“Boy, slow down!”
His eyes were watery. He took a sip of his water.
“You okay now?” I asked.
“Well, you made me laugh.”
“Sorry. It just feels good to see you again. For a little while I didn’t think I was going to.”
“I didn’t, either, Giselle. To tell the truth, I wasn’t eating right, and all I did was stress about you being gone. You don’t know how happy I was to find out that Giovanni found my sister. I wish I could kill that motherfucker who took you!”
I swiftly changed the subject. “Brandon, I think it’s time you reevaluate working for Giovanni.”
He munched on a chicken wing. “Why?”
“Well, because you are far too smart to continue to work for my husband. You are putting all your talents and smarts to no use.”
“Yeah. But I’m okay with what I do. I make a lot of money, interact with beautiful women all day. I drive a fly-ass ride and got a nice crib. Giselle, life can’t get better for me than this.”
I aimed a finger at him. “See, that’s where I have to stop you with that bullshit, Brandon. Why do you want to be lazy and not apply your damn self? Shit!”
He looked at me and took in my sharp tone with surprise. “Where did all that come from?”
I took a deep breath and buried my face in my hands. “Nothing. I’m sorry. I am proud of how hard you have worked over the years. Let’s ... let’s just leave it at that, little brother.”
“Okay, big sister.” He broke into an affectionate smile and said, “My Gissy.”
Then, before I could stop him, he walked over to my side of the table and put his big ole self in my lap, making me crack up laughing. I loved, loved, loved my little brother.
Chapter 18
My brother dropped me off and had the nerve to tell me, “Hurry. I got a date.”
“What?” I said as I hopped out of the car. “I thought we were hanging.”
He smiled, reminding me once again how handsome he was. And still so very naive. “Giovanni texted me on the way there and said I couldn’t keep you out too late, and plus, some girl is on me, so I think I’ll go ahead and give her the time of day.”
Did Giovanni think he was going to control me? Track all my whereabouts? The shit was cool before, when I was his little, docile, submissive wife who looked up to her husband like he was a king, but I was no longer that type of wife.
“I told him I would have you back by twelve. And you know I can’t turn down cookie, big sister.”
I laughed. “Boy, shut up talking like you one of these freaks out here.”
“I am one of these freaks out here.”
I laughed harder at my brother.
“Call me later, Gissy.”
“All right.”
I watched his Hummer speed to the gate and then out of the estate. Once it vanished, I took a deep breath and headed up the steps.
Our maid, Nisa, opened the door for me. “Mrs. Pride, welcome back. Would you like something to eat or drink?”
“No thank you.”
She stepped back so I could walk inside.
Once inside, I went straight past the sitting room and the living room, which had always felt like home to me. I had always admired all the beauty and the immaculacy of it. Now I couldn’t give a shit. I went straight toward the spiral staircase. I walked up the winding steps, and my mind wandered to Bryce. I wondered how he was holding up, if he was thinking of me, missed me. I again couldn’t believe what I did. I had fallen in love with my captor. In my eyes, he was a far greater man than my husband was. Sometimes the gods could be so cruel. I wished that I could have met him before I ever laid eyes on my husband. Things would have been so different for me.
As I walked down the hallway, I could hear voices. I walked closer and recognized one of them as belonging to my husband; the other was a woman’s voice. I continued to walk slowly, so as to not let on that I was eavesdropping. I tiptoed toward the edge of the hallway and turned like I normally would but stayed close to the back wall. I walked farther and could see that our bedroom door was not closed completely. I stayed pressed against the wall and looked through the crack in the door. My husband and Lexi were arguing.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?” I heard him yell. I could see a naked body lying in our bed. He stood with his back to me, facing her.
“The fuck you think? I want some dick.”
“Bitch, get the fuck out of here! Giselle will be back soon, and I don’t want—”
“Oh, you don’t want what? Her seeing the truth? You know damn well that when they took her, you were so devastated that you lost your precious Giselle that you threw yourself all over me!”
“How the fuck could I not, bitch? You were supposed to be her closest and only friend, and you deliberately set out to seduce me, because you knew how fucked up I was about my wife being gone.”
“So where the fuck does that leave me now?”
“My wife is back, so whatever we were doing is over. You are lucky you still have a job here. You got what you wanted for the moment. You really didn’t think that I would choose you over my wife, did you?”
She leaped off the bed, still nude, and stood in front of him. “What? You just used me like I’m not shit?”
“You ain’t shit. You never were.”
“Guess I’m too old for you.” She spit on him.
I gasped. Lexi knew? I wondered who else knew besides her, Percy, and Wingo.
He stayed calm, shook his head, and said, “You stupid bitch.” Before she could stop him, he punched her in her face so hard, she flew into the wall. Then, before she could get up, he rushed forward and lifted her off her feet by her neck. Her feet were dangling in the air.
I watched as he strangled her, and Lexi looked so scared. So scared, I almost felt bad for her, for being so pathetic.
Snot flew from her nose she clasped her hands over his, and it still did not stop him from strangling her.
“Listen up and listen well. I want you to cash out for your last movie, leave, and stay the fuck away from my house, or I will kill you. Understand?” he snarled.
When she didn’t answer, he took one of his hands and punched her in her mouth. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. A light stream of blood leaked from her lip.
He dropped her on the floor and said, “Now, get the fuck out.”
When she hesitated, he kicked her in her back. She stood to her feet, clutched her neck, and rushed from the room. I stood back from the corner of the door so she could see me.
She looked surprised, with sweat, tears, and blood on her face.
I was silent. But she wasn’t.
“You!” she raged. “Always fuckin’ you! Why didn’t he want me?”
Giovanni came out of the bedroom in a flash, but he paused in surprise when he saw me.
I pierced him with a glare before placing my eyes back on Lexi.
She sobbed, stomped her feet, and yelled, “Four years ago why did he pick you to be his wife? Why you?”
I didn’t respond. But I was going to play this situation, what I had just discovered, to my advantage.
I cried tears, and I knew Giovanni saw them. Not for him. Who fucking cared? But I had lost my best friend; that was enough sentiment for tears. I was glad about that, because I needed Giovanni to feel like shit so I could have an excuse to hit a corner. Go see Bryce.
She stood there and bawled, mumbling, “Sweet Giselle. Everybody loves you. No one loves me. Not even my own mama.”
Giovanni took a step toward her, making her cower and run to get away from him. She ran down the hallway, crying all the way. I did feel bad for her. Even after she was gone, I could still hear her bawling. She wanted this life, and she couldn’t understand why I had gotten it over her. Why I had been the chosen one that Giovanni married. But what she didn’t understand was that she was better off since he had not chosen her. Look what I had gone through. Look at where I was now.
Despite the fact that she had betrayed me, I felt bad about her pain, the pain he had caused her by stringing her along. Lord knows for how long. I swallowed a lump in my throat for her. Only for her. And also I felt pain because she had hurt me. At the end of the day she had still betrayed me by sleeping with my husband. I was supposed to be her best friend, and I had never done her wrong.
I rummaged for my keys in my purse. They weren’t there. They should have been. This purse was used the night I got kidnapped, and my keys were in there then. Then I remembered they weren’t there when I went to lunch with Brandon.
Before Giovanni could even get my name out, I said, “I noticed that the keys to my Range are gone.”
“Giselle—”
“For better or worse? I guess you forgot your vows. My kidnapping was for the worse, I suppose. But still. You were supposed to remember your vows. To love and honor, remember? Forsaking all others till death do us part. You were supposed to be strong and stay faithful to me!” I had him convinced with my melodrama.
He took a deep breath before saying, “Baby, let me—”
“You love me, right, Giovanni?”
“Yes. With all my heart.”
“Really? Does your heart hurt to know that you hurt mine?”
His eyes were watery. “Yes, baby.”
“Then give me my fucking keys,” I hissed.
He looked surprised. I had never cursed at him before.
He went into the bedroom, and a few seconds later, he came back with my keys. He cleared his voice and said, “Baby we can talk about this. You don’t have to leave.”
“I just found out that the man I love, my husband, slept with another woman, who happens to be my best friend! Do you think I’m going to sleep in that room, in that bed?”
I turned to leave and heard him say, “Giselle, I’ll leave if you want. Baby, I’m sorry.”
I started walking away, never turning back around. “No! I will.” As I said this, there was a smile on my face. I did better than I thought. I had convinced him enough for him to let me escape from there and see the man I wished I were with.
As soon as I drove out of the estate, I punched in Bryce’s number on my iPhone.
“Hello?”
“I don’t care what you say. I need to see you, and I will. Meet me at the L’Ermitage Hotel in an hour.”
I hung up before he could respond.
I drove like a bat out of hell on the freeway. Once I hit the freeway exit, I drove to Neiman Marcus. I got myself a pair of Christian Louboutin leopard, red bottom stilettos. I bought a matching La Perla thong and bra to go with them. Once I had all my goodies, I headed over to the hotel. I had butterflies and couldn’t wait to be in his arms.
I went straight over to the desk and requested a suite for Bryce and me. When I felt someone come stand behind me and rub a hand across my behind, I smiled, knowing it was Bryce.
I handed the woman working behind the desk my black card, but Bryce shoved it away and tossed three hundred dollar bills on the counter.
The woman handed us our room card. ”You will be in room thirty-four. It is on the fifth floor.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“What you got in the bag?” Bryce asked.
“A surprise.”
“Surprise, huh?”
I had my hand in his as we walked to the elevator. Since there were other people in the elevator, we kept it cool and simply held on to one another’s hands. But as soon as we made it to the room and the door closed, I threw myself into Bryce’s arms and hugged him close.
“I missed you,” he said in a husky voice.
“I missed you, too, Bryce.”
His lips found mine, and he kissed me.
The kissing alone had me anticipating what was to come.
I broke the kiss and said, “Let me change.” I handed him my iPhone. “Put on some music, and light some candles. There should be an iPod dock in here.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, okay.”
I grabbed my bag and my purse and went into the bathroom. I took a quick shower and rubbed my body down with some strawberry-scented lotion I had in my purse before slipping into the sexy bra and panties. Then I slid my feet into the heels. I brushed my hair so it hung around my shoulders and cascaded down my back.
The room was dimmed. I could see the flicker of the candles and could hear Usher playing from my iPhone. The song “Okay” was playing. Bryce was sitting in a chair near the bed. I walked over to him slowly to the beat of the song as Usher crooned, “I can’t believe my eyes. Looking at your sexy-ass body.”
I stood between his legs and let him get a glimpse at my body.
As the music played, I twisted my body slowly. Bryce just sat back in the chair while I did the work. I ran my hands up and down my curves, singing, “You probably saying that’s a damn shame. I don’t even know your name.”
I dropped my body all the way to the floor, gripped Bryce’s thighs, and rose enough so that I could turn my back to him and grind my ass in his lap. I then bent over a little and let him rub my round ass. I stood, turned around, teasing him, then ran my fingers through my hair and licked my lips while turning around in a circle. I came closer to him and sat in his lap. I moved seductively, while whispering in his ear, “Are you enjoying my dance?”
“Yes. Damn, baby, you getting thick.”
His hands started rubbing my curves as I straddled one of his thighs, with my back to him, and ground my pussy into his crotch. In a quick, smooth motion, I removed myself from his lap, turned around, and bent over so that my head was in his crotch, then slowly rose. I lowered my body all the way to the floor in front of Bryce so that I was lying flat and my legs were spread in front of him. He put his fist in his hand and bit it. I laughed and continued this way for a few moments.
I then stood to my feet. As Usher said, “Drop it to the floor real slow,” I dropped down and then twisted my body up again in a slow, sensual motion. I increased the speed, until my booty was bouncing up and down.
The song changed to Tank’s “Sex Music.” I turned, undid my bra, and sat on his lap. The moment I did, Bryce gripped both my breasts and started suckling my nipples. I moaned and tossed my head back. He pushed aside my thong and eased two fingers inside of me. His lips found mine in that moment and drowned out my moan.
He gripped my waist and whispered, “You like that, baby?”
“Oh yes,” I moaned.
He started sliding his fingers in and out of me in a quick motion, making me so wet. I continued to kiss him, sliding my tongue in and out of his mouth.
He broke the kiss and asked, while still easing his fingers in and out of me, “Can I rip these panties off of you?”
I continued to enjoy the sensation he was giving me. “Go ahead.”
“All right. We gonna keep those heels on, though.”
I felt the thong rip, and then Bryce positioned me over his dick. I eased down on his dick slowly, all the while looking in his eyes. I saw all the desire for me hovering there in his expression. The look alone had me on the verge of coming. I started riding him.
He rose to meet each thrust and then increased the speed, saying, “Damn, baby.”
My moans got louder, and I was to the point where I was bouncing on his dick.
He stood while keeping his dick inside of me. He carried me a few steps toward the bed, laid me on in, slapped me on my ass, and said “Get on your knees.”
I did so quickly, anticipating feeling his hardness inside of me again. Once it was back in me, my hands gripped the sheets from the intense, rough pleasure.
“This my pussy now,” he said.
I pushed my body backward against his dick, and each time I did, I heard a loud slap. I didn’t know how much longer I was going to be able to hold on. I felt my pussy pulsating around his dick and felt the twitches in it.
Bryce reached around and grabbed my breasts as he continued to fuck me from behind. His dick fit perfectly into my nest, and I was so w
et, I could feel it leaking out of my pussy every time he slid out of me.
He then flipped me over onto my back, and his dick dived right back into me. The motions were hard and fast.
When the sensation of cumming hit me, I dug my nails into Bryce’s back, telling him silently that I was cumming. Seconds later, so did he.
Chapter 19
My mission from that point forward was to find different ways to get away to see Bryce.
I never said too much to my husband. All meals were eaten in silence. The little trinkets he gave me to make up for having sex with Lexi didn’t mean shit to me, because my husband didn’t mean shit to me. I kept it cool, though, for the sake of my brother and for my own sake.
It had been a total of two weeks since I had seen Bryce, and I was dying to be with him again. But I knew I had to be careful.
I woke up one morning to find my husband getting dressed. I didn’t bother asking him where he was going, because I didn’t give a shit.
He sat down next to me on the bed. “Giselle?”
“What?” I snapped. I didn’t bother disguising my disgust for him any longer.
“I’m going to go handle some business today. So I’m going to be gone for a while. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What is it?” I asked tersely, sitting up in the bed.
“For the past two weeks, I have been feeling so bad about what I did. I almost feel like I have lost your love forever. You don’t even look at me the same way anymore. You move away from me in bed, and you won’t talk to me at the dinner table. Giselle, nothing means more to me than you—”
“I didn’t matter too much when you were fucking my friend!”
“Baby, that didn’t mean anything. I was hurt over you being gone, and she threw herself at me. I’m a man. Prior to that piece of shit, I had never slept with another woman since we got married.”
“No. You just slept with kids,” I wanted to say. “What if I told you some shit like that? What if you found out that I had had sex with another man? Could you handle it, Giovanni?”
“With all you have been through and the hurt I caused you by giving in to temptation, baby, I would just have to accept it. If you came home tonight and told me you slept with another man, I would bathe you and make love to you so good that you would never want to sleep with another man again, baby.” He got all teary-eyed, and the tears threatened to spill from his eyes. “That’s how much I love you, Giselle. I would accept it like a man and move on. Because the only woman in this world that I want and have always wanted is you. And I will kill for you.”
Sweet Giselle Page 17