United and Dangerous by Cherie Benjamin (the speed reading book .TXT) 📕

When they finally came up for air, he glanced over at David, who looked like he was going to be sick.  That’s right fucker, she is all mine.

"Was there anything else we can help you with, Mr. Grant?"  Kane asked.

"Um, no sir, that was it.  I will be in touch."  David said and quickly left the office.  He was going to have to come up with something else to get to her.  However, he was not going to stop, because, in his heart, he knew that she would be his and he would go to any lengths to make that happen.

Once David left the office Kane and Ara, picked up where they left off before lunch.  Yes, it was going to be a spectacular night.

Kane and Ara were in the back of the SUV on their way home after a long day at the office.  Ara was resting her head on Kane's shoulder and enjoying the moment of calm; the only the sound was the rushing traffic as it flew past them.  She couldn't believe their good fortune; the members of the two families were very receptive to the merger.  It was truly a happy day.  She wasn’t so naïve as to believe that there would not be more hurdles to jump before they could declare a victory.  Her mind drifted to the countless people whose employment was in jeopardy due to the merger.  How would the women who were used by the Morotti for their prostitution ring going to survive?  Most, if not all, of them had no job skills, no families, or had cut off ties to their families due to the shame of their position as prostitutes.  Ara had been lucky to have a friend like Katrina, who had helped her when she couldn't find a job.  As the saying goes, “There but for the Grace of God go I”.  Yes, it could have easily been her in their position.   

"Baby, what’s got you thinking so hard?" Kane questioned.  He had noticed how quiet Ara was, as well as the furrow of her brows in deep concentration.

"I was wondering what will happen to all those women who were used for the Morotti prostitution ring?"

"I guess most will look for a new pimp, and continue on as they have been; some will not make it, I’m sure."  Kane responded sadly.

"But, Kane is there nothing we can do to change their lives?"

"And what would you propose, Ara?  We will not continue to allow this family to participate in this enterprise, so what should we do?"  Kane asked earnestly.

"I want to help them get out of that business and start them on the right path." Ara declared.

"Okay, do you have any ideas or plans in that exquisite mind of yours?" 

Ara thought for a moment.  What would be the best course of action for these women?  They needed so much, but where to start was the million-dollar question.  However, she knew the answer, start with the basics, and go from there.  The first thing was housing.

"Kane, I would like to find a place to house the women.  We need to have them looked over by our doctors to ensure they don't have any illnesses, mentally as well as physically.  Then, I would like to offer them some training programs that can assist them in finding a new future.

"But, what do you see them doing?"  Kane was in awe of Ara’s compassion, but he needed a clearer picture of exactly what her plan was.

"I think that we should offer our help in reuniting them with their true family if they so choose.  If they can't/won’t go home, or have another home, we can evaluate and train them for jobs in our legal businesses.  Solar Eclipse is going to need a huge employee base and I can see many of these women working there.  Shit, I wish Brook was part of the family; I know she would be great at helping us with the women."

"Well, as you know, since she is not married to anyone within the family, we can't give her access to information concerning family business."  Kane said, looking up to the front of the car where Erik was sitting with Ben.  He knew that Brook had captured the big man's heart; it would only be a matter of time before the wedding bells would be ringing for them. 

Erik heard the conversation between Kane and Ara, it warmed his heart that Ara thought so highly of Brook.  Oh, his sweet Brook, how he loved her.  Over the past month he had come to love her not only been in his playroom, but also in their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend.  Brook gave off an impression of confidence, when, in truth, she was not as confident as she should be.  She loved spending time with Erik doing nothing special, just enjoying their time together.  The only downfall Erik could discover was that she couldn't cook to save her life.  Hell, she could burn water.  However, he did not mind; fuck, they could always order in or even hire someone to do the cooking.  She was the one for him; now that he knew that she had an opportunity to assist Ara in helping the women that were used so vilely by the Morotti, he knew he needed to push up his timeline of proposing to make it happen.  He had already planned to propose, but the sooner he did, the more it would benefit everyone.

Ara went on to tell Kane everything that popped into her head; in the end, she had designed a brilliant plan to get the women off the street and back into the working world.  They would turn one of the warehouses they owned into apartments for the women and have someone in the family stay there most of the time as a type of resident assistant.  Ara said that since some of the women would be working at Solar Eclipse that they would need to be educated about the BDSM community, so she would have Rosa come in and hold instructions on how to behave in front of Dominants and submissives while working at the club.  Katrina would be doing complete makeovers for the women and the family would be financing the personal needs of each, to include clothing.  Job skills would be evaluated and training would be provided, not only for the position in which they would be employed, but also to provide education for those who wished to advance in careers they may wish to pursue.  Kane was highly impressed at the thoughts and ideas Ara had developed to help the women.

Once they arrived home, Erik requested to speak to Kane alone.  One of the great features of the house was that both Kane and Ara had their own offices.  This would give them time to do things without tripping over each other.  Being married and working so close together allowed very little time to be by themselves. Having an office to call their own was a good start.  His office was done in dark oak, with large bookcase and the ceiling was done in the same dark oak.  It had a large oak desk and a high back soft leather chair.  The curtains and accents were done in a dark navy blue fabric.  A huge cream chair with ottoman was positioned beside the marble face fireplace with large mantle that held pictures of Ara.  He loved the room.

Kane and Erik walked into his office and closed the door.

"Do you want a drink?"  Kane asked.

"Sure."

Kane poured two tumblers of Jameson and sat down at his desk.  "Okay, what is it, Erik?"

"Kane, I need a few days off."  Erik muttered.

"Erik, you know how critical this time is.  What is so important?"

Looking down at the glass in his large hand, Erik brought it to his lips and drank the entire glass.  "I am going to ask Brook to marry me and, if she says yes, I am taking her to Vegas and doing it right away.  I want to start my life with her as her husband as soon as possible.   I know this is bad timing, but, Kane, I want, no, I need to do this."

Kane drank the amber liquid in his glass, smiling all along.  "Well, I guess we can make other arrangements.  Go get her."  Kane chuckled.  "Oh, and Erik, you can use one of the jets."

Erik jumped to his feet and ran toward the door, stopped, turned around, and ran back to Kane before he shook his hand.  "Thank you, Kane, wish me luck."

"You don't need it, but good luck." 

Erik quickly left the estate and rushed to Brook's apartment.  He had the ring in his pocket, which he had been carrying around for over a week.  Ringing the doorbell several times, he took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves and his pounding heart.  Brook answered the door in a pair of yoga pants, T-shirt, no makeup, and her long, beautiful hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, but, to Erik, she never looked more beautiful.

"Erik, sweetie, what is wrong?"  Brook asked as she looked at the unusual look on his face.  Gone was the strong, confident man she knew and loved.  In its place was fear; what had happened to cause this?

Erik dropped to one knee right there in the doorway of her home and reached for her hand.  He couldn't and wouldn't wait one more second to ask.  "Rosie, baby, I love you more than anything else in the world.  You have accepted me for all my faults and showed me what true love is all about.  I don't want to spend one more day without calling you my wife.  Will you marry me?" 

Brook gasped, bringing her hand to her opened mouth.  He wanted to marry her.  Brook loved him so deeply; the thought of spending the rest of her life married to this wonderful man was simply wonderful.  Her eyes brimmed with tears of joy as she tried to calm herself to answer.  Looking down into his baby blue eyes, she whispered her response.  "Yes."

Erik heard the whispered word that would change his life forever.  He jumped to his feet, picked her up, and twirled her around, causing her to giggle.  "Thank you, baby."  Finally, setting her down, he reached into his pocket, pulled out the two-carat pear cut diamond ring, and slid it onto her dainty finger.   "Come on then, let’s go."  Erik said as he grabbed her now adorned hand.

"Erik, wait, where are we going?"  Her emotions were jumping all over the place.  The excitement of being engaged to this wonderful man, and now he was pulling her out of the house.  Where were they going?

"To Vegas, baby.  Like I said, I am not spending another day without you being my wife.

Brook was shocked, but knew that she, too, didn't want to wait.  However, she was not dressed to go to Vegas and