“Well, you have the chance now. So explain,” he orders.
I do owe him that much. I can’t tell Taylor the truth, but I can let him in on one of my secrets. “I went and saw her up at the coffee shop the day after you told me your house had been broken into. I figured since I was going to be around, she and I needed to be on good terms. Especially since she thought I was the one who did it. I offered her a job, and she turned me down. She said I was just some drug dealer. I mentioned someone using drugs who worked at her coffee shop. She thought I was referring to another woman who worked there when really it was her boss. Then the next day, she called me when her car broke down. I saw an opportunity and took it. As soon as I hung up with her, I called her boss. I threatened to expose him and told him to fire her. He likes to have a hit every now and then.” I shrug to myself. “I needed to get her into Seven Deadly Sins, and that was my in,” I say simply.
He sighs heavily. “Do you always bend people's will to get what you want?”
“Pretty much,” I say matter-of-factly.
He’s quiet for a long time before he finally speaks again. “I wish you would have told me. I don’t like her working in your club. I just see it ending badly for her.” He’s worried about the wrong thing here. The club can’t hurt her. I’m the one who can hurt her. I’m the one filling her with lies and making up this fake life for her in order to keep her close to me. What will happen when she finds out the truth? ‘Cause the truth will come out and I’m gonna have to face her when it does.
“I told you that you have nothing to worry about,” I say trying to sound carefree. But in all honestly, we both have a lot to worry about.
He chuckles. “So you say. But so far, you haven’t proven that to me. All I do is worry about her.”
She’s so lucky to have someone like Blane. Someone who is always there for her. But sometimes even that isn’t enough. “And the less you know, the better,” I add. “Do you really wanna have to admit to her that you knew about everything I did when the shit hits the fan?”
“Uh …” He lets out a long breath. “No, I do not. I’d rather her hate you and not me.”
“Then let me do what I need to do and you just continue doing what I tell you to do,” I offer.
He hangs up, and I sigh heavily as I look at myself in the mirror. I am already afraid of how this is gonna blow up. How beautiful she will look when the tears roll down her face. It already makes my chest hurt. You’re investing too much time in her, Case!
But I can’t help it. Have you ever met someone who makes you think the impossible is possible? That’s what she does to me. And the crazy thing is I can’t even explain it. Since I was seventeen, I have been alone. I’m now thirty. That’s thirteen years by myself. Sure, I have Brecken, Miller, and of course, there’s Rachel, but at the end of the day, I’m still alone. Ever since I first saw Taylor, I have wanted her in a way I haven’t wanted another woman before. I wanna know what it’s like for her hands to touch my skin. The way her lips would feel on mine. The way her blue eyes would look up at me as I buried myself so deep in her that everything else just falls away. All the memories. All the heartache. I want to feel something other than fucking nothing.
I close my eyes and sigh heavily as I feel my cock hardening just thinking of her. Maybe Blane is right. Maybe I should just let her go. I have connections all over this town; I can get her a job anywhere she wants and out of this club. Maybe even another club here in town. Just as I thought before—the club isn’t what she needs to be afraid of, I am!
Opening my eyes, I turn around and lean back against the countertop, unable to stare at myself in the mirror. I look down at my hands, and I take a deep breath. The scars show the past that I try to hide. Scars that remind me just how evil I can be.
I have sinned, but I don’t regret that for which I cannot be forgiven.
I am a man who has no shame in a life full of humiliation.
I may hold a woman, but I don’t love them. I fuck them!
I am a man who, when it comes down to it, will lie, cheat, and steal in order to get my way.
I’m shameless.
I’m unforgivable.
I’m a man who takes what he wants. And I want Taylor! I want to know what purity tastes like. I am the devil craving the taste of heaven. Just as an addict craves its next hit, she is becoming my addiction, even though I know she’ll be the one thing to destroy me. Have you ever asked an addict why they need their next hit? That next drink? They will tell you it’s because they want to feel it in their veins. They seek that substance they have become dependent on in order to escape reality. It’s a burning need down deep inside that you cannot control. That’s how I feel about her. I can’t control my thoughts of her.
I take women to my bed and fuck them like there’s no tomorrow. I take Rachel to bed and use her like a fucking cheap whore. I have never made love to a woman because love is not what I want. Is that what Taylor would expect? Does she want me to lay her down and hold her in my arms as she deserves? God, I hope not. What would be the fun in that? Sex is about power. He who can conquer is entitled to the power. And Taylor would be my best trophy. One I could show off to the world. Look what I got. I was able to get the saint to lie down with the devil.
Fuck, that sounded so sick, but it makes me smile. It would be so fucking sweet.
But if you fuck her, she would be the one with the power because I would be letting my dick control my actions. And I can do better than that, can’t I?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
TAYLOR
“Good evening Taylor,” the other owner, Brecken, says as he opens the front door for me. He sounds friendly but the hard look on his face says otherwise. The man knows I don’t belong here. That I can’t do what the club requires of me.
“Good evening. Thank you,” I say softly as I walk into Seven Deadly Sins for my second night of work. I walk down the long hallway and let out a deep breath. I’m more nervous than I was last night. Case is literally throwing me to the wolves. A table all by myself? He wants me to fail. I just know it. It’s probably a game to him. He is up in his office looking down at me and laughing his ass off. I begged him not to fire me, and he actually laughed at one point in time. The bastard even stared at me with a smirk on his face. Well, here I am, you bastard. And I’m gonna prove you wrong, so sit back and watch me work.
“Evening, Taylor,” Miller shouts from where he stands by the stairs as I come to the main opening of the club.
I turn to face him. It’s the first time he’s ever spoken directly to me. He looks surprised to see me facing him, but I need to feel confident tonight and I’m gonna start with Miller. “Thanks, Miller.” Then I turn and push my way through the club with my head held high and my shoulders pulled back. It’s not much, but it’s a start.
I make my way to the back where the locker room is. It’s nothing fancy or overly large. It has a few floor-length mirrors and ten lockers. It’s enough for us to place our purse in and make sure we look okay. I smile when I see Rachel in there. “Hey,” I say happily.
She turns to face me. She has her usual bitchface on. Shadow heavily blackens her brown eyes. Those dark brown eyes that always look so angry look me up and down. They linger a few long seconds on my hair and then she lets out a snort. She slams her locker shut and walks past me shaking her head.
I turn to look at myself in the mirror and smile. I think it turned out great. It’s a pretty dark blue. It actually reminds me of the ink on Case’s arm. I lean over, mess it up with my hands, and then whip it back as I stand. Nothing can put me in a bad mood tonight. Repeat that over and over, Taylor, I say to myself.
Savannah did my makeup. I swear the woman is talented beyond belief when it comes to hair and makeup, and of course, fashion. She went with natural eyeshadows with black liner on top and bottom with just a shimmer of lip-gloss.