The Enemy Beside Me

Chapter Eight

Scar

This damn woman was infuriating. If I was smart, I would charge into her room, force her onto her stomach and have my way with her, but that's not the kind of guy I want to be. As much as I hated her, I also respected her deeply. Most women in her predicament would have broken already. Not this woman. She was tough and strong, qualities that I'm sure her father taught her beginning at a young age.

I went to bed without bothering her. I'm sure she expected me to go into that room furious with the little stunt she pulled. Sometimes it was better to be underestimated, and knowing that it wouldn't happen with this woman often, I would take it when the opportunity presented itself.

Before the sun rose, I got out of bed and went for a long run. I needed to clear my mind as Constance had taken over my sense to tell what the right thing was to do anymore. I'm not sure why I let her affect me as much as I have. All I can say is that she has taken me by surprise. She was the daughter of my biggest enemy, yet I didn't have the ability to kill her. It should have been done the moment I knew who she was. I let her affect me so much to the point I couldn't even kill her when I knew that it was the only thing I had to use against Ambrose.

Once I got back to my place, Constance was in the kitchen cooking what I presumed to be breakfast. I wanted to walk over there and demand an answer about her behavior last night. No woman had teased me like that before and got away with walking off before finishing the job. However, I knew if I walked over there, my anger would spike due to her smart-ass mouth, and there was no telling what I would do then. So, I ignored her completely and walked into my bedroom to shower and change.

I will have to get back to work today. My presence would be expected at the warehouse, and if I didn't show, it would set a precedent that I couldn't have happen. It would give people a reason to come after me, thinking that I either didn't take my job seriously or something had distracted me from my work. That couldn't happen, even for a beautiful woman like Constance.

Just as I finished getting dressed, my phone rang. I picked it up without looking at the name. "Scar."

"How did it go? Tell me you either killed her or f****d her," my good friend Lance stated. He was the one that I had made a phone call to after she shot me. So, he was the only one to know anything other than myself.

I walked over to my dresser and placed a tie around my shirt, taking my time to make it look perfect before answering. "Neither. Constance has a way about herself, is all I will say. Have you checked into her parents like I asked?"

"Yeah, I did. From what I found out, it could be a few weeks before her parents reach out to her. Constance is a photographer. That means she can go weeks without contacting them if she is working on something important for her upcoming album. The one you will need to worry about is her friend, Angie. She and Constance are fairly close, so I assume she will realize something is up when her friend doesn't attend school on Monday."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, frustrated with this unexpected news. Obviously, her parents would be a problem, but I didn't consider that she had any close friends that would ask questions if she wasn't around. Just another thing that I've underestimated about this woman.

Lance took my silence as my only response before he continued. "We can discuss it more in person if you would like. Do you want me to come to your place, or are you coming to the warehouse today?"

"I'll be in. You know as well as anyone that those boys will try to move in on my territory if I don't show up. We can't let that happen."

He coughed, unexpecting my response. "Um, okay. What are you going to do with the girl? You can't exactly bring her to the warehouse unless you want her to end up in the arms of every guy on the floor."

That statement pissed me off more than it should. My jaw clenched the instant I thought of another man touching Constance other than myself. "Not going to happen. I know you wanted to work today, but can you babysit instead? I just need to go in for a few hours, get some paperwork done, then I'll be back. You can go in then and run the backline."

"Come on, man! The last thing that I want to do is babysit your prisoner. Scar, I have a specific skill set that allows me to do my job well. Babysitting isn't in my job description. Can't you find someone else more qualified to handle this type of situation?"

"I don't trust just anyone, Lance. You will make sure she doesn't escape. If I bring anyone else in, they will either force themselves on her or let her escape. I can't allow either of those to happen. Lance, I was asking out of respect for you. Don't make me force you to do this."

Even though Lance was a close friend of mine, we were still business partners. I founded our business and brought him in as a favor. We built a close relationship only once we worked together for a few years. Honestly, I viewed him more as a brother than anyone else, but I don't tend to disclose that information to him. If I did, he would get a big head about it, and I'd never hear the end of it.

"Alright. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Warn her not to do anything stupid because if she tries something slick, I won't hesitate to put my hands on her. If you don't want her hurt, I suggest you give her the rundown first."

I ended my conversation and put on my slick black shoes before walking out of my bedroom. Constance was sitting at the kitchen table with a plate full of food in front of her. I was surprised to see a plate across from her, where I usually sat with a cup of fresh coffee beside it.

Without looking at her, I sat down and began digging in only after I saw her eating from her plate. There wasn't anything in my place that she had access to that she could poison me with, but I wanted to be sure before taking that first bite. My silence must have started to tick her off because she threw her fork down onto the plate, hoping to get my attention.

Constance huffed, but I still refused to look at her, paying attention to the meal in front of me. "Aren't you going to thank me for breakfast? I went out of my way when I didn't have to."

"No."

She threw her napkin at my face, finally grabbing the attention she was looking for. "You're an ass! I didn't have to cook you anything at all, especially after what you have done to me!"

I smirked, partially out of annoyance and somewhat out of entertainment. "After all that I've done to you? Bambina, if we are keeping count, you've done more damage to me than I have to you. I've gotten shot, hit, and teased by your touch. So, no. I won't thank you for this meal because you owe this to me. Keep up with that mouth of yours, and I won't continue to be so kind. There are many things that I could do to you that is far worse than the treatment you receive now. If you are feeling ungrateful, then maybe I'm being too kind to you."

Her mood instantly changed, seeing where I was going with this conversation. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes. I will be leaving today as I have some work at one of my warehouses. I have a friend that will be coming over to keep you company."

Constance instantly tensed. "No! Scar, please. Don't leave me in the hands of another man. If you want me all to yourself, this will be the biggest mistake you have ever made."

I stared into her eyes, seeing her vulnerability for the first time. She was normally so stuck up and strong that she didn't let any weakness shine through. Now that I've seen it, I felt bad instead of gleeful for finding that weakness to exploit. "Don't worry. Lance is a close friend, more like a brother. He won't lay his hands on you unless you give him a reason to. I would say that he is the more level-headed one out of the two of us. As long as you do not try to kill him or escape, you will be fine. If you feel the itch to do either of those things, he has my full approval to do what he must to subdue you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She rolled her eyes, clearly not happy with her current circumstance, but she knew she had no other option but to agree to my terms. The alternative was much worse for her. Even with that mouth and strong will, she was smart enough to take a step back when she knew she was outmatched. "I understand, Scar."

After I finished eating, I took my plate to the sink. I could hear her small footsteps following closely behind me. I couldn't help but want her more when she got close to me. It was like a primal desire to want her so much that I couldn't control my actions.

I grabbed her and forced her into my chest as I rested my hands on her curvy little hips. "Be smart and obey for once. You can fight with me all you want because I like the fight, but Lance will not put up with that s**t. He may be a level-headed guy, but he has a low tolerance for bullshit. Don't do anything to disappoint me, Bambina."

Her hair smelt divine, like she had freshly stepped out of the shower. Constance stood before me, fully clothed, still making me hard as a rock. She may be my enemy, but I couldn't deny our s****l chemistry. It floated in the air around us, making it hard to ignore.

Because I couldn't help myself, I placed a gentle kiss against the side of her neck. "So f*****g sexy," I muttered as I planted another kiss. Even with little contact, my body reacted to hers in a way it didn't with any other woman I'd been with. She didn't even have to try, and she had me craving her taste.

Constance's heartbeat picked up a little more, but she didn't make an attempt to stop me. Times like these were when I knew she was fighting with her body's wants. Surprisingly, she wrapped her arms behind my neck and kissed equally gently against the side of my neck. No longer able to control myself, I picked her up and sat her on the kitchen counter. I moved between her legs and roughly began to kiss her delicate skin down to the crease of her cleavage. Constance didn't mean to, trying to fight me even though she wanted me, but I could hear the faint moan escape her lips.

I was making progress, but that was short-lived when the elevator beeped, and Lance stepped inside. I quickly pulled away from Constance for a few reasons. I didn't want Lance to know the power this woman already had over me in such a short amount of time, but I also didn't want to think this was something more than it was.

It was difficult to hide my junk now that I was fully erect and harder than I'd been in a long time, but I made it work before he ultimately came into view. Constance slipped off the counter, not making eye contact with me. She probably felt ashamed about what she allowed to just happen, but I was anything but ashamed. It gave me something to continue once I returned home.

"Hey man," Lance said as he rounded the corner. He took one look at Constance, and his eyebrows rose. "Wow," was all he said, but it was enough to piss me off.

"This is Constance. She has been downloaded on what to expect and what will happen if she breaks that expectation." I walked closer to him so only he could hear me. "If something happens, call me."

Lance nodded. "Not a problem."

I didn't bother looking at Constance again since I knew she wouldn't be looking at me. I grabbed my bag and walked out with one single thought in my mind. I couldn't wait to get back home and pick up where we had left off.