Chapter Eight
The following night, Beth tried to trust Rome as he pressed his fingers over her eyes and began to lead her downstairs. This was a little terrifying. She didn’t know if he was going to make her pay for the crap her brother had done, but alas, he surprised her by walking her gently down the stairs, then moving them both across his corridor. She felt like they were going to the dining room, but she didn’t have any sense of direction with her eyes completely covered.
“Rome, what is going on?” Beth asked.
“A surprise.”
Rome suddenly stopped and his body surrounded her back. The musky scent of his cologne filled her senses, and then he let go of her face and she looked around. The dining room table had vanished, there had been some carpet set up, and music played.
“I’m a little confused.”
“You didn’t get to enjoy the nightclub last night, and you were a little distracted, so it was simple, I brought the nightclub to you.”
“Oh,” she said. “There are no people.”
“All you’ve got to do is say the words, and with the snap of my fingers, there could be people here, couples dancing and getting in our way.”
She giggled. “Rome, you paint an awful picture.”
He winked at her. “Come on, dance with me.”
Last night, Beth hadn’t wanted to return to the nightclub, it had already gone so very wrong, and it sucked, so she asked Rome if they could take a rain check. She had every intention of going with him again, but this felt much better for some reason.
She stepped into his arms, and he pulled her in close. The song was a slow one.
“How come no one knows you can be so sweet?” she asked.
“I’m not sweet, Beth, and I wouldn’t fool yourself into thinking I am.”
She could argue with him about many of those points. The first one being that he had brought her a nightclub. Admittedly, this one wasn’t quite as loud, and the music was better, but it was perfect. Also, she could go barefoot. There was no reason to wear those horrible heels some women seemed to love but made her feet hurt.
“You’re right, Rome, you’re a horrible person.”
“A lot of people would agree with you.”
“Is there anyone who would think you’re a good person?” she asked.
“No, because I am not, and don’t make yourself think I am. I’ve done a lot of bad things.”
She was aware of that. Beth had already told him that her offer of listening was still there. So far, he hadn’t talked about anything. Beth did talk a lot about her life with Ben and her parents. There was no room for silence between her and Rome.
“Afterward, I … stayed home,” Rome said.
Beth looked up at him. “After you killed your father?”
“Yes, I disposed of the body.”
This made her mouth fall open. “How?”
“We had a septic tank, and I dropped his body in it and left. I cleaned up the mess, took care of everything. I recuperated, got well, and when the time came for me to move on, I burned the whole house to the ground. Then I was on my own.”
“What about school?”
He snorted. “I was being homeschooled. My dad didn’t want any child of his being manipulated by the government. His words, not mine. My mom taught me what she could, and I learned everything else along the way. That was when I took to the streets and got a crash course in survival.”
“How old were you at this point?” she asked.
“It was three weeks before my fourteenth birthday.”
“That is insane, you were only a child. What happened?”
“I grew up fast. I already knew life was a piece of shit, and it didn’t get worse, nor did it get better. There are a lot of people who will lie, cheat, and steal from you in the art of survival. I learned several harsh lessons in life, especially not to trust. People only care about themselves and no one gives a true fuck about you.”
She couldn’t even imagine Rome as a little boy, living on the streets, cold and lonely.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. It didn’t take me long to realize I had an edge against all of them.”
“What was that?”
“I’d already killed someone and I didn’t care. I had no feelings about it. I didn’t feel regret or remorse. My father meant nothing to me, and I also knew how to take a beating.”
“What did you do?”
“I built a reputation as being unbeatable. Underground fighting,” he said.
“You did that?”
“You’re aware of it?”
“Ben did a couple of fights, but he never got very far. He couldn’t handle the level of pain you needed to win one of those fights … but you did it?”
“Yeah, before I decided to go after the crown, I was then and still am the undefeated champion of the streets.”
“Doesn’t that scare you? There might be people who want to take that crown.”
“People have tried. Trust me, I know how to protect myself. I’m always prepared for what is going to happen next.”
“Did you know about my brother?” she asked.
“I was aware of the trouble he was getting himself into,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be.”
“Do you like being the king?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do. Even though there are a lot of people who try to fuck with you, none of them are getting my crown.”
Beth chuckled. “See, was that so hard, talking?”
“It hurt.”
She gasped. “It did not.”
“It did. How do I know you won’t use my past against me?”
He spun her around and Beth let go of him and pressed her body flush to his, tilting her head back to look him in the eyes. “You’re right, you don’t know if I am going to do that or not, but what I do know, Rome, is that I’m not like most people. I’m not going to use anything against you. I’m not going to break your trust.”
She had a feeling Rome was used to not trusting people, and she refused to become one of those many people.
Rome stared down at her, and she didn’t know what he was thinking. He got closer and she held her breath as he finally closed that distance between them, and then took possession of her lips. She closed her eyes, loving the feel of his lips against hers. This time as his tongue traced against her bottom lip, she met him with her own, touching him. Then, he pulled back slightly to look at her. She stared up at him, waiting expectantly.
Rome cupped her cheek and sunk his fingers into her hair, before gripping the back of her neck. She released a moan as he ran a hand down her body. One going straight to her ass, locking her against him. She felt the hard ridge of his cock against her core and she let out a little moan.
“You feel so fucking good,” he said, growling the words against her ear after breaking the kiss.
She put her hands on his hips, and then, not quite knowing where this bold feeling was coming from, she moved toward the belt of his pants. It was awkward trying to open the belt, but she didn’t let anything hold her back or stop her from getting what she wanted.
With his belt open, she slid open his button, and then, staring up into his eyes, she slowly slid down the length of his body and lined up with his crotch.
“Beth?” he asked.
She looked up at him with a smile. “What, Rome? You do this to me all the time, and I think it’s only fair I have a little payback.” Pushing his pants down, the outline of his cock was visible through the black boxer briefs he wore.
Beth didn’t have a clue what she was doing. Rome was always licking her pussy, and she wanted to taste him, to drive him just as crazy as he did her.
Easing the boxer briefs down his body, his cock sprung free, and she gasped at the sheer size of him. She’s already known he was a large man, as she had felt him inside her, but she hadn’t quite grasped the sheer fullness of him. Wrapping her fingers around his length, she worked from the base, going to the tip, then sliding back down again. Up and down, she worked his cock, marveling at the pre-cum leaking out of the tip.
Tilting her head back to look at him, she nibbled her bottom lip before asking, “What do I do?”
He growled. “Lick the tip.”
“Like this?” She made sure her movements were slow and as she slid her tongue across the tip of his cock, she tasted his pre-cum, that seemed to be a mix of salty and sweet. She swallowed him down.
Exploring the tip of his cock, she couldn’t resist moving down the length of him. She heard his sudden, sharp intake of breath, and it startled her enough to stop.
“What? Did I hurt you?”
“No, don’t stop. Your mouth feels so fucking good.”
Beth slid her tongue down his length, and then, feeling even bolder, she took the whole of his cock into her mouth, sinking onto his dick. The moment he hit the back of her throat, she felt herself gag a little, and she immediately came up and looked at him.
When he wrapped her hair around his fist and began to guide her over his erection, Beth loved it. She loved him taking charge, but also the groans and grunts that seemed to keep escaping his lips.
She loved watching him lose control and she wasn’t ready for it to end, but then he growled that he was about to come.
Beth didn’t know what he wanted her to do, then it was too late as he filled her mouth with his cum, and she swallowed down every drop.
****
Closing every avenue for Ben to be able to fuck up his own life as well as his sister’s was easy. With no apartment and no one willing to put him up, he ended up on the streets.
Ben had even attempted to enter one of the fights in the underbelly of the city, and that hadn’t ended well. According to his sources, after the first punch, Ben had run away screaming.
Rome was disappointed in every detail he heard about Ben. He couldn’t for the life of him think what he would have done to Beth, if she had agreed to steal from him for her brother.
In the past three weeks that Beth had belonged to him, Ben had attempted to enter multiple places to gamble, and each time he’d been removed. There had been a few occasions when the law had gotten involved, like last night. Before arriving back home to find Beth in the pool he had no choice but to go and bail her brother out.
“You look deep in thought,” Beth said, swimming up toward him.
He loved how she had gotten comfortable around him. The moment she was close to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and circled his waist with her legs.
Rome let go of the side of the pool and gripped her full, plump ass. He had not told Beth any of the shit Ben had been up to. Dealing with her brother had become a full-time occupation, one he didn’t enjoy handling.
“Not thinking,” he said, and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’ve got you.”
Her laughter was sweet music to his soul, but he saw her biting her bottom lip. “I get the sense you want to tell me something.”
“It’s … next week is my last week. I’m supposed to return to work, and … well, I don’t know what is going to happen. I’ve got no home to go to. I don’t know what mess my brother is in, and I’m kind of afraid to ask you.” She pressed her lips together and he saw her cheeks had gone a shade deeper. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Stay,” Rome said.
This made her look at him and he loved how wide her gaze had gone.
“Stay?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“How?”
This time, he laughed. “Well, you could stay because you want to, or because your brother is still causing trouble. You could give yourself multiple reasons to stay, or one if you want to leave.”
“What’s the one if I want to leave?” she asked.
“Because you’ve done your time and you don’t need to keep paying for your brother’s sins. It’s time for Ben to take responsibility for his own actions.”
Rome wasn’t expecting her hysterical giggle as she threw her head back and laughed.
“I’m so sorry. I know this is not something to laugh at, and I really, really shouldn’t find this funny, but thinking of Ben taking responsibility just seems so … entertaining.” She pressed her lips together.
Rome stared into her eyes, and he knew this woman was dangerous. He should let her go, put some distance between them, and not have anything to do with her. She had the ability to undo him.
The last three weeks had been the best of his life, and considering he was forty years old, with wealth and power at his fingertips, that was saying something. None of that had given him any real pleasure, compared to what he experienced with Beth.
Part of him didn’t like it, and another did.
She didn’t expect presents from him.
He hadn’t had to give her diamonds or jewelry to see a smile. In fact, while they were watching a movie just last night, he playfully pressed the ice-cream-covered spoon against her nose, and that had sent her into a giggle.
Beth had given him so much, and it fucking terrified him. If he had any sense at all, he’d send her packing, but he couldn’t do it. Ben was still out there, and he knew in his gut the little bastard would find some way to get to her, to use her.
Rome had started to see that her brother hadn’t taken her away for good reasons, but instead for his own selfish ones. Beth worked hard, she wanted a good life, and Ben didn’t like working. He didn’t think he should work hard to get where he needed to be. He hated men like Ben.
“I want to stay,” Beth said, and she surprised him by kissing his lips. “And I’ll stay for however long you will have me, but…”
“No buts.”
She pouted. “There always has to be a but , I don’t want to do nothing. I like my job and I want to get back to it.”
“Beth, you know who I am and you know what I am capable of. Do not try to fight me on this.”
“I’m not trying to fight you, but I’ve got to earn my keep, and don’t say anything like me having sex with you will earn my keep. In a week, my vacation is up, and I’ve got to go back to work.”
Rome didn’t like this, but he also didn’t know how long this was going to last. He stared at her for several long minutes. “You can return to work, but you have to take one of my men to guard you.”
“Rome, come on, please,” she said. “Let me do my job.”
“And let me handle everything else around you. You want your job, fine, but now that you belong to me, there are going to be people out there who want to hurt you.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Yeah, oh, and it is my job to make sure they don’t get that kind of power.”
Beth frowned and then smiled. “I belong to you?”
This time Rome pursed his own lips. “Stop.”
“I’m just saying, your words, not mine, but does that mean you belong to me?”
Rome didn’t answer her, instead, he pulled her in for a kiss, in the hope of silencing her. He was already falling down this slippery slope, and he didn’t see a way out.
Ben was balancing in dangerous territory, and there would come a point that he was going to have to take the decision out of Beth’s hands.