Doomed By Mr. Billionaire's Betrayal

Maya could hear her parents arguing in their room. The mild disagreement that always escalated into heated argument and then came the violence, the smashing of things and finally of cause her father hitting her mother...

Published on Sep 6, 20262026-09-06T19:42:30.000Z

Billionaire Bully Romance

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Chapter 1 Preview

The neighbors had stopped intervening.

Previously, they would come banging on the door when her mother started screaming, call the cops, offer to have Maya sleep over at theirs but each time her mother went back to her father and covered for him, it was at a price so that first the police stopped taking their distress calls seriously and then gradually the neighbors started turning a blind eye to the bruises that always appeared on her mother's body by the morning and a deaf ear to her screams that rent the air each night.

Maya knew there was no way she could escape, not until she was all grown up and big which was going to be a very long time away and so to escape the horror of her life, she danced.

Drowning the screams of her mother with the song playing in her mind, Maya danced.

Her little six year old body doing very difficult moves in a dance even she did not know the name of, letting out the frustrations of her life in blows that were maneuvered into waves and kicks into leg movements.

As she relaxed into the dance, her body slowed into a more rhythmic routine, the frown on her face gradually easing until it became a smile, here in the world of dance, she was finally free.

The first time Maya had tried out to join a dance team had been a total disaster. She had been coming back from school and had on an impulse decided to enter the ballet school opposite her school to audition.

Without the guidance of an adult, the ten year old Maya had strode into the studio, interrupting the little ballerinas mid spin and declared that she had come to try out for ballet classes as it was her destiny to dance.

The ballet instructor ad taken one look at her delicate slender features and seen potential yet neither the instructor not the little ballerinas had known what to make of her combat moves and at the end she had been asked to leave with a warning that she would be reported to her school's authorities if she ever entered the building again.

Maya had half expected the ballet instructor to get violent, abuse her in a way her father had done for so long, it had already become normal to her. She had turned around then, the tears stinging her eyes, yet she did not cry.

What use were her tears! She left immediately. She knew it would not take much for the strict looking ballet instructor to report her to her school who would further report her to her father.

Her father always punished her when he got any negative report about her, he had once scalded the sole of her feet because her teacher said she had stolen a pen from the new student.

She hadn't and she knew who had but snitches ended up in ditches, so she kept silent and even when she screamed, begging for mercy as her father poured the hot water from a kettle into the bathtub she stood in, she still didn't tell him the truth, she was not a snitch.

Lately, her father had devised new methods of punishment for her so that he left no mark on her skin, no evidence suppose she decided to be the vile creature she really was and snitch on him, the marks he didn't care about leaving were the marks that formed within as each new torture he put her through tore open fresh wounds inside of her across already formed scars in criss crosses until she knew she would never be whole again..

Chapter 2 Preview

Maya hurried home after her shift at the Walmart. Her father knew the exact time her night shifts were scheduled to end and he had given her thirty minutes to round up whatever she had to do and hurry home or face his punishment. He still punished her anyway each time she got home, just for the sake of it but Maya knew it would be worse if she actually got home after the allotted time.

He was getting old and with that came more frequent drinking and less attention to the method he used to met out punishment on her.

He had stopped caring about preventing bruises from forming on her skin and so he mostly just lashed out at her with his belt. She had gotten used to the beatings and the occasional torture, it was something she had come to expect daily.

What did break her heart was the look of utter despair on the face of her mother each time her father was torturing her and her mother could do nothing about it.

Lately he had started hitting her mother with so much viciousness that Maya actually feared for her life but no matter how terrified she was, how much she just wanted her and her mother to be free, she never called the police, never told a soul.

Her father had taught her well, snitches ended in ditches.

She couldn't understand what was going on as she drew close to her house, the wailing siren, the neighbors who were gathered around her house trying to peek in and the officers who were all over the place. She hadn't snitched.

She hadn't snitched, Maya kept telling herself as she saw an officer lead her father out of her house in handcuffs.

His nose was broken and the glazed over expression on his face meant he had been drinking that was nothing new, what was new was the presence of the police men and the neighbors.

Ignoring the stares and her pounding heart, Maya pushed past the small crowd and headed for the front door of her house.

She had to see her mother, had to make sure that apart from the normal belt marks and bruises sustained from punches, her mother was okay. She had to make sure her mother was still breathing, she had to.......

Her own breath was coming out in gasps as fear clouded her vision. She was stopped gently by one of the policemen before she could get in and she tried in vain to shrug off his restricting hand.

"My mother I need to make sure my mother is okay." She said but she could barely hear her own voice as her words came out in choking gasps. The hand stayed firmly on her shoulder, offering comfort and also preventing her from entering while the policeman explained something about her mother's corpse not being a pretty sight and then Maya blacked out.

Maya woke to the sound of whispered voices. She opened her eyes gradually to see a police woman arguing with a nurse by her bedside, she was in a hospital. They both paused when they saw she was awake then the nurse threw up her hands as if in resignation and walked out, leaving Maya with the policewoman.

"Good morning Maya, how are you feeling?" The policewoman said kindly but Maya eyed her skeptically. "It's okay, you can trust me my name is Rachel banks from the CID." The woman added, seeing the look of distrust on Maya's face but Maya still eyed her warily.

Seeing that Maya was not ready to talk, the woman continued. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions, see if your opinion corroborates with your father's statement okay?"

Maya nodded

"Okay, how would you describe you mother?" Rachel said and Maya frowned. "Would you say your mother was stable or would you describe her as unstable?"

Maya was silent for a while as she tried to draw the courage to open up for once about everything, the beatings that she and her mother had to receive, the torture, everything but she didn't.

She wasn't yet sure that her father would be locked away for good and he had taught her, snitches ended in ditches and so she didn't snitch.

She knew what he father was trying to do, look for a way to make it seem like her mother was unstable and maybe pass of the homicide as suicide or self defense.

She knew he would need really good lawyers to do that and he couldn't afford any but she did not put it past him. In the meantime however, she had to make sure she said nothing to contradict his story, even if it meant betraying her mother.

Her mother was dead, her father still breathing and she couldn't afford to snitch on him.

Maya kept a straight face as she looked up at Rachel. "My mother was highly unstable, I think she had split personality disorder, she was always claiming to be different people and she was always either attacking me or my father or trying to commit suicide. It's been like that since I was little."

Maya waited until the policewoman had gone before she allowed the tears to fall. She needed an antidote for the pain, it was too raw, too new. She needed to dance but this time not alone. There was an underground dance arena she had stumbled upon on her way home from her night shift at the wall Mart once, she has finally found the courage to try out as a new member of any crew there. Hopefully, her father would either not be granted bail or would not even be able to afford it.

Chapter 3 Preview

Gabriel stood in the underground combat dance arena and watched his crew as they practiced by challenging each other into dance battles that involved artistic wrestling, with the fight dancers performing dance moves as they threw their opponents, the members of his crew were all in top shape.

The Power, an annual tournament they had won seven consecutive times was around the corner and even though he was never worried, he still kept raising the notch at their practice sessions until they were practically their own competition.

The fight arena was his get away from the obligations that awaited him at home as the only don of one of New York's most wealthy billionaires.

He always felt the pressure, the silent stares, he knew everyone was wondering if he really had the 'Di Marco' in his blood since he was adopted and he also knew his parents and his many relations secretly wished he had been their blood instead of a mere adopted son and so because of that he strove for perfection, carrying out all his assignments with a ruthlessness that was almost singular to him.

He ruthlessly cut down opponents and contemporaries and he was not known for leniency when he was crossed, he had no stomach for men who could not man up and face the consequences of their actions. It was what he would do if it were him.

It was simple, if you miscalculated enough to step on the wrong toes you should be ready to dance to the beat of their tune, yet all that was left behind as soon as he stepped into the fight arena, his family name, the wealth and connections the responsibilities.

Here it was just him and his talented crew members and the only consequence one could face here was eviction from the crew.

He was reluctant to try out new members to make the game more challenging, he had always brought in one new member and evicted another old one few weeks before the tournament but this year he just didn't want to deal with a new face, not because he was of the challenge but rather because even though he wouldn't care to admit it, he had bonded with the crew and didn't want to evict anyone of them.

"Gabe you've been turning down people who come for try outs with us this season." Bryan his assistant and the closest thing he had to a best friend said from behind him as the rest of the crew finished for the day and got ready to go home.

"Well then," Bryan continued. "Aren't you going to keep up with your tradition this season?"

Gabriel shrugged. "We'll see come lets fight..... dance style of cause and please try to beat me."

Bryan laughed. They both knew that it was close to impossible to beat Gabriel in combat dance. He signaled to the Latin American musicians are who were already parking up gear to let them know they had to play for one more match then he got on the ring and did that tried to beat Gabriel.

When Maya got discharged, she acted as if on auto. Her feet's moved on their own accord, her mind was far a away, in a world where there was room only for beat and rhythm.

Gradually, she numbed the pain with her mind, killed her ability to feel until she felt nothing at all. She needed to get to the hide out she had stumbled upon once on her way home, she had to get there.

Something in her told her she would not be accepted, would still not be understood but that was the only place she could be herself.

The dance arena was really a building that spilled out into the open. Within the building, she could see two dancers ....... battling, she had no better word. Their half naked bodies moved so rhythmically, their bones could be made of water and yet they fought she watched them exchange kicks that had to have hurt, yet they did it all to the beat of the music some Latin Americans were playing.

It didn't take long for her to notice the better fighter. They were both good but the blond stood out. Entranced, she watched the flow of his muscles as he performed feats she could only dream of.

He seemed to be toying with his opponent, drawing him out then schooling him but his movements belied his expression, when she got a glimpse of his face, she saw anger, a bored kind of anger.

He seemed angry with his opponent like he expected more, wanted more. She sucked in a breath and decided to get closer then for one brief moment, he threw his opponent down with a kick and whirled around to face her.

Their eyes connected and he gave a slight shake of his head. Before she could even understand what he meant or convince herself that she hadn't imagined it, he was facing his opponent once more.

Maya drew stares as she got closer and especially from two burly looking men she was sure were bouncers. Looking around, she noticed she was the only woman there and the men around were either picking up belongings here and there and heading out or staring at her with lust written all over their faces. For the first time in her life, Maya felt a new kind of fear, one she had never known before.

Afraid to turn her back, she backtracked out of the arena and headed home as the tears blinded her eyes. Rachel, the policewoman had told her she could stay at her place till the police were through with her own house but she didn't want that.

Her father had always been cruel to her, tortured her at will but when he was not doing that, was left alone. Free to live inside her own head. She didn't want the policewoman's pity, the stares she knew she would get.

The subtle offers for a session with a psychologist.

She didn't want that, she had been strong for so long had been strong all her life but she had a sickening fear that if she accepted the smallest hospitality, read meaning into the briefest kind gesture to her, she was going to crack and they would be no one but her left to pick up the pieces of her life when she had to be strong again to survive her father.

So she avoided people's pity and people in general, she had to be strong.

Maya walked through the traffic, crossing the road at a green light, unsure even where to go. She wasn't sure the police were through with her house and she most definitely could not go back to the hospital well not unless she got hit by a car. Hopefully, she would be blessed enough not to wake up.

Maya was still fantasizing about how blissful it would be to close her eyes once and for all when it clicked. She didn't even border to hide the smile that broke out across her face. She had not been accepted at the arena because she was a woman.

If she were a man or even a boy, a lean masked boy, no one would even so much as glance her way.

With renewed hope, she dug her hand into her pocket and fished out Rachel's number, she could endure her pity if only for the chance of getting accepted in the arena.

Chapter 4 Preview

Gabriel sat in his office, swiveling his chair while he read the morning paper. It as the Daily times and a feature showed an article about a murder that had taken place in his family's New York hotel, the same one he managed. The incident had taken place before he was born and yet with all the current issues his family were facing in business, the Daily had to pick that moment of all times to do an article on it.

The murder was of a young Italian woman who was believed to be connected to a mafia family. According to what he heard, she had been the son of a Capo who had broken the Omerta an oat of silence when questioned by the police.

The Capo was executed, Mafia style and his family would have been allowed to live but his very smart twenty one year old daughter had gathered or stolen privileged information she was planning to give to the police in revenge.

She had been lodging in the Royalty hotel in New York under a false name and cheap disguise when she was brutally murdered by people the police suspected to be part of the mob.

According to the police, they never did get the information the young woman would have given them and that crime joined the rest in the long list of unsolved murders.

Gabriel felt no sympathy for the girl, she was a mere story to him a story that had happened before he was born what he cared about was the inconvenience her death had been causing and was still causing his family.

Some people had even rumored that his family was connected to the mob after the incident, it didn't help that they were Italian.

It was difficult to find immigrants who became so rich over such a short period of time, especially if the were Sicilian but his grandfather had migrated to the country some Sixty years ago and had struggled, made a name for himself.

Gabriel was damned if he was going to let that name get rubbed in the mud.

The murder had happened thirty years ago, yet the Daily saw it fit to rehash it at a moment when a new hotel had just been built in New York.

It was possible the editor was being bought by the owner of the new hotel or that he was simply doing it out of spite or even more ridiculous, a warped feeling of obligation to readers.

Gabriel had met journalists like that in the past, people who delved up other people's secrets, destroying lives and careers and yet believing they were bound by some stupid honor code to provide the truth.

He picked up his phone to call the editor, he was not going to let his hotel get sacrificed on the alter of some editor's honor code.

His father beat him to it, already with the phone in his hand, he answered at the first ring.

"Gabriel, have you read the Papers this morning?" His father did not waste time on pleasantries.

"Yes." Gabriel answered simply. He knew his father was not done talking and he didn't want to interrupt.

"I want you to call the James Fisher the editor. Find out what he wants."

Gabriel nodded then remembering that his father could not see him, he answered. "I will do that." There was no point in telling his father that he had been about to call the editor, somehow that would have sounded like he was giving excuses.

"And just know that some people sometimes do not know what they want, sometimes they think it's justice but they actually just want money, bear that mind."

Gabriel nodded again. This was his father's way of saying everyone had a price. He totally agreed with his father, he had bought a countless number of people with his money. He didn't even bother to answer his father, the line had gone dead as soon as his father had given that last piece of advice. Gabriel decided not to call, if he was going to buy the editor, he wanted to see the merchandise first.

The editor of the Daily times was a smallish man that kept fidgeting with his hands, touching here and there, either twirling a pen or spinning a letter opener till Gabriel got irritated and asked him to keep his hands still, he obeyed immediately.

After one sentence from the man, it became obvious that he had been bought as Gabriel had suspected by the opposition.

The ease with which the editor switched sides at the offer of bigger money and a little bit of threat thrown in for good measure was pathetic but Gabriel has known just anyone could be bought at the right price.

Leaving the office, Gabriel realized that he felt disappointed.

He had secretly hoped the man would have had some honor code binding him to publish the truth or some nonsense like that, he had been looking forward to a challenge, had wanted to debate with him, to discuss, to have a conversation where for ice he was not calling all the shots simply because of his money.

It was the way of the world, his father had once told him, the world had only two sets of people, the haves and the have nots. The haves owned the have nots and that was the system of things.

His father had not added that it was possible Gabriel's escape from being among the have nots was his adoption into the Di Marco family.

After finishing up at the office that evening, Gabriel headed for the dance arena. Somehow, even his own get away had started to bore him, he hadn't yet been able to find a dance fighter who could beat him, not even Bryan.

Bryan was in the ring when he arrived, battling or he was more like teaching a young boy who had a mask on. The boy didn't look like anyone Gabriel had seen before and he was curious. After the fight ended and Bryan shook hands with the boy, they both headed over to him.

Gabriel did not wait for an introduction. "Bryan. You've decided to turn this into a ballet school huh? Are you giving classes now?"

Bryan ignored the questions. "Gabe this is Buck, a new guy trying out to join the crew. Buck, this is Gabriel, leader of the crew and owner of the dance arena."

"Nice to meet you sir." The boy extended a hand.

Gabriel ignored it. "Buck? Like your parents actually named you that?" When the boy opened his mouth to reply, Gabriel raised a hand. "Don't bother answering me, I don't care because you wouldn't be joining us anyway, from what I saw, you can't fight. You're supposed to beat Bryan not learn how to fight right there in the arena."

"Gabe" Bryan started to say but Gabriel cut him off.

"Why do you even have a mask on, do you think this is some kind of cult?"

"He said he has scars he doesn't want anyone to see." Bryan replied.

"Let the kid talk Bryan." Gabriel snapped, to the boy, he continued. "If you can't even speak for yourself, how do you intend to face me as an opponent in that ring?"

"Bryan has already answered for me." The boy replied, "I have so many scars."

"Nobody gives a fuck about your scars look around you, all everyone here wants to do is fight." Gabriel as pissed, there was something so vulnerable about the boys voice, he sounded like a teenager. "How old are you."

"I'm old enough." The boy replied with a bit of defiance.

"I wouldn't ask again." Gabriel could feel the hint of warning and danger creep into his voice and he laid it on thick for good measure.

"Twenty one! I'm twenty on years old." The boy replied. He sounded terrified though he did not break eye contact with Gabriel.

"Well twenty one, you wouldn't be joining us today or forever, we don't need knew members." Gabriel dismissed him and strode forward into the ring. Leaving Bryan to talk to the boy, he challenged four men from different crews then stepped into the ring. With any luck, they would be able to beat him.

Bryan waived them away. "Still looking for someone to beat you Gabe?" "Well what's that to you?" Gabriel retorted. "It's obvious you can never beat me."

"And if I do?" Bryan was smiling good naturedly.

" If you do, your little boyfriend gets a spot with us."

" He's not " Bryan started to say then thought better of it. Showing any form of irritation at being called the boy's lover would cement the name. Taking off his shirt, he joined Gabriel in the ring.

Immediately after they shook hands, he took Gabriel down with kick and watched his friends eyes light up in surprise. He waited for Gabriel to stand before he attempted to take him down again, this time, his friend deflected all his attacks and sent him flying down with a kick then it was like their previous matches over again, at the end Bryan was on the floor, unable to get up, with his body ridden in pains.

Disappointed once more, Gabriel climbed out of the ring. He parted the boy on his shoulder.

"Sorry kiddo, your savior was just not much of a hero."

" Then I'll fight you!" The boy shouted and Gabriel slowly turned around to face him. "Give me one month with Bryan and I promise to beat you."

Gabriel walked up to stand in front of the boy, while he watched the boy shrink further into himself if that was ever possible yet he could see the determination burning out from the boy's eyes. He lifted his hand to take of the boy's masked but restrained himself at the last minute. "Fine Buck. You get a month starting from today and when you loose, I don't t see you around this arena or I'll have you arrested. I'm I understand."

The boy started to say something then replied instead "Yes sir."

Chapter 5 Preview

As Maya stood watching the handsome lord of the rings battle yet another opponent that day, she knew that in a month's time, after practicing under Bryan, she would be able to beat him. It was not that she expected to become stronger or more skilled than him within a month but watching him fight, she could see why his opponents always lost to him. They all expected to loose and he always expected to win. It was as simple as that, even Bryan had seemed surprised when he threw Gabe earlier on.

Maya knew why she had to win, loosing would mean she lost everything, acceptance, the place she could finally call home. Her eyes followed his every move as she watched him battle his opponents while for some strange reason, her heart beat quickened as she caught herself wondering what it would be like to have her body move in perfect sync with his perfect body, not in the ring this time around but in a private place.

Just thinking about that made a blush creep up Maya's neck as she felt a fire starting in the pit of her stomach.

He was so perfect, from his blond hair to his chiseled face, down to his perfectly sculptured body that was ridden with muscles that looked as hard as Steele rods, she wondered how they would feel under her touch she also wondered at the boldness of her thoughts, her father would have skinned her alive if he could read her mind right now.

He had once given her the white torture, locking her up in an empty room that was painted white, she was dressed in white and had been fed white bread on white plates for two days because she had looked back at a good looking boy when she was fifteen.

Maya had fought the gradual disorientation wondering why this seemingly painless torture from her father seemed the most gruesome. When she had finally started feeling her mental health disintegrate, he had opened the door and released her into the normalcy of her home. It turned out her school mates had asked of her because she had been away from school for two days. Maya wondered what her father would actually do if he could read her thoughts just now, she hoped he never got out of prison.

After Gabriel had fought two more opponents winning both of them, he climbed out of the ring, leaving the arena for others who challenged themselves.

All around her, people were betting, staking on or against the fighters and Bryan collected the money. He seemed in charge of that even though it was Bryan who owned the fight dance club.

After she had watched two different groups battle themselves, Maya decided it was time to go home. Back into the unknown, to into a world where even her breath was controlled by her father.

He had controlled her before when he had been around, and even now that he was locked away in prison, he still controlled her, the whispers of his past threats still fresh in her ears every time she did something she knew he wouldn't approve of and there were many things he didn't approve of.

He hated singing, dance just everything that made her happy, he not only hated happiness, he hated to see her happy. As she headed home to Rachel's house, she said a silent prayer to heaven that her father never got out and if only for that moment, she believed in answered prayers.

Gabriel left the arena feeling dissatisfied. He had still not been able to find someone that could beat him in the dance fight. It was not that he wanted to loose, he wanted to win, he just wanted to fight for that victory.

He was sick of things being handed to him on a platter of gold. Everything came to him cheaply. His victories at the arena, his success in career, even the women he slept with.

He wondered how it would feel to actually struggle, to fight for something and rejoice at a success you fought for.

Unwittingly, he thought of the woman he had seen a few days back at the arena. She had been breath taking.

There had been something about her that was so enchanting, she hadn't been dressed to impress, instead she had been wearing a shabby oversized shirt and her trousers hadn't been any better yet she hadn't needed beautiful clothes to look good.

The oversized shirt and burly pants did nothing to hide her subtle curves and her face he had seen nothing like that before it was a blend of arousing and innocence like a cross between Angelina Jolie and Selena Gomez.

Her bee stung lips had been parted like they were begging to be kissed and there was a slight flush in her perfectly high cheeks.

He had wanted to he wanted to fuck her until she screamed his name, until the only thing she ever thought about was him, until he had totally captivated her heart as she had his but it was her eyes that stilled him even though she had looked at him with obvious arousal written on her face, her eyes had betrayed her vulnerability.

There was a troubled look in her eyes that spoke of secrets no one could know, of pains she had had to survive simply because she had no one to turn to and knowing that he couldn't handle that, that she needed better than him, he had shook his head to try to clear it, break free from whatever spell she had cast on him and as if taking cue from him, when he had turned to deliver a blow to Bryan and turned back again to face the direction he had last seen her, she had been no more.

It was like she had been a mere figment of his imagination, a Chimera and he half believed he had thought her up but those eyes, they were a figment of no man's imagination.

They had their own stories to tell, their own secrets and it didn't come as a surprise to him that he wanted to learn them.

He arrived at the casino he frequented and got spotted immediately by the owner, Antonio. They weren't really friends and we're hardly business associates but apart from the fact that he had become a frequent guest, in New York, one billionaire was brother to another, well until they wanted the same thing you wanted and then it was time for back stabbing.

He exchanged pleasantries with the middle aged owner and went to his table. His favorite dealer was on duty and she threw a seductive smile at him as she counted out his cards.

Feeling reckless, he pushed a hundred yellow chips forward and felt the adrenaline rush yet after three rounds, he had gained an additional fifty thousand dollars to his hundred thousand.

He cashed out and got up to go at the same time the pretty dealer's shift was up. He liked her, she was not only hot, she was also smart and at the moment, she wanted the same thing he wanted care free mind blowing sex with no strings attached.

She leaned up from behind him and whispered into his ear. "I've got a friend that would like to meet you."

He smiled and spurn her little frame around so that she was standing in front of him. "Sounds interesting, where is she?"

"Oh, she's waiting for us outside." She stared up at him a little curiously. "You don't mind that I also like girls do you?"

He shrugged. "As long as this girl likes me, we'll have no problem "

"Oh she likes you, I have a feeling tonight would be the best night of her life."

He waited as she discussed a bit with the Man she was handing over her shift to and collected her coat then they both headed outside.

The night had proven an interesting one even though he was sure the pretty card dealer had lied, her friend had been more into her than into him.

She seemed to like being commanded and the dealer obliged her, sometimes commanding her to do pretty demeaning things.

He didn't mind that, it made the girl and the pretty dealer happy and so therefore it made him happy but he had had to put his foot down when the dealer asked her friend to sleep outside in the open, she had ended up sleeping in the reception of his suite.

He dropped off to sleep as the dealer was whispering something into his ear about making him happy the rest of his life.

Gabriel woke up feeling like there was something he needed to do, something he had to do. Still feeling groggy from sleep, he tried to focus.

It was like there was just that one thing he needed to make his life complete, then he remembered why he had woken up feeling like that. He wanted her.

It had just been a brief encounter at the arena yet he felt like she was the one he had been waiting for all along.

He had dreamt of her and surprisingly, there had been nothing raunchy about the dream, they had simply been walking bare feet along a beach with the waves making splashing sounds as the water hit against rocks and the cool sand beneath their feet.

For the first time, he had felt content. He wished he could make the dream continue.

He gradually opened his eyes to find the dealer at the casino smiling down at him from the other side of his bed. At first he frowned, a bit confused then last night's memories came rushing in.

"I can tell you woke happy" she said smiling coyly and he shrugged, she had no idea.

" Look, we're good for each other. I understand you very well and you seem to really see me, like the real me."

A frown was starting to form across his brows, what the hell was she talking about?

She reached over and smoothed away the frown. "It's okay, I know you're scared, I'm scared too. All this is new and scary."

"What the fuck are you talking about.?"

"I love you Gabriel and I know you're starting to feel the same way about me to."

"About you or your friend?" He wondered why he even said that but it was worth it.

An ugly snarl formed on her face so that he wondered why he had ever considered her pretty. "You can stop thinking about my friend, she's gay." The dealer spat. "The only reason I brought her here is because she gets her kick out of feeling jealous, it turns her on."

"And demeaning other women turns you on?"

In an instant, she went from being angry to playing the coquette. " Well you want to know something that turns me on?" She ran her finger through the length of his body. "You do."

He sighed and ran hand through his hair. "You know what Susan "

"It's Sharon!" Her eyes already held unshed tears.

"Sharon. You can go now. I bet you're friend would be happy to see you. I want to think, I have a busy day ahead of me."

The tears spilled over. "You're such an ass hole and you deserve to burn in hell. I hate you I hate you more than I've ever hated anyone and you don't even deserve a chance at love."

Gabriel shrugged. "That's what I thought." But he was not thinking about her, he was thinking about a certain dark haired woman.

"I hate you!"

" You've said that before."

The dealer burst into tears and he was not sure if they were even real or part of an act. She got up and tried to wrap the duvet around herself to hide her nakedness but he held on to it. "I've already seen you naked before Sheila, several times."

She got off the bed, a look of pure hatred on her face as she walked out of his room. She must have been trying to act dignified but he could see how small being naked in such a manner in front of him made her feel. He shrugged maybe she should taste a piece of the medicine she had been feeding the other woman, what annoyed him was the fact that he could still bring her to his bed that morning and she would come willingly, all he had to do was show the tiniest bit of attraction.

When he was sure the two women had gone, he got up, showered and dressed. He had another long day ahead of him.

Chapter 6 Preview

Maya was scared, filled with emotions she couldn't name, her body reacting in ways she couldn't understand. Why did only the mention of the name Gabriel send her heart racing and start a fire in the pit of her stomach, stirring feelings she had never felt before.

Her father had called her a whore when she had looked twice at another teenager when she herself had been a teenager. She had felt angry then and rightfully so, it had given her the self determination to beat her father's white room torture. Now she wasn't so sure, was this what it meant to be a woman of low morals to want the body of a man on top of her's, doing things to her that no one had done before, a man she barely knew.

In her minds eye, she saw him. The way he had been at the arena the focus in his gaze, the rhythm in his moves. He had obviously not needed to stay focused in other to beat all his opponents, even a dummy could tell he was the better fighter yet he had fought with a concentration she had never seen before.

The ringing of an alarm jolted her from her reverie, it was coming from somewhere in Rachel's room. She looked at the clock by her bedside, it was five o'clock.

She had been living in the policewoman's house even though her house had been cleared by the police and she was free to go back yet she didn't want to go home, not yet.

She wasn't ready to face her nightmares, to stand in the same house where her mother had been brutally murdered by her own father. There were to many memories, memories she wanted to lock up somewhere in the recess of her mind.

Her father had hated birthdays, he had simply ignored her's or he had forgotten her birthday but he hadn't spared her mom and each day that would have been a day of celebration in other families had been a horror in her own house.

Her father had always locked himself up with her mother in their room and she had always ended up needing ear plugs and very loud music to block out her mother's screams.

Somehow in the last few days she had felt free, from being herself, from the horror story that was her life. She had felt emotions that she had never felt before, she had even made a friend. Even though she knew Rachel was only putting up with her out of pity, the policewoman was still the closest thing she had ever had to a friend.

She got out of bed and took a shower, she was going to have to face her fears and move back into her house and like her English teacher always said, there was no better time than the present.

"Good morning beautiful." Rachel said as she stepped into the sitting room, she was already in her uniform.

"Good morning Rachel." Maya smiled, trying to be brave. "I'll be going back to my house today."

Rachel looked concerned immediately. "Are you sure you're ready for that, you know you can remain here as long as you want."

Maya sighed. "I know. It's just that I'm going to have to go home one of these days."

"It doesn't have to be today you can stay here for a month or two, until we're sure that"

"Sure that what." She shook her head, a bit confused. "What are you trying to tell me Rachel."

Rachel sat down gently. "He has been granted bail, a thousand dollars but we all believe he can't afford it."

Maya suddenly couldn't breathe, her breath was coming out in whooshes and she couldn't draw in enough air. She tried to concentrate. She had not snitched, her father had no reason to punish her but deep down, she knew he did not need any reason. He had been in jail, he didn't like that and that was reason enough to want to punish her, he could even throw in the fact that she had not come to visit for good measure.

She felt Rachel's reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Breathe." Rachel was saying and gradually, she forced in air into her lungs and forced it out again.

"Like I said earlier, you don’t need to go back there, not today"

Maya shook her head slightly, dread written all over her face. "Yes Rachel, I do have to go back."

Chapter 7 Preview

With the tournament drawing closer the arena got more busy, many crews practiced in the arena for want of better rehearsals space, others challenged people randomly, beating and getting beat, learning new tricks and teaching old ones.

Maya arrived wearing her mask again, she couldn't let anyone know she was a woman, she wondered how they would react if they found out. Obviously, they would not be very pleased. She shuddered to think what a multitude of men who were not pleased with her might do, her father served as the only example she could come up with in her mind.

"Still feeling embarrassed?'' Maya turned to find who had spoken and saw Bryan.

"Embarrassed? I don't understand what you're talking about." Maya was momentarily confused.

He pointed. "Your mask. You're still wearing it."

She shrugged for want of something to say.

The weather was clouding like it was going to rain and a few bouts of thunder had already waltzed through the atmosphere. Many people crowded into the building and not for the first time, Maya noticed just how many people assembled on a daily basis at the arena simply because they loved to dance or fight, she didn't know the difference anymore.

"Want to go inside?" Bryan asked.

"Sure." Maya shrugged and followed in his wake then she realized what he was saying.

"You seem to be here because you want to prove a point to yourself and I don't know what that is but it's obvious you don't belong here, I mean, I'm not trying to be mean but look around you, what do you see?"

All Maya could think of as the tears clouded her vision was that boys didn't cry. She tried to do as she was told and looked around. All around her, she saw men of different ages, sizes and races but one thing was common among them, they were all doing what they loved most with utter abandon. She choked down her sobs and answered Bryan with the clearest voice she could muster. "This is my home now Bryan, I cannot go anywhere from here."

Bryan sighed and she saw him pull at his hair from the corner of her eye. "Look Buck though I have a feeling that's not even your real name. You cannot really call this home, firstly you're more of a dancer than a fighter and secondly if this were home to you, you wouldn't be wearing that mask. You're built small, what would you do when the bullying comes because trust me, you're going to attract nothing but bullying with the way you stick out like a sore finger."

"So what's your point!" Maya cried out in exasperation, she didn't care anymore about the tears that were freely flowing down her cheek, mingling in and out of her mask.

"Wooh!" Bryan was momentarily shocked, being faced with feminine tears was a horror many Men liked to avoid but being faced with tears from another man was something he was totally unprepared for. "I'm sorry Buck but I lost Gabriel said you could join if I could beat him, I didn't "

"Would I be accepted here if I did this?" Before Bryan could understand what she meant, Maya tugged at her mask and pulled it off.

Bryan drew in a breath as he watched rich curls tumble down a face that was so exquisite, it belonged only in paintings, falling down to her waist then she dug her hand beneath her shirt and pulled out the binders she had used to bind her breasts.

Bryan watched the under formed youth standing before him transform into one of the most beautiful women he had ever come across. "I'm not sure if this helps you're case." He said huskily

"Well at least, we've started getting real around here." They both turned at the sound of Gabriel's deep voice and Maya found herself pinned down by piercing blue eyes that held her with their unfathomable gaze, she could give her right arm to be able to read his mind at that moment.

"Follow me Buck." He said the name with obvious mockery. "We have a lot to talk about."

Maya felt the menace in his words even as she felt heat rush up her neck, she had no idea why she was blushing as she followed Gabriel meekly to a room that looked like an office, praying silently to heaven that he wasn't as experienced as her father in punishment.

Chapter 8 Preview

Gabriel had finished work that day and headed straight for the arena, with only one thought in mind to submerge himself totally into the world of rhythmic fighting as his emotions got lost in the wordless melody of the South American musicians.

Work that day had been typical, so typical he had started to wonder at the pointlessness of his world. The editor of the Daily times had called to ask for his permission to publish some article about how the Di Marco family had been immigrants.

Gabriel hadn't given his permission but the fact that the editor had had to ask for his permission before he okayed an article in his own paper was ...... why couldn't people just stand up for what they believed in, didn't all the journalist have some code of honor or something.

All it had taken to buy the editor had been a mere hundred thousand dollars. And then there had been Sam.

He had remembered her name because he had been fond of her, he had imagined what it would be like to have sex with her, had in a way looked forward to it, then she had appeared in his office, horny, dressed like a hooker and not wearing any underwear.

It had been the easiest sex he had ever had and something about it left him feeling hollow even though they had had a so called happy ending.

He had drove over to the arena in his silver mustang, exceeding the speed limit, feeling the need for a bit of danger something a bit on the edge of the unknown but breaking the speed limits in New York was already old territory to him.

He had parked his car at his usual parking spot and jogged up into the arena when he spotted the scrawny masked kid talking with Bryan.

Something about the kid irritated him but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, probably had to do with the cowardly way the kid continued to wear his mask each day to the arena.

He had already told the boy that he couldn't join his crew and he knew the kid would not be accepted elsewhere yet the boy had continued to show up doggedly, he was even taking lessons from Bryan, and each time he came in his oversized shirts and his mask.

Gabriel had been walking over to them with one goal in mind, to put an end to the boys hopefulness and finally send him away then to face his crew and grill them in a way he had never done before when he noticed the boy crying.

Disgusted he had wondered what would make a man who claimed to be over eighteen cry in public when the boy had tugged at his mask and pulled it off and in one breathtaking moment, he had watched as the rich curls of the woman he had once fantasized about tumbled out of their confines in the most beautiful and dramatic way he had ever witnessed.

For the first time in his life, he had been speechless. The woman dug her hand underneath her shirt and pulled off a tape and Gabriel watched as the gentle swell of her breasts pushed out against her oversized shirt.

He felt heat rush to his groin and a strange feeling of anger at the effect of the woman on him even though he knew she wasn't even trying to impress.

Ignoring feelings he couldn't understand and focusing on one emotion that characterized him anger, Gabriel walked over. "Well at least we've started getting real around here." Both Bryan and the woman turned at the sound of his voice. "Follow me Buck, we have a lot to talk about." He did not bother to mask the sarcasm in his voice but turned and matched over to the room he kept organized for the sake of minor paper work.

Letting her in, he turned and shut the door and then on an impulse, he locked the door and put the key in his pocket.

"You better start talking."

He watched arousal and something else briefly pass over her face then she squared her shoulders. "You can't make me."

"Really?" He asked quietly, so quietly it would have been easy to miss the steel in his voice but she didn't. He walked closer, slowly yet precisely. He was taking his time to get to her and for some reason, Maya imagined what the last thoughts of a deer was before it was taken by a wild cat.

Standing so close to her so he could feel the slight tremors that came from her and she could feel the heat of his body, he raised a strand of her hair, marveling at how soft it was. "Are you really going to wait till I make you, because " his voice dropped a notch lower. "I'm ready to do just that." He nibbled at her ear and felt her tremble. "So what's it going to be, Buck?"

Maya drew in a breath and tried to steady her heartbeat, while her body was racked by different emotions she had never felt before. She felt threatened by the man standing in front of her and yet she wanted to bury herself in his arms, like that was the only place she could even feel safe. "You can't m make me." But even to her own ears, it came out weak, with a hint of questioning not as a bold statement.

Gabriel laughed mirthlessly. "Do you really want to fight me Buck? Have you not yet realized that I never loose?"

Confusion added to Maya's jumbled up emotions. "What do you mean by fighting you Gabriel?

I don't understand."

He traced the bottom of her lower lip and felt her tremble again, stirring something primal in him. "You don't want to do this pretend I can't make you do whatever I want. That I can't make you singing your entire history to me including why you want to fight and in the next moment have your beautiful thighs spread over this desk, naked and screaming my name."

Maya tried not to picture herself the way he had just said but failed. Somehow even though she still stood in front of him fully clothed, she felt like she was naked with her legs spread open for him just like he had said. He had that effect over her. "I would fight you Gabriel if you fight fair."

Gabriel drew in a ragged breath. "I never fight fair." But even though he felt aroused and angry at the same time, there was something so fragile about her and for the first time, he felt the need to protect, he wanted to protect. There was something so doe caught in the headlights about her that was endearing and strangely provocative. He stepped back a bit. "Okay Buck, what are the rules."

Maya drew in a breath, surprised at her victory. She relaxed a bit as her cheeks dimpled in a reluctant smile. "First of all Gabriel, my name is Maya and it's simple, give me a month and if I can beat you, I'm in the team, just like I said earlier but there's a clause."

"What's the clause Maya?" Gabriel asked, surprised at how he could go from suppressed frustration to easy going banter with just a flash of her smile.

"You're going to have to teach me."

Chapter 9 Preview

Maya was listening to a recording of one the South American musicians at the arena when her door bell rang. Excited, she rushed over to open the door, Rachel had become a very close friend over the past few weeks and she looked forward to seeing her. The smile died on her lips as she opened the door and stood face to face with her father.

"Is this were I ask if I can come in." He said with mockery written all over his face.

Maya stepped aside immediately. She wanted to say she was sorry but when she opened her mouth, no words came out.

Her father stepped into the house and looked around then without warning, he turned and struck her viciously on her cheek with his open palm. Maya felt her breath leave her in a few seconds as the ground rose up to meet her.

Her father was smiling down at her. "Good, you didn't even cry out, I've trained you well." He bent down and yanked her up by her hair. "I'll ask only once, who were you expecting."

Maya tried to answer but somehow each time she opened her mouth, her breath came out in gasps and she couldn't make a single coherent sound.

Her father smiled. It was one of the usual smiles he had on when he was thinking up a new punishment. Maya could feel hopeless tears burn her eyelids as she shut them against the reality of the pain she was about to face. Somehow her father's torture had been a little bit more endurable with her mother present, it was like her mother lent her silent strength but now, it was just she and her father in their depressing little apartment and she was left totally to his mercy.

"Maya, I know what you need, just a little motivation right? Then you'll tell me without my asking."

Again she opened her mouth to speak but she was unable to make a coherent sound, her teeth chattered uncontrollably as she shivered violently.

Her father's teeth flashed again, the crazy grin stretching into a full blown laugh. "You leave me no choice Maya." His voice was the sing song voice of a crazy ecentric.

He dragged her over and tied one of her hands to a rope that was dangling from the ceiling, leaving her other hand free, he gagged her mouth with a clothe that smelled of petrol then he left the sitting room and came back with a shredded cable that he plugged into a sucket. "Buddy of mine told me about how the police used to do this in his country, brilliant people you know the police.

They visited me always, probably cause they wanted to ask some questions." His voice slurred. "But my buddies they said: hey Jeff, haven't you got any family no one has visited you since you came in. I said yeah I've got.

I've got a useless daughter that don't care." He lifted the improvised whip and struck her and through the excruciating pain, Maya tried to scream through the gag on her mouth but even as the pain from the shredded cable threatened to break her, the stench of petrol suffocated her.

Maya woke the next day curled up on the floor with the stench of urine invading her nostrils. She tried to sit up but her bones felt like jelly. Reaching out her arms as she looked for something to support her weight, she felt the wetness of her trousers and understood where the smell of urine came from, she had passed out in a pool of her own urine.

She missed her mother at that moment, they had always had each other after each of her father's gruesome torturing and if her mother had still been alive, her mother would probably have helped her to a bath, a hot meal and would have assisted her to a bed where she would rest better, all the way crooning Bob Marley's 'three little birds.' Her father usually left them alone then, as if he knew they needed some kind of support system after each bout of torture in other not to fall apart.

Maya let her tears fall freely as the pain of her mother's death threatened to engulf her. Unable to muster the strength to stand up, she dropped back to the floor in a semi faint as she felt the darkness close in on her, even though it was around eight o clock in the morning.

At eight o clock in the morning, Gabriel was attending a business family meeting. It was actually called breakfast but Gabriel knew Marcus Di Marco would not call at six am in the morning to order his son to fly over to California all the way from New York and in the morning just because he wanted to have a family breakfast.

His mother was seated beside him looking ever elegant in a blue dress gown and his father was seated opposite him in their three seat dinner table wearing a traditional Italian suit.

"So Gabriel, how do you find work in New York?" His father asked as a maid cleared up their breakfast plates and served coffee.

" New York's fine, for some reason the editor of the daily times seems to be taking an interest in our family." Gabriel said casually.

"You mean besides the Omerta case?" His father asked referring to the case of the young woman who had been murdered in their hotel in New York.

"I mean that the Omerta case was part of it. I gave the editor a hundred thousand dollars and he now asks my permission before he publishes anything about us." Gabriel had his father's total attention. "Only recently, he called telling me he wanted to publish something about the immigration of the Di Marco family."

"And you obviously told him he couldn't do that." His father was not asking but Gabriel still knew he had to answer.

"I did but my point is.... I'm just wondering if the interest in our family is unique to the daily times alone or if it would be picked up by the others very soon."

" You think the interest was sparked by the Atmospheric hotels?"

"I don't know but I'll find out."

" Do that." His father said simply as he got up and placed a kiss on his wife's cheek. Gabriel took the clue and got up, allowing his father to lead him to his office.

"I want you to get engaged tomorrow." His father waived his hand to stop him from speaking when he started to. "I'm not done yet Gabriel.

I want you to get engaged tomorrow but it's okay, you can break up with the lady after a few months." Marcus paused, giving his son time to ask questions.

They both knew he could have gone on explaining instead but Marcus Di Marco had always liked to pretend he was in a conversation with his adopted and only son even if in reality, he was just giving out orders.

Gabriel humored his father. "Why would I need to get engaged tomorrow sir?"

His father nodded as if he had been expecting the question. "Jean St. James he's the owner of the Atmospheric hotels and suites at New York. He's building one here at California too and threatening to build one at Iowa, Montana, Georgia, Ottawa, ever state we have a hotel and in the same city too."

"And if I get married to his daughter he'll stop?"

"Engaged. If you get engaged and pretend to want to marry his daughter, he promises to stop.

He said he just wants to be accepted into the aristocratic circle whatever that means."

"Aristocratic circle! Is this the fifteenth century or what."

His father laughed, one of the rare times he showed an unguarded emotion. "He seems to think we get our guests at the hotels because of our clout and level of influence in the society and he wants a piece of the fame, he thinks he'll get that by getting his daughter engaged to you even if it's for just a few months."

"And we just dance to the tune of his demands?"

"He's threatening to get the media to rehash certain things that are not good for our publicity, we don't need that."

"And instead of fighting, we give in?"

"We don't fight Gabriel, we fuck him up, appearing to give into his demands would give us the time we need and while he's still gloating over his supposed victory, we fuck him over."

Gabriel smiled slowly, danger creeping into his eyes. "You have yourself a deal Father."

Gabriel had flown back to New York feeling strangely excited, he was surprised to find out he was looking forward to the scheme. He picked up Ms St. James, a small curvy brunette at the Atmospheric hotels and flew with her to his for their first date.

As Gabriel sat opposite Laura St. James in a candle lit corner of his dinning lounge, he felt mildly amused, Laura sat with her hips slightly curved towards him, no doubt to accentuate their fullness, she was sucking from a straw, her eyes dim with obvious desire and she was looking at him. No doubt she was her father's daughter as he was his father's son and yet she seemed to believe that not only her father but she as well had him where she wanted him.

"You look quite lovely today Laura." Gabriel said not bothering to hide the huskiness in his voice.

"And what are you going to do about that?" She asked, slowly tracing the rim of her glass with the tip of her tongue.

Gabriel raised a brow sardonically. "I see the lady is no lady at all." He got up slowly and walked over to her, watching her eyes get heavier with emotion.

"This is what I'm going to do Ms.

Laura." He brought his lips slowly to her's, skimming over them lightly so that she pressed her mouth to his, trying to capture his elusive lips but he remained just a bit out of reach he bent his head and whispered to her, further addling her brain. "When was the last time, a Man took out time to kiss you Laura, when was the last time you actually made love instead of just having sex?" All Ms St.

James could do was to moan and attempt to draw him closer and he smiled sardonically. Instead of deepening the kiss, he reached his hands into her very short dress and started working the very sensitive folds of her flesh.

In no time, she was panting and trashing about where she sat.

Ignoring her feeble efforts to draw him closer to her, Gabriel continued working on her with skilled fingers, he could feel the tension pulsating through her flesh as he slowly built her to a climax then he felt as well as watched as she exploded in ecstasy.

In the heat of her climax, he lowered his mouth to her ears "This arrangement, it wouldn't end well for you my lovely Finance." He removed his hand from under her dress and wiped his fingers on her dress. Standing up, he left her like that, trashing about in the throes of her passion, with her dress hiked up and her underwear hitched to the side when the pressmen her father had paid to accidentally stumble upon their romantic dinner date showed up and started flashing their cameras.

A little part of Gabriel's mind told him Laura hadn't deserved such treatment but then he had seen the look in the little bitch's eye a few minutes ago, she had thought she had him pegged.

Part of what had angered him, spurring on his heartless treatment had even nothing to do with her and everything to do with the fact that he had gone to the arena that evening, hoping to see Maya, had actually looked forward to seeing her again, teaching her to fight but when he arrived, she had stood him up.

He had waited even after everyone had gone home and the musicians packed up their gear, yet she hadn't shown up. In his anger, he had driven over to pick up Laura St.

James, planning to drawn his feelings for Maya in her welcoming embrace and then the St. James lady had looked at him with the expression she had on her face a while back and Gabriel Di Marco changed his plans.