by Bella J.
“What the fuck?” Colton grabbed his nose and dropped a shit load of F-bombs.
Scarlet shrugged. “It has to look like you at least tried to stop me.”
“Jesus. Did you have to break my fucking nose?”
“Probably not,” she replied dryly. “But I really wanted to.”
“Fuck!”
Scarlet shook the spasm caused by punching Colton out of her hand and waited for him to pull himself together.
“I’m really sorry.”
Colton wiped his nose with the bottom of his shirt. “No, you’re not.”
“You’re right. I’m not.”
Colton straightened and Scarlet saw tears welling up in his eyes. Yup, a punch to the nose really was a bitch.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Let’s do this.”
Colton tensed, his jaw ticking slightly as he nodded. “On three. One…two…three!”
Chapter 21
Scarlet ran.
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The second she was out the barn she had to fight the urge to stop. Everything was just as she remembered—the house, the garden, the trees…everything.
With the sun starting to set, the most beautiful pinks and yellows painting the brick exterior of the European style mansion, Scarlet was suddenly bombarded with childhood memories. Afternoon walks through the gardens. Star gazing at night while she and her sister would lie on the soft, green grass. It was a time when Scarlet still noticed the beauty around her, when everything in her life still had color.
She glanced up to the second floor at the white window shutters of her and Willow’s old bedroom. It felt like it was just yesterday when she looked out those windows directly at the sunset, daydreaming of what her life had in store for her. Back then, all her dreams had pictures of love, happiness and white picket fences. Unfortunately, that was not how her life had turned out…at all.
To her right she saw the familiar maple trees, and for a second she thought about running, escaping through the maze of leaves and branches. But she knew that other than the front gates, there was no way off the estate. And knowing Brent, he probably had security fucking everywhere. So it was no use. The only chance she had was to follow her plan and hope to God she and Colton didn’t end up dead and buried.
As she continued to run, she thought about how other than pretending to escape to get her and Colton close to Rex and Brent, she had nothing. There was nothing to the plan but that. So she would have to wing it—which basically meant they were screwed. But she was screwed anyway, no matter how she looked at it.
“Scarlet!” Colton yelled behind her, pretending to chase after her.
She ran over the grass around the side of the house toward the back porch, past the white rose bushes, and the Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow tree at the corner of the house. When she passed the tree, the familiar sweet, floral scent filled her nostrils, and she could remember how much she loved the smell as a little girl. The small purple and white flowers were always her favorite. Her grandmother even dubbed the tree Blanchette’s Arbor.
Dammit, now was not the time for her to take a trip down memory lane.
As she rounded the corner, she heard Colton behind her, yelling for her to stop.
She knew where she was heading. She knew the layout of the estate like the palm of her hand. What she didn’t know was what waited for her inside those walls since Brent had taken ownership of everything.
Was she being reckless by going along with her own plan? Probably.
Was this the stupidest plan she’d ever come up with? Yes.
Did she have a choice?
No.
Bella Vista was a huge estate with a huge fucking mansion—all sixteen bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, and shit loads of entertainment rooms of it. So by the time Scarlet rounded the second corner with Colton on her heels, her heart was pounding against her ribs. Her throat burned and her lungs felt like they were on fucking fire.
“Scarlet! Stop!” Colton yelled again.
As she glanced over her shoulder to see how far behind her he was, a big, strong hand grabbed her elbow, pulling her back. The wind got knocked out of her as she slammed back first against the outside wall.
The pain that shocked through her body was excruciating, her head exploding in a haze of stars.
“And what do we have here?”
Scarlet looked up and into the bluest pair of eyes she had ever seen in her life. Man whore Adam could kiss this guy’s ass.
Struggling to catch her breath, she tried to fight against the grip this guy had on her shoulders. “Let me go!”
The guy smiled, showcasing two dimples, which were impossible not to notice—and those fucking blue eyes seemed like they were smiling too.
Colton almost came to a crashing halt when he rounded the corner and saw what was happening.
The guy glanced at Colton. “She yours?”
For a second Colton seemed like he was frozen on the spot, and the way he stared at the guy currently digging his fingers into Scarlet’s shoulders told her the plan had just gotten shot to shit.
“Rex,” Colton said before straightening.
That was the moment Scarlet felt like the blood in her veins had suddenly frozen solid.
Scarlet looked from Colton to the guy who she now knew was the infamous Rex she had heard so much about. His ink black hair was long at the top, neatly combed back with the undercut short-shaven sides. With tanned skin—and did she mention the fucking blue eyes?—Rex was not what she had imagined. Not at all. From what she’d heard, she had a picture of a gross, big bellied old guy in her head.
Not that at all.
He was much younger than she imagined him to be. At approximately six foot four, with wide shoulders and a stare that could intimidate the fucking Russian president, Scarlet knew this was not the guy anyone wanted to fuck with. Even though he was what Scarlet would consider hot, there was something in the way he stared at her, a certain kind of darkness that loomed behind those blue irises. It gave her the creeps.
Colton gave a hesitant step forward. “She’s one of Mr. Wolfe’s.”
Rex tilted his head to the side, revealing part of a tattoo on the left side of his neck which peeked out from under the black collar of his dress shirt.
“She doesn’t look like his type.”
Scarlet snorted. “What’s more his type? Innocent, seventeen-year-old virgins?”
Rex narrowed his eyes. “Something like that. Why are you running?”
“She was trying to escape,” Colton answered abruptly.
“Well then,” Rex cocked a brow, “good thing I decided to come for a stroll.”
“What in God’s name is going on here?” Brent came rushing down the stairs from the back porch, and Scarlet suddenly felt nauseas. When she glanced his way, she closed her eyes and turned her head in the other direction. His voice, his face, just the mere presence of him was enough to kill her slowly—painfully—from the inside.
“Mr. Riggs, care to explain to me what the hell she’s doing here?” he asked as he approached them.
Scarlet opened her eyes and noticed Rex studying her with intent, the faintest hint of a smirk on his face. Creepy fucker.
“She tried to escape,” Colton answered. “She needed to pee, and I unlocked the chains.”
Rex glanced at him. “And then she broke your nose?”
“Yeah. Something like that.”
Rex looked back at her, his hands still firmly placed on her shoulders. “Is she one of yours, Brent?”
Brent stepped up next to Rex, and Scarlet wanted to hurl all over his five hundred dollar ugly-ass shoes.
“Yes, she is.”
Rex moved his right hand over her shoulder, placing it around her neck, his thumb leisurely stroking her jaw. “Pity.”
“Mr. Riggs.” Brent glanced at Colton. “Make sure she gets back to her room. And the next time she needs to pee, she can do it while hanging from the goddamn ceiling.”
Brent’s eyes were black with anger. And the way he glanced at Rex, still holding Scarlet securely against the wall, she could tell Brent didn’t like it one little bit.
The son of a bitch was jealous.
Colton moved to reach for her, but Rex pulled her away from the wall, not letting go. “Hold on. I think I’d like Miss…?” He looked at her questioningly.
Scarlet lifted a brow. “Does it matter? You don’t look like the kind of man who cares about formalities.”
He grinned. “Oh, I like you.”
Scarlet cocked her head to the side. “Pity.”
“Her name is Scarlet Woods,” Colton said as he stepped closer. The way Colton glanced at her with warning, she got the feeling he didn’t want her playing with Rex.
Rex smiled, showcasing his dimples. “I think I’d like Miss Woods here to join us for dinner.” He glanced down at her body, his gaze pausing for a breath too long at her breasts, before turning to Brent. “I’m in the mood for a little entertainment, aren’t you?”
When Scarlet looked at Colton and saw the horrified expression on his face, she knew Rex didn’t want her to join them for dinner as a guest. She was the entertainment.
Shit.
Scarlet abruptly jerked her shoulders out of his grip and tried to make a run for it, only to feel two arms encircle her waist and lift her feet off the ground.
“Now, now, Miss Woods,” Rex crooned as he pressed her back against his chest and spun her around to face Brent. “Hasn’t your master here taught you any manners? It’s not nice to try to run from the king.”
Brent launched forward, anger burning in his eyes like black holes of hell, and slapped her across the cheek. “I will not tolerate any kind of disrespect from you anymore. You do as you’re told and you keep your filthy mouth shut, do you understand me?”
Scarlet’s face jerked to the side, and she licked her lip, tasting blood in the corner of her mouth. When she looked back at Brent, all she saw was hate. So much fucking hate that she wanted to see him burn, to watch as the skin melted off his bones, his screams filling her ears like a damn melody.
Brent leaned closer. “What do you say?” he bit out between clenched teeth.
Scarlet glanced at Colton, and he nodded, his eyes filled with worry.
“Yes,” she answered softly.
“Yes, what?”
She knew what he wanted her to say. The problem was, there was no way in hell she would say it. She’d rather have them rip her tongue out.
She faced him again. “Yes, I understand, you fucking psycho!”
Brent’s face went every shade of red, his eyes dark pits of black when he reached for her throat. But Rex jerked her to the side, pulling her away from Brent’s reach, and she heard him snicker.
“Now, now. Let’s keep the fun for later. The evening is still young.”
By the tone of his voice he was clearly very fucking amused—and that pissed her off even more.
“Let go of me.” Scarlet tried to jerk free, but he just tightened his arms around her waist, lifted her off the ground, and carried her up the stairs while she continued to thrash against his hold.
When they came to the top of the stairs and onto the porch, he put her down, still not loosening his hold around her. He placed his lips against her ear and whispered, “Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to be so much fun?”
“I bet it’s the tits, isn’t it?” she scoffed over her shoulder.
He leaned forward and looked over her shoulder, down at her cleavage. “Hmm, they do look very inviting.”
“I don’t think Brent is the sharing type.”
“Do you really think I care if he’s the sharing type or not?”
“No. But I should warn you, I don’t fight fair.”
He pulled her tighter against his hard chest, his warm breath moving across her cheek. “Oh, I’m counting on that, sweetheart.”
Two girls wearing nothing but black thongs with garter belts and stockings came walking onto the porch. Both had gold studded collars around their necks with their blonde hair tied in high ponytails.
Scarlet snorted. “Doesn’t look like you have a shortage of tits around here.”
“Sweetheart, I have a shortage of nothing.”
He pushed her, and she stumbled forward. “Girls, please help Miss Woods get cleaned up and ready for dinner. Miss Woods will be the guest of honor tonight.” He shot her a sly grin and winked.
Oh God. Why did it suddenly feel like things just went from bad to fucking worse?
Scarlet carefully walked backward while she looked over at Colton standing a few feet behind Rex. The sullen look on his face wasn’t reassuring at all, and Scarlet swallowed hard while her stomach twisted into a thousand tiny little knots.
Brent peered over Rex’s shoulder, and even he looked fucking grim. It was easy to see that Brent was no longer in control. Brent was no longer the dictator.
Rex was.
Brent was one evil son of a bitch, but she wasn’t sure who she should fear the most. Brent or Rex? There was a darkness hidden in Rex’s crystal blue eyes. Wickedness lurked behind the beauty of his irises, and it scared the crap out of her.
The two girls flanked her, their breasts brushing against her shoulders. It was disgusting, and Scarlet tried to shimmy away from them. “Sorry, girls, as you can see, I’m a pretty well-endowed woman myself, so I really don’t need more tits hanging around me. Thanks though.”
Rex snickered. “Sweetheart, it would be wise for you to just go with them and let them help you slip into something,” his gaze travelled down her body, and slowly back up again, “a little more comfortable.”
Scarlet frowned. “What? Like they’re wearing? It’s a great offer, and very tempting. Yet I assure you, I’m fine. But fuck you very much.”
She saw Colton pinch his eyes closed with his thumb and forefinger, shaking his head.
Scarlet wasn’t exactly thrilled about being in this situation herself. But there was no way in hell she was going to let yet another asshole with sick, twisted sex issues shove her around. Having one perverted motherfucker in her life was enough. She didn’t need another one.
Rex continued to smile. He wasn’t fazed by her attitude in the least. In fact, he looked quite amused by it all.
He looked at the girls and indicated toward Scarlet with a nod. “Take her.”
Each girl took ahold of one of her elbows, urging her to move. Scarlet looked at Colton, and she could almost hear him begging her to just play along. To not play games by being stubborn. So she allowed the girls to take her into the house—her old home.
The minute they walked through the door, she glanced back and saw Brent hovering around Rex, trying to talk to him, but Rex wasn’t the least bit interested in what Brent had to say. He was too busy staring after Scarlet, that sly grin still frozen on his face.
He might have looked all sophisticated, powerful, and dapper in his suit, but he gave her the fucking creeps.
As they entered the house, Scarlet stopped. Nothing looked the same. Everything was different. From the furniture, to the carpets, to the damn paint on the walls—everything had changed. It was like Brent had erased every trace of her family. What once was a house filled with vintage Victorian style furniture, was now decorated with a modern theme of grays, metals, and silvers. It wasn’t the warm home she remembered, and everything about it screamed cold and empty…just like Brent.
This was no longer her home. But then again, it hadn’t been her home for the last seven years.
“This way, Miss Woods,” one of the girls said, walking toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
Scarlet snorted, thinking that even though the content of the house no longer looked familiar to her, she knew her way around this house better than these two bimbos.
Once up the stairs, they took her to one of the sixteen bedrooms. How were they so settled in when they only arrived that day? It was like Rex took over the second he set foot into the hou
se. Even Brent seemed scared shitless of the guy.
Desperate to ignore the thrumming of her heart and the panic slowly starting to possess her mind, Scarlet decided to try to make some small talk.
“So, what are your names, ladies?” Great, that sounded like a pick-up line.
Neither of them answered. Figures.
When they opened the bedroom door and Scarlet stepped in, she nervously scanned the room. Brent even changed the themes of the bedrooms, from light and open to dark and sensual with blacks, reds, and silks.
Clearly these girls had already made themselves at home since their clothes were fucking everywhere—if one could even call them clothes. It was more like tiny pieces of fabric meant to be eaten.
“In case you girls were wondering, I’m more of a leather pants and boots kinda gal. If you have anything in that line, that would be swell.”
When she turned around, one of the girls was holding up a white lacy thong. Scarlet’s eyes widened and she shook her head.
“Leather. I said le-ath-er.” She dragged out the word as if the girl didn’t understand it the first time.
Scarlet glanced from one pair of tits to the other. “Do you girls even talk?”
“We talk,” one answered while she pulled out something leather-ish from a suitcase. Scarlet eyed the piece, thinking it looked way too small to be anything she would wear. “There’s just no use in debating with you over what you are willing to wear and what you’re not.” She held up the black leather bustier in one hand, and what Scarlet could only assume was a black lace thong in the other. The girl smiled. “In the end, you’ll wear whatever the hell the master wants you to wear.”
Scarlet cocked a brow. “You mean your master? Because he sure as fuck ain’t no master of mine.”
The woman started walking toward her. “Believe me, if Rex wants to be your master, he will be.”
“And if I belong to someone else?”
“He won’t care.”
Well, that sure as hell put Scarlet at ease—not.
Scarlet turned to the woman who was still standing silently by the door. So far, she hadn’t said a goddamn word, and there was a certain kind of sadness in her eyes that made Scarlet think she wasn’t there because she wanted to be.