Chapter One
“There’s no way this is happening. You cannot sell a human. It’s wrong and illegal.”
Dawg Hampshire smiled as he watched Lori Kinsley argue her plight. The moment he’d made the suggestion to her father, he’d known she wouldn’t go down without a fight, but that was fine with him. He didn’t want a timid woman in his bed. No, the moment he saw Lori three years ago, on her twenty-fifth birthday, he’d wanted her. Of course, she’d not even looked twice at him. A man of his profession she steered well clear of, and he couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t a nice guy or a good guy. In fact, he even had the local law enforcement in his pocket, and he killed people on a daily basis. Those that didn’t pay up, he hurt.
Now, Lori’s father was a greedy man. Dawg had spotted it the moment he agreed to let the bastard loose on his payroll. For the most part, he’d done it for some amusement. Then he’d seen Lori. At first he thought she was just another woman in a long line of bitches he’d seen sniffing around the asshole. When he learned that she was Sean’s daughter, plans had started to form. She turned his offer of dinner down flat, not once but three times, and he’d seen the flash of fear in her eyes each time she did it.
Still, she’d kept her spine straight, and her stare firmly on his.
He’d admired that about her.
Of course, he loved a challenge, and with anyone willing to do anything for a price, he’d found out everything about her.
See, he didn’t just use the law to cover his back. He also liked to gather information.
Sitting in his home, Dawg stared over at the three men holding Sean down. The bastard already had a swollen eye and split lip, but that was fine.
Before her arrival, Sean had told him he’d do anything, and Dawg only wanted one thing from this man; his daughter.
“You see, Sean, you can’t barter everything when they’re not willing to pay.” Dawg stared down the length of her body, admiring her curves. A lot of fuller women always seemed to want to cover up, but not Lori. Her confidence only drew him closer to her. She wore clothes that enhanced her large tits, rounded ass, and fabulous hips.
Just staring at them alone, he wanted to get his hands on her and fuck her senseless. He knew from the information that he’d gathered that she was a sensual woman. She loved sex, but what she didn’t like was to be used.
“What the hell is going on?” Lori asked, looking from him to her father.
“Well, your father decided he was above my rules.”
“You mean you actually have rules?” she asked, shooting fire at him with her gaze.
“I have rules. It’s simple, but your father decided to steal from me.”
He watched her hands clench into fists, the anger and rage simmering beneath the surface. Dawg wondered, not for the first time, if she’d had to bail him out of situations before.
“Let me guess, he offered you anything.” She turned toward her father. “What is it now, Dad? My house? My car? Mom’s ring? What more can you take?”
He always noticed that she never swore. No matter how much anger she had inside her, she always stayed in control, never cursing.
“So, this has happened often?” Dawg asked, getting up from his chair and rounding the desk to lean against it.
She turned toward him and shook her head. “You know he steals.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “How would I know?”
“Because you’re not a man with your reputation without doing your homework. You knew the moment you took my father on that there would be a chance he’d steal from you.” She tilted her head to the side, watching him. “Why?”
Dawg shrugged. “I have to get my entertainment somehow.”
She closed her eyes, and he watched her lips move, seeing that she counted to ten. She rubbed at her eyes, looking really tired all of a sudden.
“What is it you need or want?” she asked.
“I told you. It’s you I want.”
“You’ve got to be joking. I’m not up for sale. I’m not a thing to be bartered. I’m a person.”
“You don’t want to pay his debt, that’s fine by me.” He nodded toward his men in front of her father.
Dawg watched as the man slammed his fists against Sean’s face three times. Lori gasped, covering her mouth, looking terrified. He hated to see that look on her face, but he wasn’t going to back down until he got what he wanted.
Three years he’d been patient, waiting for this moment to happen. He was a man known for getting what he wanted, and nothing was going to change that.
With another nod, he pointed to the second man, who drew his gun and pointed it at Sean’s head.