Cameron pulls her to her feet, but as soon as he lets go of her, she looks like she is about to collapse. Both of us are on her in a flash, making sure she doesn’t fall.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Let us take care of you. All you have to do in return is keep your pretty mouth shut, spread your legs a little, and shake your ass for us. Can you do that, sweetheart? Can you be a good girl?” Cam’s voice turns seductive, and I almost grin at the effort he is using. We don’t have to seduce her; she’ll do whatever we want either way.
“Yes,” she finally answers, defeat dripping from that one single word. Reaching into my back pocket, I take out five one-hundred-dollar bills and shove them into her hand. She lifts her gaze from the floor and to her hand before flicking her pretty eyes up to my face.
“There is way more where that came from,” I grin. She doesn’t say anything, but she does close her hand around the money. She might be stubborn, but she isn’t stupid. She needs the money bad enough to not worry about her pride.
Together Cam and I help Stella become a little more presentable, covering her as best as we can. Cam puts his arms around her and tucks her to his side. I grin, seeing how she instinctively leans into him, seeking comfort. She might be scared of us, but part of her knows that we’ll protect her.
As soon as we exit the room, I find Martie. I still want to put my fist into his face for pushing Stella in the room earlier, but I know he has like three bouncers in here who would pounce on me like the attack dogs they are.
“She is leaving with us, and she is not coming back. If you see her in here again give either Cam or me a call,” I speak the words to Martie, but my eyes aren’t on him, they’re on Stella. In a room full of half-naked women, she is the only one I can see right now. If I was ever going to fall for a girl, it would be her.
“Got it,” Martie mumbles under his breath and walks away.
Spotting Valorie eyeing us like we’ve lost our minds, I wave her over. When she is in earshot, I tell her, “Go fetch Stella’s shit from the dressing room.”
She frowns but does as I command. A few moments later, she returns, holding a plastic bag with what I assume is clothes. I grab it from her without a word, and the three of us walk out.
I can feel everyone staring at us, probably trying to figure out what makes Stella so different from the rest of the girls in this place. I’ve lost count of how many girls here have begged us to take them home. The first night Stella is here, we take her. Truthfully, I don’t know what it is about her, but what I do know is she is ours, and nothing is going to take her away from us.
Nothing.
When we arrive back at the house that we share with Warren, Stella is asleep in the backseat. Slowly I pull into the driveway and kill the engine. We’ve never brought a chick here other than for fucking. We are bringing Stella to stay. The thought seems ridiculous, but also completely right. It’s different because we are not just making her share our bed, we are making her share our lives, and that makes this all seem ten times more personal.
Cam moves, lifting Stella into his arms, his gaze colliding with my own in the rearview mirror. I know he’s getting attached, the tether tightening around his heart that connects to her. Does he not realize how slippery and fucked up love can get? Plus, we need to keep a clear head, there’s still a chance she could tell someone about what we did, and if we have to hurt her, that will only complicate things.
As if he understands what I’m saying with only my eyes, he nods and opens the back door with one hand. He slips out of the car and onto the driveway, and I get out and run around to his side. Stella stirs in his arms; her big eyes flicker open and move over the landscape.
“Where are we?” She croaks.
“Our place, we share it with a friend, but he won’t care if you’re here or not.”
Stella doesn’t look like she believes us, but I don’t really care what she believes or not. All she needs to worry about is us. Her sole attention and concern should be us. Cam lets her go and sets her down on her feet. She sways as if she’s going to fall over but rights herself, holding her chin up high.