Forced by Love

"Here. This is for you." Riley said, holding up a heart-shaped crystal necklace. It honestly was beautiful.

"W-why?" I stuttered.

"Just because." He replied, trying to put it on my neck.

"No, I can't accept that." I said, slightly pushing him away.

"No, please. Just take it. Think of it as a sign of you being my girlfriend." I glared at him. "Or the sign of you being mine. As I'm your boss. So now it's required. You have to wear it every day." He smirked.

"Fine..." I muttered.

He got behind me and moved my hair aside. He lifted the necklace above my head, then laid it against my chest. As he started clipping the necklace together, his hand lightly grazed my skin. I shivered. When he was done, the necklace now laid above my chest.

I looked in the mirror. I gasped softly. "Oh my gosh..." It was absolutely beautiful. As I gazed into the mirror, I could see Riley slowly leaning into my neck. I felt his breath on my neck. He pushed my hair aside a bit more. He pressed his lips softly against me. I shivered again.

"It looks wonderful on you. It compliments your skin..." He whispered against my skin.

Currently, we were still in the mall. People around us in the store started to stare. But as I could tell, Riley didn't notice. Or maybe he didn't care. But I did.

"Um... R-riley?"

"Yes?" He mumbled.

"I think we should go now." I said quietly.

He stopped kissing my neck and pulled away. "I guess so." He muttered.

We walked over to the counter, my head down, red with embarrassment.

"Put it on my tab." He said to the female cashier. She nodded and wrote on a piece of paper. We left soon after that.

As we walked around the mall, I played with the necklace with my fingers. Riley grabbed my hand awhile ago, so now we were walking hand in hand.

"Do you like it?" He asked, leaning down close to my ear.

"Um...uh..." I stuttered. "No...?"

"I'll take that as a yes." He smirked. I rolled my eyes.

When we all got hungry, we stopped at the food court. As I waited in line with Riley, I got out my money to pay for my share, but Riley stopped me.

"No, I got it. Put your money away." He said.

After I whined for a couple of minutes, I gave in and put my money away.

"I can't believe I'm getting paid for this..." I muttered.

Riley had gotten our tray of food and we were now walking back to the tables, where the guys were.

"Well... You're not exactly getting paid directly." He replied.

"Same thing..."

As we sat down at the tables, I noticed all the guys just got pizza. But me and Riley got sushi. My favorite. And apparently, Riley's too.

As I ate, I noticed how they ate. Yes, I know, I'm weird. I watched as they all ate differently, but oddly, also the same. As I watched Scott eat, I was expecting something more... Scott-like. Something neat... or something that somehow related to his personality or something.

But as I looked at him, he ate like... a guy. You know what I mean. A bit messy, but also sorta... neat. I knew they only ate messy around people who they felt comfortable with.

Then I looked at Riley. Exactly like the rest of the guys.

I ate my sushi in silence. I had raw salmon rolls, while Riley had California rolls. They each came in 6. As I just finished my second one, Riley asked for one of mine.

"Can I try one?" He asked.

"Sure." I grabbed one with my chopsticks and dipped it in soy sauce. "Open." I said. He complied. He opened his mouth and I fed him the sushi. I watched as he slowly chewed. "So?" I asked.

"It's actually pretty good." He said. "I usually just get California rolls. It's about time I tried something new." He shrugged.

"Oh..." I said as I grabbed another one for me.

As I looked away, I felt Riley's grip tighten around my waist. I looked up at him. He looked off in the distance. I tried to see what he was looking at. I searched the crowd. Then I saw it. Or him. He was sorta tall and handsome. But not as tall and handsome as Riley, of course. He had light brown hair and it was sorta short. His eyes... I couldn't really tell. He was too far away. I knew he looked at Riley. He was making his way over to us.

"Uh-oh..." I heard Chase mutter. I turned to him and gave him a questioning look. He signaled back to me to wait.

The guy finally made it to us. He smirked at us. He eyed everyone. Saving me and Riley for last.

"What do you want, Brian?" Riley asked the guy. Who apparently was Brian.

"Just saying hi. Hello!" He said, addressing the hello to me.

"There. You said hello. Now, you can leave." Riley said coldly.

"Riley, that's not very polite. Especially in front of a very beautiful young lady." Brian said, winking at me. I glared at him.

"Leave her alone." Riley warned.

"Why?" Brian taunted.

"Because I said so."

"That's not a very good reason, Riley. Why don't we ask her what she wants?" Brian replied. They all looked at me. This guy was really starting to get on my nerves. "What do you want?" He pressed.

"You want to know what I want?" I asked.

"Yes." They all replied.

"What I really want right now is for you to get out of my face and leave us alone." I said slowly, hoping that I didn't need to repeat myself again.

His eyes widened in shock. But then he quickly composed himself. "Ah, I see... You are quite different from the others." He said, eying me up and down. I leaned closer to Riley. This guy was really starting to creep me out. But what he said got me thinking.

What does he mean by the others?

"What's he talking about?" I whispered to Riley, just low enough so only he could hear me. He didn't reply. "Riley?" I asked him, turning to face him. He didn't meet my gaze.

"Oh... You don't know? There were others before you."

"Well of course there were other girlfriends before me." I said, hoping that he meant that. Not what I thought.

"No, not girlfriends. 'Maids'. Well as he calls them." I gulped. That's exactly what I thought. I tried to keep it cool.

"I don't care." I said, shrugging.

"You don't? I somehow highly doubt that." He said smirking. "There have been many before you. All of them his 'maids'. He always tied them down with blackmail or something. Something they need or want. He said he could provide it for them. In the end, he did. After, he 'let them go'. Some of the girls didn't mind. They were glad that he wanted them. Are you sure you don't now?" He asked me, still smirking.

"I... I don't care..." I said to him, looking him straight in the eye.

He nodded. "You are different from the rest." He looked at his wrist. "Well it looks about time that I should go. Tell your parents I said hello. Nice to meet you... maid." Then he walked off.

Well, that was stupid. He didn't even have a watch on! Wait... He just called me maid! Ass... Riley has some explaining to do. And he has to start from the very beginning.

As soon as he was gone, I turned on Riley.

"Riley, what the hell?! Why didn't you tell me?!" I yelled. They were all caught off guard.

"I... Um..." He paused, obviously thinking hard on what to say next.

"You can tell me later. At your house." I said as I turned back to my food. "Everything."

He hesitated. "Ok."

Everyone went back to eating their food. When we were done, we left the mall.

When we made it to Riley's house, I sat on his couch, waiting for him to explain.

"Well?" I said. Riley looked everywhere, but me. "Riley?!" I yelled. "Tell me now!" I demanded.

"Fine! I'll tell you. As long as the guys leave." He said, looking to them. They looked back.

"We're not leaving." Roy said. "We already know all the stories. We know all your secrets."

"Just go." Riley complained.

"What are you going to give us to go?" Chase asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Um... Twenty bucks. I think I heard the ice cream man earlier." Riley replied, pulling out his wallet.

"Damn! You know us too well." Chase said, taking the money and going outside, followed by the rest of the guys. I rolled my eyes.

They're so easily talked into. I wonder if they'll get me anything... I'm really starting to crave an ice cream taco now... mmm...

My thoughts were cut short when I felt weight sink me deeper into the couch. Then I remembered why they left. So Riley could tell me about the... others.

I turned to him. "Explain."

"Okay. So yeah. There have been... others. And I did blackmail them just to keep them with me. They were hott and it was fun having them around. They even did stuff I never told them to do. They wanted to. I know it's wrong, but I couldn't help it. It was an addiction. But before this whole addiction, I was so used to this. I grew up rich and everything was always handed to me. I liked it. But when I moved out 2 years ago, I felt totally alone. I didn't get the outside world. I didn't understand anything. So I tried. I worked hard. Everything slowly started to make sense now. But..." He glanced at me. "But... I missed the feeling of being taken care of. Of being the one in charge. So... so it created my addiction. Finding a girl I like, then try finding out what she wants most, then blackmailing her to be mine. I give her what she wants most. Then when I get tired of her, I 'fired' her. She gets to keep what I gave her that she most desired. Mostly the things that they desire mostly are objects. Things that can be replaced. So I didn't care about those. But you... You're different." I looked at him.

"How so?" I asked. He was being way too honest. It was starting to scare me.

"Well for one, I find you the most attractive to me than the rest." I glared at him. "But other than that, you're funnier than the rest. I like being around you. And the one thing you want the most is money to support you and your family. You worried about your school bill and was scared that you would have to leave. I could tell that you work hard just by looking at you. You picked something else that wasn't just some object. And I can tell that you're not shallow. So... I had to keep you. I can't let you out of my sight. You're too perfect." He said, smiling.

I sat there, gaping at him. "What a suck-up!" I said.

"What?" He asked, surprised.

"I bet you use those lines on every girl you ever blackmailed." I said as I stood up.

"I do not! I'm telling the truth!"

"Yeah, whatever..." I muttered.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda. When I turned around, Riley was right behind me.

"Woah..." I gasped. "You scared me!"

"Did I?" He asked. His entire face was serious.

"Y-yes..." I stuttered.

Why did I stutter?! I stuttered in front of Riley! Again! Oh crap!

"I'm serious, Lacey. I meant all those words earlier." He looked me in the eye. He really was serious.

I took a deep breathe. "...Ok."

"Ok what?" He asked, surprised.

"Ok, I believe you."

...Sort of...

He stepped closer to me and kissed my forehead. "Thank you." He said.

"For what?" I asked.

"For believing me."

"Then... You're welcome..." I muttered. Now, I felt guilty. I didn't really believe him. Well not entirely.

We stood like that for awhile.

"For your first time, could you hug me?" He said, breaking the silence.

I didn't reply. My arms moved from my sides to around Riley's waist. I'm surprised he actually asked that. I rested my head against his chest. I could hear his heart beating. It didn't sound right. His heart was racing. I wondered why. He sighed. My arms tightened around him. Deep down inside of me, way deep, I was enjoying this. It felt... right.

The soda I was holding, I placed it on the kitchen counter. He sighed again, and then he wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled closer to him, taking in his scent. He didn't mind. He was taking in my scent.

After awhile, his hold on me loosened. He pulled back a bit to look at me. Neither of us said anything.

His right hand traveled up my back, giving me shivers, up to my neck, tilting my head back a bit. He had this look in his eyes. I knew what they meant. He leaned his face closer to mine. I could feel his breath brush against my face. About an inch away from my face, he paused, and then pulled back. To be honest, I was disappointed. As I could tell, so was he. I guess he took the restriction on my lips quite literally.

He pulled away completely, unwrapping his arms from around me. I got the idea and let go of him.

"Sorry..." He muttered.

I gave a confused look. "Huh?"

He paused. "...For almost kissing you. I know you don't want me to." He explained.

"Oh..." I was surprised. "Thanks then, for not kissing me." I said. I was still disappointed.

I turned around and grabbed my soda off the counter. I opened it and took a sip.

**Riley's POV**

I watched as she turned around and drank her soda. I could have kissed her. Threw the stupid restriction out the window. But I didn't. She wouldn't like it if I did.

I really did tell her the truth. She's different. And I like it. I don't want her out of my sight. I just wanna hold her. She's too perfect to be flawed with this kind of money problems.

I thought back to the pool party. In the empty room. The way she kissed me. Her lips against mine. The softest lips I've ever felt. I need the softness of her lips on mine again.

Every time I look at her, I just wanna kiss her. I can never get enough of her. I can't believe she actually hugged me! I thought she would throw a fit or something. But she didn't. I hope she didn't notice me smelling her. That would have been awkward. But she smells so great.

I wonder what she was thinking about.

**My POV**

I sat in the kitchen and finished my soda. Riley sat in front of me, watching me. Eye-ing my every move. He got weird after our... hug. That was our first hug. I feel... weird now.

When I was done, I recycled the can. Throughout the whole day, this is how he was. He was so... so... over-protective. That's the best word I could use to describe it.

When Riley walked me home, he was very quiet. He didn't even try to hold my hand. He always tried.

"What's wrong?" I asked as we made it to my front porch.

"Huh? Oh, nothing..." He muttered. He avoided eye-contact with me all day.

All day, he didn't do anything. And he didn't make me do anything. He just sat there. So I had just sat there too.

The sun was just setting, so there wasn't a lot of light. But there was enough. Enough to see Riley's face. He was worried. But what about?

"No, really, Riley. What's wrong?" I said, stepping closer. I rested my hand on his shoulder. He grabbed my hand off his shoulder and held onto it.

"Nothing's wrong. Don't worry about it." He looked me in the eyes.

"O... k..." I said, unsure.

"Really. It's fine. I'll pick you up tomorrow." He kissed me on the cheek, then left. I was actually expecting to be kissed on the lips.

I sighed. I opened the door and went inside. I closed the door behind me. I walked upstairs into my room. I looked around. My room was starting to get really messy. I haven't had a lot of spare time. I decided to clean it up later. I got ready for bed. I was so tired! When I was done with my face and teeth stuff, I changed and got in bed.

I laid down on my bed, facing the ceiling.

Today has been... weird. I hugged Riley. He's so warm. And he smells so nice. I wanted, I hate to admit this, a kiss. From him. On my lips. Oh my gosh! I can't believe I'm thinking that! I can't believe I want that!

I shook my head side to side. I tried to flush the thoughts out of my head. I covered my face with one of my pillows. Even though it was just me, I tried to hide the blush that was slowly creeping on my face.

I finally fell asleep an hour later.