She leans down to get her panties, but I grab them before she can. She puts a hand on her hip and arches an eyebrow at me. I kiss her on the forehead. “I’m taking these with me.” I put them in my pocket and she shakes her head in amusement. I know she’s probably dripping, and the thought makes me feral.
We walk into the kitchen and stop in our tracks at the sight of Phillip, Clara, Rex, and Anna. They’re all giving us amused looks. McKenzie’s face turns bright red, and she puts her face inher hands. I wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side completely unashamed as everyone laughs.
“I know what happened to Shay is scary, so I want to apologize to each and every one of you for not taking better measures to make sure each of you is safe. There will be different protocols going forward if you decide to continue doing this. For each shift, you will check in with Felix or one of his guys. If you decide to go home with a client, you’ll let us know who the client is, where they live, how long you’ll be staying, and you will check in with us when you leave. If we don’t hear from you by the time you said you’ll be done, we will come find you. You all will be required to have your location turned on your phone so we can track you.”
I pause and look at each of the girls. The fighters and all employees are here as well. “If you decide you no longer want to do this after what happened to Shay or if you’ve been thinking about quitting, I’m letting you know it’s okay. The money you make here is yours. I don’t take a cut. The only cut I get is from the winnings of the fight. So, if you want to quit, you can.”
Everyone is quiet, and I put my hands in my pockets. “That’s all I have to say. Are there any questions?”
One of the fighters leans forward. “Will there be stricter policies on who fights? Like background checks?”
I nod. “Yes, McKenzie’s father, Marcus, is going to help with that. I’ll be introducing you all to him soon.” I run my hand over my head. “I thought we had the best, but after what happened with Bill, I realize that isn’t true. Marcus has the best.”
One of the girls raises her hand. “So, is your father no longer in business with you?”
I shake my head. “No. But he hasn’t been a part of this for a while now, so you all won’t notice anything different.”
The two of them asking questions opens the floor and more people ask questions and some of the girls admit they no longer want to do this. I tell them to stay after and we’ll come up with a plan for their future. Whether it’s something they want to do on their own or if they want to come work in one of my other businesses until they decide what they want to do.
Overall, it’s a great meeting, and for the first time in years, I feel in control. It seems strange to think I wasn’t in control, but I had one motive, and that was to find my mother. Now that I know who she really was, I can focus on McKenzie and I. And how I can make our lives better without any outside interference.
Chapter 42
Phoenix
One Year Later
I’m sitting in the chair in our bedroom, waiting for McKenzie to walk out of our closet. Clara and Anna came out a few minutes ago. Anna’s hair and makeup was done, and she looked healthier than she did a year ago. She and McKenzie have worked through the shit they went through, both of them seeing Dr. Pearl on a regular basis. All of McKenzie’s memories have come back. Some of them have been hard and some of them good. We’ve worked through it together.
The door cracks slightly. “Are you ready?” she asks, and I chuckle.
“I am.” I lean forward, my elbows resting on my knees, and bring my thumb up to my lip as she steps out of the closet. “Fuck me,” I whisper.
She twirls and gives me a sultry smile. “Oh, I plan on it.” Her raspy voice washes over me and I smirk. She walks toward me and stops in front. “Sit back.” I lean back in the chair and she lifts her leg and places her shoe in the middle of my chest.
I smirk at her and lick my lips. She has her heels on, but they’re not hooked. They’re silver high heels with diamonds. I hook the first, then she places her other shoe against my chest. I hook it; before releasing her, I lean down and kiss the top of her foot right beneath her anklet.
My eyes sweep over her. Her hair hangs over one shoulder, the collar I gave her wrapped around her pretty throat, and the light blue embroidered sheer dress. It’s low cut, and the slit reaches all the way up to the top of her thigh.
She sits gingerly in my lap, so I wrap my arm around her waist and adjust her legs so they're on either side of my legs, forcing her to spread hers. She leans her back against my chest and lays her head against my shoulder. “The dress matches your eyes,” she whispers as my hands begin to wander over her body.
I rub my thumb over the queen chess piece that was tattooed behind her ear, over her shoulders, her breasts, down her stomach to her thighs. She squirms against me. I told her not to wear any panties tonight. Part of me hopes she didn’t listen so I can punish her later. I run my fingers up the inside of her thighs and they meet bare skin.
I kiss the top of her shoulder. “Such a good girl,” I whisper. She whines when I rub my index finger and middle finger through her folds. “Should I let you come for listening?” She nods eagerly. I plunge my fingers into her and she cries out. We have to leave in fifteen minutes, but we need to be downstairs in ten. I rub my thumb around her clit and she moans, her lips latching onto the spot just below my ear where the chess piece tattoo I have is.
She rides my fingers as she marks me, moaning and whining in my ear. “Nix,” she whimpers as I increase the speed. “I want your dick,” she murmurs and I smirk.
“You’ll get it when we get to the auction,” I promise her just as I apply more pressure to her clit, making her come undone. She cries out as I continue to rub her, making her orgasm last. I pull my fingers out of her and bring them to my mouth. I hum at the sweet taste of her.
“How long do we have?” she asks as she pushes herself off my chest and begins to drop to her knees, but I stop her.
“We don’t have time for that.” She pouts and I grin at her, dropping a quick kiss on her ruby lips. “We’ll have all the time in the world later, love.”
McKenzie
Anna sits up front with Rex, and I sit in the back with Phoenix. He hands me my mask and I gaze down at it. “It’s so beautiful,” I whisper, running my fingers along the diamonds. His is black and silver and reminds me of the Phantom of the Opera mask. He helps put mine on and I help him with his. He’s wearing a light blue suit with a white tie.
I requested this color because I knew it would make his eyes more prominent. With his mask on, I know I was right. My stomach swoops like it’s the first time seeing him. I lean forward and kiss him. He wraps his hand around my hair and deepens the kiss before we pull away. “You know, you still give me butterflies,” I tell him.
