Seven

Chapter Seven

Rue

I ATE MY FOOD JUST as I ate every meal that was given to me— gratefully and without complaint. Sitting at the table with the three men was also a novelty for me. It wasn’t usual for me to be invited to share a dinnertime, and if I was, it was normally because whoever had invited me intended for me to be the dessert.

Though I remained quiet, I absorbed every word the men said, still trying to work out the dynamic between them. I didn’t have it pinned yet, but I was sure there was something more than just friendship between each of them. Perhaps not so much between Dillon and Ryan, but with Dillon

and Kodee, and Ryan and Kodee, for sure.

The blond, Ryan, was making his feelings about me being here perfectly clear. I didn’t like that I’d made him uncomfortable. They didn’t seem like bad people, no matter who they were associated with, and I hated that I was putting them out.

If I tried to run, what would happen? I’d be out of their way, but would I also get them in trouble? I could go straight back to Frankie Capello and tell him that I’d left voluntarily and that they needed to hide me elsewhere. The last thing I wanted was to go back to either of the Capello brothers. I felt bad for their families—their wives and children. While I felt sure the wives must turn a blind eye to their husbands’ straying ways in return for the

expensive homes and flashy cars, and huge items of jewelry, the children probably idolized their fathers, and wouldn’t think them capable of selling people as though they were stray puppies.

“You haven’t asked to see the clothes I got you,” Dillon said, tearing me from my thoughts.

I shot him a small smile. “I’m sure whatever you’ve bought will be fine.

Thank you. You didn’t need to go to so much trouble.”

“As much as you look good in Kodee’s shirt, you need to have something of your own.”

“I doubt I’ll be able to take anything with me when I leave.”

He shrugged. “We don’t know how long that’s going to be yet, so you still needed stuff to wear.”

He’d dropped the bags next to the front door when he’d entered the

apartment, but now he got back to his feet to fetch them for me. Instead of coming back to the table, he took them to the living space and set the bags on the U-shaped couch.

He jerked his chin toward me. “Come on, then.” I looked to Kodee. “I should help you clear up.”

“No, don’t worry,” Kodee replied. “Ryan can help”

I wondered if that was only going to piss Ryan off more, but I wasn’t going to argue.

A little bubble of excitement swelled inside my stomach at the prospect of seeing what Dillon had bought for me.

“I’ll give the clothes back to you when I leave, of course.”

Dillon laughed. “Aye, what are we supposed to do with women’s

clothing? I mean, maybe some larger sizes might have worked, but I don’t think any of us are going to squeeze into anything you might wear.”

He was right—each of the men was far larger than I was. They’d never fit into my clothes, though the thought of them trying made me smile.

“Here.”

He handed me the bags, and I sank down onto the couch and opened the first one to peep inside. There wasn’t any concern on my part that I

wouldn’t like what I was being provided with. I always wore whatever I was given, no questions asked. Normally, the clothes were similar to what

I’d come here in—tiny skirts and dresses—but I found myself pulling out a couple of pairs of skinny jeans and some t-shirts of various colors. I discovered a couple of sets of bras and panties as well, and a pair of

sneakers.

I dangled the underwear from one hand. “Thank you.”

“I wasn’t sure what size you were.” He held both hands out in front of me, as though he was about to cup my breasts in each palm, and then

seemed to realize what he was doing and snatched them back again. “The store assistant helped me. You can check the sizes, if you want.”

I bundled the items back into the bag, not bothering to check the tags.

They didn’t mean anything to me anyway. “They look close enough.”

I was conscious that the only underwear I had on right now was the shorts that belonged to Kodee. My body seemed to be very aware of

Dillon’s proximity, and my nipples were hard beneath my shirt. I’d been taught my whole life that men equaled sex, and that I’d been here for

several hours now without anyone doing so much as try to kiss me, sent me into a spiral of confusion.

“Aren’t you going to give us a fashion show?” Dillon said. My stomach twisted. “A fashion show?”

“Sure.” He threw one hand up in a gesture. “I spent all that time picking those clothes out for you and paying for them. The least you can do is show us what they look like on.”

“Oh, of course.”

I rose to my feet, but Kodee put out a hand. “Ignore him, Rue. You don’t have to give us a show. Dillon is being a dick.” He shot Dillon a glare.

Ryan sat back in his chair and folded his arms, his head cocked to one side. “Actually, I think that’s not a bad idea. We could do with a little

entertainment. If we’ve got to put up with her being here, we might as well put her to use.”

I swallowed hard. That was two men against one, so I guessed I was doing the fashion show. As far as requests from men went, it wasn’t exactly a bad one. I was putting on clothes rather than taking them off, after all.

“I don’t mind, honestly,” I insisted, picking up the bags of clothes.

“You can use my room to change,” Kodee said, obviously deciding it wasn’t worth fighting the other two about this one. I had the feeling he needed to pick his battles, or he’d spend the entire time fighting with them.

Or maybe fucking them. I still wasn’t sure about the dynamics of this situation.

“Okay, thanks.”

I turned and carried the bag of clothes toward the bedroom. I could feel all their gazes following me as I crossed the apartment, and self-

consciously, I reached to the back of the hem of the shirt and pulled it lower to try to cover my thighs.

I reached the bedroom and stepped inside. Remembering the bathroom incident, I shut the door behind me without making eye contact with any of them men.

I dumped the bag on the bed and quickly undid the buttons of Kodee’s shirt and tugged it off my shoulders. Curious, I glanced around at the room, wondering more about the man and thinking it might give me an insight into him. The sheets on the bed were a gray silk, with several large feather

pillows plumped up against a padded headboard. The furniture was all oak, and pictures of skylines in black and white were positioned on the walls and held in black frames. Everything was immaculate—not so much as a pair of discarded socks on the floor, even though it wasn’t as if he’d been

expecting me, or anyone else to be in here.

I lifted a bottle of fragrance from the dresser and took off the cap and held it to my nose. Yes, this was the same scent that had wrapped itself

around me when I’d first put on the shirt.

I was going to be sleeping here tonight and for the foreseeable future, so I guessed that kind of made this my room now. And Kodee would be

sleeping in with Ryan. Would they be doing more than just sleep?

A tingling rush of arousal condensed between my thighs at the thought, surprising me. That was something I’d never been involved in before—not that I was expecting to be involved now. They didn’t want me here, so they certainly weren’t going to include me in any of their bedroom antics. I didn’t want that either, did I? Sex was something I endured, not desired, and I certainly didn’t want it from men who acted as though they’d rather have had an infestation of woodworm in their apartment than me.

Remembering they were waiting for me, I slipped out of the jockey

shorts—which I assumed were also Kodee’s. I was tempted to pick them up and sniff them too, getting the combined scent of him mixed with my pussy

—but realized if I was seen, I might be pinned as a total freak. Naked now, I selected a couple of items of the clothing, including one of the bra and panty sets Dillon had bought for me. I put the underwear on and paused.

The bra fitted surprisingly well, and the scalloped edges and lace helped to enhance my curves. I was skinnier than I thought most men would find

attractive, and my breasts were smaller and pointy rather than full and round.

When Dillon had asked for a fashion show, had he meant the underwear as well? Or was he expecting me to put clothes on over the underwear?

I glanced down at my body. The lingerie looked good, I had to be honest. He had gone to the effort of shopping for it for me. It didn’t seem right not to show him how it looked. After all, I doubted it had been bought for my benefit, even if the rest of the clothes did seem as though they’d been bought with me in mind. I’d never known a man to do something that wasn’t for their own benefit before, and I didn’t think things would be any different in this situation.

With my mind made up, I went back to the bedroom door and sucked in a breath. These men had put me on an uneven footing. I normally knew

exactly where I stood with men, but not these ones.

I opened the door and stepped out.

They were all still sitting at the dining table, and all three heads turned toward me. A slow smile spread across Dillon’s face.

“Now, that’s a sight for sore eyes.”

Kodee’s tongue darted out and swiped across his lower lip, but quickly he glanced away again. I didn’t miss it, though, that tiny flicker of interest.

“You didn’t have to show us the underwear,” he said.

“Yes, she did.” Dillon interrupted. “I bought it. I want to see what it looks like on.” He gave me a satisfied smile. “And it looks good.”

Ryan only scowled and shook his head.

“It’s getting late,” Kodee announced. “We should probably get some rest. It’s been a... strange day.”

I nodded, but as I turned to go back to the bedroom—still unsure if I’d done the right thing or not—I paused at the sound of Dillon’s voice.

“Damn. I just remembered, I didn’t get you anything to sleep in.” My cheeks heated and I turned back to them. “It doesn’t matter.” “Do you prefer to sleep naked?”

“Jesus, Dillon,” Ryan exclaimed, throwing the cellphone he’d been holding onto the table in disgust.

“I’ll sleep in whatever I’m told to sleep in. If that’s nothing, I don’t mind.”

I didn’t, really.

“You don’t have to sleep naked.” Kodee pressed his lips together. “Ignore Dillon.”

Dillon smirked.

I looked between the men, unsure. I was used to having men tell me what to do, but they didn’t usually disagree about it, or, if they did, it was because one of them wanted to fuck me first, or had a preferred hole they wanted to shove their dick into. Normally, it was pretty clear who was the

boss, however, and that was the one I’d obey. The revealing of who was the boss often involved a gun to the head or a fist to the mouth. These men

were different. They were arguing, sure, but there was also affection among them. I hadn’t missed the way Kodee and Ryan had been in the kitchen together, how Ryan had pressed himself up against Kodee’s back. It wasn’t

only the two of them, either. When they thought I wasn’t looking, Dillon had touched Ryan in a way that was far more intimate than I expected of hard men who were running some kind of illegal business.

Yes, they were clearly into each other, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t also picked up on the usual sparks of attraction from a man either. Mainly from Dillon, obviously, but I’d caught Kodee staring at me for just that little too long as well. Men were normally such easy creatures to read. I would

spread my legs for them, or suck their cocks, or offer up my ass to be taken, and they’d be more than content. To have them not seem to want me like that left me uneasy.

Not knowing what else I was supposed to do, I headed for the bedroom.

A part of me wanted to put a closed door between us, while the other part wondered what I’d be missing out on.