Switched (Sin City Fets Book 1) Page 7

  In the past week I’ve done pretty much nothing. My days have consisted of sitting on the couch watching re-runs, eating too much frozen yogurt and listening to my sister ramble on. Today would be different, though. I have big plans to go out into the city today and do something for myself.

  I have to. No… I need to.

  I rise up from my couch and walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth. No one likes coffee breath. As I stare at my reflection, I see a woman I hardly recognize. She’s tired with bags that weigh heavily under her eyes. Her color is drained from her face and she looks sad. No, she looks… drained. Like the events of the last week have torn every possible membrane from her body.

  I’m not the woman who I stare at in the mirror, even on my worst of days I never look this dreadful. That’s it. I am getting out of this damn apartment, letting the hot Vegas sun onto my skin and will go do something for myself. All the while trying to avoid Drake like he’s the devil himself – because in my eyes, he is. He may even be worse.

  “I’m going out. Wanna come?” I ask Carly, who’s shoving a ding-dong in her mouth sitting at the island. She’s really started to make herself home, hasn’t actually left in the last few days and I won’t be asking her to. For the longest time I didn’t give a rat’s ass where she was staying, or what it was that she was doing… but now she’s the only thing I have left in this world and I can’t lose her too. She’s too important to me.

  “Where ya goin’, sis?” she asks, a devilish smirk dragging across her face.

  “For a little retail therapy, and if you come with, I might buy you some new pretties.” I comment, smirking the second I see her ass off the chair. Today is going to be a great day, and if I had to bribe her a little bit to come with then so what.

  Carly and I walk around Vegas for what seems to be hours, hitting up every shop that has anything we may like. I haven’t spent a good chunk of change on myself in a long time and it feels kind of rewarding to be doing that right now. I won’t admit this to her, but it’s nice to buy something for Carly too. She isn’t a perfect person by any sense, but she is a sweetheart. She just battles her own demons like all of us do.

  “Candace, is that you?” I hear from behind me, a voice all too familiar. I whip around and plaster on a smile, facing Drake’s brother, Sam.

  “Hey Sam, long time no see.” I say to him, seeing him clad in his usual outfit. He’s a minister for a local church, his life being served to God and making a better place for the needy and homeless. The man has invested all of his own money into making the lives of the people around him better. He is an actual real-life angel.

  “I could say the same for you. How have you been?” He genuinely asks me. Sam always shows everyone how much he cares through his actions. Whenever he speaks you can tell that he means whatever it is that he’s saying and has his full attention on you. “Wait, I swore Drake told me you two were dating. I’m so happy for the both of you, truly.”

  The smile drops from my face and my heart falls into the pit of my stomach. “We aren’t. Dating I mean. We were, but not anymore.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. He’d just told me a little over a week ago…”

  “It didn’t work out.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” Sam says. I watch as he turns his eyes to my sister, “Oh, how rude of me. I’m Sam, and you are?”

  “Carly…,” she replies, looking to me like he’s the creepiest thing on the planet. She wouldn’t know a good man if one hit her in the face, and she really doesn’t see that Sam is only being nice to her. He doesn’t want her for sex, but of course that’s what she’s used to.

  Sam beams, “It’s lovely to meet you Carly. You look as wonderful as your sister does. I’m sure that you both get your good looks from your Mother.”

  “Our Dad was the pretty one. Mom looked like she’d gone through a snow blower.” Sam’s eyes expand at that one, and he chuckles to himself, muttering something under his breath. If it was a short prayer, I wouldn’t waste my breath. Sam’s cell begins to ring, and he excuses himself to answer it, walking a few feet away. A moment later he’s back in front of us, “I’m sorry ladies but I must run off. I do hope you both have a pleasant day, and it was lovely meeting you… Carly.” The entire time Sam is speaking he doesn’t even look at me. His eyes are glued onto my mess of a sister. I can see why he’d be intrigued by her. Sam is a fixer, but the Lord knows that there is no fixing my sister. We’ve already tried.

  Carly and I make our way down the strip and I make the sudden choice to do something spontaneous. “Sit down and wait for me, will you?” I say to my sister and she nods, taking a seat in the plush leather chair. As I walk towards the front desk, I see a woman approaching her with a glass of champagne.

  “How can I help you today, miss?”

  “I’d love a change. Something dramatic.” I see the young girl’s eyes light up right before my very own.

  “Dramatic I can do, doll. Let me fit you in with Gloria. She’s a hell of a woman.”

  Chapter 21

  Drake

  Not hearing from Candace has been the longest nerve-wracking week ever. I lived like a vagabond, along the Vegas Strip, wandering and roaming from casino’s to night clubs and drinking whatever my taste buds were in the mood for in that particular moment.

  She still owes me an answer regardless of what’s happened in the last week. I’ve given her enough space to allow her to cool down and think about what she truly wants, even if it killed me not to be there for her father’s funeral. I know Candace, and I know that she needed time. But still, does she want to wear my collar as my submissive or not? I’m not wasting another fucking day waiting for the answer.

  I haul ass in the Porsche and gun over to her apartment. As I get off her elevator I head straight towards her door and rap lightly. I’d thought about being more aggressive, but I know it would do more harm than good. “Candace, I know you’re in there. Open the damn door.”

  The door bursts open with a sudden pull, but it’s not Candace behind it. Instead it’s a younger woman who has light brunette hair, almost blonde. This must be the infamous Carly.

  She leans her hip against the door, crossing her arms, and leans her head back since I’m over a foot taller than she is, “You must be Drake, Sam’s brother,” she huffs, “You two don’t look at all related!”

  I roll my eyes and walk right in. Candace wasn’t exaggerating when she told me how rude her sister can be. I simply welcome myself inside, walking past Carly to see Candace sitting at her table eating dinner. In just a week’s time so much has changed. She doesn’t even look the same. Not at all. Her hair has been cut short, barely touching her shoulders and no longer is her hair riddled with a dark raven color – she’s at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, going bleach blonde.

  She’s off the chair, her eyes wide as I move in her direction. She takes two steps back, “Go away! I don’t want to talk to you.” Her voice is lethal, warning me to stay away, but I won’t. I’ve stayed away for far too long and I refuse to do it any longer. She doesn’t realize that the last week has physically killed me. Every waking second of the day I have only done one thing – think about her, about the way she smells, that fragrant perfume of hers that always seems to be floating around, and about her smile. Damn, that smile.

  I get to her quick enough, grabbing ahold of her arms and pull her gently back to the chair and make her sit. “Sit your ass down, Candace. We need to have a chat and I can promise you that it will be happening one way or another.”

  She looks up at me, her pretty lips set in a straight line. I shake my head, glaring down at her.

  “All things considered, you get a pass this one time.”

  Her brows furrow together, confused. “A pass for what?”

  “For what you tried to do last week at the club. You will never speak to me like that ever again or try to lay a hand on me. Do you understand, girl?”

  She takes a deep breath, c
losing her eyes firmly as she shakes her head. Her hands ball into fists, setting on her lap. “Was that all I was to you, Drake? A bet you made with the boys? A prize…”

  I drop down on one knee so that I’m eye level with her and place my hands over hers, “Candace, that whole bet thing was Jackson’s idea in the first place. You were never a bet to me. You have always meant way so much more, and you always will. I’ve wanted you for so long now, far longer then you know, I think. I wanted to be your Dom, your protector, everything that you always needed in a man. Of course, I’m a man and as you know a very dominant one. So, my ego sometimes takes over and so I did make a bet with Jackson and Thomas. They were acting like they were going to go after you and I couldn’t bear the thought of it. I had to eliminate any competition and I’m telling you now, that I’m truly so sorry for doing it. I’m not sorry for going after you, though. I’m not sorry for any of the memories we made, or for the way I feel about you. I will never apologize for it, because you have been the best thing I’ve ever done. Gaining the courage to finally express my interest was the best thing, for both of us. Look at how far we’ve come.” I smile softly, looking into her eyes as she opens them. Her eyes are glassy, filled with tears.

  “The way I felt when I found out… you could never imagine the betrayal and pain that coursed through every vein in my body. It hurt so much, Drake. Do you understand that? It made me replay every moment we’ve ever had together through my mind like a movie, wondering if it was real or all for this damned bet. I went from having utter and complete faith in you, to doubting everything. In less than five minutes our entire relationship was turned upside down. So how exactly am I supposed to feel about that? About how you hid this from me? You should have just told me from the beginning. How on earth can I have you as my Dom when I don’t know whether what you’re saying is the truth or fabrication to save us?”

  Every feeling that Candace has just told me she’s had is something that she’s entitled to. I was wrong, and I fully admit that. I have the deepest regrets not telling her about the damn bet, and here I am, kneeling at her feet hoping that everything we’ve built together doesn’t come crumbling down. I swallow hard, thinking of the right words to say to her right now. I now realize that there aren’t any right words to say, only words from the heart. I reach up and graze my hand along her cheek, reaching into my breast pocket of my suit jacket and pull out a green velvet box. A box that I’ve had for ages, knowing that this day would come.

  I clear my throat, hoping that she’ll accept this token of my love for her. Opening the box, I reveal a gold choker with a twenty-carat emerald pendant in the middle. The perfect collar for my perfect girl. “Candance, I know that this isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. It never will be I’m afraid, but what we will be is real. It’ll be hard, and sometimes we’ll want to throw in the towel because life is constantly testing us. But I want to go through life with you. Only you. I would love for you to wear this collar and be my one and only submissive, my baby girl, my everything.

  Candace reaches out and brushes her fingers along the gold collar, cascading down until she’s touched the pendant. Her eyes shift from the necklace to me as she takes a heavy sigh and gives me a half smile.

  “I want to accept this. I truly do, but I don’t think you realize the severity of your actions. I’m not ready to accept your collar, Drake, because I need to be able to depend on you. Your love, your affection, your guidance, and most importantly your honesty. You’ve failed to be honest with me once. So, no, I won’t accept your collar, not now. I will think on it and when I feel that you’ve earned the right to be my Dominant, I will tell you when I’m ready.”

  This woman is everything I’ve ever imagined and more. She’s iron-willed in her strength, compassionate more than others could ever possibly understand and sticks to her word. She may not have said yes, but she didn’t say no. Candace just told me not right now. We’re far from over, and I’ll be showing her every damn day why I’m the man for her, and why she is the perfect baby girl for me.

  Together, we can accomplish anything.

  Epilogue

  Candace

  6 weeks later…

  Time is a funny thing. It either passes you by quicker than you can blink, or it seems like eons to get through one day. As for me I can say that the last few weeks have passed quicker than any previously. Drake has helped me occupy my time by having me do jobs around his businesses. I’m sort of his liaison, sorting out what shit he actually needs to attend to and what I can handle for him. Essentially, I’m a glorified personal assistant. With every passing day I see the way that he looks at me, how he’s waiting for the moment that I’ll accept his collar. I’ve expressed to him that it will take time and only I will know when I’m ready for that level of commitment with him. He’s done his best to show me I can trust him, but what he did still sits heavy in my heart. There is no rushing this, and he knows that as well as I.

  I find myself often thinking of my father, of the things that I could have done differently. At the end of the day I think that I didn’t do enough and because I wasn’t as breathing down the administration’s throat. If I had tried harder… there is no doubt in my mind that I could have gotten him out. I could have gotten him an appeal, but now we’ll never know. Ever since my father’s death, Carly has been around a lot more. When I say around, I really mean that she’s been mooching off of me, using me as her personal source of food and becoming my new roommate. My couch has become her bed, and floor her dresser. I’d much rather have her within my sights though. If I can keep a good eye on her, it means that I can keep her out of a bit of trouble. Or so one would think.

  “You keep watching the door. Care to tell me what’s happening tonight?” Drake asks, running his hand along my arm as he takes his stance behind me.

  I turn my head to the right and peer up at him. “Miss. Sharpe is coming to meet Chase tonight. I’m a little anxious to see how it goes.”

  Drake nods, “I can imagine why. They’ll be a good fit together, you’ll see.”

  I smile to myself, “I know they will. I introduced the two of them in the first place and I happen to be quite the match maker.”

  Drake cackles, “You’re not the only match maker here, darling.”

  I raise my eyebrows, “Oh? And what have you done?” I ask, already knowing that he has something up his sleeve.

  Drake shrugs his shoulders, “I haven’t done anything. Sam was inquiring about Carly and I told him a bit about her.”

  I turn around quicker than I ever thought possible. “Carly and Sam can’t be a thing, ever.”

  “Why’s that?”

  I sigh, taking a deep breath. “I could give you five million reasons why that’s a bad idea but the one that sticks out the most is the fact that your brother is a good, kind hearted man and my sister is…”

  “Lovely. Spirited. Hysterical. Unique.” Drake fires out at me, eyes full of judgement. “You don’t get to decide who dates your sister, Candace. If Sam wants to peruse her, he very much will. The men in my family are a tad stubborn.”

  “They wouldn’t be a good match, Drake. My sister is all of what you said, yes… but Carly is broken. There is no fixing my sister, and she won’t be your brother’s charity case. I won’t allow it.” Sam is a sweet man, but I refuse to let him get close to her. Because I know what’s going to happen. He’s going to get close enough, try to help and then leave her alone after he feels that his work is done. Carly doesn’t need that. What she needs is someone who won’t give up on her.

  “How about we both agree to stay out whatever it is that happens between those two?” Drake suggests.

  “I don’t like that idea,” I admit, “I really don’t like it.”

  “You don’t like anything that I have to say if I’m not agreeing with you.” He laughs, and I roll my eyes even though he’s right. I take a deep breath and let the worry fall off of my shoulders. I just have to see what unfolds before my eyes, not just
for Carly and Sam, but for Chase and Miss. Sharpe as well.

  Time is an interesting thing.

  The Sin City Fet’s aren’t finished. Linny and Liz will have more coming to you later in 2019! Chase and Miss. Sharpe’s story is coming next. Go ahead and add it to your Goodreads TBR!

  Add to your TBR here: https://goo.gl/6KjRZ9