House Of Aces (2 page)

Chapter 2

“Come in
,” I called out to whoever was knocking on the other side of the door.

Vera came through before closing the door behind her.

She was another Russian import, my personally assigned
house girl
, giving and accommodating whatever I needed at all hours of the day. It was her only job in the house. To please me until her contract was up.

She was strikingly stunning
, drop dead gorgeous; five-foot-eight and with the smallest, prettiest face I had ever laid eyes upon. Her conservative skirt with a slit on her right thigh, silk blouse that waved around her ever-so-perky breasts, and her hair high up in a power bun, completed her look that drove any man’s testosterone levels into overdrive

I had lusted after her
from the moment my eyes had connected with her gray-blue ones. And even though she catered to my needs, she was the one that I could never fuck. There were times I felt like I was about to explode from wanting her so badly, however every time I felt like I was going to give in to my urges, I always reminded myself that, even though she was a house girl, she also happened to be my best friend. Our bond was strong, and I would never betray her like that. She meant so much more than just a place to keep my dick warm.

Yeah, she was definitely more than that
because, each time we got close, I always had an anxiety attack. It was like I got the wind knocked out of me as if she’d hit my stomach with a bat.

“How do I look?”
She batted her lashes at me playfully.

“You look decent
; the same I guess.” It was obvious that I was lying for I could not stop staring at her from head to toe, repeatedly dropping and lifting my head in awe of this beautiful creature. “Your English is getting very good, though,” I said, changing the subject so I didn’t have to continuously think of having her spread-eagled underneath me while I rocked us towards deeper waters.

“Why thank you
, Boss Ryan!”

It was so different from
the ‘Baby Ryan’ that everyone in my family always called me. Vera had a knack for making me feel like a king. She gave me the sense that I was invincible; that I could accomplish and do anything that I wanted. She was the perfect sidekick. The partner who I could always count on.

“So how was your first trip? I overheard
Papa-san praising you.”

“Oh, you know
, just business.” Cocky as I could ever be.

The w
eird thing was, when we were talking about pointless things, I would feel so comfortable and arrogant with Vera, but as soon as she stood close to me—the way she was now, with her eyes full of need, full of want—I turned into a hopeless, little boy, clueless and nervous. She got to me like no other woman could.

“Is she pretty?
Prettier than I am?
” she whispered huskily. Something flashed in her eyes before I saw hurt cross her face.

It pained me to see her this way,
however I didn’t want to give her any hopes. She was my friend, and once we crossed that line, we could never undo it. Becoming a reasonable person sucked big time, yet I knew I had to man up, even if I was going to hurt her again. It was for the best.

Giving her a playful smile, I reached out and pinched her cheek. “Fuck
, yeah! She is hot as hell! Way hotter than you are.”

She kicked me with her heels.

“Ow! What the fuck!”

“I’m going to ask Mama-san if I can transfer into a house and start working.”

I did a double take. “What?! I don’t want you to do what the other girls do!
Is someone bothering you? Working in my uncle’s house is the best job; you work when I’m only around and get paid the same as those fucking pigs. Why would you want to change that?” I was almost yelling at her, mighty frustrated at the thought of what she wanted to do with her life. Had she fucking lost her shit?

“I’m bored. This house has so many rules.
No drugs, no boyfriends, no phones, no anything.”

“House girls are picked by my uncle the day you guys arrive. You guys are like the daughters that he has never had.”

“To be honest, I miss my family. I miss home. Only the girls that work are offered a buyout after a year. Us house girls are stuck here for five years. I’ve been here three years so far and I’m going crazy!” Vera looked away as if she had said something that she shouldn’t have before looking up at me for my response.

“I remember when Tony first brought you to the dinner
. You were bruised from being beaten by your uncle that raped you every day for five fucking years! And now that you’re protected and safe from any fuckers, you wanna bail out? What the fuck, Vera!” Frustrated, I pulled her onto the bed, sitting her next to me.

Somehow, I felt like
in those few days since I had left for Europe, something had messed with her brain. What had gotten into her? I needed to know what was going on. There must be a reason for this. There just had to be.

“I hated everything about growing up. I
hate Kanash,” she said fiercely. “I hate my uncle! I hate my mother and my father, both consistently drank themselves to sleep all day, which only let him do that horrible thing to me every night. But if I could save money and get out, I could move to Moscow, buy a nice house, marry a rich man that loves me and have kids. I want a family of my own. I want to raise a little girl right and give her the world. That’s the only way I could forgive myself and my family.” Deep sighs were released as she held back her tears, tilting her head up to the ceiling so that I wouldn’t see them.

“Vera.”
I moved in close, wanting to caress her cheek, needing to move past my danger zone and not feel a thing. My feelings shouldn’t matter right then. She needed me. For the first time, I held her head on my bare chest, and damn did it feel good to have her that close. Did she know that she had that effect on me?

“Please think about it for a little bit. After dinner tonight, we can go catch a movie or go get some of your favorite
yogurt.” My breathing was close to her ear and I felt her shiver. Her hand rested next to her head on my chest, making these small, soft strokes… and it was fucking driving me insane.

She barely nodded before she suddenly lifted her head and took me in for a shock when she bravely planted her lips on mine. Her hands were squeezing the sides of my head so hard
that I could feel my thoughts pouring out of my ears.

“Please
, Ryan, I need you. I miss the feeling of it inside me.
I need it inside me
. If you do me, I will forget about what I said.”

Without even asking for my permission, her hand went straight into my boxers and
she wrapped her soft, warm hands around my cock and balls, massaging them slowly, pulling it playfully.

“Please
, Boss, fuck me,
please!
Hit me, beat me, take me like I don’t want it!”

I couldn’t stop looking at her with her eyes closed
, talking about all that nonsense. Suddenly, she slapped me so hard that it could probably be heard downstairs. I reeled from shock, from pain, from confusion.

“What the fuck was that for?
Are you fucking crazy?”

“Come on, hit me back!” she hissed, getting riled up.

My mouth hung ajar, not knowing what to say. After a good moment of shock, I snapped out of it. “I’m not going to pretend
I’m
like them, Vera. You’re more than that!”

“No
,” she argued. “I’m worth nothing. This is all I’m good for.”

She was talking about her hankering
for abusive sex. “Don’t say that… please, don’t say that.” I reached out to her, cupping her cheek before a tear fell on my wrist. Fuck, it hurt to see her cry. “Vera…”

“Why do you fight it?”
Her voice was incredibly fragile. She looked at me through her tears, breaking me in pieces. “Why do you fight
me
?”

It was hard,
yet I had to. Someone had to do it. As much as I liked her and
really
wanted her to be more than a friend, there was so much to consider. I was still young. Hooking up with a girl like Vera, I would have to be ready to take on a mother load of responsibilities. Besides that fact, what if sex ruined everything we had? There were just too many factors to think about, and I wasn’t ready to cross that line yet.

“It hurts me to see you like this.”

“Not as much as I’m hurting inside.”

“Vera,” I whispered,
my gaze one of longing. “I care for you, maybe too much sometimes, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the risk.”

“You’re a coward.”

“Maybe I am.”

“You’ll regret this.” Her voice was chilling. “You’ll see.”

“Don’t—
Vera!
” I tried to reach out to her, however she was already on her way out.

Chapter 3

I was escorting Sabina to dinner since it was her first night with us. We needed to assure her
—make her feel safe—that she was going to be well taken care of. Tonight, she looked glamorous in her brand new, short dress that my aunt Katja had provided for her. The girl who had been bracing herself in the mirror hours earlier held no resemblance to the one gracing my arm at that moment.

As we took each slow step down the stairs, the delicious smell of food wafted through the air as it was being prepared downstairs.
With each step, more of what was to come tonight was revealed.

My aunt always threw these elaborate parties so elegantly.
Flowers, the stylish ambiance, uniformed servers, light classical music in the background, it all completed the party tonight.

I spotted Azra, the other import,
sitting next to Tony, who was waving at me to take the empty seat beside him. Uncle Akihiro, my aunt and four guys that were always with Uncle that simply looked mean were also present at this venue. I never actually knew their job description, but I had always just assumed they were his bodyguards and assistants, and they were always seated next to four girls.

I recognized every single one of them from previous parties.
These girls were the Aces, the hottest escorts you could find in Los Angeles. Top of the line. Each one distinctively beautiful with a very rare, exotic look. Primed and trained to cater to every rich man’s fantasies. Trust me, they delivered exceptionally well, too. I had tried it firsthand myself.

I g
uessed as a family, we’d all agreed—well,
they
had agreed since this business had been established forty years ago, founded by my five uncles and my father soon after they had moved to Los Angeles—that it would be a rule that, whenever new girls came in, we—as a House—would throw them a party. It was our way to make them feel welcomed, and to show them how much we appreciated their cooperation. By the time each party started, the new girls were already glammed up and seated next to their recruiter.

In that small timeframe from their arrival to dinner,
Aunt Katja would break it down for them, that they were not here for school, and rather, to make a living to send back home to their family.

I suppose
d most of them agreed to the terms and conditions since each and every one of them were still here, seated, smiling and pretending to know what the hell was going on.

My uncle cleared his throat as
he raised his glass before saying with pride, “Our family grows bigger every week, and for that I am grateful. We do this for
us
, our future and for these girls’ futures. May the life of poverty never lurk in the vicinity of this family!”

Everyone cheered, toasting before sipping their drinks.

“And also I want to congratulate Ryan on becoming a man and joining the family business. You did well. Your find is absolutely gorgeous and she will bring much wealth to this family.” He handed a house girl a black box and Vera quickly ran to him to get the other. They each brought my cousin Tony and I a box.

I had always wondered what was in these boxes. For the last four years of being allowed at these parties, I had always seen my cousins receiving
them, but I had never been privy to what was in them.

Tony placed his box beside his plate and started to dine as if
it meant nothing to him. Shrugging, I immediately opened the black silk-wrapped box, and to my surprise, it contained five stacks of hundreds neatly piled inside.

Shocked and overwhelmed, I looked up while everyone was
staring at me, trying to read what I was thinking.

J
ust then, my uncle started laughing. “Ryan, that is your reward, your pay for finding such a beautiful girl. Every girl that is brought to this house, nets the finder a reward of one of these boxes.” He continued to chuckle.

I was
perplexed. I had never really made money before. Whatever I wanted, I got, and there had never really been any need for money. It was always Tony who received payment and held all of it. I felt like today was the day that I had really turned into a man.

“So what are you thinking? A car?” Tony chuckled, amused by my
glowing face and the twinkle in my eyes.

“I don’t know
. Maybe. What did you do with your first pay?”

“I bought a car.
Then, after a week, it got taken away with a hell storm of questions by the IRS, and my mom had to clear it. You really have to figure out a way to funnel that cash because, after a year, it turns into a big sum. What is the point of all that money if you can’t put it in the bank or purchase anything over ten thousand dollars? It sucks.”

“He’s right, Ryan. After the Bosnia trip
, we should sit down and figure out how we will clean that money for you so that you can spend it as you want.” My uncle was a very smart man. From what I knew, he owned over twenty expensive homes and over ten vehicles for the family to use. If I was to learn how to clean this money, I was sure that he could guide me.

Beep, beep, beep
.

The sound of my chirping phone caught my attention. I
caught a glimpse of Vera, obviously trying to get my attention as well. She signaled that I should put my phone under the table so that no one could read it. As I unlocked my phone over my lap, I couldn’t help noticing that Vera and Sabina were getting along as if they had been best friends for years. With the broken Russian, Croatian and English, it all seemed to work just fine.

Sorry about earlier. I lost it.
Do you forgive me? I promise to make it up to you tonight.

I was trying to text back while composing myself.
Make it up to me… how?
God, that woman sure knew how to get into my brain from both ends.

The excitement was too much to handle, so I got up and decided to head to the bathroom so that I could smile as big as I wanted while I texted Vera back.

“Ryan, make some time tomorrow. I want to show you something.” Tony was a few steps behind me, looking down, slurring from all the alcohol he had been consuming. “Say
, punk!” he demanded when I didn’t say anything.

Sometimes
, I wondered why I called him my best friend. He sure was a mean dick.

“Okay, let me check my schedule,” I blurted out in an arrogant way.

And of course, it came; the slap on the back of the head when I was acting childish. Since I was considered the ‘baby’ of the family, I couldn’t fight back without getting in trouble with Uncle. Even though we were older, mostly all men, age earned respect, and the bastard was older, much to my chagrin.

“Tony
, you have to stop doing that! That shit hurts, man.”

“Well
, if you grew up a little bit, I wouldn’t have to smack you every day.” He always got this way when he drank—depressed and serious, as if he had turned from my best friend and mentor to a complete asshole.

With t
hat short amount of a breather I’d had, I was thinking about how to reply to Vera, yet I emerged from the bathroom still not sure what to tell her. It was a tug of war between my mind and my body.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved sex
—I lived for it—however I was wise enough to know that a tortured woman, who only knew what she’d grown up in, wouldn’t know any better. Vera had grown up thinking that sex came with forceful blows, drawing blood and bruises. It sure as fuck wasn’t like that with me. I lived for rough and raw sex, but I was aware of my limits.

Upon my return, t
he room was filled with laughter, excitement and cigar smoke. It really did seem like a life that I could live and build around forever.

A laughing Azra caught my attention. She was drinking champagne along with Sabina, and both looked like they were having a great time.

Azra was such a fucking beauty; she had the look of innocence and she was young, slim and stood about five-foot-nine. I loved her long eyelashes, her small nose, and her thin and tiny lips. I bet my dick would barely fit in her mouth. I loved it when my cock would fill up every millimeter of a girl’s mouth because it would become a battle of breathing and trying to stay composed while remaining focused on giving me a great blowjob. My wicked thoughts shadowed my worries with Vera.

Maybe if I could just unleash all this tension on these two tonight, then I wouldn’t have to contemplate sex with Vera. Chances were high that she was going to approach me later
, so if I had a woman or two with me, Vera would know where we stood; that it was only friendship with us.

My eyes lingered towards Azra, taking in her impressive beauty, before
they darted towards Sabina, remembering the unfinished business she and I had begun earlier.

I hadn’t reached a decision when I heard the old grandfather clock in the living room
going off at midnight. It generally meant that everyone had to say their goodbyes and head back to their homes or quarters.

One of
Uncle Akihiro’s guys started calling for the girls to take them to their condos. Rest was imperative for these Aces. With two appointments a day from eleven in the morning through lunch until three o’ clock, and then the second was from eight p.m. to midnight—four-hour sessions, twenty five hundred dollars each session—these Aces were booked for months. It was a seven-days-a-week gig with an exception of a day every two weeks if they were invited to dinner.

The girls
were put on a rotation for the invitation. Four Aces were always chosen, not six, or three, but
four
. I had always wondered why that was. From what I gathered, we housed fifty-two girls, and for the last four years, I had met every single one. Each one was unique in their looks, and their beauty was second to none. Thinking about the business made my head stay in the clouds, dreaming about owning my own house of Aces one day.