Chapter 31
Two Buckets of Bait
Stella looked down at the young man sleeping peacefully on her bed, a thin ray of sunshine stealing through the crack in the curtains to cast warm highlights over his nude body. It was such a contrast to the night before, when everything had seemed so hurried and out of control. As a woman of the streets she should have been used to it, but something about her lover's actions just didn't sit well with her; he had seemed so angry...so lost.
She shook her head sadly and placed the plate of warm toast she had just made on the nightstand, sitting carefully on the edge of the mattress so as not to wake him. It was painful knowing that nothing would ever come of their relationship – things like love or loyalty could never form a part of her world – but that wouldn't stop her from making the most of it while it lasted.
The woman took a bite of her breakfast, the thin layer of strawberry jam doing little to abate the unpleasant sensation of otherwise dry toast scraping her raw throat. Still, a thin layer was better than nothing, which was what she would be having for the rest of the week thanks to Sean's intervention. Damn it, if only he'd come to her after a few customers...
Chewing slowly, Stella watched on silently as Sean stirred slightly and rolled onto his back, hiding his delicious ass but revealing those amazing abs and even more amazing manhood. She sighed as he settled again, the faint sound of his breathing having and almost hypnotic effect on her. Stella allowed her gaze to roam freely over his form, no shame in her thoughts as she replayed the events of the night before over and over in her mind. Just where had this Adonis come from?
And why on Earth would he choose to return to her? Really?
Her eyes fell upon the young man's right shoulder, old white scars marring the otherwise perfectly tanned flesh. The half-eaten piece of toast in Stella's hand slipped from her fingers. That...that wasn't right...
She knew there had been something bothering her as he had had his way with her, other than his demeanour of course, but at the time she had been too busy to put a finger on it.
His scars...
He had been stabbed, just a few nights before...his wounds should have still been raw; red and scabbed over...
And... Her gaze slipped down to the right side of his torso.
Three more scars. They definitely hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him.
Stella's fingers moved with a life of their own, reaching under his back to trail over the white lines that stretched around over his ribs and down towards his hip. Her invasive journey had nearly reached its end when suddenly her lover's piercing green eyes shot open and he sat up with a start, sending Stella sprawling backwards off the bed.
"What the frag!" the young man cried, looking around wildly, his arms raised defensively.
His eyes fell upon Stella. "Female! What the slag were you playing at?"
Stella felt her heart pounding ferociously against her ribs as Sean glared angrily down at her. Despite herself she couldn't help but back away slightly as he climbed onto his knees and leaned threateningly over her, his chest heaving in what was left of his shock.
"I..ah...I'm sorry, Sean, it's just that I –"
"Save it, you pathetic creature, I don't want to hear your excuses." He stood up and stepped over her, making his way to the place on the floor where his underwear had ended up the night before.
Dark eyes watched him cautiously as he pulled on the garment and started searching around for his other clothes. Mmm...such a perfect ass... As Stella sat up and drew her knees underneath her, she contemplated the idea of remaining silent; obviously some of the darkness of the night before was still lingering within her young lover. But curiosity found the better of her – or was it yearning – and she found herself speaking before she could stop herself.
"Sean...?"
"What?" he spat as he turned his jeans the right way out, refusing to look back at her.
"Your shoulder...you...you were stabbed the other night..."
"Yes? And your point is?"
"Your scar...it looks so old...like...like it had happened years ago."
Sean visibly stiffened.
"And the scars on your side. They weren't there when I saw you last."
"You're obviously blind then."
"Honey, I pay attention to guys with bodies like yours. Those three scars were definitely not there the other night. And even if they were, sugar, that shoulder of yours shouldn't look like that."
The young man turned around, slowly, a strange look of fear, almost, colouring his facial features. That look, however, quickly gave way to that increasingly familiar sneer of anger. "Well, it's none of your business what my shoulder looks like, so you'd do well in ceasing your pointless line of questioning."
"Gee, no need to get all pissy over it," Stella spat back as she pulled herself to her feet. "Sorry for being concerned about you, asshole."
"It's not your place to be concerned, female, so stick with what you're good at," Sean said as he pulled on his jeans and sat down on the couch.
"Anything for you, sugar," Stella replied as she crossed the room and knelt before him. "But seriously, Sean, you seem to get yourself into trouble all the time, and now that you've made an enemy of Kane... Well, I just hope you won't end up like all the other guys that have crossed him."
"If you're suggesting that I'll end up dead, then you're sorely mistaken."
Stella's fingers once again made their way to Sean's torso, tracing the white marks that somehow seemed to add to the deliciousness of that perfect body. "Be cocky all you want, sugar, but trust me, Kane always wins in the end. I don't know where you came from, I don't know what you're after; but I know how it will end. I've been around long enough to know that much. Just promise me one thing, sugar. Give him hell while you can, fuck knows he deserves it. And if you ever need anything, anything, come to me first. Ok, sugar?"
Stella smiled as Sean glanced down at her through half-closed eyes. Obviously, he was enjoying the attentions she was paying him.
"It's not a matter of being cocky, female, it's the pure truth. That piece of shit Kane might have won a few battles in the past, but he's never come across someone like me before. He will die at my hands, have no doubt about that."
"I hope so, sugar, I hope so." Stella placed her hands between Sean's thighs and pushed them apart, placing herself between them with a smirk. It felt good to see him beginning to relax under her touch, and the fury of the night before seemed to ebb away as his familiar arrogance took over once again. "Now, do you want to tell me what got you so upset last night?"
"No."
The woman leaned forward as her fingers moved to explore Sean's chest, a playful tongue tracing the first of three scars on his side.
"Well, something obviously got you riled up last night sugar, you were very rude, you know?
Stella's tongue glided along the second scar.
"It's none of your business, female."
"Hmm, I think it is when you chase away a client and treat me the way you did. Not that I'm complaining, honey, although I would have preferred that you hadn't broken my coffee table..."
Her tongue traced over the third scar, stopping to kiss the mark where it disappeared beneath the fabric of his jeans.
"I just want you to know that I've been around these parts longer than you, honey, and if you do ever want to talk about something, or forget about something, you know where I am. I know I have certain talents, but I'm good for more than that too, if you ever need it. Ok, sugar?"
Sean grunted in response as he leaned his head back, his eyes closed. Stella's mouth continued its journey over his torso as her fingers began to slowly unzip his jeans again. She knew she had more to offer than just her sexual skills, but until he was willing to accept more from her she would happily give him what he wanted. If nothing else it would help him relax, and for some reason, it seemed that was something he needed.
His secrets could wait...for now.
It was always the same thing. High heels against high heels, scornful stares, hypocritical words that sometimes fell into obvious sarcasm… Stella could pinpoint the exact moment in which it had happened, the day after Alpha, the oldest of Kane's girls, passed away after spending an intense night with one demanding customer. That was what Stella and the others were told, but rumours said that Kane had just gotten tired of her.
But no matter what had happened, Stella had officially become Alpha's substitute and thus privileges started to turn into burdens. After six years of being the queen of the street, Stella began to see other girls, younger and considerably prettier than her, getting hold of her former status. Her corner was the first loss; other heels started to walk it. Then she lost the best customers; men always preferred younger chicks and she surrendered her right to be picky. When Stella started to exile the word 'no' for good, she understood that the good times had come to an end.
It all went downhill from there. Stella had to learn to have two meals a day instead of three, to make her dresses and her lipstick last a bit – and then a lot – longer, to renounce dignity for a two digit bill, but most importantly, to realize that hope would always be impossible. She would spend the rest of her life living by the day, pleasing men and women she hadn't chosen and that only saw her as a one-night object of pleasure, quickly used and even more quickly forgotten.
But she couldn't have been more oblivious of such matters as she climbed the last set of stairs to the fourth floor of the heavily guarded building. For the first time in the last ten years, scornful stares and murmuring didn't get to her, spellbound as she was by the touch of her lover. She could still feel Sean devouring her with his kisses, his hands taking possession of every inch of her skin, his delicious masculinity moving inside of her and pushing her to extremes of pleasure that not even she had ever grazed… He was the only man that had been with her more than twice, aside from Kane himself and high school boyfriends she had had in a time in which she still believed in fairy tales.
She smiled as she faced the juvenile faces of three new girls that were waiting outside the door. Young, promising flesh as they were, she was sure they had never had a guy like Sean in their beds and probably never would . But she had. Sean had gone to her and had stayed. Beautiful and arrogant as he was, he had chosen her. She was certain that he would be gone as unexpectedly as he had arrived, but she would make sure to make every one of their nights together a paradise to remember.
But her smile erased as soon as she caught sight of the man guarding the god damned door and what was behind it. She couldn't forget that her visit had a purpose.
"Well, hello Stel. We were expecting you yesterday, precious. A little late to pay your weekly fees," Pete greeted her. The bandage covering his nose gave her endless satisfaction, as she knew very well who had hurt that asshole.
"I want to talk to Kane," she said curtly. She didn't owe Pete, or anybody else, any explanations. Perhaps she was second hand pussy, but she still had some rights around there.
"Mm," the mustached man said, rubbing his chin. "So you want to talk to Mister Kane? I'm afraid he's a little busy right now… but you are so lucky, girl. He was asking for you this morning."
He opened the door with hypocritical courtesy. Stella entered only to be received by the unmistakable smell of the smoke of Kane's Cuban cigars. Even when he fucked her, he always had one of those smelly things in his mouth. At least they kept him from kissing her.
She found Kane at the back of the room, comfortably sat on the big, cozy couch she knew too well, his white suit partially wrinkled and Cree, the big breasted, twenty three year old prostitute with arrogant eyelashes, within Kane's big arms. Cree was the one who proudly possessed Stella's old scepter, although Stella was sure that the young whore was very far from reaching her sexual skills.
"Ah, Stel, what a pleasant surprise! I was about to send for you, actually. Please, serve yourself," Kane said, pointing toward a line of cocaine on the table.
Stella sat carefully on the smaller couch beside Kane and ignored the offer. The last thing she needed was to increase her debts.
"I'll get you the rest in a couple of days," she said, extracting a small sash of small denomination bills from her purse and placing them on the table, beside the cocaine.
Kane exhaled a mouthful of smoke and rested the hand holding his cigar on his knee. "Sure, sweetheart, you know I can't deny you anything … although I can't help but wonder why you failed in reaching your quota this week. It's true that your corner is visited less and less every day, but you always manage to get my money."
The insolent fucker… Stella bowed her head slightly. "I… had some issues this week."
"I'm sure you did," he said calmly. "Otherwise why would you reject a client who would have paid you what you still owe me and a little bit more, mmh?"
Stella bit her lower lip. Shit, he knew… of course he knew. Nothing happened in the streets without Kane finding out.
"But more than rejecting a client, what surprised me the most was to find out that you had a special customer last night… I wasn't aware you were friends with pretty boy Latta. Tell me, sweetheart, how much did he pay you? Because I'm assuming he paid you, right?"
Stella's heart started to beat faster as she forced herself to speak. "He didn't have money."
Kane smoked from his cigar once again before continuing speaking. "That's strange. Last time I saw the fucker, he had his pockets full with my money."
Stella was perfectly aware that she was in a very dangerous zone. It had been a while since she had daydreamed, but returning to the habit that reminded her of happier days had also blinded her. She couldn't forget, not even for a moment, that Sean was somehow involved with Kane's gang.
"I wouldn't know anything about that," she said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Kane stood up and signaled her to do the same. When she complied, he softly grabbed her arm and guided her toward the window.
"Stel, sweetheart, I don't need to tell you that everything works down there because I make rules and people obey them. And as insignificant as it seems, you failing to reach your quota creates a fracture, especially considering the reason why you didn't reach said quota."
Stella swallowed, the gentle grip on her arm as comforting as a knife. "I understand", she muttered.
Kane slowly shook his head. "I have no problems with you having friends, you know that, but we are talking about something else here. You see, sweetheart, having Sean Latta close to you is definitely a very bad idea."
Stella groaned when Kane tightened the grip on her arm, but that was nothing compared to her cry when the bearded man decided her skin would be a proper place to try to extinguish his cigar.
"AAAAAH! Please don't!"
Kane smiled candidly at the squirming woman in his grip. "Stel, Stel, Stel… what am I going to do with you? I have been nothing but generous to you for almost seventeen years, and this is how you repay me?"
"I didn't know… aaah… I didn't…"
"I have some unfinished issues with that motherfucker, and don't you dare tell me that you didn't know because I hate it when my people think they can fool me. And you do know what I do when somebody tries to fool me, don't you?"
"Y-yes… please stop… it hurts… I can't take it anymore…" Stella pleaded, the pain in her arm unbearable.
"I expect twice your fee by the end of the week," Kane said calmly as if she hadn't spoken at all, continuing to burn Stella's forearm with the damn cigar. "And I expect you to stay away from that punk. Next time I may not be this generous. You are warned, my dear."
When he released her, Stella fell to her knees, the foolish giggling of Cree drilling her ears.
"You may leave now, sweetheart. As you can see, I was busy," Kane said, returning to the couch and sitting Cree on his lap.
Stella rubbed the tears down her cheeks and stood up laboriously, her arm still burning like hell. Pain was no stranger to her, neither humiliation, but the loss of the one part of her life that made her happy was not even to be considered.
She reached the door with one single thought in mind. She wouldn't give up Sean, no matter what Kane said or did, she wouldn't give up the man that had given her a reason to feel alive.
"I don't know how you stand her, honey, really… She would do better doing handjobs in an asylum," Cree said, laughing at her own joke.
Kane lifted up the pink top of the woman sitting on his legs. "She had better times, and she worked hard for me during those years."
Cree hugged him by the neck. "That's why I love you, honey, you have such a big heart…"
The young woman reached out to the line of cocaine resting on the table. Kane smirked lecherously. Cree was a delicious mixture of zero brains and big tits. Her behavior grazed both innocence and perversion so easily. It reminded him of a young Stella sometimes, without the attitude of course. Stella had never been able to stop mouthing off at him, no matter how hard he punished her. It was such a shame that years and vice had had their way with her and stepped on her beauty. Besides looking considerably older than her thirty six years, there was something abandoned in Stella's features. She looked tired, withered somehow. He really only kept her around because of her remarkable sexual skills. That's why he had been surprised, almost shocked, to see that light shining in her eyes again.
And there was no doubt that Latta was the one to blame. Kane didn't know why he was so fascinated by that punk; he just couldn't stop thinking about him. He had spent days looking for the young man's origins, only to find that he had popped out of nowhere. No traces of his past or his whereabouts. It was as if he had never existed and suddenly had appeared in one of the most dangerous areas of Portland. There was something very strange about him, something that Kane couldn't have named. It was like that anonymous, good looking prick was one of a kind, and a kind that Kane, a profound human connoisseur, was unable to classify.
He rubbed Cree's chin affectionately, an idea taking shape in his mind. "There's something I want you to do for me, Cree."
Cree just smiled, like the perfect bait she was.
To be continued.
Ok people, two more new characters – a box of energon goodies for the first person to work out where the names came from. As always, a massive thank you to those of you who left us a review, your words are always appreciated!
Note by Taipan Kiryu: iratepirate will be overseas for a while, so we won't be updating very soon. Good news is that at the end of her trip she will come to Mexico to spend two weeks with me, so expect an update of at least one of our joint stories once that happens. Even though I plan to keep her intoxicated with tequila all the time, we will make some time to write an update physically together. After almost three years of chatting through cyberspace, we are really looking forward to doing it face to face!