Owned (4 page)

"Ryan," she whispered, moving to stand in front of me. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" I asked in confusion, my eyes drawn to the small part of cleavage I could see peeking out from under her robe. I was such a fucking pervert.

"For saving Tony…again," she stressed.

"It's my job."

"I still want to thank you," she insisted, touching my chest. “I know you put your life on the line every time you do it.” I watched as her chocolate eyes widened when her fingers caressed my chest. Was I affecting her the way I did with most women? Stepping closer, I moved so she was flush against the wall. Damn, she smelled so good. I wanted to run my tongue from her neck down to her cleavage and beyond.

"I only do it because I’m hoping one day, if you’re willing, he’ll let me have a night with you," I teased, putting my arms on either side of her head and leaning toward her. She was pinned between me and the wall, and for the life of me, I couldn’t think of a time I'd ever been that close. Hell, I’d never been that fucking bold before.

"Tony would never agree." Fuck me. Was that
disappointment
in her eyes?

"I know, but a guy can dream, right?" I sighed, pushing off the wall. I was getting way too aroused just by being that close to her.

"You need to give up on me, Ryan. You had your chance," she muttered. There she went again with her flirtatious ways. It wasn’t true, though. I never had a chance. In those first three weeks when Trixie avoided me like the plague, Tony made his move, and by her agreeing to that first date, my fate was sealed. For the rest of my life, I would long to fuck the one woman I never could.

"Good luck looking after Tony. If you need anything, just call me. I know he can be a whiny bastard." She nodded with a slight smirk, looking down at the floor as I finally turned and walked away.

The moment I got home, I took a cold shower, hoping to ease my throbbing cock. When that didn’t work, I took matters into my own hands. With images of a sexy dancer flashing through my mind, I found my release in a matter of minutes. I was too keyed up to sleep, but too tired to find someone to come over. Sitting alone on my balcony instead, I checked over my gun and drank whiskey through the night and into the early hours of the next morning. Until Tony fully recovered, I knew I would be running things with Carlo.

“You bought him a fucking
Bugatti
!” Tony bellowed as I pulled up in my new baby. She was pure black and purred like a kitten. With an 8.0 liter, quad turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine—the equivalent of two V8 engines bolted together—she was pure fucking perfection. Fuck, I would make love to this car if I could, and I didn’t do the love shit. I wasn’t a goddamn pussy.

“He’s earned it. How does she drive, Ryan?” Carlo called as I eased myself out of the car, stroking the hood with my hand. The feel of her beneath my palm gave me fucking tingles.

“Like a fucking dream. Thank you, Carlo. You really didn’t have to do this. Fuck, you probably spent way too fucking much!”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that. I managed to haggle down the price. You know…offer a few favors to the seller. You’re a valuable member of this family, Ryan, and I don’t want you to forget that.”

“You really don’t know what this means to me,” I said, watching out as Tony became more and more agitated.

“You’ve saved my son enough. It was time you were rewarded for that.”

“Fuck this shit. I’m taking Trixie out for the day. I
almost
die,
and
he
gets a fucking
car
!” Throwing a tantrum like a petulant child, Tony stormed back into the mansion, slamming the front door behind him. What was his fucking
problem
? I mean…the guy had a Lamborghini
and
a Ferrari for fucks sake.  

“Don’t worry about him. I’m glad you like the car, Ryan. I meant what I said. You deserve this.” Carlo patted me on the back before turning and making his way inside, leaving me out front by myself.

I was waxing my baby, getting her ready to show Jamie and Bennett, when Tony and Trixie came out.

“Nice car,” Trixie called as she walked past, giving me a sly smile.

“She’s a little wild to drive, but I think I can tame her,” I murmured suggestively, giving her a wink.

“Come on, Trixie. Don’t give him any more reason to brag about his shiny new toy,” Tony spat, practically dragging her away. She turned slightly, shaking her head at me as he led her toward his Ferrari. The motherfucker needed to get a grip.

“Holy fuck! You weren’t fucking kidding. This is
yours
?” Bennett walked around my car, rubbing his hands together in excitement. “When do I get to test drive it?”

“Ummm…
never
. And don’t even
think
about putting your grubby hands on my baby,” I glared when he got too close. Jamie chuckled from behind me.

Bennett and Jamie were
my
men. I’d known them since I was a kid, and the moment Carlo gave me a position in his organization all those years ago, I offered them both a job.

Bennett was the brawn of our group. He may have been built like a damn wrestler, but it seemed like the poor guy had a few loose screws upstairs. I always teased him for being a pretty boy, though, because of his blonde hair and blue eyes.

Jamie was the total opposite. He was lean but strong, with mousy brown hair and practically black eyes. He was the smartest motherfucker I knew, but ruthless as hell when he needed to be.

The three of us had been through so fucking much together, and I would do anything for either of them. They always had my back, and I knew I could trust them both with my life.

“Your
baby
?” Bennett snorted. “I’d rather save that name for a something warm blooded and moist.”

“I don’t do nicknames with women. You know that. They’re only good for one thing, anyway.” Jamie and Bennett had always agreed with me on women. “Are you ready to do our rounds?”

“Are we taking your car?” Bennett beamed.

“Hell
fucking
no. We’ll take the SUV,” I snorted, watching him pout. That fucker wasn’t going anywhere
near
my baby.

Tony was really taking this grudge to heart. I’d had my car for over a month now, and the fucker was
still
moaning about it.

“Can’t you just fucking enjoy a game of craps?” I glared, placing my chips on the table. I wasn’t having much luck tonight, but I couldn’t care fucking less. A few of the men had joined Tony and me for a game in the study. It was our way of winding down after a busy day.  

“You still have that smug look on your ugly face.” Now he was getting personal, the motherfucker.

“Just roll the damn dice.” I wasn’t in the mood for another fight. His hatred stemmed from somewhere, and I figured it had something to do with Carlo and his admiration for me. The relationship between Tony and I had always been rocky, but I was getting to the point that I wasn’t so sure I could trust him anymore.  

“Why don’t we make this next roll interesting?” The fucker had a dark smirk on his face as he spoke. I had no idea where this was going with this, but I was definitely curious to find out. “All other bets off, accept me and you.”

“What are we playing for? I don’t have many chips left.”

“Your car,” Tony grinned. I choked, not sure if I’d heard him correctly. Was he
insane
? There was no fucking
way
I was going to bet my car. “We do a straight bet. If you throw a seven or eleven, you win. If you throw anything else, I win.”

“You have nothing to bet with. You’re talking about a
Bugatti
, Tony! I wouldn’t part with that car for fucking anything!”

“A night with Trixie.” My eyes widened. No! Was he fucking
serious
?

“What do you mean?”

“You can fuck her for
one
night.” I wasn’t sure whether to be excited or appalled. He would rent her out like that just to win a fucking car? I’d show that fucker. Realizing that he’d do anything to take my car from me, I decided to up the ante.

“Tony, my car is worth over a quarter of a million dollars. If you want me to offer it up in this bet, I want to
own
Trixie for an entire weekend—Friday evening right through to Sunday evening—but
only
if she’s willing. If she says no, all bets are off. That’s my final offer.” He looked thoughtful for a few moments. Was he
actually
considering it? Offering up his girlfriend to me for a
whole
weekend?

“Okay, one weekend, but if you win, it doesn’t leave this room. No one else is to know. I don’t want people thinking that I loan her out on a whim.” Tony quickly glanced around the room. Luckily for him, there were only a handful of men left, and they were all occupied with various activities. Jamie and Bennett had left early to hit a few clubs, so I didn’t have them to worry about, either. I knew Bennett would freak the fuck out if he knew what I was about to do…but a weekend with Trixie if she was willing? Fuck me, it was a dream come true.

“Deal,” I grinned, holding out my hand. What the fuck was I doing?

“You better fucking lose, Lawson,” Tony threatened, shaking my hand as hard as he could.

“It’s all up to the dice now.” My pulse was racing as I picked them up, blowing on them for luck. A seven or eleven—that was all I needed.
Come on dice! Please be fucking lucky.
I closed my eyes for a short second to compose myself, then made my throw down the table, letting the dice bounce across the green felt.

My heart felt as if it were pounding in my ears, and time seemed to slow as the dice tumbled end over end before coming to a stop. I moved, almost too scared to see what numbers they’d stopped at.
HOLY FUCKING SHIT! A six and a five. Fucking eleven.
I’d won!

“Fuck!” Tony roared, jumping out of his chair. “She has to fucking agree first, Lawson. You haven’t won
anything
yet!”

“But I’m already halfway to owning her for a weekend,” I gloated, getting up. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Man. I’ll have a word with Trixie later. Although, it might be better if you gave her a heads up. I mean, she’s going to be pretty pissed when she learns you put her up as part of a bet.” I was enjoying this way too fucking much, but I didn’t care. Tony wanted to react—I could see it in his eyes—but he held back somehow. After a moment of staring at me, he rose to his feet and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.