Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Piper

My brain short-circuited. I didn’t know what to do. Should I leave or continue with my work? Honestly, I was having a hard time just getting my brain to function. My eyes trailed down Drake’s body, taking in the black tattoo of some kind of bird on his chest before once more landing on the obvious tent in the towel. I swallowed. Such a hard time.

“Are you going to stand there all day or give me my clothes?” Drake smirked and held his hand out. “I don’t really have anything else to wear. Unless... you prefer the towel?”

No. I preferred nothing at all, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

“No, no. I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard.” I shook my head from side to side, making my ponytail hit my shoulders, and hustled further inside to set the bag down. I tried to hurry back to the door, but Drake’s gravelly voice stopped me.

“So, you don’t like the towel?” Drake said in such a strange way that I had to pause and look back at him, just in time to see him drop the towel on the ground. Against my will, my eyes instantly locked onto what had been hidden beneath, and my mouth grew dry. “Ah, I see you like me better this way, huh?”

I couldn’t find my words. What were words? Thoughts? Thick muscular thighs. His cock hung long, hard, and perfect between his legs, and it was coming even closer to me.

Jerking my eyes away from Drake’s perfect equipment, I felt my face heat considerably. Backing up, I held my hands up in front of me as if that would ward off what I’d just seen. Even a priest couldn’t exorcize that image from my head, not that I would want him to. My vibrator and I would relish in this memory later, when it was dark, and no one could hear me scream.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll just go now.” I hated the words even as they came out of my mouth, but if this wasn’t fraternizing, I didn’t know what was. Antoine had already gotten onto me once, and if you counted the vase breaking when I got here, that was already two strikes against me. I didn’t want to find out what happened when I got to three.

“Why the rush?” Drake asked, closing in on me until my back hit the door. “You just got here. We haven’t gotten the chance to get to know each other yet, and I so want you to feel comfortable here in our home. Don’t you?”

His breath felt hot against my face, and I turned my head to the side. Just standing there with a gorgeous, naked man was playing havoc on my body. Now he had to get up close and personal. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my hands, let alone my mind, to myself.

“Tell me, Piper,” Drake growled, his nose brushing along the curve of my neck, the pulse there beating a mile a minute. “Have you ever been had by a man?”

“W-what?” I gawked at him, shifting away from him as much as I could with the door at my back. The feral look in his eyes scared me and turned me on all at the same time. What the hell was wrong with me?

Drake didn’t seem to have the same thoughts as me and brushed a hand over my hair before grabbing my ponytail, tugging it just enough to make my head bend back to meet his hungry gaze.

“You know what I mean. Have you ever...” His other hand moved down along the outside of my thigh, causing them to press together. “... let a man into your glorious haven?”

I snorted. I couldn’t help it. Glorious haven? Come on now. How cliché was that?

“What?” Drake jerked back from me, a look of confusion making his beautiful face even more attractive.

Shaking my head, I slipped out of his grasp. “Your brother was right about you. You really know how to pull a prank.” Grabbing the door handle, I pulled it open, but it was slammed shut by Drake’s hand.

Startled, I spun around to give him a piece of my mind. Playing with my mind was one thing, but he was pushing the joke too far.

“I’m not joking.” Drake bared his teeth at me before caging me in between his arms once more. “You should not have come here, little girl. Your type tends to get eaten up by mine, especially if you smell like that.” He took a big whiff of me, and a low rumbling escaped from his chest.

Frowning at his manhandling, I shoved at his chest. “Now, you listen to me here. You might think you are the hot shit which, well, you are.” I let my eyes drift down for a moment before catching myself and poking my finger at his chest. “But I’m not some piece of ass you can mess with. I need this job, and I’m not going to do anything that might jeopardize it. That includes getting wrapped up in the likes of you.”

Drake stared down at me for a moment as if he couldn’t quite believe I had told him off. Then he threw his head back and laughed, a sound that I hated to love so much. “Oh, you poor, sweet thing. You think your words will save you?”

“Well, I–”

“If your job is what you are worried about, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” Drake cupped my face in his hand, stroking his thumb across my lower lip. “Antoine is not the only voice in this house. If I want you to stay, you will stay.”

I found myself frozen to the spot. The dark pools of his brown eyes were so entrancing that I couldn’t look away from them. I was at his mercy, and there was nothing I could do. Part of me started to panic, my breathing coming in as quick gasping breaths and my heart thumping against my ribs. My reaction only made Drake smile wider as if he enjoyed my displeasure.

“Now, stay still while I get a taste of you.” Drake leaned down, his mouth opening wide.

I wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to do. Give me a hickey? Was he one of those people who liked to lick? I could get down with that if it weren’t on my neck. Or my ear. God, people who liked someone sticking their tongue in their ear were just weird.

Oh.My thoughts went quiet at the first touch of his tongue. Oh, my.

The warm wet muscle slid along the line of my neck just as the door behind me burst open. Thrown from the door, I fell to the ground, whatever spell I was under broken. Drake still stood on his feet but was now a few feet away, and his shorts had magically appeared on his form.

“What do you want, Marcus?” Drake asked his older brother calmly as if he hadn’t had his hands and mouth on me.

Marcus glanced to where I now sat on the ground and then back to Drake who had a smug grin on his face. “You know the rules.”

“And I didn’t break them.” Drake held his hands up in front of him. “No harm, no foul. She’s fine.” He turned those eyes on me and waved a hand. “Tell him. I didn’t do anything to you.”

I crawled to my feet, my legs a bit wobbly beneath me. Clearing my throat, I glared at Drake. “You’re such an ass,” I shouted before I marched out of the room and back into the hallway, not waiting to see what they said.

I should have been panicking for calling my boss, well, one of my bosses, an ass, but he’d started it. He’d flashed me and then proceeded to molest me. Okay, so it wasn’t like I didn’t enjoy it but still.

Ugh. Fucking men.

Hushed voices followed me as I moved away from Drake’s door and to his brother Allister’s. I held my breath and hoped that he wasn’t in there as well. If one twin was like that, then the other probably was as well.

Thankfully, Allister was in his bathroom when I entered. I dropped his bag off and darted out of the room before I caught him with his pants down as well. I finished handing out the other bags to Wynn and Marcus, the latter probably still reaming into Drake about breaking the rules.

Fucking deserved it too.

Finally, all I had left was Antoine’s, the one I was least excited to deliver.

I paused outside of his door, contemplating leaving the bag on the floor and making for my room. Come on, Piper. He’s just a man. If you can’t handle being in the same room as them, then you can’t do this job. And we need this job.

Mustering up all my courage, I knocked on the door. The sound so much louder than I expected it to be and I waited for no more than a second before a voice from inside answered.

“Enter.”

With my nerves already on edge, I slowly opened the door. Antoine stood by his window, looking at some papers. The drapes were pulled back for once so that the night sky could be seen. It was a beautiful sight but paled in comparison to the man before me.

Someone shouldn’t look so good in just slacks and a white button-down shirt. His long blonde hair was braided down his back, and his pale eyes intensely stared at the papers in his hands. He didn’t even look up from them when I entered the room.

“I have your laundry.” I held the bag up lamely.

“Put it over there.” Antoine gestured his hand flippantly to the dresser.

Nodding, I moved over to the large dresser and sat the bag down. I was surprised they hadn’t asked me to fold and put up their clothes as well, but as Darren had informed me, they were each particular about their things and didn’t want me snooping.

Ha! Me? Snoop? I didn’t care a flip about these bastards. I just wanted to do my job and get paid. Maybe once I saved enough, I could get a different job and my own apartment.

One could dream.

I made my way back to the door but stopped, my eyes going back to Antoine who hadn’t moved or looked up from his papers. Should I say goodnight? He had told me not to speak unless spoken to which I had already messed up when I entered his room. So, I couldn’t very well get in any more trouble by being polite. Right?

“Good night, Master Durand.” The words had barely left my mouth before Antoine called out to me.

“Miss Billings.”

“Yes?” I turned back to him to see his eyes locked onto me. There was burning anger there that threw me back and put me in fear for my job.

“Since you seem to have a complete disregard for my rules, let me remind you. This is your job, not someplace to get your jollies on.”

For a second, I thought he was talking about how I masturbated in the shower this morning. How the hell did he know I had done that? Did he have cameras or something in there? Out of all the outrageous things he could have done.

“Are you spying on me?” I snapped, horror filling my face. “How dare you? Just because I have to live here didn’t mean you have the right to watch me in my private moments. Of all the fucking disturbing shi—”

“Enough.” Antoine held a hand up. “I can assure you I have no idea what you are talking about. I couldn’t care less about what you do in your private time. I’m talking about the rules you have been breaking.”

My face burned for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He hadn’t been spying on me while I rubbed one off to the thought of his brother. In fact, I had just told him I’d been doing just that thing. Then my embarrassment turned to anger when I understood what he was implying.

“Wait a second,” I started again, realizing what he was talking about. “I’m not the one who’s been trying to get their jollies on. I’m just doing my job.”

“And breaking rules,” Antoine shot back, “or did you not speak to me when you entered before I spoke to you?” He arched an elegant eyebrow, and I wanted to punch him in the face.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I frowned. “Well, excuse me if I find it common courtesy to let someone know what they are doing in their room. I’m only human.”

Antoine’s eyes scanned over my form, and he seemed to relax slightly. “Yes, so you are. However, in the future, I expect you to be seen and not heard. Preferably unseen as well. Then we won’t have any of issues of boundaries being overstepped. Am I clear?”

My fingers curled into fists, and I pressed my lips together tight. Forcing back the rude remark that was dying to come out, I simply nodded.

“Good.” Antoine turned his eyes back down to the papers in his hands before adding, “Good night, Miss Billings. Make sure you lock your door tonight.”

As I left his room and headed back to my own, Antoine’s words worried me. Were his brothers so hard up for female companionship that they would come into my room at night? Or was I being protected from something else? Either way, this job was getting weirder and weirder by the second. However, I was determined to be able to last until I could find another one.

If I could find another one.