14 Months 04: Christmas

"Not a scratch just like I promised," Asher said cheerily throwing the keys to the man who regularly drove Sophie and Trent to and from the office in the city before walking around to let Sophie out of the car. "Now, Cookie," he said, helping Sophie from the car. "You will need to change before we get underway to our super-secret hide-out and await Darius's agreement to my ransom demands. Here," he thrust a bag at her. "Go change in the office. I'll protect the door so no one interrupts you. And," he grinned slyly. "If you're a good girl and do as I ask, I'll even take you to McDonald's on the way to the super-secret hideout."

"I don't see that you have given me much choice," she looked at the driver who seemed to be studiously ignoring her now. Looking into the bag, she saw black leather and reached in to pull out a pair of pants. "You can't be serious?" she shook her head holding up the garment to him. She knew this had to be a joke between the two brothers. Darius had confided that Asher was like his brother more so than the other men who had become his brothers during his time at school. They had shared a room, their belongings and everything they had from the first day they had arrived to accept their scholarships.

"Be a good little cookie and once your dressed we'll call Darius so I can list my ransom demands," he chuckled.

Sighing, unsure that she was happy to be used as a pawn in their childish games, she none-the-less walked into the office to change. Darius had liked her in soft shirts and flowing skirts, for ease of access he said. Asher, on the other hand, had provided tight leather pants and a sleeveless leather vest as well as sturdy boots with a low heel and a jacket of sturdy rather than supple leather. At finding a sleeve of hairbands, she took the time to braid her hair before opening the door and stepping out again.

"Fuck me," Asher groaned. "No, seriously, fuck me, please!" he groaned again, more exaggeratedly.

"You know I signed a contract to only do that with Darius until the end of the contest," Sophie pointed out as if speaking to a child which at this point, she thought she was.

"That's why I have kidnapped rather than abducted you. My brother needs to share his toys which means a renegotiation of that contract," he explained with a wide smile.

"One I would have to agree to, not just Darius," she pointed out.

"Pfft, what's not to love about me," he spread his arms wide and spun on the spot as if to let her see what she would be getting.

"I don't think that's the point somehow and I am not going to be the one to break the contract as it is now," she said seriously despite being convinced this was some joke between the brothers.

"Hence the renegotiation," Asher chuckled as if this all made sense. "Ah speak of the devil he must have been wondering why you haven't arrived at the office yet and called your driver to investigate. Ash held up his phone with a wide smile.

"Hello brother," Ash answered and put it on speaker so Sophie could hear but put a finger to his mouth urging her to stay silent. "How can I help you this fine afternoon?" He inquired laconically.

"Cut the shit Ash, where is she?" Darius's voice growled through the phone.

"No, no, that's not how this goes," Ash replied calmly. "She did warn you that I had promised to kidnap her, so your question needs to be; What are your ransom demands, great and powerful, Asher?"

"Don't be a prick, Ash. She's not one of the whores our brothers usually bring into the game. She's different. Special. Now bring her back," Darius's growl was so deep as to be barely more than a threatening rumble now.

"I'm your oldest and closest friend you think I can't see how special she is? I'm taking her up to the clubhouse for safekeeping until you are willing to negotiate her release," Asher replied as if he had no concerns about the inherent threat of violence coming from Darius's tone. "Call me when you're ready to talk."

Sophie stood frozen. This no longer seemed like some elaborate joke between brothers. Darius had sounded beyond pissed, and she was worried that her contract and the plans she had been making for a future of freedom to do the things she wanted was slipping through her fingers because of this arsehole.

"Ash, I think you should take me back to Darius now. This joke has gone a bit too far," she said her concern at the call evident in her voice.

"Don't worry, little one. Darius knows where I am taking you. If I know him, and I do, he has already left the office and will probably beat us there so, in essence, I am taking you to him," he chuckled. Then he scooped her up and walked a short distance to dump her onto the back of a large motorcycle and cram a helmet onto her head.

Sophie's mind whirled. This had to be some elaborate game. True she still didn't know Darius very well and his brother's even less but she couldn't believe Asher was truly kidnapping her. What would be the point, they can't both enter her into the game and Darius had already done that. All the spots were filled. It didn't make sense to her why Asher would risk his close brotherly ties with Darius by doing this unless it was a joke of some kind.

"Have you ever ridden before?" Asher asked into the system embedded within her helmet, startling her.

"No," she whispered uncertainly.

"I'll take it slow at first but wrap your arms around my middle and hang on until you get a feel for it. Just follow my body's movements, and we'll be fine," Asher instructed and revved the bike.

The vibrations rose through Sophie's body, and fear alone made her wrap her arms around Asher rather than just hold the sides of his jacket as she had been. It seemed that every time she got used to the feel of the bike and she relaxed her hold a little he sped up more, often weaving in and out of the growing traffic leaving the city for the holidays forcing her to grip him tightly again pressing into his back.

Asher said nothing as he rode, enjoying the feel of the hot little body pressed up against him. Normally he would have cleared the city traffic in half the time, but he had taken it slowly allowing Sophie to get used to the feel of riding. He could feel her relax at times, and he pushed the speed limit and his riding skills a little more each time making her press up against him tighter than before. As he rode, he considered his methods of getting Darius to stop acting like a cunt struck fool. The girl was cute, sexy even, and had a mouth on her that Ash enjoyed, and he could admit that he had even fantasised about having that smart mouth with those luscious lips wrapped around his cock. He felt himself harden again at the visual in his mind. He had to admit he got the attraction for Darius. He'd fuck her in a heartbeat given a chance, but he wouldn't turn his back on a tradition for her like Darius had tried to do.

Admitting he could see the attraction was one thing but for Darius to cancel his annual Christmas plans with his brothers at the last minute had Asher worried. He needed to keep his head in the game if he wanted the girl to survive and go on to live a normal life after it. The Alliance had a code that they all lived by; that's why it worked. The men, gangs, families and even Cartels they either protected or went up against would exploit any weakness in their ranks. Having a wife or family was too much of a risk, to love someone outside of the brotherhood made them vulnerable to people who targeted the Alliance.

The men of the Alliance were all chosen because they had no one of significance to them. They were each true orphans, without any extended family, although some had vagrant parents who had given up their rights to them as children. They were chosen for their raw, innate intellect and life skills before they turned thirteen and entered the program. Not every candidate had what it took, and usually more than half of the young men fell by the wayside, as each year of school brought with it new and confronting training and challenges. Bonds forged by their alternative schooling were life long and although not every man was as close to his generational brothers as he was to his, Asher was closer still to Darius.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he sped on toward the clubhouse. He smiled at the thought. The Blackjacks were his home away from home. Men who had attended St. Jude's Academy as one of the thirteen scholarship winners, no matter the year of their arrival in that place or if they left before completing their schooling, were eligible to become lifelong members. Other members came and went and they were well known for their charitable work particularly with underprivileged children. St Jude Hope of the Hopeless had taken them all in and given them a new life regardless of whether they became part of the Alliance or not.

What had started as the six young men who had joined the Alliance and all it entailed reaching out to those who hadn't made it through the final hurdles of their school life had grown over the years, but the core group remained. The Alliance was never mentioned at the clubhouse, all the men there were equally successful in their own ways and had links in some form or another to the Alliance organisation even if they weren't one of the chosen inheritors of the mantle. Because of this, women were commonplace amongst the club members, wives, girlfriends, and even on some occasions daughters accompanied the members to the clubhouse so Asher knew taking Sophie there wouldn't seem odd to anyone but his immediate Alliance brothers.

Asher pulled up at the country-style pub turned clubhouse with its wide verandas and beer garden and felt the stress of the city and work melt away from him. He stood from the bike, helping Sophie to her feet before pulling off his helmet as she did the same.

"Well shit, Ash has a girl with him. I could have sworn someone told me he was gay," a loud but distinctly male voice said from one side of the veranda.

"I think the politically correct term you are looking for is bi-sex-su-al," another male voice said in a snooty accent as he eked out every syllable of the word.

"Well, put me in a dress and call me Nancy," the first of the men chuckled. "Who woulda thunk it?"

"Good to see you too, Nancy," Asher smirked. "This sexy little thing is Sophie. Nancy, otherwise called Roo, and Stone," he introduced the two men to her.

"Well hello, Sophie," Roo waggled his eyebrows at her while Stone nodded silently.

"Hi Nancy," she said and smiled sweetly.

"You can call me, Roo," the man said with a laugh.

"Darius here yet?" Asher asked.

"I heard he was a no show for the ride this year," Roo tilted his head quizzically.

"He'll be here. Angry as all shit and ready to rip me a new one, but he will be here," Ash chuckled and took Sophie's hand, leading her inside the clubhouse.

"Same shit as always," Stone muttered under his breath.

"Fuck, Ash! What the hell have you done?" David turned to look wide-eyed at the pair as they approached the bar.

"What?" Ash said. "You wanted him here as much as I did. I decided to change his mind about skipping it this year."

"Fuck," Zander scowled making Sophie think that was a permanent expression for him. "You expect us to help you out when he arrives to kill you, no doubt?"

"Not at all. This is a violence-free zone remember I couldn't be safer, besides this is Darius we are talking about, he's a big teddy bear right, Sophie?" Asher flashed her a winning smile.

"I wouldn't have used that description for him. Ever," Sophie shook her head. "Viking, Barbarian, you get the point I'm making here?"

"Pfft, he's a big pussycat. Sure, a lion maybe but his roar is worse than his bite," Asher waved off her concern.

"You fucking, prick," came Darius's roar from the doorway as if on cue. Sophie could see the people on the veranda crowding the door and windows to watch as Darius strode across the room and snatched Sophie from where she stood and hauled her up against his body.

"Got you here, where you should be, didn't I?" Asher shrugged. "Your little Angel loves to ride. Don't you, Cookie?" Asher said though he couldn't see her face anymore because of the grip Darius had on her.

"It does seem like everyone wants you here, Darius," Sophie said softly. "Don't make me the Yoko Ono of your boy band, please."

"Fucker," Darius spat at Ash, but he couldn't help the small lift of his lips in amusement at Sophie's words. "You told her we were a boy band?" He accused in a disgusted tone.

"Not me. She probably just noticed how much Zander loves to sing and dance, and put two and two together," Asher shrugged while Zander grunted and scowled his disapproval wordlessly beside him. "I take it Jayce filled you in then?" he asked. "Either that or you rode like a little old woman to get here."

"I told him," Jayce said. "Put the girl down, Darius, before you suffocate her," he said gently. "None of this is her fault unless you want to count why you were bailing on us for the first time since we started this thing."

"No," Darius snapped, but he did loosen his hold on her a little.

"This was just a joke, right? A prank?" Sophie asked. "You weren't really worried, were you? I mean, am I the bad guy here?"

"You're the Yoko," Zander scowled at her as soon as she opened her mouth to speak and then grumbled the words. The corners of his eyes crinkled at the joke though not that anyone but his brothers would have noticed the minute movement.

"Shut up, Zander. She's not the Yoko," Darius rolled his eyes. He had known his brothers would take his decision not to do the ride this year badly and blame his obsession with Sophie for that decision. They had played right into his hands and despite the vow not to let any game girl join their annual ride, he had his girl with him. Admittedly, he did make plans to take her to a secluded cabin on the beach for the two days if they hadn't forced the issue and to show he was serious about blowing the ride off. He had been concerned that they wouldn't find that clue, and if they had, that they would realise he had booked it for twice as long as he needed so he could still enjoy an uninterrupted holiday with her before the New Year began after the ride which he knew they would force him to undertake.

Sighing audibly, he allowed Sophie to stand on her own two feet. He intended to let his brothers think they had won this intervention to warn him of the dangers of letting the girl get under his skin and would let them lecture him during their ride. They were wrong, of course, but he had not divulged his strategy this time. He considered how to put their minds at ease without having them think he had lost his mind or give away too many of his plans for Sophie. His next move would be easy after this, and once he had Asher fully onboard, his job of getting the others onside with his plans would be much easier.

"You better buy me a drink then since you went to so much trouble to get me here," Darius groused at Asher his lips turning up at the corners as he looked at his closest friend.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Connor glanced at Sophie. "Maybe she is a witch, after all."

*****

They stayed for a single drink with Darius's brothers before Darius whisked Sophie away on the pretext that he needed to make sure she got some rest before the night's long ride. He took her through to the back where a long corridor of doors to what she assumed were bedrooms greeted her. He strode to the last one at the end of the corridor, stepped into the room and pushed the door closed, then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to him. Sophie let out a gasp, and a second later, his lips were on hers. He kissed her aggressively, pulling her body firmly against his.

He ran a hand down her back and onto her ass. The tight leather of her clothes allowed him to feel every curve as if she were naked and the vision of Sophie on the back of Asher's bike with her body pressed against him assailed him. He knew it was a necessary evil, but he still wasn't ready to share her yet. Darius broke the kiss and nibbled his way down her neck, lightly biting and nipping at her. He could feel her body surrendering to his touch; he could hear it in her breath.

He moved her over to the dresser, pushing her against it before lifting her and placing her onto the edge. Darius yanked her vest open, revealing her breasts to him, pleased it had press studs rather than fiddly buttons. She watched his eyes as he took her in, his hunger evident in his expression. His huge hands moved up her sides, each cupping a breast and squeezing a nipple hard enough to make her gasp. He bent over and took first one nipple, then the other between his teeth, lightly biting and flicking at them with his tongue. He tugged at her pants and unlike the vest, it took him more time than he was happy about to rid her of them along with her underwear.

Sophie's breath caught in her throat when she felt his fingers touch her already throbbing pussy. Cupping a hand beneath her, he parted her lips, and finding her already dripping with desire. He inserted his middle finger inside her. She whimpered softly in need as he slid it in deeper and added a second immediately after. He used his fingers on her as he ground the heel of his hand against her clit. His lips found hers again, kissing her, biting her, swallowing her cries of pleasure.

All of the tension that had been building between them since he arrived to claim her back from Asher now became a white-hot ball of desire emanating from Sophie. She began to rock against Darius's hand as her orgasm approached, about to consume her. When it came, she cried out, into Darius's kiss allowing him to swallow it to try to quiet her cries of pleasure. Her body was shaking, and he held her tightly with his free arm, his hand now still but pressing against her throbbing pussy, adding to the sensations until she calmed down in his arms.

Darius pulled away, but only long enough to open his pants, revealing his cock to her. At that moment, Sophie wanted everything all at once. She wanted to get on her knees and show him what she could be for him, but more than that, she needed him inside her.

She didn't need to ask. Darius had started to rub his cock on her pussy, coating it with her juices, preparing to take what was his. He owned this girl, possessed her, and it gave him a feeling of power he hadn't had from any other woman. She squirmed as she felt the heat of his cock on her as if he were branding her with it. He was, in a way, she thought to herself. A moment later, he was pushing his cock inside her. He'd been fucking her for months now, but she never got over the wonder that his cock was in proportion to the huge size of the rest of him inside. He's so big! Her mind screamed at her as she felt the almost painful pleasure of his slow penetration.

Darius moved inside her slowly, allowing her to adjust to the girth of him. She was always so tight, and while he acknowledged that he was a big man, and she was a small woman, the sensation was beyond belief and he savoured every moment of her body's surrender to him every time he took her. He was torn, wanting to watch himself sinking inside her, but he also wanted to stare into her eyes as he took her. He loved to watch the eyes of a woman as she surrendered to him, but that which he saw in Sophie's eyes was like no other, every single time.

Once he was fully embedded and satisfied that she was ready, Darius found his rhythm, alternating long deep strokes with shorter, faster ones. They were forehead to forehead as he moved, eyes locked, Darius holding her by placing his hands on her ass, keeping her on the very edge of the dresser.

Sophie clawed at his shoulders and back, feeling him take possession of her with each stroke of his cock. This was what she had always longed for, someone who would care about her pleasure as much as his own. A man who could take her, demand her acceptance of him, then take her to places she had never been with anyone before him. Sophie could hear his breathing become ragged, and she knew he was close.