26. Layla

Chapter twenty-six

Layla

A fter several satisfying orgasms, I showered and went downstairs. I was pleased that my guys agreed to the cages. I was planning on having quite a bit of fun with them, starting now.

“Afternoon, Gentlemen,” I said as I entered my office.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Zach groaned.

“Problem?” I asked.

“Go put some fucking clothes on,” Colt growled.

I looked down at my chosen outfit. Technically, I was wearing workout clothes. Rather tight and skimpy workout clothes, but workout clothes nonetheless. I was very careful when choosing my outfit, so I didn’t give them an excuse to make me change.

“I’m wearing clothes,” I replied. “I’m going to hit the gym when we’re done here, and I didn’t feel like having to change again beforehand.”

“Layla,” Colton rumbled.

“Yes?”

“Put on more clothes.”

I looked him in the eyes as I sat in my chair. “No.”

Colt’s jaw clenched, but he knew better than to continue to argue with me about it in front of the others.

I turned my attention to my other capos. “So, as you can see, Sean is alive and well.”

“It was quite the shock walking in,” Danny chuckled. “Glad to have you back, man.”

“It’s good to be back,” Sean replied.

“Have they filled you in on what we’re doing here?” I asked him. Having him back at my conference table made me feel conflicted. I was glad he was alive but wary of opening myself up to him too quickly. Deep down, I knew I could trust him, but there was also a pesky voice in my head casting doubt.

“They did, but they didn’t say what we’d be doing with them once we rounded them all up,” Sean replied.

“We haven’t decided yet,” Drew replied, giving me a pointed look.

“I know, I know. I have to make a decision,” I replied. “Is there any benefit to trying to use them against Anton?”

“In the long run?” Tyler asked, “Probably not. There is always a chance that they will realize they are being played, and then we’re walking into another trap again.”

“I say we kill them all,” Zach said. “Dead men can’t tell secrets. Cuts off Anton’s supply and gets rid of our rat problem.”

“I say we have a battle royale,” I replied after some thought. “Let them fight to the death. The last man standing can trade his life for information that helps us catch Tommy or Anton or be tortured.”

“We’ll need a space for that,” Colt replied.

“I think I have the perfect place,” Danny stated. “It’s in the warehouse district but a little more off the beaten path. What makes it unique is that it used to house exotic animals being illegally transported, so they left behind a bunch of big steel cages. We could use them to make a pit of sorts to put the rats in.”

I nodded as Danny spoke. “I like the way you think, Danny. Make it happen. We can invite the rest of our men to watch. Turn it into a spectacle.”

“I’m less on board with the audience aspect,” Sean said, “But I’m sure we can figure out a way to ensure it remains a safe environment for you and make it an entertaining night.”

“Ok,” I said, standing. “We aren’t going to be doing anything if we don’t get through these files.” I moved around my desk to brush against Tyler as I leaned between him and Sean to grab myself a few files to go through. I smirked when I heard Tyler’s quiet gasp and subsequent groan. Zach’s eyes were glued to my cleavage from across the table until he must have begun responding and grimaced. I snickered as I stood and met Colt’s glare. I blew him a kiss as I returned to my seat and started flipping through the first file.

C olt was waiting for me in the hall outside the gym after my pre-dinner workout.

“Hey, hot stuff,” I said as I passed him.

“Don’t you think you’ve had your fun?” he asked as he fell in step with me. “Why don’t we take these things off?”

I laughed. “Colt, it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. They’re staying right where they are.”

“Layla,” Colt growled, pushing me against the wall and wrapping a hand around my neck. “It isn’t cute anymore.”

My expression turned serious. “It was never meant to be cute, Colton. You disobeyed me and then lied to me about it. I don’t care if you thought it was justified, or even that you were correct. You still lied and disobeyed an order; therefore, you need to be punished. You had to know that I would be pissed when I found out. You knew it would get you into trouble. Instead of talking to me about it and having a conversation about why you thought killing Sean was a mistake, you chose to hide it from me. You chose to let me live in pain, wracked with guilt and doubting myself.”

I pushed him off of me, and he took a step back. I would not let the regret I saw on his face sway my decision.

“I think you can handle some time without an erection,” I said, turning and walking away.

“But how long can you go without one of our cocks filling up that needy pussy, Hellcat?” Colt called after me.

I turned and smirked at him. “Challenging me isn’t wise, Colt. I’ll win.”

“Is that so?” he asked, sauntering toward me. “Then how about we have a little wager? I bet I’ll have you begging me for my cock and unlocking this cage long before I even think about begging you.”

“And if you win?” I asked.

“If I win, I get to take your ass while you have two cocks buried in your pussy,” Colt replied with a devilish smile as he crowded into my space.

“And if you’re on your knees begging me to take off the cage before that happens?” I asked, trailing a finger down his chest to toy with the waistband of his pants. “What do I get?”

“What do you want?” Colton purred, pressing into me. His eyes tightened as he tried not to show his discomfort.

“I don’t know,” I said with a throaty laugh. “Seeing you on your knees begging for relief might be reward enough.”

“It’s never going to happen, Hellcat.”

“We’ll see. You forget I can still pleasure myself.” I pulled his lips down to mine for a quick, hard, and possessive kiss. “I think I’ll reserve the right to name my price for now,” I said when I released him. “But you’re on, Colt. And I can’t wait to see you beg.”

I left him in the basement as I went upstairs to dress for dinner. Cordy told us earlier that she was cooking a big dinner to welcome Sean and Keith back home and not to come to the table looking like uncultured hooligans. After my shower, I stood in my closet, trying to decide what would turn my men on the most and, therefore, cause them the most pain.

“Want help?”

I jumped at Sean’s voice and turned to see him leaning against the door jam, watching me.

“Why would you help me?” I asked him. “Shouldn’t you want to dress me in oversized clothes? You’re taking your punishment awfully well.” Maybe almost getting murdered by me killed his sexual desires toward me?

Sean sighed. “I will never understand how you can look like you do, have five men wrapped around your little finger, and still suffer from moments of doubt about how fucking much we want you every second of the day.” As he spoke, he unbuckled his belt and pants and shoved them down. My eyes widened at his painfully swollen cock pressing against the confines of his cage. My eyes snapped to his, and for a moment, he let me see how painful his predicament was.

“I’m handling it well because I know I deserve so much fucking worse,” Sean said softly as he pulled his pants back up. “I deserved to die, Layla. I’m grateful that I didn’t, but I still deserved it. So, if this is my penance for what I did to you, for the pain that I’ve caused you, then I’ll do it.”

Sean lifted his hand slowly, giving me time to back away before cupping my face. “For you, I’ll do anything, Mo stoirín.” I nuzzled against his hand for the briefest of moments before catching myself and breaking the contact.

A sad smile spread across his face before quickly becoming naughty. “And if I can help make the others suffer a little bit more, that’s just the icing on the cake.”

A smile teased my lips as I stepped back and gestured to the hanging clothes. “Then, by all means, let’s see what you come up with.”

Sean started digging through the clothes with a purpose. He knew better than anyone what was in my closet, even me. He has always cared for me and ensured I had everything I needed. A surge of rage filled me. Then he had to go and fuck everything up.

He turned to face me, a garment in his hands and a triumphant smile. The smile faded when he saw my barely contained rage, and he set the clothes down on the bench before stepping up to me.

“Do it,” Sean ordered.

“What?” I asked.

“Hit me. I can see you want to, so do it.”

“I’m not punching you, Sean,” I scoffed.

“Why not? You want to deck me. I can see it in your eyes how fucking pissed you are at me right now, so do something about it. Just because you can’t kill me doesn’t mean you can’t kick my ass. Unless, of course, you’re scared of hurting yourself.” Sean’s eyes twinkled as he baited me. We both knew what he was doing, but the longer he ran his mouth, the harder it got to give a shit.

“Hit me, Layla. Come on, hit me. Just do it,” Sean continued to prod. “Maybe you’ll feel better. Hit me!”

With a frustrated shout, I finally reeled back and punched Sean in the face as hard as I could. The pain in my hand was nothing compared to the satisfaction I felt as soon as my fist made contact with his face. Before Sean could recover, I punched him with my other hand. The unexpected blow caused him to lose his balance and fall sideways over the bench. I straddled him and continued to hit him, pouring all of my anger and pain into each blow.

Sean held my hips steady as I continued to hit him until I had exhausted myself. I got off of him and was breathing heavily as I shook out my throbbing hands. I had busted his lip open, and his face was already starting to swell. “How could you do that to us?” I rasped.

“I was able to apologize to the guys already, but I haven’t been able to properly apologize to you yet, and it’s well overdue,” Sean said, pushing himself into a sitting position.

“No! Not them, us. Me and you, us! How could you ruin what we had?” I demanded, angry tears springing to my eyes. “I fucking trusted you, and you sold me out.”

“I know,” Sean replied, hanging his head. “It’s something I will regret for as long as I live. I don’t have a reason that makes it better. I just know I was so fucking scared of losing you and so desperate to get you away from this life and this place that it seemed like a good idea. It was stupid, and I regretted it immediately. I’m so fucking sorry, Layla. You’ll never truly understand just how sorry I am.” He lifted his eyes to mine. “But I am sorry. If I could go back and not do it, I would in a heartbeat.”

“I don’t know how to get back to where we were. I don’t even know if it’s possible,” I admitted. “Sometimes I think it’s too easy to fall back into old habits and pretend nothing happened. But then I remember, and the rage bubbles up inside of me, and it scares the fuck out of me because it’s that rage that almost caused me to lose you forever.”

Sean stood and approached me slowly. When he stood in front of me, he dropped to his knees, and I stood stiffly as he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his forehead against my stomach. “It won’t always be easy, Stór. We will have to work at moving past this every single day. Some days, you won’t want to look at me. I’m willing to do what it takes to repair our relationship as long as you are. If it’s too much or isn’t what you want, just say so, and I’ll leave, and you’ll never have to see me again.”

Panic squeezed my chest at the thought of not having Sean in my life. As angry as I was, I didn’t want him to go anywhere. “Don’t you fucking dare,” I growled, squeezing his head against my body.

“Ok, Layla,” Sean chuckled as he tilted his head to stare at me. “As long as you want me by your side, I won’t go anywhere.” I stared into his bright blue eyes and started to lean down to kiss him, but I caught myself and stepped out of his arms instead. “You know,” Sean said as he stood, “it might be easier if you stopped fighting your natural reactions.”

I shook my head. “I’m not ready for physical intimacy with you yet.”

Sean nodded. “Fair enough. Wear that, and it will have them drooling and in pain all night,” he said, gesturing to where he had dropped the chosen outfit. “I’ll get you an ice pack for your fists.”

I watched Sean leave with a mixture of relief and regret. I wish I could wave a magic wand and not feel so conflicted anymore, but this wasn’t a movie, and life didn’t work like that. I picked up the clothes Sean had chosen and saw it was a white two piece outfit. The top was a handkerchief-style top with a strap around my neck and a delicate silver chain wrapped around my torso. The skirt hung low on my hips and went to my ankles. It was sheer and flowy in places, with a slit on each side that went to my hips. Yes, this would do nicely.

I chose to go barefoot, and Drew groaned when I entered the kitchen.

“Where the fuck did you get that?” Colton asked.

“I found it in her closet for her,” Sean replied, handing me a gel ice pack. His left eye was swollen shut now, sporting one hell of a shiner.

“Sorry,” I mouthed to him. As good as it felt in the moment, seeing him hurt didn’t bring me any pleasure.

Sean winked at me with his good eye as he sat at the table.

“Why the fuck would you do that?” Zach asked. “Why would you do that to us?”

“What’s the matter with you lot?” Cordy asked as she pulled a roast from the oven. “Layla looks stunning, and you’re complaining?”

“It’s disheartening,” I agreed, biting my lip to keep from smiling.

Tyler shot me a glare as Cordy tutted at them. “You boys are lucky to have someone like Layla and need to show it more often.”

“Yeah!” I agreed, a giggle bubbling out of me.

Cordy turned to look at me with narrowed eyes. “Don’t let me find out you’re playing some game, missy. You may be grown, but I’ll still take you over my knee if I have to.” Cordy’s eyes snapped to Zach, and she pointed her spatula at him. “Don’t you say a single word, Zachary!”

I snickered as he tried to look indignant and failed. I slid in beside him and exchanged a look with Sean. One step at a time, and one day, we’d get back to a good place again.

I’d probably still want to punch him occasionally, but that was true for all my men.