Chapter 5

Some days I wonder if I'm making a difference. Others, days when I see the looks on these young girls faces the moment they realise I'm here for them, I'm certain I am. Like right now. Carly is a sixteen-year-old who's been kicked out of four schools and is on her last leg at her current one.

She gives most adults around her a death glare, but when she walks into the office and her eyes land on me, she smiles. Her eyes light up. "Daisy, I didn't know you were coming in today," she says before slumping down onto the sofa. Her bag lands on the floor with a loud thud.

"I was in the area. Thought I'd drop by and see how you're doing. How are you?" I ask her.

"More like that stuck-up bitch of a principal called and told you to come and sort me out." She crosses her arms over her chest, blowing the loose strand of hair away from her face with a huff.

"First, we're not talking like that about anyone. Second, I actually was in the area. It wasn't until I arrived that I learned what happened. Want to talk about it?"

Within seconds of signing in with the receptionist, the principal bailed me up. If Carly wasn't a client, I'd agree with her observation of the woman, but I can't do that. I have to remain professional. It seems Carly was in a fight yesterday. She broke some girl's nose.

"About what exactly?"

"Let's start with the fight. Why'd it happen?" I haven't been able to get Carly to confide in me all that much yet. She won't tell me why she's so angry.

Compared to most of my clients, Carly seems to have a good home life. I say seems because I don't for one second believe it's the picture-perfect family her parents make it out to be. They hired me to help their daughter, and they really did appear genuine at first. But the longer I work with them, the more involved I get, the more something feels off. I just don't know what it is yet.

"She called me a whore," Carly says while lifting one shoulder up and down.

"Are you?"

"What? No!" The girl's eyes widen at my question.

"Then what does it matter if she calls you something you know isn't true?"

"It matters because I didn't like it," she says.

By the time Carly walks out of the office after our little talk, she seems like she's in a better mood and has agreed to not partake in any more physical altercations. I don't know how long that will last. The girl has a very short fuse.

I'm packing up my things when my phone starts vibrating in my pocket. I retrieve it and see a message from Eloise.

El:

I need you to come to my place. Dani needs us. Pack a bag. Slumber party.

El:

Oh! And here's my new address.

Eloise let it slip the other night that she's seeing some guy. Gio. She didn't give too many details, as much as I tried to pry them out of her. But judging by the fact she's moved in with him, I'm guessing it's serious.

Me:

On my way.

I'm headed home to pack a bag when Claire calls. "Hey, you going to El's?" I ask her.

"Yep, but my car's shit itself again. Can you pick me up on your way?"

"Sure. Be ready in fifteen. I'm just going to swing by mine really quick, and then I'll come get you," I tell her.

"Thanks, see you soon," Claire says.

"Wait out on the street for me. I'm not walking up those stairs of yours." I laugh. Claire's apartment does not have a lift, and she lives on the fourth floor. It's why her ass looks so bloody good. All those stairs keep it toned.

"Shit, how the hell do I get me a Gio?" Claire whistles as we walk up to El's new house.

"This is what she's been scared to tell us about?" I wonder aloud.

Just as I press the doorbell, the huge wooden front door swings open and I literally have to force my mouth to not drop open. A gorgeous, six-foot-something wall of a man stands in front of us.

"Hey, we're here for Eloise," Claire says in that too-cheery voice of hers.

"Come in, follow me. I'm Marcel," the guy introduces himself.

We follow him into the house. Something seems familiar about him but I can't pinpoint what it is. That's been happening a lot to me lately. We round a corner, and Eloise and Dani come into view.

"I quit my job," Dani blurts out.

"You what?" Claire and I both say at the same time. Now I can't stop it. My jaw drops and my mouth gapes open. Dani wouldn't just quit anything, which means this is big.

"Thanks, Marcello. And, before you suggest anything, the answer is no." Eloise points to the guy who walked us in.

"You don't even know what I was going to say." He pouts.

"Still a no." Eloise shakes her head.

"You kill all my fun, El. Seriously, what's the point of having a sister if I can't fuck her hot friends," he says while aiming a panty-melting smirk at me and Claire.

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as saying you can't…" I smile as my eyes flick up and down the length of him.

"Daisy, no," Eloise growls.

"Okay, no-go zone. Got it." I laugh while lifting my hands in surrender.

"Right, well, I'll be around if you change your mind, beautiful." Marcello winks at me before walking back the way he came.

"Really, El, can't I just play with him a little bit?" I huff, my eyes glued to his ass. I'm messing with my friend, of course. As attractive as Marcello is, he's just not doing it for me. No, it seems I have a thing for the mysterious stranger I can't stop dreaming about.

"Nope. Don't go there." Eloise shoots me a glare before turning back to Dani. "Now, why the hell would you quit your job?"

"I walked in on Alistair today. He was about to be on the receiving end of a blow job, from a woman who I'm pretty sure was a client." Tears well up in her eyes.

Fuck that.No one makes my friend cry and gets away unscathed.

"He what?" Eloise hisses. "I'm going to kill him. Actually, I'll have Gio put a hit out on him."

Dani laughs, then abruptly stops. "Holy shit, you're serious, aren't you?"

Claire and I are waiting for the answer to that one too.

"What's the point of dating Gio De Bellis if I can't ask him to make someone disappear?" Eloise shrugs. Well, at least I know who to see if I ever really do need to put a hit out on someone.

"No. I don't want him to disappear. I want the visual to disappear." Dani's voice cracks, her eyes water, and then the dam breaks. "I just… I really thought…" she says between sobs.

"I know," Claire says before rushing forward to pull Dani into a hug. "Maybe we can tear off his balls?"

"Maybe." Dani smiles slightly at the suggestion.

"I mean, there are plenty of available hot-as-fuck men walking around this place. Revenge sex is good sex," I remind her.

"Daisy, control your libido." Eloise uses her no-nonsense tone, paired with a scowl that has me pouting like a petulant child.

"What? Why? And, seriously, how have you not invited us here before now? I mean, come on, El, this house? These men? You've been holding out." I wave my hand around the room for emphasis.

"I was scared you girls would stop talking to me," she says quietly.

Dani lifts her head and wipes her cheeks dry. "Never. Nothing would make me stop talking to you. Ever."

"Me either. We are endgame girls. All of us. Together always," I tell Eloise.

"Always. We're going to be raising children together. Our grandchildren will be friends. The four of us are a package deal." Claire nods like it's a fact.

"Thank you," Eloise says with a huge smile on her face. "Now, come on. We're taking over the cinema room."

I must have drifted off. Because I wake to a darkened room. The light from the Netflix home screen allows me to see that both Claire and Dani have passed out as well, while Eloise is nowhere to be seen.

Throwing the blanket off my lap, I get up and make my way through the house. In search of a bathroom first. Which thankfully I find after the third door I open. After emptying my bladder and washing my hands, I head out in search of the kitchen next. I need some water, and maybe some pain pills if I can find them.

It takes me a few tries to locate that room as well. When I do, I run a hand along the wall until it fumbles over a switch. Finally, the place lights up and I can see what I'm doing. I open four cabinets before reaching in for a glass. Then I fill it up with water from the tap, drink the whole thing, and quickly refill it.

I place the glass on the counter and start looking for some headache meds. I open every drawer and come up empty. I'm pushing up on my tiptoes, my hand grabbing for the knob on an overhead cabinet, when a deep, gravelly voice halts my movements.

"Looking for something in particular or are you just snooping?"

After jumping out of my skin, I spin around. And for the second time in the span of a few hours, I fail to keep my mouth from dropping open. Because standing in front of me is the stranger-not-stranger I haven't been able to stop thinking about since I saw him at the café.

"It's you," I say before I can stop myself.

"Last I checked, I was me," he confirms with a hint of amusement in his tone.

My brows draw down. "Where do I know you from?" I ask him.

The guy takes a step in my direction, and my eyes travel down his body. His almost-naked body. He's wearing a pair of black gym-looking shorts, his whole torso completely bare. Dark lines twist and curl up the left side of his ribs, and his arms are covered in black and white images. But it's the defined abs that have me drooling.

"You don't know me," he says while inching closer. "What are you looking for?"

"Headache." I swallow, forcing down the lump in my throat before attempting to clarify, "Headache meds." His closeness is affecting my ability to think like an intelligent being.

"What's wrong?" he asks, concern suddenly evident in his features as his eyes rake over my face.

"Nothing's wrong. I just have a headache. It's not that bad. I'll just go back…" I move to step around him when he cages me in, placing his hands on the counter, one on each side of my waist. "What…?"

"You know, I could help you out with that," he says while taking another step forward. Our bodies are so close I can feel the warmth of his breath on my ear as he leans into me. "What'd you say? Want me to relieve you of that headache?"

"H-how would you do that?" I ask. My hands land on his chest. His warm, hard chest.

"By giving you the mother lode of all orgasms. Best way to clear a headache. Or so I've been told." His lips graze along my neck before his head lifts and those eyes, as dark as the night sky, peer into mine.

My legs quiver. I'm surprised they haven't given out on me. And my core throbs with need. I should be pushing him away. El has a strict no touching the men in this house rule. She made that much clear, and she's one of my best friends.

The thing with me, though? I've never been good at saying no to temptation. And this man, whoever he is, is temptation at its highest level.

My arms snake up around his neck, and I pull his face down to meet mine. Our lips smash together, and his tongue pushes into my mouth. He's not just kissing me. He's fucking my mouth with his tongue as he swirls it around, thrusting it in and out. Dueling with my own. One of his hands holds the back of my neck, while the other starts moving up the inside of my leg until it reaches my panties under my baggy t-shirt. Pushing the fabric aside, he inserts those fingers into my already-drenched centre. And I feel him smile against my lips.

"A bit eager?"

I'm about to shove him off, but that thought flies out the window when he hooks his fingers deep inside me and starts rubbing. My eyes widen.

How did he know that spot was right there?

I moan and tug his lips back to mine. My hips gyrate against his hands. I need more. I need him. I'm so close to exploding. I can feel the peak. My eyes spring open when he pulls away all of a sudden.

"The first time you come for me isn't going to be on my fingers, baby. It's going to be on my fucking cock." He shoves his shorts down and a long, hard, thick dick bounces free. The tip shining with precum. And all I can think about is how good it would feel in my mouth. "There will be plenty of time for that," he says before picking me up and plopping my ass on the benchtop.

I frown. How did he know what I was thinking? As I'm wondering this, he's already shoving my panties aside again and pushing his cock inside me.

I tilt my hips, relishing the feel of him stretching me out. It really has been too fucking long. My fingers claw at his chest. I need him closer. I want more. My legs lock around his waist, holding him against me as I grind my clit over his pubic bone. He doesn't move. He lets me take exactly what I need from him. And right as I'm toppling over the edge of that bliss he promised me, he starts thrusting forward. Fucking me as his hands grip my hips and hold my body in place. I'm shuddering through another orgasm by the time he jerks himself free, his cock in one hand as he tugs and comes all over my inner thigh.

"How's the head?"

"Huh?"

With a tip to his lips, he eyes me up and down. "Told you. Better than any headache meds," he says before leaning in to peck my lips. "That was hotter than anything I could have dreamed up. Until next time, Daisy." Then he takes a step back, pivots in the opposite direction, and walks away.

He just leaves me here, sitting up on this kitchen benchtop, with his cum all over my legs. But the most bothersome part of it all is the fact that I like it.