Jules looked at his watch and said, “How do you get to work?”
“I’ll be taking a cab tonight.”
Jules picked up the list and tossed five dollars down on the table. “I’ll be in yellow cab 303 out in front of the building just before seven. It’ll look like I’m not accepting fares. Just get in and I’ll get you to work.”
“Thank you.”
Jules winked at her and said, “Your brother was a good guy and so was Tommy. Be safe.”
She watched him leave and then after paying for her sandwiches and coffee, she headed back to the apartment. When she let herself in, she heard voices in the kitchen. When she realized that one of them was Alex’s voice, she started to head for her room.
“Well, there she is.” Fuck! “Where did you get off to?”
Paige took a deep breath and turned to face Alex. As usual, he was wearing an expensive designer suit. It was dark blue and brought out the color of his eyes. His weren’t as pretty as Damien’s, they were a lighter blue with the same green rim though and they were pretty enough. Paige knew that Alex...like the rest of them knew how attractive he was and how to use that to his advantage.
His looks didn’t impress her. He was just a pretty thug as far as she was concerned.
“I don’t believe that’s any of your business.” She saw Damien over his brother’s shoulder. He didn’t look happy and the tension in the room was thick. She got the impression the brother’s had already had words.
Alex took a step towards her and she took one back. He smiled. “Well at least the bitch is capable of learning. One good smack across the face and I’ve got her terrified.”
“Fuck you; I’m not afraid of you.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Then maybe you’re a stupider bitch than I thought you were.”
“Alex...” Damien started. “Back off man.”
Paige heard him hesitate and she could tell that Alex heard it too. He didn’t want to fight with his brother. Alex seemed sure Damien would give in before that happened.
“Why’s that little brother? You can get the same pussy action from Kelsey any night of the week and twice on Sunday. What do you need this one for? She’s trouble...the kind that you don’t need.” He looked back at Paige and said, “You need to give me the package that your brother’s partner left for you.”
“You need to go fuck yourself. I told you and your father I destroyed it.” Paige was bracing herself for his fist. He had it closed at his side, ready to strike.
“You’re a lying cunt.”
“Alex! That’s enough!”
Paige glanced at Damien. She could see that it was taking all he had to control himself. His chest was rising and falling quickly and both of his fists were clenched at his sides.
Alex looked surprised and turned to glance at his brother. In a warning tone he said, “Our father has given me orders to do whatever it takes to get what she has. He included you in that little brother. I might enjoy hurting her, but I won’t you...so please stay out of this. She’s not worth it.”
Damien didn’t flinch. “Leave her alone Alex, I mean it.” Alex smirked and looked back at Paige. He still didn’t seem to believe that Damien was serious.
“I do think I’m going to have fun beating that bitchy attitude right out of you.” He lunged for her and she stepped back again. Damien moved at the same time, catching his brother around the throat with one hand and pinning his back to the wall.
“Last time brother,” he said through gritted teeth. “Leave her the fuck alone!”
“You’re a stupid prick! She’s got you under her thumb. Is her pussy that good?” Even pinned against the wall with Damien having the obvious upper hand, Alex didn’t back down.
“Nobody has me under their thumb. Nobody will come into my house and start threatening me or Paige either. Not you, not anyone. Get the fuck out of here Alex before I have to do something you and I will both regret.”
Alex choked out a laugh. “Man that must be some good pussy. You’re so whipped that you’re willing to die for it.”
Damien pulled his brother out from the wall and then gave him a hard shove back into it. “Unless you’re willing to beat me into submission first, you’re not touching her Alex....so one more time, get the fuck out!” Damien let go of him and Alex adjusted his suit, narrowed his eyes at his brother and then turned to Paige and said, “You’re both being watched...closely. You’re one fuck up away from joining your brother in the afterlife.” He looked at Damien then and said, “Make no mistake little brother...so are you.” Damien and Paige both watched as he left, both of them knowing it was far from over.
Chapter 24
“Fuck!” Damien screamed when Alex was gone, startling Paige. As he screamed he threw a punch into the living room wall. His hand went into the wall, leaving an impression of his fist.
“Damien! Oh my God!” Paige ran over to him and she could see that his fist was raw and bloody. “Damn it! Stay here,” she told him. She went into the kitchen and took out a clean dish towel. She filled it with ice and wet another with warm water. When she went back into the living room, he was in the same spot she left him in.
“Let me see it.”
Like a zombie, he handed her his fist. She wiped away the blood and then she wrapped it in the towel with the ice. When she looked up at him, he was staring at her face. His eyes fell to her lips and without giving it a second thought, she leaned in and kissed him. Damien used his body to press her back into the wall, right where he’d held onto his brother by the throat only moments ago. He kissed her long and hard and then using his left hand, he went for her clothes. She wanted him too...but she couldn’t afford to be late tonight. If she missed Jules....
He let her up for air as he worked on getting off her blouse. “Damien, I have to get ready for work.” He leaned his forehead into hers, practically panting already, still tearing at her clothes. He looked into her eyes, again, searching for something. He must have seen the same desire there that she saw in his. His hand brushed against her heaving breasts as he grabbed both sides of her blouse and ripped it apart. Then he reached behind her and unhooked her bra to free them. His lips were on her neck now, moving roughly down to take a nipple into his mouth. Paige put her hands in his hair and ran her fingers through it as he sucked and nibbled on her swollen nipple.
She ran her hands down his back and when he moved back up to bite on her neck, she let them roam across his bare chest. He kissed and bit and sucked his way down again, this time not stopping until he reached her jeans. He unbuttoned and unzipped them and ripped them down her legs to her feet. Paige kicked them away as he fisted her panties up and ripped them off. She spread her legs a little wider and she felt him slide two fingers up inside of her. He put his face between her legs and bit down on her clit as he rammed his fingers up inside of her as deep as they would go. He worked them in and out while sucking, biting and licking on her clit. Paige was pressing back into the wall with her body and raking her fingers through his hair and down across his shoulders. Everything with him was so fucking intense. She could hardly breathe.
She was moving her hips in rhythm with his fingers and she felt the orgasm building all the way down to her toes. She moaned and pressed his face harder into her pussy...the orgasm was beginning to gain momentum like an avalanche and just as she felt it release, she screamed out and clenched her teeth down hard. She came so hard that she felt like she was going to black out. Damien licked her gently then until she stopped shaking uncontrollably and then he stood up and pulled his fingers out of her. When he reached her face he grinned. Paige grabbed his face with both hands and began licking her own juices off of his lips. When she finished, she shoved her tongue deep into his mouth. They kissed until they were both on the verge of suffocation and then she finally pulled back and said, “Fuck...that was...Jesus.” Damien grinned again. The anger from earlier seemed to have left him for now. Still holding his face in her hands she said, “Thank you
.”
“My pleasure.”
“For that...and for sticking up for me with your brother. I was wrong, you know?”
“About what?”
“About you. You’re not like them. Your mother must have really been a good woman because she instilled that in you. They can’t take that from you, Damien. It’s who you are.”
“I’d like to think so.”
“I know so. You’ve been through so much. I want to help you...I’ll do whatever I can. You need to get away from these people.”
“Look around Paige. This is my house of Paine. There’s no running away.”
“We’re going to change that.”
*********
When Paige was able to walk on her noodle legs, she gathered up the mess they’d made with her clothes and she went to take a shower. By the time she was out of the shower and dressed, Damien had Chinese food delivered for dinner. They’d never gotten a chance to eat the sandwiches she brought home for lunch and they were both starving. Poor Damien had a hard time eating with his swollen hand. Paige helped him and she enjoyed doing it. There was something intimate between them now...something that had gone beyond the driving passion and lust they felt for one another.
“Do you want me to drive you tonight?” he asked her while they ate.
“I think it’s better if I take a cab.”
“Why?” he raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Kelsey. She’s giving me a hard time and I think it has to do with you.”
He rolled his eyes. “She has known from day one that we weren’t going anywhere. She needs to get over it.”
“I need to be on her good side for now...so I’m going to let her believe there’s nothing between us. That’ll be easier to do if you’re not dropping me off and picking me up.”
“And what about Caine. If he touches you again...”
“He won’t. I can handle him.”
Paige still never told Damien just how much Caine had touched her. She was sure after seeing him with Alex earlier that if he knew, Caine would be left in a bloody heap. As much as she would love to see that...she had much bigger plans for him.
“He better not,” was all that Damien said.
Just before seven o’clock Paige left for work. When she got downstairs she saw Jules’s cab right away. Jules flipped on the fare light and drove over to her. She jumped in the back and Jules drove. As he drove, he talked.
“The package on the seat next to you contains a syringe of heroin. It’s enough to kill a very large man. I don’t know how you plan to subdue him while you do this, but make sure it’s injected straight into a large vein. If you want it to look like he did it himself, make sure and put it somewhere he could reach and use the tourniquet. Wipe everything down that you might have even touched.”
“Got it,” she said.
“The heroin is going to make him stop breathing...”
“I know. I’m a medical student so I’m aware of its effects. Thank you, Jules.”
Jules pulled to the curb about a block before they got to the club. He turned and looked at her and said, “I hope your plan is fail proof...because if it’s not Paige, you’re dead.”
It was chilling...and accurate. “I know,” she said, “I won’t be the one dying tonight.”
Paige walked the block to the club. When she walked in, she saw that the place was almost packed full. She saw Kelsey with the bartender Mike behind the bar and walked over to them. She started to smile until she saw the look on Kelsey’s face.
“Nice of you to show up!”
Paige looked at her watch. She was due in at eight, it was only seven-forty-five. “Was I supposed to be here earlier?” Paige asked.
Kelsey didn’t answer her. Instead she looked at Paige and said, “Just get upstairs in my office.”
Paige wondered what that was about, but she didn’t question her. Kelsey was already pissed; there was no reason to antagonize her further. Paige made her way upstairs to the office. A few minutes later Kelsey came tapping in on her expensive heels and said, “I want to know what’s going on between you and Damien.” She sat down and focused her bitchiest stare on Paige’s face.
“Nothing is going on.”
“Bullshit! Don’t fucking lie to me.”
“I’m not lying. Damien’s not interested in me...”
“Then why the fuck is he bringing you to work?”
My car broke down and he offered. He was kind enough to give me a ride home. He came back the next day to bring me to work while my car was in the shop. He was just being nice. Nothing happened.”
Paige didn’t look like she believed her. She narrowed her eyes and said, “Damien and I have been together for the better part of eight years. We’re going to end up together. He’s not available.”
“Okay...I didn’t want him.”
“You’re a fucking liar.”
“Really Kelsey...please don’t tell Caine I said this, but he’s more my type...you know? I love all of those big muscles...”
“Damien has plenty of muscle,” Kelsey said.
Paige almost shuddered when she thought about how right the other woman was. “Just remember, he’s off limits.”
“Okay.”
Kelsey sat there and stared at her for a long time. Paige could tell that the stare was designed to be intimidating. Paige just found it annoying. After several minutes Kelsey waved a hand at her and said, “Get to work.”
Paige, obviously dismissed by the mafia princess, gladly left the office. The club was even more packed when she got downstairs and she rolled up her sleeves and went to work. The time flew by and about two hours before quitting time...in walked her mark.
Chapter 25
Paige kept on with her work while keeping an eye on Caine. He looked obviously wasted again, slapping high fives to some of the men and shamelessly flirting with their wives and girlfriends. She had to wonder as she watched him, why no one had killed him already. He is such an arrogant jerk that she was certain more than half the people who acted like they liked him, only did so because of who his father is. She felt torn between excited and scared, but the one thing she didn’t feel about what she planned to do was ambivalent. In her mind, taking out Caine would not only give Greg the justice he deserved...she would be doing a community service, ridding the city of a pest that would continue to eat away at it for years if she didn’t. She kept a loose eye on him as she worked until about a half hour after he arrived, he finally spotted her and came over. He bellied up to the bar, reached over and grabbed her behind the neck and pulled her into him. He shoved his tongue into her mouth, right there in front of everyone. Paige was seething...but she didn’t let it show. Instead, when he let her go she grinned at him and ran her tongue over her lips.
“Well, hello to you too,” she said. “Having a good night.”
“I will be,” he said with a lustful look. He reached for one of her tits and she stepped back. He gave her a warning look and she smiled and said, “Later.”
He seemed to accept that for the moment. About fifteen minutes later he was back. This time he was behind the counter and taking liberties with her ass. The bartenders all pretended not to notice as he grabbed handfuls of it and ran his hands around in front even to give her pussy a squeeze. Paige wanted to vomit. She couldn’t wait to look this puke in the eye as he sucked in his last breath. She played duck and dodge; every once in a while forcing herself to let him grab and pinch her or kiss her in his nasty, open-mouthed way that he thought was so sexy.
“Come on, you’ve done enough out here. Let’s go in the back so you can do me.”
This was it...ShowTime.
Paige leaned into him and gave him a long, slow kiss. She made sure that her tits were pressing into his chest and she even let her hand rub over the front of his pants where his erection strained against it.
“I am so ready to fuck you. I have a surprise for you. Why don’t you go in the back and wait for me. I’ll fix us a drink and
be right there.”
Caine gave her a suspicious look. “You wouldn’t be playing games with me, would you?”
She put her mouth close to his ear and said, “My mouth and my pussy are both watering for your big cock. I’ll be there baby...wait for me, you won’t be sorry.”
“Five minutes,” he said with another bold squeeze of her ass.
“Less,” she told him with a wink.
She watched him finally turn and go down the hall. When he was gone she took a deep breath and took down a bottle of bourbon. She fixed them each a glass of bourbon on ice and then she reached down into her purse underneath the counter. She took out the Tylenol bottle and in case anyone was watching, she shook out two pills. One of them was the Suc. Palming that one, she popped the Tylenol in her mouth. Then she dropped the other into Caine’s drink and as she walked towards the back, she used a swizzle stick to stir it while it dissolved. When she got to the door of the room, she patted the pocket of her skirt where the small case with the syringe was, just to reassure herself that it was still there. Telling herself once again that this was it...Greg would finally get justice; she pushed open the door and stepped in.
He grinned when he saw her. She walked over to him and handed him the bourbon, seductively taking a drink of her own as she did. He reached for her and she stepped back.
“I have surprise for you baby. Sit in the chair and enjoy your drink...you’ll like this, I promise.”
Caine looked skeptical, but he did as she asked. She smiled when she saw him take a sip of his drink. She pushed the play button on the IPOD deck she’d set up earlier and "Feelin' Good' by Nina Simone came wafting out. She took another sip of her drink and then set it down and began to unbutton the buttons on her blouse while her hips made time with the seductive music. Caine was grinning...and drinking. She finished unbuttoning and let the blouse fall slowly off her arms to the floor. Turning her back to him, she reached up and unhooked her bra. After she shrugged that off, she turned back towards him and grabbed one in each hand. She danced like that for a minute, letting her fingers run across her nipples as he moaned and ran his hand along the tented crotch of his pants.
House of Paine - (A Romantic Suspense - Book 1) Page 14