Beautiful Prey 2: The Storm Series (BWWM Romance) (23 page)

“I knew you’d end up shake’n that ass and turning tricks for
a living.”

Natasha prayed that she was
hallucinating. She hadn’t seen Kevin since he beat her unconscious.

He asked, “How you like my shit?”

As he boasted, Natasha noticed how
Kevin hadn’t changed much. Still tall and muscular with a smooth dark complexion,
hazel eyes, he was smiling, displaying perfect white teeth.

Surprised, she asked, “This is your
party?”

“Yeah. I told you that I was headed
for bigger and better things then Altgeld Gardens.”

“And this...,” Natasha gestured
toward the room, built for the degradation of Women. “...is your version of
bigger and better things?”

           
Kevin forcefully grabbed the back of Natasha’s neck.

“Hell yeah. I make more money from
pimping these bitches than I ever did when we were together.”

For Natasha, he’d just confirmed that
he was the monster that Natasha remembered. “Well, good for you,” she mumbled
sarcastically.

She tried to turn away, but he
tightened his grip on her neck. Natasha looked past Kevin to see Deon moving quickly
through the crowd. She held her hand up to stop him from moving in. In order to
charge Kevin with something that would stick, they needed more than his
boastful admittance. Deon stood down but remained close.

“Still fine as hell, girl, and that
ass done got plump.” He growled in her ear and palmed her ass. “You miss me?”

“Not even a little bit,” she hissed.

His hold on her neck was at the point
of painful. Natasha wanted to attack, but she needed to stay in character.

           
“Hey, I did time because of you! I suggest you be a little nicer to me.”

“No. You did time because you were a
lowlife crack dealer,” she corrected.

“And you’re a cheap ass prostitute.”

“No. I just dance.”

“Not tonight,” he said, releasing her
neck, but grabbing her wrist.

He walked Natasha through the crowd,
until he got to the big security guy. She listened as Kevin told his security
to collect the money from the men and take the girls into a room. As soon as
Deon put money into security guy’s hand, the deal would be down. Natasha would
signal for reinforcements. She scanned the crowded room for Tammy. She found
her in the corner of the room, giving some fat sweaty dude a lap dance.

With Kevin talking to security,
Natasha tried to get Tammy’s attention. When Tammy finally made eye contact,
Natasha waved frantically. A look of worry crossed Tammy’s face. She whispered
something in the fat guy’s ear and quickly made her way over to Natasha.

Looking from Natasha to Kevin, she
asked, “You okay?”

Kevin was too busy conducting
business to even notice Tammy. Natasha fished the note from her bra and slipped
into Tammy’s hand. Tammy’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Read,” Natasha mouthed.

Tammy turned her back to Natasha and
read the note. Natasha prayed that she was doing the right thing. Tammy could
very well turn around and blow her cover.

When she turned back, Natasha
attempted to gauge her reaction. Tammy only smiled, kissed Natasha on the lips,
and walked away. Natasha watched as Tammy weaved through the crowd and casually
walked up the stairs. Once Tammy was no longer in view, Natasha attempted to
pull away from Kevin, but he yanked her closer. He narrowed his eyes, giving
her a look of warning.

“Look, Kevin! I came here to get
paid, not to be glued to you all night!”

“That’s too damn bad. I did two years
in prison because of you, and I’mma take the two years that I lost out on your
pussy.”

Natasha recoiled at his threat. She
was having a hard time keeping her anger in check. She took a deep breath, did
a quick whoosah, and searched for Deon. When she spotted him, he was handing
money to a tall white man with tattoos that covered his entire face. He looked
up at Natasha and nodded. The deal was done, but she didn’t want to call it
until Tammy was safely out of the house. So she stalled.

She turned to Kevin once again,
attempting to get more information out of him. “So this is what you do? Your
great career move? All of these men pay you to fuck these girls?”

“Yeah. Pretty much,” he proudly
admitted.

She thought
, Fucking piece of
shit!

“But what happens when they don’t
wanna fuck? Like me, I just dance. I’m not a prostitute.”

“You walked yo’ ass in here, so you
gone do what I tell you to do.
Or you ain’t walking out
.”

He had just convicted himself.
Natasha looked up at the stairs, and thankfully Tammy was fully dressed and on
her way down. She walked to the door, and after a brief conversation with the
bouncer, he opened the door for her. Once Tammy was outside, Natasha called it.

“Lucky.”

 “Yeah, I’m lucky,” Kevin
stupidly chuckled.

Natasha snickered, thinking,
Well,
let’s just see how long you’re luck lasts. Asshole!

*******************

Four hours after an obscene amount of paperwork, an exhausted
Natasha was quietly entering her condo. She dropped her bag on the floor and
walked down the hall, to her bedroom. She crept into the bathroom, trying not
to wake Gianni.

After a quick shower, Natasha
tip–toed into the bedroom. She tossed her towel on a chair and slipped into
bed. As soon as Natasha thought that she had successfully snuck into bed,
Gianni pulled her against him. He placed her, in what Natasha assumed was his
favorite sleeping position; her ass tucked snuggly against his dick.

“It’s four in the morning,” he
moaned.

Natasha sensed his disappointment. “I
know. I’m sorry. I had to work late.”

“I don’t like your job.”

           
“I know.”

“I have to fly to Paris in a few
hours, but I’ll only be gone for the weekend. Maybe you can come with me?”

           
“I can’t. Victoria is throwing Tracy a surprise party for her birthday
Saturday. I promised to help.”

“I see. Well, when I get back, we’re
going to have a talk about your job.”

Natasha didn’t respond. She was too
tired to get into a debate with him. Besides, if Gianni was going to be gone
the whole weekend, she wasn’t about to let his hard–on go to waste. She rolled
over and pushed his back to the bed. She climbed on top and ground her pussy
into his erection.

“Okay. We’ll talk when you get back.
But right now…” She interrupted her words with a seductive moan. “… I want to
taste you.”

Tracy slammed the car door hard enough to make Victoria jump.

“Jeez! You’re in a mood,” Victoria
huffed.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t believe that
Steve forgot my birthday.”

“Your birthday ain’t over yet, and I
am trying to make sure that you have a good time. Now, I fed you and took you
to see X–Men. I’m a good friend, so show me some love.”

“Okay. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Then, with a fake smile, Tracy asked, “Where are we going now?”

“My house. We’re gonna get drunk.”

“Good. Let’s go,” Tracy grumbled.

She was pouting like a big baby.
Victoria was tempted to laugh at her friend, but she just shook her head and
started the car. She sent Natasha a text, letting her know that they were on
their way. Victoria pulled out of the parking lot and set off for home. Since
Tracy was still in a shitty mood, the twenty minute drive to her house was
quiet.

Once arriving at Victoria’s home,
Tracy got out the car and walked, sullenly, to the front door. Victoria
unlocked the door and, she and Tracy entered the dark foyer. Suddenly, the
lights were activated, and a room filled with Tracy’s friends and family were
screaming, “Surprise!”

           
Tracy startled and jumped behind Victoria. The room erupted in laughter as
Tracy peeked around Victoria’s shoulder. Realization came over Tracy, and she
began to laugh along. She playfully slapped Victoria on the shoulder and ran
directly into the arms of her mother and father. Steve had flown them in from

Baton Rouge, Louisiana.   

           
Tracy happily greeted her guests, all the while scanning the room for Steve.
The room became quiet as the guests began to move, making a path. Tracy became
quiet as well, obviously confused and eager to see what was going to happen
next. Through the path, Steve emerged. Victoria carefully watched her friend,
noticing the pure joy in Tracy’s expression. She also noticed the way that
Steve looked at Tracy. It was familiar. It was the same way that Jack looked at
her. It was love.

           
As Steve approached Tracy, he didn’t look like the “take no shit, kick ass
soldier.” He looked like a man in love. And when he dropped to one knee and
held a ring box out to Tracy, Victoria, along with the other guests, gasped
sharply.

“Tracy, I love you more than life.
You have made me whole, and I need you to survive. You’ve tamed the beast
within and given me peace. I want to have a life with you by my side. I need
you to be my wife. Marry me?”

Steve’s speech provoked tears from
every woman in the room, including Tracy. She dropped to her knees and wrapped
her arms around Steve’s neck. He held her close as she sobbed uncontrollably.
After a few seconds, he slowly pulled away.

“Um, Tracy... You haven’t given me an
answer,” Steve said, causing the on-lookers to burst into laughter.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Tracy repeated
frantically. “I love you. Yes.”

Steve smiled, and they embraced one last
time before he pulled the ring out of the box and placed it on Tracy’s finger.
They kissed passionately. The guests began to clap and cheer as Steve stood,
pulling Tracy up with him.

Watching, normally quiet Steve pour
his heart out in front of a room full of people amazed Victoria. There were
people at work that had never even heard his voice before. Steve was far from a
social butterfly. She was proud and happy for him. He was like a brother to
Victoria, and Tracy a sister. They were perfect for each other.

Steve’s proposal made Victoria look
back to the day Jack proposed to her. It wasn’t an elaborate affair. He just
walked up to her and said, “We need to get married.” She laughed, reminiscing
about how he just kind of instructed her to marry him. As she clung to his arm
that was wrapped tightly around her, she realized that Jack was, no doubt, a
force.

“A honeymoon,” Jack’s voiced
interrupted her memories.

“What’s that, baby?”

“We didn’t go on a honeymoon. I’m
going to start planning.”

“Jack, I just started at Storm
Enterprises and we have a new baby. We can’t go on a honeymoon right now.”

“Don’t worry about work. There will
always be work. And we can take the baby with us. We’ll just bring Emma along.”

“Okay.” Victoria smiled, amazed at
how Jack always got his way.

Natasha sat on the patio with Emily and Amy. They were
gushing over Steve’s romantic proposal. She took a sip from her glass of wine,
wondering what they would think of her if they knew that she practically begged
Gianni to marry her. And that he actually said yes.

Natasha had to admit that no matter
how crazy the idea of her “The Hangover” like nuptials were, she was enjoying
the perks of being married to Gianni. He was bossy, but sweet and thoughtful.
Gianni would have the best meals ready for her when she got home. And if she
got off late, he always waited up for Natasha. Not to mention the earth
shattering sex. Natasha smiled, thinking of her week as Mrs. Gianni Storm. She
was missing him.

“You thinking about Gianni?” Amy
asked, bumping Natasha’s shoulder.

“Yes.”

Amy’s eyes widened, shocked by
Natasha’s admittance. “Thought you hated Gianni?”

“I disliked Gianni,” she corrected.
“That is, until you set me up,” she added with narrowed eyes.

           
Amy shrugged. “I’m sorry. He blackmailed me.”

“What’s he got on you?”

“Something that’s none of his
business,” she mumbled.

Natasha studied Amy closely. She
didn’t seem like the type to allow someone to blackmail her. And, Natasha
wished that she could say that she was surprised that Gianni would blackmail
his own cousin, but she wasn’t.

“Amy, the best way to stop someone
from blackmailing you is to come clean yourself.”

“Not ready.”

“Okay. If there’s anything that I can
do to help, let me know.”

Amy nodded and knocked back the rest
of her wine.

“Thanks,” Amy said while staring
across the patio.

Natasha followed Amy’s line of site.
Her gaze was intent on her friend Mia.

Ah ha
, Natasha thought to herself.

She believed that she had just discovered
what Gianni had on her.

“Amy.”

Amy answered without, averting her
gaze, “What’s up?”

“Gianni and I are married,” Natasha
confessed quietly.

Amy’s head whipped around and her
mouth dropped open. Apparently, this information was juicy enough for Amy to
take her eyes off of her target.

“What?!”

“Yep. We got married in Vegas last
week. We were... Well,
I
was really, really drunk.”

With a gaped mouth, Amy shouted, “Get
out!”

“Shh!”

She whispered, “Oh, sorry.”

“Well, I asked him to hold off on telling
anyone. He agreed, but he did say that Catarina would kill him if she found out
from someone else. I have a feeling that he would do anything to keep from
disappointing his mother.”

Amy began to, diabolically, rub her
hands together.

“I don’t want this to get out until
I’m ready. So, please keep it to yourself. I just wanted to give you some ammo
against Gianni. Do you understand?” Then Natasha narrowed her eyes and waited
for acknowledgement from Amy.

           
“Yes, I understand. Thank you,” she responded, giving Natasha a big hug.

           
“You’re welcome. So how long you and Mia been together?”

           
Amy released her and stepped back. “What the hell?! Do I have ‘I’m a lesbo’
written on my forehead?!”

“No. I just know that look.” Natasha
chuckled. “You need to come out of the closet.”

Amy sighed. “In due time.”

Natasha didn’t push. After all, she
wasn’t breaking her neck to tell her secret either.

“I’ll be back,” Amy told her.

She must’ve been tired of watching Mia
from a distance. She sat her glass down and walked across the patio. Natasha
noticed how pretty they both were and smiled. Because of Malik and Harper, she
wasn’t new to same- sex relationships.

She knew how hard it could be.

“So you married him,” a voice said
from behind.

Natasha turned to find Deon standing
behind her. Gauging his expression, to Natasha, he seemed angry. Had Deon been
standing behind her, listening to her entire conversation?

“First, Victoria. Now you. What is it
about good brothers like me that y’all don’t like?” He asked as if he was truly
offended.

She was shocked by his question, and
she tried to think of the best way to respond.

“Yes, Deon you are a good brother,
but we work together. And Gianni’s a good...”

He cut her off and hissed, “You don’t
even fucking know him!”

“Whoa!” She warned, putting her hand
up to halt the venom that he was spewing.

Realization seemed to come over Deon
as he apologized instantly. “Damn, Tash, I’m sorry. I was just shocked. You
know... a blow to my black ego.” Then he said, “Congrats.”

“Thank you.” Natasha was totally
confused by his behavior, but not surprised. She was well aware that she would
have to deal with the opinions of others when they found out that she was
married to a white man. Although, she didn’t think that she’d get such a
reaction from Deon.

He gently grabbed her by the
shoulders. “I’m really sorry, Tash.”

Natasha studied Deon for a few
seconds. “It’s okay. We’re good.”