, don’t you think this is going too far, I get that she disobeyed you about the club but come on, no woman deserves to be ganged up on.” Thank goodness someone here is sticking up for me, even if it is Jax, but I hope he doesn’t die for this. He’s too good of a soul to die young and by the hands of these filthy, murdering bikers.

  I know Matt’s past, what he went through, who he was when he had little to do with this MC, or any of it really. I remember the first deep conversation we had when we first started dating like it was just yesterday, oh sweet Matt. I miss him.

  It was our fifth date and I knew things were getting pretty serious with Matt. One evening he picked me up. He had planned this date all by himself and I was very impressed.

  It was three o'clock on the dot when Matt knocked on my door, and he was dressed in sneakers, black cargo pants, a baby blue plain t-shirt with a single pocket over his left pec. His tattoo sleeve showing off in the glistening sun, his brown wavy hair placed in a messy-neat hair style which I came to love, those dark eyes stared at me, and that smirk on his luscious lips I couldn’t wait to kiss.

  “You ready Sweetness? I can’t wait to start today with you.” He leaned down, grabbed my chin with his rough but soft hand, tilted it up, and then leaned down further to place a feathery kiss on my lips, god I wanted more.

  The first stop of our romantic date was in the heart of San Diego at an art gallery. It was very beautiful. Since I lived in LA, it got a bit boring and dull so it was a wonderful change to be elsewhere, and learn a bit of where Matt grew up and where he still lived.

  We reached the art gallery, and out the front on top of the building in big letters said ‘House of Creativity’. I wondered what was inside whether it had famous paintings by Leonardo, Uccello, Van Gogh and Monte? They were my favorite artists of all time. They were always wonderful to look at; the way each paint stroke looked, the way the painting made me feel, the depth in the masterpiece. This was by far my favorite place.

  We walked around to each painting trying to figure out what the artist was feeling when creating the painting, why he would choose the colors and technique he did.

  “Matt, I really love this one, it’s amazing don’t you think?”

  Matt walked up behind me, placed his right hand on the small of my back and leaned in towards me so his mouth was next to my ear, I could feel his hot breath on my neck, and goose bumps rose on my arms and the hairs on my neck stood on attention.

  This painting was by Monte: Nimphee (1926) – Orangerie, Paris.

  “Yes it really is wonderful, why do you think Monte painted it the way he did? Why capture a lonely bridge when he could have painted the surroundings and blurred the bridge out?”

  “I think that the bridge makes the painting and that without the bridge, the painting would be of the river, the trees and the flowers, nothing special about that, but the bridge makes it whole. It makes me think that if you’re stuck on a problem in life you can always overcome it because there is a way across it. That’s what the bridge means for me.” I paused before I said my next thoughts.

  ‘When life gives you a bridge, there is always a way over it.’

  “You’re wonderful Louise, I’m glad I brought you here, but now it’s time to go onto our second destination, are you ready?”

  I turned around to face Matt with a beaming smile and nodded my head, ready for the next part of our amazing date. He grabbed my hand and led us out of the art gallery.

  “We have arrived Sweetness,” Matt called out over the radio playing in the car. I looked out the car window and see that it’s the beach. I felt lucky that I got dressed in a bright purple, summery dress with sandals, fit for any occasion.

  Matt went around to the back of the car and pulled out a picnic blanket.

  “I thought we might stop and watch the sunset.”

  “
Yes, that would be lovely. Have I told you I love the beach, it’s actually one of my favorite places.” I walked towards Matt and leaned up on my tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

  We headed down a flight of stairs to reach the beach and found no one was really there. Strange, normally it was packed that time of day and it being warmer than usual and the sun slowly setting.

  “I hope you don’t mind an empty beach, I kinda put it on social media that I wanted this beach empty for my romantic date tonight, I guess it worked.” He leaned in closer to me when we reached the bottom of the steps, and snaked a hand around my waist.

  “No, this is honestly so lovely and considerate of you, this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me, thank you.” I turned around and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his lips.

  We headed down the beach a little farther and I spotted a basket, couple of fluffy square pillows and large candles sunk into the sand. I was beyond blown away. I really hoped that set up wasn’t for someone else. I hoped that Matt set everything up just for the two of us.

  “I really hope this is okay, I wasn’t sure how’d you react to this romantic gesture, but I am glad that you like it from the massive smile on your lovely face. Shall we sit and watch the sun set?”

  “Yes, I wouldn’t want anything more.”

  “I had a couple of friends set this up for me while we were on our way over here.”

  We sat down on the blankets and leaned into each other as we watched the sunset full of pinks, oranges, yellows and a soft blue. It was really a beautiful sight.

  I turned towards Matt asked my many questions that I have been dying to know since I met him, hoping that I could finally get some answers.