Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
ARMAN
I could stare at this woman all night. I’m aware that I should put the phone down and give her some privacy, but she is so cute when she’s angry.
It’s as if I’m there with her as she settles down to watch the television program and I observe her with all the fascination of a man studying animals in the wild.
Now she is dressed it doesn’t seem so bad and I love her pleasure as she laughs along with the show, while growing steadily drunk from the bottle of expensive wine that she probably isn’t used to.
I note the brightness in her eyes and the flush to her cheeks. The way she chews her bottom lip and runs her fingers through her hair.
Her eyes are half closed and she is struggling to stay awake and even when she loosens her grip on the bottle and the contents spill to the ground, it doesn’t matter.
She falls asleep one hot mess and I have never seen anything as beautiful in my life.
She may be messing up my home, but I have staff to take care of that. It won’t be evident when they have finished, and yet the memory of this will never fade. It’s seared on my mind and branded on my soul. Watching Gabrielle lose her shit was a fascinating experience. Nobody ever loses control around me. I never lose control and I’m fascinated to witness her doing it first hand.
When I head to bed, she is still firmly on my mind. As my hand moves under the sheets and palms my cock, it’s her body I see. As I stroke my shaft, I imagine her pretty face and, as I jerk off like a high school kid, it’s picturing what I want to do to her, knowing that day will come sooner than she thinks.
Yes, tomorrow night I won’t be attending Burning Roses with one of their paid escorts who all answer to the name Iris Mahoney. I will be attending it with my own escort and, like my father, there will strictly be no sharing involved.
When I wake the next day, it’s later than usual and that surprises me more than anything. I don’t sleep much. Hardly at all because there are always a million thoughts on my mind of what I need to do. It’s always business. There is nothing else in my life, but when I drifted off to sleep last night, it was planning a different kind of business proposition.
I eat alone on my roof terrace, my chef having already prepared my preferred dishes. As I gaze over the skyline, I resist the urge to check in with my visitor. Luka’s phone is on the table and I try everything possible to ignore it.
However, I fail miserably and can’t resist opening the camera to see what my guest is doing now.
I scroll through the various feeds and then I find her, face down in bed, the silk sheets barely covering her shapely ass. Her hair is draped across one side of her neck and her arms are hugging the feather pillow.
She is sleeping like a baby, as if she hasn’t a care in the world and for the first time in my life, I have a strong desire to be beside her right now.
I hear footsteps and press ‘end’ as Luka drops into the seat before me. His eyes drift to the phone and his amused grin doesn’t help my temper.
“What are you so fucking happy about?” I say irritably and he shrugs.
“A warm day in New York always puts me in a good mood and you will be too when I tell you what Nikolai did last night.”
I raise my eyes and he laughs softly.
“He had a visitor.”
“At the Ritz?”
“Yes.”
He reaches for the coffee pot and says as he pours, “Marsha Steele.”
I say nothing, but my mind is racing.
“She’s here?”
That surprises me because the last I heard, she was in London and Luka nods as he takes a sip .
“She left this morning. A definite walk of shame if ever I saw one.”
“She spent the night with Nikolai?”
This is news because I never saw this one coming.
“Do you think she knows Gabrielle is in New York?”
“Undoubtedly. You see–”
Luka grins. “Marsha is good friends with a woman called Michelle Jackson. She runs an escort service, although not as high class as Burning Roses. The hotel that Gabrielle was working in provides pretty girls when they were fired with no prospects and desperate. She would have been informed of Gabrielle heading her way from her contact at the hotel, Mr. Reese.”
My anger swirls inside me like a bubbling volcano when I realize where Gabrielle was heading.
“Then we removed her from a bad situation.” I say thoughtfully, and Luka nods.
“It also appears that this wasn’t Marsha’s first meeting with Nikolai. We tapped into their conversation and it was surprising.”
Thank God for Luka because he uses technology like he uses women, with no regard for morality, and I laugh softly. “And?”
“They are lovers. Long-standing lovers and after a quick check on dates and schedules, it appears they visit the same cities at the same time.”
“So you think he was in London to meet with Marsha?”
“It’s probable.”
“But that doesn’t mean they weren’t involved in my father’s murder.” I remind him, and he nods thoughtfully.
“They are connected in more ways than one.” He grins at his own innuendo.
“So, Nikolai and Marsha are lovers who go way back.” I reach for my phone .
“I’ll feed the information back to my brother and give him something to work with.”
Luka nods as I press call and as always, Titus answers immediately.
“Arman.”
I waste no time and fill him in and a long pause is my reward before he says, “This is interesting information. Do some more digging tonight. Alcohol has a habit of loosening tongues and you must become their fucking best friend if you are to learn what’s really going on.”
My heart sinks because I know exactly what I’m required to do and prostituting myself for my family is just business, after all.
Whatever it takes.
That’s always been our motto and I’m beginning to hate it now.
I even contemplate sending Luka in my place. This is right up his sadistic street and yet I know this is one problem only I can solve.
“I’ll keep you informed.”
I cut the call because there is nothing left to say and lean back in my seat and reach for a cigarette.
“I thought you gave up.”
Luka says flippantly as he offers me a light and I exhale a smoke ring and say casually, “I had.”
“It’s that bad.” He shakes his head. “If it’s any consolation, the escort is easy on the eye.”
“Oh yes.” I flick the ash into the potted plant and grin.
“Change of plan.”
He raises his eyes and this time I smirk.
“Bring me Gabrielle Adams, suitably dressed, to the lobby at seven-thirty. She has no choice.”
Luka laughs softly and his eyes settle on his phone as he grins. “It will be my pleasure.”