Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
EDWARD
What!
My eyes rise to Philippe and he shrugs as if he’s as surprised as I am.
Why would she be on a date with a male escort? As if she needs to pay for sex, every man on earth would give his left kidney to sleep with her. This doesn’t make sense.
I don’t get it.
I text him back:
Me
Are you sure?
An answer flies in:
Philippe
According to our sources.
Hmm….
What the fuck is going on here?
I glance over to them standing in the corner, Thomas’s hand is on the small of Alora’s back. He’s whispering something in her ear and she smiles up at him. Something sinister comes over me like never before, I imagine him touching her and thermonuclear rage sets in.
My body simmers as I feel adrenaline pump through my veins.
Calm down….
But I already know that’s an impossible task. I collect the drinks tray and walk back to the group. “Here you are.” I bite the side of my cheek to stop myself from saying something that they will regret.
Alora takes her champagne and takes a nervous sip; the rest of the room disappears as my eyes hold hers.
What are you up to?
Colette’s phone rings. “I have to take this.”
“Of course.” I nod. “Take your time.”
“Bonjour,” she answers as she walks out into the foyer.
Thomas’s eyes come to mine. “I didn’t quite catch your surname,” I repeat.
He hesitates and his eyes flick to Alora’s.
“Don’t look at her. Look at me, Mr. Stone,” I growl.
“Edward,” Alora whispers.
“Don’t dare Edward me. What the fuck are you doing here with her?” I demand.
“We’re friends,” Alora splutters.
“Do not answer for him.”
Our eyes are locked and I step forward. “So you get paid to sleep with women.”
“Pissed that I don’t give it away for free like you?” he fires back.
I clench my fists by my sides.
We glare at each other.
“Edward,” Alora whispers. “Stop it.”
“I’m going to ask you again. What are you doing here with Alora?”
“We are old friends.”
I step forward, bringing us face-to-face. “You need to leave before you meet your maker.”
“Edward, stop it,” Alora whispers as she looks around. “You’re making a scene.”
“Why should it bother you who Alora is with?” he fires back. “Aren’t you here with another woman?”
“A friend.”
“Does she know that?” He smiles into his drink. “Or is she here chasing her paycheck? People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, Mr. Prescott.”
I get a vision of my hand around his throat.
“We’re leaving,” Alora snaps.
“Don’t you dare go anywhere with him. I forbid it.”
“I’ll do whatever I like.”
“The hell you will.” I step forward again.
“Is everything alright here, Mr. Prescott?” My bodyguard Philippe interrupts as he steps in between us.
“Escort this man from the premises immediately.”
“I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you,” Thomas spits. “We’re leaving anyway.”
I step forward to block his way. “You lay a finger on her and I swear to fucking god,” I whisper, “you are a dead man.”
“Edward,” Alora snaps. “Stop it.”
“Is that the best you’ve got?” Thomas smiles. “An idle threat.”
“Let’s go.” Philippe pushes him on the back. “Outside.”
They walk off into the distance as I become glaringly aware that everyone in the bar is watching us. I drag my hand through my hair as I try to compose myself.
“What now, boss?” Herman asks.
“Don’t let them out of your sight, and if he lays one finger on her…bring him to me in a body bag.”
“Yes, sir.” They take off after them.
I drain my glass of scotch, heart pumping hard and so angry that I can hardly see.
“What did I miss?” Colette smiles calmly as she reappears.
“We’re leaving.”
ALORA
Thomas and I rush from the hotel and out onto the road. “Holy shit,” I whisper as he pulls me along the crowded footpath by the hand. “That was….”
“Hectic.”
“I’m so sorry to get you mixed up in this,” I stammer in a fluster. “But did you have to bait him?”
“Listen, I don’t know what the hell is going on with that guy, but he is out of line.”
“Oh my god, he’s on a date?” I glance back at the hotel disappearing. “He’s on a fucking date?”
We cross the road. “Are we having dinner somewhere?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I sigh.
He’s finally single and now he’s going to sleep with her….
“What do you feel like?” he asks as he turns and looks behind us.
“Anything will do at this point.” I shrug. “Arsenic?”
“We’re being followed.”
“What?” I spin around to see the two bodyguards walking behind us. “What the hell?”
“Don’t look back.” He pulls me along.
“Oh my god, why are they following us?”
“To make sure I don’t touch you, I’m assuming.”
“What?” I spin back to see and he turns me back to the front.
“This way.” He opens the door and we walk into a restaurant.
“Bonjour, est-ce que vous auriez une table pour deux ?” (Translation: Good day, do you have a table for two available?)
“Yes, this way.” We follow her inside to a small table for two at the back of the restaurant.
I give a weak smile, grateful to be away from the goons.
The front door opens and the two guards walk in.
“What the hell?” I put the menu up in front of my face. “Should we run?”
“Where are we going to run to?” Thomas sighs as he takes off his jacket and hangs it over the back of his chair. “They’ll just catch us anyway and proceed to cut off my fucking balls.”
I turn and watch them take a seat at a table at the front. “They’re just going to sit there and watch us? I can’t believe this.”
“We’ll just have dinner and call it a night.” Thomas sighs as he opens the menu.
“We’re just going to let him win?” I frown.
“I would like to live a bit longer.” He widens his eyes in jest. “Thank you very much.”
“Wimp.” I open the menu. “What kind of escort are you, this is the perfect time to hang your dick out or something.”
He chuckles. “Charming.”
“Puis-je prendre votre commande,” (Translation: Can I take your order?) the waitress asks.
“I’ll have the pasta please and a glass of red.”
“I’ll have the gnocchi and the same red, make it a bottle,” Thomas says as he closes the menu and passes it back to her, she writes down our order and leaves us alone.
“How the hell did you get mixed up with Edward Prescott?” he asks.
“I don’t even know.” I shrug, my heart is still racing.
“So you’re sleeping with him obviously?”
“No. That’s the thing, not at all.”
He frowns. “I’m confused, explain this situation to me.”
“Where do I even start?” I sigh.
“The beginning.”
“Okay…we met at a…club three years ago.”
“What sort of club?”
My eyes hold his.
“I’m a male escort, I’m pretty sure nothing you say could ever shock me.”
“I guess.” I blow out a defeated sigh. “We met at a kink club.”
“Oh.” He smiles, surprised. “Look at you.”
“Anyway.” I roll my eyes. “At this resort you’re matched with a person for the weekend and you are not told their names or any personal details.”
“So it’s an anonymous thing.”
“Exactly.”
The waitress arrives and pours us a glass of wine each.
“Merci.” She leaves us alone.
“Go on.” He takes a sip.
“And we were matched and we met and immediately had a huge fight.”
“Doesn’t surprise me.” He rolls his eyes. “He is pretty infuriating.”
“We ended up having the most incredible weekend together…and….” My voice trails off.
“You fell in love with him.”
“No, not at all.”
“Really?”
“That’s impossible.” I shrug. “It was just sex, and you can’t fall in love with someone in only a weekend.”
“Improbable yes, impossible no, I don’t think so.” He watches me for a moment. “What happened next?”
“Nothing. I didn’t see him for over three years.”
“But you thought about him?”
“Every day.” I glance back to the guards, who now have soft drinks in front of them. “I live in Nice and….”
“You live in Nice?” He puts his hand on his chest. “I have a place in Antibes.”
“You do?” I laugh in surprise. “That’s like half an hour from me, are you there full-time?”
“I started out only being there for a month a year but most of my work now is in Europe so it’s a great base for me to work out of.”
“I can’t believe you are an escort,” I whisper as I lean onto my hand. “What’s that like?”
“Actually….” He smiles. “It’s great.”
“Do you have a partner at home or…?”
“No, no. I couldn’t do this job if I were in love with someone.”
“How did you first get into it?”
“Honestly…. I don’t even know. It started with helping out a lady when she needed a date for a wedding and we had a great time and it kind of snowballed.”
“Do you sleep with everyone?”
“God no. Only the ones I’m attracted to and would sleep with on the outside.” His eyes twinkle with mischief. “And if the chemistry isn’t there then it isn’t going ahead, I’m not chugging down the Viagra to get through the night or anything.”
He has this charming honesty about him. “You must feel very free.”
“Yeah.” He smiles. “I guess I do.”
I smile as I listen.
“Well, until tonight,” he replies. “Wasn’t planning on getting followed by bodyguards.”
I laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation. “Can you believe he has them following us?”
“I guess….” He twists his lips as if contemplating saying something. “He could….”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know if this guy is good for you.”
“I know for certain that he’s not.”
“So what are you doing?”
“I don’t know.” Emotion overwhelms me at the mess I’ve made of my life lately. “From the moment I met him I have been under his spell and then we saw each other for the first time a couple of weeks ago and we kissed and….” I get a lump in my throat.
“What?”
“All the butterflies and the excitement that only he can bring returned and I remembered what it was like to feel this way.”
He listens intently. “What way?”
“All consumed. Powerless, and hopelessly addicted.”
His face is solemn as he listens.
“I had this beautiful boyfriend but I could think of nothing else but Edward.”
“The relationship fell apart?”
I nod, feeling stupid. “What do you know about him?”
“Prescott?”
“Yeah.”