Chapter 6 Harrison
HARRISON
Alarm bells go off in my brain.
At Bianca’s words, I want to open my window and chuck this little teapot as far as I can from my house.
Chet? Chet?
Alissa told me under no uncertain terms that Chet was not to be trusted. He gave them the riddle that led to them finding May’s head, but then he turned around and betrayed them when they were ransacking Rouge’s office. He’s the reason they starved for a month at the Caterpillar Hotel.
Still… he’s not the only unusually tall person in the city of Chicago.
Anyone could have planted the music box. It might not even be the valet driver at all.
Mr. Night seems to be on our side. He recognized me when I was masquerading as the Ace of Clubs and didn’t reveal me.
“It might not have been Chet, though,” I say. “It could be another Aces employee. Someone who’s trying to get even with Rouge. Mr. Night, perhaps. Maybe one of Rouge’s Kings, too. They’re all big and tall.”
She scoffs. “I’d trust Chet before I trust one of the Kings. They’re all devoted to Rouge. I’ve heard there’s a rigorous process through which she tests their loyalty.” She scratches her chin. “Mr. Night could be a clue, though. But he’s not tall.”
“Like I said, it might not have been the valet at all. He could just be a red herring.”
She sighs. “The music box itself could be a red herring. A dead end. It might just have been a gift to you.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Like I said, the tune is a little funky. There’s some kind of message, but I have no idea how to figure it out. Besides, the fact that it’s a teapot has some meaning as well.”
“It does?”
“Yeah. A teapot… It’s a symbol of my friendship with Maddox. The very first thing we ever bonded over was our mutual love of tea. We came from different backgrounds, but we found some common ground there.”
“Interesting. And does anyone besides the two of you know about that?”
I frown. “I don’t think so. Maddox might have mentioned it to some other people. It’s not like it was this dark secret.”
“Not like keeping human hearts in a cooler behind a toilet,” she murmurs.
I exhale sharply. “Exactly.”
She bites her lip. “I guess you’re right. It might not necessarily be Chet. It could be someone we don’t even know, someone lurking in the shadows, clearing a path for us to figure out how to bring my sister to justice.”
“Or it’s a trap,” I add weakly.
“Yes, but if this music box is our only lead, we need to follow it. If there’s any chance it will save lives, it’s our moral duty to see this through.”
I swallow. “Agreed. But again, I have no idea where to start. The tune sounds like some of the notes are wrong, and there’s a weird pause toward the beginning that’s out of time. A long note in the middle, too. And four notes at the beginning that are completely separate from the rest of it.”
“Can you play it for me?” she asks.
I wind up the teapot again, let the macabre waltz play again.
She listens. “It does sound disjointed. But I don’t know the actual song. I don’t know which notes are wrong and which ones belong.” Her eyes light up. “But you know who might recognize the tune?”
“Who?”
“Didn’t Dinah mention that Alissa has two degrees in music?”
I slap my palm across my forehead. “Shit. You’re right.”
Bianca smiles. “She might know. Do you think she’ll be feeling well enough to give this a listen?”
I nod. “I think so. Even if she’s tired, she’ll want to help. But not tonight.”
“Why?”
“I was just at the hospital. That’s how I was able to get a ride home after I left Aces. Dinah called me an Uber.”
“Right.” Her gaze falls. “Sorry I threw you out on the street with no clothes, by the way.”
I wave the concern away. “Now that I know what you discovered, it makes total sense. But Dinah told me they were both resting. We should give them the night. Start fresh in the morning.”
“That sounds good to me. Speaking of which.” She grabs my hand. “Do you mind if I crash here tonight? I feel like I’d be a sitting duck if I went back to my own apartment.”
I squeeze her hand gently. “There’s no one I’d rather have in my bed than you.”
* * *
I peel off the Clubs shorts and slip into a fresh pair of boxer briefs. Bianca’s in my bathroom, wiping off her makeup. She emerges wearing an oversized T-shirt I loaned her.
It’s the first time I’ve seen her not dressed to the nines.
And my God. She looks ravishing.
She walks over to my bed, a frown on her pretty little face. “I’m afraid I might have stained the hand towel in your bathroom removing my makeup. I should have used a black one. I’m sorry.”
I grab her by the arm and take her into an embrace. “Bianca. I couldn’t give less of a fuck about that damned towel.” I lower my head to hers and kiss her.
She wraps her arms around me and squeezes my bare chest. We keep kissing, and it deepens. It’s not too long before her tongue is probing the seam of my lips. I’m happy to let her in.
She runs it over my teeth before tangling it with my own.
But then she breaks the kiss, her cheeks flushed.
“What is it?” I ask. “Bad breath?”
“No, of course not.” She swallows. “It’s just… I shouldn’t kiss you like that. Not… Not after what I saw tonight.”
I reel her back in, kiss her forehead. “Maybe it’s precisely because of what you saw tonight that you should kiss me like that.”
She looks up at me, her mouth open. “I… I…”
“Yes?”
She narrows her eyes. “I…can’t argue with that logic.” She gets on her tiptoes and kisses me again, this time with the desperation of a woman who’s seen the unimaginable, who needs to be taken away, if only for a moment.
I’ll gladly be her guide.
Our kiss crescendos in intensity, and soon she jumps up and wraps her legs around me. I squeeze her sweet ass.
Eventually I bring us both down onto the bed and lie back. She peppers kisses over my chest, over both of my nipples, down my abdomen until she arrives at my boxer briefs. She runs a hand over the outline of my dick, sending a shiver through me.
But she doesn’t remove my undies. Not yet. Little tease.
She keeps kissing down my legs. Down my thigh, my calf. She lands on my feet, planting a delicate kiss on each of my toes. It tickles in the best way.
I sit back up and meet her again in another kiss, our mouths clashing. It’s a mess of lips, teeth, and tongues, but within the mess is perfect harmony.
Disjointed, but perfect. Like the tune in the music box.
I grab her tits through the T-shirt, squeeze them both. She moans into my mouth. I pull at the bottom of the shirt and she takes the hint, bringing it over herself and exposing her beautiful milky body.
Fuck. She wasn’t wearing any underwear under the shirt. She’s completely naked.
Completely. She’s not even wearing makeup. She wiped it off in my bathroom.
And she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
The tip of my tongue itches with the instinct to utter those three little words.
But I swallow them down. Don’t want to ruin the moment. That’s not what this is about.
I take her left breast into my mouth, swish my tongue around her nipple. She cries out as I bite down gently. I give her right breast the same treatment, and then I reach down and dip a finger into her pussy.
She lets out another moan and straddles me, kissing me again as I continue to finger her. I drill into her, again, again, again…
She shatters.
And we kiss again.
Again, again, again…
This is the most we’ve kissed in a lovemaking session. It’s the home base we return to after every new action is initiated.
That’s what I want to be for Bianca.
Home.