Free Fighting Dirty: A Stepbrother Romance (When The Gloves Come Off Book 2) by Lila Moore Page B

wanted me to put on lingerie they were going to have to hold me down and dress me themselves. From what I’ve seen of Tony’s employees, I don’t think they’d have a problem with forcing me to dress. Maybe it was better to cooperate. There were no good choices, but dressing myself was probably better than being manhandled.
    I quickly changed my mind. If the only way to escape was to play along for a while, then that’s what I was going to do. This was about survival now.
    I pull the sheets off the bed and try to throw them over the mirror. There’s nothing to hang them on so they fall limply. I take a deep breath. It’s best to just get it over with. I pull off my clothes as quickly as possible then put on the negligee. Fashioning a tunic out of the sheets, I wrap it around me.
    Almost immediately the door opens. An older woman enters. Her hair is pulled up tightly in a severe bun. She wears cat-eye makeup that make her dark eyes pop. Her mouth twists into a grin as she surveys the strange outfit I’ve made out of the bed sheets.
    “I suppose that will have to do,” she says. “It took you long enough, but I figured you’d pass the test eventually.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I’ve been watching.” She nods towards the two-way mirror. “Your instructions were to dress, then wait. Most girl act defiantly. They don’t want to follow the rules. They get punished.”
    I swallow hard. The woman’s smile broadens. She can sense my fear; it gives her pleasure. She folds her hands in front of her and tilts her head to the side. She addresses me politely and professionally, as if we’re in a business meeting. In fact, she’s dressed like a businesswoman; she wears a black pencil skirt, stiletto heels and a flowing black blouse. It’s not the way I’d expect someone who works in a brothel to dress. Though I sensed this woman wasn’t an escort. She had a matronly vibe. She must be responsible for running things.
    “The test,” she continues, “was to see how long it would take you to wise up and dress yourself. You fell in line faster than most girls do. You can learn a lot about a girl by watching her adapt to her surroundings. You’re smart; I can tell. You’ll do well here.”
    She takes a step closer.
    “However, there is one little problem.”
    She walks over to me slowly. I take a step back. The woman frowns as if she’s disappointed by me. She reaches out and grabs the knot of bed sheets. She pulls hard and fast. My tunic falls around my feet. I’m standing before her in the black see-through negligee and nothing else.
    She inspects me closely. Her gaze doesn’t feel sexual, more like a mechanic examining a problem.
    “You forgot the stockings,” she says.
    She runs a finger down my side and over the curve of my hip. I jump. A new strange smile spreads across her face.
    “You’ve never been touched like this before, have you?”
    I don’t respond. I’m not going to discuss my virginity with this woman.
    “Unusual in a girl your age.”
    I straighten my back and try to act like her cold gaze and wandering hands don’t bother me.
    “They’re going to like you,” she says with a small laugh.
    “They?”
    “The clients. Tony wants to put you to work right away. Though I suspect when he learns you’re a virgin he’ll want to break you in himself.”
    She frowns with distaste. For a moment, I think she pities me. Then she adds: “It’s a shame. I could make a pretty penny selling the virginity of a girl like you.”
    I take a step back. The woman laughs.
    “Don’t act so timid. I know you’re much stronger than that.”
    I’m not sure she’s right, but I’m going to have to find strength if I’m going to survive this.
    “Come,” she says, beckoning me to follow her with a wave of her hand. “It’s time Tony gets a look at you.”

Liam
     
     
     
    The Russian could be leading me into a trap, but I have no choice but to follow him. We slip through the alleyway and into an