Jos slouched down in the black leather seat of the car wishing it would somehow open up and swallow her. {A much better alternative than facing him again...} She thought to herself as she glanced back up at the large beach house. She'd slept here more than her own apartment since her and Russ started dating, it seemed. She ringed her hands as she moved her gaze toward the driver. "Are you sure you can't come in with me?" She sent pleading glances back and forth between Arei and the large home.
Arei chuckled as he gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear. "You know good and well what a horrible idea that would be, kitten." He smiled warmly down at her as he released her face from his grip and reached for the phone in his cup holder. "I'll set an alarm. If you're not out in thirty minutes, then I'll come in. Alright?"
She let out a disgruntled huff of air. "Alright..." She turned her attention toward the door, worry still written across her face and held tight in the tension of her body. She froze one hand on the door when a large hand swept past her face and pulled her head back around.
Arei quickly moved forward first thinking to kiss her on the lips, but then changed his mind last minute and landed an awkward kiss to the tip of her nose. He cleared his throat as he pressed another kiss to her now heated forehead. "Stay safe, if for any reason you need me before the thirty minutes are up don't hesitate to call or yell for me, alright."
Jos couldn't talk past the hard lump building in her throat. She could feel the heat radiate from her neck and cheeks as she nodded and turned back toward the door, not hesitating this time to pull it open. She smoothed her sweaty palms down her cream maxi as she slowly stepped one coral flip flop inch by inch toward the massive front doors. She rubbed her bare arms and tugged at the front of the low plunging cups of the attached top. She shielded her chest with one arm as she dug the fingers of that hand into her opposite arm nervously. Her fingers trembled as she lifted them closer to the doorbell. She squeezed her eyes tightly closed. {He's not a bad guy... just... he was upset... and obviously jealous... for good reason, I suppose...} She tried to rationalize with herself. She quickly jutted out a finger and pressed the bell hard once then took one large step back, her eyes still squeezed tight. When several minutes passed and no one answered the door she turned back to the waiting car and shrugged. Just as she was about to take the first step down from the concrete doorway, the large doors creaked open and a familiar voice whispered her name.
"Joslyn? You're here? You came back..." Xavier stood gawking in the doorway shock and disbelief written across his handsome face. Shaking himself from his momentary loss of composure, he through the door open and stepped outside.
Jos froze mid step, her worried eyes met with Arei's as he slowly sank with the back of the seat out of sight... mostly. {Shit!} She stepped down bringing her feet together and stood there staring down at the bright coral flower pattern running down her dress cluttering in mass closest to her feet where her coral flip flops poked out from below the bellowing fabric as the sea breeze caught in its material.
Xavier closed the distance between them in three large strides and took hold of her hand pulling her around to face him. "Jos, you're here, you're really here..." He furrowed his brow and released her hand nearly throwing it away and took a half step back. "I should be upset at seeing you. I'm a logical enough man to know that. I should be demanding you leave and never try contacting me again..." He took a full step forward standing toe to toe with her now as he pushed his slightly tinted glasses onto his head. His turbulent green eyes held hers. He stroked an unsure finger down her cheek brushing a stray hair over her shoulder. "I shouldn't want to pull you close and hold you right now." He cupped her cheek, "I shouldn't want to press my lips to yours and tell you all is forgiven... That I could never stay mad at you..." He lowered his mouth toward hers but pause pressing his head against her forehead instead. "You shouldn't be here, Joslyn. It's not safe... or a good idea right now..."
He didn't pull away, though. The conviction in his tone made it awkward to be held by this man. Jos cleared her throat trying to press past the lump that threatened to drown out her words entirely. She pressed a palm against his torso and pushed him away holding eye contact with him as she spoke. "I... I... only came for my things..." She rushed on as she felt his body become rigid. "I... I've decided to go home. I'm not needed here anymore..." Her voice broke as she added, "There is no longer anything keeping me here..." She could feel the tears building in the backs of her eyes as she thought about the upcoming conversation with Russ. She shook her head hard to fight back the tears. "I only need my things, Xavier... that is all."
His eyes narrowed, "If that's the only reason your here..." He grabbed her hand and turned toward the door nearly dragging her behind him. He made quick work of the steps leading up to the second floor where his master suite sat behind the large double doors at the top of the landing, ignoring her as she stumbled over more than one step. He pushed the door open in anger and used his painfully tight grip on her wrist to drag her into the room. He glared at her from the door, his body filling the frame almost fully. "You'll find all your things in here. The guest rooms are being used at the moment." He arched a cynical brow. "If it's not too much to ask, could you stay here and at least wait to leave until after my meeting..." The anger and pain melted away in his expression as he watched her brush her hands down along her skirts. His heart throbbed when her large aqua eyes met and held his with no trace of fear or worry in them.
Jos nodded, "I'll stay for a few minutes, but I can't wait past thirty minutes."
He nodded in return and quickly shut the doors. He leaned his entire body against the doors letting them take the full weight of his large body. His breaths came out in near hyperventilation. {What was that just now?! Why can I not maintain any form of control and resolution around her? She's here for only a few seconds and already I'm considering ignoring every large head of the vampire's world clans!!! And for what? Just for her to officially break up with me???} He gritted his teeth clinching his hands into tight fists as he forced himself away from the large double doors of the bedroom. {Come on Xavier get a hold of yourself!} He berated himself as he headed down the stairs taking them two at a time. He opened the door to his office and stepped inside. "I apologize for that. If you would like to take one of these packets and join the rest out by the pool, I will be out momentarily." He indicated the neat stack of papers on the desk. "My brother has drinks and entertainment for you out there." He moved over to his desk and began fumbling around in one of the desk's drawers. "I will be out as soon as I gather all the things we need for the presentation."
The head of the Japan clan simply chuckled, "Take your time. If your brother has entertainment, I'm sure you'll not be missed." Another man laughed in agreement as they worked their way out of the office.
***
Jos watched as several men made their way across the large open living room and toward the back doors leading to the massive outdoor living area. The men were all dressed in expensive well-tailored suits and moved with an air of refinement and ease that only the extremely privileged and strong ever did. {These must be the vampire clan members he mentioned...} She let the door shut softly as she stepped back into the room. She made her way toward the small balcony off the master suite that overlooked the pool. She took great care to open the door as quietly as possible, tip toeing out to glance over the rails. Sure enough, the men were now gathering around the expansive table area opposite the house. She could here loud laughter and husky male voices as they exchanged greetings and other rude comments back and forth. She was about to shrug it all off and head back inside when a familiar head of blonde hair caught her eyes. {Shelly?!}
Her mind fought to process what she was seeing. {Shelly?! Here??? Didn't Arei say she was in India or something???} She thought back over the short tid-bits she could get out of him about any of her friends. He'd insisted it was better to talk to them in person about what had been going on... and better to do so after her visit here today... She leaned farther over the rail struggling to get a better view. There was no doubt, it was Shelly. Her blonde hair dirty and matted, bruises and dried blood covering her body, dirt and blood covering the once yellow nightgown she wore... and a pink dog collar tight around her neck with a matching leash held firmly in the hand of Dante, Xavier's brother! The same asshole that had supposedly been dating Shelly all this time. Jos could feel the anger build within as she back away from the railing. She thought back over the past several months. {Shelly had acted weird the first day she'd seen me after Russ and I had... been together... She seemed in a daze at the fundraiser that night... and every time I'd asked Xavier about her he seemed to be hiding something... avoiding going too far into the conversation and always coming up with excuses when I'd begged to see her.} She gritted her teeth and balled up her fists. {Lies! All lies this whole time! I threw away the love of my life because I thought it was hurting someone I loved... but instead it was these assholes hurting her this whole time!!!} Jos's vision began to blur as she made her way to the bedroom doors, opening them gently, anger carried her down the elegant flight of stairs soundlessly, memory alone saw her through the living room as her vision began to cloud taking on a dark haze. She stepped out of the sliding doors leading to the tropical paradise that was the backyard oasis she'd enjoyed on several occasions.
"Oh look! Looks like Xavier's sent us out an even better treat! I'm sure some of you remember his little whore. I heard she put on quite the show in the meeting at Marco Island. Several of the men laughed with Dante as others just stared hungrily at her. Dante met her eyes too blinded by his own powerful abilities and the new depths of disgust he was willing to take with them to recognize the burning hatred radiating from her every pore. His eyes lit with the gleam of his power as he held her gaze and made his order of her loudly. "Come entertain us, whore. Let us all see what you've shown so many already."
Joslyn held his gaze unable to pull her eyes from his as she stepped slowly toward the pool. She pulled the hair tie from her hair letting it fall over her shoulders tossing it to the ground as she walked. She then pushed one strap of the maxi dress off her shoulder letting the top flap covering her left breast fall away, before slowly doing the same thing with the right side.
The others cheered as Dante dropped the leash and walked toward the opposite side of the pool, licking his lips as he moved. "That's a good whore. Now take the rest of it off and come to me." He growled the order in a deep husky voice. His eyes gleamed in satisfaction as he watched the dress glide down her body and pool at her feet. He stepped over to the edge of the pool rubbing is hands together and licking his lips in anticipation. He only broke eye contact with her long enough to give a quick survey of her body before meeting her unblinking gaze. "Yes! Just like that! Now the underwear!"
Jos did as she was told, stepping out of one flip flop then the other before shimming her lacy white thong down her hips and over her calves. She held his gaze wordlessly as she took the final steps toward the large staircase leading into the water. She stood bold, swaying her hips seductively as she took one step at a time letting the cool water ease the burn of the hatred boiling through her veins. She held his gaze without blinking until both feet stepped fully onto the bottom of the pool. She tilted her head and slowly lifted one hand motioning with one finger for him to join, her lips curving into a seductive pout. When he gulped and took an involuntary step toward the edge of the pool, the seductive pout turned into a wide deviant grin. She let her tongue slide across her lips as she dove into the water.
The others gathered around, took several steps back looking back and forth between each other and to the pool as the waters turned black as ink with only the slightest ripple to indicate where the girl below its depth was at.