Page 9 of Owning Emma
I pushed myself back, causing the stool to scrape against the floor, and stood. They all knew where I stood, and it was up to them if they wanted to disappoint me. We’d never had issues because of some piece of ass, and I hoped we weren’t going to start now.
Strolling over to the bar, I picked at the bowl of nuts on the counter and moved it aside, waiting to catch the bartender's attention. It never took long, not with the way they knew us to tip. The barkeep lifted her eyes, sending one of her flirting smiles in my direction before popping a cap off a Corona bottle, grabbed a lime, and heading toward me.
She was pretty if you went solely on looks. Tall, slender, willowy legs - legs that felt fucking fantastic wrapped around my waist. I knew I’d tested her out a time or two. Nothing serious, though. I didn’t do serious because I couldn’t afford the risk of someone sniffing around my business, searching for its weakness, and trying to bring me down.
“What’s going on, handsome?” Cheryl’s hand brushed mine as she handed over the bottle. I knew what she was after, and I wasn’t objecting to it. It was easy and free sex, and on days and weeks like this, I could use effortless.
“Just a night out with the boys,” I drawled before taking a large sip of my beer, savoring the smooth bitterness.
“Something on your mind?” This was where it always got iffy with women. They always wanted to know more, learn more, take a damn piece of your heart and soul back to their cave with them, so they could relish in it later, alone, with their girlfriends, in their damn diary. But, I didn’t want to offer up any piece of my heart. I didn’t want to share any part of my soul. All I wanted was to bury myself balls deep in a pussy, any pussy at this moment, and forget.
“Snag me one, too, would you, doll face?” Shaw’s voice came from a few inches behind me, seconds before he pulled the stool out to my right, and plopped down. “So, it will be like that, then?”
“Like what?” I played dumb, making him say what was on his mind.
“You will shut everyone off from her. I get it, but fuck. You’ve never told them no before.” He opened up one nut and popped it in his mouth. Fucking disgusting; I’d seen like twenty people touch them in the half an hour we’d been here.
“Before now, we had no girl living with us, literally under my roof. Under my roof means under my protection.”
“I get it, I do. It’s just . . . Cardigan’s an adult; she can make her own decisions.” I nodded in agreement.
“Which is true. I just don’t want her decisions clouded by the influence of their decisions. Look, come Monday, when we send her back to her dad's to work, I want you as her tail. I trust you most, and you can still do that project from anywhere, as long as you have access to our computers, right?” What I didn’t say, but surely he had to fucking know, was I would kill him if he failed me and broke this trust.
He signed, “I can do it anywhere. But, are you sure about this? I’m telling you now, I don’t know if I can stop myself from fucking with her. She has a mouth on her. A sassy fucking mouth and it will kill me.”
Fucking Shaw and his weaknesses. “I’m sure. Fuck with her all you want, but don’t lay a damn finger on her, go it? Are we clear?”
But I knew he wouldn’t. Besides an occasional fuck here and there in the past, he shied away from people’s touch. He would never get close enough to disappoint me. But that didn’t mean the lust wasn’t there. That the need to taunt her and push her to where he burned with her memory at night would not happen.
He hung his head for a moment. “Yeah, we’re clear. So, are we taking Cheryl home tonight? Or did you have someone else in mind?”
We. Us. Was I going to fuck Cheryl while Shaw stood a foot away, his eyes piercing into me as he stroked his own cock, his panting breaths mixed into the room with ours?
I watched Cheryl bend over, searching for something under the counter, and my cock twitched. Images of Shaw’s mouth on her tits as she squirmed and screamed under my tongue flashed through my mind. Her blonde hair fisted in his hands, wound around his knuckles so tightly that she dared not move from the bite of pain. Or maybe she moved because of the pain. I sucked in a breath from the onslaught of images my mind conjured. Images I would get to my knees and beg to see. Images of Shaw and me and all the things we could do to the girl if he just pushed past his dislikes and tried.
“We’re taking her. She knows what we want; she doesn’t push, she’s safe.” And safe was what I needed right now. Something familiar. Something that didn’t ask questions or push for answers and didn’t dare offer breakfast in the morning.
“Yeah? Okay, then.” Shaw’s arm shot up, waving Cheryl over in our direction. She beamed before setting his beer in front of him; they always smiled at his charm. “So, doll face, what time are you off? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you wither, and I can’t fucking wait for it.”