Logan
“The fuck is wrong with you, Logan? Ellie was all Shadow talked about for as long as we’ve known him. You couldn’t stop at fucking her, could you? You had to go and invite her to your party? When Shadow finds out, he’s going to lose his shit. Not that I care if it drives him crazier than he is, it’s her safety that concerns me. For many reasons. I heard people were glaring at her like they wanted to strike her down and the party ended less than twelve hours ago. Imagine how many others know.”
Lane, one of my two younger brothers, starts in on my ass with a long-winded hurl of worries when he comes through the door of our office. His tone, obviously full of rage. We haven’t spoken much since the day of the party. He’d left shortly before the first guest arrived. Guess he’s pissed.
That makes two of us.
I keep my mouth shut, I know my brother, and he isn’t done. Probably shouldn’t have told him I slept with her. The thing is, we don’t keep secrets from each other. Learned a long time ago how secrets and lies can ruin a man, and here I’m holding back from telling Ellie one.
Pretty goddamn pathetic.
“You’ve fixated on her for years. I told you to make her yours a long time ago and not build on our fortune. Why wait until now when things could blow up in our faces? I swear to God, I won’t let you ruin that woman. Ellie has been through enough. Either you start explaining, or I’ll tell her everything.”
One of his questions is easy to answer. I won’t be saying it out loud. I knew one taste of Ellie’s sweet little body would be too much for even a man like me to handle. Wet and tight and fucking delicious.
Mine.
And I want to fuck her again in every position possible.
“Which one of your concerns would you like me to address first?” I keep my dick from growing, and my anger in check. Lane keeps it up and brother or not; we’ll be going at it with our fists.
I’m aware I shouldn’t have extended an invite to Ellie, but I was going out of my mind not seeing her again. When I’m around her, I feel peace. No obligations, no pretenses. No bullshit.
Total peace.
Ellie handled herself with dignity and grace at my party, while the women acted like jealous peasants out to destroy. Every woman I felt stabbing me in the back with their possessiveness as I made my appearance known. As if they had the right. They were looking at Ellie like they wanted to spike her in the eyes with their heels. And the men looked at her like they wanted to fuck her, and she isn’t one to be touched, talked to, or shared. Can’t blame the men because the woman is as beautiful as she is laid back. The men know the rules and would never lay a finger on her. Now a few women, in particular, I’m not so sure about. Something tells me Ellie would handle them just fine. Still, I wouldn’t want anyone from my past anywhere near her, let alone trying to hurt her.
I’ll make them aware if they even look her way, there will be hell to pay.
Fuck, do I want to mark her as my territory. Own her. Possess and control. I will break through her tough built up exterior. It’s a goddamn challenge I accept.
In the meantime, I might not own the people I opened my house to, but my brothers and I control them, and if one of them steps across the line and touches her or opens their mouth about a secret I have yet to tell Ellie before I do, I won’t hesitate to ruin them.
I make very few exceptions in my life. I’ve murdered, came home and washed off the blood and slept like a baby. Women, on the other hand, not sure if I have it in me to physically hurt one. I know someone who does, and I’d see to it they are put in their place.
“My biggest concern is Shadow. He’ll be out of prison in less than six months. Early release on good behavior, as you know. That held him off from kidnapping Ellie years ago as he planned. He’s going to find her and what do you suppose he’ll do when he finds out about you?”
Think he forgets the minute I get word he’s out, I’m gunning the raping son of a bitch down, and until I do, Ellie will be surrounded by an army of protection.
“I hope he does. All the more fun I’ll have when I kill him.” Shadow is a crazy man; no emotion except anger and his bloodthirstiness for Ellie run through his screwed up mind. I’ve waited a long time to put him six feet under for what he did to her. I’d like him to suffer before I slice his throat, knowing that gorgeous woman is mine.
He blamed me for ratting on him, for turning him in. I don’t snitch. That’s not my style, but I know who did, and so does Lane. If someone crosses me; I go after them in the brutalist of ways. Simple as that. Some I torture until I decide they’ve had enough. Others get a bullet right away. Whitney and Shadow deserve to suffer for going after Ellie, and so did their dead mother. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the lucky one to kill her. That privilege went to someone else.
“Right. You have it all planned out, don’t you? How about when Whitney decides to blackmail us with our client list? Politicians. Doctors. Lawyers. Celebrities. We have some very influential people who trust us, Logan. We pay big money to keep the law off our ass. I suppose you have that all figured out too. Those people get exposed and we are as good as dead. Swear to God, your head is so far up your ass that you forget where your loyalties lay.”
My fingers immediately flex into fists. I don’t need to defend my loyalty, Lane of all people knows it, but my reply is one he’d best swallow down with his words. “You better watch it. I’m as loyal as you are. Whitney knows better than to turn my laptop over to anyone.” Somehow, about a month ago, Whitney slithered through security at the club and stole my laptop that could ruin a lot of people if she gets someone to hack into it. That happens, and we’ll be rolling in deep shit. The problem is, she took it and vanished. We’ve been looking for her since. It won’t be long before she’s found. I do not doubt that at all.
I have information on the bitch. She breathes a word and she’s as good as dead.
As far as our safety? We’re fine. Greed is a crazy bitch. Toss a few grand to crooked cops and they have your back. Just like every other greedy man and woman out there wanting a piece of the Mitchells, they know there’s more coming if they do their job.
As I watch my brother pace toward the bar and pour himself several fingers of scotch, my mind drifts back to Ellie.
The first time I saw her in person, was when she stood in front of her window and glared at Shadow. He and I met when we were kids when his uncle brought him over one night. His uncle and our father were good friends. The man ruled with as many morals as he could with being a mafia king, unlike his nephew who pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. I didn’t know shit back then about the life I was born into, the connections my father had, but I recall how the old man was always trying to tame Shadow’s psychotic mother until he gave up and let her fend for herself. Putting his focus on Shadow instead.
Back then, Ellie used to rile Shadow up bad. The irrational ass went out of his head not seeing her after he graduated from high school and moved to New York to start training with his Uncle. Every opportunity Shadow got, he wanted to fly down and see her, kept on about Ellie being his. I thought he was crazy for it, but for Ellie’s sake, I’d talk Shadow into flying to see me, then we’d make the eight-hour drive from here together.
Then the time came for me to take over our business. I worked my fingers to the bone, had other things going on and worrying about someone else was one thing I didn’t have time to do. I had no idea he raped her until sometime later, and it gutted me. I didn’t have any idea about Whitney’s involvement at the time either. It rots my gut every time I think about it.
Therefore, I sought justice the only way I knew how.
To watch Shadow fail and take Whitney down.
Shadow always talked about ruling the underworld with prostitution. I guided him, taught him what I’d taught myself, and in the end, his greed took over, making him plenty of enemies. Within a few years, he went from riches to rags.
He deserved it — power tripping fucker and disgrace to humanity piece of shit that he is.
Whitney? She’s simmering in her pot of shit. Stewing and if she thinks stealing from me is her way of retaliation, then she’s in for the shock of her life.
There hasn’t been a day where remorse hasn’t gnawed me to the bone. I think that’s why I stayed clear of Ellie. Of course, I always knew where she was, protecting her from afar, but I never approached her.
I’d never spoken a word to her before seeing her at a club a few weeks ago, and for some reason, she left an impact on me years ago and an even bigger one on me after I fucked her.
Ellie Wynn is for a good reason, reserved. But she’s also self-assured, fascinating and the most fuckable woman I’ve seen. For years I thought about sinking between her legs, kissing her everywhere and tasting her pussy, grabbing that tight ass, marking her there and fucking her until she couldn’t think straight.
That’s not all. For the first time in my life, after one night with very few words spoken, I want to sit down and converse with a woman about anything and everything, and it should scare the shit out of me. For some unexplained reason, it doesn’t.
I’ve always thought she was beautiful, thick mane of black hair, sky blue eyes, curvy and as naturally beautiful as any woman I’ve seen, and after the other night, her sassy mouth makes her far more exciting than I’d expected.
The woman speaks with elegance, a side order of smartass, and her mouth gets me hard. She’s the only woman who I’ve ever allowed to tell me off and my dick tapped against the zipper of my pants watching her hold that fight not to lash out even more.
I wouldn’t change a thing about her.
Fucking beautiful. An elegant uncommon white swan in the middle of a life full of black.
All the women I had before her, bend over backward for me, shoving away other men the second I snap my fingers. They allow me to fuck them in front of strangers, share their bodies with other men and women in hopes they’d snag me. They do the same for my brothers — every one of them wanting to be the one to claim a Mitchell. To tame and get us to settle down.
Not Ellie though. She might give a shit about the life I lead but, my money, my power, they don’t mean a thing to her, and I find that sexier than any woman who will drop and wrap their mouth around my dick.
The beauty lost everything, and still, there is something about her strength that shines like some brilliant bright guiding light.
The kind you see from afar, drawing you in out of curiosity to watch it glow, a magnificence, unlike anything I’ve seen in the purest form. A strong woman full of life and innocence you can’t find anywhere else except in rarity.
That’s what she is, rare.
Scarce and unusual in a world full of sin and corruption. A society built on it, like mine.
One glimpse of her up close a few weeks ago almost brought me to my knees. Eyes that shined like stars, drawing you in to explore the spinning sadness in their indigo blue depths. The black of her pupil surrounded by a ring of loneliness.
At one glance, her eyes tell an entire story.
Heartbreak, the missing of love, the pain of deceit, and the flame of an inner force that would never give up no matter how many times she was beaten down.
And fuck all if she wasn’t beaten down by a couple of deceiving women and a scumbag who did her dirty and wrong.
Since bringing her home with me, I’ve categorized every move she makes, grouping them in my mind.
Strong. Independent and unbreakable.
Stubborn.
I don’t want to break her; I want to bend and please her.
Ellie doesn’t just wear her emotions on her sleeve; they flow from her like a refreshing stream in the middle of a desert.
So fucking sweet I want to dip in and taint. Dirty up only for me.
I want inside that tight, little body every chance I can get.
One touch of her hand in mine, her body pressed close, those lips painted in sheer gloss, I knew I had to have her. I had to get a morsel of a taste before I swooped in and caught her in my web of lies, and it angers me that wanting her is driving me out of my goddamn mind.
I hardly know the woman, and I might have grown up living a fucked up life, but years ago when I heard Shadow did what I feared he would, it pushed me over the edge, tugging a conscience I didn’t even know I had. The things he and his sister did to that woman are worse than everything I’ve ever done, and I’ve done some low and mortifying things, but to rape and destroy and bully an innocent woman.
Fucking never.
Not only did Ellie brutally and inhumanely lose her innocence, but she also lost her mother, and then her father. Her home, family business. Her life. All because of a woman who corrupted Ellie’s father. Glad the bitch was shot in the back of the skull by a man who caught onto her before she got her claws into him.
Is Ellie unaware of a lot of things? Yes. Harmless? Not a chance. Especially to a man like me. One without a soul.
Lane tips back the last of his scotch and places his tumbler on my desk, hands attached to a body made up of more loyalty than any man I know. He grips me by the back of the neck, pulling me toward him. Green eyes just like mine giving me a look he’s given me my whole life. The one that says I got your back, always will, but if something happens to Ellie, you’ll be on your own.
He’s one of the few who has ever been able to calm me down and damn it if I haven’t needed a lifetime of calming, especially after living years in the farthest depths of hell — all flames of fire singeing and scorching my skin.
I screwed up the minute I saw Ellie the night I fucked her, which wasn’t part of our plan. Couldn’t help myself. I was shocked stupid when I saw her. The woman has a body to worship and fuck. Long shapely legs, dainty and delicate fingers, arms toned and leading up to the most creative elegant neck I’ve ever wanted to bite into, straight hair flowing down her back and begging for me to fist and pull and mess it up while directing her toward my straining cock.
My brother and I look each other in the eye, the worry seeping from him like a leaky faucet.
“What you should do, is leave her be.”
I know I should. We both know I won’t.
“Yeah, well, that’s never going to happen. I want Ellie; what the hell is wrong with that?”
Telling lies, hurting a woman who doesn’t belong in our world is what’s wrong. The thing is, I’m obsessed with her, and I know there’s going to come a time when the truth will come out about things I’ve done. Even so, there’s no reason why I can’t pursue until I figure out how to keep her.
“Jesus man, do you hear yourself? What’s wrong is you, brother. Is she worth letting go of the lifestyle you live, because I’m here to tell you, that woman might be strong, and the night you spent with her might have brought out something you didn’t expect was inside you. However, there’s not a chance in this lifetime she’ll continue with you once she finds out all your secrets. Let’s not forget the women who will make a mission out of destroying her.”
He’s right.
If Lane thinks I’m going to feel guilty about it, he’s wrong.
Ellie unknowingly has me plotting out a way to keep her when I know I can’t. It’s making me agitated. Has my muscles twitching. Fury and resentment have been coursing through my veins ever since I touched her.
All of it toward me.
I can’t stop myself. At this point, I’m not sure I want to. Not when Ellie is sizzling in my blood.
“Ellie knows who I used to be. It doesn’t matter if she’s worth it or not, you and I know I won’t give her up. End of subject, Lane.”
He releases his hold, shakes his head and strides back toward the bar, pouring himself another drink.
“You might not teach anymore, but you still participate in the fun. Notice how you didn’t say you’d give it up? I sure did. Do you honestly think she’s the type to have a threesome with you? How about watching you fuck another woman in front of her? How about you watching another man fuck her? You’re an asshole, man. So far out of reach. Sitting over there saying you won’t give her up when you don’t even have her. You shouldn’t have started any of this with her. We’ve followed in the footsteps of our parents. Dad groomed Mom to be like him, to live in his world and in case you’ve forgotten, she became addicted to strange men’s cocks after he died. Those cocks led to drugs and some shady ass shit. Life became a hundred times worse for you after Dad died. It fucked Mom up because deep down it wasn’t for her, she did it for him. You better think again if I’ll let you prime Ellie to be like our mother. I won’t stand by and watch an innocent woman get reeled in, then let go and drown.”
The fuck is his winded self going on about?
The muscles in my forearms tighten. The thought of anyone touching Ellie but me is enough to make me want to start pulling the trigger.
“You talk like I’d force a woman to do something she didn’t want. I won’t share Ellie with anyone. You’re standing there acting like you’re ashamed of what we do. As far as Mom is concerned, she hated me from the day I was born.” Jesus, he pisses me off. We’ve shared many women; he isn’t any different than I am when it comes to fucking.
“No one will have access to Ellie but me. At least not in the way you’re talking. I don’t want anyone else, Lane. Fuck, you think I want her anywhere near our club? And I will have her, thanks for the vote of confidence, brother. Thanks for being on my side. Thanks for trying to help me figure out what to do.” Shit, this is the first time my past makes me ashamed when it shouldn’t.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I’m not the one placing a woman in danger from every direction. Listen to me, damn it; you think those women wanted to hurt her the other night, you wait. You don’t have it in you to be faithful to her, Logan. Admit it.” He takes a breather and runs his hands down his face. “I loved everything about fucking who I wanted when I wanted as much as you. I haven’t been mixing business with pleasure in years. That all changed when I first held the person I love a hell of a lot more than some random lay. Have you forgotten the hell I went through to keep? Jesus, I can’t even finish that sentence.”
He doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. Any man who would cheat on Ellie is a goddamn idiot.
“I’ll never forget what you went through, Lane.” The night he can’t talk about is burned in his brain as well as mine and our younger brother Seth’s.
That love Lane found to keep his ass out of our clubs is in the form of his almost five-year-old daughter, Lexi Mae. The kid is the best thing to come into our lives. The light in our life. Blonde curly hair, a unique personality, always dressing in pink and asking questions.
My brother is the best father I know. The man will probably have some heartbreaking love story just waiting to be written, one where a woman saves a broken man instead of the other way around. He deserves happiness, and so does Lexi. So does our younger brother Seth, and me.
I lean back in my chair, a lump growing in my throat, can’t stand the thought of Ellie looking at me with disgust now that she knows. She doesn’t have a clue as to the mark I’ve left on women.
“They go near her, and they’ll regret it.” I’ll stop at nothing to keep Ellie and those she loves safe. Even if I die trying.
I haven’t been able to get that woman out of my fucking head since I fucked her. The one my cock gets hard for at all hours of the day and night.
Son of a bitch. I have big problems when it comes to the darker side of my life as well as the ones arising with Shadow.
Spinning around, I gaze out at the magnolias that were here when I bought the place a few months ago. They remind me of Ellie, beautiful and full of life, a life that could quickly be snuffed out by the darkness my storm is about to create.
Leaving them bent, broken, and the beautiful petals falling to the ground before they have a chance to bloom.
At what point I decided to become addicted to something I never wanted to kick until I spent one night with Ellie beats the hell out of me. Our father died before we were old enough to decide on whether we wanted to be a part of his world.
I could have become hooked when our mother got involved with a man named Angelo shortly after our father died. The prick always showed up at our house in his big black Cadillac and called her every bad name you could think of before they’d head out for the night. It could have been when she’d stumble in drunk several hours later with a different guy or two. At times she’d bring home women, and they’d tumble into her bedroom, leaving us to listen to grunts and moans while we sat holding our younger brother Seth while he slept. Every damn time we covered his ears so he wouldn’t wake up and ask where she was.
The times he wasn’t asleep, and he’d cling to her leg, she’d send her lover down the hall, and he’d threaten to beat Lane if we wouldn’t take care of what she called, ‘her little problem.’ I always stood in the way and let them strike me while Lane consoled Seth who only wanted attention from a bitch who loved no one but herself.
Our mother’s wrath, her hatred toward me, I was used to it. There wasn’t a chance I was letting her touch Lane. I might be an asshole, but I love my brother, and I’d take her fists any day if it meant she never abused him.
Could have been when I did everything she told me to do, and it still wasn’t enough for her to stop beating the shit out of me and convincing me at a young age her idea of how I could make millions. Always reminding if I wanted to stay with my brothers, and eventually, the three of us become what we were born to be, I would do what she said, or she’d kick me out. Bitch was so whacked, the business would have gone under if it wasn’t for a family friend doing us right.
Or, it sadly could have been the night our mother decided she didn’t have a damn thing left to live for anymore and blew her brains out in her bed while we slept in our rooms down the hall.
Didn’t bother Lane or me one bit she was gone, but Seth, he loved her in spite of the bitch not giving three fucks she had kids who needed the loving touch of a mother. Not one who filled their heads with learning the oldest profession known to man.
To use our bodies and become whores. To teach women how to fuck.
Christ, I hated that woman with everything in me.
I give him a stern look. There’s so much more to the lives of the Mitchell family than people know. All the things that went on behind our closed doors while growing up would make a priest give up trying to save us.
But, Ellie, she could be the one to pull me out of something I’ve enjoyed far too long.
“You need to protect Ellie, let her know everything you’ve done and then leave her be. That means now. Don’t go barging in her life, sweeping her off her feet and having her fall for you without telling her your secret. You know better than to blindside someone. You do, and you aren’t the man I thought you were.”
Yeah, well, unfortunately, I’m not the man he thinks I am. Luck dropped in my lap. I’m holding onto it and making Ellie mine. Leaving me the honored man who gets to pound into her pussy, watch her back arch when she comes, to see her spread those thighs, to watch her lips separate when she drops to her knees — all the delicious wicked things I want to do to her.
“Shit,” I mutter as he doesn’t say anything more and walks out the door. I need a drink and to purge on whiskey instead of thinking of Ellie as my chaser.
But that awareness, and want and need, they don’t subside.
It doesn’t matter how much I drink; it won’t erase her from my mind.
This new addiction I have is going to be a sweet tortuous ride.