Nascence

Chapter 1

Going to college had always been a goal of hers, though Teralyn didn’t expect it to be so…diverse. She came from a small community in North Carolina, on the outskirts of Charlotte. Graduating at the top of her class, Teralyn had a lot to live up to and she was popular, having a lot of friends and whatnot. Her family was well-known as well, but then again, it was a very small town that only had about 3,000 people in total. Here, in New York City, she was a whole different person because she didn’t know anybody – everything was new, fresh, exciting, and terrifying. Her roommate, Claudia, told her about the parties that were held off campus and asked her a few times to attend. They were fun and a chance for the students to let their hair down – that was how Claudia explained it to her anyway. Being a freshman, Teralyn didn’t think that was a good idea because of date rape and whatnot, so she opted to stay inside.

At least through the first quarter of the year.

Then she’d gone home for the holidays and discovered her boyfriend of four years, her high school sweetheart, had been cheating on her with her best friend since childhood.

She had gone to his apartment to surprise him, holding a Christmas gift and everything, and the door had been ajar. Sure enough, clothes were strewn everywhere and she could hear panting and moaning coming from his bedroom. Pushing open the door, Teralyn watched in horror as her boyfriend went balls deep inside of her best friend, someone she trusted with her life…or used to. All she could do was stand there and watch as his cock thrusted in and out of the whore, the headboard banging against the wall and both completely submerged in themselves, in their betrayal. Instead of screaming at them at the top of her lungs, Teralyn left and the day after Christmas, had returned to college to get as far away from her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend as she could.

The worst part was Scott didn’t even bother contacting her to end their relationship, so they had a silent breakup with no closure whatsoever.

It was now spring, the snow was gone and the trees were blooming with life. Teralyn knew the parties would be starting up again around campus and she decided to finally attend one, just to see what all the hype was about. Claudia was beside herself with joy and even dolled Teralyn up, teasing her dark auburn hair. Truthfully, Claudia was worried about Teralyn because, after she came home from the holidays with her family, something had changed about the woman. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she knew something horrible had happened because Teralyn wasn’t the same bubbly, chipper woman she used to be. No, now Teralyn was quiet and almost desolate with no life in her ocean blue eyes, so she hoped going to this party tonight would help get her roommate out of whatever funk she was in.

The problem with parties in freshman year at college was determining which ones were legitimate fun, and which ones were either boring, or a chance for the upperclassmen to haze the newbies. Teralyn had lucked out on all that crap by avoiding parties until now. Luckily for them both, Claudia had learned which people were good for a wild, fun night and which places to avoid if one didn’t want to fall asleep from boredom, or wind up being the victim of a nasty prank. Some of THE best parties, hands down, were thrown by one of the fraternities.

A little odd, a little macabre and rough sometimes, but THE BEST!

When Teralyn walked out wearing a blue jean skirt and a pink top, Claudia took one look at her and immediately shook her head. “That won’t do, sweetie. We’re going to a…themed party and you’re going to need to wear something more…” What was the word she was looking for? “Gothic.”

“Gothic?” Teralyn echoed, raising a slow brow and looked at herself in the mirror, chewing her bottom lip. Her eyes were smoked out and she had nude lipstick with clear gloss on her lips with foundation. “I-I don’t know if I have anything like that…” Honestly, her wardrobe was colorful and she knew gothic was dark, somber colors.

“Let me see what you have.” Claudia began sifting through the closet they shared and pulled out a black dress, which was about as gothic as she could find. “Okay – okay we can work with this. Put this on.”

Sighing, Teralyn took the dress and went into the bathroom, closing the door to change out of her outfit and into the black dress. It was made of velvet material, simple, spaghetti strapped with a hoop neckline. It went just above her knees, which was a little short for her taste, but…maybe it was time to let her hair down a little in college. She was a single woman, it’d been nearly four months since she caught Scott cheating on her and Teralyn wanted to forget all about him.

“There you go, classic!” Understated, elegant, a bit on the deceptive side because the dress almost border lined something slutty, but it wasn’t. It was seductive. “Some of the men here, oh my god…” Claudia playfully fanned herself, though her eyes were alert and on Teralyn, who did not look interested at all. She wondered what happened over Christmas break to her roommate. Either someone died or someone had hurt her; Claudia was guessing the second option. It was less morbid that way. “Okay, let me grab my shoes…” She had her ID and some cash stuffed in her push-up bra, which she adjusted, putting her breasts on full display.

No, she wasn’t interested in being with anyone, just wanting to go to get out of her funk and knock back a few beers. Teralyn already had her ID and everything in the small clutch she was taking with her, which had a silver chain strap to it, so it could go across her chest or on her shoulder. For now, she would keep the chain tucked inside and would use it later that evening, if need be.

“Oh wait, wait! I forgot to do something first with your look.” Pulling out a black choker, Claudia fastened it around Teralyn’s neck and then tossed some black heels her way. “There, that’ll do it.”

Slipping the heels on, Teralyn looked in the mirror and barely recognized herself since she did look like a gothic seductress. This wasn’t her at all, but she didn’t want to be herself tonight. For one night, Teralyn wanted to be someone else entirely and was thankful to her roommate for helping her with the look.

A few minutes later, the women had locked up their dorm room and on their way to the party.

It never failed to amuse him how the people here dressed. Power of suggestion was a lovely thing. Wannabe gothic whores thinking they were beautiful in their attire when most of them looked ridiculous. Desperation was a thing and it reeked of cheap perfume with a dash of slut. Rolling his acidic green eyes, Mark ‘the Undertaker’ Calaway, looked back to his friend, nodding his head at what the other man was saying. Not many people knew, or remembered, his actual name. They were so used to calling him Taker at this point and, honestly, that was how he preferred it.

Strobe lights outside of the house was the first thing Teralyn noticed as they pulled up in the cab Claudia called for, since neither of them had a vehicle. Teralyn took a deep breath, wondering if this was such a good idea anymore and pushed that fear aside, stepping out of the cab. Claudia paid the tab and grinned at her before they headed inside. Teralyn had to try to ignore the strobe lights as much as she could because they were hurting her eyes.

The windows had a deep dark purple overlay with black lace and people were trickling in, all decked out in gothic attire with makeup to match. Some had masks on, some looked like something out of a horrible 1920’s movie. Claudia had a deep dark red dress on that had a halter, exposing her shoulders and back almost completely and it went two inches above her knees, her hair teased up on top of her head. Once they were inside, Teralyn swallowed hard at all the candles lit around them, the lights dimmed enough to give a rather dark, chilling, ambiance.

“Claudia is back.”

“Again? For more?” The dark amusement was evident in Taker’s voice as his eyes moved to the doorway, taking her in with an eyeroll.

Claudia was the standard freshmen, trying to have a good time and sometimes coming across as a bit overeager. A lot overeager. He leaned back against the wall, raising his plastic tumbler of beer up, taking a slow measured sip while surveying the woman with Claudia.

“Looks like she may have a friend for you to enjoy.” For some reason, Claudia had a thing for Bradshaw, and Shaw…was amused by her.

It was more than a ‘thing’. Claudia and Bradshaw had gotten friendly beneath the sheets on more than one occasion. Truthfully, he was the reason she came back for more and…she legitimately enjoyed these kinds of parties. Looking back at her bewildered roommate, Claudia bumped her hip against Teralyn and guided her to the table where the alcohol was located.

“Pick your poison, sweets.”

“Thanks…” A beer would be just fine as Teralyn walked over to where the keg was located, grabbing a red plastic cup before filling it.

This wasn’t her first party, her first beer; she had attended quite a few of them back at home. However, this was her first party in college and…it was surreal, to say the least. The beer could be better too, if she was honest, as she slowly sipped it while looking around. Claudia was on her way towards a rather large man with long black hair, black goatee, and dark eyes that were devouring the woman from head to toe visually. Great, her roommate had left her high and dry, leaving Teralyn to fend for herself.

Shaking his head, Taker nodded when Shaw excused himself, wondering how this ‘thing’ would pan out if Claudia was aware the man had at least four other women on the hook just like her. Shaw would have made a great pimp, he was able to sweet talk and charm his way into whatever pair of panties caught his eye. Usually. Taker, on the other hand, had no interest in getting into these poser’s panties, not that he was averse to getting head or anything; he just didn’t care to return the favor. The fact that so many of them didn’t care just cemented his opinion of them.

“Who’s your friend, honey?” Shaw asked, not surprised when Claudia snuggled into his side, his dark eyes drinking in the woman in black.

“Oh, that’s my roommate.” Claudia slid her hand up Shaw’s chest and smirked when he pushed it away, shaking his finger at her. “She needed some fun in her boring life, so I coerced her into coming to the party tonight.”

“Really now?” Shaw stroked his goatee thoughtfully, not paying attention to Claudia while his eyes were zeroed in on her roommate. “She ever been to one of these?”

“Nope. I tried getting her to come a few times, but she declined.”

“What changed her mind then? Why don’t ya bring her over here and introduce us, honey?”

Claudia wouldn’t deny him anything and grinned, waving her hand somewhat obnoxiously at her roommate. “Teralyn! Come over here!” She called out, holding a drink Shaw passed over to her. He was such a gentleman!

Teralyn didn’t want to be rude to her roommate and friend, so she made her way over to where they stood, looking a little apprehensive.

“Teralyn, this is the very sexy Bradshaw, but most people call him Shaw…”

“Pleasure is all mine, honey.” Shaw drawled, going to take the woman’s hand and raised a brow when she immediately backed up.

Teralyn took a tentative step back, keeping a small smile on her face. “Nice to meet you.” Her voice remained monotone and friendly, but her guard was up. She didn’t want to touch him and took a sip of her beer, her clutch in her other hand. “Your boyfriend, I take it, roomie?”

“Well…not exactly…”

“Okay then.”

Now, most women who came to these parties tended to drop their panties pretty quick for him. If not him, then one of the two blondes lurking around here in their girly, flouncy attire. She was not having it and he could see the walls in those eyes, already knowing she wasn’t going to fall for his charms like her dense ‘roomie’ had.

“We’re just friends, honey.” Shaw grinned down at Claudia, who had the smile on her face, though he also caught a glimpse of something almost sad. Women like her were a dime a dozen. “Teralyn, huh? I don’t recall seein’ ya around before.”

“She’s not the partying kind.” Claudia giggled, knowing it was the truth and even Teralyn had the good humor to smile in acknowledgement. She didn’t realize the smile wasn’t completely natural. “I figured I’d show her around.”

“You oughta introduce her to Christian…” He was a pretty boy.

Teralyn didn’t want to be introduced to any guy, preferring to just be left alone and find her own way. “I’ll pass, thanks. Not interested in being set up with anyone here.” Unlike her roommate, who could not take her eyes off the man she was hooked to. “I’m gonna walk around and ‘mingle’ as you so eloquently put it, Claud. Have fun with your tall drink of water there.” Winking, Teralyn turned and walked away to make her way around the house, sipping her beer. She would not have more than two beers; that was her limit and setting her cup down wasn’t an option.

Setting her cup down would have been incredibly stupid. Taker had glanced over, caught the woman somewhat recoil from Bradshaw, and kept the space between them. Avoiding being touched without being obvious about it. That was interesting. She was keeping her cup firmly in her hand, tucked in close to her body, and where she could see it. Smart. Very smart.

Taker looked around, spotting one of his pet ‘Blondes’ grinning wickedly at someone and almost felt pity for whoever was about to be a victim. Draining his own cup, Taker tossed it in the nearby trashcan and pushed himself off the wall, people instantly parting for him. Being damn near seven feet, 300 hundred pounds, and built like he was, would have been enough on its own. Factor in the intense acidic green eyes, long black hair and tattoos that covered him from wrist to shoulder…people usually gave him his space.

This wasn’t a frat house like Claudia had said. This place had nothing to do with the college, not that Teralyn knew that. They beckoned college students to come here, however. Easy prey. Easy pickings. No, these parties were for potential recruits to Undertaker’s Ministry. Without realizing it, Teralyn had stepped foot into a cult and, if she knew what Claudia was involved in, she would’ve slapped the woman silly.

Claudia desperately wanted to be part of the Ministry, but so far, she’d been denied and had no idea why. Every party they’d had since she came to this college, she had done everything in her power to please Undertaker, to show she belonged here. Banging one of the Ministry members, Shaw, did NOT make anyone qualified, though Shaw had to admit she had a delicious pussy.

Cults were for the lost. People who felt lost in their lives and needed a sense of belonging, of acceptance. Some were darker than others, border lining Satanic and that was some of the Ministry’s beliefs...Undertaker’s beliefs. Whatever the man preached, people listened and his Ministry was very coveted. Only certain people were allowed in and once they were, it was for life.

Chapter 2

Teralyn wasn’t aware of any of that, waving at a few people she recognized from school and finished her beer, tossing the cup away. She would get a refill with a different cup, if she desired, but for now, she was fine with just one. Tired of carrying her clutch, she pulled the chain strap out and put it across her chest, still holding it at her side while studying the different artifacts in this house.

What kind of fraternity was this again?

For the most part, cults were one of two kinds. Either some whack job, who had people drinking his absurd Kool-Aid because he legitimate believed what he preached or a conman pretending to be a whack job with some murky beliefs and conning his poor followers into doing some shady things. Taker knew which one he was, he was a practical man and also quite theatrical when it was called for.

“It’s Greek, from the Cult of Dionysus.” He had come up behind the woman, hands clasped behind his back while watching her take in the very old cup she was examining through the glass encasement it was housed in. “A piece recovered from a burial site.” She’d find quite a bit of items like that, the further into the ‘frat’ house she went, which was borderline a mansion.

Only because the music was pretty loud and the mansion -it was not a house, no way in hell- was full of people, Teralyn did not jump at the sound of the deep, dark baritone from whoever was standing behind her. Judging by his knowledge of this artifact, Teralyn assumed this was his frat house and tilted her head slightly at the goblet staring back at her. The Cult of Dionysus…why did that sound familiar? Was it perhaps from mythology? She did enjoy mythology quite a bit and maybe that was why she was so drawn to the goblet, cup, whatever one wanted to call it.

“It’s beautiful.” She didn’t dare touch the glass, not wanting her fingerprints on it and slowly pulled her gaze away before turning around to greet whoever had told her about the goblet. Holy shit! Was all Teralyn could think as she stared at a chest before ocean blues moved up until they locked with acidic green. This man was HUGE and could easily snap her like a twig if he wanted to!

If not for the fact that there was a priceless artifact right behind her, Taker bet she would have jumped away from him. The look in those deep ocean blues told him the story, she found his size intimidating. Smart woman. He flashed a disarming smile, held up both hands in a gesture of peace and stepped backwards, one step, giving her some room.

“It is,” He replied slowly, letting his deep baritone wash over her, green locking with blue. “Beautiful.” Then, his large hand extended to her. “I’m Mark.” No, no he wasn’t at the Ministry parties, but she was new and…different. Not like the usual cheap, fake sluts who came here thinking they had what it took or looking to join his little group.

No thanks.

If she knew this was a cult instead of a fraternity, Teralyn would’ve booked it back to the dorm as fast as she could. Christ, her heart was thundering against her chest and Teralyn looked at his hand, contemplating what to do. Don’t be rude, just shake his hand. Teralyn hesitantly reached out with her free hand and watched as it was nearly swallowed whole by this man’s hand. “Teralyn.” She murmured softly, doing her very best to keep her nerves in check and cracked a hesitant smile, their eyes remaining locked together. “It’s nice to meet you, Mark.”

“Teralyn, now that’s a name you don’t hear very much.” If ever.

The first time he had heard it; he was from Texas where ‘lyn’ was on quite a few names. Lyn and Ann. Her name was interesting, mostly because of the first part ‘tera’, which he immediately associated with the Latin word ‘terra’. It meant ‘earth’ and was also associated with the Roman goddess of the earth. Taker supposed the association was triggered by the artifact right behind her.

“And it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gestured towards the next glass case. “Are you interested in mythology?”

When he gestured to that glass case, he released her hand and her eyes moved to the artifact, seeing it was another one from mythology. “Yes. I’ve always loved the story of Persephone and Hades, with Demeter.” Demeter being the mother of Persephone was forced to make a deal with Hades since he was obsessed with her daughter. Half the year she had to stay with Hades and the other half with her mother. That was how the four seasons came to be, according to Greek Mythology. “Greek Mythology has always fascinated me. I take it this is your place?” Since he knew about the artifacts and…there was no way he was in school. Then again, adults of all sizes and ages went to college on a daily basis, so she could’ve been way off.

“I am currently the head of the fraternity, such as it is.” He chuckled, leading her to the next one. Fraternities often were not officially associated with colleges, but with national organizations, which made this entire thing perfect for him. ‘Registering’ as a ‘national organization’ had been easy peasy; all it amounted to was paying a rubber stamper to make things legal. “I’m also a TA.” Teaching assistant, though more often than not, Taker taught the class since the professor was also his right-hand man. “Mythology, by the way.” He flashed her an amused smile. “A lot of these are from digs that students in the course have retrieved during vacations; when they sign up for the digs, extra credit and field experience. Then some are on loan from other organizations.” Or maybe even stolen, there was money to be made in hawking stuff like this. “Hades and Persephone…I believe we have a few pieces that might interest you.”

“Wait a minute…” For some reason, his voice had sounded familiar to her and Teralyn slowly turned around to look up at him again. Teaching assistant…that definitely rang a bell and suddenly, it clicked in her head. “Professor Calaway?”

THIS was his place?! He was the teaching assistant to Professor Moody, who was an outstanding teacher and any help the students needed, Professor Calaway – Mark – was there for anything they needed. And he was also the head of this fraternity, whatever it was called? Teralyn never needed any teaching assistance in mythology since she had a passion for it. The subject came quite easy for her.

“I had no idea this was your place…”

“Not professor,” Taker shook his head quickly. “I’m just a teacher’s aide is all.” A lot of students did it for extra money and credit in their field, or they were hoping to become professors. “And I do not recall seeing you in class.”

Then again, the class size was around 150 students and he was pretty busy. He was smiling though, looking different from his black slacks and casual button-up he wore when he was helping in class. Tonight, Taker was in black denim jeans and a black beater. Sometimes, he wore a vest, but usually kept the more interesting bits of him and his attire for the more exclusive parties. Not ones like this, where he was basically screening new arrivals like her.

“Though, I’m glad you seem to remember me; it’s always flattering when a beautiful woman does.”

“Sorry, Mr. Calaway.” Teralyn corrected herself, clearing her throat. “I usually sit in the last row in class and…” She tinged pink a little at his compliment, looking down at the dress she had on. “I never wear something like this either.” This was a definite first for her, in many ways. Some ways she didn’t even know or realize yet. Usually, her attire was color, rarely wearing the color black or smoking her eyes out like they were tonight. “My roommate, Claudia, said the party had some kind of theme and what I was going to wear wouldn’t…fit.” She shrugged nonchalantly, feeling safer now that there was a teacher’s aide here. Her nerves weren’t nearly on edge anymore, despite how intimidating this man was because of his height and those intense eyes of his. “You said you had other pieces with mythology here. If you have time, will you show them to me?”

“If you’ll call me Mark,” He laughed, raking a hand through his loose hair before nodding down at her. “Sure, I’ll show you. I got plenty of time.”

The party was just getting warmed up and nobody would say a word about what he did. They’d all leave him alone or else, afterwards, he’d remind those who lived here just who was in charge and why. Well actually, the dumb broads and morons who were new or just here for the party might’ve bothered them. Taker inwardly rolled his eyes, a mental sneer firmly in place. If he wasn’t doing this, he’d be an actor, that was for sure.

“Want another beer while I show you around? I’ve actually got bottled beer in the fridge, if you prefer that.” Since Teralyn had been very cautious about her drink, making sure nobody gave her one or got near hers. Smart woman.

“That would be great…Mark.”

He extended his arm to her and she took it with a soft smile, letting him guide her further into the mansion toward the back, where a huge kitchen and other rooms were. The keg absolutely sucked. Whoever prepped it had no idea what they were doing. Mark reached into the fridge and brought out a bottled beer, handing it to her with an opener.

“Thank you.” Teralyn put it on the counter, opening it and then handed the opener to him, watching him pop the cap off of his own.

For some reason, she felt at ease with Mark and had no idea why. Maybe it was his soothing, friendly voice, which had changed from the dark timbre it’d been when he first greeted her. It was still deep and rugged…and she felt a warmth spread throughout her body every time he spoke.

Some people were ignorant and called it magic or something. Taker thought of it as a quality, a personal trait that he probably shared with more people than he cared to admit. This ‘ability’ was something he had honed over the years, altering his voice. How he spoke, his tone, cadence, all of it. He was able to project calmness, therefore calming others. Taker could also make people afraid with his voice, to the point where they pissed themselves or put the fear of god into them. It was interesting.

“Okay, Hades and Persephone, that’s down the hall towards the library.” He pointed, ignoring the people loitering in the hall. The majority of the house would be that way, filled with people.

Minus the basement and the third floor.

Following, Teralyn sipped her beer while looking at all the different pictures hanging on the wall in this hallway. Skulls, candles, and various other pictures that should have set some alarm bells off in her head. While they walked, Mark explained the different pieces, the artwork, and she nodded to acknowledge what he was saying. Finally, they arrived in the library and it was…breathtaking, to say the least.

“Oh wow…” Who would’ve thought a teaching assistant could afford something THIS extravagant? The library was incredible and it also had glass encased artifacts, much like the front of the mansion. “Incredible…”

She was highly distracted with the artwork and information he was giving her. Teralyn was noticing the fact there were some truly sick ‘artifacts’, but mythology and archaeology kind of went hand in hand. So, while he was definitely telling her the truth about these things – and the fact that he was a teacher’s assistant on the related subject helped Taker was also distracting her from the…other décor that should have raised alarms. In a rational person’s mind anyway, some people thought it was meant to be ‘campy’ and ‘gothic’, not realizing the priceless things they stood amongst.

“I know, right? It belongs to the fraternity. A lot of it has been collected for…decades.”

“I can imagine.”

Teralyn finally pulled her eyes away from the monstrous library and focused back on Mark, who gestured over to one of the artifacts. Mark explained what it was, which was another thing from mythology, but it wasn’t what he truly wanted to show her. Time seemed to stop while she was with Mark, the quiet also very welcoming. They could barely hear the music in here and it helped she could actually think and listen clearly without the thumping surrounding them. After they were done with those artifacts, Mark continued leading her further into the library, following him obediently without realizing it.

Honestly, Taker thought about taking her to some of the special rooms in the house; however…as she talked with him, he decided against it. No point in pulling the gun so early in the story after all; he decided it was much more interesting to leave some for a later time. On the contrary, she was very easy to converse with, the conversation revolving about the relics and things he was showing her. Without realizing it, she began feeding him personal information about herself. He had to wonder if Teralyn knew she was doing it.

“So,” They had finally come to the end of the vast library, near the fireplace that was currently not in use. “What do you think?” Taker gestured to the painting over the fireplace.

It wasn’t an artifact or relic, but a replica of a Simone Pignoni painting, ‘The Rape of Proserpine’, aka Persephone. This was a very haunting, chilling painting. The fact it had the word ‘rape’ in it spoke volumes because in the story, Hades did have his way with her. True love no longer existed and this painting proved that. History always tended to repeat itself one way or another.

“I recognized it instantly. When you learn about Greek Mythology – the TRUTH of it – it’s really messed up what these Gods and Goddesses did.”

Hades kidnapping and raping Persephone, Demeter, the Goddess of Harvest’s, daughter. Then Zeus cheated and screwed anything and everything left and right, front and back. There wasn’t one story in mythology that had a happy ending, that she could recall, and maybe that was why she resonated with it so much.

“There’s no such thing as true love in this world. And there never will be. People are selfish and only care about their needs being satisfied. All that remains is darkness and we have to do our best to survive in it.”

Taking a long swig of her beer, Teralyn blinked back tears because now wasn’t the time to think about what happened the last time she went home. It left a gaping hole in her heart, one that could not be filled easily. Teralyn had never felt so alone in her life and she was afraid the sadness would one day swallow her whole.

“All mythology is filled with it, though…” He reached out and caught a single tear that escaped, raising his finger up to eye level to examine the teardrop. “Mythology resonates with most people for this reason: it is filled with the very worst of us, and the very best.” Epic stories of valor and honor, great deeds, that sort of thing. Then of course, the worst, the rape and murder…the betrayal. It was human nature painted onto gods. “If you want a love story, look no further than Cupid and Psyche. It has the typical tragedy in it, of course, but it also ends on a high note.”

“Not interested in a love story.” Damn it, she was showing emotion in front of a teacher’s aide and took in another shaky breath, shutting her eyes to fight the tears back. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to come here tonight. I just wanted to stay at the dorm like I have for the first half of the semester, but Claudia convinced me to come. She said I needed to get out and ‘mingle’,” Doing the finger quotes with her fingers, Teralyn rolled her eyes. If only I could tell her what happened to me during the holidays, maybe she would’ve just let me be. Or maybe she would’ve pushed me to come anyway. Teralyn swallowed more beer down. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…I’m glad she pushed me. I’m glad I came here tonight.” Even if her emotional pain was shown just a fraction.

“Yeah, because I’m such an interesting conversationalist?” He teased with a low laugh, moving to sit in one of the old-fashioned, high back chairs, with one leg draped over the armrest rather uncaringly. Even with his tattoos, long black hair, and rather casual attire, Taker didn’t look a bit out of place, his confidence making everything he did seem and appear as if that was how it should be. And it was. “Well, for whatever reason you did come, I’m glad for it. I was thoroughly prepared to be bored and have to listen to inane babble.” He caressed his goatee, studying her thoughtfully. “You should come again.”

That surprised her to hear that offer and Teralyn sat down in the other high-backed chair, crossing one leg over the other. She was a lady, it had been instilled in her to act as such when wearing a dress or skirt. To never flash her goods to others or be lazy.

“Sure, if you have another party, which according to Claudia, you do frequently here, I wouldn’t mind coming again.” She smiled at him, feeling that familiar warmth wash over her all over again from his intense gaze. It made her drop hers to her beer bottle as she swirled the liquid around in the bottle absentmindedly. “I appreciate the invitation.”

“It’s not every day I get to show a beautiful woman around, one who isn’t dressed like this is a B movie.”

Initially, Taker had taken her for just another slut, though after seeing how she conducted herself, she was a lady and made the dress work. Not many women could, it could have gone either way and all depended on the woman wearing it. He was laughing and joking, making sure it was all conveyed in his tone, though his eyes were serious, thoughtful as he took her in. He’d see that Claudia got her reward for bringing such an interesting find to his attention, via Bradshaw of course.

She’d probably enjoy it.

Claudia was currently tied up and being pounded by Bradshaw, screaming in ecstasy.

Chapter 3

That was the second time he called her beautiful and Teralyn found herself liking it, laughing at what he said. “Like I said earlier, this is NOT my usual wear.” She had even tried pulling the dress down to cover more of her thighs since it rode up slightly upon sitting down.

Teralyn was still a virgin, so if she knew what Mark initially thought of her, she would’ve been very offended. She had been planning to save herself until marriage because of her Christian upbringing and it had been instilled into her at an early age. To save herself for the man she loved until marriage – to only be with one man for the rest of her life. However, after catching her boyfriend, who was supposed to be a virgin as well, screwing her best friend…Teralyn’s beliefs had been shattered and crumbled to dust. She wasn’t sure if there was even a God anymore after that betrayal, considering she’d been planning on marrying her ex as soon as he popped the question, even if she was still in college. The light and life that was once inside of her had been snuffed out. As far as Teralyn was concerned, she planned on dying a virgin and would probably stay celibate for the rest of her life.

She could be offended all she wanted, but the plain fact of the matter was first impressions were generally based on a multitude of factors. What one wore. What one looked like. Who one was with. She had come in with a known slut and had initially resembled one – Birds of a feather and all that. What had changed his initial assessment was boredom and deciding to approach her. Now, if he would have known her moral stance on sex, Taker would have laughed himself silly and gone out of his way to seduce her, just to ruin her pretty little virginal bubble. He was a troubled man.

“It’s not the dress, it’s the woman wearing it.” He informed her, finishing his beer with an amused smile. “You probably wear a lot of bright colors, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.” Even though her life was in shambles, her world full of uncertainty, Teralyn didn’t let that reflect in what she wore, her appearance. Appearance was everything, along with first impressions and she really regretted wearing this dress tonight because it went against her morals. “Black is definitely not a good color on me.”

These stilettos she had on were killing her too that Claudia borrowed her. She had no idea just how much of a slut her roommate was either. That was something Teralyn would learn relatively fast if she planned on going to any other parties with Claudia in the future.

“And I’m going to assume you don’t.” Teralyn retorted with mirth, not bothering to question it and finished her own beer, standing from the chair. “Is there a trashcan in here somewhere?” Otherwise, she’d have to go back to the kitchen to toss it.

“Here.” He leaned over to take it from her, easily balancing both bottles in one hand while reclining back again. “I’ll toss them when we vacate. As for your question, dark colors are actually a matter of convenience. I never know if I’m going to have to help Professor Moody or not, so having a basic colored, semi-professional wardrobe is kind of a must. I can go from my own classes to helping in one without needing to change.”

It was the best thing ever, having bits of legitimate truth to cover his personal tastes. Taker really didn’t need too many people eyeballing him or anything about him closely. He also got the impression if Teralyn found something she didn’t like or approve of, she’d bail and he’d never see her again outside of class. Unless he abducted her, but…again, he wasn’t trying to bring outsiders down on his head. He rather liked this place and how easy it was to get what he wanted.

“Makes sense.”

Teralyn would have nothing to do with him if she discovered the truth about this ‘frat’. Teaching aide or not. At least, that was what the old Teralyn would do. Right now, she was in limbo, trying to decide on the person she wanted to be and felt more lost than ever.

“For what it’s worth, it looks good on you – what you have on now.” The black. “I don’t think you’d look very good in a lime green or pink beater.” That made her laugh when he recoiled, feeling slightly buzzed from the two beers she had. “I mean, there’s nothing WRONG with those colors…” The amusement shimmered in her ocean blues as Teralyn glanced at the clock, her eyes widening at how much time had gone by. “Wow, it’s already after midnight.” They had been talking and spending time together for over two hours. “How long do these parties of yours usually last anyway?” Now she was looking back at him curiously.

Taker shrugged one massive shoulder. “They usually start winding down around three or four, just depends on the mood is all. Claudia usually leaves around two or so, I think. You’d have to ask her, or Bradshaw.” Basically, she left when Shaw was done screwing her through the mattress or something. Unless Shaw had another tart on the line, then he’d get rid of her earlier. “You getting tired already, beautiful?” He stood up, extending his hand to her. “Stretch them legs, it’ll wake you.” And he rather enjoyed seeing her legs in those sky high fuck-me-pumps.

Taking his hand without hesitation, Mark pulled her up from the chair and she tucked some of her hair behind her ear while pulling the dress down with her free hand. “Yeah, I usually don’t stay up this late, truthfully. Unless I’m cramming for an exam. Midterms are when I pull the all-nighters.” Those were usually killer, but since she had straight A’s so far, like she did in high school, it showed Teralyn’s hard work was paying off. “I’m definitely not nocturnal.” They started walking through the library again, her hand not leaving Mark’s without realizing it and she barely managed to stifle a yawn.

Drinking had also relaxed her.

She really was a fresh freshman. Small town he would guess, good parents, upstanding member of her community. He bet in high school she had been some sort of golden girl. Taker would also bet she was a virgin, and that made his blood simmer. There was something truly delightful in taking the virginity of a woman like her, something wickedly delicious about spoiling something so pure and innocent.

“Would you like for me to call you a cab?” Taker offered, making their first stop the kitchen so he could throw away their empty bottles, as well as get himself another. He also handed her another, her third, a bit curious about her alcohol tolerance.

Politely, she declined the third beer. Two was her limit as she cracked a smile at him. “If you would, I’d appreciate it.”

Teralyn yawned and blushed a little because she didn’t want him thinking he was boring her. Quite the opposite, actually. Mark was intriguing, mysterious, and Teralyn found herself drawn to him for some odd reason. Nodding, he released her hand to make the call for a cab and then rejoined her, letting her know it would be an hour before it could get here.

“I know I’ve already taken up a lot of your time tonight, but would you mind sitting outside and waiting with me?” Teralyn could use the fresh spring air since there were a lot of people here.

He could quite easily go through a case by himself and top it off with some whiskey. Taker preferred hard liquor to beer; it didn’t taste like piss, but he wasn’t paying the price for it on idiot college boys and girls. Many who LIKED getting drunk on cheap alcohol.

“Not a problem.” He flashed her a grin, already leading the way outside. “Hey big man,” Taker caught Farooq by the arm as they made their way towards the porch. “Let Shaw know to tell Claudia that her friend is heading back to their dormitory.”

Farooq – his real name was Ron Simmons – glanced down at the friend in question, raising one brow before flashing a toothy smile. “Sure will, man.” Boss was taking her out onto the porch, which meant he was either getting her a cab or she would walk. The fact that he was personally escorting her out and in a non-violent fashion…he whistled once they were outside, beginning to chuckle.

There was no reason for Mark to be violent with her when they’d had a great time tonight and they were cordial. She smiled at the African American man before he went into the house and groaned at how sore her feet were. “I really hate doing this, but…” Teralyn couldn’t take it anymore and sat on the steps to remove the stiletto heels, sighing as soon as they were off as she set them right beside her. Mark lowered himself to sit on her other side and she made sure to sit with her legs angled, not wanting to flash her panties in this dress to anyone. “Okay, that feels SO much better.” She could not go another hour with those stupid things on. “I’m never wearing those again and I have NO idea how Claudia does it. I prefer my flats any day of the week.”

He inwardly sighed. So boring. She is so BORING. “Most women do,” He laughed, stretching his own very long legs out before him. Boring in her attire, at least. “I won’t lie, beautiful, you make that dress stunning.”

Or vice versa as it were, Taker assumed she wasn’t big on using hair and make-up product. Then again, maybe she was. He wondered if Teralyn was naturally beautiful beneath those smoked out eyes and everything else. Some women were, some women weren’t, and it was always hard to tell until one saw them without their mask on. Wearing a mask of his own, his was just an adjustment of his features and how Taker presented himself.

“Claudia is one of a kind.”

“Thank you, but you won’t see me in anything like this ever again after tonight.” Why the hell did she even have a black dress in the first place? Her mother must’ve packed it for her on a whim or something. Teralyn did not remember packing it when she was getting ready to leave home to come here. “Yeah she is, no doubt about that. She definitely lets her hair down and has fun – sometimes too much.”

Claudia’s grades weren’t the best and she didn’t care, telling Teralyn one night as long as she passed, that was all that mattered to her. That wasn’t Teralyn’s mindset when it came to studying, she took it very seriously because this was her future on the line. Luckily, she had gotten a scholarship to go to any school in the country and that was because of her hard work throughout high school. It paid off.

“She’s in mythology too, you know. The class. I wonder if she even knows you’re the teaching aide for Professor Moody.”

Claudia had ‘picked it’ because Teralyn had the body for it and it fit in with the rest of the people at this party. She was not bringing her friend looking like the odd man out, no thanks. Honestly though, Claudia was a bit surprised Teralyn hadn’t realized that the little black dress was a…present. Something she had slipped into Teralyn’s closet after she had come back all moody and sad, hoping it’d cheer her up. She hadn’t said anything, just assumed her roommate would figure it out.

“I wonder if she even attends half the time.” Taker was chuckling, not overly caring either, though he had to wonder why Claudia would be in THAT class. Easy pass maybe? Wrong of her to think so if that was the case, but that was usually motivation for attending classes one had no interest in.

“Easy credit, I asked her and that’s what she told me.”

Teralyn had just confirmed what Mark had been thinking. She had NO idea this was a gift from her roommate either. A gift she would not wear again, it would simply go in the back of her closet and collect dust. This dress was…borderline obscene and she’d only worn it because Claudia insisted on it. They had to ‘blend in’ and apparently, wearing pink with a blue jean skirt would’ve made Teralyn stick out like a sore thumb. Granted, Claudia had a point since the majority of the people here were wearing black, purple, dark blue and grey. Come to think of it, that was a little strange and she glanced up at the windows with the thick dark purple curtains, along with the décor of the mansion in general.

“So, this place is yours or are you just the head of the fraternity here?”

“Just the head. In a few years when I graduate, someone else will be the head and this will just be a fond memory or two for me.” Such lies.

Taker knew it, but the lie rolled easily off his tongue. Lying was second nature to him. The truth, when he was able to tell it, was usually a LOT more fun because most people could NOT deal with his truths, but…lies were a necessity.

“I’m a teacher’s aide, beautiful, and a student. There’s no way I could afford something like this.” He laughed, shaking his head and then turned to look at the mansion. “Mind you, I don’t think I’d want too. It’s kind of on the big side for just one man, you know?”

Teralyn looked along with him, chuckling softly and nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’d ever want something THAT big, honestly. I kinda figured it wasn’t yours, but I didn’t want to assume anything either.” She smiled at him sheepishly, moving her hair to drape over her shoulder and left the one closest to him bare. “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” When he answered 25 and asked her the same thing, she lowered her eyes a little while playing with the hem of her dress. “I just turned 19 in December.”

It was now March. Twenty-five was a little old for her, wasn’t it? Wait, what the hell was she even thinking?! This was a teacher’s assistant and…NO MEN! Her vow, she had to keep it, no matter what!

There was a six year age gap and since he now knew she was legal, he wouldn’t have to deal with the law about minors. Taker had already decided he would be seducing this little Virgin Mary. “Well, happy belated birthday.” He reached out to take her hand, stopping her from fidgeting, which was a terrible habit. “Nervous, Teralyn?” He asked gently, inwardly wondering if it was him or something going on in her head. Either way, the wicked part of him was a bit gleeful at the idea of her being nervous.

If she was smart, she would be.

The look in his eyes made her swallow hard, the intensity, and the way he held her hand was different than before. Even his voice had deepened, dropping an octave and it sent another wave of warmth through her body. Teralyn was nervous because she found Mark incredibly attractive and had sworn off men. Quite a conundrum, indeed. It was her luck to swear off men and then a gorgeous one like Mark waltzes in her life! He had also given her an invitation to return here another time…Teralyn already decided that wouldn’t happen because she didn’t want to tempt the devil.

While staring into his eyes, Mark had moved closer, inching little by little, without her noticing. “No, why would I be? And thank you.”

Chapter 4

“You’re fidgeting with your dress.” Scooting closer because he wanted to see how aware she was, Taker concluded quickly she wasn’t very.

Beautiful with makeup, not very bright, and a virgin. Teralyn would be fun to sex it up with; he hadn’t decided about anything else yet, however. That was probably why Taker was wasting his time like this. Normally, he could get the measure of a person right away, but she was…something else – something he couldn’t immediately pinpoint, so he wanted to know. He liked puzzles, they didn’t usually last long, but it was generally amusing while it did.

“I know, I’m huge and it intimidates people. My mother must’ve been slipping Miracle Gro in my Wheaties.”

Suddenly snapping out of the hypnosis Mark put on her, Teralyn realized how CLOSE they were and gently pulled her hand out of his, standing up from the steps to smooth her dress down. “Yeah, probably.” The cab pulled up and she sent a silent prayer of thanks up above, turning to look down at Mark since he didn’t bother rising to his feet. “Well, there’s my ride. Thanks again for hanging out with me tonight, Mark. I had fun.”

Bending down, she went to retrieve her shoes and Mark was up, doing it for her in a fast, fluid motion that made her stumble back. A man his size should NOT be able to move that fast as the shoes dangled on his fingertips by the straps. When she stumbled back, Mark automatically reached out to catch her, one massive hand gently, firmly wrapping around her upper arm. Her gaze dropped to it and he imagined seeing his fingers could wrap all the way around was messing with her.

“You okay?” He asked with concern lacing his tone as he bent down to study her face. “Did you drink too much?” She had only had two beers for the entire night; Taker didn’t think that little over that amount of time would affect her. “How about you go without these?” The sky high heels…the last thing she needed was to break her neck.

Her buzz was already gone from those two beers and her stumbling was because Mark had gotten too close to her. She was broken and there was no fixing her. The concern in his eyes made her smile, however, as she took the shoes from him, their eyes once again locked. Her heart was thundering in her ears and Teralyn was trying to calm herself down. His hand on her arm was like a vise grip and she cringed when the cab driver honked at her, watching Mark lift his free hand in a one second gesture.

“No, I’m fine and I don’t think Claudia would think highly of me if I left her shoes here.”

The cab driver shouted profanities and took off, flipping them both the bird.

“Hey! HEY, wait!” Breaking away from Mark and his grip, Teralyn ran down the sidewalk and groaned. “Damn it!”

Considering it had taken him around an hour to get out here, on a campus that was hopping, that man was an idiot who had just LOST money. Talk about working out in his favor. When she turned back around, Taker was standing there with his thumbs hooked through his belt loops, trying not to look amused.

“Maybe you oughta wait on Claudia? Given the hour, not many more cabs are coming this way and I know she usually has an arrangement.” She was kind of lucky he had let her ‘break’ that grip; Taker could have easily snapped her arm.

What the hell was that cab driver’s problem?! If Mark would’ve snapped her arm, that would’ve completely blown his cover and any chance with Teralyn for sure. He was lucky to have released her and shouldn’t have grabbed her like that in the first place.

“No, it’s fine. The campus isn’t that far away, so I can walk.”

Claudia owed her BIG time running off with Bradshaw and leaving her to fend for herself for the night. There was no way she was waiting for her roommate because she had no idea how long Claudia would be doing…whatever she was doing. This was going to suck, but she refused to walk barefoot and slipped the stilettos back on.

“Have a good night, Mark.” Then, she started making her way down the sidewalk, saying a silent prayer to God to let her make it home safely.

Oh, these stilettos were KILLING her feet already!

She really wasn’t the brightest in the shed and Taker idly wondered if she was asking to get raped or something. Walking to wherever her dorm was located, in that outfit, in those heels…Teralyn was a victim in the making. Rolling his eyes, he began following her, making sure his footsteps were loud enough for her to hear, so she didn’t panic. She was innocent, probably sheltered, and he had decided she would be HIS victim, nobody else’s. Taker was even patient enough to play a long game with her, however long it took to get into those virginal panties and destroy her virtue.

“Please don’t stray from the sidewalk, you’ll fall and I’d feel really bad in class.” He called out after her, his tone filled with unease.

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Teralyn figured since he was following her to her dorm, so she might as well slow down to walk beside Mark instead of him trailing behind. “You didn’t have to follow me home.” She had a can of mace in her purse, small enough to fit in her clutch, just in case someone felt froggy. Her father insisted on her taking it before leaving home and Teralyn understood why since this was a big city. “I appreciate it though.”

Two beers was enough to get her buzzed because of her low tolerance, which was why she did NOT touch hard liquor at all. It would knock her right on her backside. That was the ONLY ‘bad’ thing Teralyn had done while in high school was underage drinking and it was beer only. Tonight, she had committed the same crime and nobody batted an eyelash. Everyone smoked, drank and did drugs, or at the very least one of the three in this college town.

If by chance they were stopped by the police, Taker would handle it. He wasn’t worried about her falling from two beers, his issue was those heels that she was not very comfortable in. Taker was betting she would regret her life tomorrow from those things. The things women did and wore…while he appreciated it, – Teralyn’s legs for example were fabulous right now – he also despised it. It was a terrible contradiction.

“Mmm, what kind of person would I be if I let you walk alone at this hour?”

“You wouldn’t be a bad guy if you didn’t walk me home because we don’t really know each other and I’m not your responsibility.”

The beers had tapered off a little and her head was clearer than before, thankfully. The reason Teralyn had stumbled back earlier was because Mark had gotten too close to her. Right now, at this moment, they were walking side by side and he wasn’t all up in her business. A cool breeze blew over her and she folded her arms, rubbing them with her hands since it was early spring.

“I really should’ve brought a coat or sweater.” She hadn’t been planning on having to walk all the way back to the dorm because her roommate was too busy being sexed up.

Yeah… Claudia had issues. When she first had started coming around, it was because she had been brought by some of the upper classmen who had promised her a ‘good time’. She had found that and then some, managing to wheedle herself into some interesting positions in such a short amount of time. She had her uses. Bradshaw had definitely gotten the benefits of most of said uses.

“Not going to mace me if I wrap my arm around you, are you?” Taker asked, that was about all the warmth he could offer her, since he was wearing a beater. If she did mace him, he’d feed her the small cannister and watch her choke on it.

How did he know she had mace? That was a little unsettling and she felt goosebumps break out on her skin, continuing to walk with him. “That mace is for someone who tries to attack me. You’re not going to try attacking me, are you?” Teralyn looked up at him with twinkling ocean blues and his arm went around her, pulling her against his side. Instantly, she felt the warmth radiating from him as they continued walking, a soft sigh escaping her. “You really are a furnace, aren’t you, Mark?”

It had been an educated guess, especially if she was ballsy enough to walk the streets after midnight, alone, in that dress and those heels. Taker knew she was thick in the head, but he hadn’t equated it with a lack of survival instincts so much as her innocence and naivety. A lot of small-town freshmen girls had that problem, it usually got rectified quickly.

“Yes, and you’re cold. I like it.” Taker constantly radiated heat and it made a lot of things horrible, especially in summers. “So, where is it we’re going?” As in, where’d she lay her pretty little head down at night?

“We’ll turn left here and head straight down. It’s an apartment building and we’re on the first floor.” Teralyn explained, rattling off the actual address and didn’t realize the danger she was putting herself in with this man.

Sometimes, she was too trusting for her own good. However, this was a teaching assistant at the college and the head of a fraternity, so Teralyn didn’t feel any weird or bad vibes from him. It actually felt nice to be held for a change…and she immediately stopped that train of thought. NO MEN! How many times did she have to keep reminding herself of that before she got it through her thick skull?

“At least it’s a beautiful night out.” There were a million stars glittering in the sky down at them and the moon was half full.

“This is true.” Committing to memory everything she had told him, the address was especially important.

However, now that Taker knew she was in a class he ‘helped teach’, he would have access to a lot more of her information through Moody. Mythology was the perfect recruiting grounds; so many people were looking for answers to things or interested in the mysteries of things beyond the mundane. It was just a matter of weeding out the people like Claudia.

“So, what exactly are you majoring in?” Not like he wouldn’t be able to find out, but they were making conversation and he would lure her into his web slowly.

“Journalism. I’m hoping one day to be able to travel all over the world as a journalist.” It was a dream of hers, to see the world and experience different cultures and see how people lived, worked, etc. “I know it’s probably a long shot, but a girl can dream.”

It was better than being in beauty pageants, cheerleading and dancing, which her mother forced her to be in. She loved her mother, but she was very pushy with Teralyn and wanted her to make their family proud. Even throughout high school, she had very high expectations when it came to her parents and Teralyn did her best not to let them down.

“What about you? What are you majoring in, Mark?”

Journalism. Taker had to think about that one. If she wanted to be any good at her future dream job, she had to start being more observant. Though, he was also very good at shielding things about himself and explaining away other things. Making it sound so logical, most people weren’t aware how close they had been to danger. She was getting more interesting by the moment because he had a feeling Teralyn’s lack of notice tonight was due to the new surroundings, those two beers, and a general feeling of melancholy. Something he had noticed in her eyes once or twice when they had been in the library.

“You might laugh,” He warned her, smiling when she raised a brow. “I’m majoring in history.”

That didn’t surprise her considering all the knowledge he had about mythology. History was different, but…in her eyes, mythology was a form of history since it was in the past. “Oh.” Why would she laugh at that? “Do you want to be a teacher one day then?” He shrugged, making her smile because she honestly didn’t know where her major would lead her either. Then another thought occurred to her and Teralyn looked up at him, wondering if she should ask this question or not. “So, are you an undergraduate?” Since he mentioned still going to school and graduating.

“I am not, I’m actually working on my master’s degree. This is my first year of it. I’m new to the teacher’s assistant and all that.” Last year had been the undergraduate for him, then Taker had decided where he was going to specialize in and gone from there. “And since you are new, if you have any questions or whatnot, I’m always available.” She would have to get used to him anyway. Taker had no intentions of leaving her alone now. He was just laying out the lures and the traps left and right.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Wow, she was a lowly freshman and this man, who had already graduated, was going for his master’s degree now. How long had he been in school all together? Did Mark start right out of high school or did he take a few years off since he was now 25? So many questions rolled through her mind as the goosebumps slowly went away because of the warmth Teralyn soaked up from him. Soon, the apartment building came into sight and she breathed a sigh of relief because her feet were on fire.

“Ah, here we are.” That walk wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought as they walked up the sidewalk that led to the door, finally stopping. Slowly, Teralyn pulled away from Mark to turn around to look up at him fully with a soft smile on her face. “Thank you for walking me home.”

All it meant was he had the associate’s degree – Taker found it useless since it was like going back to high school and paying out the backside for it – and a bachelor’s degree, which was marginally more useful. He had graduated at 18, took a leap year and went on a trip of ‘self-discovery’, then came back at age 20. Taker was right on track and not among the oldest of people still getting an education here.

“You are very welcome,” His eyes trailed down her, finally landing on the shoes. “Next time, bring some flats.” He advised, his voice full of mirth. “There will be a next time, yeah, beautiful?”

Lord help her, the butterflies erupted in her stomach at that intense, hypnotic gaze and Teralyn felt herself nod before she really knew what she was doing. “Yeah, of course. And I will never wear stilettos again, you can bank on that.” Flats all the way, she hated heels and the most ‘heel’ she ever wore, besides tonight, was wedges. They were tolerable, but other than that, Teralyn liked having her feet flat. “I would say be careful walking home, but…I don’t think you’ll have an issue.” She chuckled softly, along with him, because they both knew it was true. Mark was huge, standing well over six feet tall, maybe even closer to seven feet and nobody would mess with him unless they had a death wish.

Unlike her, Mark didn’t look like bait.

“Well,” He flashed her a grin that was all teeth, his entire face darkening briefly before returning back to the warm, open expression he had been wearing all night with her. “If they do, I bet they think twice about making that mistake again.” Providing they lived long enough to think twice. “I’ll see you in class, Teralyn.” Now that Taker knew her face, he’d spot her easily enough. She’d probably be wearing less makeup and less black. “I’m having another party tomorrow and it’ll be less people; we’re doing a get-to-know you for pledges. You should come.”

Teralyn shook her head, heading up the couple stairs to pull her card out to wave it in front of the buzzer that would unlock the door. “I’m not interested in pledging to a fraternity, Mark. And I won’t be able to come tomorrow anyway. Gotta work and then study for an upcoming exam next week.” Come to think of it, the exam was for her history class and she chuckled at the irony of that. “Have fun with that though. Goodnight.” Waving, she opened the door and walked inside, immediately taking the stilettos off as soon as she was in the apartment, locking the door behind her. “What a night…”

It had nothing to do with HER pledging, it was just a party in honor of the pledges, so to speak. People who weren’t pledges would be there and since he had invited her, he had already decided she was coming. He’d figure out a way to get her there, regardless of what she had told him. Taker let the smile and everything else drop when he was out of sight of the apartment, rolling his neck from side to side as a wicked smirk spread across his lips. Claudia wouldn’t be gone yet and she HAD been wanting to join, so Taker had just found a new use for her that didn’t require spreading her whore legs.

Chapter 5

Working at the local coffee shop, on a Saturday, was incredible and stressful, but Teralyn handled it. She needed to make her own money to survive since her parents couldn’t always foot the bill for the necessities she needed. They were middle class people, even though her mother tried to make it seem like they were rich. Sometimes, she wondered what happened to her mother to give her the type of mindset she had.

“Order 19 up!” She called out, setting it on the counter and had on blue jean shorts, a t-shirt with the coffee shop’s logo on it and a visor with her auburn hair pulled up in a ponytail. Teralyn had minimal makeup on, just gloss and eyeliner, no foundation since her skin was nearly unblemished.

Order 19 was a coffee black and one of the bacon croissants that he was betting was not made in-house, but probably ordered in bulk, removed from its plastic wrap and microwaved. However, Taker was famished and this was the best place to get coffee in town, unless one enjoyed gas station slop, which he did not. Being here this early was not his usual thing, not after a party, but he hadn’t been to bed at all.

“Well, well,” He rumbled when he realized who it was beneath that visor, raising one black brow. “I may have to come here more often.” Oh, really. SHE worked here? This was a sign, it had to be.

Teralyn heard that low rumble and turned around, staring back at none other than Mark. Nobody else had a low rumbling voice like he did. It reminded her of distant thunder, right before a huge storm struck. “Mark, hi.” She greeted with a smile, her ocean blues no longer smoked out and her body was covered instead of in a skimpy black number.

“Tera, can you grab the next order?”

“Sure,” She smiled at Mark apologetically. “Sorry, I can’t talk right now, but good to see you.” Then she was off to take the next customer’s order, jotting it down on the pad of paper. “Okay strawberry or raspberry?” She waited for the older woman to answer and smiled at her softly, letting her know her order would be up momentarily.

Taker left her to it, strolling out of the shop and dropped his shades over his eyes. His long hair was braided back today, with a bandana wrapped around his head, wearing a pair of jeans and an open leather vest. Claudia had actually spent the night at the house, for the first time ever, and she had been a fount of information. However, the fact that she had let this one thing slip wasn’t okay. Taker wanted to know everything. Claudia was about to tame her wild ways because Teralyn hadn’t seemed to approve. Becoming his new victim’s best friend was the perfect way to worm his way into her life and her panties. Or maybe when she no showed his party, he’d personally invite her again.

Unfortunately, that would be difficult because Claudia and Teralyn didn’t really know each other that well. Teralyn was all about her studies, going to work and being responsible. Claudia didn’t give a flying fig about responsibility or her studies, partying almost every night. They were completely different people, day and night, and Teralyn had turned down going to parties with Claudia on more than one occasion. She also had her own friends on campus she hung out with besides her roommate.

After an eight hour shift, Teralyn walked out of the coffee shop and took her visor off, stifling a yawn. She had to be up at 6 AM, so that only left her to get four hours of sleep and she was tired. A nap was definitely in her future. Yawning, she waited at the corner for the light to change and crossed the street, holding a cup of coffee she had bought with some of her tip money. A quick power nap and then she would spend most of the night studying for her history exam coming up in a few days. Tomorrow, she had another shift at the coffee shop, only working there part-time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday because Monday through Thursday, she was in school fulltime.

Right there waiting was a Harley Davidson, Taker astride it and he was smoking a cigarette. It was such a bad habit and he knew it; he usually had a pouch of tobacco he chewed, but sometimes, a cigarette was in order. “Hey beautiful,” He greeted when she stopped and blinked at him, smiling at her before dismounting the massive motorcycle, customized to fit his heavier frame. Teralyn was probably a bit concerned with him being there, which would have been smart, if he wasn’t doing his best to be his normal, polite, charming wholesome un-self.

Yes, Teralyn was a little concerned and didn’t move toward him, gliding her fingers through her hair. It was still pulled back in the ponytail, but the top of it was slightly messy. “Hi…” What was he doing here? “Okay, are you stalking me?” She made it sound lighthearted, but part of her wondered why Mark was here when she JUST got off work. This was strange for sure, and she wasn’t a huge believer in coincidences. “Or did I not make your coffee good and you’re a disgruntled customer waiting to berate me?” Again, she sounded amused and took a sip of her own loaded creamer coffee.

“Actually, you made it perfectly and if you were on the clock, I might consider ordering another one.” Taker laughed, knowing he needed to disarm her initial suspicion. “No, actually, I’m not stalking you, I’m…waiting on you.” He admitted in a joking tone, aware that it did appear he was stalking her and hoped his tone conveyed that. “I wanted to ask you to come tonight, as my date. I’m not asking you to pledge or anything.” Yet. “It’s not just a frat party for the pledges, just a bit less rowdy and less people is all.”

Was waiting on her the same thing as stalking? Teralyn kept hearing that nagging voice in the back of her head screaming NO MEN. Reminding her of the betrayal she felt catching her high school sweetheart and former lover of her life bumping uglies with her ex-best friend. It hadn’t happened all that long ago and she hadn’t healed from that betrayal.

“Your…date…” The words came out of her mouth slowly while Teralyn pondered her options.

Hadn’t she told him she was studying for an exam tonight and couldn’t attend the frat party? Yes, yes she had. It also made her wonder how the hell this man didn’t have someone else to ask, or why he was asking her in the first place. She was plain, boring, and there were far more attractive women on campus for Mark to spend his time on. Wow, her self-esteem was absolute garbage!

“Still think you’re stalking me and I do have studying to do tonight…” Would a couple hours away from studying kill her though? “All right, fine, what time should I be there and is there a dress code?” Please say no, I really don’t want to wear black or anything slutty again.

There was a difference. Stalking would have been him here hanging out all day long, following her from place to place and taking notes. Things of that nature. Wasn’t happening. Taker had other people to do the stalking for him, so he could project normalcy.

“Eight, and you don’t have to dress like last night, just…” Taker considered it, shrugging his massive shoulders. “If it helps, I’ll be in black dress slacks and a t-shirt.” And she knew about his dark colored wardrobe because he had told her about it already, the convenience factor and all that. “I’ll have you home no later than 10:30, if that helps.”

A t-shirt? This man was going to wear a t-shirt to a party? That made her feel marginally better since that meant it would be casual dress, her body posture relaxing somewhat. So much for taking a nap, Teralyn would have to cram as much studying as she could before eight and get a shower in as well.

“Okay, that’s good to know and I’ll make sure to bring a sweater or jacket with me.” It was supposed to be cool again that night as Teralyn sipped more of her coffee. “Just so I know, do you want me to walk there or are you going to pick me up?” Mark DID ask her to be his date and, in her world, the guys always picked up the gals. “If you can’t, totally understand, but I just wanna make sure all my ducks are in a row here.” Now she sounded nervous and shut herself up with more coffee.

Taker was planning on wearing a black V-neck t-shirt tucked into a pair of black dress pants. That was about as formal as this thing got. Last night had been black jeans and a tank top, so formality was usually based on whatever mood he decided he was in. He smiled down at her, one black brow slowly arching. “Do you want me to pick you up?” Gesturing back towards his motorcycle, which was his only mode of transportation at the moment, Taker did have a truck, but it was currently in storage. “Some women don’t like riding these.”

Teralyn swallowed hard, looking at the beast behind him and then up into Mark’s eyes, shaking her head. “I’ll walk.” She liked keeping her feet on the ground. “I’ll see you at 8 o’clock tonight.”

~!~

“What the hell am I doing?!” Teralyn grumbled, glancing at the clock and knew she had to get dressed and leave within the next 30 minutes.

It took her about 20 minutes to get to the fraternity house Mark ran, where the party was. Claudia was nowhere to be found, which was typical of the roommate. Looking in the mirror, she held up the top she was thinking about wearing and nodded. It was her style and a lot more comfortable than that dress she had on last night.

“I swore off men, right? So why did I agree to be Mark’s date?”

Sighing, she began dressing and smoothed the knotted, two layered tunic down her sides. It was light purple, short sleeved and the second layer was white with a sweetheart neckline, lace on the hem. She already had a pair of jean capris on and slipped her white flats on with them, staring in the mirror. Her makeup was simple, a glossy nude lip with thin black liner. Instead of leaving her hair down like last night, Teralyn braided it to hang over her shoulder and put a white butterfly clip on the side of her head for a little style. Grabbing her white thin long sweater, along with her wallet that she stuffed in her back pocket, Teralyn headed out of the apartment building and really hoped this wasn’t a colossal mistake.

NO MEN, I’m an idiot!

The party was literally just starting when she arrived. Taker was standing out on the very large, partially wraparound porch, an old-fashioned glass bottle of Pepsi in his hand. Bit by bit people had been arriving since 7 and Claudia was not here tonight. No…he didn’t need Bradshaw distracted. Everything would be normal looking on the surface; most of these pledges had no idea what exactly they were pledging for and would be dismissed before all was said and done. His green eyes narrowed in on the very colorful woman slowly making her way towards the house, the corner of his mouth curving upwards.

Mark was hard to miss due to his size, so Teralyn did not have a problem spotting him on that porch. She waved with a smile, heading up the sidewalk and saw others trickling in one by one. It was just a little before 8 o’clock, she had made great time. One thing about Teralyn was she HATED being late for anything planned. It was a pet peeve of hers if others were late too. Dressed from head to toe in black, Teralyn remembered what Mark had said about his wardrobe the previous night, so it didn’t bother her. However, she looked like an angel that was about to be in the hands of the devil.

“Hi, Mark.” She greeted him once on the porch, standing in front of him, and really hoped she looked all right.

She was not THAT out of place. Granted, Taker and the ‘higher ranking’ fraternity brothers were in all black, all of them wearing clothes just like his to show their solidarity, while others were in nice, casual clothing. Some parties, even the sluts and idiots looking for the free drinks, drugs and sex, knew not to come. It also helped that Bradshaw and Farooq were out there handling ‘security’ since this wasn’t necessarily a private event, but they weren’t letting in the riffraff.

“Hey there, beautiful,” Taker walked down to her, reaching out to take her hand. “You look…a lot more at ease tonight.” His eyes scanned her, taking in the little hair butterfly clip and the flats. “Still as beautiful too.”

She blushed at his compliment as his hand once again swallowed hers whole. “You’re quite the charmer. And you don’t look so bad yourself, Mark.”

This man was very sexy…too sexy for his own good. Black made him drip sexuality. Just because she swore off men didn’t mean she couldn’t admire a handsome man. Mark had an aura about him that drew people in and a smile that turned her insides to mush.

“Yes, I’m A LOT more comfortable tonight.” Teralyn should’ve gone with her gut instinct and worn what she wanted to when Claudia brought her here for the party. “I need something to drink. Mind showing me where the refreshments are, date?” Teralyn grinned up at him and he proceeded to guide her inside.

“In the kitchen, you remember where it is?”

Teralyn shook her head and he wasn’t surprised; it was easy to get lost in here if one wasn’t familiar with the place. Taker hadn’t decided yet if he was going to let her get familiar with it or not. He supposed a lot depended on how tonight went. Holding out his arm, he smiled again when she looped hers through his, obviously a bit more comfortable with him as well tonight. Taker supposed being out on the sidewalk after her work ended had been a bit weird for Teralyn, even though he had thought it was nice and polite as opposed to just snatching her up.

Plenty of time for that down the road. “Alcohol, soda, or water tonight?”

“I’ll take a Pepsi.”

No alcohol tonight, Teralyn didn’t want to get buzzed again. Mark nodded, taking the bottle out of the fridge and popped the cap off it for her, making sure she watched him do it. Taking a swig of it, she looked around the kitchen again, the very HUGE kitchen, that looked like two kitchens could fit in here. This would be her mother’s dream come true since she loved baking and cooking so much.

“So, I’m assuming you didn’t have a date for last night’s party since you hung out with me.” Unless he kicked his date to the curb and the smirk on his face told her all she needed to know. “Was there a reason you needed to find a date for tonight’s party?” Teralyn was honestly curious and leaned against the kitchen island, taking another sip of her Pepsi.

Now, inwardly, Taker was snorting at that question, his arrogance demanding to know if she was serious. He had more bed rats around than he knew what to do with, though he also had peculiar tastes at times, so…variety was the spice of life. “No, there wasn’t a reason.” Rinsing and tossing his empty glass bottle into the recycling bin, Taker turned and leaned against the counter, folding his arms over his chest studying her. “You are a very beautiful, intelligent woman and after last night, I find myself wanting to spend time with you. You seem surprised by this and you shouldn’t be.” Teralyn was too damn sweet, beautiful, and even with all her naivety, she WAS smart. At least when it came to mythology. “Isn’t that reason enough?”

“I see.”

He liked her and it was obvious it was more than a friend. She was afraid of this because of her vow to swear off men. Teralyn was damaged goods and she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to trust another guy again. Did she tell Mark now or wait this out to see what happened? No, she had to be straight with him, so she didn’t lead him on.

“I’m afraid I owe you an apology then, Mark. I thought you asked me here as a friend, as a favor or something.” Teralyn set the Pepsi bottle down on the counter and began playing with her braid. “I had fun with you last night too, but…this can’t go any farther than friendship. That’s all I can offer you.” There was obvious pain in her ocean blues as she looked away from him, letting out a shuddering breath.

Chapter 6

The impression Taker was trying to give was that he was interested in her, be it as a friend or perhaps a bit. He also knew given how she was acting that if she didn’t want anything more with him, she’d make it clear. Hell, Teralyn even had a card to play since he was in a position of power over her due to him being a teacher’s aide in one of her classes. It was in his best interest to make a damn good impression then. As a friend…he could roll with that and his smile remained where it was, his body language still conveying that open, hopefully peaceful, stance.

“Currently, all I’m asking for is friendship. If anything is meant to be, it’ll come on organically.” He informed her, taking in the pain that was obvious in those beautifully haunted blue eyes. Taker liked that pain, it made those eyes impossibly large.

As soon as Teralyn heard those words, her entire body physically relaxed and the tension was gone. “Thank god.” She breathed out, not looking away from him and took both of his hands in hers. “I’m so glad we’re on the same page. I know people say that men and women can’t be friends, but I think that’s a load of shit.” Nothing would come on organically, she would make sure of it, no matter how attractive she found Mark to be. “I just didn’t want to, um, lead you on or something, or make you think I was looking for something more than friendship.”

When he asked her to be his date for tonight, that had sent up a red flag in her brain. Now, however, that red flag was gone and she didn’t feel any more trepidation with Mark. Even the relief washed over her features, making her natural beauty stand out more without her realizing it.

If she had to stop the ‘natural process’ then she was an idiot and he would very likely force an unnatural one on her. Taker was still in the process of making up his mind on what he wanted her for. To do the honors and rid her of her pesky virginity, for something related to his ‘fraternity’, or just to see what happened. Taker had a mind that operated on a million different things at once and, while he was a meticulous planner, he also had a streak of spontaneity that usually did not bode well for anyone in his path.

“Beautiful,” Normally, he would have called her ‘darlin’’, and even with a hint of his accent, but Taker knew that wouldn’t work with her. Using the ‘drop panties’ voice would have the opposite effect. “Just wait when I ask you to be my date for something extremely boring, you’ll find friendship with me isn’t as much fun as you’d think.” He chuckled, gesturing towards the hallway. “Shall we? I’ve got to mingle and you have to be my distraction.” He teased, winking down at her to let her know he was just jesting.

“It would be my pleasure, lead on, and I’m boring too, just so you know. So, we can be boring friends together.” He chuckled at that, agreeing and they grabbed their beverages before heading off to mingle with the other guests.

The first person they ran into was a good friend of Mark’s named Glenn Jacobs, with his current girlfriend, Simone. Glenn was part of the ‘fraternity’, so he knew not to call the master by his actual name, instead using his birthname. “Mark, this is Simone Austin.” He smiled, though his blue eyes glinted wickedly for a moment. “Simone, this is who I was telling you about.”

Simone wasn’t just anyone – she was the daughter of Professor Steve Austin at the college…who had been trying to shut down this ‘fraternity’ for a while. Simone hated her father because he was overprotective and overbearing ways…and it didn’t take long for Glenn to get in her panties and convince her to give the ‘fraternity’ a shot. Steve would be beside himself when he learned his very own baby girl was now part of the dark side permanently.

“Mr. Calaway?” Simone had been trained in a very short time or else she knew the dire consequences.

“Yes.”

Simone was a freshman, just like the auburn haired beauty on Taker’s arm and Glenn was curious what that was about. In the ‘fraternity’, his name was Kane, but that would not go over well with new and potential recruits. Simone had become a proper member after this; it had been nearly a full school year and it was always at the end of the semester that the pledges were given a new rank. Taker had learned how to weed people out through the traditional ‘hazing’ process, though his form of hazing was not the stupid, torturous nonsense that was typical of colleges.

“And this is Teralyn Monroe. Teralyn, Glenn Jacobs and Simone Austin.”

Taker watched as everyone shook hands, clicking his tongue. When he caught the amusement in Kane’s eyes, his own flashed in return. Kane was practically family, they just meshed so well. Kane had one downside though, he thought he was a comedian. A dark, morbid comedian.

“Austin…are you Steve Austin’s daughter?” Teralyn had caught that while shaking her hand, watching the other woman blush with a nod. “I thought so. He’s the coach for the football team, right?”

“Yeah, he’s sent the team to the championship four years in a row.” Simone was proud of her father, even though they didn’t see eye to eye.

“I know. My roommate, Claudia, is a cheerleader for them and I have some friends on the team.” That caught Mark’s attention right away, though Teralyn didn’t notice it as she kept her arm hooked through his.

That was a surprise to Simone as well. “Really? Like who?”

“Do you know Jon Moxley?”

Simone tilted her head, trying to place the name and felt her eyes widen. “Isn’t he a little, um, crazy?” That was putting it mildly.

Teralyn chuckled with a shrug. “To others yes, but not to me. I tutor him since he doesn’t do very well with his studies.” They were in a few classes together and hung out as strictly friends. “His girlfriend is an absolute sweetheart. They’re good people.” She was the captain of the cheerleading squad.

“Renee Young, right?”

“Yeah.”

A lightbulb went off in Simone’s head at that moment. “We should all hang out sometime.”

“I wouldn’t say no to that.”

“See, already making friends, should we leave you two to mingle?” Taker laughed, chuckling when Kane nodded his head. This was perfect. Simone would be perfect and could already tell she was devoted to Kane, which was great. “My parties aren’t that bad, you’re meeting new people.” Newish, she knew them through association. “Is it all right if you two hang for a moment? I need to go greet the pledges and I need Glenn.”

Since he was second in command, so to speak, Kane dropped a kiss on Simone’s head, practically feeling her purr and then flashed Teralyn a friendly smile. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll talk to you soon, I’m sure.”

Teralyn smiled back at him, extending her hand to shake his. “Pleasure to meet you too, Glenn. And take your time, date, I’m in good hands with Simone.” She winked at Mark, her friendly personality shining through like it used to in high school. “So, what are you majoring in?” She asked, turning her attention back to Simone while Glenn and Mark walked off to do their thing.

“Photography, actually.” Simone tucked a strand of golden blonde hair behind her ear with a smile. “I’ve always had a passion for it, even though my old man doesn’t approve of my major.”

It definitely sounded like Simone and Coach Austin didn’t get along. “Well, you’re a grown woman and you should be able to make that decision on your own, regardless of what others think, even your parents.”

That made Simone raise a brow. “Really? What are you majoring in?”

“Journalism. And let me tell you my Mom is NOT happy with it. My Dad doesn’t really care as long as I get a proper education, but my Mom wanted me to get a business major. It’s just not what I wanted though.” Teralyn sipped her Pepsi while they slowly walked and conversed, not realizing who she was opening up to.

“I completely get you. My Dad is the same way, the overbearing prick.” Simone grunted, shaking her head. “Parents are a pain in the ass, you know. That’s why I’m glad I found someone like Glenn who understands me and accepts me fully for who I am, inside and out.”

“How long have you been with him?” Teralyn asked, both standing in the same room she had first met Mark with the different artifacts such as the Dionysus one.

“I think…three or four months now. Time just blends together, you know, and you lose track of it.” Simone giggled, sipping her own longneck beer and made sure to nurse it.

“Sounds like a great guy you have there.”

Simone nodded, then decided to go in for the kill. “You know, Mark is a great guy too. Do you like him?”

That kind of caught her off guard a little bit and Teralyn chewed her bottom lip, looking down at her drink. “I don’t really know him that well…”

“You don’t have to know someone well to like them or not. Come on, just between us girls, don’t you find him attractive?” Simone lifted her chin until Teralyn locked her eyes on Mark from across the hall, who was currently busy with Glenn and a few others.

Teralyn didn’t want to admit it, especially after the talk she just had with Mark in the kitchen. “I do, yes. But I already told him all I can offer him is friendship and he accepts that.”

That confused Simone as she took the woman’s hand, making Teralyn turn those eyes back on her. “Why?” She could see the deep, raw pain in Teralyn’s eyes and felt her own heart break for the woman. “Someone break your heart?”

“Something like that. I don’t wanna talk about it though.”

“Fair enough.”

Simone knew to pull back, not wanting to push the issue of Taker when this girl was still healing over something that had hurt her quite a bit. She was gathering Taker was doing something and wouldn’t mess up whatever he was laying out. She knew that because she had been volunteered to ‘hang’ out with Teralyn, to get to know her better and gather some information.

“How about I start pointing out who is part of the fraternity and we can gossip? Have you ever seen pledge hazing? It’s so barbaric and uncouth, you know, like how some houses make their pledges run naked with shit all over them. Or just stupid shit like acting like servants. They don’t do that here, it’s pretty awesome.”

It made Teralyn wonder what kind of hazing this fraternity did if it wasn’t mean or barbaric. “That is why I will never join a fraternity. I refuse to be hazed and treated like an animal all to satisfy a group of assholes. Not that I’m calling Mark’s fraternity assholes because I’m not.” Yet.

Simone chuckled, understanding where she was coming from. “Believe me, I thought the same thing and was against being in a fraternity too. But then I met Glenn and he convinced me to join and promised nothing bad would happen to me.”

Now Teralyn was staring at Simone wide-eyed. “Wait, you’re part of this fraternity?”

She beamed proudly. “Yes, I am.”

“And so is Glenn?”

“Yup.”

“Well…what kind of fraternity is this? What makes it different than the others, besides the non-humiliating hazing part?” Teralyn asked curiously, looking around the room to try to spot who was joining, who was already a member, and who had the potential. “How is one chosen to join?”

“Well, I guess that the fraternity members themselves can put someone up for nomination and then Mr. Calaway, Mark, has final say since he’s the head of the house. Some people come and ask to join, I don’t know how that works out. I’m pretty new, I’m actually being initiated soon since I’m still a pledge myself.” Simone purposefully chose to answer the second question, ignoring the first. Of course, like other fraternities, they did the charity business and all that, but they had some…quirks, that were definitely not like other fraternities.

Only a handful of the pledges ever made it this far.

“Hmm…” Simone seemed to be enjoying herself in this fraternity and it didn’t seem like anyone was uneasy or nervous. In fact, there were smiles on nearly every face in the room while Teralyn looked around. Was that normal? They weren’t evil or psychotic smiles either, just people enjoying themselves. “This really is a nice environment. It’s peaceful and calm. Tranquil.”

“Yeah it is, I love it here.” Simone truly meant that, gazing at Glenn from across the room with pure love in her eyes. “I never knew who I truly was until I joined. They helped me find myself.”

That got Teralyn’s attention. “Really? A fraternity does that?”

“Yeah, of course, especially when you’re surrounded by others that feel the same way you do. I was so lost and confused with my life, I didn’t know which way to turn because of my Dad badgering me about my major and anything else he could complain about. In a way, this fraternity saved me.” Simone shrugged nonchalantly, taking a swig of her beer. “I understand it’s not for everyone, though.”

“Right…” Lost and confused with life, huh? That was exactly how Teralyn felt at the moment.

“Oh man, I need to find a place to sit down. I hate these damn shoes.” They were an expensive pair of name brand shoes and Simone had a love/hate relationship with them. “They’re cute though, you know? Just after a while, my toes feel pinched.” She didn’t mind walking in them, just minded that the toe wasn’t wide enough in them. They made their way to a quiet corner, sitting down in a set of comfortable leather chairs. “Yeah, it was hard for a while attending the same college my dad works at and with him breathing down my neck…I felt a lot of pressure.”

“I can only imagine.”

College was supposed to be a place where kids went after leaving their parents, once they were done with high school, to grow as individuals. To find themselves and their purpose in life. How could Simone do that when her father was in her face all the time, telling her what a mistake it was to go after her dream? That wasn’t fair at all and it really reminded her of her mother.

“I’m from a small town in North Carolina, just on the outskirts of Charlotte. My mother had me in beauty pageants, dance, and cheerleading when I was younger…and I hated it.”

Teralyn had won quite a few of them. Her room was full of all the accolades she’d won over the years from both the beauty pageants, dance, and cheerleading, along with awards from school. It was…a shrine and she hated it every time she went home because her mother was responsible for most of them.

“I was the popular girl in school with the perfect boyfriend. I was in cheerleading and captain of the squad and I graduated with damn near perfect grades, but…I never felt like it was me. I never felt like I belonged in that stereotypic world. That was why I wanted to go away to college somewhere I KNEW my mother wouldn’t be able to sink her claws into me further.” That was also why she refused to take money from her parents and made her own way by working, along with her scholarship.

Teralyn wanted to make her own way, no matter how hard it was.

Chapter 7

Simone filed all this information to tell Taker later. Until tonight, she had never properly met him, only once, and he had…not been visible to her. She was gathering Teralyn was someone of interest to him or someone he was considering recruiting. Why else would Glenn ask her to do this, to gain information from Teralyn Monroe?

“That’s got to be rough, you here on a scholarship?” At Teralyn’s nod, she smiled. “That’s awesome, a full ride then?” Which meant she would have to maintain certain academic standards in order to keep it or it turned into a loan and had to be paid back.

“Yes, so I’m doing everything in my power to make sure I maintain my grades.” She had no choice and she enjoyed school, honestly. School was always fun for her, an escape, and Teralyn loved to learn. “My parents offered to send me an allowance, but I told them not to because I want to make my own way. So, I work at the coffee shop on the weekends and volunteer at the newspaper office occasionally whenever they need help.” That would be where she’d do her internship as well once she graduated. It was her foot in the door and she only worked there once or twice a month, but they paid her well enough. “I also get money from the scholarship as well. I just want to show my mother that you don’t need looks to get by in life, you can do it with intellect as well. And your Dad needs to back off and let you do whatever you want because all you’ll end up doing is resent him, if you don’t already.” She could tell Simone already did, but hopefully, they could patch their relationship up one day.

Oh Simone resented Daddy, quite a bit. Kane had used that resentment a time or two for his own gain. Not to mention, there was nothing like a broad with some serious Daddy issues in the bed, they were absolute wild cats.

“Yeah, my Dad happens to be one of the most loved coaches this college has had. Telling him to back off is kind of like telling off the Pope, it just doesn’t happen. Not without a thousand people up your ass anyway. Enough about my Dad.” She was getting hot under the collar just thinking about it, her eyes scanning the room. “Oh, here comes the guys. Look how big they are. I swear, they breed these boys on a farm somewhere, you notice how big Bradshaw and Farooq are?”

“I have noticed they definitely eat their Wheaties.” Teralyn giggled along with Simone, both of them in agreement. “It’s gotta be in the food or something. Men these days are just bigger and taller.”

“True, with all that hormone shit they inject in food, it’s not too farfetched.”

“Exactly.”

They both stood up as Mark and Glenn approached them, Simone immediately going to Glenn’s side to hold his hand. Glenn didn’t seem to mind, smiling adoringly at her and Teralyn’s chest tightened, her ocean blues looking up at Mark. “All done with mingling or just checking up on me, date?” She teased with a grin, feeling him take her hand and she didn’t pull back, feeling lighter now that she’d vented a little about her mother to someone.

It made Teralyn realize she wasn’t alone in the world as far as having issues with parents. Of course she wasn’t, and there were millions of others just like her who had the same issues. It was a tale old as time going back generations and would probably continue for generations to come. It was just a sad fact of life.

“I’m done for now. Now I think I need a beer.” Taker laughed, shaking his head at her little jest of calling him ‘date’. “You want a refill on your soda, beautiful?”

“You offering to be someone’s maid? Because I’ve got a few requests you can fulfill.” Kane laughed, sniggering when Simone chidingly, playfully slapped his chest.

“Sure, I’ll be your maid. What do you want?” Taker had every intention of doing something terrible to whatever it was Kane asked for, his emerald eyes flashing wickedly.

Kane seemed to understand that, cottoned on, and began shaking his head. “Nope, never mind, I don’t think I trust you.”

The girls laughed at the look on Glenn’s face as Mark guided Teralyn away, heading back to the kitchen for the beer he wanted. He gave her another Pepsi, tossing her empty bottle away and cracked his open, their bottles clinking together gently. “Simone told me she really likes this fraternity.” Teralyn commented while they began walking through the mansion again, once again holding hands. It felt right having Mark’s hand in hers for some reason and Teralyn knew, deep down, she was in deep trouble. Mark was already worming his way into her life, her mind, and her closed heart. “She didn’t really answer my question on how you join, so…will you tell me? Being the head and all?”

Kane was smart. Taker had been considering drugging whatever he gave him with something fun. Fun for him anyway, Kane might not have found the ‘trip’ as amusing as others would. Taker was a mean son of a bitch when he wanted to be and anyone who willingly took what he offered was a fool. Teralyn didn’t know who he truly was, so…he wasn’t thinking she was a fool, only that she was wonderfully naive and innocent. Passionately, he wanted to besmirch that innocence, dip her toes into the darkness, and see what happened, to see if she sank or swam in it.

“I will…IF you go out to dinner with me tomorrow. Early because I know you have classes and I have papers to grade,” The joys of being a teacher’s aide. “And we could discuss it then.” Taker grinned at her expression because he had said just friends. “Casual dinner at a casual place, because I really need to get off-campus.”

“Mark…” Teralyn sighed when he stopped and turned to face her, uncertainty filling her eyes. He liked her and wanted to spend more time with her. Was that really so bad? In a way, he was courting her and so far, he’d been a perfect gentleman. I know what this is. If I keep going on dates with him, eventually, he’s going to ask me out and I’m going to say yes. He cupped her face tenderly with his hand, his eyes silently pleading with her to accept and Teralyn couldn’t deny him. “You’re not making this easy, you know that.” She muttered good-naturedly, rolling her eyes at his grin full of triumph because he already knew her answer. “Okay, fine, yes I’ll have dinner with you tomorrow night. Now stop giving me those puppy dog eyes.”

He had said organically and with him, this was about as organic as it went. Exuding a lot of patience all things considered, but Taker realized that she was having issues. He had not missed the flashes of pain in those vividly blue eyes, or the way her tone would change when she was sort of close to mentioning it. Most likely, Teralyn had a bad relationship or something or a bad ending to a relationship. Given what little he knew of her, Taker would have made an educated guess that it was a boyfriend from home, possibly a high school sweetheart.

“Remember, casual, I may bring work with me, so if you want to bring your studies…” He began laughing, reaching back to let his hair out of the low tail he’d had it in and began shaking it out. “Hell, if you need help with mythology or history, I’m your guy.”

What Mark didn’t know was Teralyn was only saying yes to appease him, not wanting to cause a scene or anger him. She already planned on canceling with him as soon as they weren’t in close proximity together. Yes, she was a coward, but it was very hard to say no to the man to his face. Between last night and tonight being his date, Teralyn needed to put a little space between them to make it clear they were just friends. Mark had mentioned organically…Teralyn had sworn off men entirely and sooner or later, he’d move on to the next freshman that caught his eye.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Teach.” She winked at him, playing the part perfectly and glanced at the clock, seeing it was going on 9:30 already. Wow, she had talked with Simone a lot longer than she thought. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Simone?” Taker wasn’t surprised when she nodded, returning it. “She’s good people from what I hear and Glenn’s taken with her.” As much as he could be, Kane was weird, even by his own odd standards. “In about an hour, probably less, we’ll be taking the Pledges down to the basement. I’ll have a cab for you by then.” He had, after all, promised her 10:30 since she had to study and all that. When Teralyn playfully rolled her eyes, he snorted and toasted her again with his bottle. “Okay, come mingle with me for the rest of your prison sentence, date.”

“Prison sentence? Well hell, if this is a prison sentence, it’s not too shabby.” Teralyn remarked with a smirk, following him wherever he led her and laughed at the jokes he was making.

Honestly, it scared Teralyn how comfortable she felt with Mark. Maybe that was why Teralyn was so resistant against this entire situation. Granted, she was curious about the fraternity, after what Simone said, but maybe Simone would fill her in on what it was about since Mark wouldn’t without another date. She met a few more of his friends and fraternity brothers and their names were Adam and Jason. Though, in the fraternity, they were called Edge and Christian. The fraternity had nicknames for everyone, apparently, which was something she discovered after the men called each other that. They knew better than to call Mark by anything else around her, however, not that Teralyn knew that tidbit of information.

By the end of her time, there was a cab waiting and his ‘minions’ were escorting the Pledges down to the basement. Simone had given Teralyn her number so they could hang out. Taker was a bit impressed with how smooth Simone had been in making friends with his interest. Then again, it was entirely possible Simone was in the market for new girls to hang out with and women who were associated with the Ministry would make things less awkward for her in the long run.

“Well, thank you for providing me with a reason to leave people hanging.” He commented while walking her out, laughing at the look she gave him. “Seriously, I’d tell them I had to get back to my date and bail.”

She laughed while he walked her to the cab and opened the door for her. “You’re welcome, date. Anytime. Glad to be of service.” Her eyes shimmered with mirth as she stood in the open door and luckily, this cab driver was a lot more patient than the one from last night. “I won’t hold you up any longer though since you have pledges to do and stuff.” When Mark reminded her about tomorrow, she nodded in agreement before sliding into the cab, shutting the door. Moments later, the cab drove off and Teralyn leaned her head back, feeling guilty already for lying to him. Maybe this will make him back off a little. Wrapping her arms around herself, Teralyn felt overwhelming sadness flow over her. As much as she wanted to go with him, her mind kept reminding her of the vow she made to herself and, after what happened to her, Teralyn refused to listen to her heart right now.

The Pledging went fine for him and the others who had already gone through the ‘fun’ stuff. Each Pledge was reminded of the ‘rules’, of what went on – Somewhat, they didn’t reveal everything outright, just in case – and also what they could expect from their very, very long night of what was this fraternity’s version of ‘initiation’. Taker was quite satisfied when he finally headed for bed around seven in the morning, smirking when Kane made a comment about going to wake Simone up since she had gone a few hours before them.

“Sounds like an idea.” Maybe Taker would find himself an auburn haired, blue-eyed broad to scratch an itch with he knew his current prey wasn’t ready to attempt.

~!~

Since she had Simone’s number and not Mark’s, Teralyn decided to send a message through her since Simone was going to the mansion that night. The weekends were when the parties and fraternities let loose. Teralyn simply told her something came up and to apologize to Mark on her behalf, but she was unable to have dinner with him. She did her shift at the coffee shop and then went back to the dorm, really needing to put in some studying. After she got home the previous night, Teralyn was too exhausted to study and she wound up passing out before midnight. Currently, she was sitting on her bed, open books surrounding her and the window was open to let the fresh breeze in. Her hair was down and she had on cotton white shorts and a white camisole, chewing on her pen thoughtfully while reading over the notes she’d taken in class earlier that week.

Oh, that was not cool at all and yet it wasn’t surprising either. Taker stroked his chin as he read the message Simone had sent him through one of the lesser ranking members. Smart woman, just forwarding that message instead of telling him herself. Honestly, Taker might have done something she’d regret later on in a fit of temperament. He was prone to those, his mood being a bit on the mercurial side. Huffing, he leaned back in his chair, his gaze moving to the papers he legitimately had to grade and then smirked, reaching for his keyboard.

I need all the information you have on Teralyn. She’s a freshman.

Moody read that and groaned, not sure if he wanted to know, but sent back an affirmative reply. Being staff meant he had access to student files, which contained enough information for him to send out feelers for even more information. However, all the student file would really say is what her academics were prior to coming to the college, nothing regarding her personal life. Taker would not find out anything about Teralyn’s background, only where she resided, where she graduated from and her grades. That was pretty much the gist of it. Moody sent everything he had on Teralyn to Taker via email, which was a new thing with technology and went to fix himself a brandy.

Why was Taker interested in one of his students all of a sudden?

Chapter 8

Teralyn was NOT looking forward to going to mythology class this week, simply because she knew who would be there waiting for her. Why did she have to get mixed up with a teacher’s aide at her school? Teralyn had avoided Mark for the next couple of days and finally, when Thursday rolled around, she was dreading walking into that classroom. Simone had emailed her a couple times, asking if she wanted to hang out and Teralyn agreed, but the woman hadn’t told her what time, what day or any other information.

Sighing, she fixed her blue headband that matched her outfit for the day, which was simple jean shorts and a light blue tunic that rested around her hips. Not spotting Mark anywhere, Teralyn sighed with relief and headed up the stairs to sit at the very top, where she usually did and settled in for class. She’d taken her history exam earlier that morning and really hoped she did well on it, popping some aspirin since she had a small tension headache.

Taker had learned quite a bit since Sunday night when he had put in that ‘request for information’. He had learned that Teralyn indeed had a boyfriend, a high school sweetheart, and they had been in yearbooks together. That was disgusting. So, that initial assumption had been right and it made him wonder if the other was right as well. Something had happened there. Given he couldn’t personally go visit the town right now, Taker had to deal with the lack of specifics. It was fine though because he had his hunches and enough to play some games. Also, he already had how their next conversation – there would be one today – would go.

“Hello everyone,” He walked into mythology in his black slacks and a black V-neck t-shirt, his hair braided back. “Professor Moody is currently subbing for another class today, so you all get to deal with my lovely mug.”

Luck really wasn’t on her side. Teralyn mentally cursed, saying every name in the book and really hoped her aspirin kicked in, opening her book. Maybe he wouldn’t look up here. Maybe he wouldn’t notice she was here since the class was full. Pulling her notebook out, Teralyn pushed everything in the far recesses of her mind and listened while he spoke, his voice sending warmth throughout her body. That damn warmth…it was going to be the death of her. She had to admit, he was a very good teacher and found herself enthralled with the lesson, jotting down notes she thought would be on the next exam. It also gave her the perfect excuse to keep her eyes glued on Mark, though she did look away every couple of minutes for the notes.

See, he had noticed. For the first time ever, Taker actually did more than just a cursory glance over the students. He usually pinpointed which ones were potentially useful to him in some capacity or another. She had probably been perky and bright, something he would have dismissed easily as ‘normal girl next door’ and moved on. It was sheer fate that had brought her to that party, sheer fate and a dumb slut. Claudia was such a useful tool. Taker made a mental note to throw her away nicely when her use with Bradshaw had run out. They were now reading out loud, myths obviously, and he was encouraging discussion of interpretation on the stories.

“Miss Monroe,” He looked directly at her, his green eyes fastening with hers. “Your thoughts?”

It was Hades and Persephone they were going over today and she KNEW that wasn’t a coincidence. The fact he called on HER, when she sat at the TOP of the class, the farthest away from him, wasn’t a coincidence either. All eyes turned on her and Teralyn knew she had to be honest about how she felt regarding this particular myth.

“Obsession. I think this all has to do with obsession on Hades part. It’s not love at all. The fact that Hades actually STOLE his own niece, his flesh and blood, because of his obsession is wrong. I get it’s why we have the four seasons, but if you really think about it, he kidnapped this woman, forced her to marry him, and raped her. All because of obsession. Obsession can warp someone’s mind to make them do despicable, unforgiveable things. Like what he did to her. And he’s a God, so we don’t even know if these Gods and Goddesses have principles or what. If they are even capable of actual love. And here’s what REALLY cinches it and makes me believe this is all about obsession and power is the fact he FORCES Persephone to eat a pomegranate seed, the food of the dead, after Zeus orders him to release her. He’s so hell bent on keeping her with him because of his obsession, he’s willing to nearly kill her. That’s not love – that’s obsession. And as a result of that, she now has to spend six months out of the year with her rapist and forced husband. Anyone who says this is a love story needs to have their head examined and that’s my thoughts on it.” The classroom applauded her and she simply nodded, hoping that was good enough for Mark.

“Your personal opinions are noted. This version, yes, thank you Miss Monroe.” Taker had given his attention to the class as a whole. “She was forced to eat the pomegranate kernel and this isn’t one of the more wider known versions. The story we usually hear is that Zeus made a deal with his brother for Persephone and when Demeter basically held the world hostage, Zeus then had to negotiate another deal. If Persephone hadn’t eaten anything of the underworld, she was free to go, but she had indeed eaten, of her own free will and not realizing the consequences, six seeds.” He leaned on the speaker podium, which was sturdy and strong, supporting his weight. “As you move on in your college careers, if you opt to remain in these mythology classes, we’ll go more in-depth on the pantheons of the Gods across all cultures where incest,” Such as she had pointed out. “Was not viewed with disdain as it is now nor it relevant on the myths themselves. We’ll also be delving into the philosophical and historical significance, so it’ll be thinking deeper on these myths and trying to put aside personal opinion and biases.” Philosophy was based on opinions sure, some of it anyway, but also being receptive to new ideas and all that. He glanced down at the notes left for him. “Professor Moody has left an assignment. On your way out, come up here and take one of these papers. There are three topics to choose from and you have until next Thursday to complete it.” It wasn’t even that much all things considered, but Moody had been tired.

It amazed her how much he sounded like a teacher and Teralyn jotted down a few more notes regarding what they would be going over. There were different versions and variations of this myth, which was fascinating to her because some did say Hades and Persephone was a love story. Others not so much. She still stood firm in her belief, however, that this myth revolved around obsession and she was eager to delve further into it, explore it and pick it apart piece by piece. That was the journalist in her coming out. The class ended a few minutes later as everyone filed out, taking the paper with the assignment on it. And the closer she got to Mark in the line of people, the more nervous Teralyn felt, the butterflies once again fluttering wildly in her stomach.

She was in for either disappointment or relief because when she got to him, Taker simply flashed her the same smile he had given everyone else as he held out the paper Moody had left behind for the class. “Good job today, Miss Monroe, enjoy the rest of your afternoon.” He was the consummate professional…in the classroom anyway. Outside of it, Taker was free to fraternize or whatever they called it, inside…not so much. Thankfully, he wasn’t a professor who had a code of conduct to follow. She took the paper and he winked at her.

“Same to you, Mr. Calaway.” Teralyn murmured in response, sticking the paper between the pages in her book and walked out of the classroom, relief flooding through her.

Good. Maybe he did get the message that she wasn’t interested in having any kind of relationship. Holding her book against her chest, Teralyn headed to the final class of the day and that was writing. She smiled over at Renee, who waved her over and she took the invitation, sitting next to her friend.

“Girl, you look troubled. Everything okay?” Renee asked with concern in her golden brown eyes.

“Yeah, just got a small headache that’s slowly going away from that stupid history exam.”

“Ah, yeah, that was a doozy.” Renee hated history, but she also knew it was part of her major, which was also journalism. However, she didn’t want to write so much as be a reporter or something of that nature. “The game is tomorrow night, are you gonna come and cheer Jon on with me?”

Tomorrow night…it was Friday and Teralyn had no plans, as far as she knew or could remember. “Sure, I wouldn’t mind watching Jonny boy plow through people.” They both laughed and opened their notebooks just as Professor Wyatt stepped inside to start the class.

On the contrary, Taker hadn’t gotten the message at all, but he knew if she really wanted to ‘get rid of him’, due to him being aggressive, she could very easily report him or something to the academic board. There would go his comfortable post and easy recruitment platform. Taker knew three days in a row had been pushing it; he had purposefully pushed and now he knew she would weasel out of something and avoid confrontation. That was fine because he already knew exactly what he was going to say to Teralyn tomorrow, after the stupid football game the fraternity was ‘attending to support their local team’. Ugh, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he exited the classroom, heading for his own class now.

~!~

Friday rolled around and Teralyn was in a deep turquoise long sleeved shirt and jeans since it was chilly outside. In the low 50’s, she even brought a sweater with her in case the long sleeved shirt wasn’t enough. Poor Renee was grumbling about the cold, really missing Las Vegas, where she was from originally. Jon had laughed at her, telling her to suck it up because he was used to the cold being from Cincinnati – a Midwest boy. Here in upstate New York, the winters could be brutal, but luckily, spring was arriving little by little.

“Go Moxley!” Teralyn shouted out with Renee, clapping her hands and didn’t notice someone else had arrived at the football game, her eyes glued to the action.

He had arrived with friends, so to speak, coming in a pair of black jeans, his leather boots on his feet, a long-sleeved black thermal top and leather fingerless gloves, a bandana wrapped around his head, though his hair was also down. Flanked by Shaw, Farooq, Kane and his Blondes, Taker made his way to the bleachers, people automatically parting for them because they were some big men and he knew they looked intimidating. Inwardly snorting, he didn’t care for football and preferred basketball, truth be told. His acidic eyes scanned the crowds on the home side, rolling his eyes when he spotted Claudia trying to get Shaw’s attention in her skimpy cheerleading outfit.

Bradshaw was starting to wonder if maybe it was time to kick Claudia to the curb, but he couldn’t do it without Taker’s permission. She was his newest obsession’s roommate, though they had found out Claudia and Teralyn weren’t that close. Now Kane’s beauty, on the other hand, had befriended Teralyn rather quickly. When Simone asked if she could go down to say hello to Teralyn, spotting her a few benches below, Kane nodded and she kissed his lips before heading down.

“Teralyn!”

Teralyn heard her name and turned her head, smiling at the sight of Simone headed towards her. “Hi.” She grunted out, receiving a tight hug from the woman and luckily, the spot beside her wasn’t occupied for the moment. “I didn’t know you’d be here. Renee, this is Simone…”

“I know who she is.” Renee cut Teralyn off, cracking a smile at Simone. “How’s it going, Sim?”

“Being madly in love with my boyfriend. He’s up there. Oh, Mark’s here too, Teralyn, see?” Simone pointed up the bleachers and watched the auburn haired woman turn to look up.

Why did she do it? Why did Teralyn follow Simone’s finger? She saw Mark was here with Glenn, Adam, Jason, Shaw and…she couldn’t remember the other man’s name to save her life. Hesitantly, she waved at Mark to acknowledge him and then turned back around just as a touchdown took place.

“Shit, was that Mox that scored?!”

“YES!! My man!!” Renee crowed proudly, clapping her hands and cheering with a big smile on her face. “God, I can’t wait until this injury is healed up, so I can actually CHEER him on.” She was part of the cheerleading squad and had sprained her ankle during practice a few weeks ago. “Just two more weeks…”

Halftime arrived and Renee left to go see how the squad was doing, promising to return. Simone had returned to Glenn and Teralyn decided to go get something to eat at the concession stand.

The best part about this sort of thing, minus the sexy cheerleaders of course, was being able to get a beer. The ONLY reason they were at this stupid thing – Minus Shaw and Farooq’s love of the sport – was to be seen. With a beer in hand, Taker turned and nearly bashed his red cup into Teralyn’s face.

“Shit, sorry darlin’!” It just came out, his green eyes locking on her face. She seemed both surprised and uneasy, one black brow raised. “You okay?” It occurred to him that Teralyn might be nervous about basically skipping out on him, though she had probably only said yes to appease him that night. “Hey, look, about the other night, beautiful, I’m sorry for pushing and I’m sorry you didn’t think you could tell me no.” Not really…but she needed to be handled with kid gloves and Taker imagined he’d hear a lot of ‘no’ from her in the future.

Her eyes lowered from his because she honestly did feel terrible for leaving him high and dry. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong, Mark. I…hang on.” Teralyn paid for her warm pretzel with dipping cheese, along with a Pepsi and gestured him over with her head since her hands were full. He was kind enough to take her drink for her to carry it over to a nearby table that was surprisingly empty. “I just need you to know, as cliché as this sounds, it’s me not you and I really mean that. I’m lost, confused, hurt, angry, sad…I’m a mess and you shouldn’t have to deal with a messed up nobody freshman.”

“Well, not to sound like a total tool, but isn’t that how most freshmen start out?” Taker felt vindicated, however, as he stared down at her, pretty sure she was dangerously close to confirming his suspicion that something had happened between her and her high school sweetheart. “Lost and confused, angry and sad?” There was usually a steady stream of people like that, in the borderline area of being a teenager and an adult. Trying to navigate the new world they were in, while clinging to the old and the familiar, safe people there, or trying to get away from them, as the case may be. “You know it gets better, right? If you’re able to move past the hurt…” Simone…he was putting Simone to work.

“Does it?” Teralyn shut her eyes when her voice cracked, dropping the piece of pretzel she’d ripped off and inhaled sharply. It felt like her heart was breaking, shattering, all over again as that vision of Scott and Marley flowed through her mind. “Because I don’t know if I believe that.” Teralyn had been with Scott for four years and they shared everything together, both agreeing to wait until marriage for sex. Apparently, only she took that vow because he’d been banging her best friend since childhood behind her back. “And I don’t know how to move past this, Mark. Every time I think I’m okay, every time I think I’m getting past what happened, just one memory sets me back.” He had no idea what she was talking about, but Teralyn didn’t care because she was venting, quietly, not wanting others to overhear her.

However, it didn’t stop the tears from stinging her eyes and the pain in her voice wasn’t missed either.

Chapter 9

Taker drank it in, silently and expressionlessly of course, because he wasn’t out to look like the evil person he truly was when he had worked rather hard on this cover. “I think you should find someone to talk to, beautiful. Maybe spend some time with Simone; she seems like she would understand where you’re coming from.” Childhood sweethearts were deceiving and he had understood from early on that the people met in childhood were usually not going to be lifelong friends and loves. “She was in a…rough spot for a while; she made friends, joined the fraternity, and she’s really turned around.” Yes, yes she had.

“She told me about the fraternity, how she’s never felt more welcome and accepted. Said she was lost and confused before she found Glenn and the fraternity.” Tucking hair behind her ear, she wiped a tear away from her eye and clasped her hands in her lap, doing everything in her power not to cry. “I thought I had life figured out, Mark. I’d go to college and get an education after high school and then get married, have a family and a career as a journalist, after traveling the world. I had it all laid out and it was perfect…but life isn’t like that. Life is messy, cruel and unkind, unfair. I learned a harsh lesson and…that’s why I vowed to never let it happen again, that I would never feel pain like this again. It’s one of the reasons why I…stood you up.” Teralyn was terrified of getting her heart broken again.

Once was almost more than she could handle.

Now, if they had been in a different setting, Taker would have cupped her face and said what was on his mind. As it was, he was holding a beer and she had both her hands full as well. So instead, he guided her away from the people towards the bleachers, bending down to see her face better, his own green eyes nothing except kindness and understanding.

“Darlin’,” He let his natural accent start to seep out, watching as her eyes darted to meet his for a moment. “It is all those things and it doesn’t follow the path we set out,” Unless it was him and then everything went to plan because life was cruel and advocated for the wicked. That was just a fact. “But that doesn’t mean you give up, especially at your age. Now, I’m not saying to come pledge at my house, but finding a group or something, putting yourself out there again, it’ll help. And I’m always here if you need a friend.” I need an Oscar.

Her pretzel with cheese was long forgotten while staring deep into his emerald depths, his words washing over her in a soothing caress. He really wasn’t angry at her at all and that was what she’d been worried about. Simone had pledged at his fraternity and looked happier than ever, especially with Glenn. Was that the only reason she joined though, to be with her boyfriend? Or did she join because she truly felt a sense of belonging? The football game had started the second half and Teralyn wasn’t focused on it at all, only the man standing in front of her.

“I really thought I blew it with you when I stood you up. And part of me wanted to do it because of my fear and what I’m feeling inside right now…” She grabbed his free hand to hold it, closing her eyes as a few tears trickled down her cheeks. “It’s so strange, but every time I’m with you, the pain fades away.” Slowly opening her eyes at the feeling of his thumb brushing them away, Teralyn once again locked eyes with him and it was almost as if the world disappeared, leaving just them. “I don’t wanna feel this pain anymore.”

“I told you, Teralyn, everything has to progress organically and if that was what you were feeling in that moment, then standing me up was natural and I really can’t be mad about that, can I? I tend to come off strong and brash, don’t always think things through,” Taker smiled a little self-depreciatingly, showing he was aware of his weaknesses. “But I’m aware enough to know it’s not personal either.” He straightened back up, taking a slow sip of his beer to give her a moment to process things. “You don’t have to keep feeling this pain, you just need to learn to release it is all. Come on, I think your friends were waiting on you.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, though he didn’t move in so they were pressed together, keeping their bodies at a respectable distance, since having reach allowed that.

All Teralyn could do was go with him, letting him guide her up to the stands where Renee was indeed waiting on her.

“Oh my god, I was about to send out the calvary looking for you!” Renee squawked, having been worried about her friend and hugged her, ignoring Mark Calaway for the moment. What was Teralyn doing with him? “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just…had a talk with a friend.” She smiled back at Mark, wanting him to know she was referring to him and he squeezed her shoulder in response.

Since when was Teralyn friends with Mark Calaway? That was very…strange, weird and Renee didn’t like it. She didn’t like Calaway, always feeling there was something off about him. It was the reason why Coach Austin warned the team and the cheerleading squad to steer clear of him and his fraternity. Coach Austin thought it was a cult of sorts and the fact Simone had joined it…it didn’t set well with her or any of their friends, especially her father.

“I see.” Renee would be having a talk with Teralyn once the game was over and they were alone. “I got her now, Mr. Calaway.” She wrapped a protective arm around Teralyn’s shoulders, her eyes telling him to move along.

Teralyn frowned, looking up at Renee and wondered what was going on as Mark bowed at them before making his way further up the stairs. “Okay, what was THAT about?”

“Me and you are talking later after this game. About him and his ‘fraternity’.” Renee did the finger quotations with her fingers, narrowing her eyes and sat back down with Teralyn by her side.

Why did Teralyn get this dreaded, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach suddenly?

When Renee glanced at him during a time out in the game, him and his crew anyway, Taker flashed her the warmest, sincerest smile he could muster and did a big friendly wave. He listened to something Kane said under his breath, snorting though the expression never faltered. His eyes, however, were acidic and deadly. Renee Young was under the influence of that idiot, Steve Austin. Every college had it rumors, its targets, and his fraternity was that target. Of course, Austin was right on the money about them, not that anyone was aware. Taker was seriously considering getting that bastard fired. Or murdering him. Maybe over spring break? Wasn’t that coming up soon? It would be the perfect time.

~!~

“Wait, say that again?” Teralyn demanded, walking with Renee and Jon back to the dorms from the game, having stopped for ice cream on the way. It was a tradition of theirs ever since they met on the first day of college. Teralyn had tried out for the cheerleading squad and, after being accepted, declined because it didn’t feel right to her.

“It’s a cult, Tera.” Jon was never one to mince words and ignored Renee’s warning look, waving her off. “Look, that guy is BAD fucking news. You’ve seen the way Coach Austin’s daughter has been acting with them, with that Glenn Jacobs, right? She used to DESPISE that man.”

“Wait, what?” Now Teralyn stopped in her tracks, staring at her two friends like they’d grown second heads. “What do you mean?”

“He’s not wrong.” Renee sighed heavily, tearing a hand through her hair and elbowed her boyfriend. Sometimes he was TOO truthful for his own good. “Look, about two months ago, Simone got into it really bad with her old man. Actually, let’s back up even before that. So, a week into school, Glenn Jacobs approached Simone, asking her out on a date and she declined, calling him an ugly freak. We were there and saw the whole thing. She wanted NOTHING to do with him and even laughed in his face! It was…at the time, funny, I admit we laughed our asses off because the look on his face was priceless.” She started giggling and then stopped because Teralyn wasn’t laughing. At all. “Anyway, then all of a sudden, two months ago, she came to her Dad and told him she fell in love with Glenn and she was joining Mark Calaway’s frat. Keep in mind, Austin has been trying to shut that place down for a couple years now since Calaway first arrived here.” Renee had learned quite a bit from Simone before her defection.

This was a lot of information to process as Teralyn frowned, looking down at her ice cream. “So, Simone went from hating Glenn to…being in love with him?”

“Weird, isn’t it? And now she’s got this…dazed look on her face whenever she’s around us, like she’s not ALL there. I’m telling you, something isn’t right with that ‘fraternity’.” She did the finger quotes again. “You need to stay away from Mark Calaway and that frat, Teralyn.”

“Unless you wanna end up another soulless zombie like Simone is.” Jon added his two cents, groaning when Renee elbowed him again. “Woman, those are my damn ribs!”

“Then shut the hell up and stop scaring her!”

“Is there any proof it’s a cult?” Both stared at her like she’d grown two heads now and Teralyn sighed, tossing her ice cream away no longer hungry for it. “Maybe you guys are reading too much into this…” She wanted to believe that with all of her heart, but her mind was telling her something different.

“Yeah sure, try talking to Simone sometime and ask her about the ‘frat’. She’ll change the subject on you…” Jon saw the look on Teralyn’s face and smirked. “She’s already done it, hasn’t she? I take it you went to one of their parties then?”

“Yeah…twice.”

“TWICE?!” Renee squawked, groaning and pressed her face into Jon’s chest. “PLEASE tell me you didn’t pledge, Teralyn…”

“No I didn’t…” Teralyn hated feeling like she did something wrong and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold. “And Mark was going to tell me about it over dinner the other night, but I flaked on him…”

Now Renee was gawking at her with wide eyes. “You were going on a DATE with him?! He’s dangerous, Teralyn! Stay away from him!”

“Renee doll, I think you’ve made your point…” Jon knew if they kept harping on this, Teralyn would end up doing the opposite.

“No, I haven’t even STARTED making my point, Jonathan! This is crazy! He’s a cult leader and he’s trying to recruit her like Simone!”

Groaning, Jon watched Teralyn walk away and slapped his face, shaking his head. “I tried to get you to stop and you wouldn’t listen.”

Teralyn walked away for one simple reason: She was pissed at Renee for yelling at her when she did absolutely nothing wrong and hadn’t even JOINED the fraternity!

Given that Renee had also pointed out that they were all laughing at Glenn being turned down publicly, that was just cruel. That was mean and immature, laughing at someone else being embarrassed because they found the facial reaction ‘priceless’. And then Simone, she had been pressured by her father, who was overbearing and had been a real prick about her deciding to major in philosophy. Simone had said it herself, she had been lost and confused, hurt by the stuff going on with her Dad; she had joined a group of other people who felt the same and had begun the healing process. People who didn’t laugh at her pain or vice versa. She was happy with Glenn, having learned to look past the ‘ugly mug’ and all that.

“Nice one,” Hissed Edge as he literally danced past Jon and Renee, Teralyn long out of sight at this point. “Alienate the poor freshie.”

Christian slipped through the pair, snorting when Renee shrieked from surprise. They had to go back and report this conversation.

Renee and Jon were sophomores, so they were only a year older than Teralyn. Jon was a tad older since he hadn’t gone to college right away and Renee was two years older than Teralyn. They all got along pretty well, but…Teralyn could not get the words Renee spewed out of her head. All she could think about was poor Glenn. They had made fun of the man, but it was weird how Simone had gone from calling him ugly to being in love with him. Opposites did attract, she supposed…Teralyn changed into her sleepwear and sat on the bed, suddenly wishing Mark was there with her.

Shit… Longing for him was a bad sign because it meant the walls around her heart were cracking slowly but surely. Her thoughts turned to what else Renee said regarding the fraternity being a cult. So, did that mean it wasn’t registered with the college?

Each fraternity had to be…right?

Yes they were, though fraternities were not traditionally associated with the colleges, but with a national association. If Teralyn went looking, and she would because she wanted to be a journalist, she would see that this fraternity had roots all over the country and went back a few decades. They did their charity work for their colleges, they checked all the boxes needed to exist, just like any other fraternity. Taker had done his work and made sure this ‘version’ of the association was on the up and up. It was what happened in the non-public rooms and behind closed doors that most people didn’t know about.

That was exactly what Teralyn did.

Over the weekend, since she didn’t have any exams to do, just the assignment from mythology class for Professor Moody, she did some investigating. First, Teralyn had to figure out where to go to get information about the fraternity since nobody was very forthcoming with her. She had asked Mark and no luck there, as well as Simone. That part did bother her and Renee had pointed it out during her rant. Renee had tried getting a hold of her several times throughout the weekend, but Teralyn wanted to be left alone to do her research. In front of her, she read through paperwork she acquired, seeing all the charities the Ministry had done.

The Ministry.

That was what the fraternity was called.

Unbeknownst to her, there were two other words to that name – The Ministry of Darkness. Of course, they couldn’t add those two words because of the scrutiny they would receive. Taker wasn’t stupid and had made sure to simply call the ‘fraternity’ something simple yet catching at the same time. Who wouldn’t think The Ministry was mysterious and worth a peek?

From what she read, even finding articles about the fraternity at the local library with some more digging, Teralyn discovered NOTHING hidden or amiss with The Ministry. She understood what Renee was trying to do as far as warning her, but…no alarm bells rang in her head when it came to Mark Calaway. If only she knew the truth of who she was really dealing with, Teralyn would’ve ran for the hills and probably transferred to a different college.

Chapter 10

Currently, her own roommate was chained up to a wall, on her knees and sucking Taker’s dick. This was the initiation he came up with to see if she TRULY wanted to be a member of The Ministry of Darkness and Claudia was giving it her all, also stripped completely naked. Shaw was behind her, holding her hair back while Taker fucked her mouth hard and rough, laughing evilly in her ear.

“I told ya, man, she’s a good cocksucker.” He growled, looking up at his master to see if he approved or not and knew this woman wouldn’t be talking much tomorrow. “Now honey, if you wanna be with us, you gotta swallow him WHOLE. Do NOT let a single drop leave those lips of yours, got it?”

Claudia nodded.

This was literally all Claudia was good for. A fuck pad for their needs because she wasn’t very smart, at all. She wasn’t one to bring into the meetings or the legitimate business they did, so this was about it. She would be great for recruiting men, however, so…perhaps she did have some potential outside of being a cock slut. Taker hadn’t told Teralyn anything about the order outside of: Visit us more often and get to know us because what the hell WAS he going to tell her? The truth? No. He had to be patient and lure her in and she WOULD come because curiosity would get the best of her.

Once they were finished, Taker left and cleaned himself up while Shaw had the leftovers. He wasn’t surprised when the man unchained her and made her wash her mouth out with Listerine first because he didn’t need to taste Taker’s leftovers on her tongue. Completely understandable. Claudia didn’t care what they used her for as long as she was part of the Ministry of Darkness, needing it more than words could say. She was in lust with Shaw, maybe even love, and whatever he wanted to do to her, she would accept. Including forcing her to suck the leader off while he watched and chained to a wall – Claudia had zero shame. She made it up to Shaw by letting him take her ass, which wasn’t the first time he’d done it and it wouldn’t be the last.

That was just gross and Taker had to go scour his dick, making a mental note to not do that again because he did not need STDs or anything else. He also made a mental note to have Bradshaw make his slut get tested. In the event things didn’t work out with Claudia, given her current reputation as a freshman slut, it wouldn’t be very hard to get rid of her and add onto her already precarious reputation. Hmm, not minding his nudity, Taker dropped down in a chair in one of his private rooms glancing at the monitor.

Moody. Teralyn had been requesting the records on the Ministry of Darkness, just as he expected her to do. “Come to me, little moth…” He rumbled, reaching for his brandy and poured himself a healthy measure. “Come burn in the fire…”

~!~

“Morning sunshine. Coffee?” Teralyn offered the cup she poured towards Claudia, having heard her stumble in after 4 AM.

“Ugh, please don’t yell.” Claudia’s head was killing her as she took the cup, taking a long sip of it with a groan. Without realizing it, her MOUTH was bruised, along with her throat and upper arms, none of them covered up.

Teralyn frowned at her roommate’s appearance, setting her cup down before going to her instantly. “Claudia, what happened to you?! Who beat you up?!”

“Didn’t I say not to yell?!” Claudia immediately regretted yelling, clutching her head with her hand and frowned at the worry in Teralyn’s eyes. “Nobody did…”

“Why are you bruised all over then?!” Teralyn ignored her request to keep quiet, pointing at her throat and arms, even her mouth. “What happened to you?” Then she thought about who Claudia was with at the party a few weeks ago, her eyes widening. “Did…Shaw do this to you?” Was the big man capable of hurting a woman like this?

Claudia knew better than to tell Teralyn what really happened, especially since Taker was finally allowing her to pledge into The Ministry of Darkness. “Yes, but don’t worry, I enjoyed every SECOND of it.” A filthy smirk curved her bruised lips as she took another sip of coffee. “Teralyn, my dear, these are sex marks. Love marks. Marks that prove I had some WILD, amazing sex.”

And now Teralyn was officially mortified and embarrassed. “Oh.”

How her mouth was bruised was beyond her. Now, the corners of her lips were a little split and her throat was a little achy, but…maybe it was from Taker’s body hitting her face or something. Either way, delicious night and these marks were proof she was finally in the Ministry of Darkness completely and had a VERY good night. Taker’s cock was a work of art. Not that Shaw was a slouch in that department, but goddamn the master was HUNG like a horse and she would not mind tangling it up with him in the sheets, if he was inclined.

“Yeah…it was wild and fun…but I’ll wear makeup and cover it all up.” Claudia would not be heckled all day about her fun times either.

Wild and fun? This woman looked like she’d gotten the hell beat out of her and it was wild and fun? Teralyn did not understand how sex could be deemed ‘wild and fun’ with a woman looked as maimed as Claudia.

“Come on, haven’t you ever had dick so good, you just let him grip your hair and fuck your mouth hard and fast?”

Teralyn blinked at her, slowly shaking her head. “I’ve given a blowjob to my ex-boyfriend before, but…he was never rough with me or anything. Never left any bruises on me…”

“Then he wasn’t doing it right, honey.” Claudia winked, wondering if her roommate was a virgin since Teralyn never had a man stay over or she never went to a man’s house for a night of sexy fun.

That was all her and Scott did throughout high school was foreplay sex. She sucked him off, he ate her out and that was all they did with each other because they both agreed to save penetrative sex for when they were married. Even Teralyn knew they couldn’t be together nearly five years straight without SOME kind of sex in their lives. She even told him if he wanted to have sex, all he had to do was ask and Scott was adamant about waiting until they were married. That was why she was confused why he would cheat on her with Marley.

Had he lied to her all this time?

“Hey, will you help me cover these up?”

“Sure.” Teralyn jolted out of her thoughts and took the jar of some kind of substance from Claudia, beginning to apply it on her bruises.

By the time she was covered up, nobody could tell Claudia had been banged through the mattress, or wall as it were. She wore a long sleeved top with cinched wrists to hide the slight bruising from the chains. That had been all her, she had been tugging on those bad boys from pleasure. BDSM was a thing and as far as she was concerned, that was what happened last night. Of course, it was all still considered taboo, but nobody had gotten hurt, so it was fine. Everything had been consensual.

“Man…I needed that, thanks.” Claudia smiled at her reflection, flipping her hair back over her shoulder.

“No problem.” Teralyn smiled at her, glad to see the bruises were gone with that makeup and hopefully, whatever that salve stuff was, would make them disappear fast. “Claudia…” She really didn’t want to get into this woman’s business, but…they were roommates and she felt the need to say something. “I was told some things about this fraternity and…I just want you to know that I’m here if you ever need to talk to someone. If you’re hurt in any way, you can come to me. We don’t know each other that well and we don’t hang out often, but I do consider you a friend.” They lived together after all. “I just want you to know I’m here for you, okay?”

“Oh god, you heard those bogus rumors, didn’t you?” Claudia looked both amused and annoyed, shaking her head as she sat down to pull on her shoes. She had a study session soon. “You realize, a lot of those guys at the frat house, they were all potential recruits for Austin’s football team, right?” She was a freshman who listened to the gossip and also a part of that fraternity, so… “Not a lot of them could deal with his…I guess he’s very pushy about majors and shit. Tried getting some of them to change up what they were doing, it didn’t settle well.”

That was news to Teralyn as she sat down next to Claudia, her curiosity peaked. “Really? Well that’s not right to try to force people to change their majors. Simone Austin told me a few things about her father as well, how he tried forcing her to change her major.”

“Yeah, Simone was fed up with Daddy trying to dictate her life and who wouldn’t be? If my old man tried telling ME what to major in for college, I would tell him to shove it up his ass.” She finished tying one shoe and then went to the other. “Let me guess, Renee Young tell you this garbage?”

Teralyn couldn’t deny it and nodded, frowning. “Yeah. She said the fraternity is a cult.” That made Claudia freeze momentarily to slowly turn her head to look at Teralyn.

“A cult? Are you fucking serious?” Renee Young needed to keep her mouth shut before Taker wound up shutting it for good! “That is the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard in my life! It’s not a cult! There’s nothing satanic about it or anything!”

Teralyn swallowed hard at the rage in Claudia’s eyes. “Yeah. She said that Coach Austin has been trying to shut it down because it’s not an actual fraternity. I did some research because I was curious and I haven’t found anything that remotely points to a cult. I don’t know what Coach Austin is feeding his players and the cheerleading squad, but…until there’s solid proof and evidence that it’s a cult, I’m not believing it. Mark is a great guy and he’d never be involved in something like a cult.” There was no way.

“I really hope he leaves me alone.” Since she was part of the cheerleading squad, just trying to envision how it would go if she told off Young for running her mouth didn’t set well with Claudia. Austin wasn’t her coach, obviously, but apparently some people were listening to him. “Ugh…I gotta get going. I’ve been putting off my schooling and I said something to Shaw about it. He’s got me into one of the study groups that the school offers to get me back on the academic straight and narrow.” She laughed and shook her head, smiling at Teralyn. “You’re going to have to make your own decisions and form your own opinions, but honestly, a cult? That’s some movie bullshit when all this amounts to is Austin blowing smoke up asses because people won’t take his word as gospel.”

It really did sound like Austin held a grudge against Mark for some reason and she was curious what it was. Maybe talking to Austin himself was the next step to figure out what exactly was going on. “Yeah, you’re right and this isn’t a movie. This is real life and he needs to stop filling heads with bullshit that’s not true.”

Simone would be the person to talk to, now that Teralyn thought about it. If anyone would have an insight into what the fraternity was all about, it was her. Would she tell Teralyn though? Teralyn had already tried asking her about it and Simone avoided the question. Mark did the same thing unless she went out to dinner with him. Hmm…Teralyn had some thinking to do as she grabbed her belongings and headed out, needing to get to the coffee shop for her shift.

Simone hadn’t told her anything because she had been a Pledge and now she was fully initiated, but there were ranks. Also, everyone knew that Teralyn was majoring in journalism, so they were all hesitant to give her too much information. There was curiosity if she was going to apply to be part of the school’s newspaper team, reporting on the rumored ‘cult’ would have been a surefire way in. Everyone was basically waiting on Taker’s permission when it came to his new conquest. Taker already knew eventually she would go to Steve Austin, drumming his fingers on the table he was sitting at, sipping a morning cup of coffee. He was here before she was and now knew her schedule – not that she knew it.

There was no reason for her to join the newspaper at school because she didn’t believe half the gossip that trash came out with. Teralyn had thought about doing it for all three seconds, then read a tasteless article and tossed it in the trashcan. She was all about facts, not rumors and gossip, which was why she had done her own research on The Ministry and came up with nothing horrible. With her visor and work shirt on, blue jean shorts and white tennis shoes, Teralyn walked inside, waving to one of her coworkers before heading to the back to put her stuff away.

Then she headed out front to grab a quick cup of java since she had 15 minutes before her shift started. Her eyes looked up just as she finished pouring creamer in her coffee and Teralyn raised a brow at the sight of Mark sitting at one of the far tables by a window. What was he doing here this early in the morning? Walking over, his eyes looked up to lock on hers and Teralyn had to learn how to breathe again, her heartrate speeding up. It always did whenever she was around this man, but somehow, Teralyn managed to keep her composure.

“Well, you’re the last person I expected to see here first thing in the morning. Our coffee that good, eh?” They hadn’t spoken since the football game a week ago.

“You know, I used to come in here a lot last year. This year…not so much, but I’ve also been a lot busier this year.” Taker laughed, tapping the notebook he was pouring over. “History notes, this was quieter than the house this morning.” At her curious look he smiled, reaching for his cup, which was almost empty and drained it. “People are in a bit of a tizzy. I guess someone decided to get the rumor mill roaring again because they don’t have anything better to do than harass us.” This was a partial lie, partial truth. Nobody was in a tizzy because the higher-ups were reassuring their new initiates that it would be taken care of.

This wasn’t anything new for most of them.

Chapter 11

That broke her heart to hear and Teralyn frowned, not liking the fact the rumors were spreading about The Ministry. “How about a refill? It’s on me.”

Before he could protest or say anything, she was off to refill his cup, remembering the last time he ordered. Pure black with just a pinch of sugar. Teralyn walked back over and set it in front of him, asking if she could sit with him for a minute before her shift started. He gestured to the chair and she sat down, taking a sip of her own coffee.

“I fear the rumors have been fired up again about your fraternity because of me, Mark. Renee, the blonde I was with at the football game, warned me to…stay away from you and called your fraternity a cult. She said Coach Austin has been trying to shut you down for a while now, especially since his daughter is involved.” Another sip went down and she met his eyes. “I want you to know that…I did some research because I was curious and I believe in factual information, not rumors or gossip. And I don’t believe a word she told me. You’re a great guy and I won’t let anyone poison me against you simply because a father has his feathers ruffled over his daughter rebelling against him.”

Taker studied her thoughtfully, finally offering a warm smile that had the corners of his emerald eyes crinkling. “Well thank you, that means a lot coming from you, darlin’. I know you've been asking questions and nobody has been very forthcoming, but with Austin being a jackass…we're going into defense mode. You know…he tried recruiting me when I got here. Football was never my thing though.” He chuckled ruefully, sipping his own beverage. “Now if it’d been baseball, I would have jumped all over that.”

“Hmm, baseball huh? You look more like a basketball player to me, honestly. Just because of your height alone.” He would make a fantastic basketball player, actually. “I’m not really into sports all that much. The only reason I went to the football game last Friday was because Renee asked me to and I wanted to cheer my friends on. I’m starting to realize though that they may not be my friends since they’re trying to fill my head with all of these rumors and bullshit. I don’t respect or condone that with anyone. And I don’t blame you for going into defense mode. I was just curious about your fraternity because of what Simone told me, but honestly, if a person is not part of the fraternity, they have no business finding out the inner workings of it and I understand that. I just hope…this doesn’t sour our friendship, Mark. I’m on your side with this situation.” Reaching over, Teralyn squeezed his hand to let him know she meant those truthful words, her ocean blue eyes conveying it.

“Now, don’t be picking sides, beautiful.” Reaching out, Taker placed a hand over hers, squeezing briefly before pulling away and returning to his pen. “It’ll all settle down, eventually. He’s just pissed because his daughter joined the fraternity is all, so he’s stirring shit up again. He did this last year and the year before when some of the guys shot him down when he wanted them to try out for the team. Actually, Rooq and Shaw quit the team and walked off the field. I guess Austin was pressuring him to change his career course.” He then smirked at the basketball comment. “You’d think, right? But that’s rough on the knees, jumping around and shit. Baseball is just straight out running and I like hitting the ball.” In other words, he liked swinging bats.

“That’s true.” Teralyn preferred it when he called her darlin’ at the football game instead of beautiful. It just…suited him better and sounded more like him. Now he was back to the beautiful nickname. “Rooq, that’s his name!” She snapped her fingers, shaking her head with a chuckle. “Sorry, I completely forgot his name and could not remember it for the life of me. And that’s ridiculous that Coach Austin is getting away with that shit. He shouldn’t be spreading rumors and lies just because he doesn’t get his way with people.” What the hell? Teralyn was tempted to report him based on what Mark was telling her and sipped more of her coffee. “I still want to hear more about your fraternity, Mark. From what Simone and Claudia told me, they’re very happy and you told me to find a way to deal with my pain, to join a group or something. Can we maybe try that dinner idea of yours again and you can tell me all about it?” Now she was asking HIM out, but it was purely platonic and she hoped he understood that.

Nothing had changed.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Taker actually pulled up the pen before he wound up leaving a blot or something on the paper, fixing her with an amused, curious stare. “Are you asking me out?” He was teasing, smirking when she flushed pink and began shaking her head. “Only friends?” He nodded when Teralyn did, knowing he was already breaking down those barriers and it was only a matter of time before he smashed them to pieces. He had infinite patience for this kind of hunt, knowing in the end it would be worth it. “Sure, we can do that. Where at and when?”

“Well…” It was Saturday night and she didn’t know if the fraternity had a party going on or not. Was it every weekend they had one, every other weekend, once a month? “Why not that place you planned on taking me to before? It could get us both out of here for a little while, away from the chaos and rumor mill.” Teralyn smiled at the twinkle in his eyes and glanced at the clock, knowing she didn’t have much time left to talk to him. “And as for when…when are you free next to have dinner with me?”

“Oh, that hole in the wall diner? Sure, we could go there. You want me to pick you up or just give you directions?” In case she wanted to stand him up again, or maybe he’d stand her up and claim fraternity business or teacher’s aide issues had arose. Hell, they might anyway now that he had tossed that thought out into the universe. “Whenever you want, I can make time.” Taker leaned back in the chair, glad they had spent the money on sturdy furniture for this shop instead of being cheap or else he’d be on his backside in a pile of broken wood by now.

“If you could pick me up, that would be great. And if you’re on your bike, let me know, so I can make sure to dress appropriately.” He informed her that was his only means of transportation to get around, he didn’t like cars. She nodded, filing that away and would make sure to wear pants, refusing to burn her legs. “And if you don’t want to go to that diner, choose wherever you want.” Standing, Teralyn looked down at him and reached over to brush a strand of hair from his forehead. “I need to get to work, but I’ll see you tonight?” Unless he flaked on her, which was a possibility since she had stood him up. “I get off at 5 o’clock, so if you’re not busy with The Ministry, would you be able to do it tonight?”

“Sure, just let me know what time you want me to get you.” The only time he drove something besides his motorcycle was when there was snow on the ground. Luckily for him, they were out of that season, so his truck had gone back into storage. Vehicles were confining, Taker preferred not being caged in one like a sardine. “Go on now, darlin’, get your ass back to work. I may need a refill in five.” He was teasing, mostly, eyeballing his cup. Noting that she remembered how he took his coffee, he smiled slightly. Good. She pays attention. He liked that.

“Yes, sir.” Teralyn saluted him in a smartass way with a grin, her eyes twinkling and headed back behind the counter to clock in. Sure enough, he waved his hand at her and she walked over with a full, fresh pot of coffee, filling his cup again. “You better eat something before you burn a hole in your stomach.” This man could really ingest his coffee and she set a pastry down in front of him she’d been holding behind her back. “My treat. Now eat.” Then, she was back behind the desk again, making sure to pay for that pastry and began helping the other customers that began trickling in.

It had been a while since Taker had a steady woman. Most women were just tools to be used and discarded. Be it for sex or something else. Kind of like Claudia. He was contemplating keeping this one because so far, she was beautiful, intelligent, submissive and perceptive, thoughtful as well. The fact that Teralyn was very likely a virgin had him practically salivating every time he thought about it. He wanted to take every hole she had, rid her of that virgin status and show her the pleasures of being found in the darkness. Thankfully, he had on tight jeans or else his hard-on would be…noticeable when he eventually stood up.

Teralyn smiled at him as he walked past her, their eyes meeting and mouthed ‘tonight’ with a wink, watching him nod before heading out. I’m so screwed. In more ways than one, Teralyn already knew simply asking him out, even as friends, was already going back on her vow. She could not stop herself though and after opening up to him at the football game, after doing her research about The Ministry…Teralyn was like a fish on a hook. Caught, and there was no stopping what would inevitably happen. I don’t want to be sad anymore and he takes my pain away when I’m with him. Simply holding his hand was enough for her to feel better, to get rid of the pain, even if it was temporary.

Whether she realized it or not, Teralyn was flirting with him. She was falling for him, a moth to the flame, a fly landing in a spider’s web… he would slowly reel her in and, by the time she realized she had walked happily into the den of the devil, it would be much, much too late. Taker finished with the paper he had been working on, the rough draft anyway and tucked everything away neatly in the leather backpack he traveled with when out on the ‘study’ things. After leaving a generous tip, he walked out the door, catching Teralyn’s eye on his way and throwing her a wink.

Tonight.

Tonight it all began in earnest.

~!~

Staring in the full-length mirror, Teralyn had double braided her hair, one on each side to hang over her shoulders and put a headband in, which was a deep turquoise. The top was a tunic, long sleeved since it was chilly tonight and she knew she’d be on a motorcycle with a white lace undershirt. It had a sweetheart neckline and she decided on black skinny jeans with black tennis shoes. Her makeup was turquoise liner on the lids and black on the bottom to bring her eyes out, a deep peach gloss on her lips.

“This is not a date. Remember, you’re just friends, no matter what you’re feeling inside. NO MEN, keep that in your head. NO. MEN.” Teralyn coached herself, taking a deep breath and grabbed her white clutch before heading out, making sure to grab her black long sweater as well. Mark would be there any minute and she didn’t want him to think she stood him up again.

Since he was letting her think she was leading this dance, Taker did not dress up. Not that he would have anyway. They were going to an out of the way, hole in the wall diner that had great food and trash service unless they knew the customer personally. They knew him. He smirked slightly, slipping a silver necklace around his neck. Hair braided back, bandana wrapped around his head and a pair of ‘painted on’ jeans. Singing along to ‘Symphony for the Devil’, he reached for one of his leather vests, making a very half-assed effort to sort of button it up. Soon enough he was on his way out the door, knowing he’d be about three minutes late.

Just enough time for Teralyn to start wondering if he was going to bail on her.

Something told Teralyn she wouldn’t be stood up, not by Mark. He had too big of a heart to do something like that. She had done it to him for a specific reason…and he had caught a glimpse of it at the football game. This was simply dinner amongst friends, nothing more – nothing less. When she heard that motorcycle rumbling in the distance, Teralyn felt her heartrate speed up because she knew who it was…who was coming for her. The biggest smile crossed her face as Mark came roaring up on his pure black motorcycle and she had to stop at the sight of him.

Holy shit. He looked completely different from the other times they’d hung out together and she would admit, only in her head, how sexy he looked in this getup, especially when he dismounted to greet her properly. “So, I’ve never ridden one of these before. Probably should’ve mentioned that at the coffee shop. Will you help me get on it?”

The day at the coffee shop when he had been waiting on her after her shift, that time he had asked her to dinner, he’d been wearing an outfit very similar to this one. “Darlin’, you are in for an experience then, there is nothing more freeing then being on one of these.” Or terrifying, depending on if one rode with an asshole. Taker was an asshole, but he’d be nice tonight since he was trying to reel her in, not scare her off. “Here, may I?” His hands were already there, ready to grasp her waist and he inwardly groaned at how tiny she was – how breakable. She was someone a man rode hard, put away wet and did it all over again because she’d never break, not really.

Her hands gripped his huge biceps as he lifted her to set her on the bike, to straddle it, and she couldn’t believe how huge his hands were. This man could easily snap her in half, if he wanted to. Teralyn was starting to realize just how monstrous Mark was compared to her and the nerves began to set in slightly. He seemed to sense it or seen it in her eyes because he began rubbing her back gently, kissing her forehead and soothing her.

“I’m okay, just nervous.” She admitted quietly, not able to meet his eyes and took a few deep breaths, his free hand still resting on her hip. “You really do care about me, don’t you? That’s nice.”

Most people might have felt a bit guilty about that, at those sweet, naïve words, especially considering what he was and what he knew. Teralyn trusted him, whether she knew it completely, she did and she was starting to shift gears on the ‘don’t date’ vow. Taker did not feel one iota of guilt because sometimes, people needed to be persuaded on a psychological level, which was what he had been working on.

“Yes.” He rumbled, beginning to explain quietly what he was about to do, so she didn’t freak out when his large frame mounted the bike before her.

It made her feel even safer when he mounted in front of her and Teralyn instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling his hand reach up to squeeze hers momentarily. He cared about her. Mark really did care about her and she could feel the walls around her heart deteriorating, crumbling, wanting to let him in. Teralyn couldn’t stop it, remembering his words about this happening organically and he was right…again. When the motorcycle roared with life, she slightly jumped and felt her heart pound, eyes widening. A few seconds later, he pulled away from the curb and her clutch on him tightened, not realizing her nails were digging into pure flesh of chest since the vest wasn’t all the way buttoned.

What Taker cared about was getting into her virginal panties. Making her fall madly in love with him. Using her for a variety of purposes. The icing on the cake here was that she was perfect in every way, shape and form for his less than pleasant purposes and didn’t even realize it. Caring might come into play, legitimately, the further down this road they went. He was aware that even he could not control matters of his own heart, though he could certainly safeguard against them. Her nails digging into his chest had him rumbling, his cock informing him that that felt really good, and he focused on driving, not on what this innocent chit was inadvertently doing to him. He had about ten minutes to talk down the erection before they reached their destination.

Chapter 12

Once they arrived at the hole in the wall diner, Teralyn slowly released him after Mark cut the engine, tilting the bike on its stand. Once again, he dismounted and clamped his huge hands on her waist to lift her up, setting her on the asphalt in front of him. “Wow, that really was a rush!” She exclaimed with a bright smile, still a little shaky from the ride since it was her first time.

If they continued hanging out and going places together, Teralyn would get used to it. Mark chuckled at her and took her hand, guiding her inside the place. At first glance, it didn’t look particularly safe, but she was with Mark and trusted him, so Teralyn simply let him take the reins while looking around.

It was safe enough, if one knew people, so they were fine. Also, being his size and with muscles that were not just for show, most people only made the mistake of screwing with him once. “You might wanna try stretching your legs before you sit down.” Taker bet her backside was numb from the vibrations since that had been her first time riding a motorcycle. “Nobody is going to mess with you, Teralyn.” He reassured her, bending down to drop a kiss on her head before leading the way to a corner booth. Where he could see everyone and everything, nodding at the waitress behind the counter. Older woman, seen a lot, done a lot, minded her own business.

“I know.” Stretch my legs how, exactly?

Teralyn didn’t feel any immediate danger from this place, though it also wasn’t somewhere she’d go on a whim either. She did as Mark instructed, stretching her legs the best she could and then sat down, once again looking around before settling her gaze on him. There were already menus on the table, so she picked hers up and began perusing through it to see what this place had to offer.

“What do you recommend from here, Mark?”

“Anything, as long as it’s not the soup or salad of the day.” The salads were probably limp and gross and he knew for a fact the soup of the day was something out of a can. Anything that they had to cook to order was delicious and obviously fresh. “I’m having the steakburger with fries and….” Taker was starving, smirking when she glanced down to see what the hell the steakburger was. Some delicious concoction that was not steak at all and probably bad for the heart, but he only lived once. “Probably a shake. Order anything that looks good.” This was technically her date since Teralyn had asked him, but it was natural for him to assume the ‘lead’, as it were.

It would be her footing the bill too, whether Mark liked it or not. She had asked him out to dinner, not the other way around, and this was her way of making it up to him. “I think…I’m going to get the cheeseburger deluxe with steak fries and a strawberry shake.” She nodded, deciding to treat herself a little and a burger sounded really good right now.

A waitress came over a few minutes later, taking their order and Teralyn didn’t miss the way she coyly spoke to Mark. Did they know each other? She also didn’t miss the waitress sauntering away, shaking her backside at him in the process and something crested inside of Teralyn. Was it jealousy perhaps?

Teralyn decided to turn the attention back on her with a soft smile. “So, why don’t you tell me about The Ministry?” That was the reason why she asked him out in the first place…or so she tried convincing herself.

If Teralyn was jealous of that old thing, she was insane. The waitress, who he liked as much as he could like someone in a ‘see you once in a blue moon’ way, was older than him. She’d been run ragged by her life and there was a bunch of red flags involved if that thing thought she was getting into his painted-on jeans.

“Mmm, well, what do you want to know? I can tell you the same shit I tell everyone, but it’ll sound like I’m reading from a pamphlet, darlin’.” Taker laughed, leaning back in the booth and draped his arm along the top, his eyes never leaving her face.

Teralyn shook her head, folding her hands in her lap because she had proper etiquette when it came to table manners. “No, that’s not what I want to hear. I’ve already done research on it, so I know what the pamphlet says. What I want to know is why should someone feel the need to pledge? Claudia and Simone are happy, I can see it.” Even though Claudia had come home with A LOT of bruises all over her. She didn’t even want to imagine how rough Shaw was when it came to sex, suppressing a shudder. No man would ever mark her that way, not if Teralyn had anything to say about it. “What I want to know is what draws people in to make them want to pledge to The Ministry. What’s your hook? And I also would like to know what all is involved, if you can tell me…like the initiation process, for example. Is it…humiliating like the other fraternities or do you do things differently?”

“I already told you we don’t do hazing and shit like that.” Taker knew others told her the same.

It was one of the things that was important about the Ministry, no stupid pledge hazing. There were initiations, but they never ended in embarrassment, unless one failed the assigned task. Or went to jail and then they were just a ‘never heard of them’ person, completely eliminated from the equation.

“What draws people in…probably because we’re an odd assortment. I’m sure you’ve noticed that. Jocks, geeks, some wanna-be goth people, just…a mixture of everyone coming together. One thing that ties everyone together, the common thread, is that they were all searching for a purpose and acceptance. We offer that.”

Searching for a purpose and acceptance… “So people that feel lost and confused with their life gravitates to The Ministry.” It wasn’t a question, she was simply stating a fact and Mark nodded anyway.

It made perfect sense and matched what Simone told her. Did Renee exaggerate when she told the story about how Simone and Glenn met? Calling him ugly and wanting nothing to do with him, only to fall in love with him a few months later…that puzzled Teralyn. What would make a person change so drastically unless…and the lightbulb suddenly went off in her head. Maybe Simone and Glenn were secretly seeing each other all along, behind her father’s back, and she had only called him ugly to save face with her friends. That wasn’t right to do either, but Simone was now fully into The Ministry and maybe that was the plan from the beginning.

“I’ve never been a fan of fraternities.” Honesty was the best policy when it came to Mark. “But after what I’ve been through, dealing with it alone isn’t an option anymore. I want this pain in my chest to go away and you told me to find a group to help me through it. I think The Ministry can do that for me, to help me feel a sense of purpose and acceptance. But I also know it’s not easy to be pledged, so will you tell me what I have to do to become part of your fraternity?”

“Wait about four months until we hold another initiation.” He joked, nodding when the waitress returned with their shakes, hers strawberry and his vanilla. “Well, for starters, you have to prove to us that you’re serious and not looking to join the freak show. You’ve seen the people who come to the parties, dressed like something out of a vampire masquerade. Those people are usually an automatic no.” Obviously, there were exceptions to the rule, Claudia for instance. “You also need to be involved in something like a school activity, extracurricular. Have you looked into any of the clubs or anything? Maybe signing up for the newspaper?” That would make sense since Teralyn wanted to be a journalist and the school’s paper would give her a launching pad.

Four months??  That made her feel a little discouraged, but things had to be done by the book and she understood that. “Honestly, I thought about the newspaper, but all they wanna do is spread gossip and write about things that don’t matter.  And no, I haven’t come across a club that has caught my eye…” Maybe it was hopeless.  Teralyn began drinking her shake and enjoyed the intense strawberry flavor.  It was even better than the local ice cream shop had. “I didn’t realize that was a requirement for joining.  Oh well…” At least she knew now and it would give her something to think about.

“Sorry darlin’, that’s how it is for everywhere. We all have national association rules and regulations we have to follow.” All fraternities had set times and stuff for their pledges; there was the becoming a pledge and then there was the period to actually join. “Which newspaper are you reading, darlin’? You know there’s two of them, right? The official college paper and then another one. Christian is actually the editor of the second and they cover things like campus news, town stuff, that sort of thing. If you want, you could always talk to him since he’s looking for interns right now. Ryan left last month, transferred colleges so he’s down some people.”

That peaked her interest because Teralyn wasn't aware of another newspaper. “Really?  And they don’t write about bullshit gossip and tear others down?” Mark shook his head and she beamed, already seeing herself working side by side with one of The Ministry members. “Jason is his name, right?  I know Christian is his fraternity name, but I’d rather call him by his actual name for now.” This could be the opportunity she was looking for.  Maybe she didn't have to join The Ministry to feel a sense of accomplishment and belonging.  Maybe the newspaper would be enough. “I’ll need his number before we part ways tonight.”

If she was looking for instant gratification, Teralyn was in the wrong spot. Not even Taker could change the rules on some things, just because he had his own reasons to follow the playbook. Other issues, there was wiggle room and it was just a matter of getting her from point A to point B and a lot of that would depend on what Teralyn wanted exactly.

“You’re still looking for acceptance, belonging…accomplishment on your own terms,” Not her mother’s or anyone else’s. “But you still have to take the hard path to get there, darlin’, and in this case, the hard part is the waiting. If you really want to join The Ministry, fall in like other pledges do. The requirements are the same across the board for most houses; we just don’t ask you to do embarrassing or even harmful shit like a lot of others do.”

“Right I understand.  Truthfully, I don’t know if joining The Ministry is the right thing for me to do.  But this newspaper that Jason is part of could be what I’ve been looking for.” Actual excitement filled her ocean blues as Teralyn sucked more of her shake down.  She knew in order to make a name for herself as a journalist, she had to put herself out there. “Thank you, Mark.  I mean that.  You have really helped me more than you know.”

“Well darlin’, if you keep spending time with me, you’ll eventually start spending time with the others and maybe that’ll help you decide. Just remember, you don’t have to do anything, I’m just offering suggestions. Ultimately, to get the things you’re looking for, you have to resign yourself to being patient and maybe even work a little for it. Not that I’m work.” Taker winked at her, laughing outright when she blushed and shook his head. “I’m just teasing. Remind me before we go to give you his number.”

No, he wasn’t work at all and it was so easy being with him. He made her feel beautiful, wanted and respected…and she barely knew him. “I’ll just take one day at a time and see what happens after I talk to Jason.”

First thing she had to do was see if there was room on the newspaper team because Jason could’ve already hired people. That would be a bummer, but Teralyn would work hard and diligently to get to where she wanted to go. She would have the coffee shop, schooling and the newspaper…she was going to be very busy. Their food arrived and it smelled divine as she asked for a Pepsi to go with her meal. The cheeseburger was definitely calling her name and they both ate in companionable silence, enjoying each other’s company while devouring the delicious food this place offered.

There was room and he knew because Taker had already informed Jason he was sending her his way. Jason…Taker inwardly smirked, knowing Christian would do a lot of mental groans over that. He had informed his ‘friend’ earlier today, after the coffee date, that he would be ‘suggesting’ it to her and to be expecting her call eventually. It was truth, Christian was looking for a new intern as it were because poor Ryan had to leave quickly, without much word.

Once he was done with his steakburger, Taker leaned back again, popping fries into his mouth while studying her. “What’re you thinking, Teralyn?”

She must’ve been in deep thought while eating and shook her head at him with a soft smile. “Nothing really, which is nice for a change. My head is usually full of so much stuff and it’s hard for me to shut it all down.”

Teralyn had managed to finish all of her food, shake and almost her Pepsi, eating a lot for a small girl. Her metabolism was off the charts, but she also went to the gym twice a week to stay in shape. It was ingrained into her at a young age to take care of her body because it would take her places not all women could go – her mother’s philosophy.

“I’m also wondering how I’m gonna ride back on that bike being this full.” She felt like a stuffed turkey at the moment.

If Taker had known what her mother had told her, he would have agreed. In this world, a banging body was the key to getting rich and secure when it came to women, but there was a caveat. That being any broad with a delicious body could get rich, it required the addition of a brain to add the security. He had known too many young women who could have easily made their way in the world, only to screw it up because they had absolutely no brains.

“The same way you rode in on, darlin’, with your arms wrapped around me.”

Chapter 13

That made her turn into a cherry and her eyes dropped from his, trying to stop them from burning. “Yeah, I figured that.” Teralyn murmured quietly, clearing her throat and looked up when the waitress walked over, asking if they wanted anything else. “I’m way too full to even think about dessert, how about you?” Mark declined, shaking his head and she smiled up at the waitress who had been hitting on him earlier. “Just the check, please.”

“How will you be paying today, sweet cheeks?”

“Cash.”

Nodding, the waitress bounded off to grab the check and Teralyn already pulled her wallet out of her clutch, figuring the bill would be around thirty dollars or so. As much as she didn’t want to leave the bitch a tip, she would simply because she didn’t give them bad service, even if she was hitting on Teralyn’s date.

However, it wasn’t a date, this was just as friends and Taker had been observing Teralyn’s interactions – As brief as they were, if they could even be called interactions – with their waitress. He was amused and hid it, rather enjoying how she was shifting her stance on ‘friends only’ to something else – something more. “She’s not so bad,” He drawled, eyes on the waitress. “Usually.” Taker snorted when Teralyn cleared her throat, obviously too polite to say what she was thinking. “Yeah I know, she’s a right piece of work, isn’t she? I’ve told her no more times than I can count, but…” He shrugged his massive shoulders, not able to help it that women from all backgrounds and apparently all ages wanted him.

Teralyn didn’t know what to say to that and just nodded, taking the check once the waitress returned, reading the amount. It was twenty-four dollars and some change, so she would leave a five dollar tip, which was a little over twenty percent. That was more than generous in Teralyn’s eyes. “She gave us great service, so that’s what matters.” Putting the money in the credit card holder for the waitress to pick up, she stood from the chair along with Mark and slipped her long white sweater on since nightfall had arrived. The ride back to the dorm would be considerably chillier than before and she didn’t want to freeze, even with Mark being a human furnace.

“See you next time, Taker.” The waitress called out in a purr, ignoring the woman he was with.

Taker? Who was Taker? Then it dawned on Teralyn why he was called that. Nickname for The Ministry. I wonder how often he comes here since that waitress knows him by that nickname.

“Not if you don’t start behaving yourself, Rhonda Mae.” He called over his shoulder, his tone normal though his eyes flashed a warning.

Rhonda Mae, the late 40’s waitress, with a bad dye job and saggy tits, shrank back at that look. The Ministry itself came in often enough, never raised a fuss or anything, but…she swallowed hard, turning to finish clearing off that table.

“You ready to call it a night, darlin’, or should I take you on a ride? Get you used to the Harley a bit more?” Taker offered, staring down at Teralyn once they stood in front of his beast.

Her heart leapt in her throat because Mark wanted to get her used to his bike. That told her he wanted to spend more time with her past tonight and once again, her heart and mind were battling. Was it too soon to date someone else, to be with someone else, after what Scott did to her? Mark didn’t even know the story of what happened and she wasn’t sure if she should tell him.

“Take me for a ride, Mark. I don’t want the night to end.” I’ll go anywhere with him. The smile on his face reminded her of a cat that just ate the canary and she flushed crimson red again, playing with one of her braids absentmindedly, once again lowering her eyes from his.

Was that too forward of her to say?

It was only too soon if it felt like it and, honestly, Taker personally had never been much for convention. For following the rules of society where it was an unspoken thing that one HAD to grieve relationships, no matter how they ended. Death understandable. Being the victim of being cheated on, not so much. Being the cheater sucked, but it was that person’s choice to do it, to hurt their partner, providing they were caught.

“Then it doesn’t have to end, let’s ride, darlin’.” They attended a college outside of New York City, a legitimate college town, but close enough to the city to take a jaunt. Or roam the countryside if they preferred. He figured he’d keep Teralyn sort of close to home and save the city trip for another time.

“Okay.”

Mark lifted her to sit on the bike and mounted in front of her moments later, remembering what he said in the diner. He enjoyed having her arms around him and Teralyn held him just as the bike roared to life again, rumbling beneath her. This truly was a magnificent piece of equipment and this time, since she was somewhat used to it, she lifted her head to simply look at her surroundings flying by.

What am I doing? I’m completely going against what I vowed. I’m being an idiot…and I can’t help it. I like him…a lot. That was a tough thing for her to admit, even if it was only in her head. Up until this point, Teralyn had tried keeping him at arm’s length and Mark had destroyed the walls she’d built around her heart. He wasn’t in there yet, but little by little, he worming his way inside. God save me, I want to be with him. Teralyn tightened her hold on him the faster he went and she’d never felt more exhilarated in her life.

Taking country roads, paved and lined on either side with large, old trees, their branches and leaves meeting over the middle of the road, Taker made sure to go at a gradual speed. With the light of the Harley, it was almost like driving through a tunnel of branches beginning to bud with leaves, signaling spring was arriving properly. He kept his eyes on the road, paying attention to the sides as well because wildlife could be a problem, such as deer, and since neither of them were wearing helmets, he wasn’t about to go smashing their heads on the pavement.

“Mmm…” He rumbled, feeling her hand automatically sliding up on him as they began taking the curves, slowing down to take them easier. Something Taker usually didn’t do because he liked the risk of speed.

Teralyn squealed out softly with each curve he took, laughing and felt her breath hitch when he took another curve a little faster than the first. “Oh shit!” She cried out, feeling his chest rumbling and she knew he was laughing at her, making her laugh as well.

Her arms tightened even more on him the faster Mark went, her cheek pressed against his back. It was almost as if she was on a ride at an amusement park or carnival, which would be coming up soon. The college always had an annual carnival and she was thinking about signing up to volunteer at it. It depended how busy the newspaper, work and schooling made her, however. Teralyn didn’t want to stretch herself too thin, especially if Mark became a permanent part of her life.

He had no idea how long he kept her out for on those back roads, driving past country houses and way off in the distance the lights of the town. Basically circling it, in a very wide, roundabout circle. Eventually, Taker had to head back, knowing she would probably regret her life if delayed onset muscle soreness hit given this was her first day of riding. It seemed to go faster, the return trip, and he was very aware of Teralyn’s hands tightening again around him, along with the way her body relaxed against his back.

The pain would be worth it.

This felt incredible and Teralyn would do anything to keep this feeling forever. It made her wonder if they would see each other again after this or if this was it. She had gotten the information she wanted from him and there was no other excuse to make to hang out. All too soon, the ride came to an end and Mark idled in front of the apartment building, but neither made a move to get off.

Teralyn did not want to let go, but reluctantly, she did slowly, making Mark cut the engine. It was such a beautiful night, so many stars in the sky and the moon was full, lighting it up more. Mark dismounted, turning to look down at her before gripping her hips, lifting her off the bike to stand in front of him. Her legs were trembling slightly, but other than that, there was no pain at the moment. It would probably come later once she was relaxed inside.

That wasn’t what was bothering Teralyn at the moment, however. “Thank you for coming out with me tonight and answering my questions, Mark. And the recommendation for the newspaper. I’m definitely going to look into it and speak to Jason. Oh! I need his number before I forget.”

DOMS usually manifested a day or two after the fact and left you stiff and sore, at least until your body got used to whatever was causing the issue. He could easily remember that way back when, he had adapted quickly. Pain wasn’t his friend, but it wasn’t his enemy either. “Hold on,” Taker rifled in a saddlebag for a pen and one of his notebooks, scrawling down Christian’s personal line at the house, as well as the number for the paper. “You’ll catch him at one of these, so try in the afternoon though. He has classes during the day.” Pretty much like the rest of them. “And not a problem, darlin’, give me a day or two and I’ll have another excuse to see you.” He grinned shamelessly down at her.

He wanted to see her again? Why was that surprising to her? Self-esteem issues, you idiot, he likes you! And Teralyn really liked Mark, though she’d never admit how much and that blush crept back into her cheeks. “I hope you do. I’d…like to do this again with you sometime.”

Going out to dinner and riding on the motorcycle again, clinging to his big body as he swerved back and forth on the country roads sounded like a dream to her. Normally, any other woman would’ve probably invited him inside for a nightcap, but Teralyn wasn’t an ordinary girl and had standards. That was one thing Scott and Marley could not rip away from her were her morals and standards.

“With warmer weather coming up and spring break, we sometimes do weekend getaways. Sometimes in the city, sometimes we go camping.”

With lots of beer and other fun things, though Taker couldn’t imagine her getting involved in some of that business. Yet, he couldn’t imagine it yet, give it some time and he bet he could get her to do things he couldn’t imagine. That made his eyes light up, heat pooling in them as he took her in, glad for the dimness out here.

“You should think about joining us, have some fun in your life. It can’t be all work and school all time time.” He was going to tear down those morals and standards, and she’d love every last second of it.

“That’s true…” For some reason, the idea of going camping with Mark sent heat rocketing through her. Sharing a tent…a sleeping bag…WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING?! “I’ll think about it. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of camping, but…maybe you can change my mind, if I go with you.” Wouldn’t those trips be for the members of the fraternity only? Teralyn wanted to ask that, but refrained and wrapped her long sweater around her when a breeze picked up, still holding her clutch in front of her. “It depends on work too, if I can get the time off since I only do it on the weekends.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, it’s not until the end of the month, beginning of next when we’re planning one and I know Simone was talking about coming along.” Since she and Simone seemed to get on so well, Taker was hoping they actually became very close friends. It’d make things for him go so much easier. “And…we bring air mattresses and shit, my ass is too big for the ground.” All that weight, pushing himself into the dirt and potentially rocks, no thanks. Stepping forward, Mark dropped a kiss on her head before she could stop him, knowing to move slowly. “I’ll catch you sometime this week, darlin’.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Teralyn giggled at the mental image in her head of Mark sleeping in a sleeping bag and shook her head. “Air mattress is definitely more for you.”

Maybe she would talk to Simone about the upcoming trip. Teralyn blinked when he did that, her forehead now on fire from his lips against her skin. She wondered what his lips would feel like against hers and smiled up at him, nodding at what he said. Would a hug be out of line? Would he think it meant something more than a hug between friends?

“Screw it, come here.” She waited for him to lower until she could wrap her arms around his neck, hugging him close and then kissed his cheek, her way of making things up to him…for leaving him high and dry. “Goodnight, Mark.” Then, Teralyn headed up the sidewalk and inside the apartment building, looking back at him as he watched her before disappearing out of sight.

On his ride back to the mansion, Taker decided the next time she hugged him, – She would because there would be a next time they got together – he would stand upright and force her to come with him. Simple reason behind it too, gravity worked, her body would be pressed to his, and he wouldn’t even have to wrap an arm around her. He liked tiny women; most were that way compared to him and they were…interesting, in what he could do with them thanks to his size. Once home, he popped into Christian’s room, not surprised to find the blonde at his computer.

“Teralyn will probably be calling soon.”

“Got it.”

~!~

Three days later, Teralyn finally made the decision to contact Jason to discuss the possibility of joining his newspaper team. She got a hold of him surprisingly easily and they made plans to meet at the small diner down the street from the school for a meeting. It went well enough, Teralyn supposed.

Jason – Christian – was very nice and welcomed her aboard, especially after finding out her major was in journalism. He had to pretend or else she would’ve gotten suspicious since Taker had already told him all about her, including what she was majoring in. As soon as their meeting finished and they went their separate ways, promising to meet up tomorrow to start her first day on the team, Jason immediately contacted Taker to inform him the delectable morsel had joined his newspaper team.

“You will be rewarded for your hard work.” Was all Taker had said before hanging up, making Christian practically giddy, wondering what his reward would be.

With the meeting done, along with her classes for the day, Teralyn headed back to the dorm for some much needed studying. Midterms were coming up soon, which would follow spring break…something she’d been thinking about ever since the last time she saw Mark. She had emailed Simone about the upcoming trip, but hadn’t received a response yet. Everyone was busy getting ready for midterms, so she understood studies and priorities came before her. She was still on the fence about Mark’s invitation, wondering if it was the right thing to do or not.

Chapter 14

Teralyn and Mark had exchanged e-mail addresses.

It was so much easier than trying to get through on a telephone half the time, what with everyone already at a computer all the time or so it seemed. He had sent her an invite to a group lunch this coming weekend, a mixture of the Ministry fraternity members and their non-Ministry friends. Just a bunch of people and it’s not frat related. He assured her, wanting her to realize that there was no pressure to join and not everything was fraternity related. The parties had slowed down due to the mid-terms, even dealers and everything else they had to study and do well or else they were screwed. Epically. Losing this cover, this spot, no, there was too much money wrapped up here amongst other things.

“Hmm…A group lunch, eh?” Teralyn murmured to herself, leaning back in the chair at her computer desk and chewed her bottom lip. She couldn’t attend lunch because of her job, which was very unfortunate. It was the only time she worked at the coffee shop, so weekends weren’t an option unless she requested the time off. “I could call off, but…” Groaning, she responded to him, her fingers flying over the keys and hesitated at the send button, feeling conflicted. I’ll see if I can make it because of work. I’ll try to get someone to cover my shift. If not, have fun without me and thanks for the invite. Before Teralyn could stop herself, she hit the send button and stood up to start reading over her paper for Professor Moody’s class that was due tomorrow.

Taker stared at the screen, contemplating the words as he steepled his fingers together beneath his grin, acidic eyes filling with venom. “Well…” He finally rumbled, sitting in his desk chair wearing nothing except a pair of black workout shorts, his hair cascading down his back and shoulders. “I think it’s time the coffee shop downsized it’s staff…” Actually, they needed someone to start being a five day a week server, not someone who could only pull weekend shifts. He knew someone who could do a weird week schedule like that and also knew how to pull some strings. “Let’s get on that…” Reaching for his phone, Taker smirked wickedly while dialing the coffee shop. Sorry, darlin’, you’re making me rework my web.

To say Teralyn was slightly stressed out when she walked into class on Thursday was an understatement. Everybody handed in their papers before taking their seats and she did her best to pay attention to the lesson, but all she could think about was the call she’d gotten that morning. She’d been fired from the coffee shop. Some anonymous customer complained about her service to the point where the manager got on the phone, trying to reason with him.

They were a very small business and couldn’t afford any backlash from long-time customers, and they needed someone during the week instead of on the weekends. They wished her well and promised to give her a slight bonus with her last check, but that didn’t make Teralyn feel any better. She spent the majority of the morning crying her eyes out and now she had to be in class, when all she wanted to do was curl up in a tight ball and cry. That was her ONLY source of income besides her scholarship money and she flat out REFUSED to ask her parents for help.

What was she going to do?

“Miss Monroe, could you stay a moment, please?” Professor Moody asked at the end of the class, watching as she nodded miserably and instead of heading out the door, began making her way down to the front of the class. He nodded at some of the other students passing by greeting him, waiting patiently until the last filed out. “Miss Monroe, this is the first time in my class,” When he himself had been teaching it anyway. “That you have not been completely ‘here’.” He did the finger quotes as well, staring at her intently, his tone nothing but kindness and concern. It was true too, she was always attentive and even participated, just not today.

Taker, who was here grading papers in the background, had noticed that too.

Her eyes lowered in shame because Teralyn took great pride in her academics and hearing this from one of her teacher’s stung. “I’m sorry about that, Professor. Today hasn’t been…great, but that’s no excuse and I promise, I’ll be focused and ready to go next week for class…” Lord, she was on the verge of tears, fighting them off the best she could and took a deep breath before looking up at him. “I-Is it okay if I go now?” Damn it, her voice cracked and she watched him nod solemnly before escaping the classroom with what was left of her broken pride.

Paul Bearer – His real name was Bill Moody, but he was known as Paul Bearer in The Ministry of Darkness – was not the least bit surprised when Taker instantly went after her, shaking his head sadly. “Poor girl is really upset. I wonder what happened…” He had no idea this was Taker’s doing and hoped she’d be all right.

Oh, it was his doing all right and once she was gone and Paul had gotten up to lock the door since he was leaving, he began laughing softly. Sometimes, the shit he came up with and what he managed to pull off, amazed him.

“You didn’t?”

“Not me.” Which was mostly true. He hadn’t actually fired her, now had he? It was a technicality.

Paul shook his head, smiling slightly, the way a father would at a naughty child. “Really? What is that girl going to do? She’s here on a scholarship, you know that.”

“Mmm…I have an idea, Professor Moody.”

Oh boy.

~!~

Teralyn did not want to be bothered by anyone or anything. She holed herself up in the apartment, locked her bedroom door and closed her window curtains, curled in bed in the darkness. No studying. No computer. Nothing. And she had herself a good, long cry that turned into heart wrenching sobs. What the hell was she supposed to do now? That job was perfect because it didn’t interfere with her schooling. Weekends were free to do whatever and she wanted to work to make money to survive. Now she’d been fired for some bogus reasons and due to the fact she only worked twice a week, Teralyn wouldn’t be able to collect unemployment.

“Go away!” She shouted when Claudia rapped at her door, trying to check on her.

No, she was not all right and everybody could go to hell for all she cared right now!

Claudia came back an hour later. “She’s locked herself in there.” She hadn’t tried the door or anything, no knocking on it, but this wasn’t exactly a luxury apartment, the walls were paper thin. If Teralyn hadn’t cried herself to sleep, she’d be able to hear. “She won’t talk to me or anything and she’s been in there since last night.”

“She seemed to be having a bad day yesterday.”

“I get that, Mark, but it’s just not like her. Since I’ve met her…it’s just…well, actually…” She had been like that after Christmas, only worse.

“Claudia,” He kept the annoyance from his tone, just in case, his voice as warm and nice as ever. “Everyone is allowed their down moments.”

The door ripped open as Teralyn stormed past them, not even caring who Claudia had over and slipped her shoes on. She had to be at the newspaper office in thirty minutes and looked normal, for the most part. Her face, on the other hand, was a different story entirely. “FUCK! WHERE IS MY GODDAMN SHOE?!” She snapped, not in the mood because not only had she lost her job, one of her only sources of income, but she started her period as well. This was NOT a good week for her at all. “Fuck it.” She slipped her boots on, slung her purse over her shoulder and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her so hard, the walls shook.

Claudia blinked with a dropped jaw. “Wow, she is PISSED. She didn’t even notice you were here, Taker.” She could call him that now that they were alone.

Nope, Teralyn didn’t and had zero fucks to give right now.

A second later, Claudia was in the air by her throat, his massive hand wrapped around it, though he didn’t squeeze. No, the pressure from her own body and gravity was making this uncomfortable enough to where he didn’t HAVE to do anything besides hold her stupid backside right here. “You know I’ve got stuff going on, right?”

She nodded.

“So…why are you bothering me for a mood swing?”

“Won’t…happen…again…” Claudia inhaled deeply when he set her down on her feet, smiling shakily when he ruffled her hair. She had issues. “I’m sorry.”

“Mmm, good.” Taker knew why Teralyn was miserable and he’d reach out to her later…maybe tomorrow night, when she had time to chill and calm down.

Christian was on pins and needles around Teralyn from the moment she stepped inside the building. There was something…OFF about her and when she snapped at the copy machine for not doing what it wanted her to do…he knew there was something going on. “Wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

“Well, I’m here if…”

“I SAID NO! WHY ISN’T THIS STUPID COPIER WORKING RIGHT?! IS EVERYTHING I TOUCH GOING TO BREAK TODAY?!”

“Uhhh…” Christian was at a loss for words at her explosion and held his hands up, swallowing hard. “I’ll look at it, okay? Just…go sit down and try to breathe a little.”

“I AM BREATHING!” Teralyn couldn’t contain her anger, no matter how hard she tried and sat down at her desk, sifting through the paperwork to go over. There were all potential articles for her to write and…she had to breathe, just like Jason said. Breathe, just breathe, it’s going to be okay. Unless you have to call your parents and ask them for help, which you SWORE you’d never do because of your asinine, overbearing MOTHER!! Nope, her anger was STILL there as she set the papers down on the desk before she destroyed them.

“Copier’s working now.”

Teralyn couldn’t even muster up a ‘thank you’, instead going with what he wanted to know in the first place. “I got fired from my job yesterday.”

“Really?” Christian had to act stupid. “What happened?”

“Fucked if I know! Apparently, some asshole complained to the company, so they fired me and said they needed someone full-time! ARGH!!” Teralyn growled from low in her throat and slammed her finger on the start button, narrowing her icy eyes to slits.

Christian really did not want to piss her off any more than she already was, so he just nodded and went about his business for the rest of the day.

At the end of the day, in the safety of the mansion, Christian informed Taker of Teralyn’s 180 personality. “It was…scary.”

“What, that she went into raging bitch mode?”

“Yes. Everyone who knows her says it’s not like her.”

“Maybe she has a mental illness.” Taker shrugged one massive shoulder, glancing down beneath his equally massive desk at the blonde who was bobbing on his cock. “Or maybe she’s just having a bad day.” Didn’t they all? Some were more ‘bad’ than others.

“Yeahhh…” Or maybe she was just like all the rest of the drama queens that came in through those doors and she was just better at hiding it. “So, uh, can I-”

“Nope, you have to keep her.”

~!~

Once all the anger drained out of her, Teralyn felt terrible at how she treated both Claudia and Jason. She emailed her resignation to Jason, apologizing for acting unprofessional and hoped he understood. Then, she got to work trying to find a new job, raising a brow at a delivery service that was hiring. She didn’t have a car, so that was a fat no. Nobody else was hiring. Her bank account didn’t look too hot either and she wouldn’t get more money from her scholarship until after spring break. Why was life suddenly falling apart around her? It made no sense to her at all.

I just need to focus on my studies and watch what I spend until I can find something. Something will pop up. Laying propped up in bed, Teralyn pulled one of her books out to get some studying done, even though her heart wasn’t in it.

A knock on her bedroom door and a ‘what’ from her had Taker rolling his eyes. He rapped again, smirking when he heard her getting up and grinned as the door opened. “Hello, darlin’.”

Her life was falling apart because he had pulled a string and made it happen. While he hadn’t been expecting her to act crazy like she had, it was still interesting to watch. One thing about him, Taker liked observing people and usually could predict how they’d react and what they’d do. Teralyn had just thrown him a curveball and she was all that more tempting now.

“Jason says you can’t resign from something that wasn’t a job and he wants you in this week.” He informed her, ignoring the look on her face. “And why didn’t you tell me you got fired, darlin’?”

“Why would I, Mark? I failed at a fucking coffee shop, of all jobs.” That was pathetic and she turned her back to him, staring out the window with her arms folded tightly in front of her chest. “And since it’s not a job, tell Jason I’m not interested in doing it anymore. I have to focus on my studies and find a new job or else I’m going to end up being evicted from this place.” Claudia paid half the rent, her roommate was counting on her and Teralyn was running out of options. “I won’t let her down. I’ve let too many people down in my life. Something tells me I’ll have to take a job that’s full-time, so I won’t have time to do the newspaper anymore since I lost my weekend job at the coffee shop.”

Why was he here? Why did he care? This wasn’t his business and Teralyn couldn’t deal with him right now, not when her life was in shambles financially.

“Because I’ve been on-campus a few years, I know people, and you know I’d help you.” He responded without any malice in his tone, not catering to her ‘I can’t deal’ attitude. Unfortunately, she was an adult and she had to pull up her big girl panties. ‘I can’t deal’ wasn’t a feasible option when one was an adult with responsibilities. “Professor Moody is looking for an assistant, he’s working on another book and needs someone who can edit and help fact check.” Which might be something she could do since fact checking went with journalism. Editing would also be a boon. Assisting a published professor would look good on a future resume and so would have the paper thing. Taker was setting things up for her and she was kind of screwing it all up.

Totally unpredictable.

Chapter 15

Now he was making her a charity case and Teralyn really didn’t appreciate it. However, she could use the money if the man was going to pay her to edit and fact check his book. It would be temporary and she’d have to do something on the side…with her studies, Teralyn wouldn’t have time to think much of anything or have much of a personal life. Did that bother her? She had no relationship, no romance in her life, just friends…it would work out.

“I have a hard time relying on others and asking for help.” She murmured quietly, slowly turning around to face him and walked over to sit on her bed. “I can do that, if Professor Moody is willing to pay me. I can’t just do things for free anymore, I have to make money to survive. Is he willing to do that? To pay me for my work on his book or anything else he needs done?” An assistant got paid, right? Or maybe it was just an internship.

Charity implied he would give her money, that was charity. Right now, Taker saw two people who needed something and the most practical solution was to throw them together. Which was all by his design anyway, so…there was that. “Well, I wouldn’t have mentioned it if it wasn’t paying, darlin’. I don’t think it’s full-time work, it’s more just fact checking and editing, stuff you can do on your weekends or whenever. He’s still got his own actual work to do outside of his book.” There was a reason it took so long for college professors to publish and it was done in their downtime. “And don’t be afraid to ask for help, we’ve all had to do it a time or two.” He said quietly, lying mostly through his teeth, but he sounded honest. “That’s what friends do, right? Help?”

Teralyn looked up at him as he came forward, settling on the bed next to her. Part-time would work for her because then she could find a second job to do to make up the difference. The coffee shop paid her decently enough, but she made the majority of her money on tips. Her mother’s words rolled around in her head and Teralyn was starting to understand what she meant by taking care of her body.

“You’re right.” She blew out a shaky breath, feeling his arm wrap around her and she leaned into him, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry for not coming to you and telling you what happened. “It’s just…between what happened during the holidays and now losing that job at the coffee shop…I just feel like a dark cloud is following me everywhere I go.”

You have no idea, Pet. He inwardly was smirking. Teralyn had hit the bottom, but she could definitely go lower if she wanted. It was all up to her, not that she knew that. Taker was just there, playing the Undertaker, digging that hole for her. “It happens, eventually the sun will shine again, darlin’. But seriously,” Dropping another kiss on her forehead, he held her just a little tighter. “I am here for you, whatever you need. Moody offered it to me, just so you know, but I don’t need any more on my plate and since I found out about you…”

“You’re too good to me, Mark. Nobody’s ever treated me the way you do, not even my ex.”

Looking up at him when she said that, she meant every word that came out of her mouth. Reaching up, Teralyn caressed his face with the back of her hand and shivered as his lips brushed against her wrist gently. It also made her stomach flip because his eyes had deepened in color, the emeralds slowly smoldering over. It took her breath away, made her heartrate speed up like always whenever she was with him.

“It goes both ways, you know. I’m always here for you too. You’re the only person in my life right now that seems to be on my side.” Without realizing it, Teralyn had alienated everyone for Mark and he was the only ‘light’ in her life at the moment.

“Well, not everyone. Claudia is still your friend, she’s just a little wary right now.” Because of the unprecedented explosion and bad mood, everyone was allowed them, especially her after he had purposefully started dismantling her life. “And Jason, he grew up with sisters, so…” Taker shrugged, never letting go of her. “He knows how it goes.” She also had Simone and him, obviously. She definitely had him; Taker would always be around to clean up after the messes he had created on her behalf. “You want to get out of here, darlin’? Go grab something to eat, I brought my motorcycle.”

Her eyes lit up like stars as soon as he mentioned the motorcycle and that dark cloud seemed to vanish. It was Friday night and she knew the luncheon was tomorrow, so Mark was free tonight to be with her. “Yeah, that sounds amazing, actually. I need a distraction after everything that’s happened in the past few days.” Teralyn admitted, knowing Mark was the perfect distraction to get her mind off everything, even if it was for a few hours. “And since it’s Friday night, and I don’t have work in the morning, I’m all yours for however long you want to keep me out.” Teralyn would have to change really fast since she was in shorts and that was a hell no when it came to riding on a motorcycle. “Give me a few minutes to change and I’ll be ready to go.”

All his, for as long as he wanted to keep her out, huh? This woman had no idea what she was offering. Taker was good to go on the sex front, he always made sure his needs were taken care of, especially if he knew he was going to see his virginal prey. He knew better than to be too aggressive, or he had known better. At first, he had thought she’d resist and be modest. Now, after seeing she had a bit of a mood switch…maybe not. Maybe Teralyn was ready to be rid of that pesky virginity.

“Take your time.” He pushed himself off the bed and winked at her. “I’ll wait in the living room, darlin’.”

Such a gentleman. “Be out in a jiffy.”

She closed her door behind him and slipped on a pair of jeans with a short sleeved burnt orange tunic. Her hair was already braided, just one instead of two this time, so Teralyn didn’t need to worry about her hair flying all over the place. She looked in the mirror and nodded at her appearance before grabbing her purse, the strap going across her chest and slipped on her white tennis shoes before touching up her makeup. Just some gloss and liner, nothing major.

Whatever happens tonight, I’m going to enjoy myself and worry about everything tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to be with Mark. With that little pep talk done, Teralyn walked out of her room and smiled at Mark looking at the pictures hanging on the walls. “Come on, handsome, I’m ready for that ride.”

Turning, his smile broadened as his eyes drank her in. That color suited her, especially with her hair and eye color and he nodded his approval. “You look gorgeous, darlin’.”

This woman before him was a far cry from the sultry yet uncomfortable vixen in a black dress and sky-high heels with smoked out eyes from the party where they had met. Now that Taker thought about it, he was going to get her to come to another one. She needed out of this apartment, out of her shell, and back on track with the trail he had laid out for her.

Taking his hand, Teralyn let him guide her out of the apartment and waited for her to lock up before they headed out to his beast. It was such a beautiful piece of machinery and she decided not to wait for Mark to lift her up. With surprising ease, she mounted the bike, since she’d seen Mark do it several times and giggled at the surprise in his eyes, patting the seat in front of her.

“I saw you do it a few times and decided to give it a try. It’s easier than I thought it’d be.” A few seconds later, her arms wrapped around his waist as Mark fired up the engine, the rumbling beneath her making her eyes close momentarily to relish it. This is what I need, just this right here.

Taker rather enjoyed the feeling of her wrapping her arms around him, feeling her upper body relaxing into his a few seconds later. Teralyn had done that before, relaxed against him as if she knew his posture wouldn’t change; she was safe to relax and he’d keep her steady. He had a few rules when it came to himself and playing with his prey. As far as he was concerned, that’s all Teralyn was, prey, a pet. One was allowed to eventually care for a pet.

Or a fly. He mentally amended since his analogy had been spider and web, inwardly snorting at himself. Taker wasn’t taking her back to that diner, not after Rhonda had been a bitch to her and disrespected her. No, they’d try somewhere else, somewhere they could eat outside and not be bothered.

This time, Teralyn didn’t press her cheek against his back because she was sitting up, letting the warm wind wash over her. However, when he took the curves a little sharp, her arms tightened around him and she squealed out softly. It wasn’t out of fear, it was excitement. Her adrenaline was pumping and Teralyn was starting to wonder how hard it would be to learn to ride a motorcycle, to maneuver one on her own. That was definitely a possibility down the road since cars weren’t very smart to have in the area the college was in and where she lived. Her nails had once again dug into his chest since he had on that damn leather vest again and painted on jeans…Teralyn would never get tired of this outfit and snuggled further against him the faster he went.

It'd be a good idea, but an expensive one. For example, rates were average, premiums were insane and Taker was cautious for a reason. He didn’t like wearing helmets and didn’t want to be a smear on the road. Also, didn’t want to get into an accident without one. That’d suck and he liked not paying out the backside for medical care of any kind. Also, his Harley was precious, his baby, his wheels. More precious than people. Most people. It took them quite a bit to reach the destination he had in mind and they were open 24/7. Teralyn had said he had her for as long as he wanted her.

She meant it.

Anywhere he wanted to take her, she was his and Teralyn would go happily with a smile on her face. It didn’t matter now that she no longer had to worry about the coffee shop. Maybe it was meant to happen. Teralyn was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason in life. Meeting Mark was for a reason, though she still didn’t know what it was yet. Maybe he was supposed to help her heal from what Scott and Marley did to her. Maybe he was supposed to guide her where she needed to go as far as her academics went. Teralyn didn’t know, but she knew her life had changed for the better the moment Mark Calaway stepped into it. The moment they walked around the mansion, talking about mythology and anything else that came to mind.

Or maybe he was guiding her along a new path in life. One she could either fully embrace and enjoy or it would swallow her whole, destroy every last bit of her and render her nothing except a hollow shell. All in due time. Currently, Taker was working on grooming her. He had decided that she would eventually be his Pet – his only. She’d love her new, eventual life or he’d break her down until Teralyn was able to fake it perfectly. Eventually, he pulled off the country road they had been on, finally heading towards the rather small, out of the way, town. It operated well, had plenty of people coming in, and was right off the highway so truckers came often. He loved this place.

“Here we are.”

If Teralyn had an inkling of a clue what Mark was planning for her, to be his new Pet, she would’ve kicked him in the balls and ran for the hills. It was because of him she now had to find a different source of income, besides helping Professor Moody. Teralyn had already decided what she had to do, willing to do what it took to survive and get through college on her own without her parents help. No matter how degrading it would be, she had to do it and the job paid well, not to mention it also went along the lines of her mother’s ‘teaching’ and ‘grooming’ of her own.

What Mark didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Teralyn planned on keeping it a secret from everyone she knew because she was ashamed of what she was going to do. Her ‘audition’ was in two days, Monday night, and she still had to go shopping for an outfit. Pushing that out of her mind, Teralyn dismounted the bike and Mark took her hand, guiding her to a nearby table. This was placed outside unlike the other diner they went to and it was very nice.

Hell, she could probably borrow something of Claudia’s, no point in spending money to look like a slut. Teralyn would also maybe consider watching porn or something, figure out how to move. She was a virgin and if she was as modest as she made herself out to be, she was not going to be able to do any of this easily. She’d best get to practicing.

“They used to do roller skating and stuff here, until jackass kids tried tripping the servers.” Mark informed her as he settled at the small, round table with her. It had definitely been a tourist trap type place for people coming in off the main roads. “I’m not going to have you back at a decent hour, darlin’, you know that, right?”

Teralyn beamed up at him, shrugging her shoulders and knew she would have to get used to staying up most of the night to do her new job. “Doesn’t bother me a bit.” Since she was sitting next to him, her head rested against his arm and she held his hand, feeling him once again kiss the top of her head affectionately. “I like being with you, Mark. I don’t know why either because I swore off men after what happened to me. And then you came along and completely wrecked that.” His deep chuckle told her he was proud of that fact and she was happy Mark had done it. “I’d rather spend the entire night with you than be anywhere else or with anyone else.”

Nights with him would be few and far between going forward, however, so Teralyn had to make the most of them while she could.

Chapter 16

If Taker had known what she was signing herself up for, after he had presented her with what would be a well-paying, part-time job that would also look great on resumes for her chosen field. AND come with a personal recommendation from a well-respected professor if she did right…His immediate reaction would be to pop her head off her neck like a tick for being stupid. Then he would have done it again for doing something so opposite of who Teralyn was, that she was basically selling out on herself.

“Good to know.” He laughed, looking up when a server appeared with a cheerful smile and no googly eyes for either of them. Perfect.

What Mark didn’t understand was this job for Professor Moody wouldn’t take care of all of her financial needs. She needed something more concrete because she had no idea how long this would last as far as being his editor. At least this way, with this night job, she would be financially secure for a while. It was nice to have a server that was completely professional and Teralyn ordered the pulled pork sandwich and fries while Mark went with a cheeseburger and fries. She ordered an iced tea while he opted for a soda, her hand never leaving his.

Mark decided to bring up the luncheon tomorrow and she smiled at him, knowing he wanted her to go. There was no reason for her not to and…Teralyn really did owe Jason an apology for the way she had acted. Then again, she did have to do some shopping as well, but…that could be done on Sunday. There was a shop on the outskirts of town, near the city, that would have what she needed. Also, she was going to study some tapes to see how one moved on the stage and whatnot.

“I’d be happy to come.” Depending on how late they stayed out, Teralyn would be running on little to no sleep, but that was fine.

“Really?” He asked, reaching for his drink, which had come out early as was the way it was at diners and whatnot.

Given this place wasn’t exactly slammed, Taker wasn’t anticipating a long wait on their dinner either. He wasn’t going to ask what changed, he knew she was out of a job at the coffee shop, which was his fault. Actually, it was hers for prioritizing wrong; she should have made time for him since he was making time for her. It was only polite. He had helped Teralyn with that, that was how he was – a helper.

More like a meddler, not that she knew what Mark had done behind the scenes. “Yeah, the only reason I told you I couldn’t make it was because of the coffee shop.” She reminded him, taking a sip of her iced tea and shrugged at his raised brow down at her. “I wanted to go, but my job had to come first.” Teralyn looked up at him, reaching up to caress his face for a moment before pulling away, that conflicted feeling once again consuming her. To take the leap, the jump, or not? “What time is it tomorrow?” He answered between noon and 1 PM, making her nod. Teralyn would go to the luncheon and then shop afterwards; it would work out since Mark probably had obligations to the fraternity. “Sounds good.”

He also told her where it was, Pizza Hut, at the weird end of the building, which was big enough to accommodate everyone. Obviously, there would be ‘business’ talk, but nothing major and people who were not fraternity would be there. For the most part, it was just a group of ‘friends’ getting together for a pitcher of beer or two over pizza. Taker had invited her on those grounds, figuring a group setting, not fraternity-related, would help her since at the time, she had been a bit disappointed at the requirements to join The Ministry.

“If you don’t mind me asking, darlin’, what happened at the coffee shop? You loved it there.”

“I’m still trying to figure that out. All they told me was it was due to a customer complaint. A regular came in there and spoke to the manager about me, listing all the things I’ve done wrong. I’ve never had an altercation or problem with any of the customers there, so…it shocked me. And then it angered me because I don’t know who it is that got me fired. Then they told me they were looking for someone fulltime and no longer needed part-time assistance.” Teralyn snorted, feeling her anger bubbling up again and took a deep breath to swallow it back down. “I mean if there was a legitimate reason why I got fired, I wouldn’t have reacted the way I did. Personally, I think that customer shit is just a front and they wanted to fire me because I’m part-time and they wanted to fill that position to full-time. I was one of their best workers there.” The weekends were the busiest for that place too.

“Sounds like someone was being an asshole just to be an asshole.” Taker shook his head, reaching out to gently cover her hand with his and squeezed, letting her know he was in her corner. “Or maybe you’re right and they gave you a bullshit excuse just to get someone full-time in. You deserved better.” And if she’d stop being so stubborn, he’d provide. One of those Dark Lord taketh away, Dark Lord giveth back sort of deals. “Either way, sounds like they don’t deserve you and I guess I need to find a new coffee shop for my Saturday mornings since my favorite waitress won’t be there.”

“Oh, Mark…” Teralyn shook her head, though she was smiling and laced their fingers together, her cheeks slightly red. “You don’t have to do that. I won’t be drinking coffee there again, that’s for damn sure.” Teralyn was very stubborn and set in her ways, so when something changed in her life she didn’t approve of or do herself, she had to do everything in her power to fix it. Make it right. “You’re right, it does sound like they wanted to get rid of me and it’s fine. Everything happens for a reason.” Their food came out and it was time to chow down as she released his hand to take the basket from the waitress, thanking her. “Wow, this looks even better than that other diner you took me too.” Since Teralyn hardly ate anything in a day, she was starving.

Yes, everything happened for a reason, him being the reason and if something popped up again where she was telling him ‘no’ and ‘I can’t’, something else would happen. Taker was a very persistent person when it came to something he either wanted or had deemed as his. As far as he was concerned, she was both.

“It’s a close second,” He joked, reaching for his basket of fries and then a bottle of vinegar off the condiment rack. “Less crappy servers for one.” And most of the people here knew him enough to be familiar with his appearance, but not enough that they were hitting on him or bothering him.

“To each their own.”

They ate in companionable silence, each enjoying the food and tranquility this place had. Teralyn would be denying Mark a lot in the future because of her new job and he’d have to get over it. Couldn’t exactly sabotage what she was planning on doing. Just like Hades with Persephone, Mark was obsessed with her and she didn’t even realize it or sense the danger, even though it was right in her face. In her eyes, Mark was a kind, sweet and thoughtful man, a gentleman, and she was surprised he hadn’t even attempted to make a move on her besides kissing her forehead or the top of her head and holding her hand. He wasn’t like other men and she respected that a great deal about him. If only she knew the devil she was spending time with, she wouldn’t paint him as the angelic gentleman he portrayed himself to be.

With Teralyn, he knew he had to move slowly. She had been emotionally vulnerable when they had met and he had been like a shark, scenting blood and narrowing in on her. Now, Taker knew she was still emotionally vulnerable – partially with his ‘help’ – and if he moved too fast or too much, she would eventually resent him for it once her head cleared. He was playing a long game and the prize at the end had better be worth it. Taker hated being disappointed. So far, however, everything was pointing toward this being a sweet treat; he just had to keep being patient and putting in that extra mile.

“So, have you thought about helping Moody?”

“Yeah, it sounds like a great idea and I’m going to talk to him about it after class on Thursday.” That would be the next time she saw him. Mark informed her Professor Moody would be one of the friends in attendance at the lunch tomorrow, suggesting to her to bring it up to him then instead of waiting. She smiled at him and agreed, thanking him again for the millionth time for helping her. “I just hope I don’t disappoint him and I do a good job. I don’t really have that much experience in this field.” Hence why she was going to school for it. “But this will definitely net me some experience.” Why Professor Moody didn’t want to hire a professional was beyond her, but Teralyn wasn’t questioning it.

Maybe she would ask him tomorrow at lunch.

“You know, he usually goes for students to edit and fact check, before sending it off to his publisher. It’s good for them to learn, he says. I did a book a few years ago for him, but that wasn’t really my thing.” Taker shook his head, pulling a face. It was one thing to be a history major, another to edit books…ugh. However, this was right up her alley and it coincided with his own personal wants, so it was a win-win. “And it looks good on a resume and transcript, right?” Taker pointed out, having finished off his burger and leaned back with a satisfied grin.

It happened because Taker made it that way. Paul still was on the fence about Taker going after a young freshman like Teralyn, but he kept his opinions and how he felt to himself. Whatever Taker wanted, Taker got.

“Yeah, can’t argue with that and that makes sense.”

No need to ask Professor Moody now. It was almost…scary how well Mark could read her sometimes, almost as if he could read minds. That was interesting. They were in sync a lot of times too she had noticed during their conversations and discussions about various topics anytime they were together.

“I can’t eat another bite, Mark.” Teralyn groaned, leaning her head against his arm and stifled a yawn, pushing the basket away with a quarter of her meal still to go. Nope, she was good and full, feeling light for the first time since she got fired from the coffee shop. “Thank you for taking me out tonight. I really needed this.”

“Need a nap, darlin’?” He chuckled, reaching for his soda with his free arm, and began laughing when she nodded. “Me too. Think we should find us a park and have a lie down in the grass?” It wasn’t THAT late, right? Taker also kept a blanket in one of his saddlebags, just because he never knew when he’d need one. Sleeping outside, laying down on it if he had to work on the bike, rolling up a body or something…just so many practical applications for a blanket.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Mark stood and she took his hand, letting him guide her back to the bike. He had already paid for the meal and she hopped on with ease, wrapping her arms around his waist. The trip wasn’t that long, maybe five minutes or so and they pulled up to a park. It wasn’t a kid’s park, more like a stretch of grass as far as the eye could see. Mark cut the ignition on the motorcycle and both dismounted before he grabbed a blanket out of the saddlebag. Taking her hand, they walked a little ways from the bike, not too far because Mark wanted to keep an eye on his beast before spreading out the blanket in the soft grass. It wasn’t until he laid down that Teralyn finally became nervous, her stomach doing flip flops while staring into those impenetrable emerald orbs.

Slowly, Teralyn joined him on top of the blanket, kicking her shoes off and Mark offered his arm as a pillow of sorts for her to rest her head on. I wonder if his lips are as soft as they look…wait, WHAT?! Even in the darkness, in the moonlight, Mark was exquisite and she found herself drawn to him more than ever. If I kiss him, there’s no going back and my vow will go right out the window. Do I even want to keep that stupid vow anymore, though? What if I miss my chance at love again because of my fear? Mark is everything I could want and hope for in a man…kind, sweet, generous, thoughtful, handsome, strong, protective, sexy… Especially in that getup he had on tonight, he dripped sexuality.

“Lay down and take that nap, darlin’.” Not too worried about someone messing with his bike, Taker had the keys in his pocket and this was a relatively low crime place, especially given all the traffic coming in off the highway. There were plenty of state cops. “And quit looking at me like that.” He popped one eye open to sort of look down at her, his lips quirking into an amused smile. “You’ll set my ass on fire if you don’t, beautiful.” She was definitely thinking some potentially R rated, well no…PG-13 ideas for sure, and he was tempted to ask her what, or maybe see what she’d do.

Just laying down was enough for her to settle her full stomach. Being this close to Mark, that was the last thing on her mind. “I set you on fire just by looking at you?” It was a legitimate question and Teralyn lowered her eyes from his when he nodded, affirming what he just said. “Would it make you feel any better to know you have the same effect on me?” While she spoke, she played with his vest to give herself an excuse to touch him.

Was that a purr she just heard? It made her look up at him and Teralyn felt her breath hitch in her throat as those emerald – no, they had changed color and smoldered over to dark forest green orbs piercing down at her. No matter how hard she tried, Teralyn could NOT pull her gaze away from his and her heart was thundering in her ears, her pulse racing and her mouth had gone dry.

A purr indeed and it had emanated from deep in his chest because Taker liked the idea of her feeling on fire whenever he looked at her. That was good. It kind of went along with his whole thing about seeing her burning. He wanted her to burn and see her burn, in every which way. It would be glorious. This was really not the place for a hard-on and yet, the way she was batting those innocent blue eyes at him in both disbelief and was that desire even? Growling softly, Taker knew he was a goner, stifling a groan, and rolled onto his side, adjusting his arm for her when she automatically raised her head before lowering it onto his elbow, their eyes remaining locked.

Chapter 17

Snuggling against him, their noses were practically touching with how close Teralyn was to him. “I’m not blind or naïve, Mark.” That surprised him and she smiled, reaching up to caress his face with her hand. “I know this isn’t friendship between us. I don’t think it ever was. There is definitely something here, though…and it terrifies me.” Now was the time to tell him, especially when Mark murmured in that deep, husky voice ‘why?’. That was all she needed to hear, to know he was interested in why she was fighting against what she wanted. “You probably won’t believe this, but…I’ve only had one boyfriend in my life. I started dating him when I was in 9^th grade and he was my everything all throughout that grade and high school. We were sweethearts. We were the couple everyone talked about and wished they could be.”

Or so she thought…that sadness entered her eyes again and Teralyn wanted to pull away from Mark, but his arm wrapped around her waist, preventing her from moving. “I planned on marrying him after college. We talked about it a lot. He had a football scholarship to UCLA and I supported him every step of the way, assuring him our love would make it through anything, even long distance. Then I went home this past Christmas for the holidays. I planned on surprising him at his apartment and I had his gift wrapped and everything. It was a promise ring, something we had both talked about, but never actually did.” She couldn’t meet his eyes, feeling truly pathetic and continued, now playing with his vest again. “When I got there, the door was slightly ajar, which was unlike him. I pushed it open and I saw articles of clothing on the floor that led to his bedroom. We never had actual sex with each other in the near five years we were together. Just foreplay sex. We both promised each other we would wait until we were married to consummate our relationship and marriage on our wedding night.”

“So, when I pushed open the bedroom door, I found a woman I thought was my best friend throughout those years and longer, on top of my man, screwing the daylights out of him. Bouncing on and off his cock like she’d done it so many times before. All I could do was watch as I was betrayed by two people I trusted more than anyone in this world. Even now, talking about it, I’m still in disbelief that they betrayed me, that Scott cheated on me, that it was with Marley, who was like my sister. He doesn’t even know I know because I didn’t make a scene, I just fled out of the apartment in tears and they continued fucking.” Teralyn snorted angrily, shaking her head sadly. “That’s why I’m terrified of this…because I don’t want to get hurt again. And I’m a virgin, so that’s a whole other can of worms you don’t need to deal with.” There was NO WAY in HELL this man was a virgin – not possible.

She would call him a liar to his face if Mark claimed he was.

He felt a lot of smug vindication right now because she had just confirmed everything he had already known, though showing her that bit of wickedness in him was not a good idea. Not now. Taker had known she was a virgin. He had known something had happened and even assumed it was her high school sweetheart. That one he had been on the fence about, mostly leaning towards the sweetheart thing. He liked it when he was right, although he also knew it tended to let his own ego screw him over. It was rare, but sometimes it happened.

“I said organically, and so far, this is all happening natural. I can’t help that I’m attracted to you, all of you,” Including that luscious body and her mind wasn’t shabby by any means. “And your virginity doesn’t bother me, it just means you’re holding onto something valuable and you’ll give it to the right person when he comes along.” Me.

“I’ve just…had it in my head and heart for so long to wait until marriage to lose my virginity. And it’s because of that bastard that broke my heart and shook my trust and fucked up my self-esteem that I don’t know what to believe in anymore.” Teralyn didn’t know why she was confessing all of this to him, but it also felt good to get it off her chest. Nobody else knew on campus, not even Claudia or Renee. Not Simone either. Only Mark knew the truth now of what had been bothering her since the holiday season from hell. “And I know any guy I’m with is not going to wait until marriage.” That was unrealistic and too big of an expectation. “That’s why I swore off men after the betrayal…and you have not been making it easy to keep that vow.” AT ALL.

“I’m not going to lie, darlin’,” The only way Teralyn would think he was a virgin was if she was dumb, deaf and blind. That was just a plain, simple fact. “I’m no virgin.”

Taker was also several years older than her with a bit more life experience in him and he had never been one to subscribe to the ‘wait until marriage’ with the ‘true love’ idealism because he honestly did not believe the majority of people found their ‘true love’ so young. It just wasn’t statistically possible. Also, he was a cold-hearted bastard.

“You’re probably going to fall in love several times, but if you keep waiting for the ‘right guy’ to come along, if you swear off men while waiting on him, or because you’re afraid…you’re going to miss Mr. Right.” Because Mr. Right would eventually walk out of her life just like he had come in.

“You’re right.” What if Mark was Mr. Right? Teralyn felt he was in her heart, but her mind kept reminding her of what happened the last time she gave her heart to a man. “I’ve given up the whole waiting until marriage bit, honestly. That’s for fairytales and it’s not reality. Maybe that’s why I lost Scott. Maybe if I would’ve given myself to him completely…” She shook her head, shutting her eyes briefly. “No. It would’ve still happened because I know he’s been screwing that bitch behind my back for a while now. That’s fine though, they deserve each other…and I’m done being hurt by them. It’s been four months and I’ve wasted enough time feeling sorry for myself and letting them get the best of me.” Feeling his forehead rest against hers, since they were both still on their sides, Teralyn closed her eyes to relish the feeling of being this close to Mark. “I just want to be happy again.” And when I’m with you, Mark, that’s exactly how I feel.

“You will be, darlin’, the first step was what you just said.”

Stop letting them get the best of her, they weren’t worth it. Scott and Marley. Marley was not a common name, he just bookmarked that for a later time. And giving up the fairytale didn’t hurt things either. Taker let his eyes close, breathing her scent in as he lay there, enjoying the breeze over them and the sounds of traffic, letting it all relax him even more.

“You might be bad for me.” He mused out loud, his voice a pleased rumble, nothing negative in it, just reflecting on his own self.

“You might be bad for me too.” Teralyn admitted softly, moving her hand from his face down his neck to his shoulder and arm, mesmerized by all the ink staring back at her. This man was covered from shoulder to wrist in tattoos, on both arms, and it was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen on a man. It was moments like these, where it was just her and Mark, where the world faded away and left just the two of them together, that Teralyn realized just how much she liked him. “So…bad…”

Their mouths connected, both going in at the same time and Teralyn felt instant heat flood her body at the first touch of his lips against hers. This felt so good, it wasn’t a rough or passionate kiss either, just soft and slow, both testing each other out. Teralyn draped her leg over his, getting closer to him and moaned softly, getting completely lost in the kiss, the moment, everything.

What Taker wanted to do was rip off her clothes and fuck her into submission because he had been playing this game for over a month and goddamn this woman was pure evil for him. Teralyn didn’t even realize it, she was forbidden fruit, temptation, something so pure and innocent and all he wanted to do was snuff it out and drag her down into the muck with him. However, he remained a gentleman, knowing pushing her too fast, too soon, would backfire immensely though when she finally opened her lips to him, one taste of her had him groaning in pure lust.

He hadn’t been lying, this broad was TERRIBLE for him.

If Mark would’ve made a move on her that was more than kissing, Teralyn would’ve went along with it. She also meant what she said – he was bad for her because she was willing to throw all caution to the wind. She was willing to give herself completely to him in every way. Sexually, mentally, emotionally, physically…she wanted all of him as well exactly the same way. He tasted amazing too, the smell of sandalwood, leather and gasoline infiltrating her senses, making her heady. Her head was nothing more than a thick passion haze at the moment as she sat up a little to push him down to lay on his back, the kiss not breaking. Swinging her leg over, Teralyn was now straddling him as the kiss deepened, her tunic pressed against his chest since the leather vest was wide open at the moment.

Teralyn had done a complete 180 when she had ‘lost’ her job at the coffee shop. She had lost her temper with people for no reason really and, while that ‘period’ had only lasted a few days, the fact that she had done it told him that she was very capable of going from one extreme to the other. Also, she had been very remorseful of what she had done, which also told him after the storm had passed, regret would lurk. Erring on the side of caution was what his game plan had been, going as far as she’d allow him too, but without actually getting to the point where she said no. His little virgin, however, was channeling her inner sexual goddess, her hands all over his chest and sides, throwing it all out the window.

This wasn’t the first time she had made out with a guy, so she knew the basics. The only thing Teralyn hadn’t done was actually lose her virginity. So, maybe she was a half-virgin? Nevertheless, her hands knew how to caress a man, her lips knew how to kiss and she could feel the bulge form beneath her. It didn’t startle her, only enticed her further because she knew she was turning Mark on and he enjoyed what was happening between them. Only when they needed oxygen to breathe did the kiss break, both doing it at the same time, panting while staring into each other’s eyes. How could something so bad feel THIS good and right?

“I-I’m not really sure what to say now…” She admitted, once her breathing was under control and there wasn’t a hint of regret or remorse in her eyes, her face completely flushed from kissing him. “You never cease to amaze me, Mark Calaway.”

Taker was holding off on the remorse and regret for a few days, then he’d see where she stood. There was nothing bad at all about sex or about feeling this way, it was human nature. They were literally programmed this way. Of course, when he returned home, he wouldn’t leave himself hanging with blue balls from this grand teasing game they were playing. No man would, he didn’t expect women too either.

“Why’s that, darlin’?” He rumbled huskily, unable to keep the desire from his voice that had only lowered, watching in thinly veiled amusement as she shivered.

“I don’t know. You just…you’re so amazing and you have incredible qualities. You’re caring, smart, helpful, sweet, thoughtful, generous, funny at times and not to mention, drop dead sexy.” Mark was the whole package. Teralyn nuzzled his neck affectionately, settling down on top of him and felt his arms encircle around her, closing her eyes. “You make me feel safe and wanted. It doesn’t matter how bad of a mood I’m in, just being with you makes everything better.” If this was all that ended up happening between them, Teralyn would have to be satisfied with it, but truthfully, she wanted more…so much more. There was also something about the way he called her darlin’ as opposed to beautiful that she absolutely loved.

Wow, she did not know him at all, which was a testament to his acting ability. Taker really had gotten into the wrong business, maybe. Hollywood was probably just as corrupt as he was, so it’d definitely be a good fit. “Mmm, you’re going to make me blush, darlin’.” He was slowly caressing her back with his fingers, just running up and down her spine. “You know what they say about like attracting like, right? What you send out comes back, I think that’s what we have here because I think all those things about you.” Green eyes sparkling, he raised his head to brush his lips against hers. “Especially the drop dead sexy.”

If she wasn’t red as a cherry already, she was now. “Yeah?  Well, thank you.  I’ll have to take your word for it.” Teralyn kissed him back, a little deeper this time and Mark took the reins, gently rolling to where he was on top hovering over her.  She felt the power within him in this position, kissing him back with equal passion and didn't feel an ounce of fear, only excitement and lust, want and need. “Mark…” She breathed, feeling his lips seal to her throat and her fingers delved into his hair, her body writhing beneath him. "Mmm…that feels good…"

“Mmm, good…”

Keeping the majority of his three hundred pounds off of her much smaller frame, Taker knew he could easily injure or suffocate her if he wasn’t careful. That was probably part of the appeal of a tiny woman, knowing just how much power a man of his size had over them. Her skin was soft and Teralyn smelled delicious without it being overpowering. Taker inhaled before moving to the other side of her throat, a hand moving down her side to her hip.

Teralyn was in the spider’s web now and there was no going back or escaping.  She had no idea how long they were out here making out, touching and kissing, but when the sky began changing from dark to light, both laughed because time had flown by.  Reluctantly, they left the park and headed back to town with Teralyn clinging to him, soaking him in as much as she could.  The motorcycle roared up to the apartment building and Teralyn dismounted, looking at Mark with a soft smile on her face.

“Thanks for the great night, handsome.”

“No, thank you,” Taker reached out and ruffled her hair, outright laughing when her eyes widened at the gesture. “I hate to break it to you, darlin’, but between our fooling around in the park and the ride there and back, your hair has been falling out for a while now.” And it looked great, all windblown and a little frizzy around her face, tiny wisps framing those beautiful features. His own probably was doing the same, he had a bandana on to help with it though.

Teralyn hadn’t even noticed, not caring about her appearance right now and shook her hair out more just for him. “I need a shower anyway, so I guess it saves me time from unraveling it.” Fooling around in the park was exactly what they did and it was wonderful; there was a certain glow to Teralyn now after spending the entire night with Mark. “Look, I know it’s not too far from here, but…we both haven’t gotten any sleep and if you want, you can just crash here for a few hours before heading back to the mansion to get ready for the lunch? That way it’s safer for you to travel.” She didn’t want anything to happen to him and stroked his face tenderly with her hand. “Up to you.” Either way, she was showering and taking a much needed nap, at least four hours, before getting up to get ready for the luncheon.

“No, I don’t think so, darlin’, I gotta go home and clean up too.” They both had grass and other things in their hair. Besides that, Taker needed some quality time with his dick, or someone’s mouth needed quality time with his dick. “Get some sleep and I’ll see you in a few hours.” Hooking his arm around her waist, drawing her into him, he bent down to kiss her, unleashing some of his considerable knowledge and skill in that kiss, just to make sure if her panties weren’t wet before, they were now. “Mmm…” He pressed his head to hers once the kiss broke, pleased to see the flush in her cheeks, her lips were swollen and her eyes had glossed over. That was spank bank material.

“Drive safely and I’ll see you later today.”

Teralyn kissed him one last time, making it count and then felt Mark reluctantly release her as he fired up his motorcycle. She looked back at him on her way to the door and could still taste him on her lips even as he disappeared from sight. Sighing, Teralyn walked inside her apartment and closed the door, pressing her back against it. Reaching up, she touched her lips with her fingertips, not believing how full her heart felt. If she had an inkling of a clue that Mark would go and get a blowjob right after kissing her, Teralyn would’ve thrown up right then and there. Luckily, she was in the complete dark about his actions and she hoped he never discovered what she planned on doing for a second job.

“Need a shower and sleep, in that order, and then the lunch and then…I need to shop.” Groaning, Teralyn wasn’t looking forward to this particular shopping trip, but it had to be done.

Neither of them knew it, but they weren’t even together and already going behind each other’s backs, doing things neither one of them would like. Given they weren’t together, Taker saw absolutely no problem in seeing other women to have his needs met and he had a lot of needs, his appetite wasn’t small by any means in any situation. When he WAS in a committed relationship, which was decidedly rare, he was committed and didn’t screw around. Often. There had been a time or two, but the woman in said relationship had not been meeting any of his needs and it had ended quickly. Taker was weird and he knew it, but even he had some morals he adhered too or believed in, like being faithful.

Mostly.

Chapter 18

Lunch went well and she had spoken to Professor Moody privately regarding his book, both of them shaking hands to seal the deal. She would start first thing Monday since he wanted her to enjoy the rest of her weekend. Teralyn also made things right with Jason, who begged her to stay on the newspaper and she reluctantly agreed. Only twice a week she could do it and he was fine with it since it was only a part-time gig anyway. The best part of all this was she could do her night job, and these two things, without exhausting herself, mostly. The reason for that was she would only do her night job on the weekends, having gotten a call from the manager of the place while getting ready to come to lunch.

When he asked if she had any prior experience, Teralyn was honest with him and he said it wasn’t a problem. Instead of an audition, he wanted her to start taking night classes at a local place that specialized in what she would need to know. Pole dancing, for example. She would attend for a month and then have her audition, he wanted to make sure she knew what the hell she was doing. Teralyn thanked him, promising she would be ready and couldn’t believe the strip club would be paying for her classes, so she didn’t have to do it out of her own money she’d be making working for Professor Moody. The newspaper didn’t have any income to it, but that was fine because between the job with Professor Moody and stripping, Teralyn would be well off financially – well off enough to get through college without help from her parents.

One thing did happen during lunch and that was Mark treated her like a friend, no affection whatsoever. They weren’t together and one night of fooling around, having fun, did not make him hers. It was a little disheartening, but Teralyn shoved it out of her mind for the time being since she had more important things to worry about. Two hours later, everyone walked out of Pizza Hut and Teralyn wanted to say goodbye to Mark, at the very least, but he was busy conducting business for the fraternity. She didn’t want to bother him, so she headed to the apartment to call for a cab that would take her to a bigger town than this for her shopping. She had to find some stripper clothes and felt her cheeks burn at the thought, reminding herself it was the only way to take care of herself until college was over with.

I’ll prove I can do it on my own without her help. Thanks for your advice, Mom, it’s finally paying off. Whether Teralyn liked it or not, using her body and beauty was the only way to make it in this day and age, especially for a lowly freshman.

That was her idiocy talking and lack of life experience outside of her small town, beauty queen garbage. If Taker had known for one instant what she was signing herself into…he would have wrung her neck. People did NOT need to work in strip clubs to earn money for anything, not when there was a major city not that far away. Never mind the fact that Taker was the reason she was in this position to begin with and desperate. Strip clubs didn’t do anything for ‘free’; if Teralyn was hired in, it would be as a typical independent contractor most likely and she’d have to reimburse the cost of the classes in one form or another. Her life wasn’t going to get any easier, it was going to get worse via a combination of both their stupidity and neither of them knowing about the other.

If Mark would’ve just left well enough alone with the coffee shop, Teralyn wouldn’t be resorting to these drastic measures. She was desperate and nobody was hiring, she had even looked in the city. It was too expensive to get a cab from here to the city and to only find a job that worked on the weekends. During the week, she would devote her life to school, helping Professor Moody and the newspaper with Jason, but the weekends was where she’d make her money to live on. Stripping wasn’t a bad profession, not if one played their cards right and she made it clear to the owner she would not prostitute herself on any client. He agreed, letting her know it was just stripping and the occasional lap dance, nothing more and they had security if men got too handsy. That was enough for her – now she had to learn how to do this, as well as give someone a lap dance, really hoping she didn’t burst into flames her first night on the job.

~!~

What’re you doing tomorrow night? I have a surprise for you.

Taker had informed her that he was busy all week with obligations to the fraternity, as well as his own studies and being a teacher’s aide on top of it…his life was hectic. All of that was true too, but he was also busy with his main deal as well. Something Teralyn would never learn about if he had his way. If by chance she DID learn about it…well, she’d probably find herself on the wrong side of it and he actually felt a hint bad about that possibility. Maybe. It could also be the whiskey Taker had just slammed to give him a bit of a burn. Today was Thursday, maybe, he hadn’t been in class today helping with Moody because of his other business. He imagined she was confused after the make-out session and then the luncheon where he had been friendly, but not touchy feely. That was pretty normal for people who weren’t together and it had been a large group. The last thing he needed was anyone heckling her or him right now, not yet anyway.

Friday nights were the ONLY time she had free…for now. Once she started stripping, that would be a different story because she would be working Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. It was one week into her pole dancing classes and they would also be teaching her how to do a lap dance on the side. She had met a woman there and explained her situation, without divulging too much and it turned out, she worked at the same strip club Teralyn would be at. They hit it off, her name was Ericka and she was a Latina with a spitfire attitude. She was also gorgeous and a sophomore in college, not hers unfortunately. Ericka agreed to help her learn the ways of stripping, both promising to watch each other’s backs, so neither of them got hurt. The fact she was a virgin as well, which Ericka knew, also put the Latina into protective mode.

A surprise, huh? You are always full of surprises, so I can’t imagine what it could be. What time do you want to see me tomorrow night? She sent back after a few minutes of contemplating what to say, deciding to be flirty and coy, her heart starting to race at the thought of hanging out with Mark again. “I need to get a damn grip.”

Taker grinned when he finally got a reply, navigating screens. Messenger was a great way of doing business and he had several accounts, as well as having a system. There was a beautiful site that did not store any information. No login, no computer information like ISPs, all that got deleted on the session exit. Perfect place for predators and people doing business in this new online world.

6 good? I’m working at my friend’s garage for a bit tomorrow afternoon, that’ll give me time to get a shower and come get your sweet ass. Taker was flirting, a little, figuring he’d let her know he hadn’t forgotten about the park.

Damn it, her cheeks were on fire again. This man really had a strong effect on her and Teralyn could already feel her body temperature rising several degrees. My sweet ass can’t wait to see you and kiss those lips again. 6 sounds perfect. Standing from her computer desk, Teralyn started sifting through her clothes and wondered what she should wear. What kind of surprise did Mark have in store for her? She would love to wear a dress, but…groaning, she sat back down and saw he hadn’t responded to her yet. Just curious, would it be all right if I wore a dress tomorrow or should I stick with pants? Will we be riding on the bike again?

No, he’s loaning me his truck for the next few weeks. Rain’s in the forecast and I’m not about to put my other baby at risk on those curvy roads. Partially true actually, there was rain coming. It wasn’t unusual given the season and those country roads were slightly sloped, perfect conditions to become an unwilling organ donor, which he wasn’t on board with. By all means, wear a dress. If they got frisky again, the dress was perfect. I got a time limit with you tomorrow night or are you all mine?

All yours for however long you want me, Mark.

Eventually, she would have to leave him Saturday afternoon to get ready for her lap dancing practice with Ericka, which would follow her pole dancing class. Teralyn was happy she would get to dress up a bit and had found a beautiful dress while shopping for her stripper clothes. It was in a vintage shop just next door and was hanging in the window, calling out to her. She had to buy it. Those were in the far back of her closet, so nobody, not even Claudia, could find them. There was no reason for Claudia to go through her room anyway, but she didn’t want anyone finding out about this. If Mark ever did…she would be mortified and never speak to him again because of sheer embarrassment.

Claudia would NEVER snoop in her roommate’s room, there was no reason too and after the time Teralyn had bit her head off for showing concern, no thanks. Claudia had accepted the apology and all that, but she was also a little wary now. Tera was just as crazy as the rest of them, she just managed it a LOT better.

I’ll remember you said that. I’ll be there at 6, bring your appetite. All of them, there wouldn’t be penetrative sex, but Taker had plans.

~!~

The following evening, Teralyn stood in the mirror and smoothed the dress down her sides, smiling at how vintage and elegant it looked. It was light blue with a pink floral design embroidered into the material as an overlay. It was open shouldered, shorter in the front and longer in the back. The top of it wrapped around her, but the material that rested on her shoulders was sheer with a floral design. It was absolutely beautiful and she had let her hair down, curling it for style and had a matching pink headband with pink flats. Her nails were freshly French manicured, thanks to Ericka taking her after their first stripper class last weekend. It was coffee followed by getting nails and toes done, which hers were also French style. Her makeup was light blue liner, black on the bottom, pink gloss and a hint of blush. Nothing too much, just enough to highlight her natural beauty.

When a horn beeped outside, she looked out her window and saw it was Mark waiting on her. Grabbing her umbrella, since it was pouring down rain, Teralyn grabbed her white clutch and made her way outside, making sure to lock up behind her. He had jumped out and opened the door for her, lifting her by the waist up into the truck before she shut her umbrella, only getting a few spots on her. “Holy shit, it’s raining cats and dogs out here!”

What. The. Fuck? That was all he could literally think as he stared at her, his body sort of twisted in the truck, which was very large and roomy, and a gas hog. She was…dressed up and in some…his mind was blanking because Teralyn was the literal opposite of him. Well, no, not really. He was wearing pale blue jeans and a t-shirt with some kind of graphic on it, he had liked it at the time, now it was just something to wear. His dark hair was down and his tattoos on display. So yeah, maybe they were opposites. She was all dolled up and he was not.

“You look gorgeous, darlin’.” She did, in a way that made him want to mess it all up.

Beaming up at him, she smoothed her hands down her dress and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you.” There was that darlin’ again and it made a shiver rush down her spine. Teralyn noticed what he was wearing, those painted on jeans and felt her stomach tighten slightly. That t-shirt he had on was ready to bust at the seams from his muscular arms and…she realized she was ogling this man and cleared her throat, lowering her eyes. “You look handsome as always.” Roses had bloomed in her cheeks complimenting him. “So, what’s my surprise or are you keeping me in suspense?”

“Keeping you in suspense.” His tone conveyed his amusement with her, shaking his head as he leaned over, fastening her in. Taker purposefully let his fingers brush against the side of her breast, feeling her shiver and then let his lips brush the side of her face. “I’ll give you a clue…we’ll be outdoors.” And it was raining like mad, definitely not a day to be out in this weather. Taker could see the flash of ‘oh shit’ on her face, laughing again and shifted the truck into gear, pulling away from the apartment building. With her beautiful dress and carefully done makeup that looked like she was mostly all natural, but was not…water would totally mess that up. “You’ll enjoy it, I promise, darlin’.”

How was she supposed to enjoy doing something outside when it was POURING rain? Mark had told her to go ahead and wear a dress, but she was an idiot and hadn’t checked the forecast. “Mark, I can go change really fast before we get too far from the apartment…” Teralyn didn’t want to ruin this dress since she’d just bought it, frowning when he shook his head firmly. He took her hand, lacing their fingers together and she knew she’d have to put her trust and faith in him. He hadn’t steered her wrong yet, so why would he start now? “All right, whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.” He hadn’t disappointed her yet with his surprises and the smile was back on her face.

This was where his wicked sense of humor had come into play. Teralyn, and by extension her dress, was very fortunate that his mood had been leaning towards treats instead of tricks. Or else he bet she’d be one miserable little girl. When she leaned back and said she’d enjoy it, he was inwardly chuckling because it meant her momentary panic was over and she was back to trusting him again. That was what Taker wanted, for her to trust him one hundred percent, without question, without fail and he knew time was the key here. Time and a lot of patience.

If only he knew in the coming weeks, she’d be seriously testing his patience.

Chapter 19

Lightning flashed in the sky while they continued driving, her eyes glued out the window to watch it. Unlike other women, it didn’t terrify her. Teralyn found lightning to be absolutely beautiful. Just like fire, it was beautiful and deadly at the same time, capable of destroying things and others in the blink of an eye.

“Wow, that was a big one.” She commented when another streak lit up the sky and Mark had the windshield wipers going full blast, her hand tightening on his slightly. I missed him so much. Teralyn hadn’t seen him since last Saturday, just one day shy of a week, but with how busy she was, time flew by very fast.

“Not worried are you, darlin’?”

Most people thought the tires on a vehicle protected them from lightning, when it was actually the metal surrounding them that did it. It served as a conduit, directing the lightning through the vehicle and into the ground. Kind of the same thing with where they were going and it’s combination of tempered, weather-resistant glass and metal frame. When he had seen the forecast for the week, this had come to him and it was perfect. Private property and set back in a luxurious garden, it would be flawless.

“Not at all.” Teralyn looked back at him with a soft smile, letting him know she really wasn’t troubled or scared, her eyes conveying sheer curiosity. “You’ll keep me safe and protect me.” There was conviction in her tone when she said those words, believing them with all of her heart and soul.

Mark asked her how things were going with Professor Moody and the newspaper, striking up conversation with her. She responded, explaining to him all that was involved in both jobs, which was a great deal. Editing and proofreading took time and patience, and Professor Moody was not only a terrific writer, but also a perfectionist. Teralyn had missed a few things and he pointed them out, teaching her while also allowing her to make those mistakes to learn from.

“I really like working with Professor Moody. He’s strict, but also kind and straightforward. If you fuck up, he lets you know and then gives you a chance to correct your mistake. He was born to be a teacher.” Now it was her turn to ask him about his week. “What about you, Mark? How did all of your meetings and everything go with The Ministry?”

“We’re organizing a basketball tournament for charity with some of the other frat houses, obviously different games for genders.” Since some houses were strictly women or men, not everyone was a mixed gender house like theirs. Also, not fair to mix women with men in these games when there were some pretty big boys in his own house. “So, I’ve been busy with that mostly, reaching out to the local community to see who needs what and then meeting with other house leaders.” Maintaining everything was HARD work sometimes, but…it also gave him the perfect opportunity to scout new…product, as well as conduct other business under the guise of the fraternity.

“Basketball, eh?” She smirked, remembering how she said he’d be a phenomenal basketball player before Taker revealed he enjoyed playing baseball instead. “If I’m free that day, I’d love to come watch you guys play.” Her eyes would be on him. There was nothing sexier than a man who could play sports of any kind, except golf. That was boring and tedious, she hated it and her Dad was obsessed over it. “You in basketball shorts and sneakers, dribbling the ball and knocking guys out of your way on your way to the hoop…” Teralyn fanned herself, winking with a giggle. “Yeah, I’ll definitely make sure I’m free that day, no matter what. I’m assuming you’re playing, right?” He nodded with a snort and she giggled harder, her eyes twinkling. “Thank god it’s not a baseball game. That would be boring.” Now she was asking for it, trying so hard not to laugh at the offended look on his face and burst out laughing when he flipped her off. It was all good fun and Teralyn did love ribbing on him from time to time. “Oh come on, you’d look cute in a baseball uniform too. It just wouldn’t show off those muscular legs of yours.”

“It’s a lot easier on my muscular legs.” Taker joked, shaking his head.

He liked playing basketball for fun, but that was about it. Truth be told, he had been offered a chance out of high school to do it for college and immediately declined it. High school seasons had taught him early on that icing knees at sixteen was NOT a good career option going forward. Taker could only imagine how miserable he'd be, not even in his thirties and already having blown out knees and a jacked back.

“Maybe you oughta join the cheerleaders for the games, we’re going to have them. You in an itty bitty skirt, jumping around just for me…”

“I’d love to, but wouldn’t I have to be part of one of the fraternities in order to be one?” Mark shook his head, explaining since it was for charity, anyone could sign up to play and cheer, as long as they met the qualifications. Not just any riffraff could come off the street to perform, after all. There had to be some standards set. “All right then, count me in! It’s been a while since I wore a cheerleading outfit and I wouldn’t mind doing it for you.” Even though Teralyn would be cheering the entire team on, in her heart, it would only be for her man. Wait, he’s not YOUR man, remember that. You two aren’t together, you’re just hanging out as…something. What were they exactly? Did they have to put a label on it? “Just let me know when it is and I’ll make sure to be there with my itty bitty skirt and pom poms.” Mark turned down a road, heading into the woods and something told Teralyn they were close to their destination.

The fact that she wasn’t freaking out about going into a wooded area with him, not knowing what his intentions were, was…well, Taker liked it. “Okay, here we are, darlin’.” He parked in front of a wooden walkway, leading into the woods. It even had a cover over it, the woods so dense on either side that the wind wouldn’t be much of an issue. “You still trust me, right?”

Were they going hiking or something through the woods? In a storm? Mark had balls of steel, that was for sure, if that was the case. “Yes, I trust you completely, Mark.” He won’t hurt me, I know it.

She unbuckled herself and grabbed her clutch before opening the door to hop out, her dress floating for a moment as her feet landed on the ground. Shutting the door, Teralyn had her umbrella in hand as Mark came around to her side, extending his hand. She took it without hesitation and felt him lace their fingers together, letting him guide her wherever they were going. Whatever this surprise was, it was well hidden and thought out; it made her heart start beating faster in her chest. Lightning flashed above them as it started raining a little harder, pounding against the cover while they continued walking.

“The woods are beautiful, even when it rains like this.”

They weren’t hiking, instead walking on a wooden path that had open sides, but also a wooden type of roof. Taker had spent a lot of time out here on this path. In these woods. That wasn’t something he’d be talking about today though, at least not what he was out here doing during those times.

“Yeah…and there’s shit all over to keep the mosquitos and ticks at bay.” Plants geared just for that such as lots of citronella, lemongrass…even some eucalyptus stuff, he was pretty sure anyway. They walked in silence a bit longer before he stopped, glancing down at her and grinned. “Just up ahead, you go first.” Taker gently nudged the small of her back. He had a picnic set up with a cooler waiting for them in the…surprise.

Looking at him somewhat skeptically, Teralyn kept the smile on her face and looked straight ahead, squaring her shoulders before putting one foot in front of the other. Pushing aside some low hanging small branches, Teralyn finally arrived at the surprise and felt her eyes widen, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. “Oh my god…”

It was a HUGE glass dome structure, keeping bugs and the bad weather out. She didn’t even realize it was raining on her since they were no longer under a cover until Mark’s hand clamped down on her shoulder, urging her inside. Luckily, the rain had slowed down, so Teralyn didn’t get that wet, but he had a towel for her once they were safely and securely inside the dome.

That was the only way to describe it.

“Wow…” There was a table set up in one corner of the dome with the cooler on top of it and a bed on the other side…a king sized bed from the looks of it. “This is insane. I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Finally, her ocean blues stopped looking around and focused on him, their eyes locked. “Is this yours? Or is it a rental of some kind?” Could something like this even BE rented?

It was actually his, but to keep Teralyn from becoming suspicious, it was Paul’s. Taker imagined housing like this could be rented, for an expensive price. “It’s Moody’s, he rents it out every now and then.” In theory, a college student who moonlighted as a teacher’s aide probably couldn’t afford something like this outside of New York City. “And he loans it to me from time to time, as a getaway of sorts.” That part, the getaway, was true. It was actually on Taker’s property that he had bought a few years ago and it was where he came to get away from things.

Most people who came this way with him…didn’t come back.

“That’s nice of him to loan it to you. It’s amazing here.”

Teralyn wasn’t bothered by the bed because it made sense since this was Professor Moody’s getaway. Of course he would sleep out here, who wouldn’t? Anybody who rented a place like this out and didn’t spend at least one night in it would definitely miss out on a rare opportunity. Suddenly, it dawned on Teralyn what she’d just thought and her eyes widened as she sat down on the bed, clasping her hands in her lap.

Don’t freak out – DO NOT FREAK OUT!! Did Mark want her to stay the night with him here? They had basically done so in the park, but that was in the grass, in nature, and this was…also in nature, but with an actual bed. Breathe in through the nose and out the mouth slowly, you got this. You better get used to showing your body because that’s what you’ll be doing for a living soon. If Mark wants you to stay the night with him, that’s what you’re gonna do and you’re gonna enjoy it, so stop being a prude!! “Do you um, need some help with that?” Teralyn asked, walking over to stand beside him, after getting her inner panic attack under control.

“No, do you need a moment? You were looking at that bed and you went pale, darlin’.” Taker sounded a little amused and a little concerned as he stared down into her face. He gently squeezed her shoulder, finding it interesting that the first place she had sat down had been the bed when there had been two chairs that were quite comfortable. Unpacking the massive basket, loaded with cold fried chicken, cold sides, some soda, some wine, some beer, it was a mixture of everything. He already knew Teralyn was a lightweight when it came to drinking and had no plans of getting her liquored up to take advantage of her. Then it wouldn’t count in his mind.

“Oh…I did? Sorry, I’m fine, really.” Damn it, this man read her way too well. “I just realized that we’ll probably be staying the night here and…I didn’t bring an overnight bag with me or anything. That’s fine though, this dress is comfortable enough to sleep in.” She cleared her throat, trying not to sound awkward and directed her eyes to the table with all the delicious food on it. “This is such a nice surprise, Mark.” There were lanterns lit up to give them light since the sky was darkened due to the storm. “I said it once and I’ll say it again, you never cease to amaze me.”

Sitting down in one of those comfortable chairs, Mark finished before taking the seat in front of her at the table, handing her a paper plate with plastic silverware. They weren’t together as a couple and he was doing these types of things for her, it mind-boggled her to say the least. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut, wondering why she would assume they’d be spending the night here?

Was she hoping to? Given how EARLY it was, Taker had picked her up at six, it was now what, 7:30ish? His intentions had not been bedding her or spending the night here, not with her anyway, because he had figured that’d be rushing his little virgin with high ideals. He was hoping she was pushing those aside after their last talk and opening her mind to the idea of sex. Teralyn was mind-boggling sometimes, something she was thinking about him as well.

“I’m just full of surprises.” He helped himself to a beer, not planning on downing too many, just in case.

She took a beer as well, refusing to get drunk, but a beer or two wouldn’t do any harm. Cracking it open, she took a sip and then they helped themselves to the delicious food in front of them. Did she tell him now or later about her weekend job? Hmm…was it really any of his business? No, they weren’t together and, even if they were, Mark didn’t need to know everything about her personal life, not unless they got serious. There she went again, overthinking and overanalyzing, wishing she could shut her mind off.

Just like all the other times, they ate in companionable silence, the food too good to have a conversation at the moment. This was the first thing Teralyn had eaten all day, so she wasn’t being shy at all, though she was mindful enough to dab her mouth with a napkin. A flash of lightning lit up the sky above them and she looked up, fascinated by the patterns the dome had, along with the lightning. The rain was sort of blurring the view and he got up when it became warm, smiling slightly.

“Check this out.”

Truth be told, Taker rarely brought anyone to his little retreat, or Moody’s as he had told her, because this was his hidey hole. Not many knew about it and those that did knew to stay away unless they had an invitation. He began opening portions of the dome, pushing out the panels and locking them in place with the hinges. The rain would keep away bugs and he had those plants everywhere to deter them anyway, the breeze was delicious along with the scent of those aromatic, bug repellant plants.

The plants did smell heavenly and the best part was the rain would not come inside the dome, but they could have the fresh breeze from the storm. As if she wasn’t amazed enough, this just cemented it further. Standing by the window, Teralyn closed her eyes as the breeze flowed over her since the wind was blowing at the moment. When she heard Mark behind her starting to clean up, she joined him to do the same thing, putting the food back in the cooler in their respective containers. Mark had opened the other window near them to let more of that breeze in and then put the cooler under the table. She sat back down, sipping her beer and enjoyed the tranquility this place had, taking her headband out to run her fingers through her hair.

Watching her simply while sipping his beer, Taker procured a cigarette from his metal case he had kept tucked in his back pocket. “You mind?” He asked, not surprised by her shaking head, staying on the opposite of the dome, the side the breeze was going ‘out’ as it were. It also meant his smoke would as well. “I’m usually a tobacco chewer, but…” He shrugged, lighting the cigarette and inhaled. Not today, he was minding the potential staining of the teeth and the aftertaste wasn’t something women usually found pleasant. Whereas smoker’s breath could be taken care of fairly easily. He was thinking ahead. “So, I want to talk to you, about us.”

Chapter 20

Mark smoked…that was new.

She had no idea he was a chewer/smoker because she never tasted any kind of tobacco when they made out. You’re hiding things from him, he doesn’t have to tell you every aspect of his life. What he said, however, caught her attention and her eyes were on him now, full of curiosity and a bit of hope, even though Teralyn tried stuffing it down. “Us?” Teralyn could not keep the question from spilling out of her mouth and didn’t leave her seat since he was smoking. “I didn’t know if the other night was just in the heat of the moment or if you wanted something more, to be honest. I didn’t even know what tonight meant, only that I was happy to hear from you and to spend time with you again.”

Taker was pretty sure he had smoked the night he had met her while they had been waiting out on the porch for the cab that she had then missed. Somewhat his fault. He grinned, remembering how she had tried walking home by herself in those fuck-me high heels that she had been so uncomfortable in. That hadn’t worked out well for her, he had escorted her home anyway.

“Given how shifty you get when you seem to be thinking, I’m going to guess you were wanting to know something.” Whether friends, friends who fooled around, or maybe something more. He didn’t blame her. “I want you to be my girlfriend, darlin’.” Woman more accurately, but given her age and inexperience, Taker figured girlfriend would be what she related her upcoming position to.

Holy Christ, her heart was thundering in her ears from what he just declared and Teralyn felt her palms turn somewhat sweaty. He wanted her to be his, in a relationship, and she wanted the same thing, but for the life of her, Teralyn couldn’t get her vocal cords to work. Finally, she stood up from the chair and walked over to him, not caring about the cigarette and leaned up to brush her lips against his, feeling his arm instantly encircle her waist.

“That night you told me I’d miss the right man coming along if I didn’t open up and let go of my fear, you were talking about you, weren’t you?” The smirk on his face told the entire story and she rolled her eyes, kissing him again. “Very coyly done, Calaway. I’ve wanted to be with you since the night we met, but I was scared of committing to anyone again because of what Scott and Marley did to me. I’ve been yours since that night.” No other man had crossed her mind or path and Mark was all she thought about. “Thank you for wanting to make it official, though. That’s very sweet of you to do. So, does this mean you’re my man then?”

“Yes, and I’ll warn you now, I don’t share. I have a jealous streak, though I’m rather good at controlling it,” Also eliminating things that caused him jealousy without batting an eyelash. “And I’m not always sweet.” Taker grinned down at her, keeping the cigarette away so he didn’t burn her or her pretty dress. “You already know I’m a pretty busy man, but I make time for what’s important. And you…you’re important, Teralyn.” She’d been his since that night…she was a romantic, prone to dramatic declarations; he had already pegged that and liked it.

“Good, I don’t share either. I’m a firm believer that when you’re with someone, you’re with ONLY them. Cheating is a bullshit, pussy way out of a relationship.” After being cheated on by her high school sweetheart, Teralyn would be on edge for a little while when it came to this new relationship with Mark. “So if you’re with me, you’re ONLY with me.” She declared, wanting to make it clear she would not tolerate being cheated on a second time or hurt. “And even with how busy I am with the newspaper and helping Professor Moody,” Not including her upcoming night job. “You’re important to me too, Mark,” She slid her thumb across his bottom lip, meaning that wholeheartedly. “And I will make time for you as well, I promise.”

If he would’ve known about her upcoming excursion as a stripper, Taker would’ve stopped it instantly. To him, that was pretty close to cheating, especially if one didn’t tell their significant other about it. Of course, it might not necessarily count since they had literally gotten together at this exact moment and he was keeping secrets of his own. Secrets that he wouldn’t be so blatant about. It was a bit hard to hide being a stripper, a lot easier to hide one doing some shady, illegal business.

“I’m going to hold you to that promise, darlin’.”

Stripping was not cheating – it was a job that would pay the bills and keep a roof over her head. Mark would be busy with running The Ministry on the weekends, so it was the perfect time to do this job. During the week is when they’d have to get together and see each other. Now that she was in a relationship with Mark, she would have to rearrange her schedule a little to make time for him. With spring break coming up, that would be easier to do, but once school resumed again, all bets were off. Teralyn would not start stripping until after spring break, her audition was literally the week after. Still, she had her class to attend, as well as practice with Ericka, but those only lasted a few hours.

What Mark doesn’t know won’t hurt him. You have to do this if you want to make it through college on your own. You can’t rely on him either, you have to rely on yourself. “Same here, we’ll figure it out together.” Teralyn kissed him softly and then turned to stare out the window with her back pressed against his chest, letting him finish his cigarette, his arm still around her waist.

It didn’t have to be hard or complicated. Relationships were easy when one didn’t overthink it, or was paranoid, and did exactly what they said they would do. Now, relationships with him could be hard and Taker supposed complicated, if they weren’t going the way he wanted them. He had been working at this with her for over a month and he knew he wasn’t there yet; this was just the first milestone. Smirking wickedly, he rested his chin on Teralyn’s head for a moment, inhaling her sweet scent before finishing his cigarette.

Her virginity would not be taken right out the gate, not after what she’d been through in her previous, only, relationship. Mark would have to be patient with her because, as much as she trusted him, there was still that lingering fear in the back of her mind to give herself completely. What if she did and he dumped her? Teralyn didn’t think Mark would do something like that, but then again, she didn’t know him that well yet. There was a seven year gap between them as well, so he had far more experience than her. Again, why did he want to be with a lowly freshman like her when he could have his pick of any woman in the school?

Gotta rebuild my self-esteem…damn you, Scott! Teralyn NEVER had a problem with her looks until that night she caught the man she thought she’d marry screwing her ex-best friend. It had shattered her into a million pieces that night, along with her heart, and now she was slowly on the mend. Slowly, she turned in his arms, looking up at Mark and played with his goatee, stroking it between her fingers.

Well, stripping for cash and fucking guys through clothing would quickly rebuild her self-esteem.

Taker had no intentions of trying to seduce her tonight. That would be blatantly obvious and he wasn’t angling for her to have ‘buyer’s remorse’ right out the gate. He wasn’t sure what he wanted Teralyn for other than he wanted her. She had been tossed in his lap practically, sweet and innocent, too tempting to resist and he planned on having her until either the attraction on his end wore off or…he wasn’t sure there was an or. Taker knew nothing would be decided about anything until after they had sex. Virgin, she could be molded…trained, his cock was getting hard thinking about it.

Would Mark think differently or ill of her if she told him the truth about stripping? The way he looked at her now, she never wanted that look to disappear and something told her it would if he ever discovered her night job. “I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight, but this is the best surprise you’ve given me yet.” The fact he brought her here for a picnic in the storm and then confessing he wanted her to be his girlfriend, his woman…his…sent that familiar warmth coursing through her body. She would definitely need a change of panties once she got back to the apartment…and she had no idea when that would be. “Will you lay down with me and watch the lightning? I love watching storms and I want you to hold me in your arms again, Mark.”

His response was to lift her up bridal style, smiling when Teralyn let a sweet, soft giggle escape her tempting lips. He wasn’t very good with temptation, so Taker inclined his head, brushing his own against hers, even as he was walking to the massive bed. He had removed his boots a while ago, the bottom of this dome set on a concrete foundation, most of it overlaid with a wooden false floor, but surrounding the bed was plush carpet. Carefully, he laid Teralyn down before moving to join her, raising one arm up.

“Come here, woman.”

The way he handled her with such care and gentleness only made Teralyn’s feelings for him grow stronger. She was so tiny compared to him and, yet, the way she fit in his arms was perfect. Kicking her flats off to land on the floor, she snuggled against him, resting her head on his strong arm while stroking his shirt covered chest affectionately. Neither had to say a word as they looked up through the dome ceiling, watching the flashes of lightning in the sky. It rained harder, this was one hell of a storm and the rumbling of the thunder soothed her.

“That camping trip coming up with the fraternity,” Teralyn looked up at him after they lay there in silence for a while, locking eyes with him. “Is that invitation still open to go?” If it was during spring break, she would be able to go since the place for her stripper class was closed that weekend.

“Always room for you, darlin’.” Taker reassured her, kissing her forehead before looking back up at the sky.

This storm was shaping up to be the lasting kind, not that he minded. Lightening for days? He’d take it, there was nothing quite like watching the jagged rips through the nighttime sky, the electricity building, the way it got one’s blood pumping.

“It’s only for a few nights and the only thing you’ll need to bring is yourself and some clothes.” Obviously, she’d be sharing his tent, unless Teralyn insisted on sharing with the girls or something…probably not.

No, she wanted to stay with him and nodded at what he said, sighing in contentment. “Just let me know the day we’re leaving and I’ll be there.”

Would Mark tell the rest of The Ministry about them being together? She knew joining wouldn’t happen, she wasn’t interested in the fraternity as a whole, only its leader. And now she had him, there was no reason to join the fraternity just to spend time with him. It all worked out for her since she wasn’t a big fan of fraternities to begin with.

“My Mom is gonna be pissed I’m not coming home for spring break, but I really don’t care. I’d rather spend it here with you, whenever we have time. I’m not sure if Professor Moody and Jason will want me to work that week on the newspaper and the book or not yet.”

What Teralyn had been looking for was acceptance and people who weren’t going to judge her. Taker had offered that with the potential of the fraternity and gave her the option of just hanging out, with both Ministry members and their friends. Her go-to had been to join up as a stripper, falling back on her mother’s advice and going against what she had supposedly stood for. If Taker had known everything, he would have been equal parts pissed and amused.

“Mmm, Jason usually shuts down the paper for the breaks because everyone usually has outside plans like going home or something. Moody’s going on a dig,” He chuckled a little. “Leaving me with whatever papers he doesn’t get too. It was our trade-off for me using this place.”

It had nothing to do with going against what she stood for. This was about survival, financial survival, so Teralyn didn’t have to ask her parents to bail her out. It was about having security as well, so she wasn’t evicted and thrown out on her backside. Teralyn felt like she belonged with Mark, that was all she was sure about at the moment, besides doing this stripper gig. It seemed as though things were falling into place for her, so far, but Teralyn wasn’t stupid enough to think it would always be this smooth going forward. She stroked his chest softly and felt his fingers glide through her hair, her soft curls slowly disappearing. Her hair never did stay curled for long, not even with all the hairspray in the world. It drove her mother crazy getting ready for beauty pageants and dances, like prom.

“I’d say that’s more than a fair trade. This place is fantastic and I guess that answers my questions about working during spring break.”

This would actually work better in her favor because Teralyn could practice with Ericka whenever Mark was busy with business. It would also free up her time to go on the camping trip with him and The Ministry. Sitting up, she looked down at Mark and loved how relaxed he looked, bending down to brush her lips against his.

“Oh no, no…” Gripping her by the waist, Taker pulled her so she was straddling him, keeping her hands trapped against his chest, arms locked so she couldn’t kiss him. “It’s a working spring break. I’m not going to be that busy so whatever you’re thinking, stop.” Well, he had put his foot in it, hadn’t he? He didn’t have a single paper to grade because Moody wasn’t dumb enough to leave him with things to do on a holiday week. “If you want to hang out and do things with your friends, that’s cool, but don’t think I’ll be too busy for you, Teralyn.” He then pulled her down for another round of kisses.

Chapter 21

“That’s not…Mmm…” Teralyn hadn’t meant that towards him and wanted to set the record straight, but Mark wasn’t making it easy. Not at all. Finally, she felt his arms loosen a little on her arms to where she could pull away from his lips, her hands pressed against his chest. “That’s not what I meant, Mark!” She had to say that in a rush of words to get it out, taking in some gulps of air and rested her forehead against his chin, his lips caressing her skin. “I meant for me. It looks like I won’t have any work to do. And I know you always have time for me, I would never think otherwise.”

Look at all he’d done for her, even before they were together! At the same time, however, Teralyn needed to do her own thing outside of Mark and not revolve her world around him. And she was with the stripping – he would never find out about that, no matter what.

“That charity basketball game is during spring break too, right?” So they would have the camping trip and the charity games going on – she would be busy WITH him and that was fine by her. “I’m not the clingy type, so if you wanna go hang out with your friends or simply need time to yourself to breathe and decompress, don’t hesitate to tell me. We don’t have to spend every waking moment together.” That was how couples ended up getting sick of each other and it was detrimental to relationships to rely too much on the other person.

Comprehension dawned, he had honestly thought she had meant he wouldn’t have time for her due to the ‘papers’ he was ‘grading’ in exchange for ‘renting’ his own dome hidey-hole. Taker began laughing at how absurd that was, reminding himself that he wasn’t infallible. “Sorry darlin’, I thought you meant I wouldn’t have time for you with everything I got going on with the paperwork added on top. That was my bad.”

He had a LOT going on during spring break and wouldn’t be able to have her up his backside for a lot of it, not unless Teralyn wanted to learn early on what he really was about. She laughed right along with him, brushing her lips against his and moved down his strong jaw to his neck, his hands moving to her hips through the dress she had on. It had ridden up her thighs and she was fine with it, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

“I missed you this past week, I won’t deny it,” Teralyn spoke in his ear, nibbling on the lobe gently and felt the shiver in response. “But absence makes the heart grow fonder. Let’s just try not to go a full week without seeing each other again.” Pulling back, Teralyn grinned down at him and moved to the other side of his jaw and neck, giving it the same treatment. “Try being the key word, handsome.” Things happened and were out of their control, especially with her doing three-four things, along with schooling, and him being a teacher’s aide and running The Ministry, not to mention his own schooling.

Joke was on her, he was only obligated to do those things necessary to keep up his appearances. It was the work stuff he was genuinely committed to, but he was the one who scheduled all that. “Try is good.” He rumbled in agreement, completely at ease with her on top of him, showing off her naughty side as they talked. Taker was curious if she really was a virgin, how much fooling had she done with her ex-boyfriend? “So, darlin’,” Only way to find out was to ask. “What all are you experienced with, sexually?”

That was a fair question and Teralyn didn’t take offense to it, pulling back to smile down at him. “Well, I’ve done everything sexually besides actual sex. I know foreplay is considered a type of sex and I’ve done that plenty of times.” There was no way she kept a boyfriend for nearly five years without having SOME kind of sexual activity with him. “I know it doesn’t seem like I’m a virgin – maybe you can call me a half-virgin?” It came out in a question and followed with a soft laugh as Teralyn shook her head. “And while I’m not ready for actual sex, that doesn’t mean I’m not ready to explore other avenues with you, Mark.” Proving her point, she reached down and rested her hand on his hardened cock, her eyes instantly darkening. “That must be painful, want me to show you how experienced I am with my mouth and relieve that pressure?”

Taker raised a brow and responded by tucking his hands beneath his head, mostly to keep himself from grabbing her by her hair and forcing her to shut up and show him. No, he wasn’t sure what kind of half-lover she was. He’d assume vanilla, but… she had surprised him before. “Show me then, darlin’.” He rumbled, his emerald eyes darkening to something deeper as he watched her toying with the front of his jeans. “Not to brag, but if you got chapstick, you might want to put it on.” Big man had the correlating bigger than average parts.

“Sounds like bragging to me, but good idea.”

He was DEFINITELY bigger than Scott just by feeling his cock through those jeans alone. Getting off him, Teralyn grabbed her clutch to pull some chapstick out, coating her lips with it. She always carried some with her since her lips got dry often, though not as bad the warmer outside it became. Crawling up his legs, Teralyn straddled his knees and began undoing the belt before taking the zipper between her teeth and tongue, gliding it down.

“Lift up.” She requested, managing to pull his jeans down enough to free that delicious cock. Her eyes widened at the size and girth of this man, suddenly wondering if she’d be able to fit all of him in her mouth. Fat fucking chance of that happening, sunshine! He’s three times the size Scott was! Ignoring the voice in her head, or trying to, Teralyn decided she’d give it her best shot and began stroking him with her hand while kissing and licking the tip. Good, Mark didn’t taste too salty, so she wouldn’t gag when she swallowed his seed.

Bragging, boasting, she could call it whatever she wanted, but as far as Taker was concerned, he had been giving her a courtesy head’s up because it had happened before. Men his size didn’t need to brag, they needed to come with a warning label. Taker had watched as she did as he had bid and then as she undid his pants, one brow raising when she just gaped at his cock. He HAD warned her. Then his eyes were in the back of his head once Teralyn got past the kissing and the licking, trying her hardest to take him in her mouth.

That was hot, just the effort alone.

He was A LOT bigger than she was used to and thought, but Teralyn was giving it the old college try, wanting to satisfy her man any way she could. Her man. Mark was hers, nobody else’s and that alone gave her the strength, courage and determination to continue. She would not stop until he exploded in her mouth, no matter how long it took, even if she got lockjaw from doing it.

Worth it, fuck it’s so good!

He really did taste amazing, just from the precum alone and she wanted more, craved it, and made sure to watch her teeth. This wasn’t her first rodeo, but Scott had a pencil dick compared to this man…Scott was a boy compared to Mark. THIS was a real man and Teralyn had to wonder how the hell he’d ever fit inside of her with this dick, once that time came for them to finally have sex. Slowly, she began bobbing her head up and down on his shaft, fondling his balls and humming, sending vibrations throughout his cock and lower half of his huge body.

Damn good thing I don’t have gag reflux or this would suck.

If she could push out a baby, she could take a dick, the vagina was very accommodating, though admittedly…usually one way, but same difference. The idea of this tiny, lean woman impaled on his dick had him throbbing almost violently in her mouth, which caused her to make a rather surprised sound – there wasn’t really room in there for anything other than what she was doing – and he growled lustily, one hand moving down to gently entwine his fingers in her auburn hair. Any curls that had been left after she had systematically purged them, they were gone now.

“Good girl.” Teralyn may have been surprised, but she hadn’t stopped either.

For some strange reason, being called that drenched her panties even more and probably her inner thighs, if she had to guess. That was surprisingly erotic and it made her go a little faster, driving as much of him as she could in and out of her mouth. She managed to get half of his cock in and out, there was no possible way she would fit ALL of him in her mouth without breaking something. The hunger burned inside of her, almost demanding him to cum for her, to give into his release. He was so close, she could feel his cock pulsating in her mouth and his body was tensed, coiled, ready to unleash his climax.

Come on, give it to me, baby… Teralyn looked up at him with pleading ocean blues and raked her nails down his thighs, emanating a growl from deep within him as his hand fisted her hair tighter.

That just made her pump him in and out of her mouth faster.

He was going to drown her in his cum, even though Taker had gotten off recently enough. He was still a young man with a very healthy sex drive and whatever it was called when one produced a lot of cum. It helped, getting off in what he considered a rather quick time, that she was so damn eager to please and very, very skilled at this. Taker was both relieved and disappointed, virgin training was always iffy. Sometimes one got someone who was easy to break in and train, sometimes they didn’t. She was ‘half-virgin’ as she had put it.

“Fuck, darlin’, I’m close…”

That was what Teralyn wanted to hear and he wasn’t lying. A few minutes later, Mark finally let go and he went off like a geyser, shooting his seed down her throat. She managed to swallow most of his seed, but some of it had gotten out of her mouth and landed on the bed in front of her, on Mark’s shirt and also her dress. Holy HELL that was a lot of cum!

“Jesus…Christ…” She gasped out, trying to catch her breath from the blowjob she’d just given…and it was indeed a job.

Now she knew what to expect for future reference and slid off the bed, giving him a moment to get his own breathing under control. Damn, she really loved this dress too and wished she had water, grabbing some napkins from the table to start dabbing at the spot. Then a lightbulb went off in her head as Teralyn took a bottled water she’d been sipping on earlier and poured some on the dress to start wiping at it. Hopefully, that would be enough until she could get it washed properly.

“You gonna make it, Calaway?”

“Yeah.” He just needed a minute to breathe, not about to lay here in his own cum, refusing to deal with crusty jeans. After that minute, Taker sat up and began shedding said jeans, not minding his nudity because they were officially past that point in his book. He began doing the same thing she did, mentally reminding himself for the umpteenth time that he needed to get a trunk or something in here with spare clothes. Taker wasn’t here THAT often, but goddamn…he grinned at her when he was done.

“Are you?” He bet her jaw was aching and she needed to get out of that dress.

“Never better besides the mess I made.” Her jaw was a little sore, but nothing Teralyn couldn’t handle and smiled at him to let him know all was well. Good thing she didn’t have TMJ or it would’ve been inflamed right now. “I didn’t expect you to cum quite that much…or for you to be as big as you are.” Hopefully, Taker got some pleasure out of the deal and she proved she could hold her own against that monster in his pants. “I know this is Professor’s Moody’s place, but do you have a spare shirt I could wear, so I can get out of this dress? I’m gonna have to get it washed this week sometime with the rest of my laundry.”

Given what he had JUST been thinking about needing to keep spare clothes here, that was HILARIOUS. Taker knew better than to start laughing though, simply shaking his head as he walked over to drape his sort of wet pants over one of the open dome panels. Fishing in the pocket for his cigarettes, he lit one, desperate for a nicotine fix after what transpired between them.

“I do not, darlin’, not unless you want to wear my t-shirt.” It was laying on the back of one of the dining table chairs. “And obviously, there isn’t any privacy…” If she needed to pee, she had to step out and do it in mother nature because he wasn’t offering the ‘house’, which was about a five minute walk away.

Ugh! Why did foreplay have to be so damn messy?! If Teralyn knew there was an actual house with a toilet and everything only five minutes away from her, she would’ve booked it on foot. “Okay well, maybe that wasn’t the best idea to do given where we are.”

She really didn’t want to end the evening with him, but…sitting in a dress that had cum on it didn’t set well with Teralyn at all. And she refused to take it off because they hadn’t gotten THAT far yet. With him, it didn’t matter since she’d seen what he had to offer, but Mark hadn’t seen all of HER.

“I know I said I was yours for the night, however long you wanted me, but…I need to go home and change. Then we can resume the night, if you want. You also could use a new pair of jeans from the looks of it.”

Taker wondered if she wasn’t wearing panties and a bra beneath that dress because that would be just as decent as a bikini, truthfully. “If we go back, we stay back, darlin’.” This wasn’t a long drive, but it wasn’t a short one either. He was definitely putting a trunk in here, some items to clean up with, and spare clothes. “Why don’t you wear the t-shirt?” Was Teralyn opposed to wearing his attire? He didn’t like that, blowing smoke out the open panel. Teralyn, not that he knew, was going to be a stripper, but refused to strip in front of her new man. Eventually when he found out, this moment would be something he recalled right away.

“But what about you?” It dawned on her how ridiculous that sounded because men walked around shirtless all the time in public. She also needed to get used to stripping out of clothes for men, so this was good practice and it was in front of her boyfriend. “Fine, you win, I like you shirtless anyway.” Winking, Teralyn walked over to him and turned, moving her hair over her shoulder. “I need you to unzip me first.” Much like she had done with his jeans earlier, Mark wrapped an arm around her waist and took the zipper between his teeth, gently gliding it down her back. “Thank you.” She murmured, feeling the dress loosen and stepped away from him to remove it from her body. Now, she was clad in a white strapless bra and pink and white striped cotton panties.

“See, isn’t that better?” Teralyn looked like something out of that child’s game, candy land with those panties, the pink and the white reminding him of a candy cane. Taker retrieved another bottle of water and passed it to her to finish with her dress, knowing if the cum sat too long, it might need to be drycleaned or something. He bet that’d be interesting, inwardly snorting at the idea. “Here.” He took her dress and carefully hung it with his jeans. The rain had stopped, now lightning was flashing almost lazily, but the breeze was still there. “Shouldn’t take long to dry.”

“Yeah it is.” I have to get used to being completely naked in front of men if I’m going to be a stripper.

The breeze felt delicious – it wasn’t too hot or cold, the perfect temperature. Teralyn wrapped her arms around Mark’s waist, nuzzling his chest affectionately and breathed in his scent, also knowing she’d probably be in a bikini during the camping trip. It dawned on her Mark was completely naked and she didn’t mind it one bit as he continued smoking his cigarette.

“Good thing nobody else comes back here or else we’d be giving them quite the show, babe.” She giggled, tilting her head to look up at him with an impish gleam in her ocean blues.

The fact he was totally nude, Taker thought she had a bit of a lingering prude side. It was perfectly natural being nude after a sexual encounter, especially one in a place that was basically designed to build intimacy. “I don’t mind.” He grinned down at her, exhaling smoke out his nostrils before putting out the cigarette. “I hope you’re not shy, darlin’, but those panties are going to have to go.” Or else she would be hanging them up to dry alongside her pretty, vintage dress.

That prude side of hers stemmed from her upbringing and it was slowly but surely disappearing. It had to. That grin made her nervous, her stomach tightening at the thought of that giant dick inside of her. “Mark…” He cut her off abruptly, capturing her lips and she trembled against him, both in fear and desire.

Fear of the pain sex would bring from losing her virginity and desire because she wanted him…all of him. Teralyn had told him she wasn’t ready for sex yet, but maybe it was best to just bite the bullet and be done with it, even though they’d just started dating. Mark lifted her, carting her back to the bed and Teralyn barely felt the mattress, her primary focus on this kiss. Damn, he could be very aggressive when he wanted to be, an animal, and she barely managed to pry her lips from his. Her panties were officially ruined anyway, they had been from the moment she kissed him earlier that night and now they were drenched by now.

“F-Foreplay…taste me all you w-want, but…” Christ, she could barely breathe right now and hoped Mark understood what she was trying to say.

Considering SHE had initiated the blow job, not him, told him a lot about her. She was battling her own upbringing, which was insane when he thought about it. Teralyn was taught to ‘rely’ on her looks and body, but she was shy about sex. That was some straight up, Catholic, weirdo garbage and people thought HIS cult was insane. Stuff that went on in regular households was practically the same, yet on a smaller level.

“But what? I’m not planning on fucking you, darlin’,” Taker informed her in a husky rumble, trying to assure her nothing would happen she didn’t want. They had just started dating today; he was still trying to navigate this woman who was constantly changing on him, without frightening her too soon. “But I AM returning the pleasure.”

Chapter 22

It had NOTHING to do with her upbringing or her religion, which was Christian Baptist, not Catholic. Teralyn was legitimately terrified of his dick after seeing it up close and personal. Sex in general, penetration, scared her and Teralyn was not afraid to admit it. Maybe it was stupid to others, but to her, in her mind, her virginity was a one-time deal. She wanted to make sure it was with the right man at the right time when it was taken. That was why she held off with Scott and wanted to wait until marriage…and part of her still wanted that.

However, with Mark, she had to change her priorities, so Teralyn would have to think of a suitable time frame. Maybe six months? Maybe a year? That sounded reasonable, given what she’d been through, right? Six months sounded more realistic, however. She didn’t think Mark would wait around a year for sex…for her to be ready.

“Mark…” She moaned out, slipping her fingers through his hair as he worked his way down her body, her strapless bra gone and soon, her panties were as well. All Teralyn could do was watch in fascination as Mark buried his face in her dripping sex, her legs draped over his broad, muscular shoulders and let the ecstasy wash over her. Holy Christ, this man had a very skillful tongue and knew exactly how to use it! “Ohhh…Oh fuck…” It had also been…a year or more since a man’s mouth was on her pussy and Teralyn’s head was spinning.

Taker would discover her archaic, crazy ideas – to him, they were crazy, but his standard of normal was also borderline illegal half the time. It was a matter of tomatoes vs tomahtos. Right now, all he was focused on was how sweet her little pussy tasted, if she had been without her ex-man for as long as she had implied, no…just no. Taker couldn’t fathom going without any kind of sex that long. He was also older and without the mind issues. Now, when Teralyn actually grabbed a handful of his long, loose hair, he raised a brow, smirking wickedly. She was getting lost in what he was doing, so he decided to add one single finger to the mix.

That surprised her, feeling his long finger slide inside and Mark held her down so she didn’t buck against it, her breathing ragged. “Oh god!” She cried out, feeling his finger plunge in and out of her slowly, methodically, while his tongue never stopped working on her clit.

Scott never did anything like this before, so her body was experiencing something new. Then again, they were kids fooling around, exploring and experimenting, mostly. They did love each other and had learned what the other liked overtime – practice made perfect and all that jazz. However, Mark was an older man and KNEW how to make a woman cum buckets for him with just his mouth. It took a long time for Teralyn to cum for Scott because he couldn’t pleasure her the way she needed to be. Right now, in this moment with Mark, Teralyn was on the verge of flooding Mark’s mouth and could feel her orgasm building rapidly.

“Ohhh…Oh right there, don’t stop…oh fuck, Mark!” So close…she was so close and his growling against her pussy did NOT help her from teetering off that edge.

It was a very good thing that this was actually HIS dome and not Professor Moody’s or else they would have been taking serious advantage of his ‘hospitality in ‘loaning’ the dome. Doing nasty things in what was meant to be Moody’s outdoor bed... “Come on, little girl,” And she was little, Teralyn was so damn tiny he could almost fit her in his pocket. “Cum for me.” Crooking that finger, purposefully brushing her g-spot, contrary to popular opinion, there were some men who knew exactly what it was and where it was located.

That was it for her. She could not hold back, even if her life depended on it. “OHHHHH YEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” Teralyn yelled out, shuddering as her orgasm ripped through her intensely and those hot juices spilled out of her right into Mark’s greedy mouth.

Her grip on Mark’s hair had tightened, almost to the point of pulling some out and Teralyn released it, sagging back on the bed in a sweaty, satisfied heap, her heart thundering powerfully against her chest. Mark continued feasting on her and all she could do was lay there, letting him do what he wanted, trying her best to get both her breathing and heart rate under control. While she was laying there trying to recover, he kept at it, feeling her body beginning to convulse all over again.

So much for recovery, he had just totally destroyed that, her breathing was picking up all over again, the respite long over. Now that he had had a taste, Taker was a brand new addict, she tasted better than anything that had ever graced his tongue and he already knew he was never going to get enough. So far, Teralyn had exceeded expectations and the temptation to deflower her was pretty strong, but he also knew that was a ‘in this moment’ feeling and didn’t even attempt acting on it.

Again!? Teralyn was drowning in an ocean of desire and ecstasy at the hands of Mark. Trembling from head to toe, she managed to look down at him and the look in his eyes, when he looked up at her, while devouring her sex, made a whole new wave of warmth wash over her. Her fingers were back in his hair and this time, she began grinding against his mouth, up and down, only because he allowed it. He wasn’t holding her down by her stomach anymore, his arms wrapped around her legs to keep her right where he wanted her.

“M-Mark!!” She choked out her second orgasm, releasing his hair to grip her own, writhing and shaking.

Again and again and again, a woman’s body was a marvelous thing, capable of as many orgasms as it was given chances for. Taker was almost jealous. Almost. Dehydration with the literal sperm during cumming factor might be an issue. Taker kept it up, forcing her to have orgasm after orgasm until he was ready to stop, finally wrenching himself away from her and licking his lips hungrily. He felt almost like a vampire, an incubus, sexually preying and feasting on her.

“Goddamn…” He had to move away from her, going for the cooler for water, for them both.

Tears, literal tears, had streamed from her eyes from both the intensity and the pain and pleasure mixture Mark made her feel. It wasn’t because she hated it either. That was the best oral sex she’d ever received in her life. Teralyn wasn’t sure if she could move, her thighs were trembling so hard and her body was slick with sweat. When Mark came back with the bottled water, she managed to lift her hand to take it and pressed it against her forehead, really hoping her heart didn’t give out from how hard and fast it was pounding.

“Holy…fuck…” Even her voice was quivering and she shut her eyes, just relishing the feeling of the cold bottled water against her skin. “I didn’t…think oral sex was…that intense…” Boy did he just prove her wrong!

Someone had NOT been doing it right then. Taker was inwardly preening at the look on her face. Teralyn was red, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily through parted lips; it was a gorgeous look and he wished he had a camera or something just so he could have it for his bedroom wall. Her lithe little body was also flushed, a sex flush, heaving from the aftermath, little shocks looked like they were still coursing through her, each tremble involuntary.

“Now you know, darlin’.” Taker was purring, unable to keep the satisfaction from his tone when she turned those beautiful blue eyes up at him, returning the look with a very satisfied smile. He didn’t bother hiding how he was feeling at the moment, he was VERY pleased.

Mark looked like a cat that had just eaten a huge canary, possibly two, and the hunger in his eyes practically glowed down at her. This was a new side to him…and she nodded, still trying to catch her breath. Would it be that intense with him every time they did this? Part of Teralyn wanted to throw caution to the wind and let him have all of her, but she was terrified of the package he had.

Teralyn needed to gear herself up for it, get over the fear and then she would no doubt let this man have all of her. Every piece. It would come in due time, there was no rush and she smiled back at him, accepting a passionate kiss from him to taste herself on his tongue and lips. They were tasting each other, actually, and it was intoxicating, to say the least.

“You’re amazing…” She murmured against his lips, panting a little and smoothed some hair back from his sweaty forehead, kissing him again. “Better be careful, I could get used to this.”

“That is not a bad thing, darlin’.”

Taker was contemplating falling asleep, after he eventually ventured outside to have a piss. Nature was rearing its ugly head and he had yet another reason to be grateful he was a man. He didn’t have to squat. No multiple orgasms, but he could pee standing up, it was all about that silver lining. Dropping onto his side, Taker propped his head in his hand as he stared down at her, his free hand down running up and down her stomach. He smirked when she automatically sucked in her belly as he traced her curves.

“Still feeling shy, Teralyn?”

“I don’t even think that’s possible anymore.”

She was completely naked in front of him and she had to get used to being touched like this. Mark was caressing her and it was obvious he thought she was beautiful and desirable. Teralyn reached up, caressing his face and felt his lips brush against her wrist, another shiver rushing down her arm.

“I know we just started being together, officially, tonight, but I want you to know I don’t normally move this fast. Scott and I didn’t do anything except kiss and hold hands for the first two years of our relationship. In sophomore year of high school, we finally started doing foreplay, practicing and exploring mostly. I initiated this with you tonight, and it probably makes me look fast, but I’m normally not like that at all. I just…wanted to make you feel good, Mark. I wanted to show you how much I do desire you and that I’m capable of satisfying you. You’re out of my league, but I don’t care because I’m happy with you and I’m here for as long as you want me.”

This woman rarely made sense in any way that he expected her too. Maybe that was why Taker had kept bothering her. Well, it was one of the reasons he did anyway, not that he was admitting it outside of his own head. Teralyn constantly changed what he thought about her. Every time he thought he had her ‘pegged’, she would switch herself up or say something that just made him rethink everything.

“How am I out of your league?” She knew she was beautiful; she had done the pageant thing, the cheerleader thing…of course, women like that sometimes also had confidence issues and it had never made sense to him. “You do realize how desirable you are, don’t you? In ALL ways.” Not just physically, it was important for her to hear that.

“I used to, yeah. I used to think highly of myself and thought I was beautiful. My self-esteem used to be great, I had all the confidence in the world.” Teralyn fixed the pillow to prop herself up a little, unable to meet his eyes while she twisted her fingers, a sadness washing over her face. “But then I walked in on Scott and Marley fucking in his bed…and it shattered me. It shattered my confidence, my self-esteem, made me question my self-worth…maybe I wasn’t as beautiful as I thought. Maybe I wasn’t good enough for him…and that’s why he went to Marley, someone in his league…” She hated feeling like this, talking about herself this way, but it was the cold hard truth…a reality she had to face sooner or later. “You make me feel beautiful, desirable, wanted…all of it, Mark.” Now she was staring into his eyes, her own full of unshed tears and that familiar pain rearing its ugly head. “You’re the reason I’ve given a damn about my appearance again, why I’ve made an effort. Little by little, you’re piecing me back together and I’m slowly getting the old me back.”

“You know it didn’t have anything to do with your looks or your body, or anything like that, why he did what he did, right?” Taker was taking his time in how he said this because he had gone snooping into her life. Not very hard to do when he had a faculty member of the college at his beck and call. “Because you two weren’t together, physically, in the same location.” And that was something anyone could have deduced because of what she HAD said, about going home for Christmas and finding them. If her and her ex had been going to the same school, that more than likely wouldn’t have happened. “It had nothing to do with you being enough, it had to do with being there. Guy was a scumbag.”

“Maybe, yeah, I don’t know. I DO know, however, he and Marley had been screwing around with each other from the moment I left to come here. I got an email from one of our friends, who was pissed at Marley for something, and she decided to get ‘revenge’ by telling me all about them. Scott flunked out of college one month in.” Teralyn shook her head, trying not to find that amusing and failed because he hadn’t been the brightest crayon in the box from the beginning. “Marley was taking a year off to ‘find herself’ and they ended up finding each other while I was here. I even asked him before I left for college, I told him I was scared of us being apart for a long period of time because it’d never happened before. We practically grew up with each other in our small town and our parents are best friends. It was almost as if we were destined to be together all along.”

Teralyn snorted at that, resting her hands on top of his to lace their fingers together. “Anyway, he told me we loved each other too much to ever think of being with someone else. He convinced me it would be okay and we’d get through anything. And then he didn’t even have the decency to tell me he was fucking my ex-best friend, someone we grew up with. There’s no reason to cheat. Just fucking tell me if you don’t want to be with me, is it really that hard to do? Yeah, it would suck, but at least you wouldn’t be a douchebag and someone I loathe, despise and hate now! And I wouldn’t hate a woman I considered a sister either! Not only did he wreck our relationship with his actions, but he also wrecked my friendship with Marley! He cares about nobody except himself and I hope and pray to god karma bites him square in the dick one day.”

Wow, that was a lot of pent up frustration and anger built up that just came spewing out and Teralyn blew out a large breath, feeling marginally better. “Maybe it’s my fault this happened, maybe I was selfish to want to come to a prestigious school like this to get a proper education when I should’ve stayed closer to home or gone to the same school as him. Maybe none of this would’ve happened…but then I wouldn’t have met a wonderful man like you…a BETTER man. And after spending time with you and being intimate with you, I’d rather be with you than him any day and night of the week.”

He really hoped she was done with this garbage about her ex because the blowups over it were going to get really old, really fast now that they were together. Taker didn’t do repeats very well and he wasn’t looking for her to find reasons to get herself down over her ex-douchebag boyfriend either, not when he had been building her up, or trying too, for a while now. Honestly, a person could only lift people so high before they either stepped up and lifted themselves or they fell back down again with their own mental insecurities.

“Stop playing the blame game with yourself, there’s no point to it and none of it is true.” He informed her, kissing the top of her head before getting up, reluctantly because it was comfortable, out of the bed. “Sorry darlin’, got to piss.” If he did, she probably did too. “There are napkins in the cooler…if you need to go.”

The urge to pee was sudden and she nodded, slipping out of bed as well, grabbing the napkins before heading out. While Mark could go wherever, she had to squat and found a bush of some sort, just out of eyesight of her boyfriend. Luckily, Teralyn just had to pee and really hoped it didn’t run down her legs or anything. Once she finished and wiped herself with the napkins, Teralyn made her way back inside and threw them away in the nearby trashcan. Mark was right, she had to stop blaming herself for Scott’s actions and move on with her life…move on to better things. She already had a better man and she walked over, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind to kiss his back softly, sighing softly.

“Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better now that I got that off my chest and I won’t mention it again. I’m going to start looking forward, not backward. And I’ll start thinking more highly of myself from now on.” No more tearing herself down or to shreds over that dickwad.

“If you need to mention it, do it, but you definitely can’t keep beating yourself up over something that wasn’t your fault.”

Intimacy in any form was a critical component to relationships working and there was a definite lack of intimacy when two people were not even in the same area code. Things like that happened all the time. The fact that they had grown up together and all that, that was just icing on the pain cake. First relationships like that rarely lasted anyway, it was more like a social learning experiment to be applied for future relationships.

Teralyn nodded against his back, acknowledging she heard what he said and hoped she could start building herself up again, to the person she used to be.

Chapter 23

“Wait, you want me to wear this while we’re practicing?”

Ericka nodded with a smile, smoking a cigarette with her stiletto heels on, legs crossed. “Yes. The only way you’ll get used to working the pole is with it on. Now go change and then we’ll get started.”

Teralyn took the outfit and went into the changing room, still not believing Ericka had rented this place out for them to practice in. It was an old strip club that had been shut down due to drugs. She had pulled some strings and managed to rent it out since it had poles to work with. Teralyn looked in the mirror and barely recognized herself in this…material she was wearing. It was bright pink, lace see through with a criss-cross design up both sides and spaghetti strapped. It came with a matching thong and Ericka had picked up some heels for her as well, which were clear.

With only two weeks left before her audition, Ericka had worked with her on the pole, showing her all the different moves strippers/exotic dancers did. Teralyn was a fast learner and had soaked it all in, along with beginning to work out to strengthen her arms and legs, at Ericka’s order. If she was working a pole, she had to be strong enough to pull herself up and twist around it. Working out was essential to maintaining a healthy, strong body and luckily, Teralyn was used to doing that because of her background in cheerleading, dance, and pageantry.

“Damn girl, that’s hot!” Ericka crowed, approving of the look and knew Teralyn would be a force to be reckoned with once she began stripping. Men would no doubt fall at her feet and rain cash on her. “Okay, you’ve worked the pole with regular clothes on, but let’s see how you fair with those heels and that outfit on.” Teralyn had been practicing for two weeks with the heels, so she had it down, but now it was about working the pole in a stripper outfit…and taking it off in the process. Stripping was an art form, as Ericka explained, and it was about enticing the audience enough to throw cash the stripper’s way, to make them want more.

It was Wednesday night, three days before spring break, and the upcoming camping trip was Friday, which was for the weekend. The following weekend was the charity basketball game and Teralyn already signed up to be a cheerleader for The Ministry, looking forward to cheering her man on. Teralyn had already taken off the entire weekend for the camping trip and she would be attending practice and class after the charity basketball game, having everything planned out already.

So far, Mark didn’t suspect a thing and she had also gotten word from the strip club they only needed her every OTHER weekend. So she would have two weekends off a month instead of having to work every weekend. At first, Teralyn was angry about it, but Ericka assured her with how much money she’d be making in one night, it was more than enough to where she’d only have to work 4 nights a month. Hard to believe strippers made so much money, but it was the truth – men enjoyed watching women take their clothes off and dance for them.

Teralyn had gotten damn lucky that she had picked this up so fast because contrary to popular belief, a LOT went into pole dancing. One had to have INSANE core muscles because that was where a lot of the work came from. Legs and arms were important too, but the core was where it was at. Being able to master dancing in those sky high heels, how to do everything involved in this job, it was how one made bank eventually and Teralyn had picked it up like it was nothing, it seemed. Probably because she was so damn young on top of her experience in cheerleading and dancing, which required crazy strength. Location was a thing when it came to stripping as well; they were close enough to the city to attract wealthier clients who weren’t looking to get caught by someone they knew in said city. Men who were willing to spend a lot of bank for some attention.

If Taker had known any of this, he would have burnt some buildings down.

Dancing also required skill and core strength as well. The combination of the two set Teralyn well and before long, she was climbing that pole expertly. This was very dangerous and she could go splat at any given moment, but a woman had to do what a woman had to do. She had the body to make some serious cash that would set her up good for a while. Mark was oblivious to this happening and she had taken measures to make sure he never found out.

Ericka nodded when she glided down the pole before swinging her legs off, landing on her feet like a cat. She really did look very graceful on that pole and stood up, snapping her fingers to gain Teralyn’s attention. “All right, now comes the fun part.” For her anyway, she loved divesting herself of clothes and showing what she had to offer. “Time to practice the actual stripping part while you do what you just did. Incorporate it into your routine. Your nerves and everything else you feel need to be put on the backburner, sweetheart. You’re not Teralyn now. Pick a name and go with it.”

Teralyn had thought long and hard about this, wanting something completely different from her real name. “Juna. My name is Juna on this stage.”

“Good, now show me what you’ve got, Juna.”

Closing her eyes, Teralyn disappeared and Juna was born that night, putting her whole heart into the performance.

“I think you should get some wigs and maybe contacts to spice up your look even more. That way your identity is hidden even more.” Ericka suggested, after she watched Juna perform and strip for her, admitting only to herself this woman was hot and stunningly beautiful from head to toe. “What do you think?”

“Colored contacts and wigs? Where would I get those things?”

Ericka smirked, blowing out more smoke from the cigarette she just lit. “How much time do you have left tonight?”

Mark was busy with The Ministry, having one of his parties for potential recruitments, so she had the entire night to do whatever she wanted. “I don’t have a time limit.”

“Come with me then, Juna.”

By the time they were finished shopping, it was nearly midnight when she walked into the apartment, not seeing Claudia anywhere. She went to her room and stuffed all the bags and everything in her closet, her hiding spot, and laid back on the bed with her arms spread. Juna. She liked the name, it fit the character she was going to portray on stage and tonight’s practice had gone a lot smoother than the others. When the audition rolled around, she would be ready to kill it and smiled, proud of herself for taking this step to ensure her survival…without help from anyone.

Ericka had also made sure to impress on ‘Juna’ throughout their practices and everything that she HAD to develop a thick skin and learn to let everything roll off her back. She would make good money, sure, but people would call her names and look down on her. Those men would love her while she was stripping, but if by chance her identity ever came out, she’d be a cheap whore, selling visual porn for money. People she knew, family and friends, might look down on her, ostracize her, if they ever found out because there was so much taboo still with the job. This was where Taker’s constant ‘don’t tear yourself down over anyone’ would work against him because he had been building her confidence up, just not for this.

Whatever happened, Teralyn was prepared for it and knew consequences would come with doing this job. It wasn’t like she was doing this for the rest of her life, just long enough to get through college. A couple years, tops. There was no reason for her to go home anymore because she had everything she needed here. No overbearing mother, no cheating scumbag boyfriend – She had upgraded in that department drastically – and good friends.

Granted, her friend circle had switched more to The Ministry people and she’d barely spoken to Renee and Jon ever since she started dating Mark. The campus knew they were together, it wasn’t a secret and they refused to keep it quiet from others. Teralyn was already receiving scrutiny for being with a teacher’s assistance, but because of Ericka’s training, she didn’t let what was said bother her. She kept her head high and continued building that confidence, just the way Mark wanted her to, keeping a smile on her face.

Taker had gotten a few curious questions about dating a freshman, one who was in a class he was a teacher’s aide for, no less, most of which he gave a polite, generic answer too. There were no rules about teacher’s aide and students dating, that was all professors and students. Taker had doublechecked because a large part of getting away with what he did involved having a legitimate cover here. Getting in trouble for dating someone was not in his cards.

“Hi.” It felt like forever since he had seen her, but they both had gotten busy. Of course, they HAD seen each other, just the other day in fact.

Before break exams had been a bitch.

“Hey handsome.” Teralyn leaned up to brush her lips against his, since they were outside of the classroom and smiled at him. It was Thursday and they were leaving tomorrow morning for the camping trip. They hadn’t hung out much in two weeks due to how busy The Ministry was, her with Professor Moody, Jason, Ericka and the stripper course…not to mention preparing for those damn mid-term exams. “I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready for this trip tomorrow. Those exams were insane and I could really use a reprieve.” She had practice with Ericka tonight since she would be gone for the weekend. “The best part is I’ll be with you and we can finally spend some time together.”

“Yeah, with a bunch of other people,” He laughed, wrapping his arm around her as they headed for the doors. It was gorgeous outside and he had been trapped in classes all day, probably the same as her. “But yeah, it’s going to be fun.” Fires, drinking, good company…maybe some business on the side, who knew what would happen?

Of course, those in the main loop knew to keep their mouth shut when it came to her. Teralyn was totally innocent of The Ministry’s real designs, of his, and he wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible. The day Teralyn found out who he truly was, what The Ministry truly was, was the day she either accepted and joined up or the day Taker probably had to murder her.

Simone and Claudia were going as well, so she wouldn’t be alone whenever Mark had to conduct business or do whatever with the guys. Teralyn knew they wouldn’t be able to hang out with each other constantly and was fine with that. One thing that surprised her was Mark was very affectionate and did PDA with her. She figured with him being a teacher’s aide and her a lowly freshman, he’d want to keep their relationship quiet. NOPE! She would never forget walking out of her apartment and seeing Mark standing there, waiting for her the following Monday after their dome date. They had ridden to school together for the past two weeks, no more walking for her. Of course, on days it rained, he took his truck, which Teralyn was grateful for.

“What are your plans for tonight besides packing and getting ready? And I have to be at the mansion at 7 AM, right?”

“Mansion? I will never get used to you calling it that.” Though it was, everyone just referred to it as The Ministry house, minus her. A mansion was a mansion and he knew it, but still…odd sounding. “Yes, and some last minute business came up with one of the events we got planned later in the year, so I have to deal with that. Shouldn’t be too late though.”

It had better not be, this year everything had been running smoothly. The laws of irony dictated that this meant SOMETHING was going to go awry just because that was how things worked. In that event, he would probably do something even more terrible, just because of everything going on this week. Relaxation time, mixed with a little bit of work, was seriously required. Juggling a cult/frat, being a student and a teacher’s aide, plus his girlfriend had really put his schedule in an interesting position.

It was Mark’s fault for having a girlfriend because Teralyn never asked to be his. She was happy for it, but hadn’t chased him the way he did her. It was entirely on him why his schedule was so packed, he could always say no. “No worries, I’m gonna hit the gym and then hang out with Ericka since she’s leaving for a week for the break.”

Teralyn told Mark about her, leaving out the details of what they were doing while they were hanging out. She figured some truth was better than none and Mark didn’t see anything wrong with it. Ericka didn’t use her real name for stripping anyway and always had her face caked in makeup, along with wigs and whatnot. Nobody would recognize her just walking down the street in daylight.

“Then I need to pack and make sure I have everything I’ll need.” Toiletries and whatnot, thankfully her period was last week, which had sucked while rehearsing and training, but she’d gotten through it somehow, including working out. No pain, no gain.

“Mmm, is that your way of telling me this is where we part?” He teased, knowing fully well his packed schedule was his own fault.

Initially, Taker just wanted to torment and bring down Teralyn. She had been entirely too wholesome for her own good and he wanted to strip that from her and have her roll in the muck with him. That hadn’t changed, not really, now he just wanted her to WANT to be with him down there on the flipside. He was a complicated man sometimes. He looped his arm around her, pulling her into his body and bent down to kiss her.

Every time he kissed her, it took her breath away and Teralyn wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. The taste of him…they hadn’t tasted each other since that night in the dome two weeks ago. That was two weeks too long. She wanted to please him again and to feel that long slick tongue against her nethers. There was hunger and need in this kiss, from both of them and only when they needed oxygen did they part, her eyes a dark smoldering blue and his had changed to deep, dark forest green.

“I still need that ride home…and I think you deserve a reward for being so thoughtful. I don’t have to meet her for a couple hours and I think we need some alone time,” Claudia wouldn’t be at the apartment, they had it to themselves. “Before this trip with all those other people. What do you say?”

“Deserve a reward?”

One brow slowly raised and when she blatantly licked her lips, he bit back a laugh. Sex as a reward, he wasn’t sure if that was a power slut thing or a very assertive, confident woman move. Given it was his Teralyn, it was the second, assertive, confident woman. She was really showing confidence lately, especially with herself. She was walking a little differently, a little more gracefully, and definitely more aware of herself. Taker had been watching these subtle little changes with interest.

“Mmm, in the truck, wench.” He growled, slapping her backside and she squealed, scampering away from him.

It was all thanks to the vigorous training she’d put herself through with Ericka. She felt more confident, especially when she was in those stripper outfits and heels, dancing on the pole. Even stripping out of those outfits didn’t bother her anymore because she’d done it so many times. Her first night on the job would be a different story, but Ericka assured her once the lights were on bright and the spotlight was on her, all those nerves would drain away.

She would do what she’d been training to do.

Not only had those subtle changes taken place, but physically, Teralyn was a lot stronger than she used to be. Granted, with cheerleading and dance, it was required to go to the gym to stay fit and in shape. She had gotten away from that when she left home and it was nice to get back into the groove of taking care of herself. Her body was a lot more toned than it used to be, but she still held the soft feminine aspect, refusing to look grotesque.

Chapter 24

On the ride to the apartment, Teralyn scooted next to Mark and began groping him through the dress pants he had on while kissing his neck, whispering in his ear how much she wanted his cock in her mouth. It made him shiver against her and she smiled, continuing to stroke him while he drove. Teralyn was a lot more comfortable in her sexuality as well, no longer second-guessing every move she made.

By the time they made it to the apartment and inside, Teralyn was more than ready and pushed Mark against the door, quickly flipping the lock on it. Leaning up to kiss him, she undid his belt and pants with ease, unzipping and pushing them down while he merely stood there staring down at her. Then, she began undressing in front of him, not stopping until she was fully naked and unbuttoned his shirt, kissing him hungrily before pushing it down his arms, wanting him just as naked as her. Even the shoes went and she didn’t care about Mark’s socks, kissing down the length of his massive, muscular body.

“So much better, just like at the dome…”

“Do you have any idea,” His voice had lowered considerably, dripping with pure lust as his darkened emerald eyes took her in. This woman, who had hesitated getting out of that dress not so long ago, had just shed her clothes like it was nothing and that was incredibly sexy. “How much I would love to plant your gorgeous ass against this door and fuck you until you see stars?” Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen, but Taker made sure she knew how he felt about her and the things that were eventually going to happen. Teralyn had already confided his size was an issue, which was totally understandable.

If you have sex and lose that pesky virginity, it’ll make you even MORE comfortable with your sexuality.

Those words rang through Teralyn’s mind as she continued licking Mark up and down like a popsicle, wondering how he would feel if she gave him the go ahead. His dick was very big, but after some research she did, with Ericka, she discovered men his size were prone to be larger. A pussy could stretch for MILES and it wouldn’t hurt nearly as bad as she made it up in her head. Looking up at him, Teralyn knew he was the man she wanted to lose her virginity too and what better time than now, right here, in this moment? It didn’t have to be planned, right? Rising to her feet in front of him, Teralyn locked eyes with him and began stroking him with her hand, nibbling on his stomach.

“So do it then.” Her own voice had changed, lowered to a sultry, seductive tone, smiling at the look on his face. “Fuck me and make me yours completely right here. Right now. I want you, all of you.”

His head nearly twisted off his neck at her words, wondering if Teralyn honestly meant that or if it was something from the heat of the moment. She wanted her first time to be against a goddamn door? “No.” His tone strained because he very desperately wanted that, but she would definitely regret it tomorrow. “Not like that, darlin’…” Instead, he pinned her against the door and dropped down before her.

“Mark, baby…” Teralyn moaned out, lifting her leg to drape over his shoulder without him having to do it. “T-Then take me to my bed…and fuck me there…oh god…” She wasn’t drunk, she was in her right frame of mind, somewhat, and she wanted her boyfriend, her man, to claim her. What was wrong with that? Even the way she touched him and how she felt was more erotic than in the dome, the confidence within her flowing out. “Fuck, your tongue feels so good…I can only imagine how your dick will feel…” Her fingers delved in his hair, burying them in it and her eyes closed, relishing the feeling of being pleasured by this gorgeous, sex on legs man of hers.

She was really giving his usual iron will a run for its money with that talk and Taker had to wonder just what had happened over these past few weeks. He had been witnessing the changes, but…goddamn! “Probably split your tiny ass in half.” He growled that right against her clit, hands moving to her hips to keep her from trying to squirm away from him. Taker could envision it, her tiny little body writhing as he…Fuck ALL! His dick was throbbing painfully, informing him fantasy COULD be a reality.

Without realizing it, Teralyn was flat out challenging him and writhed against the door as he devoured her pussy with that sinful, skillful mouth of his, her breathing turning to panting. “I-It’d be worth it to be split in half by you…” She panted, looking down and watching him while gently grinding her sex into his mouth, tightening her hold on his hair. Once again, she was drowning in ecstasy and didn’t give a damn who heard her call out his name. “Ooohhhh MARK!!” She shrieked out, the orgasm rushing over her in an intense wave and felt her hot juices spill into his greedy mouth. Two weeks without that euphoric feeling…this man was addicting and she wanted more. “F-Fuck, that was so good…”

SHE didn’t have to meet her friend for a few hours, but HE had business, and as much as he would enjoy splitting her in half for her first time, it wasn’t happening. No. Taker would do that on his terms and not in this apartment either. He hated this place, feeling cramped whenever he came inside. He had to duck through her damn door for crying out loud! No…tonight was her being ‘rewarded’ with stellar oral for being such a good little Pet and offering herself up to the dragon like the virgin sacrifice she was. He was going to have Teralyn, and soon, but not today.

At this point, she didn’t care if she was a sacrifice or not. Teralyn wanted this man more than the air she breathed and bent down to capture his mouth in a searing kiss, since he was still on his knees in front of her. It was obvious Mark was holding back on her because he probably thought it was too soon. They’d only been together for two weeks and this was the first time they had been alone since the dome date. Teralyn would make the most of it and broke the kiss, nipping his bottom lip with her teeth.

“It’s your turn to be satisfied and I want no arguments.”

Removing her leg from his shoulder, Mark stood up to his full height and she took his hand, guiding him over to sit on the couch. Then, she was on her knees in front of him, licking her lips and swiped the pre-cum from his engorged tip, no longer afraid of it. It was a stellar, beautiful piece of meat she wanted down her throat and that was exactly where it went.

They’d only had one other intimate time and that coincidentally was also two weeks ago. Taker was no prude, he had absolutely no problem sexing someone up he just met. Those women were also not ones he kept around either. It was all out of mind as he fisted her hair, leaning back on the couch, grateful it didn’t break under his weight, and watched as she bobbed on his cock. Maybe she’d been practicing on a vegetable because she was less awkward this time.

More confident and he liked it.

Once again, it was messy, but she managed to swallow most of his seed when he exploded in her mouth, the taste of him delicious just like it’d been at the dome. While he sat there catching his breath, Teralyn walked into the bathroom to clean herself up before joining him on the couch. Instead of sitting by him, she straddled his lap and softly kissed him before resting her hands on his shoulders, nuzzling his neck affectionately. This was what they both needed and she felt his arms wrap around her, completely content to stay here like this. Being naked no longer bothered her due to her training and skin on skin contact with Mark was relaxing. Ericka had taught her there was nothing wrong with nudity, it was natural and freeing.

Leaning back again, pulling her with him, Taker kept his arms firmly wrapped around her as he came down from that intense orgasm. She was something else, he was already starting to realize that he was not going to get tired of Teralyn anytime soon. She was a chameleon, constantly changing and adapting to everything going on around her and Taker found that intriguing.

“Mmm, you are something else, darlin’, you know that?” He murmured affectionately, one hand sliding up her bare back to caress the nape of her neck.

She chuckled softly, kissing the pulse point in his neck and slowly slid her hand up and down his arm, relishing this moment. “So are you. I’ve said it so many times, but you really never cease to amaze me, Mark.”

Teralyn was falling for him, so hard and fast, it frightened and excited her at the same time. She didn’t want to move from this spot, hating how little time they’d gotten over the past two weeks. This spring break would make up for it and she hoped by the end of it, she wasn’t a virgin any longer. Maybe Mark would have sex with her on the camping trip and that was a delicious thought in itself, even if others would be around. Pulling away from his neck, Teralyn looked down at him and captured his lips, moaning at the taste of him all over again. Even the way she kissed him was different, there was no more hesitation or uncertainty in her movements.

It was all on pure instinct.

If not for the fact that he knew she was a virgin and he trusted her as much as he could trust a woman, Taker would have assumed that she had been doing some shady things over these past two weeks. The shy girl he had met at that party months ago was GONE, long gone. This woman before him was ALL woman and knew exactly what she wanted and how to go about getting it. That was almost sad, the change. Teralyn wasn’t so innocent anymore and it wasn’t even his doing. That part was disconcerting, breaking the kiss as he gripped her face gently between his hands, studying her intently.

What had changed, when, and who had been the catalyst?

That shy girl was still inside of her, somewhere, but in order to do her upcoming job, Teralyn had to stuff it down. Still, she did blush while he studied her, her cheeks reddening and growing hot against his hands. Why was he staring at her so intently? Did he not like the change? Didn’t he tell her to have confidence in herself, to stop playing the blame game with Scott? Yes, he had, in his own way and she had been doing that for the past two weeks, with the help of Ericka. Hell, sex didn’t even scare her anymore like it used to.

“I really missed you, being with you like this. I know we see each other every day, but it’s not the same as this.” Hopefully, they would get some alone time on this camping trip besides sleeping in the same tent together.

He did tell her to have confidence in herself, but this was a drastic shift. Normally, drugs would have been the first thing to pop into his head. Taker knew all about drugs and how they could have such a sudden effect, cause a sudden change, but she didn’t have any of the telltale signs that most people weren’t aware existed. Peddling in drugs of all kinds, if by chance she was getting anything in THIS town, he’d know. No, Teralyn was just…revealing more of herself as she discovered herself, he decided, smiling at her words.

“Intimately, you missed the intimacy.” He concluded, leaning forward to brush his lips against hers.

No drugs were part of her change, just a mind reset of sorts and it was for the better, at least to her. “Yeah, I won’t deny it. Not my fault you’re good at pleasuring me.” She mumbled against his lips with a soft giggle, resting her forehead against his and knew their time had to come to end soon. He chuckled from low in his throat as well and she deepened the kiss slightly, just enough to feel another wave of warmth wash over her. “Mmm, I hate that we have shit that needs to be done before leaving tomorrow.” Sometimes life and obligations sucked. “I don’t wanna move…”

“Unfortunately, adulting is a pain in the ass, though we won’t always be like this. Things slow down a bit as summer comes in.”

People went home or into the city, and business got a little slow. It was hard doing some of the business he did when everyone was gone and there was a lot less people to be suspicious of around. Of course, being so close to New York City helped with all that and always provided him with fresh opportunities. Nobody blinked a damn eyelash at what happened there. Tourists constantly on the go, a few getting lost in the shuffle was usually pretty par for the course.

“And things were hectic because of exams, it should be less time consuming now.”

Summer would be great for her because Teralyn planned on staying right here, refusing to go home. If Claudia wanted to give her the apartment, if she planned on going home, that was fine by her or they could stay roommates. Teralyn would make more than enough money stripping to handle the bills and still have enough left over to save for a rainy day or do whatever she wanted. Ericka had a brand new 2000 Mustang she’d just purchased herself and had a two bedroom condo near the city as well.

She paid for it all on her own, refusing to rely on anyone financially and assured Teralyn she’d make a killing doing this. “Just so you know, Mark, I’m not leaving once summer is here.” Teralyn lifted her head to stare down at him, smiling softly. “I’ve decided to take a few summer courses, nothing major, just so I can stay ahead and not kill myself when fall hits. I didn’t know if you stuck around here or not, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I just thought I’d tell you what I plan on doing for the summer.”

Claudia had no intention of giving the apartment to Teralyn, she would do her summer business and pay her portion of the rent for those months. She still needed a place to come back to when the new school year started. Claudia was dumb, but not that dumb. Unless, of course, Bradshaw decided he was ready to commit to her or something, then she would very happily sign off on her portion of the lease.

Bradshaw would NEVER do that, hell no! Claudia was great for sex, but other than that, she was kind of an idiot.

Chapter 25

“I’m going home for a week or two to get MY truck.” The loaner from his friend was nice and all, but Taker wanted his baby. “You can come with me, providing you can make time.” He also had some business at home to take care of.

That surprised her to hear his offer and Teralyn wondered when he would be going, if it would conflict with her job. “Wanna take me home, eh?” She joked, rubbing her nose against his and softly kissed him, nodding. “I’d love to go with you. Just let me know ahead of time when you plan on leaving.”

She had to know at least a month in advance because Ericka told her, if she needed a weekend off from working, there was nothing wrong with it. The best part was she could walk away from stripping at any time; there was no contract, they were basically self-workers, so it didn’t make the company liable for injuries, insurance, or anything of that nature. Ericka explained all of it to her, wanting her to understand what Teralyn was getting herself into. There was a risk, a danger, to what they did, but they were also well protected with security to prevent anything from happening to the women that performed.

“I’ll always make time for you, Mark. Always.”

“It’ll be the week after the Fourth of July.” He informed her, smiling slightly at what she said.

Well on his way to having this woman wrapped, Taker did not realize yet that it was slowly beginning to turn into a two-way street. Fourth of July was a very good business day for him in the city, so he couldn’t leave. Taker had no idea that it would also be a great business day for her as well, for entirely different reasons.

“You think you can manage to get away from those summer courses you signed up for, for a road trip? It’ll be a few days down and back, and then the week there, so it’s closer to two weeks than one.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I may not take as many courses as I thought, I’ll have to look and see what they offer. I just don’t wanna go home.” Ever again. There was no time for a pity party.

Hopefully, she and Mark would still be together come July. Their relationship was still very fresh and it was only going into May. They’d only known each other just a week shy of two months. It was hard to believe, the more Teralyn thought about it. Time really did not exist when it came to them.

“A road trip with you sounds amazing.” She would work the weekend of the Fourth of July for sure and then request to be off for the third and fourth weekends of the month. It would work since there was no major holidays and she’d have plenty of money to live on to go with Mark.

If she went home, Teralyn might have to admit to her mother that the old broad had been right. Take care of her body and looks because those were her money makers. His father had told him something similar, take care of his body because that was his bread and butter, but he meant for a blue collar job. Something involving physical labor and dirty, calloused hands. Taker was too pretty for that sort of job and this was easier, more exciting and better bank.

“Just don’t overdo it and burn yourself out, darlin’.” He advised, kissing her again before reluctantly getting up and stretching, his palms planting against the ceiling as he stared down at her.

“Pot calling the kettle black, babe.”

She stood up from the couch as well, gliding her hands up and down his muscular chest with a smirk. Fact of the matter was Professor Moody was not paying her nearly enough to live on. Basically, she made enough to pay her half of the mortgage and utilities, but she had nothing left when it was said and done. Luckily, Teralyn had a little bit of savings to help with food and stuff until her night job took place. Maybe her mother did have a point and she didn’t want to admit Mommy had been right, but nevertheless, Teralyn was in desperation mode. She hated asking for help and flat out refused to burden Mark with her financial problems.

Not only was she suffering from lack of income the coffee shop gave her, which had been more than Professor Moody was paying, but her scholarship, turns out, only covered HALF of her schooling, not all of it. Teralyn didn’t even know half scholarships existed, but they did, according to the school’s financial department. She had gone in there, demanding to know why her classes hadn’t been paid for yet for the rest of the semester and they explained it to her. That was two weeks ago, when she decided to first become a stripper and now…now she was putting her ALL into it in order to survive. Swiping his pants from the floor, Teralyn handed them to him, along with his shirt and she proceeded to get dressed as well, glancing at the clock.

“What time do you have to go to your meeting?”

The difference between them was massive on the overscheduling thing. He was several years older and had been in this game of his for a long time. However, Taker mentally conceded, she was probably right. Him having a girlfriend who was totally normal and NOT related to the fraternity house looked very good for him. Austin had tried digging on HER, and she was so squeaky clean that it had probably made the man have a mini-stroke or something, wondering what the deal was. He knew Austin had been digging because Claudia was a cheerleader with Renee Young, who was part of Austin’s little squad.

“I need to head home and get a shower first. I’ll be just barely on time.” He laughed once he was dressed, pulling her into him for one more kiss. “I’ll see you in the AM at 7.”

“Yes you will.” Teralyn murmured against his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck and had to pull back before he didn’t make it out the door. “Go, get out before I don’t let you leave.”

She opened the door for him, accepting one last chuckling kiss before he left, smacking her backside on the way out. Teralyn shut the door and walked over to look out the window, watching him get in his truck to drive away. Tomorrow…maybe it would happen tomorrow. It surprised her that Mark held back even after she gave him the green light to take her virginity. Pushing that out of her mind for the time being, Teralyn went to her room to pack since she had a little time before meeting Ericka.

Given how prone to changing her mind and the ways she was turning out to be, Taker would play this out and see how she changed herself up again. Shy and modest and after two weeks of dating, she was begging him to screw her. He loved being begged, the fact that he had been able to turn that down, especially since she claimed to be a virgin, had been a temptation almost too much for even him to pass up.

“Mmm…” Training a virgin, he had to think about that one. Or maybe she’d be cock hungry and pick up naturally. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, glancing back into the very narrow space between the seat and the ‘back’ of the truck. “Hold on, precious, I haven’t forgotten about you.” Taker had a delivery to finish making since Teralyn had been a bit distracting.

~!~

“Okay, so you’re gonna be gone for two weeks in July?”

“Yeah, do you think that’ll be a problem?”

Ericka shook her head with a smile. “Nah, shouldn’t be. The owner is understanding and we all need a vacation from time to time. Just remember to be back the following weekend, no matter what.” Ericka advised, both of them cooling off after their workout session with bottled water and protein bars. “You’re looking a lot stronger on that machine. You seem more confident.”

Teralyn nodded, though a hint of hesitation flashed across her face. “I am. You’ve really helped me out a lot, Ericka, it’s just…” She sighed, leaning back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. “You know the guy I’ve been dating, right?”

“Mark, right? Don’t remember his last name.”

“Mark Calaway.”

“Right, what about him? You’ve been dating him for two weeks, right?”

“Yeah…and today, we went back to my place for a little alone time and I begged him to fuck me. And he wouldn’t do it. He refused and instead pleasured me orally.” Teralyn knew this wasn’t TMI for Ericka because the woman had been the reason she wasn’t scared to have sex anymore. Research at its finest. “It knocked my confidence off balance a bit. And I think you’re right about me losing my virginity. I think it has to happen before I start stripping, so I can understand what actual sex feels like, so I can portray that on stage when I work.”

Ericka was quiet for a minute, going over what Teralyn just told her and stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Well, two weeks is kinda fast in a relationship, maybe he’s just an old school guy that likes waiting until the ‘right’ time pops up?”

“Maybe…”

“Look, I’m not telling you what to do, but…if he’s not gonna put out, maybe you should find someone who will divest you of that virginity instead. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Teralyn’s eyes widened, her jaw dropping and she immediately shook her head. “No! No, I’m NOT doing that! I was cheated on and I know what it feels like! I’d never do that to Mark!”

“You love him, don’t you?”

It felt like Ericka just doused her with ice cold water and the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “Yeah, I do. And it’s bad enough I’m doing this behind his back. I never, EVER want him finding out what I’m doing. He wouldn’t understand, I don’t think, and he’d probably call it cheating. I’m cheating on him enough just having this job, but I refuse to allow anyone else to take my virginity. It’s going to be him. I just…have to figure out how to get him to do it.”

“Well, you’re just gonna have to consider that maybe he’s just that old school and two weeks isn’t long enough or you’ll have to seduce him.” Ericka shrugged her shoulders; she had seen enough to know that having a man who didn’t understand this line of work and support his woman’s choices wasn’t worth having. “Or maybe he just doesn’t know how to deal with how much you’ve changed and you have definitely changed since the day I met you. I still think it’d be easier to find someone for one night, then you don’t have to worry about not knowing what the hell you’re doing.”

Teralyn was in quite a predicament. She could always lie and say she did lose her virginity, but she hated lying. It was bad enough she was keeping this from Mark. To actually cheat on him…for her job…Teralyn wouldn’t do it and would do whatever she could over the next week to get Mark to have sex with her.

“I’ll figure it out. And if I end up stepping onto that stage as a virgin my first night, so be it. I won’t cheat on him.”

~!~

At 7 AM, a cab pulled up in front of The Ministry and Teralyn stepped out, wearing a sky blue tank dress that went an inch above the knee. It was hot out, in the 80’s and climbing. Summer was arriving much too fast for her liking as she paid the cab driver and grabbed her bag from the trunk, turning around to head inside. And slammed right into Mark, who had come out to greet her.

“Jesus Christ, you need to wear a bell, babe!” She pressed a hand over her heart, having pushed her sunglasses up to rest on top of her head. Her hair was down for the moment, but she would have it up before they left.

“Not likely.” He grunted, kissing the top of her head, a cooler up on one shoulder. “Hold on.” Taker headed down the steps to the vehicles lining the drive and slid it into the mostly packed truck, right alongside a few cases of beer. There was other liquor in there too since nights got rowdy when they did this. So far, luckily, nobody had been hurt. “Now come here, darlin’,” He caught her when Teralyn launched herself at him, hoisting her up to be eyelevel and gave her a proper greeting. “You’re just in time, the girls are finishing up in the kitchen and already kicked us out twice for interfering.” Because the guys had everything mostly ready to go by 6 that morning.

“You told me 7, so I didn’t want to be late since I know that’s when you wanted to roll out.”

Luckily, they were riding in a truck or else she would’ve been burned because she was not properly dressed for a motorcycle ride. Her attire for the weekend consisted of a few bikinis, shorts, pajama pants and one sweater, tank tops, another tank dress, toiletries, under garments and that was pretty much it. The bikinis she had bought while shopping for her stripper wear.

“Do the girls need any help? I could go in there and finish up with them, if you want.”

“I told you 7 because that’s around the time we’d be leaving, and we will be here soon.” He grinned at her, shaking his head. “No, they were just packing up all the shit they had made and the boys will haul it all out for them. We already loaded the other food and shit, but it’ll stay in the trucks overnight to keep the animals away.” Teralyn looked almost put out by not being able to help and it hadn’t occurred to him she would want too.

Who wanted to do extra work this early? Besides crazy people obviously.

That put out look was gone almost as soon as it came and she smiled at him, rubbing her nose against his. “Then I’ll just have to help them at the campground with whatever pops up, whatever the women do.” She winked, her spirits high and enjoyed his arms wrapped around her, his big strong, massive arms she could spend eternity in. It’s WAY too soon to tell him how you really feel, so clamp it shut before you scare him off. “By the way, I had something made for you and if you don’t want to wear it, that’s fine, but…” Pulling it out of her clutch, she set it on his shoulder and felt him step back to pull it off to look at it. It was black with the T and spikes in deep purple, the colors of The Ministry. “That’s the symbol of your fraternity, right? I know you love bandanas and I found a shop that puts designs on pieces of clothing. You don’t have to wear it, if you don’t want to.” Oh boy, Teralyn was rambling now and chewed her bottom lip, that innocence shining through and brightly.

She had gotten him a custom bandana. Taker took it and unfolded it, studying it thoughtfully. It wasn’t anything major, it wasn’t an uncomfortable gift that spoke of things happening too soon. It was actually kind of perfect considering they were leaving to go camping for a few days.

“I love it.” He informed her, stepping back to remove the blue bandana he was already wearing and quickly put on the new one, grinning down at her.

Teralyn returned it with interest and he noted something sparking in those blue eyes, using the old bandana to loop around the back of her neck and pull her into him for another hot kiss. This kiss was different, full of fire and passion, but there was something else as well, something that made Teralyn’s heart skip a beat or two. It was strange how they fit together so well, so perfectly, and she smiled when he murmured ‘thank you’ against her lips.

“You’re welcome, handsome. It looks damn good on you too.”

Lifting her up, Taker made her legs bend to cross her ankles since wrapping them around his waist was NOT an option right now, not in this tank dress she had on. Mark set her down on her feet a few seconds later and the guys whistled at him, letting him know it was time to go. A few minutes later, they were piled into the truck with Teralyn taking his hand to lace their fingers together and they were off to camp and party.

Chapter 26

“Does she have any idea?”

The women were handling the food after the guys had set up the tents and then began trawling the woods they were in for kindling and firewood. Taker shook his head with an amused grin, slapping the back of Bradshaw’s head when the other man poked at the bandana he was wearing. One of the interesting things about downtime like this was how they were all ‘just guys’ on fairly normal footing, though he was also quick to reestablish dominance if someone stepped a toe out of line. However, it was important that his ‘minions’ also got a reminder that they were family and friends too.

“Nope.”

“Gonna keep her?”

“Mmm.” Maybe. Probably.

Teralyn was helping the girls, conversing with them while doing whatever task they asked her to do. It was a team effort, they all wanted to get this done, so they could soak up the rest of the day in the sun. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and in the 80’s. They were set up right near a lake, it truly was a captivating place and the water wasn’t murky either. Once the food was all prepped and ready to be cooked, the girls were free to do whatever.

Teralyn had changed into a deep red stringed bikini, pulled her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head and had her sunglasses on. She lathered herself in sunscreen, not wanting to burn and grabbed her towel to set up for sunbathing. Simone, Claudia and the other girls that had recently joined the fraternity did the same thing. Claudia was the only one out of them all that had an actual bikini thong on while the others at least were conservative enough to cover their assets. Teralyn’s bikini was sexy, but it also covered her intimate areas, not wanting to flash herself to the other members of The Ministry.

Claudia had absolutely no fucks to give; she was working on an even tan and short of going nude, this was one of the ways to get it. Besides, Teralyn was a stripper in training, glass houses and all that. Not that she knew Teralyn was practicing to be a paid hoochie, but she was well aware that Teralyn was getting her womanly abilities of being sexy on lately and she KNEW she wasn’t boning the Undertaker yet. She figured Teralyn was boning someone else, however, not that she would ever say that outside of her head. Claudia liked breathing and she personally thought it was a good thing, learning how to fuck. It meant Taker would be satisfied and not unleash his temper on other people.

If Teralyn knew what Claudia was thinking about her, she would’ve bashed her head into the ground. She wasn’t screwing anyone! It was none of her business what Teralyn was doing and she would not be a paid hoochie either. There would be no sexual involvement with the clients at the club. She was stripping her clothes off and SHOWING what she had for money, but not giving it to anyone except her boyfriend.

Lap dances were optional and would net her more money, but Ericka had told her she didn’t have to do them. She could be strictly dance and strip since there were other girls that wanted that extra cash for lap dances. Some even prostituted themselves out. That was something Teralyn would NEVER do, she had enough self-respect not to sell her body for money. Showing it off was one thing, she was fine with it, but giving herself physically to someone for money – hell no! Once she was baked, Teralyn stood from her towel and dove into the water, the cold water instantly feeling amazing against her heated skin.

Teralyn was thinking about Claudia not being as modest or conservative as the others, but she was planning on baring it all for money. Paid. Hoochie. Hypocrisy was a thing. Claudia wasn’t even thinking anything bad, she had no problem with women doing their thing, paid or not. Hell, if she had known what Teralyn was planning on doing, or already doing as it were, she would have helped keep it a secret. Most likely anyway.

Taker let out the loudest whistle ever when he and the guys had finished stacking all that wood, coming to join the women. He peeled off his tank top, already wearing a pair of gym shorts with boxers beneath and shucked his shoes, wading into the water.

Swimming was a great way to get a workout in, even though she was supposed to be relaxing. Dear lord, this man was going to be the death of her and Teralyn was thankful to be in the cold water right now. Mark shirtless and wet…it wasn’t even about her job anymore or losing her virginity. She wanted him, period.

“I was wondering when you were going to join me.” Teralyn grinned, swimming towards him and felt his hands grip her hips beneath the water, her blue eyes sparkling up at him. “This water feels amazing. Thank you for inviting me, Mark. I haven’t done anything like this in a long time.”

Claudia suddenly squealed out when Bradshaw lifted her over his shoulder and plunged into the water, both going under.

Teralyn, Simone and the other girls laughed when she surfaced, sputtering water, only for Bradshaw to kiss her to shut her up. That just made everyone laugh harder. What Teralyn didn’t know was this was a sacred place for The Ministry and where initiations went down. The water here was part of the rituals performed, but since she wasn’t joining, she would never have to worry about being initiated.

She only had to worry about having her little sweet backside beaten black and blue if Taker ever got bored with her. So far, there were no worries about that because Teralyn was showing off her chameleon tendencies, changing right before his eyes. It was enough to keep him entertained and on his toes. Though, Taker would admit there was some nostalgia about the sweet little innocent, who had plunged ahead with whatever she was up to, and wasn’t giving him the chance to corrupt her. She was doing a fine job of it all by herself apparently.

“Well, your turn.” He hoisted her up, giving Teralyn plenty of time to prepare for it.

“Glenn, no!” Simone was shrieking as she went up too, though she was laughing as well.

“Mark, oh my god!!”

Her body crashed into the water and Teralyn barely had time to close her mouth before it swallowed her whole. A few seconds later, she surfaced and splashed him, laughing. Claudia was still bitching about wanting to get her tan on and Bradshaw wasn’t having it, everyone now in the lake to cool off since it was hot outside. It was supposed to be in the low 80’s, but the humidity was making it feel warmer. Mark lifted her again to crash into the water and all she could do was enjoy the ride, the fun of it all.

Soon, she was on Mark’s shoulder and Simone was on Glenn’s as they began battling to see who could push who in the water first. They couldn’t unlink their hands, that was the rules and because of her working out, the strength in her legs and arms, Teralyn toppled Simone without exerting too much energy. The woman was skin and bones, a lot tinier than Teralyn. They were out far enough to where Teralyn asked Mark not to move and balanced herself perfectly on his shoulders before leaping off into the water. Effectively, she used him as a diving board of sorts and her body cut through the water with a small splash back at Mark.

Kane wiggled his brows at Taker, both men smirking as they watched their women. There was a running bet between them about Teralyn, out of everyone, it was Kane who Taker confided his personal things in. He was Taker’s closest friend, practically family. Kane knew about Teralyn’s virgin status and then how, after two weeks of dating and one time of oral, she was ready to be sexed up against a door. Taker was betting she would initiate sex before he got to it, on this camping trip. Kane was guessing she wasn’t a virgin and she wouldn’t initiate. Snorting, Taker dove under the water, letting the cold water cool down his simmering blood.

Glenn was going to lose that bet because she was a virgin – well, half-virgin. Oral was still a form of sex, after all. She was damn good at it too if she did say so herself. Teralyn was starting to feel like her old self again, the confidence and her self-esteem were getting back to normal. No longer did she feel inadequate to the other women here like she did before. No longer did she feel the need to cry or blame herself for her failed relationship.

Teralyn was truly happy with her life, even becoming a stripper and morphing her body to make sure she did the job diligently was beneficial for her. Floating on the water, Teralyn stared up at the sky and said a silent prayer to god, hoping she was doing the right thing. It felt right in her mind because she would be secured financially, but her heart was torn because of Mark. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to have a boyfriend while doing this job, but the boyfriend had come first and she refused to dump him over money.

“Penny for your thoughts?” She had been so lost in whatever was going on in her head that she had not heard him coming.

Taker was on his back as well, watching the clouds lazily roll on by while the others continued playing water chicken. She was not as soft as she had once been. Teralyn had been working out and he raised a brow, wondering why she was doing that for. Well, maybe general health. He messed around in the gym on occasion to maintain his physique, even though running around as much as he did was enough cardio.

“Not really.” Would lying become second nature to her now? That bothered her because Teralyn hated lying. For this, however, it was necessary. She rolled in the water and moved to him, like a moth to a flame, and leaned up to softly brush her lips against his. “Actually, I did want to talk to you about something now that we have a minute alone.” Her eyes moved up to meet his and she reached out to caress his face with the back of her hand. “It’s about what happened yesterday between us at the apartment. I know I…surprised you with being as forward as I was and…I want you to know and hear this from me. You are the one I want to have my first sexual experience with. I know I was scared two weeks ago in the dome when we first became intimate, but…after that, I did some research.”

She flushed a little at that confession. “You were A LOT bigger than I thought you’d be, so to ease my mind, I did some research to see if a man your size could even FIT inside of someone as small as me. Found some pretty…interesting things…” That was an understatement. “Anyway, it did help ease my mind and that’s why I was more forward with you yesterday. Even though it’s only been two weeks since we got together, officially, I…I feel like I’ve known you a lot longer than that, even longer than two months. It wasn’t in the heat of the moment when I told you what I wanted either. I really would’ve let you take me on the couch, against the door, in a bed, on the floor, wherever. Time and place don’t matter to me because as long as I’m with you, that’s all that matters to me. I’m 1000% sure of that. So, I hope that eases your mind a little since I know it can be intimidating being with a woman who is a virgin. You’re more experienced than I am with this, so I won’t bring it up again. Just know, when you’re ready to make me yours fully, I’ll be ready.” At least Mark knew what was on her mind and in her heart and surprisingly, Teralyn felt lighter.

“Oh, I wasn’t intimidated, darlin’,” He brought her lake-soaked hand up and pressed an amused kiss to the back of it. “I was caught off guard for sure.”

The fact that she had to research if a man his size could fit in her body…it made him wonder how Teralyn got into college because she must’ve skipped some high school biology courses. It was also cute and Taker made a mental note to get slapped later. They’d been dating for less than a month. On their first night as a couple, she’d had a bit of a meltdown over her last relationship AND they’d done some sexual stuff. Two weeks later, they finally get the chance for intimacy and she wanted him to deflower her. Taker wasn’t a psychiatrist, but for some reason, that screamed a problem. He usually liked problems, if he made them. This wasn’t his making and he didn’t like it.

“And how are you so sure? We don’t know each other that well.”

Teralyn rolled her eyes. He was making fun of her, naturally. “We got to know each other a little prior to becoming a couple, Mark. I wouldn’t be with you here and now if I wasn’t sure, I promise you that.” Ericka was also in her head about losing her virginity before starting her night job, but…some things couldn’t be helped or rushed. “You’re a devil. And that’s what I meant to say was you were caught off guard. I know hardly anything can intimidate a man like you. I just wanted you to know that it wasn’t the heat of the moment or anything like that. And I wanted you to know that when YOU’RE ready, I will be too.” She tapped his nose, giggling when he wrinkled it and shook her head, pecking his lips. “I’m gonna go bake in the sun for a little while longer before it’s time to start getting dinner ready with the girls. I told them I’d help cook and Simone was very happy because, apparently, Claudia isn’t very good at it.” She had lowered her voice to where only he could hear that last part.

Those two had been having issues lately and Taker had a feeling it was coming from Claudia. She thought she was hot shit and she wasn’t. She was just barely a Ministry member and so far, her best use was her mouth and the other gaping holes between her legs. Simone, on the other hand, turned out to be brilliant and in a great place to help with their operation.

“I think she’s trying to avoid being alone with Claudia.”

“Yeah, I was wondering about that and I think you’re right. They really don’t like each other, it seems. Simone was talking to only me when we were sunbathing earlier. I tried including Claudia, but…she just turned her head and waved me off, so I continued my talk with Simone.” Teralyn shrugged, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever was going on between Simone and Claudia. “I’m not getting involved, I’m just gonna help where I can and hopefully, the tension melts away between them.” Claudia had a big mouth on her, however, and spoke her mind, which was both a good and bad thing. More bad than good. “So handsome, what did you guys decide to bring to grill?”

“The usual. Burgers and brats, hot dogs. Steaks. The girls made kabobs and there was talk of going fishing, but I don’t eat fish.”

That was just gross and definitely not worth the effort. He’d eat fish in a restaurant and even then, it was rare. However, anything Taker had to personally catch, clean and then cook…for a piddly, micro-filet wasn’t happening. Too much work for so little pay-off and it always tasted funky.

“And then there’s all kinds of cold salads and shit, fruits and veggies…I think Simone is trying to get everyone to clean up their diet, or counter all the liquor we brought.” She was underage to drink, but from what he remembered, she didn’t drink much to begin with anyway. Taker filed away what she had said about Claudia, deciding he’d be having a chat with Bradshaw to handle the broad before he did.

Chapter 27

“I don’t blame her.”

Teralyn had no idea what she’d just done to her roommate and continued enjoying the water with Mark for a little while longer before finally getting out. She dried off as much as she could with her towel and wrapped it around her waist, wringing the excess water out of her hair after taking it down. Then, she grabbed her brush out of her bag to pull it back up in a high messy bun, needing to keep her hair off her neck in this heat. After that, she slipped her tank dress back on over her bikini and headed up to where Simone was getting the salads out.

“Where’s Claudia?”

“Don’t know. Her and Shaw took off somewhere in the woods after getting out of the lake earlier.” Simone shrugged, not really caring and secretly hoped a bear ate the bitch. She did NOT like Claudia at all and the look on her face told the story.

Teralyn noticed it, helping pull the salads out and didn’t bother asking Simone what was going on between her and Claudia. Not my business. If she wants to talk about it, that’s fine, but I’m staying the hell out of this.

“Sorry, I know I probably sound mean about it, but I can’t stand her.” Simone murmured quietly, not wanting the others to overhear her. The other girls that had come were busy with their men doing whatever, some still in the water. “She thinks she’s the queen of The Ministry, you know. She thinks because she’s fucking one of Mark’s right hands, she’s automatically in a safe zone.”

“Wait, safe zone?”

“Yeah, that she can’t be booted out of The Ministry, she thinks she’s safe. Fraternities have certain rules that you have to abide by in order to be in them and they can kick you out at any time.” Simone explained, taking the lids off the salads to stir them with the ladles. “She was too busy screwing Shaw this morning and forgot to help me in the kitchen until I was nearly done with everything.”

Did Mark know about that? “Wait, you did ALL of this on your own?”

“Ninety percent of it, yeah.”

Oh boy, if Mark heard that, Teralyn was sure he wouldn’t be happy with Claudia’s blatant disrespect of a fellow Ministry member. “Well, I’m here now to help you, so whatever you need done, just ask. We’ll get this done.”

Simone actually hugged her, thankful to have actual help for a change since Claudia was too busy having her holes stuffed by Bradshaw. “Thank you, Tera. You’re so nice and thoughtful, Mark is a lucky guy.”

“Thanks, and Glenn is too.” Teralyn hugged her around the shoulders, knowing the woman needed comfort at the moment and then together, they dragged out the rest of the food.

When Claudia came back, it was with a brand new attitude and if she was smart, she’d keep it. Bradshaw had told her in no uncertain terms that her antics were coming to an end. Taker had made HIM do it because Claudia thought she was ‘safe’, thanks to Shaw. Now she knew better. Claudia knew that it would be Shaw who kicked her out and there was literal kicking involved, if they got to that point, because she KNEW better. She was also being denied drugs if she couldn’t straighten up, see how well she balanced withdrawal with being a nicer person. She was being set up to fail and the worst part was Claudia knew it. Also, she knew the minute she tried saying something outside of The Ministry, she was as good as dead.

Not very many left The Ministry without ending up in the hospital. This was what Claudia wanted. She BEGGED to be part of The Ministry and now she was. Her ego needed checked, however, and Bradshaw had done it. Teralyn was oblivious to what happened to her roommate, though the attitude change had her somewhat puzzled. If Simone noticed it, she didn’t say anything.

With three different salads and bratwurst on her plate, along with a can of ice cold beer, Teralyn sat down in the grass and started eating. Taker was manning the grill, so he wouldn’t be able to join her and that was fine. Simone did moments later since Glenn was helping Mark and they conversed while eating, both famished after swimming and sunbathing.

“Oh man, I needed that.” Teralyn proclaimed, once she cleaned her plate and stood up to toss it away in the nearby garbage can.

“You and me both. I could use a nap now.”

“Food comatose?”

“Without a doubt.”

Simone stretched, knowing that bag of trash would have to be tied up and either put in a truck or buried to keep wild animals from coming into the camp. Of course the guys had been ‘marking territory’ whenever nature called too. Men were such childish idiots sometimes, so that might help, but…then again, the smell of the meat might be too tempting for critters.

“You ready to see how much they can go through after a day outside?” She pointed as the men began making their plates, plural on plates per each man. When Teralyn raised her brows, Simone began laughing. “Yeah, that’s why one truck is NOTHING except food.” She had no idea what it was about outdoors, but dear Lord did it increase their already overly large appetites.

Mark had three plates for just himself and Teralyn wondered where he managed to put it all. Hell, these were some BIG boys they were with, especially Glenn. He was even BIGGER than Mark with long curly brown hair and had a killer smile. Then there was Bradshaw and Farooq, Jason and Adam, along with others. Yeah, she really hoped they didn’t run out of food or else they would be eating fish. The tents were all set up as well, far enough away from the firepit that was already dug up with wood and kindling in it.

After the guys were done stuffing themselves full and everyone was satisfied, the food was put away in the coolers. There was no meat leftover and half the salads were gone. The three bags of garbage were put in another truck to keep the animals away and before long, the sun was setting over the horizon. Teralyn had gone down to sit in the grass to watch since there was a perfect view of it setting on the water. She had gone into her and Mark’s tent to change out of her bikini and left her tank dress on, making sure to put her panties back on as well.

Helping with setting up the tiki torches to repel the mosquitos and whatnot, Taker took a bottle of OFF and trailed after his girlfriend. It was cooling down and the bugs were out, he had pulled on a thin, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans, finally spotting her sitting in the long grass. He settled down beside her, setting the can down beside her if Teralyn wanted to use it.

“So, what do you think?” He asked quietly, knowing this was her first time out with ‘his’ friends outside of The Ministry house and setting. Sure, Teralyn had been to other gatherings, parties, and hung out, but this was entirely different.

“I love it here. It’s so peaceful and beautiful.” This was also their first outing together as a couple with his fraternity. She took his hand instantly, lacing their fingers together and leaned her head on his arm with a smile on her face. “I just wanted to watch the sunset and let my food settle a little while you guys got the fire going.” Simone had gone to her and Glenn’s tent to lay down for a bit to let her own stomach settle and Claudia was being a good girl for a change, minding her mouth and attitude. “I wish I had a camera, so I could capture this view.” Mark had warned her things tended to get a little…rowdy when they did this and if it got to be too much, she could always go into their tent away from the chaos. “I’m glad I’m here with you and everyone else, Mark. I needed this after those damn exams nearly fried my brain.”

Rowdy was an understatement. Everyone was digesting right now and Taker knew not long after sunset, the liquor would be opened and that fire would be threatening to lick the trees with its flames. Fortunately for them, this was private property, so…if it happened, it happened and they weren’t in trouble with a park ranger or anyone. Also, he’d blame Claudia, let her take the fall as a way to ‘prove’ she had learned her lesson.

“No kidding, shit was rough this year.” He wrapped his arm around her, resting his head on top of hers. “You sure you want to take on additional courses, darlin’? Summer’s meant to recharge.”

“Hmm, you do have a point and I promise I won’t overdo it. I’m still thinking about it, actually. Haven’t made my mind up yet.”

She still had some time to decide if she wanted to take summer courses or not. Honestly, Teralyn wanted to work, make money and spend time with her man during the summer. Snuggling against him, she soaked in Mark’s warmth and comfort, feeling completely at peace and ease with him.

“I really am looking forward to going home with you for those two weeks, though.” She looked up at him, the sunset reflecting in their eyes and reached up to gently caress his face and beard with her hand. “You said it was in Texas, right?” She waited for him to confirm with a nod. “I’ve never been there before, so this will be a new adventure to take with you.”

“It’ll be hot as fuck, and a dry heat at that, so bring lotion.” Taker was not lying or exaggerating. He loved Texas and there was no place quite like it. “I’m glad my buddy loaned me his truck, but I want mine back.” It was customized, his other baby. It had been in ‘storage’, which was a lie. It had been used for transporting some new product from the Mexico border because Canadians were turning out to be idiots when it came to drugs. “Just remember, it’ll be four or five days drive time total. How are you on road trips?”

“Considering I managed to make it here from North Carolina, I’d say I’m good with them. Though I did take a bus, but I’ve been on road trips with my family before. More flying than driving, though. I’ll be fine and I’m looking forward to it.” Just the two of them, driving down the highway, blasting music and singing along with the windows down…Teralyn grinned at all the possibilities that could happen.

She also had no idea she was dating a drug lord, which was exactly what Mark was. He had hidden that side of himself perfectly from her and she had done the same thing getting ready for her new job. They were lying to each other and neither knew it. Not to mention, Teralyn had no idea what Mark had planned for her should she discover his secret identity. Would he kill her? Would he force her to stay with him and treat her like a sex slave? Would he let her go? Nobody knew what Mark was thinking or what he would do next – the man had a very mercurial attitude about life, doing things his way and destroying anyone who got in his path.

A cool breeze blew over them as Teralyn shivered, knowing it was probably time to put something warmer on now that the sun was gone. Nightfall had arrived. She could hear hooting and hollering where the fire was already going, the party officially getting started. “I’m gonna go to the tent and change into something warmer.”

Softly, Teralyn kissed him and felt his arms wrap around her to press her against him, her arms weaving around his neck. Every time she kissed this man, it felt like the first time and her heart always accelerated in speed, her pulse and her body instantly engulfed in flames. Whatever passion and fire Mark gave to her, she returned it equally, the taste of each other pure addiction.

Finally, he let her go, watching as she stumbled away with a dazed look in her eyes. He ought to take her virginity here, where everyone would HEAR her, smirking at the thought. That appealed to his ego, her screaming his name while Taker took what little innocence she had left. Kane had made a comment about giving her a test run when he was finished with her; that had both amused and irritated Taker, which meant he was viewing her as more than a distraction. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that either and definitely planned on fornicating it out of them both though.

She took a little more time than necessary in the tent to clean up a bit, wearing her pink pajamas pants with a matching tank top and had her white sweater on. Teralyn also sprayed herself with bug spray, even though she’d be near a fire. She wasn’t getting ate alive by mosquitos, no way in hell! Once she finished and calmed down a bit from that intense kiss, Teralyn made her way out of the tent to head towards the fire.

“Man, why the fuck we gotta do this in secret? All because of Taker’s bitch, it’s not right!”

“Man, shut the fuck up and just snort it!”