Two weeks passed without any problems. Winter was taking hold, and Ursula hated walking home in the cold. She didn't want to ask for a ride. Stephen was always busy. Their conversation had been reserved to talking about world events, meaning the financial crisis and how she was getting on at school.
The teasing had stopped to be replaced by seriousness. He never asked about Paul, and for that she was grateful. Paul hadn't touched her since the wrist incident. She knew something would happen soon. Every time he came to bed and tried it on, she rebuffed him complaining of a headache.
After college, she walked to Stephen's house to find several cars in the driveway. She opened the door, putting her coat and bag away in the places he'd told her. Placing her key in the pot next to his, she walked down the hall. The sound of voices coming from his office made her stop. She stood in the doorway. Five men and Stephen were seated, talking. He looked up and smiled. She couldn't help it. She smiled back at him.
"If I knew you didn't have anything to do but chat I'd have demanded a lift as well," she said.
"I already pay you well."
"You get your money's worth out of me, and we both know it. Am I cooking for more than two?" she asked, turning her attention to the other men.
"Who are you?" the one with dark hair and a curious frown asked her.
"The cleaner and cook." She felt all of their eyes on her. "Do you guys want a drink?" Ursula turned her gaze back to Stephen. "You're being incredibly rude, or does your staff not get an introduction?" She folded her arms under her breasts.
"Ursula Mills, I'd like you to meet Cadeon, Sean, Tate, Kevin, and Lucas. Guys, I'd like you to meet my soon-to-be- fired cleaner-slash-cook, Ursula."
She shook their hands before giving him a scowl. "You can't fire me."
"Why not?" he asked.
"You like me too much. You'd be lost without me, and you know it." She turned away moving to the kitchen. The men said something, and Stephen's unmistakable scolding voice sounding. She rubbed her arms suddenly feeling the chill.
She made a drink keeping her head bowed, trying to keep the tears locked inside her. Stephen's arms came round on either side of the counter locking her in place. "Why are you crying?" he asked. Touching her cheeks she felt the wetness of her tears.
"I don't know." He took hold of her arm, turning her to face him. His knuckles grazed her cheek, wiping away her tears.
"I don't like seeing these," he said.
"Why didn't you want to introduce me to your friends?" she asked. It was stupid. She was his employee. Their relationship meant nothing out of the bounds of him being her boss.
He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back to stare into her eyes. She felt the pull of his gaze, the tightness in her body alerting her to his closeness. He wasn't close enough. The obsession she was beginning to feel about him was scaring her. There was no way Stephen could ever be hers.
"They're part of a whole other world. When we're here, you're no one else's." The words confused her.
"Whose am I?" she asked.
"Mine."
Someone let out a cough making them break apart.
She quickly made the drink, taking it into the other room.
The men stared at her as she placed the drinks down in front of them. "There is sugar if you want it."
"What if we want coffee?" one of them asked.
"You didn't ask, and you get what you're given." She left them alone, doing her chores. For dinner she made them all a sandwich. When Stephen asked her where hers was, she mentioned getting back to her boyfriend. He glared at her, but she left without looking back. It was early, and she decided to take a walk in the park. Her thoughts were all jumbled up. Someone bumped into her causing her to fall on her ass.
"I-I-I'm sorry," the girl said, helping her to her feet.
"Don't worry." Ursula stood brushing herself down then looked at the girl in front of her. She gasped. The woman looked like death. Her hands were shaking, and her hair looked ready to fall out. "Are you all right?"
"Fine." The woman walked away. Ursula didn't know whether to follow her or not. When the woman disappeared into the darkness, Ursula carried on moving towards her home. Paul wasn't an incentive to get home quickly. She took as long as she could before her fingers were too cold to stand being outside in the cold.
She entered their apartment. The stench of alcohol and cheap pizza assailed her. She was beginning to find everything associated with Paul repulsive.
"Have you been fucking your lover?" Paul sneered. Ursula turned to see the card Stephen had given her in his hands.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. Dropping her bag on the chair, she removed her coat then faced him again.
"You're out of the house. You don't want me to fuck you anymore. What's going on? I'm not good enough for your ugly face?" he growled.
She rolled her eyes, feeling more angry than scared. "Leave me alone. You've been drinking again instead of
getting off your own fat ass and looking for another job?" Placing her hand on her hips, she glared at him. In light of everything going on around her, she saw the man before her in a new light. How could she have put up with him for so long? He was a self-centred, lazy-ass bastard. Her parents' warnings ran through her mind. At the time when they'd voiced them she thought they were being difficult. Now she saw what they did. "I want you out of my apartment. We're through." She threw his crap at him feeling angry at herself for living with such an ungrateful loser. "Get your shit, and get out."
"This is my place," he yelled.
"Yeah. I'm the one who has been paying the rent. I paid for this fucking furniture. The landlord put the place in my name seeing as I was paying for everything. You were already close to losing it anyway."
She snatched the card out of his hand. "This is mine."
Paul pushed her. The anger she'd only seen once before was unleashed. She dodged his hands moving away. The slap to the face caught her off guard. In no time at all, he pinned her against the sofa, his foul breath on her face. She screamed, and he covered her mouth.
"Do you really think you're better than me? No man would want you. I took you in because no one else wanted you."
Ursula thought about Stephen. It was time to make that phone call. She wished she hadn't left before talking to him properly. Using all of her strength she pushed Paul off her, running into her room and locking herself in the bedroom. Her hands were shaking, but she managed to dial his house number. When no one answered she growled in frustration. She glanced at the door when she heard Paul kicking and yelling at her.
She dialled Stephen's mobile number praying for him to pick up.
****
Stephen watched her leave. He'd upset her, and he hated to see her hurt when he'd been the one to cause it. Introducing her to the others hadn't entered his mind. The moment he saw her standing there in front of him, he'd been a goner. In her winter clothes, she looked so adorable. The image of her naked had struck him making him jealous, watching the other men in case they were thinking the same thing.
"You never told us you had a new house cleaner," Cadeon said.
"I didn't realise whom I employed was any of your business." His hands fisted as he thought about these men lusting after his woman.
His woman?
Where the hell had that come from? Ursula wasn't his woman. She never would be. He didn't want her that way.
Stephen shook his head in an attempt to rid the thoughts from his mind. The rest of the men were smirking at him. "Can we just get back to the problems at hand?" He listened with half an ear while the other thought about the revelations going through his mind. The way he touched her wasn't appropriate as a simple employer/employee relationship. Licking his lips, he recalled the feel of her full, lush body in his arms, the buds of her nipples pressing against his chest. His dick began to swell in his pants at the thought of Ursula and her body. Would her nipples be small or large? Red or brown? Sensitive? Did she like to be nibbled or sucked?
Running his fingers through his hair, he forced himself to pay attention. The news they'd been able to gather wasn't great. Rebecca remained safe inside her home. The doctor's visits were being monitored with extra care along with the people who called at her house. His call to James at club Ravage had been held with caution. The other owner agreed to keep in touch with regards to the Black situation.
Apparently Lloyd Black's son had been banned after getting too heavy with a sub.
Stephen was tired of dealing with the crap at the club. Why couldn't he go back to having a drink while he watched the singers on stage?
You wouldn't have Ursula if it went back to normal. You hated your life until she entered your world.
When they left to go to the club, Stephen was thankful for the reprieve. He drove himself wanting to get home alone. Relying on a driver to take him everywhere was starting to wear thin.
They all entered through the front. The new doorman greeted them. Stephen hadn't learnt his name yet. He kept his jacket on, going straight through to his main desk to check on business. There were a few checks he needed to cash and bills that needed to be paid. He phoned through the usual payments for electricity and food. When the bills were sorted, he checked through the rotas and then set in motion their pay-checks before he left. His father had told him to make sure the club was kept in pristine condition at all times. He might not feel like his father about women, but he would certainly adhere to his wishes.
He'd seen so many couples pass through the doors who looked exactly as his father described them. Possessive.
"Son, they want a place where they know their women will be left alone. To be around like-minded men who feel the same way about their women."
"But don't all men love their women like that?"
"We all deal with things differently, Stephen. One day you'll meet a woman and know what I mean."
Stephen recalled one of the many conversations he'd had with his father. His biggest regret was not giving his father what he wanted the most, grandchildren. No woman had been worth taking home to his parents.
He switched the light off, then locked the door. Cadeon and the others were in the bar room. A different singer was up on stage entertaining. Stephen didn't recognise her. Lucas must have employed her. He noticed all the men were drinking coffee, and a glass of whiskey was waiting for him. Stephen stopped at the bar to order a coffee before sitting down with the rest of the men. They stared at his coffee then at him.
"What?" he asked.
"She's changing you, and you don't even know it," Tate said.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He sipped the coffee ignoring their stares. Ursula had never complained about his drinking. She'd told him on many occasions that he didn't need to waste his life in the bottom of a bottle. He was going to cut down before she entered his life. Stephen refused to believe she was responsible for the change inside him. He checked the time on his watch, surprised to see it was past ten.
He wondered what Ursula was doing. Would she be sleeping by her jerk-ass boyfriend?
Stop thinking this shit. She's not yours.
I don't want her to be mine.
No? Then why are you thinking about her?
"Hey, Stephen. When are you taking a woman to
Ravage to share?" Sean asked.
He glared at all of them. The thought of another man
touching Ursula sent the blood pounding through his veins. No man would touch her except him.
She isn't yours.
But she's going to be.
At the last thought, the demon inside him began to
calm down. He couldn't describe what was happening. Seeing her with someone else would set him off. He knew it. "You know, Ursula is one hot woman. Did you see the
size of her tits?" Tate said.
Stephen clenched his hands around the cup holding his coffee. None of them were allowed to look at her body.
"I bet she'd be one wild ride in the bedroom. She must have a nice, tight pussy. She doesn't look like the kind of woman to let too many men close."
The anger went to boiling point inside him. His whole body was shaking. They would not talk about Ursula like that. Didn't they have any respect? He noticed Cadeon hadn't spoken. Cadeon's stare was pissing Stephen off.
"I can imagine sinking my dick into her—"
Stephen's cup shattered on the table top, and he lunged for Tate. Sean and Lucas stopped him with their hands on his arms holding him back. Cadeon moved closer.
"Do you feel the burn? The gut-clenching agony of thinking of another man touching her? Do you feel the need to claim her to make sure no man can mistake who she belongs to?" Cadeon asked.
Stephen was breathing hard to try to control himself. Staring at Tate he saw the other man smirk.
"No offense, Stephen. Ursula is hot, but I love Rebecca. I don't want your woman. We were trying to show you how you felt."
"I don't feel like that. I don't like you talking shit about her." He denied everything coursing through him. For so long he'd believed he didn't feel any part of the possession the other men at the club felt. The sound of his phone ringing interrupted his thoughts. "I've got to get that."
Lucas and Sean let him go, slowly. He would have loved to clock them one. Instead, he grabbed his phone, flicking it open. He didn't recognise the number.
"Hello," he said.
"Stephen, is that you?" Ursula asked.
"What's the matter?" He knew if she was calling it
couldn't be good.
"Do you remember your offer?" "Yes."
Yelling came over the line followed by an unmistakable shout from Ursula screaming to be left alone.
"Would you come and get me? Paul took the next step, and I don't know how long the lock is going to keep on the door."
"I'm on my way. I know where you live. You don't need to tell me your address."
"Hurry. And don't phone the police. I don't want them to know."
"They might be alerted already if he's causing enough problems," Stephen said.
"I know, but if they haven't been alerted then please don't. I don't want that kind of attention. Please, hurry and stop pissing about." She clicked off, making him laugh even though he shouldn't. "I've got to go."
"What's going on?" Sean asked.
"Ursula's in trouble. I'm going to go help her."
"I'll come with you," Sean and Lucas said together. "I've got to get home," Cadeon said.
Tate and Kevin made their excuses before leaving.
Stephen didn't argue and let Sean and Lucas follow behind him. The journey was short as he broke most of the speeding laws to get to her. If he found her in any other state than perfect he'd kill the bastard. Her apartment didn't have a machine to buzz him in. He opened the door, which was unlocked, and ran up the stairs to her door. Stephen had memorised her address when she'd given it to him for work.
Sean and Lucas were behind him as he knocked. Seconds later he came face to face with her boyfriend. He wore a stained white vest, his belly causing the bottom to ride up. Looking up, Stephen saw he was unshaven and looked ready to do violence.
Stephen clenched his fists ready to pummel the bastard. This man had mistreated his woman. He'd lost any right to call himself a man. As he went to throw the first
swing, Lucas stopped him. "We're not here to deal with him."
"What do you want?" Paul said, running his hand over his nose. Stephen was repulsed by the sight of him. He pushed the man out of the way calling Ursula's name. "Ursula, it's Stephen. Come out." The door in the corner looked positive. He stood in the doorway as she was walking around the bed.
"You came," she said.
"I said I would." He opened his arms, and she went into them willingly. She wasn't crying. He felt her body shaking. "You're staying with me tonight."
She nodded her head. He was pleased she didn't argue with him. Stephen wasn't in the mood to argue with her. Staring at his surroundings, he knew Paul had trashed her apartment. He took hold of her hand then walked over to her boyfriend.
"You get out of this place by noon tomorrow, or I'll have you arrested for trespassing."
"So, you're the rich lover-boy. How can you cope to be with her? She's fucking fat and useless in the sack. You'll need to cover her head with a bag to be able to fuck her."
Stephen was about to pound his face in. Ursula pulled away from him and slapped Paul round the face. "I was good enough for you. I can't believe I lowered myself to let you near my body."
She looked angry, pissed, and Stephen winced as she kneed Paul in the groin. He took her hand, walking out of the apartment.
Once outside the building, she stopped by his car.
"I like her," Lucas said.
"Me, too," Sean said.
He said goodnight to the other two men then helped
her inside his car. Once he was settled inside the car, he started the engine and began driving towards his own house.
"I'm really sorry about calling you," she said.
"Don't be. I asked you to. I'd be upset if you didn't." He rounded a bend. "That was a great knee kick. Remind me to never piss you off."
"You always piss me off, Stephen. You've never insulted me. What he said was cruel, and I didn't like it."
He grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers while he drove the last few miles to his house.
The rest of the journey went by in silence. When they got inside, he lifted her face to the light for him to check her over.
"I'm fine. He barely touched me."
"Your face looks red. He slapped you at least once." She nodded, and he wanted to go out and kick the bastard in the balls himself. "Let's get you something cold to put on that. I don't like the thought of you bruising."
He led the way into the kitchen. There was a bag of unopened sweet corn in the freezer. "Here, put this on." He pressed the bag to her cheek. She winced but held it over her cheek.
"Can you get brain freeze holding it like his?" she asked. He laughed, caressing her cheek for a second. She licked her lips, and his gaze dropped to the fullness of her lips.
Clearing his throat, he removed his jacket. He waited a few minutes for her to get too cold. When she handed the bag back to him, he washed the bag before putting it back.
"I'll show you to your room. You can get some rest." The tension had climbed in the room. He felt the electricity sizzling beneath the surface. The tiny hairs on his arms stood to attention. She followed behind him. The feeling of dominance that surrounded him made him pause on the stairs. Closing his eyes for a second, he tried to get his mind to control his actions.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"Nothing.Cramp." He continued up until he got to the room next to him. Opening the door, he let her inside.
"Wow. This is amazing. It's almost as big as my apartment," she said. He stared at her, watching the way she rubbed her hands down her legs. Everything about her pulled him in. He wanted her.
"I'll leave you to rest."
"Stephen?" He turned to her. "Thank you."
He went to her, cupping her cheek in his palm. "I
would never let anything happen to you."
"You didn't have to come for me. Thank you for
coming."
There was a different type of coming that was on his
mind. Smiling, he brushed his lips against hers. "Get some rest."