January Whitehall
With every step I take back to Velvet House, the heat burning inside me rises another degree. Doc, Eli, and Bobby are holding Adriano’s actions over his head, not because they’re mad that he kidnapped me, but because they want him to admit he’s weaker than them?
Idiots, Zia shouts in my mind. You show them who’s weak!
“I will, Zia. I won’t stop until every one of them says they’d have taken me to the hospital to see you.”
I find the three of them in the dining room with their laptops and glasses of wine having another stupid meeting. The sun is setting in the huge windows behind them, flooding the room with the last of its reddish light. I take a moment to appreciate the beauty before I put my hands on my hips. “All of you need to apologize to Adriano. Tonight.”
Eli doesn’t even look up from his computer. “Go away, bella.”
“No! You need to pay attention to me!”
Bobby smiles distractedly and Doc leans back in his chair and flashes me a grin. “Hey, Princess Mononoke.”
I have no idea what that means, but I don’t care. “Stop being mean to Adriano!”
“What’s she talking about?” Eli asks Doc, his eyes still on his screen.
“She’s been in the woods killing a sacred deer with the He-Man and now she’s all pissy,” Doc says in a stage whisper.
“I am not all pissy. You guys are such—”
Doc lowers his chair to the floor with a thud. “I’m not saying I don’t want to know why we’re such jerks or whatever PG-13 insults you’ve come up with, Tits, but we’ve got a shitload of work to do. Go to your room. I’ll come finger you later.”
My head feels like it’s going to come right off. They’re ignoring me. No, even worse. Eli and Bobby are ignoring me, and Doc is banishing me to my room. Would it kill any of them to treat me even a little bit the way they treat each other?
“No!” I practically scream. “We’re going to talk now!”
“What the fuck?” Doc chokes.
Bobby looks up from his laptop, disturbed, but Eli’s face furrows in anger. “Miss Whitehall, not to reduce whatever very normal thing is making you act like this, but the three of us are working on the contract that will save your life.”
“I don’t care about that!”
“You don’t care about your life?”
“I do, I just… you shouldn’t have told Adriano you wouldn’t have done what he did.”
Eli’s brows draw together. “What are you talking about?”
“You all said you wouldn’t have taken me to the hospital if I offered you my virginity.”
The guys exchange looks.
“That’s what you’re upset about?” Bobby asks.
“It’s the same thing Adriano’s butthurt over,” Doc says. “He’s recruited her onto his PR team.”
I ignore him and focus on Eli. “When I was locked in my room after I found out about my Zia, you all stayed away because you knew if you saw me, I could convince you to take me to her.”
Eli closes his laptop. “Or we left you alone because we have better things to do than deal with a hysterical little girl. Go upstairs.”
I don’t move. I promised Zia I’d get the better of them, and I will not bend. Adrenaline floods my system and suddenly I know exactly what I have to do.
“You would have done what Adriano did,” I tell Eli. “I can prove it.”
I pull my wet, bloodstained dress over my head and drop it to the floor.
As if I flicked a switch, the boys’ expressions morph from irritation to blank lust. I stand naked in their precious dining room, and look from stunned face to stunned face. Bobby blushes scarlet, Doc’s mouth falls open, and Eli’s jaw goes so tight I think his teeth might snap.
“I want to lose my virginity.”
My words sweep through the room like a summer breeze. Bobby’s eyes widen. Doc runs a hand across his angular jaw.
“Oh, you’ve decided that, have you?” Eli snaps.
“Yes.” I lift my hands, cupping my breasts. “Does anyone want to help me?”
Bobby makes a sound like a car stalling.
Eli glares at him. “Put your dress back on,” he tells me.
“Here are the terms of claiming my virginity,” I say. “Whoever admits, loudly and clearly, that they’re not better than Adriano and would have taken me to the hospital, can have me first.”
A long tense silence falls over the room.
Eli scowls.
Doc bites his fingernail.
Bobby tugs at the collar of his blue shirt.
I tighten my fingers around my boobs pressing them together. “This is a real shame. I just want to know what it’s like to have a man use my body for his pleasure.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Doc mutters.
The thing is, I’m not lying. I want to lose my virginity, hold it up to the sun before dashing it to my feet in a spray of blood and glory. I guess that’s why the guys aren’t getting angry. They know I mean it, they just don’t want to meet me on my terms. But they will.
“This isn’t going to work,” Bobby says in his math tutor voice. “You need to be respectful.”
“Respectful? To sleep with you?”
“Yes.”
Eli and Doc nod like he’s making sense.
“Get going, Tits,” Doc says. “Put your dress on and go for a walk.”
For a second my confidence falters, but then I think of all the beautiful strippers at Dreams. Of Betty. What would they do if they were in my position?
Bobby eyes my stomach and Eli is shifting in a way that says he’s hard inside his suit pants. They’re pretending to hold a united front but there are already cracks in it. And if I know anything about these men, it’s that they’ll turn on each other for a chance to touch me. All they’ve done is bet on my virginity and compete for it. The only difference is that this time, I’m in charge of who wins.
I approach the broad, wooden table and push a chair out of the way.
“What the hell are you doing?” Eli demands.
“Just playing,” I say, climbing onto the shining surface. “If you don’t like it, don’t look.”
But every pair of eyes remains glued to me as I get on all fours. Bobby is sitting bolt upright, and Doc’s practically salivating. Only Eli regards my naked body with something close to contempt. “You’re making a fool of yourself.”
I arch my back. “Okay, I guess I’m making a fool of myself.”
He gives a low growl, but doesn’t say anything. He’s waiting to see what I’ll do next. I turn on my side then sit back, facing all of them. I exhale, praying I can pull this off, then I spread my legs apart.
Bobby slams a fist into his forehead. “January…”
“Fucking hell, Tits.”
Eli’s amber eyes gleam. “Very pretty, bella. Now run along.”
But the rush of positive feedback has me more confident than ever. I swish my hair over one shoulder, letting it flow over my body like a waterfall. All three of them follow the movement as though hypnotized.
“I wish someone would come and play with me,” I say, trailing one hand across my abdomen. “I’ve been waiting such a long time.”
“If she touches her cunt, I’m done for,” Doc tells Eli. “I want you to know that.”
He scowls. “Give in and I’ll slit your throat. Miss Whitehall, get the fuck off my table.”
“No.” I focus my attention on Bobby, who’s struggling not to stare between my legs. His cheeks are burning so brightly it’s hard to believe they’ll ever be normal again. Adriano said Bobby might admit he was wrong. And if he does, I think Doc might follow.
I lift my hand to my breasts and pinch my left nipple. I meant it as a tease, but electricity radiates from the pressure point, making my flower tingle.
Bobby gives a helpless groan. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m not doing anything.” I caress my other breast, trailing my nails over my sensitive skin. “Although, if you say, ‘I would have let January seduce me into escaping,’ you can be the first man to ever slide inside my pussy…”
“JJ,” Bobby warns, but the edge in his voice is gone. Even his charade of being annoyed is failing. He’s going to break, I’m sure of it.
“Bobby? Could you please come and touch me?”
I close my fingers over my right nipple and tug lightly, parting my lips in pleasure. “Oh…”
Bobby throws a desperate glance at his brothers. “What about them? They’ll still be here.”
Doc is staring at my flower and doesn’t look far from breaking himself.
“They can watch,” I say. “Doc once told me he likes playing second string, didn’t you, Nico?”
Doc glances up at my face, his bright blue eyes narrowed. “You ready to be my little cum slut?”
“Not yet,” I say, making my voice all sugary. “Not until you say what I want you to.”
Doc’s face tears between lust and laughter. He pounds the table. “I knew it. I just knew you were gonna be worth kidnapping.”
“Chiudi quella cazzo di bocca,” Eli says flatly. Shut your stupid mouth.
Yet his eyes follow my fingertips as I slide them up my legs. He’s as helpless as the others. He just needs a reason to give in.
I trace hearts across my inner thighs. I’m swollen and dizzy and my flower is throbbing. An hour ago, I would have found this impossible, but now I want to do it.
“I guess if no one’s going to touch me…”
“Sweet fucking Christ,” Doc says.
I run a single fingertip along my outer lips “…I’ll have to do it myself…”
Eli snaps his fingers. “Miss Whitehall, come here.”
I feel the pull toward him like a million invisible bonds, but I close my eyes and find I have the strength to disobey.
“I think I’ll stay here,” I say, spreading my soaking pink folds.
Bobby jumps to his feet. “Fuck!”
“I’m so weak,” Doc mumbles. “So weak.”
Eli makes a noise like a cut snake. “Ragazzaccia.” Bad girl.
I rub myself lightly, the way I used to when I was alone in my bed with no one to talk to. It feels so good to do it under the spotlight of their attention that I let out a moan. “That feels so nice.”
No one says anything. All three of them are dumbstruck. It’s like when I was on Orchard, but better because now I want them here. I want them looking at my body. The knowledge makes me dip lower, toying with my entrance.
I open my eyes and see that Doc looks like he’s in physical pain. “What the fuck has gotten into you, Tits?”
“I don’t know,” I breathe. “Maybe I’m just ready.”
“Ready to blackmail us,” Eli mutters.
I decide to use another weapon. A word I’ve been saving just for him. “It’s not blackmail to tell the truth, daddy.”
Eli freezes and I watch his pupils dilate. “You…” His face hardens, rage taking over. “You’ll pay for that, bella.”
I can’t bring myself to say ‘I hope so’ but I can press my fingertip inside my flower. I’m soaking wet, and when my slippery flesh contracts around myself, I moan. “Oh my gosh…”
“Shit,” Bobby hisses, “Can’t you just come here and give in, JJ?”
I shake my head. “You guys already tried that when you kidnapped me. And with Orchard. And when you locked me away from my Zia. It doesn’t work. No matter how many chains you wrap me in, I’ll always be able to say no.”
Bobby holds my gaze, but Doc looks uncomfortable, and Eli remains icy and remote.
I push another finger inside myself, imagining it’s one of them. All of them.
“Me getting what I want doesn’t mean I don’t want you,” I tell them. “I just need to know you care about me enough to let me make my own decisions. At least sometimes.”
“Little brat,” Eli says.
I ignore him, pushing my fingers deeper. I’m getting even wetter. I withdraw, rubbing the glossy liquid over myself, and a wave of self-consciousness hits me. Am I being disgusting? But none of the guys’ faces say that. In fact, they all look like they’re about to burst in their pants. As the sun becomes tangerine bloody in the windowsills, I decide to make my last stand.
“Take it or leave it,” I tell the guys, sinking my fingers back inside myself. “But you should know I’m going to make myself come on this table.”
I pulse into my flower the way Doc did in the car, bringing down my second hand to pet my clit.
“Put another finger in,” Doc urges. “Pump your virgin pussy.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, asshole!”
Heat rushes over me. I swore at Doc! I wait for the backlash, but it doesn’t come. Doc looks annoyed, but he’s still interested. More interested, maybe. I always thought you had to work so hard to make men happy. To be so nice. Maybe I was wrong. The more I get to know these guys, the more it seems like these bossy dangerous men like being put in their place.
Except Eli. He pushes his chair back. “I’m going.”
He gets to his feet but he’s still watching me. My dark captor. My daddy. I lift a hand and bring my fingers to my lips. Three sets of lungs inhale. Am I really going to do this? But then I’ve always liked the smell. It’s sweet and earthy like fresh bread. I suck my fingers into my mouth and Bobby lowers his forehead to the table. “This is so fucking unfair.”
I pull my fingers from my mouth with a pop, but it’s getting hard to concentrate on seduction. My free hand is still pulsing inside my flower and the shivery sensations are growing more insistent. “I think I’m going to come.”
Doc leans forward, his eyes on me. “Do it, you dirty bitch.”
“What did I say about telling me what to do?”
With immense effort I move my fingers from myself and give an exaggerated yawn. “I’ve changed my mind. If no one’s going to play with me, I’m going to bed.”
Three simultaneous noises of fury.
“Don’t you dare,” Eli snarls.
“Sorry.” I pull my legs together and Doc reaches across the table and grabs my ankle.
“No, you fucking don’t.”
“Let go of me!”
“No. Touch yourself.”
“I only touched myself because I wanted to! You can’t make me. None of you can. Now let go.”
Doc releases my ankle, his teeth bared. He looks to Morelli. “Deal with her.”
Eli scrubs a hand across his dark jaw, and I feel him drawing on all his inner strength. I pull my knees into my chest. “Eli…”
“If you don’t come here,” he says in a soft, dangerous voice, “I’ll throw you in the cage downstairs and leave you there.”
“And what will happen if I come to you?”
His lip curls and I understand that he’ll have sex with me without saying what I wanted to hear. My heart sinks. “No. You can lock me up, but then you won’t get my virginity.”
There’s a spiraling second when I think he’s going to storm from the room, then he slams his hands on the table, making all of us jump. “The hell I won’t. I should have fucked you the night you came into his house, January Whitehall. I own you.”
I slide back on the table, my heart pounding. I’ve never seen Eli like this. His hair is on end and there’s a wild look in his eyes. A storybook prince driven to madness.
Part of me strains to comply, to say yes and make everything right again, but I trust the humming feeling in my chest telling me it’s okay. That Eli Morelli might like a woman who holds her own a lot more than a girl who cries in a cage.
I send my legs across the table and let him look at me. All of me.
“You can take me by force if you want to,” I say in a ringing voice. “But I know you won’t. You’re too good for that. That’s why none of you have ever slept with me, even Doc.”
“The fuck do you mean, ‘even Doc?’” Doc demands.
I ignore him.
“I want to obey you,” I tell Eli. “I want to be your princess, but only if you respect me. Do you respect me?”
“Of course not.”
“Eli,” Bobby says through gritted teeth. “Maybe this isn’t the right—”
“Why would I respect you? Respect is earned. From the moment I laid eyes on you, all you’ve done is defy me.”
My spine stiffens. What does he mean, ‘defy him?’ But I already know. The night I arrived at Velvet House, I refused to take off my clothes or suck the gun. I didn’t let Eli seduce me in my cage. I didn’t sleep with anyone the night he commanded me to give my virginity to Doc. It didn’t feel like defiance at the time, but it was. My insides glow. I’ve grown so much since I arrived at this house, but even from the beginning, I was stronger than I thought.
“I didn’t mean to defy you,” I tell Eli. “But I’m allowed to control my own body.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“Morelli…” Doc says. “Not to tell you to shut the fuck up, but you’re ruining this titty show, shut the fuck up.”
Eli shoots him a furious look then strides toward me. “You said you wanted to leave, so leave. Get off the table and out of my sight.”
I don’t move. Staring into Eli’s eyes, I know he’s close to breaking. I once sensed his fear that loving someone would mean being left like his father. I just need to prove him wrong. To show him that he doesn’t have to control me to love me.
We can do this, I think. We could really be together. You just have to let me be strong.
“What did you learn from giving me Orchard, Eli?” I ask. “From watching me be kidnapped? I’m braver than you think. I know you want me to give myself to you and I will, I want to. But you have to give yourself to me too.”
He shakes his head. “You’re becoming someone else.”
“That’s what’s supposed to happen when you grow up.”
Eli raises his gaze to the arched ceiling. “This is why I didn’t want you to know how beautiful you are.”
The compliment hits like a slap. “Well, now I know. What are you going to do about it?”