Thanks to everyone who reviewed. This story is very different but that's half the fun of writing it. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 3

Club Azure, the next morning…

"Hi, Resa," Aubrey Matthews called out when Teresa walked into the club the next day.

Teresa murmured a reply and smiled at the girl but continued her purposeful stride towards Nick's office. She had a proposition for him and she was determined to force him to listen to her.

"Snotty bitch, just because she's sleeping with Nick she thinks she own the damn club," Layne Peters, one of the new girls whispered to her companion.

Teresa stopped in midstride and turned to glare at the buxom redhead who had made the catty comment.

"Were you talking to me, Lisa?" she asked icily, purposely mistaking the girl's name.

"No, I uh was talking to ah Molly," Layne replied nervously.

"Well if you want to keep your job, Lis- excuse me Layne, I suggest you learn the rules of the game first. You see I am not just "sleeping" with Nick, I am co-owner of this club and it's my job to make sure that all my girls get along. Club Azure doesn't tolerate cattiness or rudeness from its employees. Since you have so much free time on your hands why don't you read the employee manual you were supplied with until its time for you to practice your routine?" she ordered the insolent young woman haughtily before walking away.

Entering Nick's office she smiled when she saw him leaning over his desk, tortoise shell glasses perched on his nose and his face set in a scowl. Nick hated bookkeeping as much as she did but since she managed the creative side of the club that thankless job fell to him.

"Care for a break?" she called from the doorway then laughed when Nick blinked at her owlishly.

"Good, you're right on time. Could you look over these figures for me?" he asked hopefully.

"Nice try Slick but I'm not falling for it. I did however bring lunch by," she replied pointing to a white paper bag and unwrapping two meatball and mozzarella subs.

"I love you babe," Nick murmured gratefully grabbing his sandwich with one hand and tugging her into his lap with the other. Teresa carefully schooled her features so he couldn't see how much she hated the casual contact.

It wasn't just Nick per se; she hated having anyone touch her, and couldn't bear even the most informal touch since the night…since the night she had been raped. When Nick had told her he wanted her to "dance" at his club she had almost retched and she'd had to teach herself to give him unlimited access to her body.

"But it was worth it," she told herself and she knew that it was true.

Nick was a generous lover and as an exotic dancer at his club she'd squirreled enough money to put a down payment on the house she'd wanted and the car she needed. When Nick had given her half of the shares of his club she'd been ecstatic for she finally had the stability she had dreamed of and could begin to plan Cody's future. While outsiders thought of her as materialistic she viewed herself as pragmatic. Her body was her biggest asset and she had used it wisely. Now she was ready to move to the next stage of her plan.

"Nick, I want to open up a boutique," she told her lover calmly and without a trace of the nervousness that skittered along her spine.

"Resa, we've been over this," Nick began but seeing the determination on her face he sighed and gave in. He wasn't a fool and he knew that Teresa didn't love him. He also knew she didn't enjoy his lovemaking as much as she pretended. But he loved her and was willing to do anything to make her happy.

"Nick, I really think I could make this work for the kind of shop I want is very, very unique," she told him excitedly and Nick felt a spark of interest in her idea despite his misgivings.

It wasn't that he didn't believe in Teresa's capabilities, it was that such an expedition would be costly and with all the shops that lined Fisherman's wharf he thought it was doomed to failure. But Teresa was a shrewd businesswoman and that's why he had given her shares in his club, despite rumors to the contrary.

"What do you have in mind, mi cielo?" he asked with a slight smile, his eyes widening in admiration as she outline her plans.

"Por Dios, you never cease to amaze me, amor mio. You are right, this could make us a ton of money," he added pressing a soft kiss on her mouth and ignoring the slight tremor of her body at his touch.

"I want to call the shop "La Fiera Gitana" what do you think?" she asked.

"The Fiery Gypsy, it has a nice ring to it," he mused.

"Oh Nick, I have so many plans," she cried excitedly and Nick felt a rush of pleasure rush over him. Teresa was the only woman he'd ever really loved and he would go to his grave loving her. And beware the fool who tried to steal her away.

"I do not want to talk business anymore, Chiquita," he whispered huskily molding her slight form to his aroused body and slowly removing the straps of her halter style dress.

When he began suckling her breasts she kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut and made the appropriate noises when it seemed to be required. Nick had a beautiful body, smooth and toned and Teresa knew that the other girls envied her the exclusive use of it but neither his body nor his hands offered Teresa any true pleasure. She had sex with him because he expected it and because she could find no way around it. She pretended to enjoy it because she knew that Nick really and truly loved her. And in her own way she cared for him.

Nick Bozman had been kind to her when she'd arrived in San Francisco three years ago, alone, penniless and pregnant. He'd fed her, clothed her, and given her shelter and had treated her as an equal and not the green girl she'd been. He didn't pressure her into accepting the job he'd offered her or into becoming his lover but even as she'd accepted his help she'd know that a price would be exacted for his generosity. No one did anything for free and only fools and innocents believed otherwise. Teresa had never been a fool and she could no longer be considered an innocent.

"Sweet, you're so sweet," Nick whispered and Teresa forced her body to respond to his teasing caresses. When he lay replete and satisfied beside her, she let out a soft sigh of relief and because he had taken such care with her she pressed a soft kiss on his mouth before disentangling herself from his arms and walking to the adjoining bathroom. Shutting the door tightly behind her, she quickly turned on the shower to muffle the sound of her sobs and leaning against the tiled wall she finally let the tears she'd held at bay fall. Quickly slipping off the robe she had put on she climbed into the shower and let the scalding hot water sluice over her as she poured a goodly amount of soap unto a washcloth and started rubbing her skin clean.

Her life had changed forever that rainy night and though three years had passed she could recall every instant with perfect detail. She'd been in tears when she had left the Crane Mansion and hadn't been aware of her surroundings. When she had turned the corner that led to the house she had heard the heavy footsteps behind her and her heart had begun to pound madly. Going on instinct she'd tried to run but her assailant had been too swift.

"Please, let me go, let me go," Teresa screamed at her captor, kicking and clawing as she tried to save herself from the horror that awaited her. Raising one knee the way she had been taught in self-defense she tried to kick him in the groin but he anticipated her move and managed to side step it. Knowing what would happen if she didn't fight, she made herself go limp in his arms and when he pulled her to hard ground she clawed at his face with one hand as she kicked his groin with her left knee. When he whimpered, she scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could.

"Don't look back, don't look back. Run, just run as fast as you can," her mind screamed and Teresa tried to comply but before she could make it too far she felt her attacker pull her roughly against him.

"Stupid bitch, did you really think you'd get away," he murmured and then backhanded her with such force that she fell to the floor in a dead faint.

When she awakened she felt him pulling at her clothes and the night air felt cool against her bare skin. She could feel the hard bulge of his arousal pressing against her thighs and his hard hands roughly pawing her breasts and she wanted to vomit. When he tangled his hands in her hair and forced his mouth down on hers, the smell of the whiskey on his breath made her nauseas and a small moan escaped her lips.

"Like that do you?" her tormentor whispered forcing his tongue inside her mouth as he continued to maul her breasts.

Teresa squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that someone would come rescue her.

"Fox, help me," she screamed, tears seeping down her cheeks but there was no one to hear her pleas.

When her captor undid his trousers and roughly thrust into her, Teresa let out a loud wail that came from the depth of her soul. Her captor glared at her from eyes as blue as the summer sky and slapped her hard. Biting her lip so hard it bled, Teresa continued to weep but her tears were silent for she had finally realized that rescue would not be forthcoming and that her nightmare had just begun.

Teresa scrubbed her body until her soft skin was covered in red blotches but nothing could erase her memories and the sensation that her body had been soiled for all time. She felt dirty and used inside and there was no soap that could wash away those feelings.

When she stepped out of the shower, she saw her red, blotchy eyes and her pale face and grimaced. She couldn't let Nick see her like that. He knew nothing about her past and she meant to keep it like that.

"I can't let myself fall apart like this," she muttered as she pulled a brush through her tangled hair. "I won't let myself fall apart," she whispered determinedly.

She'd chosen this life for herself and for her child and there was no going back. Tears would solve nothing and only made her weak when she needed to be strong. Cody had no family but her and she didn't have time for useless regrets. She'd made her bed and now she had to lie in it. Or die trying.