Arranged love

TITAN

MY PHONE BEEPS, and I look at it. Emilee has accepted the date.

Of course she fucking has! She’s a Queen and bows to no one. Why would I be any different? She’s not going to consider how I feel about that right now. I allowed it because she really wasn’t doing it. Now things have changed. I could fire her, but that would show that I care, and my plan is to try my hardest not to give a fuck about what she does or who she sees.

“I told you what would happen if I saw you again,” I tell the kid, putting my phone away.

If she wants to do this, it’s her choice.

He spits blood onto the table that I have him seated at in the meat locker. “Fuck you, man.”

I busted his face up pretty good with the one hit to the poker table. Now he’s about to see what I can really do.

I punch him in the nose, knocking his head back. He cries out as blood goes flying from my skull ring making contact. “You know, I’m doing others a service by getting rid of you.”

His head falls forward, and he moans while the blood drips from his face.

I grip his hair and yank his head back. “Look at me when I’m talking to you.”

His eyes are barely open due to how swollen they are. “I was offered twenty grand just to kill you,” I tell him. “I said no, he’s young. He won’t come around here anymore. He won’t steal from us anymore. But lo and behold, here you are. And guess what?” I shake his head with my fist still in his hair. “I’m going to do it for free.” Then I slam his face into the table once again.

_______________

Exiting the room, I wipe my bloody hands off with a towel and enter the elevator. After scanning my card, I go up a level and step off. I walk over to Nigel’s desk in the corner. “I need a cleanup crew,” I tell him.

He nods and picks up his phone.

I turn to walk to the elevator to go upstairs when I see her walking up the steps outside. She wears a red dress that stops mid-thigh. Black heels and her hair is down, curled and lies over one shoulder. Her lips match her dress and so does her small purse in her hand.

Nigel hangs up his call and goes to open the door for her.

She enters the door and gives him a big smile. “Thank you, Nigel.” Her voice alone makes my breath pick up.

I miss that woman more than I’ll ever admit. A king never shows his weakness. Not even to his queen.

“Miss York, it’s been too long,” he tells her.

“It has.” She looks up, and the smile drops off her face when her eyes meet mine. She gasps softly when they drop to my blood-stained clothes. “Titan,” she whispers my name and takes a step toward me.

I step back, and she stops.

Her face instantly falls.

What was she expecting? That I would drop to my knees the moment I see her? I refuse to do that no matter how much they shake.

“Are you okay?” she asks, biting her perfectly painted red lip.

I look at her body. Her legs look as ravishing as ever. Her thighs soft and inviting. I can tell she’s lost weight by the way the dress hugs her small frame, and I wonder if she’s even eating. Do they have any money? Is that why she’s doing this? Pimping herself out?

Her face is slimmer, and her eyes look darker, sadder-like she’s lost sleep-but that’s just wishful thinking on my end, right? I want her to miss me like I miss her. I wish to see her in a bad mood and pissed at the world. Instead, she looks amazingly gorgeous and sad at the same time.

Like a broken doll that hasn’t been played with in years. Her eyes beg for attention while her body screams take me.

My fingers itch to rip her dress off like I did that first night up in my room. To throw her on my bed and kiss her, fuck her. Make her fucking mine like she was. But Emilee York will never belong to me. I got everything I was going to get out of her, so I turn to the elevator, hold up my key card, and enter once the doors open.

But as it stops on the Royal Suite, I pull out my cell and make a call.

He answers on the first ring. I start the conversation, knowing I’ll be the only one speaking. “Hey, I need a favor …”

EMILEE

This dinner is going about as good as the last one. Boring as fuck!

It’s all business talk. But thankfully, I’m able to drink without any limits. I just keep telling myself that five grand is a lot to just be arm candy, and that I can do this for a few hours. It’s not going to last all night.

Then I think of Titan. I can’t get the look on his face out of my mind. Pure hatred. Just like he was in high school and college.

How had we gone from enemies, to lovers, to enemies again? At what point did I want more? At what part did it all fall apart?

“There you are. A little late, huh?” Jacob says.

I look up to see who he’s talking to, and I mentally sigh. It’s fuckface again. The business partner’s son who stopped me in the hallway to the ladies’ restroom last time.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Wonderful!

His eyes meet mine, and he smiles as if he can hear my inner thoughts. He knows I hate him. His presence alone makes my skin crawl, and the fucker gets off on it.

“Another one,” I say, lifting my half full drink of champagne. Might as well down this one and get to the next. Maybe the time will fly by if I’m hammered.

Three more glasses and an hour later, I’m starting to see double of everything. My mind is foggy and my lips numbing. Champagne always gets me fucked up faster than anything else.

Jacob reaches over and places his hand on my thigh. I tense. Is this why he’s allowing me to drink? To loosen me up to go all the way with me.

He notices and leans into my face. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I clear my throat and nod. Fuck, I need to sober up. “May I get a water?” I ask the waiter as he picks up the plates.

“Sure-”

“No need,” Jacob interrupts him. “We’re on our way out, and I have some in the limo.”

I swallow, and all of a sudden, my tongue feels like sandpaper. Shit. This isn’t good. He takes my hand and lifts me to stand. I can already tell I’m wobbly on my heels.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. It’s not that far. I just have to make it to the elevator where I can lean against the back wall. Then the short distance to the limo. I have this.

We all pile into the elevator, and it starts to descend. The last drink I had begins to hit me harder. I’m blinking rapidly, unable to keep my heavy eyes open. My ankles give, and I fall to my right.

“Whoa. Be careful.” It’s the kid. I can smell his breath on my face, and it reeks of vodka.

“I’m fine.” I push him off me.

Jacob sees me out of the corner of his eye and wraps his arm around my shoulders, pinning me into his side. I allow it. I’d rather be close to him than the young pervert.

When the elevator dings and comes to a stop, the door opens, and we all step off into the hot summer night. “Wait right here. I’m going to walk Mr. Links to his car,” Jacob tells me.

“What?” I ask confused as to why he would walk the man we had dinner with to his car, but they’re already walking away.

The elevator is in the alley. And you can either go left or right. We came from the right, I think. The limo is parked out on the street nearby. I begin to walk in that direction.

“Hey, wait up,” the kid calls out.

“Go away,” I say over my shoulder.

“You don’t really mean that,” he says. Coming up behind me, he wraps his arms around me, pinning my arms to my sides.

“Get off me,” I growl, trying to free myself but unsuccessful.

“I’ll pay you double if you let me fuck you without a rubber,” he whispers.

“I’m not going to …”

He buries his head into my neck and sucks on it. Hard. I cry out when his teeth bite into my skin.

He’s ripped from me, the momentum knocking me to the ground, scraping my legs and hands on the asphalt. I scramble backward until my back hits the concrete wall. “Nite?” I gasp, looking at him standing over the kid in front of me.

His eyes meet mine for a brief second before he kicks the kid, knocking him onto his stomach.

“Where did you come from?” I ask, looking around quickly. “What are you doing here?” I ask as if the mute will answer me.

“I sent him.”

I look to my right and see Titan walking toward us. I use the side of the building to push myself up. “Titan …”

“Save it, Em. You can yell at me later.” He comes up to me and cups my cheeks. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“I … I think.” I’m breathing heavy, my knees are skinned, and my hands burn from catching myself when I fell, but other than that, I’m physically okay.

He tilts my head to the side and lets out a growl when he sees my neck. My hands instantly go to the tender area. “What did he say to you?” Titan demands.

I swallow but don’t make him wait. “That he would pay me double if I let him fuck me without a rubber.”

He lets go of me, steps back, and spins around. Just as the kid makes it to his feet, Titan nails him in the face with his fist. The guy stumbles back, and Titan hits him again before he can recover.

I stand back and watch Titan put all those fights I watched Grave do in the ring to shame. Titan is a force like nothing I’ve ever seen. The kid never even gets a shot in.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jacob snaps, walking up to us.

Titan turns to face him, and Jacob stops when he sees the blood splattered all over his clothes and an unconscious kid on the ground.

“What the fuck, Titan?” he demands. “Do you have any idea who that is?”

“I don’t give a fuck who he is,” Titan growls.

“You can’t do that.” He shakes his head. His eyes still on the guy lying at an odd angle. I’m not even sure he’s still alive.

“I can.” Titan drops to his knees and holds out his hand to Nite who has been standing there quiet this entire time just watching. He places a knife in Titan’s hand.

He grips the kid’s hair and pulls his head up and stretches the back of it across Titan’s leg. He takes the knife and slices it across the kid’s throat. I cover my mouth as the blood pours from the open wound and all over Titan’s jeans.

Jacob just stands there, his body shaking, eyes wide. I think he’s in shock. “What …? What did you do?” he whispers in horror.

Titan closes the knife and hands it back to Nite, who puts it in his pocket. He immediately pulls out his cell and starts typing away on it.

Titan steps up to Jacob. “You left Emilee unattended. He pinned her arms down to her side and bit her.” He points at me. “Told her he’d pay double if she’d fuck him raw.” His voice rises.

“I’m … sorry,” he adds quickly, clearly terrified of Titan. Jacob takes a step back.

“You know the rules, and you broke them,” Titan growls.

As a Queen, I don’t know what the clients are allowed to do. I just know what the Queens can and can’t do.

“I didn’t know he …”

“Bullshit!” he snaps. “You know he came on to her at your last dinner.”

My eyes widen. He knew that? How did Titan know that?

“Yes. Yes. I told you.” He nods quickly. “I didn’t keep it from you.” Snapping, Jacob takes a step toward me, and I press my back into the wall. Not like I’m afraid of him. I feel safe that Titan is here. But still, I don’t want him touching me.

“You’re out,” Titan says.

Jacob squares his shoulders. “Out? Do you know how much money I’ve spent at Kingdom?” he demands through gritted teeth. Clearly pissed at these turn of events.

“That was your choice.” He waves a hand in the air, dismissing him.

“My choice?” he snaps at Titan. “If he wanted to fuck her, he can fuck her!” he shouts. Jacob reaches for my arm and yanks me from the wall. I try to pull away from him, but he’s got a grip on my arm while he drags me to the center of the alleyway.

“Stop!” I shout, trying to shove him away from me as Titan reaches into the back of his jeans.

“They’re just fucking whores!” Jacob yells, shaking me. His fingers digging into my forearm.

Bang!

I scream in surprise as the gun goes off. My heart stops, and my breath gets stuck in my throat as I watch Jacob fall to his knees and then to his chest in a puddle of his own blood in a back alleyway.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I’m chanting in my head as I feel blood on my face, chest, and arms. I stumble backward into the wall once again as I quickly try to rub it off.