The Gambler

by Silver, Jordan

  Her ability to see only beauty, that innate innocence that transcended everything else, it had touched him in a way that nothing else ever had. Now he was blessed for whatever reason with a second chance. If there were any fairness in the world, he would be able to hold onto her for a long time. He would be allowed to make up for the one he failed. Her knew realistically that what had happened to his sister hadn’t been his fault. But as the big brother who’d always shielded and protected her, it felt like his failure, that he hadn’t been there when she needed him most.

  He put the daunting memories aside once more and focused on the here and now.

  With a few calls he set things in motion and had her surrounded. With that taken care of, he turned to more sinister things, like getting rid of the fucker who’d sent the goons after him with her in the car. Her brother had signed his death warrant the second he’d laid hands on her, and now her godfather was in the same fucking boat.

  He didn’t give a fuck what anyone else thought about what he was about to do. If people were going to try and take her away from him, they were going to die. He might let the mother live if he determined that she had been kind to his girl, otherwise she too was fucked.

  After what had happened today, he was no longer feeling magnanimous. “I want you to find out what the Minnelli bitch was doing in my house. I don’t think it was a coincidence that she applied for the job as my assistant. Could be that she was spying for her brother in law or some fuck who knows. I don’t see why, since we’ve never had any dealings, but I’m not taking any chances.”

  “I’ll get right on it boss.” Garrett pulled out his little handheld and typed in some shit.

  “We need to do a sweep. The good thing is that when she left she didn’t have time to remove anything if there was anything here to take, but let’s cover all the bases.” There was a fuck load of shit to do now that she was here. His security hadn’t been lax before, but he wasn’t about to leave any stone unturned where she was concerned. If he could insulate her he would. The memory of his earlier loss was never far from his mind. Now that he felt that strong pull once again, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect her.

  He knew well what the world did to those it thought weaker than they. Had seen first hand the ugliness that could be inflicted on the innocents of society. He’d been too young and too naïve last time, he won’t be asleep at the wheel this time. He boosted up security on the places he had scattered around the city where he sheltered and cared for autistic children. He didn’t put it past the fucks to try hitting him there. Soulless fucks.

  When the men had gone about his business, he picked up the phone, still making sure that she was preoccupied. Every once in a while she’d pick up her head and check on him and they’d exchange a smile. She seemed happy, her bruise was already starting to fade and that beautiful face was just one big glow.

  He made a million silent promises to her in that room: promises of fulfilling her dreams, of loving her for the rest of his life; of making sure that she never knew another day of fear. They weren’t empty promises, and not made lightly. He’d only ever felt that for one other human being before in his life and for many years he’d felt like he’d failed, he didn’t intend to fail this time.

  “Angel.” He looked over to her as he was about to call his grandfather, and his heart tripped. She had her lips puckered, sitting there on the floor surrounded by all her new stuff. Getting up he walked over to her and bending on his knees, he kissed her again. Her soft hand came up to hold his face in place as he kissed her lightly, not wanting to scare her, when what he really wanted to do was hold her as close as he could and never let go.

  When she was satisfied with her new game of kissing he went back and picked up the phone with a grin on his face. That lasted until the phone was picked up on the other end.

  “Gramps those fucks made first strike…”

  “I heard; we aren’t really prepared for all out war yet boy, this thing just got underway."

  “Jenna was in the car with me old man, I don’t care if I have to walk up to their front door and blast the motherfuckers, but they’re not gonna get a second chance." He kept his voice low and light so as not to alert her.

  “Stefan."

  “Are you with me or not?”

  “For fucks sake boy of course I’m with you, but we can’t just go running wild in the streets, this isn’t Chicago in the thirties. That’s always been your problem, born out of turn you hotheaded little shit, just wait; I have things lining up as we speak that will ensure you and the girl are safe and that you don’t have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life. Now calm down and listen to the voice of experience.”

  “Gramps fuck that shit, they’re not waiting, they want to set shit off I’m not backing down, no fucking way. They brought it, I’m gonna answer. You do what you have to do. But no one is getting anywhere near her. I lost once before I don’t intend to lose again. She’s mine, you know what that means.”

  “Fuck; let me talk to the guys, see if we can get things moving sooner, always knew you were gonna put me in an early grave.”

  “Early my ass, you’re ten minutes older than dirt.”

  They hung up and he sat in contemplation. He knew there was some truth to what the old man was saying, but it went against everything in him to let them get away with that shit. The fact that she’d been in the car is what pissed him off more than anything. They had to have known she was with him. If her godfather was willing to attack him with her in the crossfire that told him he didn’t give a fuck about her. His only interest was in getting back at him for taking something he probably saw as his. Fucking mob.

  The old fuck’s big mistake was in fucking with someone who didn’t give a fuck and had no respect for him, or what he thought he was. Bonata’s authority did not extend to him, and it stopped including her in that casino room when her asshole of a brother had knocked her around.

  “Come my Jenna, it’s time for lunch.”

  “Chocolate?”

  Damn, if he wasn’t careful that’s all she would ever eat, so he had to figure out how to get her to eat and then give her some as a treat.

  “No baby you have to eat food first and then I’ll give you chocolate.” He wasn’t sure if she remembered that he had bought boxes of Godiva while they were out shopping. He had to remember to order a truckload of the shit.

  She liked grilled cheese; he made a note of it. Grilled cheese and chocolate, that's what his girl liked most. She made him laugh as they sat at the table in the kitchen and she fed him little nibbles of her sandwich. He hadn't eaten grilled cheese since he was ten. He heard the whispers coming from the other side of the room and turned to look at Willy and Sue, who were watching him like they'd never seen him before.

  "Problem?"

  "No no." They both turned and tried to look busy, but he knew what it was. They had never seen him this way; he hadn't been this way in a long time.

  "Angel?"

  "Yes my Jenna."

  "Good?"

  "It's very good." He pretended to bite her fingers when she fed him and she had a laughing fit. Such joy in something so simple; it almost brought tears to his eyes. He wondered not for the first time, why someone so beautiful was created with what the world saw as a defect? Some might theorize that the Maker had to find a way to contrast all that beauty, but he saw it in a completely different light. For him, she was the closest thing to perfection.

  Her otherworldly beauty, coupled with her childlike innocence, to him, were the rarest of gifts. Like finding a perfect pearl in the deep. That one in a million gem that stands out above all the rest. He questioned why he'd been blessed with not one, but two of these phenomena in his life? One was his sister and the other will be his lover. His heart was full to overflowing as he watched her. Maybe this time he’d get to hold on longer…he broke off the dark thought that plagued him.

  "Look at me." He turned her face to him so he could see into her ama
zing eyes and felt his heart clutch.

  "You're the most beautiful girl in the world my Jenna." She lit up and smiled wide; as his hand caressed her cheek, feather light.

  "My Angel nice." He smiled at that. Shit, she's probably the only person in the world who thinks that. Not even his gramps, who he knew loved him, would ever call him nice.

  I'll keep you safe always my little Jenna, now and for always. He didn't say the words out loud but kept them in his heart. A promise meant to be kept until he drew his last breath.

  He sat there for the hour it took her to finish her meal and then look out the box of chocolates he'd kept hidden under the table. She couldn't seem to choose which ones she wanted to try first.

  "Have as many as you want."

  She clapped her hands with glee and he picked one up and fed it to her. The look on her face at the first taste was priceless. He didn't know what to do with the reaction from his body when she licked the caramel from her lips.

  "Fuck me." The words were a tortured whisper as he felt what was left of his heart lay down at her feet.

  After the chocolate debacle he decided they needed some distance between them, but she had other ideas. She sat with him while he worked and got into everything on his desk. She took over his chair and he figured he’d better see about getting her one of her own, and maybe one of those two-seater desks, so she could play on her toy while he worked on the other side. That’s if she let him get any work done.

  He found himself, instead of looking after his business as he did each day about this time, playing video games with her, or listening to some story she just had to tell him. He’d missed this; even with all that he’d surrounded himself with, he’d been missing this and hadn’t even been aware. That sweetness that came so naturally to her was a complete contrast to the man he was. How would their lives play out he wondered? After the dust had settled and the smoke had cleared, who would they be?

  One of the first things he wanted to do as soon as he nixed the fuckers that were after them, was take her back to The City and let her play with the slots to her heart’s content. He would have to look into getting one in the house if that were possible, and if it wasn’t, then he’d just find a way to make it happen. From now on he would see to her every need.

  When evening started to fall, he had another dilemma on his hands. Last night he’d stayed in the room with her for necessity’s sake, but what about tonight? He found it strange that she hadn’t asked for her mom, in fact she acted as if they’d always been together.

  There didn’t seem to be any fear of the unknown, which is something he would’ve expected after his experience with Alice. Jenna seemed content enough to be there with him. Then he started to wonder if being left with strangers was a regular occurrence, but the thought pissed him off so much he squelched it. No sense in getting heated until he knew the facts. Which would entail having another talk with the mother.

  He ran her a bath; only this time he had the knowledge of what she tasted like on his tongue still clear in his memory. When she stripped down in front of him his body reacted stronger this time than the last, and he felt like a dog for the thoughts running through his head. You will not touch her Stefan you fuck. He swore to himself even as he took his seat in the chair across from the tub.

  With his hands clasped between his knees, he listened to her regale him with stories of her day. The same day they’d shared, but had seen through such different eyes. She remembered ducks on the pond and the pretty things he’d bought her. He relived the car chase and taking the lives of two men. If there were any fairness in the world it would always be that way; she would ever remain untouched by the darker side of reality.

  He’d have to shape up his business dealings somewhat. Not that he was a master criminal or anything, but certain legs of his business enterprise were less than above board. That was all fine and well when it had been just him, now with his new treasure, there needed to be a change. He didn’t wonder at his readiness, or the easy capitulation, he knew what he’d been given. There was no way in hell he was going to lose it to anyone or anything.

  “Angel.”

  “Yes baby.” She always seemed to get a kick out of him calling her that and it made him grin. She puckered her lips again like she’d done earlier. He knew it was just something new to her, and that for the next little while at least, until she found something else to latch onto, she’d ask him to repeat it. Or maybe it could be that she enjoyed the experience as much as he did.

  He kept the kiss as light as he could. He couldn’t forget that beneath the mountain of bubbles was the body of a siren. Or that she was without doubt the most beautiful creature he’d ever held. Easy Andros. He repeated that mantra to himself as he pulled back, but couldn’t resist a few last nibbles of her lips.

  He returned to his seat and decided to distract himself by fiddling with the new iPod he’d bought her. She seemed to like music and one of the things he’d learned from her mom was what she liked to listen to, what calmed her. When her bath was over, he helped her out of the tub, not that she needed him to. She had an independent streak a mile wide as far as he could tell, and was very capable of doing it herself. He just wanted to.

  Angel chocolate.”

  “Okay baby one more before bedtime.” He was faced once more with the question of their sleeping arrangements. Had he not kissed her would he be even now dealing with this? It was too late for what-ifs and though it was way too early for his bedtime, he knew she’d had a long day and needed to rest.

  She chose one of her new girlie nighties to sleep in after plastering herself with the sweet smelling shit the saleslady had suggested. He swallowed a good half a dozen times as she rubbed the lotion over her thighs, totally oblivious to the hell she was putting him through. Innocent as a fucking lamb! Maybe it was a cosmic joke, something to test his mettle. He was pretty sure he was going to fail the test; it was just a matter of time.

  She climbed into bed and turned those bright eyes of hers his way and with a frown ordered him to join her. He kicked off his shoes as he approached, cautioning himself once more to stay above the covers. There was no way he was touching her for fuck sake, he’d probably scare her to death.

  “I’m only gonna stay with you for a little while until you fall asleep Jenna okay.”

  She didn’t seem to catch his meaning, all she cared about was the fact that he did as she asked. When he climbed in and she rolled over to him he almost jumped off the fucking bed. Shit, who the fuck thought it was a good idea to put her in this satiny smooth shit, and what was that scent? I’m gonna kill that fucking saleslady, couldn’t she see that this girl was a…

  A what Andros? She ain’t no child and you are royally fucked.

  Chapter 9

  He spent the first few minutes gritting his teeth, as she got settled against his hard chest. Counting sheep wasn’t working for this shit; he had to come up with something else. He took her hand when she started exploring. “Angel sing.” Well shit, he wouldn’t begin to know how.

  She picked her head up and looked down at him when he didn’t comply right away. In the sliver of moonlight coming through the window she looked so fucking beautiful he ached. He couldn’t resist playing his fingers through her hair, and when she closed her eyes and hummed in innocent ecstasy, he felt the first pearl of pre cum at his tip. This was not good. It was way too soon.

  Still, he didn’t pull back when she lowered her head for his mouth. He could see the fever brightness in her eyes, she was feeling something he was sure she’d never experienced before. He only hoped that he had the strength to hold himself in check.

  Just one kiss Andros, one last taste before the night was over. She rolled over fully on top of him when he held her head in place, with his hand wrapped securely in her hair, and the other around her waist. His eyes flew open when she put her tongue in his mouth. Where the fuck had she learned that? Take it easy there Andros, she’s just repeating what you did.

 
It was the longest fucking ten minutes of his life; thank heavens she was too green to know what she was doing. If she had any more heat behind her little experiment he would be hard pressed to fight his own impulse to take her. As it stood, he was already in a bad way.

  She liked playing with his tongue and having hers suckled. She laughed and pressed herself harder onto him as he teased her mouth. Her new game was going to give him blue balls, it was a given. He was caught between a rock and a hard dick.

  There was no way he was gonna take her before he thought she was ready. But with her natural exuberance, and her body that was made, he was convinced, to drive him out of his fucking mind, it was going to be rough sailing from here on out.

  He finally got some peace after she grew tired of her new game. She settled down in his waiting arms and sighed as she drifted off, while he was left staring at the walls with the hard on from hell. He hugged her close and kissed her forehead as he prepared himself for a night of sweet torture.

  In the morning they went through their routine. She got herself dressed, in one of the cute little summer dresses she’d picked out the day before, and then she gave him the brush to fix her hair.

  She chatted away a mile a minute, while he got lost playing in her hair. What the fuck did he know about hairpins and shit? But she wanted some in her hair and he figured it out.

  Downstairs he had a cup of coffee, while Sue made her breakfast. He knew he was gonna have to watch her eat for the next little while to make sure she was getting enough. If left to her, she’d probably have chocolate at every meal.

  He was ready when she asked for her mother. He would’ve been surprised if she hadn’t. He kept his attention focused on the call to make sure there was nothing said that would upset her, but when she just smiled and told her mom about her new dress, he figured he could relax a little.