"Well, if you hadn't been texting while you were trying to drive, we wouldn't be in this ditch." Heather stood next to her sister and looked at the left side of Taylor's Porsche 911 Carrera stuck in a low area off the side of the pavement. "You know I want to be home when Jan get's there."

"I don't know why you get so excited."

"Because I don't have this stupid competition with her like you do and because you like coming down here to Palm Beach more than I do", Heather explained for the tenth time since the week before. "At least Jan makes this trip bearable for me."

"You might have more fun if you didn't dress like a Bohemian", Taylor said with a smug chuckle at her sister's attire. Taylor was always dressed in the latest styles. She knew that she was stunning and made sure that everyone else knew that she knew.

Heather pulled out the sides of her long layered dress. "What's wrong with how I look?" She patted the bottom of the Jamaican style beret that covered her head and hair.

"You look unwashed."

Heather's face flushed and she inhaled to yell, but instead she took a step towards the middle of the road and looked both ways then turned to Taylor. "I might look unwashed to you, but you're the one about to get your hands dirty. Hurry and get the car out of the ditch so we can go."

Brian Pronger got on his knees and let down the window. He hoisted his camera like a rifle and fired off several shots of a breathtaking view of the waves of the Atlantic Ocean lapping against the sand. Brian had already taken a couple dozen shots since the airport, but he couldn't help himself. Photography was in his blood. He was good at it, and Palm Beach, Florida had one great view after another. He finally sat down and looked at Sara who was right next to him. He was pretty sure he was getting on her nerves, but she wasn't showing it. He didn't have time to ponder before he turned again; this time to snap photos of the Mar-a-Lago resort. Jan had been wondering whether it had been the correct choice to bring him along, but as she looked at Brian she knew that she'd done the right thing.

He sat down again. This trip was already overwhelming to him, and it had just gotten started. "Jan, I don't think I've ever told you this, but you're awesome."

Jan turned to him with a smirk on her stunningly beautiful face. "I'm waiting on your smart ass comment now."

Brian shook his head. "No smart ass comments. I really mean it. I figured I'd be in Pittsburgh for New Years wasting time with some old high school buddies, and then you invited me to like the best place on earth. This is like a little slice of heaven."

"It's only getting started."

Brian took shots of the ocean and of the ocean facing houses. He was snapping pictures when the driver made a right turn into a driveway framed by hedges.

The Caufield Estate loomed in front of them. It had started out as a rather modest winter getaway when Jan's great great-grandfather had purchased the land from Henry Flagler himself. He'd bought one of the lots that stretched from Lake Worth to the Atlantic Ocean. That would come in handy later when Jan's great-grandfather J. Harrison Caufield Sr. had enlarged the winter getaway greatly. He started a trend that continued for a couple of generations until now the compound boasted a massive main house, two 5000sq ft. guest houses, and a boat house. The driver pulled the limo to the side of the main house. As soon as he put it in park, the side door of the house opened and a crew of uniformed valets came out and started unloading luggage. Brian marveled at the service. He'd never had this kind of treatment at a hotel. The men were beginning to take in the luggage when a tall man dressed in tailored slacks, a tailored shirt, Ferragamo loafers, and a Blancpain watch came out of house with a smile on his sun tanned face. He breezed out and angled towards Jan who had her back turned looking for her cell phone on the seat. He took two long strides towards her. She turned just before he managed to get his hands over her eyes. "You've been using some muscle rub", Jan said with a grin.

"Been trading ground strokes with your cousin", he replied and opened his arms. Jan walked into his hug. She loved hugs.

"Everybody this is my Uncle Ted", she began. "And these are my friends, Alisha von Edder, Sara Hewitt, and Brian Pronger."

"Nice to meet you all", he said and greeted them individually with a hand shake.

"Hey, where's everybody else?"

"Let me see here… Your cousins Taylor and Heather should be here by now, but they're probably bickering about something that doesn't really matter. Your Aunt is gone with Brice on that recruiting trip to South Bend. They'll be home tomorrow."

"Is he still looking at Maryland and Tennessee?"

"Yep and Penn State…"

Brian was awed by the house and the grounds. They were spectacular, but when he looked at Jan and her uncle walking ahead of him he got an idea. "Excuse me, Mr. Matthews, mind if I take a picture of you and Jan?"

"No of course not", Ted agreed quickly and put his arm around Jan's shoulders. He was a couple inches taller than his niece so Brian didn't have to angle his camera much to make the picture look natural. He thought he noticed a resemblance. He was usually good at spotting that sort of thing, but Ted was married to Jan's biological aunt. He must have been seeing things. He snapped a couple of nice shots, but then again Jan always made a picture better.

"Nice camera young man", Ted observed.

"Thanks. It took my life's savings to get." Brian didn't add that he'd also played in illegal poker games to get the money, and that those games had nearly cost him his life. He finally lowered the camera and followed Mr. Matthews into the house.

Brian wanted to start taking pictures as soon as he walked in. At first he was looking at the polished marble floor and then it was at the inlaid gold trim on the wood panels of the wall that led up the staircase. The house had an open airy feel, but the details were so precise and refined that Brian's brain couldn't take it all in. The bedrooms were on the second floor and every single one had a patio. Brian's opened to the south which gave him an unobstructed view of the lake and the ocean. After taking several good pictures, Brian went outside to the gardens around the house. He was sure he'd find some great scenes to photograph out there.

Jan slowly pushed open the door to her bedroom. She always stayed in this room when she came down to Palm Beach. The staff had already put Jan's luggage in the room and packed her clothes in the drawers the way she liked it arraigned. The bag with her personal effects was untouched and unopened. Jan frowned and looked around the room. It was supposed to be here. Jan looked around the bed, but she didn't see it. Just when she was about to find someone to ask, there was a knock. "Excuse me, Miss Caufield. If you are looking for the big box, I slid it into the closet. Do you want me to get someone to help with it?"

Jan smiled. "Oh no Azalea, I can get it. Thanks."

The maid knew that Jan was tall and strong, but it felt like that box was full of lead. Jan went to the closet and there was the big box that she'd mailed to herself from Maryland. Jan reached into the closet and tried to slide the box, but even on the soft carpet it didn't budge. "Umfh, that box is heavy." Jan worked her fingers under the bottom and lifted it. The muscles of Jan's long legs tightened. Her loose blouse got a bit tighter when her lats flared and her pectorals tightened, but the box came up smoothly off the ground. She could barely see over the top of it. She didn't even pause when the door opened. She hurried and set the box down.

"What the hell is in the box", Alisha asked as she walked in the room. Sara came in right behind her.

Jan tore the tape and pulled open the flaps. "It's my close contact saddle, tack, and stuff."

Both girls frowned. "You mailed your saddle down here?"

"Yep", Jan answered like it completely normal to do so.

Alisha and Sara looked at each other. "Okay Jan, why did you send your saddle down here?"

Jan grinned. "You'll see."

Outside, Brian was on a hunt. He'd noticed that many of the houses on this island had very nice landscaping, but this compound had true gardens that had been manicured and cultivated over decades. Brian had found all types of flowers and plants that created a mosaic of colors and textures. He grinned and stepped quietly off the walking path onto the thick grass. He could tell that this grass was hardly ever walked on, but this opportunity was too perfect. He brought the camera up and looked through his finder. He couldn't believe this. The sun was perfect making dramatic shadows. He slowly focused the lens and framed a shot showing a single flower on a single bush. A boat sailed into view on Lake Worth in the background for good measure, but photos weren't judge by the background alone. Brian had been waiting on the shot of the day, and he'd found it. Now if only the hummingbird would cooperate. It went forward and backwards and finally it hovered. Brian pressed the button and heard the click. So did the bird. It flew off, but it didn't matter. Brian stood up with a big smile on his face. He couldn't wait to look at these shots. He slowly made his way back to the walking path and headed towards the tennis courts. He stopped to admire the courts. Looking at the pristine surface he wished that he had brought his rackets. He continued towards the back of the estate and looked at catamarans sailing by on the lake. After a few minutes he started strolling down the waterfront enjoying Eden-like tranquility. Money might not be able to buy happiness, but it could sure buy peace. He sighed and went off looking for more good pictures, but he guessed that he wouldn't find any better than the hummingbird. He was oh so wrong.

He found a flowering wisteria thicket that his mother would love. He halted in mid movement when a silver Porsche pulled up the driveway. Brian wasn't a pure car guy, but he knew a premium machine when he saw one. His dad would appreciate that. He snapped a picture as the door swung, but then his mouth fell open. An absolutely perfect pair of long tanned lusciously strong looking legs was on full display. Brian panted like a dog, but he nearly lost it when he saw the rest of the woman who owned those out of the world legs. She was beyond Brian's ability to comprehend. She was more than simply beautiful and she knew it. She got out of her car and closed the door hard. The gorgeous driver and the passenger in a long layered dress stopped and listened for a moment. She turned and said something to the passenger who quipped something back. They were having some sort of disagreement. After a short exchange, the driver started into the house. Brian couldn't have told anyone much about the passenger because he was completely focused on the driver.

She was like an angel walking on earth. She was even wearing white. Her outfit was loose in places and tight in others with a plunging neckline, no sleeves, and an open back making sure that everyone knew that she had no weak spots, even her shape and proportions. Every part of her was as perfect as every other part. The idea of a flaw on her flawless body was like blasphemy. Brian's eyes fought each other over what to stare at first. It could have been those legs. He could see the quads tighten and loosen with each step, and her calves bunched slightly with each step. He could see this line of separation between her quads and hams. It was a sight to behold. She had a body that made him want to fall on his knees and cry. He wondered if she was as strong as she looked.

She never turned towards him, but Brian got a decent look at her face. She was a dazzling sight. She couldn't help that she'd been blessed with what she had, and she flaunted it without a care to what other people thought. She moved like she owned the very space that she walked through. Nothing short of a tank could have made her deviate even a little, and maybe not even that. Just like the overdressed passenger, Brian followed that angel in human form into the house.

The pair went up the stairs towards the bedrooms. They stopped at the first door on the right. It was partially opened. The passenger knocked softly before pushing the door open.

"Heather!", Jan called out as she jumped from the side of the bed and hurried towards her cousin. Heather came into the room and threw open her arms. They hadn't seen each other in months. Heather apologized for not being able to get back from Europe in time for Jan's birthday in November. Sara and Alisha watched as the two reacquainted.

Heather was a couple of inches shorter than Jan which meant that she was more than 5'10" even in flat shoes. Jan had told Sara and Alisha about Heather. They were prepared for her sunny attitude and her rather unique look among the Palm Beach folks, but they weren't completely prepared for Taylor. She came just as Jan and Heather were ending their embrace. Pangs of jealousy crept into both Sara and Alisha, and they weren't accustomed to that. They were very attractive in their own right. They got over it, but Taylor was more beautiful than any one person deserved to be. She had a bone structure that the best plastic surgeon wouldn't have been able to replicate with skin so soft and radiant that looked like she'd just stepped out of a commercial. To top it off, she had sparkling eyes as blue as the ocean was deep. Of course it wasn't just her face that was awesome. Her body was too. She exuded an unshakable confidence that made other people feel small around her. Which was helped by the fact that she was even taller than Jan her cousin.

Anyone paying very close attention would have noticed a genuine smile turn up Taylor's perfect lips as she put her arms around Jan. They hugged in the middle of the room. Only then did Sara and Alisha realize how much Jan and Taylor actually favored. The only person they'd seen who possessed a beauty as intense as Taylor's was their friend Jan. They were simply used to looking at Jan everyday and forgot just how impossibly gorgeous she really was. Taylor never let anyone forget. While Jan simply tolerated the attention she got from strangers, Taylor courted it.

Taylor pulled back and looked at Jan up close.  Taylor thought Jan looked great as usual, not as great as Taylor herself, but too close for comfort. "I love your cross", Taylor remarked and held up the golden cross encrusted with blue topaz.

"Yeah, Thomas gave me this for my birthday", Jan informed with a big smile.  Taylor was wearing the simple golden cross that she'd had since she was a child.  She wore it often.

"That reminds me.  Don't let me forget the present that me, Heather, and Brice picked out for you."

Jan wondered what they'd give her this year, but she put that out of her mind and took her time introducing Sara and Alisha to her cousins.  Both Taylor and Heather had heard about her friends from school before. Heather wanted to get to know them, while Taylor was content in the fact both of them were attractive enough to fit in nicely with the crowd that she ran with. She never worried about Jan, but she sighed when she looked at her sister. Heather was another story. She would have fit in at a commune somewhere.

Brian finally settled down and stopped staring at Taylor long enough to at least look at Heather. She wasn't wearing a lick of makeup, and her hat came down over her forehead covering nearly half of her face. He couldn't see her hair although he imagined that it wasn't soft shiny pristine and blonde like her sister's. He couldn't begin to make out what her body was like beneath all those clothes. She was probably trying not to compete with her sister on any level. As Brian looked at her face a little closer, he frowned. When she smiled, she could light up a dark room, and then he noticed her eyes. They were expressive and absolutely beautiful. They were past blue, almost violet. They were the first thing that Brian had seen on her that might be better than her sister. It was probably the only thing. He wondered what it was like living in a shadow as complete as Taylor's was.

After a very short getting to know you chat, Taylor looked at her watch. "Hey, Jan I was thinking about going jumping. Would you like to go?" Her tone insinuated that she didn't really care what Jan's answer was, but they both knew that she did.

"Sure", Jan replied quickly… too quickly.

Taylor started out of the room. "Great", she began suspiciously. "You can use my saddle if you need to."

Jan grinned. "No need." She reached into the big box. "I brought my own." Taylor couldn't believe that Jan had actually done what she said she'd do the last time they'd ridden down here in Palm Beach. She couldn't keep the look of surprise off her face. Heather laughed.

"Oh get off it", Taylor shot towards her sister.

"Don't get mad at me cause Jan got wise to you, Taylor."

Heather's laugh was cathartic. Taylor rolled her eyes but found it hard not to smile. "You actually mailed your saddle down here."

"Why?", Sara asked.

Jan cleared her throat and shot her cousin a look before she began, "Taylor is a champion show jumper. When we were down here time before last, I used Taylor's main saddle and I beat her because she doesn't believe in jumping without keeping score. Anyway, the last time we jumped she graciously offered to let me use her saddle again. Obviously we're about the same size and the same height and everything. I thought that was mighty nice of her considering I'd beaten her last time, and Taylor is the competitive type." Taylor hid her smile and Jan continued. "She neglected to tell me that she was going to let me use her practice saddle this time, but not her up to date practice saddle. Oh no. She gave me one from like eight years ago. I got chafed like you wouldn't believe, and I fell off twice. Well, not this time. If you beat me, it'll be fair and square."

Taylor gave Jan a look that said, 'You're on', and she turned towards her bedroom. She stopped after one step and pointed at Brian who was standing at the top of the steps. "Hey, since when did they start letting the landscape photographers into the house?"

"Taylor!", Jan pleaded. "That's my friend Brian!"

Taylor shrugged her shapely shoulders and looked sheepish for a second. "I didn't know." She extended her hand. "Nice to meet you", she said more formally than she would have otherwise.

Brian blathered and almost managed to get out an intelligent sentence. Alisha shook her head. "Poor Brian. He might not make it through the trip", she whispered into Jan's ear, but Heather and Taylor both chuckled.

Brian refused to sit atop a horse at the equestrian club. He wasn't going to embarrass himself. He just watched. Jan, Taylor, Sara, and Alisha all came out wearing traditional riding attire. They looked so proper. Heather was sort of dressed in the traditional English equestrian garb. Taylor smiled and gestured towards Heather when she saw her. "Now there's my sister. I knew you were under there somewhere", she exclaimed a bit smugly. "You finally don't look like you're homeless."

Heather spun her horse with expert skill and pointed its ass directly at Taylor's face. If her mount had farted that would have been fine with his rider, but the horse was well mannered and only once swished its tail. Taylor ignored her sister and mounted up. "So Jan what are we jumping for today?"

Jan thought for a moment. "How about if I win you have to say something nice about Heather's appearance?"

Taylor looked like she'd rather vomit. "Now I know I'll beat you." Brian didn't understand the rules much, but it looked like the girls were enjoying themselves. They were a little louder than the other people at the club, but not overly so. They were simply young women having a good time. Brian was observant enough to notice that some of the other members were getting annoyed. Normally they would have complained to management, but this club was all about legacy and seniority. Jan, Taylor, and Heather were members of a founding family of the club. The first permanent horses at this very club had come from a Caufield stable in Maryland 80 years earlier. Nobody present had a membership more senior, so they were forced to hold their tongues and put up with the disturbance.

It turned out that Heather was having a very good ride. She was neck and neck with her cousin and sister. She was riding a horse that had a skittish streak. It didn't help that Heather was rather fearless when it came to jumping. She would jump even when her stride looked off. The more she did it though, the more nervous her horse became. After a circuit, Heather took her horse to a separate practice course to keep him warmed up while the others had a go on the main course. There were other people on that practice course, people who were still annoyed with all of the activity. One of them decided to teach this young girl a lesson in manners.

There wasn't a set order for jumps in this practice area so people worked on things at their own pace. Heather was lining up for a run at a water hazard when another rider cut across her horse's narrow field of vision just as the jump began. It was the perfect way to spook this already nervous horse. It bucked and turned despite Heather's directions. She lost her grip and while several feet in the air;, she was thrown from her saddle. She tried to stay upright and fall like she'd been taught, but she couldn't. Brian saw it all happen in slow motion. He saw the top Heather's head hit the ground hard and her body bent at a wicked angle. All of her body weight and the force of the fall drove her head into the ground and compressed her neck hard. Brian thought he heard something break. He jumped over the fence and started running towards Heather.

Jan hadn't seen any of it, but Taylor had. She started towards Heather at a gallop, but before anyone could get there Heather jumped up. She turned her neck a couple of times and reached out for the horse's reigns. Brian couldn't see her face, but her body language said everything as she stalked the rider who had cut her off. She pointed and yelled something up to him. The man's face turned red then white as Heather pointed her finger and told him what she thought about what he'd done. By the time everyone got to her she had climbed back onto the horse.

"That fall looked bad", Brian managed between deep breaths.

Heather shook her head. "I've had worse."

"You fell on your head!", Brian exclaimed, still not believing that she'd gotten up without any injury.

She smiled down at him. "I have a hard head." She rode off with Taylor next to her.

Brian shook his head and looked up at Jan on horseback. "You have a tough family."

Jan smiled. "Yep. That guy's just lucky he spooked Heather's horse and not Taylor's."

"Why?"

Jan just grinned and reached down for Brian. "Come on up. You look like you'll pass out if you try to make it back." Brian looked over his shoulder. He'd run pretty far. He reached up and clasp Jan's forearm. Her long fingers wrapped around his forearm. He felt the steely power of Jan's muscles as she tensed and pulled him completely off his feet. He quickly swung his leg and ended up on the horse's back.

While Jan slowly rode Brian towards the fence, Taylor leaned closer to her sister. "What did you tell that guy? He looked ready to shit his pants."

Heather laughed even though she never liked it when her temper got the better of her. "I told him that he was lucky."

"Lucky how?"

"Lucky that he'd made me fall off and not you."

Taylor laughed and they rode off together. They ate lunch at the club sitting at a private table on a patio taking in the fresh air and sunshine. The staff was courteous and professional, but Brian felt out of place. Alisha, Sara, Jan, and her cousins were talking about foods that Brian had never eaten and about places that he'd never been to, with people he'd never even heard about. It was like they were speaking a different language. He wasn't used to this high society stuff, and it was about to get worse.

"Have you guys picked out your dresses for the party tonight?", Taylor asked.

Heather sighed then declared. "I'm not going."

"Why not?", Jan asked.

"I don't feel like it. Getting all dressed up to impress people I don't like. It's a waste of time."

"Don't try and change her mind, Jan. You know how she is."

Jan was disappointed, but Sara and Alisha were excited about going. Brian didn't know anything about this party. "Are any famous people going to be there?", he asked, a little excited at the prospect.

Taylor looked down her nose at him. "And what are you going to wear?", she asked as if any answer would have been the wrong one.

"I brought some party clothes", Brian tried to assure her.

Taylor chuckled and Jan stepped in. "It's not that type of party. This is an annual black tie event at the Montcastle's house."

"Black tie!?!"

"Don't worry. Once we leave here, I'm going to take care of it."

True to her word, after they left the club Jan took Brian to an exclusive tailor who fitted Brian in a true tuxedo. He expertly took his measurements. They took care of every single detail down to his shoes. Jan stood back a bit letting them work, but making sure everything was acceptable to her. Every now and then the tailor would look at Jan to get her approval. She'd either nod or shake her head. When it was over Brian caught up to her while she waited for him near the door.

"Man those guys were thorough, but how did the threads look?"

Jan nodded. "Not bad. Even if you're going to be wearing them."

"Ha ha. So this tux has to be ready by tonight? Every suit I've ever gotten it's taken like a month to get back."

"This isn't every suit, and this isn't every tailor shop. When they say they'll have it in time. They'll have it in time." The owner overheard and smiled. Word of mouth and reputation are the best sort of advertisement there is.

"How much does all this cost?", Brian asked after they'd walked outside.

"Enough. Did you notice that nothing in there has a price tag."

"Not until you just mentioned it."

"Well you know what they say, if you have to ask how much it cost you probably can't afford it."

Later that night Brian realized that he couldn't have afforded anything at the black tie event, not even the napkins. There was a formal dinner under the stars with live orchestral music. Brian tried to look relaxed, but he was so afraid of making a mistake in etiquette that he was almost afraid to eat. Jan and Alisha helped him through the entire process. He didn't start to worry until after dinner when a rather loose mixer broke out. People mingled and talked to old friends while meeting new people. Brian was surprised how nice everyone was even the people his own age. One of the servers brought him a virgin drink and he worked his way around the room.

Taylor was making her way around the room too getting lots of attention as always. She was wearing an elegant emerald green dress that would have made a queen jealous. The eyes of every man followed her as she walked by them. The only person taking some of her air was Jan. She was dressed in a black gown with white chiffon trim. The dress was very nice especially on her, but Taylor especially loved Jan's diamond earrings. They were the clearest diamonds Taylor had ever seen and she'd seen lots of diamonds. Jan's boyfriend must be some guy. Taylor had yet to meet him, and she wondered if Jan was keeping him away on purpose. She doubted that to be true even if it made her feel better to think it. Jan had a group of people around her. Everybody wanted a piece of the hot girl. Part of Taylor wanted to go join the conversation, but she thought better of it. She'd go and attract her own crowd without trying to co-op Jan's.

Brian was on a bit of a cloud right now. He had just gotten his first phone number in Palm Beach. The young woman was the daughter of some steel magnate, but she fancied herself a model. She was pretty attractive, and she'd heard that Brian was a budding photographer. He was fairly sure Jan had been spreading that little tidbit of news around the crowd. He'd thank her later.

"You must be the guy Jan invited down", a guy said to him.

"That's me. Brian Pronger."

"Ed Hutton." They shook hands. "So how have you liked your first trip to our little island?"

"I'll be honest. I was nervous at first. I didn't think I'd fit into this crowd, but everybody's been so nice."

Martin nodded and took a sip of his drink. "That's because you're a guest of the right people."

"What do you mean?" Brian looked a puzzled.

"You see this place is all about being inside. It's not about the money really because the people on the inside aren't always the richest. Like they Caufields. They aren't even the richest on their block, but they are insiders down here."

"So you're saying that if some other family had invited me down here then I wouldn't be getting all this love?"

Ed nodded. "You got it."

Across the way, Taylor had assembled her crowd now. Half of them were women about her age and the rest were guys. Some of the guys were practically drooling while others were trying to pretend like they weren't interested hoping that would get Taylor's attention. It just amused her, but that's what guys were for mostly. While in the middle of a sentence, Taylor looked over a guy's shoulder and saw the profile a handsome young man standing very near Jan. "That bastard", Taylor mouthed under her breath. Taylor's intense blue eyes focused in on Slater Hastings. Jan touched his shoulder and laughed at something he'd said. The rest of the group laughed too, but inside many of the men were jealous because Jan was paying more attention to Slater than she was to them. Taylor's cheeks flushed. He could be so charming when he wanted to be. "Excuse me", she told those standing near her and circled out.

Slater didn't see Taylor until she leaned behind him and whispered into his ear. "Stay away from my cousin", she warned and walked away. Slater turned and watched the curve of her body and the sway of her hips.

Taylor took a glass of champagne from a tray and walked into the Montcastle home. She didn't feel like socializing right now. She had to calm down. She went into a room to idly admire Mr. Montcastle's collection of handmade ships in bottles.

Slater smiled when he found her. He peered through the door and saw her from the side. He shook his head admiring her long lean body. Her arms were crossed while she held the champagne in one hand. She drank a sip here or there, but mostly it seemed like she wanted to be alone. He had other ideas. He pushed the door open.

Taylor turned, but the expression on her face didn't change. Her look of detached annoyance could stop most people in their tracks, but it made Slater more excited. He closed the door behind him quickly. "What do you want?", she asked turning casually to look at him fully.

"You of course."

Taylor cut her eyes at him. "No chance." She started towards the door, but Slater blocked her path.

"Where are you going? You told me to stay away from your cousin, so you want me for yourself."

That made Taylor chuckle. "You are such an asshole. Get out of my way."

"I don't think so." Slater reached out for Taylor, but she backed away. He looked at her like a jackal looked at prey. She could see his mind working behind his eyes as he imagined all the things he was going to do to her. "We're going to have lots of fun together." He rubbed his hand down her bare arm. He was impressed with the softness of her skin, but beneath that her arm was all business.

"So is this what you said to that stripper you raped?"

"What?", he asked softly and pressed forward.

"You know the one that your father had to pay $100,000 to keep quiet. How much is your father going to pay me? I don't think he'll get off with a 100k. That wouldn't even buy me a new car."

"I don't care. That's his problem", Slater told her and took a step back to admire Taylor's entire body. He reached over and locked the door. He pulled off his jacket and came towards her. Taylor looked at him in that cool way of hers.

She sighed as she made up her mind. She uncrossed her arms before downing the rest of her champagne. "You know", she began and looked Slater directly in the eye. "I think I'm going to enjoy this."

Two minutes later Taylor stepped out of the room and took a deep calming breath. She felt so much better now. She went into the hall and stopped one of the Montcastle's household staff. "You might want to clean that up." She pointed over her shoulder and walked away. The maid slowly pushed the door open and her mouth fell open from shock. There was a young man in a tuxedo lying face down bleeding from a dozen cuts on his face with a small pool of blood running from his mouth, coating the bottom of the teeth that had been knocked to the tile floor. The maid looked down the hall quickly and saw the tall young woman turn the corner as if nothing at all had happened. For Taylor, the event was pretty much over. She left, but she did stay long enough to see some of the staff fetch Mr. Hastings to the scene of his son's beat down. She chuckled as she walked past the father rushing to check on his son. Taylor hadn't beaten him too badly, nothing that a little rest, bandages, and perhaps plastic surgery couldn't fix.

I couldn't fit this into the chapter, so here's a preview of the next chapter.

Brian was jarred when he fell to the seat of his pants. He saw the light of the street lamp glint off the steel of the blade. He opened his mouth to scream her name, but he couldn't make a sound. The air had been knocked from his lungs. The man with the knife came from her left. Brian saw her long auburn hair whip to one side as she turned her head. Two men were on her right, but she charged the man with the knife. Her legs chewed up ground. Brian watched the muscles of her lower leg tighten as she pushed the ball of her foot into the ground. The power started there and worked its way up. The sculpted muscles of her core were granite hard as her fist flew. The man stabbed at her, but he was too slow. Her fist slammed into his jaw and her sharp knuckles opened a cut immediately. He stumbled, but she pressed him. The bicep muscle of her left arm flexed forcing her peak harder. Her face was an animal's snarl of effort, strength, and bad intentions as she sent an uppercut to the center of the man's face. Blood sprayed out like she'd just squashed a tomato with a sledge hammer. He went down and the knife slid from his hand.

A blow to her back put her down on the pavement face first. She rolled quickly, but the man was on her chest. This man was shorter than her nad built like a fireplug with thick arms and legs. He wrapped all ten of his sausage like fingers around her graceful neck and squeezed with no mercy. She gagged from the pressure and her eyes were open wide, but there was no panic. She took his left wrist with both her hands and held it. Brian didn't know what was happening, but he could see the muscles in her arms working. They were flexing as hard as he'd ever seen them. Her powerful chest muscles bulged as she pushed up to keep her leverage. She poured on more pressure. Her fingers had lost all color as she strained to do something.

Brian had no idea what until he looked at the man's face. He wasn't just trying squeeze the life from his would be victim. He was trying to stifle a cry of pain. Brian squinted and looked closer at the man's left wrist. It was distended. Brian's mouth hung in awe as he watched her fingers press harder forcing the bones of this man's wrist apart. The skin was forced into an unnatural look at she poured on more strength. A burst of effort made her muscles flex to their overwhelming maximum. Brian nearly lost it when he heard the crack of the first bone and the pop of the first ligament. Then another crack followed by a howl of pure pain. The man jumped off of her and cradled his broken wrist. He took a quick look at her ran as quickly as he stubby legs could carry him.

She slowly got up off the ground and pushed some of her luscious locks from her face before shaking her fingers out to loosen them. Her eyes focused on the last guy and dared him to attack. He looked around for back up, but it was just him. She took a step forward and he backed up. He wanted to run, but he was afraid because he knew that she'd catch him. And when she did--

... to be continued...

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