The house was easy to find. The neighborhood was quiet, empty.

Many of the houses on the block were vacant, disintegrating with time and neglect.

I went around to the back, found the door unlocked and let myself in, careful to gently close the door behind me.

My ears pricked at the sound of someone moving around in the house.

Could my luck be that good to have caught her so easily?

My body wasn’t made for stealth but I did my best to follow the sound without alerting the neighborhood.

I peered down the short hallway and caught Charlie standing at her dresser mirror, clutching a photograph before stuffing it in her backpack.

Her hair was wet. I could smell strawberries in the air from her shampoo.

I ducked behind the wall just as she came down the hallway.

As she passed by, I snatched her into my arms, covering her mouth just as she inhaled to scream her bloody head off.

Instantly, Charlie started to thrash, kicking and trying to bite my hand but I wasn’t falling for her tactics again.

I clenched her hard, squeezing the air from her lungs. “Settle down, firecracker,” I warned. “I’m going to remove my hand and you’re not going to scream, got it?”

Even muffled, I could clearly hear ‘Fuck you’ and I knew this was going to be like wrestling with a pissed off wolverine.

I kicked her backpack away and carried her to the bedroom, tossing her to the bed roughly. Before she could roll away, I ripped the phone cord out of the wall and tied her hands behind her back.

Stuck on her belly, she kicked and screamed into the mattress until I slapped her hard on the ass to get her attention.

“Shut the fuck up,” I growled but I realized my mistake too late. Touching that sweet behind in any capacity had ignited a different problem.

My eyesight swam as lust crammed past reason and logic and I had to stuff it down before I did something really stupid.

“Shut up and listen,” I said, hauling her up to sit on the edge of the bed.

She stared at me with mistrust, her eyes glistening and that wild hair tumbling like a red cloud around her shoulders.

And those breasts…I could tell they were natural but they were big enough to give a porn star a run.

I could only imagine what it would feel like to bury my face between that valley.

What was wrong with me?

What was it about this girl that turned my brain to mush and my cock to steel?

Charlie continued to stare in mutinous silence until she prompted with a terse, “Well? Are you going to speak or just stare at my tits all day?”

That shook me out of my spell. “Where do you think you can go? You’re running on wasted energy, girl. You might as well be smart about things and just do what you’re told.”

“You mean, like you?” she taunted, going straight for the jugular. “Such a good little puppy. Is Davonte going to pat you on the head and give you a doggy treat when you bring back his little toy?”

The sarcasm in her tone was vicious enough to make my lip curl.

I was no one’s dog.

But wasn’t I? Jesus, I guess I was Davonte’s bitch.

“Yeah, well, breathing is high on my priority list and if you were smart, you’d feel the same.”

“You’re completely clueless,” she said with disgust. “He’s going to use you to bring me back and then he’s going to say, ‘Night night, loser’ right before he puts a bullet in your skull. You’re as stupid as you look if you think that he’s going to let what you did to him slide.”

I wasn’t stupid; I’d thought the same thing. But my options were limited.

“I guess that’s a chance I’ll have to take.”

“Why’d you even help me if all you planned to do was roll over and show your belly?”

“I was fucking drunk. I don’t remember anything about that night,” I reminded her sourly, feeling like the jackass she thought me to be. “And I don’t know why I did what I did. All I do know is that I fucked myself pretty hard and all I’m trying to do is unfuck myself. Got it?”

“And I’m the golden ticket? Yeah, good luck with that.”

“We all got shit to bear,” I said, looking around for a better way to secure her. That phone cord would loosen soon enough and then she’d, no doubt, try to kick my balls into my throat again.

I glanced around the room, trying not to peer too closely at her personal things.

I didn’t want to know her better. I didn’t want to care.

But my curiosity was already pushing me to ask questions I was better off not knowing the answers.

“You blame Davonte for your brother’s death,” I stated, knowing I was traveling a dead-end road. “Your brother didn’t have to step into the ring. It’s a dangerous sport.”

“Don’t you talk to me about my brother,” she hissed, rage flashing in her eyes. “My brother was nothing like the rest of you meatheads and that’s what got him killed.”

“What got him killed was you,” I returned bluntly.

Charlie blanched and I knew I’d hit a nerve.

“Fuck you,” she whispered but her eyes welled. “You don’t know shit.”

“I know that if you’d played along, Davonte would’ve made it worthwhile for your brother and eventually he would’ve gotten tired of your bullshit and turned you loose. Now you’ve gone and made it a challenge. He’ll never give up on you now. Not until you’re in his bed or dead. So really, who started all this?”

Tears sparkled in her eyes and she actually looked disappointed in my logic but that cleared quickly to make room for cold contempt.

“You think so little of a woman having to spread her legs for someone she hates? You’re a fucking pig. If you think Davonte is so great, why don’t you suck his cock for him? At least you’d enjoy it.”

I was getting real tired of her implying I was gay.

“I don’t suck cock,” I retorted with a curled lip. “That’s a woman’s job.”

She surprised me with a laugh. “Oh, you’ll suck Davonte’s cock if he snaps his fingers. This is a test. He wants to see how far he can push you. And so far, you are jumping like a good little soldier. Next stop….a cock in your mouth.”

The little spitfire didn’t pull punches.

I respected the brass balls on her even if I wanted to stuff a sock in her mouth.

But I wasn’t there to discuss morality or my sexual preferences, which were definitely straight.

“Life’s hard and then you die,” I muttered, hauling her to her feet. “Better get used to it, princess. My job is to deliver you so that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Do you spit or swallow?” Charlie mocked, hitting me with a gaze filled with disgust, refusing to back down. The little bitch was determined to make me blow my top. “Better figure it out because I guarantee you, sooner rather than later, you’re going to find yourself on your knees in front of that man just so he can prove a point.”

I could smell her skin, could see the tiny freckles that danced across the bridge of her nose. Her wild hair, still damp, tumbled around her, tempting me to curl my fingers through the thick mass just so I could bring her closer.

I could smell her shampoo, sweet and fruity. I’d mistakenly thought the scent strawberries but now I clearly smelled melon.

Everything about her was small yet fierce. There was nothing weak or timid about Charlie. I had no doubt that if I so much as gave her an inch, she would find a way to lop my balls off.

And damn, that turned my crank in the worst way.

Fuck me, I wanted to groan.

Maybe I was as dumb as she believed me to be.

My gaze traveled from her womanly hips to the trim waist and rested on the lush tits that made my mouth water.

I wanted to taste those sassy lips for myself.

I grew hard as stone.

The moment crackled between us.

She must’ve sensed the crack in my armor because she pounced without mercy.

Tears welling, Charlie pleaded, “Don’t take me back to him,” her voice barely above a whisper. “I’d rather die than be his plaything for any amount of time. Please, Damon…help me.”

I saw in her eyes a wealth of emotion, deep and bottomless. In a million years, I’d never truly understand the depths of a woman like her. Manny was right, Charlie was nothing like the rest of the girls around.

I wasn’t into poetry but there was something about Charlie that made me want to learn.

“He wants to hurt me,” she said, blinking back tears. I wasn’t a great judge of womanly wile but her tears seemed genuine. “Please, Damon. You stepped in for a reason. You were drunk but something inside you knew you couldn’t let it happen right under your nose.”

Think Damon. You’re already in over your head, don’t make it worse.

“You’re his girl,” I returned stubbornly but my gut was saying something different.

“I hate him.”

“Don’t all women want someone who can take care of them? Buy ‘em fancy things?”

Her expression screwed into a disgusted scowl. “Not all. Certainly not me. And I can see you’ve been hanging around the wrong people your whole life if that’s how you feel about women.”

Her retort was as effective as a slap to the face. My mother had raised me to respect women.

But the person my mother had raised seemed a distant memory at this point in my life.

I can’t say Ma would’ve approved of how I’d turned out and that twisted my gut.

Charlie was right about one thing; I didn’t know shit about women.

I’d been too shy, too awkward with my words to play the dating game so I’d poured my time into the gym, reaching for a career that would be perpetually out of reach.

Fuck, in hindsight, I’d wasted my own time. I could’ve at least been hip deep in pussy instead of killing myself doing reps.

You know what they said about hindsight.

“Maybe,” I grunted, reluctantly conceding her point.

So maybe Charlie wasn’t like most women, double crossing Davonte would be worse than stupid — it was suicide.

But a part of me knew she was right, even if I didn’t want to admit it.

What was to stop Davonte from fucking me over once I delivered Charlie?

Absolutely nothing.

Right now my value to Davonte rested solely on being able to deliver his prize.

Once that was done…I was dead weight. I didn’t believe for a second that he actually wanted me working for him, even though I’d tried to convince myself otherwise.

Damn, if the woman didn’t have ESP or something.

“C’mon, just think about it for a minute,” Charlie pleaded. “Has Davonte ever shown a lick of interest in you otherwise?”

Yeah, good point. Where was Davonte when Manny cut me loose?

Nowhere.

He’d never been a true mentor of mine but I’d thought, maybe, Davonte might…Jesus, even in my head that sounded pathetic.

I skewed my gaze back to Charlie.

Be smart. Wash your hands of her. Deliver her to Davonte and then split.

But that growly, prickly feeling returned when I thought of anyone, much less Davonte, touching that soft skin, knowing her taste, or hearing her moan.

I couldn’t explain it but I was quickly losing the stamina to fight it.

I wanted to taste that fire.

I wanted to burn with her.

And I couldn’t blame the Jameson this time.

This time, I was going off the motherfucking rails all on my own.

“And if you’re right?” I murmured, my gaze going straight to her lips. “You and me are going to be partners?”

Charlie licked her lips, jerking her head in a nod. “Partners,” she repeated. “Untie me and we’ll even shake on it.”

I didn’t want to shake her hand. My hand cupped her jaw. “I had something different in mind to seal the deal,” I said, her gaze widening as I zeroed in on that gorgeous mouth.

“Wait…” she protested but it was already happening.

“Like you said, my life is fucked anyway.”

And then I kissed her.

Hard.