by Andromeda -
"How about one week from today? Gives me time to plan," he answered.
She nodded, and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sapphire waving her over urgently. "Oh, I gotta go."
She turned to leave, but he grasped her arm gently, pulling her back against him. "Wait, I don't have your number."
Diamond bit her lip nervously. That was tricky. If she gave him the number Alfonzo had given her, then he could track them. But that was her only number. So, she was forced to give him that one and programmed it under the name Dia.
He smiled and took her hand, kissing it again gently. "Until we meet again, love."
Chapter Five: Pyromania
Jonathan rose that morning feeling excited. Today was the day he and his friends would be going to one of the hottest clubs in Las Vegas, and he could hardly wait. Later that day, as he pulled on his clothes, he checked to make sure his two friends were still going before he headed out. Kole and Mike were waiting for him at the door and waved him over.
It was called Club Eros, and he had to chuckle to himself at the name. Eros, named after the Greek minor god of lust, erotica, and fornication. It was easy to get inside, and once they did, the loud music boomed in their ears as they entered the building. Jonathan grinned and slapped Kole on the back. "You deliver, mate."
Kole grinned. "Of course, I do. Now, let's go find some girls to take back to the hotel."
Jonathan laughed, as he and Mike left him alone to wander around. He suddenly stopped when he neared the bar, his heart quickening in his chest. A young woman in an almost skin tight white dress stood there, her hair wrapped up in a matching headscarf. Her heart-shaped face was perfect, and her eyes were the color of pure gold.
Jonathan recognized her instantly as the woman he had seen in the streets a couple days ago. Gathering his courage, he walked over to her and introduced himself, which made her flush and answer shyly.
She told him her name, Diamond, and he had to admit it was the most beautiful name he had ever heard in his life.
After she extended her hand for him to kiss, he raised it to his lips and frowned when he noticed a strange mark on her wrist: a bruise that seemed to be on the last edges of fading. She noticed him looking at it and quickly pulled away, but he was not fooled.
He knew what she was: a prostitute.
No, not a prostitute, he thought. But, she works for them. Maybe a Madam or whatever they call a female pimp, but I don't think she is even that. She's too kind-hearted for that.
“Would you like to dance?” she asked him, as if to distract him from what he had seen.
Jonathan accepted. The moment he touched her hand, he felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his body. He gripped it tight, as if it was a lifeline, and pulled her close to him as they moved to the dance floor.
She tried several times to pull away, as if she was fighting what she felt between them. Jonathan had no such reservations. He held her close, wanting to hear her heartbeat. He did not know why, but for some unknown reason, he had to keep her close to him. He needed her there.
"I know what you are," he finally whispered, taking the dive.
She froze a moment. "What do you mean?" she stammered.
"I know that you aren't just a normal woman," he whispered. "You don't have to fool me."
"Do you want to stop dancing?" she asked.
He smiled and shook his head, gently pressing his lips to the back of her neck. The scent of orange blossoms and honey caressed his nostrils. The feel of her soft, silky hair made him want to rip off her headwrap to feel it in his hands.
For a moment, a vision flashed before his eyes: them in bed together between the sweaty sheets. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, her nails scraping his back gently, her hoarse cries of pleasure as he dove deeper and deeper into her depths.
He wanted her.
At that moment, he wanted her unlike anything he had ever wanted before.
"Hell no, love," he said with a laugh. "Of course, I don't. I know you are a…woman of the night and it does not bother me. There is something else about you…something I admire." He could feel her physically and mentally loosen up a bit and he smiled wider. "I want to go out on a date with you."
She froze up again. "I don't just date," she said softly. "Because my…erm…boyfriend…wouldn't like it."
Jonathan froze himself, frowning at the mention of the word boyfriend. He knew the real word: pimp. She must be one of his favorites, and he must have that little girl she was with, her daughter.
Yes, that's it, he thought to himself. That's the only reason she is here; he has her daughter. But I know one thing pimps cannot resist: money.
"Well, then…might I buy a date?" he asked.
"You would do that?" she whispered in awe.
Jonathan nodded. "There is something about you…something I want to understand."
She flushed, as he turned her around, looking deeply into her eyes. His silver ones boring into her golden ones and he watched as she slowly swallowed, and then he noticed something else. Her headscarf was covering something else: more bruises on her neck and shoulders, bruises in the shape of a hand.
That bastard, he thought to himself angrily. What kind of man puts his hand on a woman? Only a coward.
He then promised himself then and there no matter how much it would cost, he would take her out with him, if only to get her away from him.
"How much would it cost?" he repeated. "I don't care the price."
"You wouldn't like it," she said shyly, nibbling on her lower lip.
Jonathan inwardly groaned, picturing those lips doing something much different. It forced him to shift in his pants, fighting the beginning of a hard-on. "How much?" he pressed, his voice hoarse.
"Three thousand," she answered, bowing her head, almost as if in submission to him.
He didn’t like that. She didn’t need to bow to anyone. Gently taking her hand, he led her from the dance floor and to a private corner, where he took out his wallet and pulled out what he held inside. Quickly, he counted out one thousand dollars and then handed it to her.
"This is in advance," he said. "So your…boyfriend knows I am serious. I'll have the other two on our date."
She nodded nervously and took it, putting it in her dress. "When…erm…do you want to do this?" she asked.
"How about one week from today? Gives me time to plan," he answered.
Jonathan smiled. He wanted to do something special. Something told him that she'd never truly been outside Las Vegas before, outside this city of flashing lights and silicon, and he wanted to change that.
She nodded, then glanced behind him, seeing a woman in a blue dress. "Oh, I gotta go." She turned to leave, but he gently grasped her arm.
"Wait, I don't have your number," he said.
She bit her lip again, thinking something over and then nodded. Jonathan gave her his phone and she put in her number, marking it under ‘Dia’. He smirked to himself, as he was going to change it to 'Chocolate Goddess’ when he got back to the hotel.
Smiling at her, he took her hand and kissed it again. "Until we meet again, love."
✵✵✵✵✵✵✵
He watched as she left, hurrying off to the aid of a woman in a blue rhinestone dress. Jonathan sighed softly, his eyes glued instantly to her bare back and perfectly round bottom rocking under the white dress. He’d always been an ass man. He didn’t know what it was, but if you didn’t have an ass, then he wouldn’t sleep with you, plain and simple.
And looking at her, in the words of the American youth, she had cake for days, he thought with a wide smirk.
He watched as she talked to the woman in the blue dress before they both rushed off. Strangely, he felt the urge to follow them, and he did. Moving quietly so that she didn’t see him, he followed them to a back room where the gentle sound of weeping could be heard.
"It's all right, Emily," Diamond whispered softly. "Tell me what happened."
"I told him no…," the weeping voice whi
mpered, "but he kept pushing me, and then…and then…"
Jonathan peered around the corner to look and his heart sunk. Diamond, the woman in the blue dress, a woman in a red dress and a woman in a yellow dress, all huddled around a woman in a green dress. Her outfit was torn, her shoes gone, and he could see her mascara running down her beaten and bruised cheeks.
"It's OK, Emily," Diamond said gently. "I'm here for you."
She had a calming voice, one that made him want to go down and worship at her feet, but he stayed where he was. They whispered amongst themselves and Diamond suddenly stood to her feet.
He gasped softly, as he turned around and ran away back to the dance floor before she could see him. She charged out from the back rooms and headed to one man in particular, who was laughing and talking to his friends.
She tapped his shoulder and when he turned around, he didn’t have time to react before she pulled her fist back and punched him square in the nose. The man staggered back, clutching his no doubt broken nose as Diamond advanced on him, her eyes blazing.
"You want to attack an innocent woman!" she screamed at him, kicking at him with her high-heeled shoe. "I'll give you more than you can handle!"
She took off her earrings, handing them to the woman in the blue dress before she lunged at him, but Jonathan rushed over, grabbing her waist. She clawed at his arm, trying to wiggle free, all while screaming and cursing at the man at the top of her lungs.
Jonathan was from England and they used profanity daily, but some of the things she was saying were going to make him blush.
"She was far from innocent!" the man spat. "Trust me, she wasn't that good anyway. So…small. I like my women nice and curvy."
He roamed his eyes over her and Jonathan had to stop himself from taking a swing at him.
"Enough," he growled, trying to control his rising temper.
"This your bitch?" the man asked, looking Diamond up and down.
"She's mine, but she's anything but a bitch," he said tightly. "Though she seemed more than enough for you." He looked at his nose, blood streaming down his face.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Better tell your bitch to watch her back. Me and my boys don't take too kindly to bitches not knowing their place."
"Well, this bitch knows the place where her foot deserves to be," Diamond hissed. "Right up your ass! Jonathan, let me go!"
Jonathan chuckled. "Easy there, love, they aren't worth it."
The man rolled his eyes at Jonathan and glared at Diamond one last time before he and his friends walked off. Jonathan held Diamond until he was sure she was not going to run after them, then slowly let her go.
"Thank you," she said softly, brushing some hair from her forehead. "I would have killed those guys if you hadn't held me back."
"You're welcome, princess," he said, smiling.
She arched an eyebrow. "Princess?"
"It's a term of endearment," he said, blushing like a girl talking about her first kiss.
"Oh?" she said with a soft smile, her first true smile, and it made his heart flutter. "And am I endearing to you?"
"Aye," he whispered softly.
"Dia!" one of the girls with her said. "Emerald wants to go now."
"Coming, Jasper," she said, before turning back to him. "I have to go. I'll see you at our date."
"I'll talk to you on the phone a lot sooner than that," he chuckled softly before grasping her hand and kissing it. "See you soon, love."
Chapter Six: A Date…
Diamond looked in the mirror at herself, smiling at her outfit. It was nothing special. A white crop top, bleached shorts and a peach shawl with a matching peach-colored headwrap. Her makeup was minimal, as she wasn’t one for caking it on. Today was her date with Jonathan, and she had to admit, she was a little nervous.
In the doorway of the bathroom, Alfonzo stood, looking her up and down. "And you swear to me he is going to pay you the other two thousand today?" he asked for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"Yes, Alfonzo," she said. "You have seen his text messages. He is going to give me the two thousand after the date."
He sniffed and looked her over. "You better not do anything to mess this up for me."
Diamond stiffened, biting her tongue. She wanted to so badly curse him out, but she knew that it would only end up worse for her, and most likely would result in a beating. "Yes, Alfonzo," she said through gritted teeth.
She finished looking at herself, then walked to the living room where Dalila sat, playing on an iPad. When Diamond saw who else was there, she cringed.
Luke.
He was Alfonzo's right-hand man, and Diamond couldn’t stand him. She didn’t trust him at all, and he was sitting next to her daughter.
When he saw her looking at him, he stood and walked over to her, then he looked her over as if inspecting her outfit. "Well don't you look as pretty as a sunflower facing the sun?"
Diamond frowned. Normally, his thick, southern Tennessee accent would make any woman drop her panties for him, but it always had the opposite effect on her. She hated everything that had to do with him.
"Thank you," she said stiffly. "Dalila, come on, it's time to go."
"You're taking her on your date?" Luke asked.
“Where I take her is none of your business,” she snapped as she lifted her daughter into her arms.
"Why not let her stay here?" he asked. "I'm sure we could have much…fun."
A shudder shot up her spine, and she pulled Dalila closer to her. "Well, I don't want her to have too much fun. Goodbye."
She rushed to her car and buckled her into her car seat. When she stood up, she saw Luke standing in the doorway, watching them. She couldn’t stand him. Luke was a snake. The kind of man who was used to getting whatever he wanted. He had slept with every woman that was under Alfonzo but one: her. She avoided him like the plague, knowing he just wanted her to prove he could have all that Alfonzo had.
Sapphire was going to watch little Dalila, and Diamond couldn’t get to the hotel fast enough. When they reached the buildings, Dalila hopped out, running into Sapphire's arms, who cooed to her in Spanish.
"I'll be back to pick her up around 5," Diamond said. "Maybe later, depending on how long this…date goes."
"Do you like him?" Sapphire asked.
Diamond shrugged. "I dunno, maybe."
She smiled. "Follow your heart, Dia, not your brain."
✵✵✵✵✵✵✵
Diamond pulled into the parking lot of the Venetian Resort Hotel and her jaw dropped. This was the most beautiful hotel she had ever seen in her life. It was quite breathtaking.
Getting out of her car, she walked into the lobby, her eyes wide like a child in a candy shop at the gold and silver molding, the glass-like marble flooring and so forth. Richly dressed people walked in and out, which made her feel a bit underdressed and she blushed nervously. A hand tapped her shoulder and when she turned around, she saw three wealthy looking guys.
"Hi," the one who tapped her shoulder said.
"Hello," she said back slowly.
"So, listen, my boys and I were wondering how much you charge?"
Heat bloomed in her cheeks. "How much…I charge?" she repeated in shock.
"You can't charge that much," he continued. "How much for the three of us together?"
Her eyes narrowed in fury. "I'm not for sale."
"Playing hard to get, I see," he said, as he took out his wallet. "I dig that. How does five hundred sound?"
"Not even close enough," a familiar voice said behind her.
Jonathan strode over, his cheeks flushed red with anger. His powerful arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her to him, and he kissed her deeply on the lips before pulling away and looking at the three guys.
"You are proposing something to my girl?" he asked angrily.
The leader of the three guys flushed. "W-well…we didn't know. And seeing how she's dressed…"
"You thought she was a cat walker," J
onathan growled. "That's very disrespectful."
"Look, man, we're sorry," the guy said and then looked to her. "Sorry, Miss."
He and his guys rushed off, which left she and Jonathan alone.
Diamond nervously played with a lock of hair that had escaped from her headwrap. "T-thank you."
"Don't mention it, love," he said. "Those guys were in the wrong. Does that…happen a lot?"
"Unfortunately," she sighed. "Look, Jonathan, you seem like a nice guy, a guy who has no dealing with the kind of girls like me. Why don't I just leave?"
"Why would you do that?" he asked. "We haven't even begun our date yet."
"I don't think—" she began.
He cut her off with a finger on her lips. "Hush now, love. We are going to have a wonderful date. I have so many things planned for you today and for tonight."
She blinked. "Tonight? I…I thought it would be over by five. I have to pick up my daughter and…"
Looking in his eyes made her stop. There was a warmth within them that she’d never seen before. A warmth that made her want to wrap herself in it and never be let go.
He sighed. "Honestly, love, I was hoping you could stay the night."
Diamond flinched. "Erm…"
"I'll give your…boyfriend extra," he offered. "Please?"
He pouted, his large grey eyes molding into puppy dog ones and Diamond couldn’t help but softly smile.
"I guess I can call my friend to watch my daughter," she murmured.
He smiled and took her hand. "I'm not trying to keep you from your child, but I do want to spend time with you."
How long has it been since Alfonzo has said those words to me? she thought to herself.
Shyly, she nodded her head and he smiled. "Perfect, love. Come, let's go. I hope you are good on your feet because we are going skating."
✵✵✵✵✵✵✵
Diamond couldn’t remember the last time she went skating. They rode in his car, and she still was a bit nervous, but he placed his hand over hers to calm her. By the time they pulled up to the Boulder Crystal Palace Skating Center, she was almost bouncing out of her seat with excitement.