Prologue.5
9:56 .
I stepped into my suite. The coolness caressed my skin. White foam was visible at the bottom of the cup in my hand, which became a problem.
I discarded it on my way upstairs. When I made it up, I located the bottle of Hennessy on the counter and poured a healthy shot into the glass next to it.
The vinyl player didn’t appeal to me tonight. Instead, I unlocked my phone and began searching for the Bluetooth connection the suite provided for surround sound.
9:59 .
My screen displayed the time big and bold, reminding me I had less than a minute before Rose showed up to my door. I restarted the song I’d played in the car several times.
The lyrics were beginning to grow on me. I even memorized a few. It was a fairly simple repetition of words with a few new ones in the verses. Still, it was easy to remember.
10:00 .
I studied my phone until the digits changed. As they did so, I lowered the volume on my phone as I stalked the door with my eyes. Anxiously, I awaited the knock I’d only heard once but had somehow fallen victim to.
Knowing a lethal being who was cold-fucking-blooded on the other side was ready to suck me dry and bring me back to life by hydrating me with her built-in ocean did something for me. Did something to me .
My dick grew longer and harder, ready to bust out of my briefs as the seconds ticked away. I waited to feel her presence. Waited to be engulfed in her essence. Ready to inhale her fragrance. Ready to bask in her aura.
10:04.
My fingers tightened around the glass. Rose’s absence made little sense. I wasn’t sure if I should be concerned or combing the ballroom for her. Somehow, I knew going downstairs would be pointless. She wasn’t there. She wasn’t here. I couldn’t feel her. I didn’t sense her.
10:15 .
From one end of the second floor to the other, I paced. The drink I’d only taken a sip from was still in my hand. Too anxious to put it down, too anxious to drink it, I allowed its presence.
10:30 .
I began the grueling thought process. Decisions were always and had always been easy to come by. My decisiveness was one of the many reasons my father’s retirement happened to be my promotion. With an iron fist, I led my family to greater heights, better profits, and more legal business opportunities.
Somehow, I struggled to determine if thirty minutes was far too long to wait for someone who didn’t treasure my time. I considered tardiness a sign of disrespect.
It wasn’t tolerated. It wasn’t rewarded. It resulted in punishment of some kind. Yet, Rose’s tardiness had my nostrils flared, my balls aching, and my heart heavy.
Where the fuck are you? I questioned.
And, why the fuck aren’t you right here? Right now? With me?
10:45 .
All hope was lost. The decision was easier to make, especially with the song I was beginning to hate still on rotation. It had been drowned out until I snapped back to reality.
The fuck am I doing?
I tossed the drink back, clearing the glass. Sitting around waiting for anyone, especially a woman, was unlike me. Princeton Valentine was the only human I’d wait on hand and foot. And, even he was respectful of my time, effort, and energy.
In a minute’s time, I was out of the door, back in my whip, and pulling out of the garage. If Rose happened to come, she wouldn’t find me in my suite.
With any luck, she’d see me another night. One when she was prompt and didn’t keep me waiting.
11:21 .
I dead my engine and made my way into the house. Against my better judgment, I poured a third drink. On my way into my bedroom, I began shedding my clothing one article at a time until I was down to my briefs.
In my closet, I flipped on the light and was immediately reminded of why I’d waited. Why I’d been unable to make the decision to leave sooner. Why I’d broken my own fucking protocol for a woman I didn’t know the first fucking thing about.
The emptiness of the left side of the closet was hollowing. It twisted the dagger already in my heart.
Bare .
Hangers, empty shelves, and empty racks were accurate analogies for the emptiness I’d been experiencing for the last two years. On one hand, I was full to the brim. Life, business, and family filled one side to capacity. But, that other fucking side was bare bones.
Blood mixed with my saliva as I turned, completely disregarding what was staring me right in the fucking face. I grabbed a pair of pants from the sleepwear collection. I pulled them up over my briefs and shut off the light on the way out of the closet.
Dwelling wouldn’t change my reality. Nothing would, because I wasn’t willing to let it. That pain was too familiar to take a chance on experiencing it again.
By the time I made it to the bedroom sofa, my interest had shifted. The television was no longer in my plans. The darkness I was surrounded by suited me well.
I tipped the glass against my lips, sipping the harshness right from it. As I lowered it, the fact of the matter smacked me across my chest.
She didn’t come.
10:23.
The following day, my wheels reversed from the garage at The Mansion. Foolishly, I’d revisited. Foolishly, I’d waited twenty minutes. Foolishly, I’d kept my eyes trained on the door that never received a knock.
With my tail tucked and some unfamiliar feelings attached to the resentment I was experiencing, I exited the gates.
Each passing minute she wasn’t within my grasp, I craved her more. Any human with a decent dome would accept the neglect and push forward.
But, I was stuck. Invested. Immobile. Paralyzed. I didn’t want Rose any less than I had last night when she didn’t show. I wanted her more. A lot more.
10:18 .
Day three, I walked out of my suite, knowing she wouldn’t come knocking. The smile on my face as I slid into the driver’s seat was contradicting. Misleading in the worst way.
I was festering. I was longing. I was yearning. I was aching. I was not happy, though the upward corners of my lips said otherwise.
Where the fuck are you, Rose.
And, who the fuck are you with?
The thought of her belonging to someone else was repulsive. My stomach flipped as I imagined her legs spread, her pussy wet, and her mouth waiting for another nigga.
Our rendezvous was supposed to remain in the suite and it would, but she was making it hard for a nigga not to come and find her ass. Before believing she was purposely avoiding the suite, I needed to hear that shit from her mouth.
Because, the sadness in those pretty, dark eyes told me she was counting down the seconds we’d meet again long before we even left one another’s side.
10:32 .
I combed the ballroom on day four. There were no signs of Rose. I didn’t have to search to know she wasn’t there. It was simply a way to pass time and get my thoughts in order.
A conversation with Ariel and a drink at the bar led me to the conclusion it was best I took off for the night before my dick ended up somewhere I didn’t want it to be.
10:48 .
On the seventh day, I waited the longest without a cup in my hand or even the jacket to my suit. The day had been long and my patience was thin.
However, I still waited. And, in waiting, I began to forget all that was troubling me.
The delayed shipment was pushed to the back of my mind. The accidental fire at the plant was right beside it. The fact my youngest brother had wrecked his fourth car in sixteen months and would need three surgeries and a year’s time to heal wasn’t far behind them.
In my suite, as I did the unthinkable by continuously waiting, I collected myself. Right on the bed where my worries had gone to rest and where I’d laid her body down, I closed my eyes as the finality of my time at The Mansion toyed with me, mentally and physically.
Fuck it .
I summed up the losses I’d taken day after day, coming to wait in vain. I trashed them motherfuckers right along with the attachment to the suite and the woman who brought it to life. From the moment I saw Rose, I knew what type of woman she was. Yet, and still, I played with fire.
Slowly, my temperature lowered and the coolness of the room was acknowledged again. I pulled myself up by the bootstraps and took the stairs to the first floor.
When I entered the garage, I placed the mask on the shelf where it belonged. For a second, I lingered, thoughts in disarray, again.
“Ursula.”
A pregnant pause paralyzed me. And, then, finally, there she was.
“Yes, Mr. Valentine.”
Rose’s neglect was too fresh of a wound to let go of at the moment. Maybe I would one day, but that day wasn’t today.
Not because I was afraid of rejection, but because I didn’t believe for once I was being rejected. Rose would be back. I just didn’t have the audacity to keep waiting.
“Where is she?”
With a sigh, she responded,” Who?”
Cameras were plentiful. They knew almost every move we made. Who we were fucking. And, how much we fucked them.
They didn’t have eyes in the suite, but I’d be damned if they didn’t know what was going on in them.
“I’m no fool, Ursula, and neither are you. Where is she?”
“We don’t keep tabs on our guests outside of the establishment.”
“Then, who is she? Tell me so I can keep tabs on her my motherfucking self.”
“I’m afraid I can’t.”
She wasn’t saying shit I wanted to hear. The privacy and safety of guests were their priorities. I got that shit, but I didn’t give a fuck about the rules, the waivers, the clauses, and nothing else right now.
“How much?” I bribed.
“Mr. Valentine.”
“How much?”
“I’m sorry. I– I wish I could, but I can’t.”
Blowing out a thick stream of air from my nose, I shook my head.
“You can’t, or you won’t, Ursula? Because, there’s a big fucking difference, baby.”
“Mr. Valentine, it’s against our policies. I understand your frustrations, but our rules and regulations were clear. I even went over them before you stepped foot inside your suite. Again, I wish I could. I really do, but I can’t.”
She was doing her job. Denying me was what she was paid to do and I couldn’t blame her. But, I’d be damned if I ended the night the same way I’d started it.
I’d continue the wait, but it would be on my terms. And, when I finally caught up to Rose, she’d better hope her beauty made me forget her disobedience, because it was as maddening as she was.
“Well, what can you do?”
“Anything within these walls except give you her information.”
“Put her suite on my tab. Leave it running for as long as it takes her to return. And, when she does, call me. Call every fucking number on the extensive ass file you have on me. If those don’t work, start sending emails.”
Frustrated with her absence, I snatched open the door of my car just as Ursula responded. The only thing keeping me from undoing everything my time alone in the suite had done tonight was the fact that Clarke was never too big to find anyone I was searching for.
And, the girl with the birthmark between her index finger and thumb was on my radar. Her. Her pussy. Her presence. Her passion. I needed that shit in my life. All of it, even if only through the night.
“As you wish.”