by Vivian Wood
“Silas Roope,” I began as I opened the door so I could see the man I hadn’t laid eyes on in at least ten or so years. I curtseyed. “Why am I so fortunate to have the gracious Mr. Roope flying across the world to see me? I trust your travels were not arduous.”
If he picked up on my sarcasm, he ignored it. Silas simply walked past me and into the room with a level of sophistication and arrogance that only he could pull off. He still wore the gray three-piece suit I always remembered him wearing. It always matched his gray hair, though, after all these years, he did have less of it—the hair I mean. His black shoes were polished to perfection, and his slacks were pressed impeccably. Not that I expected anything less from the trusted advisor of King Paul IV and his royal sons.
Silas studied my vagabond man as the poor fella quickly got his stuff together so he could leave the aristocratic energy. Not that I blamed him one bit. I wanted to flee myself.
“I see you have company, Cherise,” Silas said with his nose pointed upwards as if there were a pungent odor in the room.
“Cheri, Silas. You know I go by Cheri,” I corrected, irritated that the man still insisted on calling me by that god awful name my mother thought had sounded regal. “And why are you here?”
“My apologies. I had hoped that you had outgrown that childish nickname. I see that you may not have outgrown many things.” He clasped his hands in front of him as he scowled at my guest. “Prince Roman has sent for you. I am here to bring you to him.”
Prince Roman… shit.
The man from last night stared at me in disbelief. “Are you a princess or something?”
I rolled my eyes as Silas said, “Hardly.”
“No, I’m not. But I do need to be alone with my unexpected visitor if you don’t mind.”
“Yeah, sure. No problem,” the man said as Silas turned and examined Mr. Tequila Man as he rushed out of my bungalow without saying another word or even acknowledging the fact that we had just fucked last night. Not that I minded that I had finally gotten rid of my vagabond fuck buddy.
“Interesting company you surround yourself with,” Silas said in that judgmental tone that made me want to rip his eyebrow hairs out one by one. “I see some things haven’t changed. You really are above all this nonsense, Cherise.”
I smirked and crossed my arms. “I see some things haven’t changed for you either. You’re still the same pompous ass you always were.”
Silas’s jaw locked. “Say what you will, Cherise, but we have very little time to chit-chat. I have the pilot waiting for us to depart immediately. Prince Roman is in New Orleans right now, and I hope to deliver you soon and not keep him waiting long.”
I laughed. “Dementia must have taken hold in your old age, sir. I’m not going anywhere with you, and I don’t give a fuck about where Roman is.”
New Orleans. He was in New Orleans…
“I figured you wouldn’t. So much so, that I took necessary steps to assure that you would indeed be traveling with me today.”
I sighed, growing more annoyed by the minute. “Fine, I’ll bite. What steps have you made that I’d be so willing to just hop on a plane and fly across the world with you on a moment’s notice?”
“Ah, Cherise, where are your manners? Your mother would be appalled to find out that all those years of etiquette classes have gone to waste.”
“Save it, Silas. Are you going to stop fucking around and tell me what’s going on? Or should we just say our farewells and call it?”
“Very well,” he said with a large exhale. “Let’s continue discussing your mother, shall we? As you know, she loves living the life of the countess, though the count has been dead since you were a baby. The life of a countess is not cheap. In fact, it is quite expensive. With all the dinners, the galas, the shopping sprees, the yachts, the holidays in Bali, and simply the wardrobe alone.”
My jaw clenched, and my stomach rumbled as Silas reminded me of everything I’d left behind—or more like ran away and escaped from. That world was everything I hated and wanted no part of. But my mother was different. She loved it. That rich and famous lifestyle was what she lived for. It defined who she was. It was all she really had after my father died. One could say she had me, but she wasn’t really mother material. She wasn’t an awful mother, and I loved her, but she saw me more as a friend rather than someone to parent and offer guidance to. Maybe that was one of the reasons I liked to fuck vagabonds. I never had someone in my life telling me that it was a very bad idea. I never got the vagabond warning.
“Why are we discussing my mother?”
“Well, I’m not certain if you are aware of the countess’s financial holdings or not. It was several years ago that Prince Roman felt the need to step in and stop your mother’s estate from going into foreclosure. He bought the house and even threw in a monthly stipend to assist in her lavish lifestyle.”
“What are you talking about? Why would Roman buy her house? And how do I not know about this?” Confusion and anger were combining inside of me, forming a cocktail that tasted like like bile.
Silas shrugged. “How you and your mother communicate is none of my concern. Maybe if you weren’t gallivanting around in third world countries, you would have realized that your mother has overspent and most certainly overindulged.”
I had no idea. No idea at all.
“Are you saying that my mother is completely broke?”
“Yes, completely. She has been for many years.”
“So, Roman stepped in and saved the house?” It didn’t seem like something Roman would do. Prince Roman cared about one person and one person only. Himself.
Silas shrugged again and then straightened his tie. “You say saved, I say purchased. His reasons are unknown. But regardless, he owns the estate, and has been giving her an extravagant allowance for years now.”
“Why?”
“Does it really matter why?” Silas paused as if I were going to answer him. When it became obvious I wasn’t, he continued, “What does matter is that I manage the finances of some of the royal family, including Prince Roman’s. And if you were not to accompany me to New Orleans, I may have to deem the expenses incurred by the countess as frivolous and fiscally irresponsible. I may also have to be forced to find tenants for the estate who are able to pay rent rather than slumming such as your mother is now.”
“Unless I go to New Orleans with you? That’s all you want?” I asked, confused as to what the real reason was for Silas’s visit. “Why were you sent to bring me to Roman?”
“Cherise, come now. Don’t act as if you don’t know.”
Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach, and it wasn’t the hangover. “No, no, no, no!” I said as I took a few steps away from Silas. “Absolutely not. No.”
“Cherise, you knew this day would someday come.”
I shook my head as if I could shake away the words Silas was saying. “First off, I never agreed to it. I was a child and you fucked up royals live by an ancient rule. You better not, even for a second, be here to bring me back to Roman to… you better fucking not be!”
“No need for such vulgar language,” Silas chastised. “Your hand was promised to Prince Roman. You know this. You have always known this. And the time has come. He has reached the age of thirty, and we can no longer have him not married.”
I shook my head even harder than before. “Absolutely not. I’ll have no part in this. I left that all behind me. This is fucked up, and I want no part of it.”
“You can’t simply move to another country—no matter how far away it is—and expect to erase your past and your duties. You were groomed for this day.” Silas scanned his eyes from my wild sun-kissed hair to my unpainted toes and then into my eyes with disgust. “Though I see no signs of that grooming now.”
“So you’re here to bring me to New Orleans to marry Roman. Is that what you’re really saying?” I knew this arranged marriage had been contracted between our families when Roman and I were children, but it had been years
since then. My life in the royal circuit was over. Over.
“Well, not right away. We have an image to uphold, of course. We will have to announce an engagement and proceed from there. It will take some time. But yes, I am here to bring you to Roman so we can begin the proper illusion.”
His words sunk in and were like a punch to the gut. “You’ll kick my mother out on the street if I don’t play along with your sick game. Is that what you are also saying?” I put my hands on my hips and hunched over to gather the breath that felt was being knocked out of me every single time I looked at Silas’s pompous face. “If I don’t marry Roman, my mother loses her estate. Right?”
“It would be a shame to take such ugly, yet necessary, measures. But correct. If you play nice, I play nice.”
“Does Roman know you are doing this?”
“Roman is aware of his royal duty. He is of royal lineage, and he understands what that means.”
“He doesn’t own me.”
“But he owns your mother,” Silas quickly countered.
“You’re all assholes,” I said quietly, but knew I had no choice.
This fucking duty of mine was a reality I couldn’t escape, and Silas was right when he said there was no running from it. Even if I didn’t care about my mother and her well-being—which I did—I would still have been trapped in this destiny. They would find a way. The royals always got what they wanted. Royals were the rulers of the fucking world. They ruled everything and everyone.
“Call me what you will. I have a job to do just as you do.” He glanced around. “It doesn’t look like there is much worth packing, if anything, but if you find it necessary to do so, make quick time. We have a plane to catch.”
“Fucking asshole,” I murmured under my breath as I too looked around the rented room. Silas was right. There wasn’t anything worth packing. Not for the world I was about to return to. Nothing in my Costa Rican vagabond bungalow would be fitting for my royal homecoming.
Chapter Two
Roman
I never got to see her pussy. A mistake I damn well planned on rectifying. I never got to lick it, taste it, and savor the essence that was my sweet Cheri. Or what had been my Cheri. But she had finally returned.
It was about fucking time.
And as she entered through the mahogany double doors of the exclusive, members-only club, Spiked Roses, I knew that pussy of hers would soon be mine. Silas followed close behind her tiny frame as my dutiful servant, as if preventing her from turning around and fleeing, but I didn’t care. I was going to imagine that she entered the club of her own free will because she wanted me. She wanted to fuck me, as I wanted to fuck her. I was going to imagine she had never left me without saying goodbye. And that she hadn’t ripped my soul into a million pieces the day I had found her gone.
Maybe she didn’t want to fuck me yet. But no matter… when I was done with her, she would demand for me to take her. Insisting for me to do to her what I hadn’t had the skill and experience to do so many years ago. She would beg, she would plead, and she would be mine, and stay mine forever. I would not lose her again.
A black dress that showed off every single curve of her body had me doing a double take. When did Cheri get curves? And her hair… when did her luscious blonde curls frame her heart-shaped face making her appear like a seductive angel—a siren calling me toward my death? Her shapely legs in those black heels went on forever. Straight to that pussy I had yet to see. Fuck me; she was hot as hell. When did her blue eyes sparkle so much? Even in the shadowed room of Spiked Roses, I could see them. I could feel them. Those damn eyes. She appeared so pure and innocent. Perfect for me to dirty up. She would be fucking filthy by the time I was done with her.
Cheri was taking it all in. I could see her examine every detail of the room. Her eyes scanned the red and black leather furniture, the black bar with red barstools, and the black spiked vases cast all around that held two to three dozen roses in each ostentatious urn. She glanced up to look at the huge crystal chandeliers that appeared as if they were dripping diamonds onto the clients below. The large overhead fixtures reflected the gas lanterns that dotted the damask papered walls, giving off a warm and seductive vibe. Cheri’s eyes scrutinized the men who sat around sipping on top-shelf booze and smoking hand-rolled cigars as if she were looking for me amongst the powerful players of the room.
Silas placed his hand on Cheri’s upper back to guide her to where I sat. I hated it. I didn’t want anyone else touching what was mine. Even old man Silas. No one touched what belonged to me. I knew women were not allowed past the guarded doors without an escort unless you worked at the club, so Silas was a necessity, and he knew exactly where I would be. It was the spot I liked most—up on the iron-railed balcony so I could see all the action below. The club was where I spent most of my nights when I resided in New Orleans. It was my kingdom where I preferred to rule. It was opulent, luxurious, exclusive, and only opened its doors to the wealthiest men. Power sizzled through the air, and I fucking got off on it. Spiked Roses was a membership only club for the monarchs, the presidents, the captains of industry, and for the most ruthless fucks in the world.
“What has you scowling over there?” my friend and business partner, Lennon, asked in his pristine British accent as he sipped on bourbon and smoked a cigar without a care in the world. And what was there to care about? We were rich, affluent, and dominant. We had everything that made a man, but could also destroy him. We had it all.
But I didn’t have her. Not until now.
“My wife just walked in the door,” I said as I puffed on my cigar and swirled the bourbon against the inside of the glass I held.
“Your wife? What the fuck are you talking about?” Lennon asked, smirking.
“She will be. She’ll be my fucking wife soon.”
“Is that your new dickhead way of saying the girl you plan to fuck tonight just entered the room?” He exhaled a cloud of smoke. “I don’t think I’d be calling any girl in this room my wife. Fuck buddy, yes. Even an expensive whore. But wife? No.”
Lennon was right. Normally, I wouldn’t be calling any female in this place my wife. Not here. Not ever. Spiked Roses was notorious for its beautiful women who worked at this fine establishment I had a seventh ownership in. Six other men and I had joined forces to create a haven for our wicked desires and opulent tastes. The waitresses, the bartenders, the wine and cigar sommeliers, and the high-priced courtesans were all exquisitely gorgeous. Like everything in this men’s club, no expense was spared, and we had the very best—women included. And I sampled my fair share. But I still wouldn’t call a single one of them my future wife. That title belonged to one person. It had belonged to one person since I was ten years old. It would always belong to my sweet Cheri. Whether she liked it or not, she would be my wife.
I shook my head. “You are about to meet my new princess.”
I studied Cheri as she sashayed her way up the stairs, her hips moving in such a seductive way that my mouth watered. She appeared irritated, but it didn’t hinder her beauty in the slightest.
Cheri’s first words as she approached us proved how very unlike a princess she really was. “Are you fucking kidding me, Roman? What the fuck kind of place is this?”
Her dirty mouth…
I prayed to God that everything about her was dirty.
But I would punish her for her behavior. Yes, I would spank that tight little ass like the naughty girl she was and then lick her heated flesh inch by inch as I took away the burn. I would teach her what happens when she was a dirty girl around me. And I would love every fucking moment of it. She would beg for forgiveness all while pleading for me to fuck her at the same time.
Yes, I had so many plans for my dirty, foul-mouthed girl.
Cheri looked around at all the working women in disgust. Her eyes and expressions always gave away her thoughts. I could read her. I could feel her. I could fucking smell her. And very shortly, I would taste her. That pussy would be mine. She
just didn’t know it yet.
Or maybe she did.
“I thought you were better than this overly masculine display of assholeness. Sipping bourbon with a cigar in your hand as scantily-clad women work the room? Is this who you’ve become? Really?”
Clearly, Cheri was not a fan of the costumes the staff wore. There were two. One costume was a back leather leotard worn with a collar attached to a jeweled leash hanging for any of the dirtier clientele to take hold of at will. Black, slick, delicious. The other costume was a short red lace dress accentuated with diamonds, classier for the more upscale and prudish guests. Sexy, sensual, mouthwatering. The women were everywhere, just waiting to serve every man’s needs and desires.
I shrugged and gave a smirk. I refused to give her comment a verbal response. I took a pull of my cigar and slowly exhaled in her direction as I casually slung my arm over the back of my black leather chair and stared into her azure, yet fiery eyes.
“And sending Silas to come fetch me for you,” she continued, “like some dog. Would you like me to wear one of these collars as well?”
My cock twitched at the image in my head, and I had to sip on my bourbon to attempt to keep my ravenous thoughts to myself. But fuck yes, I wanted Cheri to wear one of those collars. Though only I would hold the leash.
“Are you going to sit there and just stare at me, or at least offer me a seat and a drink?”
Lennon—who I had forgotten was sitting next to me—stood up and placed his empty glass on the table. “I’m going to leave you alone to deal with your marital problems in private,” my cunty friend said with a smirk and a light chuckle.
I gave him a nod, trying to hide my amusement with his statement. I then pointed to his red leather chair he vacated, and said to Cheri, “Of course. What can I get for you to drink?” I pointed to another chair. “Silas, please have a seat as well. I’m sure you could use a stiff cocktail after your long travels.” No doubt the man got an earful from this little pistol the entire way. He deserved not only a drink, but also a raise for his troubles.