Filthy Little Desires

CHAPTER SIX STORYII

My Best Friend's Dad Wants Me

Maya woke up alone in the massive hotel bed.

For a moment she forgot where she was. Then the soft sheets, the unfamiliar ceiling, and the faint scent of Richard’s cologne on the pillow reminded her. She was in Chicago. In a suite that cost more per night than her rent. And her best friend’s father had spent the entire previous night inside her.

She sat up slowly. Her body ached in the best way. There were faint bruises on her hips shaped like his fingers and a dark mark on the side of her breast where he had bitten her. She touched it and felt heat rise in her cheeks all over again.

A note sat on the nightstand in Richard’s handwriting:

*Meetings until 4. Stay in the suite. Be naked when I get back.

— R*

Maya bit her lip.

She ordered room service, took a long bath, and tried to watch television, but her mind kept drifting. Every time she closed her eyes she felt him again, the way he had held her down, the way he had made her come until she was crying, the way he had looked at her afterward like she already belonged to him completely.

By noon she was restless and aching.

She walked around the suite naked, just like he had ordered, but the empty rooms felt too quiet. She tried touching herself on the big couch, eyes closed, pretending her fingers were his, but it wasn’t the same. She needed him. The realization scared her.

At 1:30 she made a decision she would later regret.

She got dressed in a simple black dress and heels, left her phone in the suite, and went downstairs. Just for a little while, she told herself. Just to walk around the hotel and clear her head.

The hotel was attached to a large conference center. Business people moved through the lobby in expensive suits. Maya felt young and out of place, but also strangely free. No one here knew she was supposed to be at her grandparents’ house. No one knew she was sleeping with her best friend’s father.

She wandered into one of the smaller lounges where a group of well-dressed men and women were laughing and drinking. One of the women, elegant and in her thirties, noticed Maya standing alone and smiled.

“You look lost,” the woman said. “Are you here for the conference?”

Maya shook her head. “Just staying at the hotel.”

The woman introduced herself as Celeste and invited her to sit. The group was friendly, charming, and clearly wealthy. They bought Maya a drink. Then another. They asked her questions and laughed at her answers. For the first time in days Maya felt like a normal twenty-two-year-old instead of a secret.

Then Celeste smiled and said, “We’re about to play a little private game upstairs. High stakes, high rewards. You should join us. It’s exclusive.”

Maya hesitated. Richard’s warning echoed in her head: *Stay in the suite.*

But the alcohol and the attention made her reckless.

“Okay,” she said.

They took a private elevator to a high floor she hadn’t seen before. The suite they entered was even larger than Richard’s. Soft music played. There were more people inside, mostly men, a few women. The atmosphere felt expensive and slightly dangerous.

Celeste explained the game with a sweet smile. It started as simple card games and dares for money. Maya won the first two rounds. She was laughing, slightly tipsy, when the stakes suddenly changed.

“Now we play for something more interesting,” one of the men said. His eyes lingered on Maya’s body. “If you lose the next round, you owe the table a private hour. Any way we want it.”

Maya’s smile faltered. “I don’t… I think I should go.”

Celeste’s hand settled on her wrist, gentle but firm. “You already agreed to play, sweetheart. Walking out now would be rude. And expensive.”

Fear finally cut through the alcohol. Maya tried to stand, but two of the men blocked her path. The friendly atmosphere had vanished. The smiles were gone.

“Sit down,” one of them said quietly. “You’re going to finish the game.”

Maya’s heart slammed against her ribs. She was suddenly very aware that she had left her phone in Richard’s suite. No one knew where she was.

The next round of cards was clearly rigged. She lost.

The man who had spoken earlier stood up and held out his hand. “Come with me. The rest of you can watch or wait your turn.”

Maya’s voice shook. “Please. I have money. I can pay...”

“We don’t want your money.”

They were already pulling her toward one of the bedrooms when the main door of the suite opened.

Richard walked in.

He was still in his full business suit, expression completely calm, but his eyes were the coldest Maya had ever seen them. He took in the scene in one glance, Maya’s frightened face, the men holding her arms, the rest of the group watching.

The entire room went silent.

Richard’s voice was quiet and deadly polite.

“Take your hands off her.”

The man holding Maya hesitated. “This is a private party. You weren’t invited.”

Richard walked further into the room, unbuttoning his suit jacket slowly. “She’s with me. And if any of you touch her again, I will end every single one of you in ways that will make the rest of your lives very short and very painful.”

Celeste tried to smile. “Richard? We didn’t know she belonged to anyone. She joined willingly.”

Richard’s gaze flicked to her, then back to the men. “She belongs to me. Now let her go before I lose my temper.”

Something in his voice made the men release Maya immediately. She stumbled forward. Richard caught her around the waist and pulled her behind him without ever looking away from the group.

“Apologize,” he said.

One of the men swallowed. “We’re sorry. We didn’t know she was yours.”

Richard stared at them for a long, heavy moment. Then he took Maya’s hand and walked her out of the suite without another word.

He didn’t speak in the elevator.

He didn’t speak in the hallway.

He only spoke once they were back inside their own suite and the door was locked.

He turned to her, eyes still cold with residual fury.

“I told you to stay here.”

Maya’s voice was small. “I’m sorry. I just… I got restless and...”

“You almost got sold for the night.” His voice was low and controlled, but she could hear the rage underneath. “Do you understand how close that was?”

Tears stung her eyes. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Richard stared at her for several long seconds. Then he exhaled slowly, some of the ice leaving his expression. He pulled her against his chest and held her tightly.

“You’re not leaving this suite again without me,” he said into her hair. “Not for the rest of the trip. Do you understand?”

Maya nodded against his chest, still shaking.

Richard pulled back just enough to look at her face. His thumb brushed away a tear.

“I’m going to punish you for scaring me like that,” he said quietly. “But first I’m going to remind you who you belong to.”

He kissed her hard, possessive and deep, then started undressing her with rough, urgent hands. Maya let him. She needed the reminder just as much as he did.

Richard f****d her against the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, one hand in her hair, the other gripping her hip hard enough to bruise. He made her come twice before he finally finished inside her, growling against her neck that she was never allowed to put herself in danger again.

Afterward he carried her to the bed and held her while her heart rate slowly returned to normal.

Outside the window, Chicago glittered.

Inside the suite, Maya realized two things with terrifying clarity:

She had almost lost everything today.

And Richard Hayes was far more dangerous — and far more possessive — than she had ever imagined.