Prologue.2
“Evening, Sir.”
Draping the neatly folded towel over his arm, the butler greeted me. Half-full flutes of champagne I wasn’t interested in sat on the silver tray, awaiting a dry mouth and willing participant.
“Champagne?”
I shook my head, stretching my palm in his direction.
“Perhaps something stronger?” he posed.
With a nod, I responded.
“Right this way, Sir.”
He moved with precision, using the arm smothered underneath the white fabric to point me in the direction of the open bar as if it wasn’t massive enough for me to see myself.
I took off, continuing my stride. I was headed there, anyway. I didn’t need instructions on how to get there. But, the generosity was appreciated.
“Good day, now, Sir.”
Women lined the bar, all built with precision and polished with paper. Whether it was their inheritance, husband’s money, alimony, employment, or entrepreneurship that paid their monthly tab, I didn’t give a fuck. They were here and had paid their dues.
Carefully, I examined the thread with hopeful eyes. Though beautiful in stature, none fit the mold I was continuing to form as I scoured. According to what was presented so far, I managed to bring myself clarity and construct the idea of the woman I was yearning for. She wasn’t here. Not at the bar, at least.
I cleared my throat as I stepped up to the empty space at the bar. The bartender scurried toward me. Dressed in black from head to toe with black paint smeared on her eyes and nails to match, she blended perfectly.
“Hennessy, please.”
“How would you like that, Sir?”
She dried the glass in her hand, eyes meeting mine as she waited for a response.
“Neat.”
I flattened my left hand and pushed it outward for emphasis.
“Coming right up.”
The plush velvet chair beside me slid out with ease. I sat atop, growing slightly more comfortable under its influence. With my shoulders squared and my spine straight, I grabbed the edge of the glass that had been slid in my direction.
“Suite?”
The tab would be covered at the end of the month along with the hefty suite expenses.
“PS102.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
The coolness of the Hennessy was followed by a sting. I lowered it onto the counter after a small sip. I wasn’t in a rush to reduce my cognizance. I needed full control over my words, my thoughts, my actions, and my night’s ending. A Hennessy-influenced sounded far more forgiving than a drunken one. That wasn’t exactly my style. It never had been.
I trained my eyes on the massive staircases. It was the entryway of the ballroom. Because I’d scanned it almost in full, I knew there was no one inside for me. The only chance of ending my night on a good note depended on those fucking stairs.
“You know, I was starting to lose hope.”
As the voice grew closer, a lone hand landed on my shoulder.
“A French75, please.”
“Sure thing,” the bartender responded.
Gathering my thoughts and shoving the words on the tip of my tongue down my throat, I carefully removed the hand from my suit. I wasn’t sure where they’d been, but I was certain they didn’t belong there.
Beside me, a fair-skinned, masked woman stood with her perfectly contoured smile on display. She was wearing a cream mask with crystals that sparkled in the dark like the diamond ring on the finger reserved for marriage bands.
“Ariel,” she introduced herself, extending a hand.
“No names, Ariel.”
“It’s a pseudonym. Relax,” she chuckled.
“Do I look anything but?” I asked, feeling the crinkling of my forehead.
“Hmm. So serious.”
“Life is no playground, Ariel. Are you suggesting I be something else?”
“The man to make my night.”
“Your husband isn’t fucking you right?” I wondered out loud.
“He’s not, in fact.”
“Neither will I.”
I tilted my drink, sipping it quickly before resting the glass on the table again.
“I have a feeling you can.”
“That wasn’t founded upon my inability, but more of my unwillingness.”
“Just this once?” She posed, combing over her teeth with her tongue.
“There are forty-seven niggas here, tonight, baby. I ain’t the one.”
The keyring holding the key to my room began buzzing in my pocket. The vibration was startling, straightening my spine and stretching my back an inch more. Upon removing it from my pocket, I discovered the small timer on the ring.
4:52 .
Four minutes. Fifty-two seconds .
I took the final sip of my drink and stood on my feet. The wrinkles in my suit were minimal, but I swept them away anyhow.
4:41 .
Four minutes. Forty-one seconds .
“Goodnight,” Ariel called after me as I widened the distance between us.
It was a shame. Wealthy. Beautiful. Adventurous. Married. And, forced to find a suitor for her pussy’s needs because she’d married either a nigga with a baby dick, one who didn’t really like women, or one who simply didn’t like her. Either way, she was fucked and needed to be fucked, simultaneously.
Selfishly, I wholeheartedly believed not every woman should have access to me. And, not every woman deserved it. Not my time, energy, or dick. Those were valuables I’d given and been burned in the process. The experience had left me with a precious gift, but it came with stipulations, trauma, and heartache.
I nodded my head, addressing her farewell, but never turning back to address her presence. It served no purpose. As my eyes returned to the staircase, time halted. Sound disappeared. Movement concluded. And, right on its axis, the earth stopped spinning.
Dark skin. Legs that went on forever. Hair that hung past shoulders. Perfectly sculpted, natural teeth. Eyes of mystique. Arms that ran the length of a mile. Breasts like small, unripe melons. Flawless curves.
Art. A masterpiece. One worth every dime I’d spent on this night alone came strolling down the stairs with a hand on the railing. My nostrils grew wider as my dick grew longer in my slacks.
Watching a motherfucker offer her assistance while whispering in her ear turned the temperature of the room up. Hot. I’d quickly, inevitably become. The shake of her head reduced the heat and made everything around me begin again.
But, the second those dark eyes found mine, everything ceased. Everything was terminated except her, for what felt like a lifetime, but in reality it was merely a few seconds. It was only until her feet touched the first floor. With her eyes still planted on me, she stalked it, seemingly headed in my direction. I waited, anxiously.
The red mask made her intentions and expectations clear. Mine were the same. More or less. Her strut reminded me of the models, the ones who were on runways for a living. She placed one foot in front of the other, moving so gracefully across the room.
All eyes were on her. Her eyes were on me, exactly where they needed to be and would remain throughout the night. I’d make sure of it.
Just short of our connection, she was pulled in the opposite direction. With a smile, she nodded at the nigga in her ear. Pouring alcohol on the open womb, she opened that pretty mouth of hers and began to release the most precious sound I’d ever heard.
Laughter . Her laughter .
I swallowed the nothingness in my throat and cleared it right after.
“Uhh mhm.”
I dipped my index finger between my neck and the collar of my shirt, then ran it along the edge. Suddenly, it had grown tighter and the room had gotten smaller. That finger, my trigger finger, had begun itching and it was better I tuck it away than scratch it with the steel of my Beretta.
Her eyes, still on me, stirred something within me. The challenge she was posing wasn’t one she wanted to see come to fruition. The switch she was toying with wasn’t one she wanted to flip. But, the beckoning of her raised brows and daunting gaze led me to believe she wasn’t bluffing and would be disappointed if she was able to call mine.
I waited, wondering just how far she’d take things, just how far she was willing to push until she received the response I knew she craved. At the table of the man who was oblivious to her true interests and where her mind truly was, she sat.
Oh , I scoffed. She has no idea she’s barking up the wrong tree or she simply doesn’t give a fuck .
Though I would’ve loved to give her the benefit of the doubt, I read her like a book in a few seconds. Her arousal was loud. Her choice was clear. Her stance was coherent.
If you want me, come and get me .
Blood filled my mouth as I came to the realization I’d bitten into my bottom lip. I freed it from between my top and bottom row of teeth. A tilt of my head in her direction said all that needed to be said.
Challenge accepted, my dear .
Her wish was my command.
The fact that she was a stranger and could command anything from me should’ve had me running the other way but it had me running toward her. Ready for whatever. Ready for whoever. Including her.
Vexed, I trudged forward, stopping for nothing and no one until I reached my destination for the night. Until I reached her .
“Come with me.”
Short and straight to the point, I commanded of her as she’d been commanding me since she walked in the fucking room.
“Hello,” she greeted me, unbothered and unmoving.
Stretching my body across the table, I drew closer to her ear.
“I don’t know you and you don’t know me, yet, but if you’d like to find out about me quicker than I’d recommend, then keep sitting your fine ass next to a motherfucker that isn’t me. You’ll let everyone in this bitch know the firearm rule doesn’t apply to me.”
I pulled back and found her lips curved upward. She kissed the skin of her teeth as she maneuvered in her chair, still seated. A nod of approval from that perfectly shaped head with perfect features to match meant nothing.
“Movement,” I explained, “That’s all I want to see, dear.”
Without haste, she slid the chair back slightly, making me regret being so far away. She deserved assistance. I didn’t give a fuck if she didn’t need it.
“Your audacity,” she chuckled, “Enamoring. Comical. Alluring enough.”
Though I didn’t respond, I’d heard every word.
“Excuse me,” the chump sitting next to her finally spoke.
Turning, I placed my eyes on him, hoping he understood what was at stake without a word spoken.
“I was talking to her, man. Sweetie, have a seat.”
This time, it was his side I leaned into, “I don’t like causing a scene but if you don’t shut the fuck up, I will break your neck in front of everyone in this fine establishment, walk away, and still end up with my dick inside the woman you’re yapping about before the night ends. Save another one. She’s taken, homie.”
Two pats on the back and I was upright, again. I extended an arm to take the woman of the night into my hand and lead her to my suite. Unfortunately, she’d vanished. Slightly frustrated with her ability to penetrate my thoughts so quickly, I began counting down from five. By the time I reached zero, my head whipped in three different directions. It was the final one where I found her. She was waiting at the staircase, clutch in hand and eyes on me.
I reached the stairs in an embarrassingly desperate amount of time, showcasing my internal and external desires for the woman in waiting.
Tighten up .
“Any slower and someone would’ve taken the opportunity you’d been given.”
I decided against speaking my mind, again. Instead, I took her by the hand, noticing a unique detail. The birthmark between her thumb and index finger was shaped like a heart.
Birthmark.
Heart.
I scribbled the notes in my mental pad as the keyring began buzzing again.
Perfect timing .
The softness of her skin let me know she was a well-kept woman. She didn’t know a single struggle. She wasn’t a fan of hard work. And, hardly used her hands. Assistance was plentiful. I wasn’t surprised. Not at all.
A woman of her essence made motherfuckers around her want to fight her battles, fold her clothes, hire help, and make her days so easy that lifting a finger was a choice. Not an obligation.
On her breath was traces of peppermint. On her skin were traces of bergamot, vanilla, caramel, amber, and neroli. The perfect balance, she’d managed.
“Your fragra–”
“Riot.”
“Don’t interrupt me,” I grimaced.
“Or what?” She tutted, lowering the right side of her head and angling her chin toward me.
She was the calm and the storm. The conclusion quickly formed. While she settled something within me, she uprooted much more.
I smoothed the hair of my beard with my freehand as a chuckle fell from my lips. If stripping her of the expensive threads she wore and fucking her on the stairs for everyone to see wouldn’t cause my privileges to be revoked, I’d give her all seven and a half inches of my dick to teach her the lesson she was begging for.
Quiet when I speak.
Never interrupt me.
Remain by my side unless otherwise instructed.
Act like you have some fucking sense in front of others .
I imagined she wasn’t raised by wolves, so they should’ve all been understood without specifications. However, she was leading me to believe rules didn’t apply to her either. Unfortunately, mine would even if the others didn’t. With me, her unruliness ended.
“Has your father not taught you a fucking thing?” I questioned, baffled by her subversiveness.
“Bosses or nothing, baby. But, remember, you’re nothing short of one yourself.”
“Some lesson,” I exclaimed with a shake of the head.
“If I’m too much for you, there’s someone down there who I’m just enough for.”
“It’s sex, my dear. Nothing more. Just pray I’m not too much and it’s not too late before you’ve discovered it.”
One step at a time, I led her toward the second floor. Her long legs made it easy for her to keep my pace. Her hips swayed each time they moved. And, I was a bit more hypnotized each time they did.
Every few steps, my eyes landed on the chocolate goddess behind me. Her smile was radiating, unlocking parts of me I’d tossed the keys for. Her cheeks lifted each time my gaze struck her.
“You’re going to walk or keep staring?”
“Both,” I admitted, finally reaching the top where I led her to my door.
Before going inside, I gathered my bearings and brought her closer. I freed her from my grasp and allowed her to catch her footing and her breath. From the unsteady chest movement, I knew it was a struggle.
“You smell divine, by the way.”
Hoping to soothe the nervous energy flowing through her body, I finished the compliment I’d started a minute or so ago.
“Thank you.”
She nodded, clutching her purse with both hands.
“First time?”
“Here? No. But indulging, yes.”
My head was spinning. She was swimming around my shit, no bathing suit and no reservations.
Fuck .
I turned and unlocked the door, ready to welcome her to the suite I’d yet to get acquainted with myself. The freshness of the food piled atop the plates covered with clear domes filled the air, coating the vanilla-scented fragrance I’d encountered earlier.
“Dinner?”
The rhetorical question didn’t need a response, so I didn’t give one.
As I watched her round the table, taking in the presentation, I removed my jacket and hung it on the designated rack. I busied my hands with soap and water, eyes hardly leaving her frame. Mentally, I was logging her in, making sure I didn’t miss a detail.
She joined me near the sink, finally freeing her hands and sitting her bag on the counter. Red lipstick coated her lips. It was as fierce and bold as her. Against her dark skin it was timeless.
Her orbs stalked mine. Holding my gaze, she leaned against the counter and interlocked her hands in front of her. She waited. She wondered. She withered.
Her head fell. I lifted it, instantly. Naturally. The reaction shook me to the core. But, the defeat in her posture did the true damage.
“Heartbroken?”
My readiness to let my chopper sing was frightening. Whatever was happening with her heart had nothing to do with me. It wasn’t my business, but somehow I wanted to make it mine.
“Not even in the slightest.”
Relieved, I nodded. “Head up, my dear.”
I yearned for distance. She was too much, too soon.
Just sex . I repeated in my head. Just sex .
Obliging, my feet drifted in the opposite direction, near the table where dinner was waiting.
“But you are,” she said, barely above a whisper.
On the heel of my feet, I rotated. “What did you say?”
Standing tall, she squared her shoulders and straightened her posture. “You are.”
My eyebrows caved inward as I tried comprehending her dissection. It was quick. It was lethal. And, it was accurate.
“Tonight won’t fix it, but it’ll help. For a little while, at least. And then, yo–”
“I didn’t pay for a suite to get advice, therapy, tarot reading–”
“You’re right,” she admitted with a smile. “Neither did I.”
“Mind your manner, dear.”
She lifted two fingers and ran them across her mouth, “Zip.”
As if she hadn’t just exposed my insides, she started the water and began washing her hands. Low, harmonious sounds erupted from her, soothing the wound she’d just pulled the bandaid from.
Maybe red was a bad fucking choice .
Within the suites, it represented romance, normalcy, passion, and partnership. The long legs and beautiful voice in the wash area was leading me to believe I’d made a bad decision. Slowly, she started for the dining table. The humming transformed into words.
“I need a gangsta… to love me better than all the others doooo.”
Loosening my tie, I scanned the room for the thermostat. According to the warmth surrounding us, it was up far too much. Or, maybe, just maybe it was her. She was the heat, slowly and strategically setting me ablaze.
“To always forgive me. Ride or die with me. That’s just what gangstas doooo.”
As she approached the chair I’d chosen for her, I removed it from beneath the table. She lowered onto it and waited for me to readjust it. Once she’d settled, I rounded the table and sat.
At that moment, just inches away, with gleaming jewels, soft skin, and the essence of a woman staring me right in my face, I remembered why I was so appreciative of the privilege. Having a woman in your world, the right woman, made it all better. Made it all right. Even when it was all wrong.
My addiction to the very existence, the aura of a woman, had been suppressed for two years. Femininity was the most sacred, unprotected aspect of a woman and I loved that shit dearly. It enhanced my masculinity. Made me wiser. Stronger. Better in every way possible.
And, though this wasn’t my woman to have, she was mine for the night and I’d bask in her ambiance for the little time I was blessed with her. In my warped perception of self, I wholeheartedly believed I was not one who was supposed to live their days in singlehood. While others despised the idea of marriage, companionship, and lifelong commitments, I craved them and everything that came with them.
Stability was the foundation I’d bank on any day. The world was ever-changing. Having someone who continuously evolved but never truly changed by your side was, that shit was necessary in this game.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
She pulled me from my head and back into the moment.
“Somehow I feel like you know exactly what I’m thinking.”
“I wouldn’t have asked.”
Discomfort toyed with my words, my thoughts, and my response. I tugged at the mask on my head, ready to remove it completely.
“Don’t,” she warned, “Don’t break the rules. It defeats the pu– the purpose of this all.”
Quickly reminded that rules were involved, I nodded. Again, she was right. Rules and restrictions, I’d always found them to be inconveniences. But, the desire to sustain her comfort made them easier to abide by.
“Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?”
“I’m not.”
I removed the lid from her plate and then from mine. Stuffed oysters, scallops, and grilled salmon fought for room on the plate beside seasoned rice and asparagus.
“Then, tell me what brings you here?”
“What brings you here?”
“I asked first,” she sniggered.
She didn’t cover her mouth when she laughed. She didn’t shy away when she found something funny. Her confidence was oozing, making her even sexier than she was seconds before.
“That thing you mentioned earlier.”
Nodding, she sucked in air before releasing it.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Broken hearts are no fun.”
“They aren’t.”
“Fresh out of a relationship?”
“No,” I replied, shaking my head.
“No?”
I continued shaking it from one side to the other, “Complicated.”
“Hmmm.”
“You?”
“Entertainment.”
“That’s it?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“Then, what else?”
She stared at me, hesitating to answer.
“I asked a question.”
“A freshly lasered pussy, a thudding in my center that won’t go away, and the need to escape reality.”
Impressed with her ability to express herself without sugarcoating anything, I sat back in my chair.
“Is reality that fucking bad?”
We both need to escape?
“Is that the only part you caught?”
There was that sniggering, again.
“Because I mentioned my freshly lasered pussy and that thudding us women get when–”
“I’ll address that, my dear. That’s why I’m here. In the meantime, your reality.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“How bad is it?”
“It’s not bad. Not at all. But, sometimes… a girl just needs a break… some relief.”
“Understood.”
She bowed her head and stretched her arm across the table, grabbing ahold of mine. We joined hands. All the ruckus in my head quieted as she began to speak.
“Dear God, thank you for this life. Thank you for good health, good people, good family, and good food. Please continue to bless us in our daily lives. Continue to lift us and love us. Fix whatever has been broken in the man before me. Guide us. Protect us. Never leave us. In your darling son Jesus' name, Amen.”
“Ame–”
Our eyes locked for the hundredth time. Her words began to loop in my head.
“Are you going to eat your food?” She probed, digging into her salmon.
She wasn’t fooling me. Hunger had evaded her as it had me. The small bite of salmon was hardly enough to appease a woman with an appetite for food. She wanted her belly filled but not with what was on her plate.
“What I’ll be eating isn’t on ceramic. It’s freshly lasered with an uncontrollable thud.”
Nodding, she smiled, opening my chest cavity and freeing my heart of a portion of its strife.
“Good, then.”
“I don’t put my mouth anywhere, my dear. But, somehow, I can’t fathom leaving this suite tonight without putting my mouth on you.”
“I’m not anywhere. I’m not anyone.”
“That, I’ve learned.”
“Then, there’s no need to explain.”
“I wasn’t explaining. I was prefacing.”
“For–”
“I’m not interested in a new partner upon my return. In fact, I won’t return if you can’t promise you will.”
“There are at least fifty beautiful wome–”
“And, I want you.”
“Fair enough.”
“Until we both get tired.”
“What will I get out of this arrangement?”
“Exactly what you came for, my dear.”
“I want more.”
Whatever you want . I thought, never allowing the words to fall from my lips.
“What is it that you wa– What is it that you need ?”
Hesitantly, she dropped the fork in her hand and grabbed the iced champagne. Up on my feet, instantly, I removed the bottle from her hand and poured the liquid into the fluted glass. I didn’t stop until she held her palm in the air.
She swooped the champagne from the table and sat the rim against her lips. Slowly, she sipped. Her eyes rolled into the top of her head as she shook it from one side to the other. Whatever she was preparing to say almost felt silly to her. Almost felt beneath her. Almost felt shameful.
Yet, she was preparing to reveal it, anyway. She wanted her needs met and knew for a fact I’d meet them. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be in my suite. She’d made it clear this wasn’t her first time at The Mansion, but it was her first time indulging.
I waited, ready and willing to serve my purpose because she was serving hers well. She was stunning. She was exactly what I’d been missing every day and every night. She embodied womanhood so well. My attraction to it, at least.
The commanding presence. The dominating spirit while remaining ever so gentle. The ability to strip one of their logic and have them thinking of nothing, seeing nothing but her. The effortless influence to join whatever wavelength she was on.
“Authority.”
“Authority?” I questioned, quite surprised by the simplicity of her request.
“Guidance.”
“Leadership.”
“That’s what you want?”
“That’s what I need .”
The thirst she had wouldn’t be quenched by the champagne she took another sip of.
“I have everything a girl could ever dream of. There’s nothing I need from you– from a man at this point in my life but domination. And, not the freaky shit the rest of them consider when they hear that word. I mean mentally.”
“Mentally?”
“Yes. In that reality I sometimes need a break from, I was born to lead. I’m expected to lead, and I am not given grace. That’s not the way it works. So, here, I want to relinquish my power. I crave submission.”
Eyebrows raised on my forehead, I leaned in to hear more. My attention was undivided.
“And no one here has been able to offer that?”
She shook her head, taking a third sip. “No. It’s usually the other way around. The men are repulsive. They're either into something sickening or crave the same as me. When I enter a room, they’re willing to do anything to win me over. Willing to meet any of my demands when all I want is to be commanded. Controlled.”
“Controlled?”
“In a sense. A healthy sense. There are leaders in my life, but it’s all family. It’s all business. I’m one of them. When the work day ends and the sun settles, I want to shed myself of those responsibilities. All responsibilities. Give them to someone else. Give myself to someone else.”
“To me.”
She nodded.