Pleasing Him: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (6 page)

She thought about crying, again, but her tear ducts had all but dried out by now. Taylor dropped the box down on the porch as she reached for the key to open her apartment door.

“Perfect timing, Sweetheart,” a gruff, male voice called out to her from behind. “It’s almost rent day, “ he said with a lisp.

It was Brody Sharp, the property manager for her apartment
. He had a real knack for showing up when she least expected it, and when she least wanted him to. Like most women, Taylor could smell a perv from a mile away. And whenever he came around, all she ever smelled was perv stew.

She took a deep breath as she turned to face him. He was at least twice her size, with red, thinning hair, and big, beefy arms and shoulders that looked like they were made out of cheap steaks and donuts. He was dressed in his usual attire- an ever-so-flattering wife beater t-shirt to show off the faded shamrock tattoo on his shoulder, a pair of dirty jeans that were conveniently,
and disgustingly
, torn in the crotch area, and a wonderful pair of brown work boots with black oil splotches scattered about them. And even though there clearly used to be a handsome face beneath his greasy, burnt-out demeanor, this man gave her the total creeps,.

Brody took a long, slow drag from his cigarette as he glanced across her ass that lay hidden beneath her black skirt, then he stomped out the ashy butt on the front step of her apartment with his steel-toe boot.

“This isn’t a good time, Brody. It’s been a really long day.”

He smiled wickedly after quickly gawking at her chest, and then he stepped towards her. He growled, “I’m sorry, Darling. How’s about I help you relax, help you take that tight little skirt of yours off and unwind a bit?”

She quickly surveyed the area only to conclude she was clearly alone right now. Being rather secluded like this was the only major drawback of her living out here.
That
, and having Brody Sharp as the primary point of contact for all of her apartment’s operational matters.

“You’re gross,” she said before turning away from him and reaching towards the doorknob with her key in hand. Brody grabbed her wrist so hard it was sure to leave marks in her skin.

“I love it when dumb chicks like you try to fight back,” he hissed.

She was repulsed by everything he said and did, and rightfully so. Any woman would feel the exact same way that she did, only most women would’ve dowsed him with pepper spray and called 911 by now.

“I’m not fighting back, Brody. I just want you to let go of my wrist and leave me alone.”

He glanced proudly at his fingers that were tightly grasped around her tender flesh. “Suit yourself, Sunshine. Just make sure you have the rent check in three days, or we might need to work out an alternative form of payment.” Then he released her wrist from his greasy hand.

She quickly reached inside the brown box of her work belongings, grabbed the photo of her and her sister, and then rushed inside of her apartment. After dead-bolting the door behind her, she simply waited until the sound of Brody’s rusty pick-up truck disappeared in the distance as she clutched the photo tightly in her hands.

She didn’t want to move to the city, but she was becoming more and more convinced that maybe she really wasn’t cut out to live on her own in a place like this, just like her father had lectured her so many times before.

But as creepy as her interaction with Brody Sharp was, in a strange way it was somehow less painful than everything that had just transpired between her and Colton.

Locked away in her apartment and out of the only job she’d managed to land, she had very few options. Moving back in with her father would be a disaster. Begging Stein for her job back would be useless, so long as Colton Marcus didn’t authorize her return.

And as she slipped out of her clothes and into a hot shower, she searched every corner of her brain trying to come up with a solution.

Then she remembered the billionaire author’s sage advice about what it took to succeed in this life…

Balls.

She had a plan. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

And right about now, something was everything for Taylor Ward.

As she got out of the shower and dried herself off, she winced from the pain in her wrist. Taylor looked down and noticed that Brody had left marks there for sure, marks that reminded her of just how hard and cruel this world could be.

There has to be another way
, she thought to herself.

Or not. She’d find out soon enough.

* * *

Taylor read through the first three chapters of her story, the one she had spent the past three years of her life agonizing over. She had convinced herself that it was good, maybe even good enough to get published someday, but she allowed herself to fall victim to one of writing’s greatest living myths- writer’s block.

Too bad
, she thought.
It’s my only chance
.

Then she hit send and waited…

Waited for a response from the man who singlehandedly dismantled her life in less than twenty-four hours; the same man, by the way, who was the only one capable of putting her life back together again.

* * *

Nearly three days had passed and not a word from Colton Marcus.

What was I thinking, sending some partial rough draft along to the most prolific writer in the world?
Self-doubt began to consume her as she sat waiting in her desolate apartment. She’d wondered if her plan had a fighting chance of working; she thought that maybe,
just maybe,
she could make a crack in the window of Marcus’ soul.

She should’ve known better, and the lack of any sort of response from him whatsoever was evidence that her plan had failed miserably.
Maybe my writing wasn’t what I’d always thought it was, deep down, after all.

Her entire apartment shook as a loud, violent thud landed on her door. Her heart sped up after the second boom came. She tiptoed towards her window and peered through her blinds.

Please no
. The instant she noticed the pick-up truck, she felt a stabbing pain form in the side of her abs. Her rent was due, and Brody Sharp, the property manager, was more than happy to come pick it up himself rather than wait for a check to come in the mail like he did for the rest of the units he was responsible for.

Not that she had enough money to send a check to begin with.

“I know you’re in there, Darling,” he squealed from the other side of the door.

Taylor threw on a pair of baggy grey sweat pants to hide her bare legs, as well as a thick Red Sox sweatshirt to wear over her floral chemise that she’d been donning for the past few days while she’d been living on a prayer in the form of a response from Colton Marcus.

Well this was a different sort of response.
Maybe I deserve this
, she muttered inside her head as she reached to open the door.

Brody looked particularly agitated already; his eyes were bloodshot and his smile was more forced than ever. Taylor was starting to get a really bad feeling about this as she wished she’d never unlocked the door for the man. Brody took a long swig from his can of beer; she watched in horror as some of the golden fluid accidentally dribbled down his chin.

He looked her heavily clothed body up and down, indifferent to the fact that she was wearing the least flattering outfit she could think of. His eyes flickered, revealing something evil behind them; the way he stared at her, it didn’t feel right in her gut.

Taylor panicked and reached for her phone. But Brody grabbed her wrist in the same place he had grabbed her before. She cried out from the pain of his fingers crushing into her sore flesh. “Where’s my fucking rent check?” he shrieked, pinning her arm against the wall with ease as he finished what was left of his beer and then tossed the can across her apartment floor.

She refused to make eye contact with this disgusting man. Her voice was hoarse as she spoke. “Tomorrow.”

He leaned in closer, reeking of cheap beer and cigarettes. The smell alone was enough to traumatize her for life, never mind everything else she was about to endure.

“I think I might have an idea,” he said, releasing her wrist momentarily. “Maybe a an alternative form of payment.”

“Fuck you, Brody.”

“Suit yourself bitch. I’m gonna have to take what’s mine then, with or without your permission.”

She screamed at the top of her lungs as he pressed her up against the wall, pinning her hands and arms helplessly behind her back without a single care for the fact that he could easily break one of her bones. Then he pressed the side of her face into the wall, effectively covering her mouth so she couldn’t scream anymore. “I’ve been waiting a long time for a piece of that sweet ass of yours.”

She knew she was in major trouble once the sound of his belt buckle came crashing onto the floor. But then she heard a loud shrill, almost like the sound of a large, wild animal getting harpooned in its side. And she was so confused at first that she didn’t realize the scream was coming from Brody himself.

As Brody’s greasy hand loosed its grasp against her face, she turned to face him. A towering figure stood behind Brody, making the greasy creep look suddenly smaller than he had just moments ago. The figure’s arms engulfed the perpetrator’s face and neck much like a boa constrictor feasting on a small rodent. Everything was happening so fast that Taylor wasn’t able to make sense of her surroundings.

Then she heard the massive figure’s voice. “Go to sleep, Shitbag.” Taylor’s jaw dropped open as she watched Brody’s body collapse on the floor, boneless and completely unconscious.

Then she looked up and gasped.

It was Colton
.

His voice was deep and more sincere than she’d yet to hear it. “Are you okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he surveyed her face and neck, using his long fingers as if they were surgical tools as he checked for any marks or injuries on her skin. Then he picked up both of her hands and came to the bruises on her wrist. Even after what she had just been through with the scumbag on the floor, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of energy shoot up her spine as he touched her like this. She let her eyes drift across his beautiful forearms, and then down towards his cut hips and thighs that practically busted out of the fabric of his jeans.

Colton on the other hand felt something altogether different. His cheeks and forehead blazed the color of fire. “He did this to you?” he asked, his narrowed eyes skimming over the drunk man on her apartment floor.

Her voice shook as she spoke. “Yes.”

He took in two deep breaths as if it was all he could do to keep from losing his mind over what had just happened to her.

One single thought swirled around and around in her head.
Why is he here?

Then he looked at her, her small hands still engulfed in his giant palms. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Oh no, not in front of him
. But as much as she tried to fight back the tears, they had plans of their own as they began to drain from both of her blue eyes.

Then he wrapped his arms around her entire body, and in that moment, everything changed.

She had never felt so safe, so cared for, in her entire life. He pulled her even tighter into his strong, muscular cocoon as tears continued to pour from her eyes while her face was pressed up against his stubbly cheeks. His lips were so close to hers she could practically taste the salt from his tongue.

Colton moved his face just slightly, and his lips stopped as they passed in front of hers.

Kiss me, please
, she prayed to herself.

Snap out of it, Taylor. He’s no safer than the man lying on the floor right now. He just comes in a prettier package.

It was as if her skeptical energy disrupted whatever moment they were having, sending the billionaire towards the task at hand. He glanced around her apartment as he frowned. “Come on, you’re coming with me.”

“What?”

“I’ll make sure he’s properly disposed of,” he said, using only his foot to roll the lifeless property manager onto his back.

Taylor’s eyes filled with horror as she pondered what he meant by
disposed of
. But he gave her no time for investigate his intentions any further. “We need to go now.”

She shook her head as she tried to make her point. “
What
? No way. I’m not going with you.”

He smirked. “Really? You got any better options?”

She looked down at Brody and wondered how long it would be before he came to. If she stayed here, she would be in even more danger than she was before. She began to resent Colton for this entire situation the more she thought about it.

“Thank you for making things worse,” she said.

He laughed, and then his smile vanished as he looked at her. “You’d have lost one ugly wrestling match if I hadn’t showed up.”

She knew he was right. Brody was on a mission, and he didn’t exactly look like he was going to stop at anything short of rape. A sudden chill erupted inside of her, causing her body to shake inadvertently.

“Look, I’m not going to ask you again,” he said.

“And what if I refuse?”

His lips curled slightly at both ends. “Like you refused me at your place of employment?”

Her cheeks flushed red, either from embarrassment, anger, or from the visual that she had of him fucking her senseless after just having met her. “That will never happen again.”

“Agreed,” he said back.

Agreed?
She was either relieved or devastatingly frustrated by his response.

“But I hope you can see that staying here is not really much of an option.”

She looked down at Brody Sharp one last time, hoping she’d never have to see him for the rest of her life.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“My place.”

“You live here? I thought you lived in New York or L.A. or something…”

“I live everywhere.”

“Oh.”

“We need to go, for real,” he ordered.

“I need to get my stuff.”