She pushes my buttons, and I can’t handle it. Barbie’s under my skin and I want her out from under it. Since the day I saw her fucking Stiles in the same place we almost had sex is a new low for me. Two weeks I’ve been sitting on it, waiting to see what she’ll do, what she’ll say. Nothing has come.

Now I have a whole new ballgame to play. I have my eighteenth birthday to deal with. A lot comes with this day and a great deal from my father.

Father taps his hands on the back of the chair as he stands at the table while I eat. “At the club?”

I shake my head. He wants to know where I want my party.

“Where then, Ryken?”

“Here.”

He shakes his head. “You know that can’t happen.”

I look past him to the basement door. “Why? Do you have another girl down there you plan on selling?”

His chair scrapes loudly as he pulls it out. “Clients come here. My business is brought here.”

“So, again... do you have some girl strapped down there?”

Father scratches his head. “Ryken... think fucking clearly.”

My hands touch the cold oak table. “Most of my friends aren’t eighteen.”

He nods like he finally understands. “You still seeing that brunette?” He always asks like he’s waiting for the ball to drop.

“Yes.”

“Good. Keep seeing her.”

My cell starts buzzing, Livia’s ring tone she programmed into my cell contact list blasts through the air.

“The party will be here.”

He nods his head finally satisfied. “I won’t be here. You can have the house to yourself. Look fucking after it.”

I’ve never had this house to myself. Even when I thought I was here by myself, people would be coming and going. Business never stops for him. I guess that’s what I have to look forward to. Does he ever do anything but work anymore?

Walking away, Livia’s ring tone starts again. Shit! I only dropped her off two hours ago. When we’re alone, that’s when I fall for her more and more. When we’re around others, that’s when she’s the fake Livia. The Livia she puts on for every other person.

The sex is great. Better than fucking great. It was part of our initial attraction. Purely sexual, but now it’s gotten to be... more. More than what I expected anyway.

“Livia...” I answer closing my bedroom door.

“When are you coming back? My fingers can’t fuck me the same way you can.”

My head hits my bed, and my hands slide down my trousers. “Tell me how you do it. Fucking tell me how you touch yourself.”

She moans into my ear. “I closed my eyes, imagined that it was your cock sliding in and out of my wet fucking pussy. You owned it. The way you slammed in and out of me. It made me so fucking hot I came in seconds. You should have heard the scream that left my mouth. It was all for you, Ryken, the come that I licked off my fingers.” My hand beats faster on my cock. “It was all for you. Especially when I licked it off. Tasted myself all over my fingers. It was you I imagined who was licking them.”

“Fuck!”

“Now I’m palming my breast as I’m talking to you, right now. Imagining it’s you.”

I come, switching the phone to FaceTime so I can see her. She accepts, showing me her tits covered with her hands, then she squeezes her nipples.

“You’re eighteen in a few weeks, right?”

She lifts the cell phone to look at me and nods her head. “Yep. You going to throw me a private party at one of your clubs?”

“That could be arranged.”

She sits up, her tits jiggling on the screen and her smile so fucking bright. “Yes.” Her top stays down, and her tits stay out on display for my eyes only. “Your party... do you know where it will be held yet?”

“Here.”

Her eyes widen. “Really? I’ve never been in further than the dining room. You sure your father said yes to having it there?”

“He did. It’s happening this weekend.”

“I’m going to ask you something...” Sitting up on my bed I wait for her to speak. “I don’t want you to invite Sass.”

“Why? Did you have a falling out?”

Livia shakes her head. “No. But I see the way you still look at her.”

“It’s you I’m with. It’s you I see, Liv.”

She’s watching me, waiting for me to trip up. “Do you love me, Ryken?” She has this look, that if I don’t say the words, if they don’t fall from my lips right now she may be broken forever. So I do it, I tell her what she wants to hear.

“I do.”

“I was being silly. Invite her. I know you want to invite Stiles.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Liv.”

“I’m sorry. I love you, Ryken.”

The actual words have to leave my mouth, and they taste bitter when they do. “I love you, too.” I end the call on those words and instantly wonder if it was wrong to say them. There are feelings for her, but maybe not as strong as she wants them to be.

***

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO FINISH school.” These are the first words I hear when I wake up and come down the stairs.

“What are you talking about?”

“You don’t have to finish school. You’ve proven yourself. The business is yours. It will require your full attention. So decide now what you want to do.”

“I’ll decide tomorrow.”

Father nods his head. He’s already dressed in his suit. Reaching out, he pushes over a present and waits for me to open it. It’s a small box and inside is a key.

“What’s this for?”

“It’s your own master key to it all.”

“The clubs.”

He nods his head. “It’s the best present you’ll ever get from me. Plus him.” He points to Quinn who walks out, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“You can’t give me Quinn. He’s a damn person.”

He shakes his head. “Quinn can handle every business I own. He will be your guide. Use him. Make the business yours and yours alone.”

“Why can’t you?” I argue with him.

“I’ll be on vacation. I’ll be here when you decide, then I’m off.”

Looking around the house, the party designers are here and are beginning to set everything up. The basement door is locked, and people are set to start arriving in a few hours.

“I won’t be here for your party. Don’t fuck up my house or I’ll fuck up your face.” Father then walks off, leaving me with Quinn watching me.

“I’m still waiting on the favor you want,” I say to Quinn, whose lip twitches for a second then he walks off too.

“Ryken...” Livia’s voice is loud, she steps around the corner in her high heels and designer dress with a bottle of champagne in her hand.

“Happy fucking birthday,” she shouts holding up the champagne bottle. Livia steps up to me, kissing me with her bright pink lips.

“Thanks, babe.”

She looks around as tables are moved and bars are set up. “Show me your room.” Her body glides along mine.

“That I can do.” Pulling her up the stairs, she looks around at the bare walls. My house is a lot different to her place, where there are family photos everywhere.

“Will you fuck me against your wall, Ryken?” she asks as I reach for the door handle. Pulling her inside, I slam her into my wall. Lifting her dress, I pull my cock free and slide straight into her as her heels fall to the floor. She never wears panties around me. She knows better than to do that. The bottle of champagne drops to the floor and smashes all over us, wetting her heels and my feet. She wraps her legs around my waist as I fuck her... hard. Her moans are loud in my ear, and her hands touching everywhere they can find bare skin.

“I fucking love you, Ryken Lord.”

A knock comes on the door and standing outside, not looking in, is Quinn. We didn’t shut the door, but I fucked her anyway.

“Your guests have started to arrive.” He walks away letting me finish. After we’ve both climaxed, I carry her to the bed and place her down so she won’t cut herself on the glass as her feet are bare.

“It’ll just be Cane,” she says, laying down and looking around.

“I know.” Pulling my trousers back up. “You should get ready.”

She nods her head, putting her hands out for me to help her. Lifting her up, she dangles her shoes from her fingers as I take her out the door in my arms.

“You a cripple now, Liv?” Cane questions as I carry her down the stairs. She laughs while flipping him the bird.

“Ryken smashed my bottle of champagne, if you must know.”

Cane’s eyes find mine as he raises his eyebrow. Ignoring him, I place her down, but she makes sure to stay touching me.

“When is everyone coming?”

Livia walks over to the door where her bag is and then leaves us to talk. My eyes track her.

“He doesn’t want me to finish school. I’m going to decide tomorrow what I want to do.”

Cane’s hand runs through his hair, his white shirt tight on him. His face contorting. “Fuck! You told him no, I take it?” I didn’t, and I probably won’t. “You’re looking at me like you didn’t, Ry. What the fuck.”

“I didn’t give him an answer.”

Cane scratches his chin, looking back to the front to see Livia ruffling through her things again then back to me.

“It’s not because of her. Because despite what you think, you don’t love her.”

“You don’t know that,” I defend myself. Defend her.

“Like shit, I don’t. You steal glances every chance you get to look at her.” We both know who her is. He just doesn’t want to say her name. Neither do I. “Speaking of her, is she coming tonight?”

“Yes.”

Cane shakes his head, walking to the bar the party planner set up and serving himself a drink. Waitresses from the nightclubs we own are here to work. My father gave me everything I asked for and more. It’s all he’s good for, affection is not something he gives me. At all.

“I think we should start drinking now because we sure as shit are going to need it.”

Livia walks back in, her bag over her shoulder. “Quinn said you might not be coming back to school.” She looks at me accusingly. “What does he mean?”

Looking past her, Quinn is standing at the door, smiling as he looks to me.

“I haven’t decided.”

She steps up so she can reach me, and places her fingers on my jaw. “You should stay. You’re almost finished.”

“Maybe.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

The doorbell rings. We all turn to look at it.

“Shit! I have to finish getting dressed.” Livia runs past me, up the stairs and back to my room, I’m assuming.

“She’s right, but I don’t think you care too much what she wants.”

“I plan to drink my weight in alcohol tonight. You know... now it’s legal to do so.”

Cane laughs and shakes his head, then that’s what we start to do before everyone arrives.