The Monarch Room

by Danielle James

  When he finally emerged around the corner, he looked like he was in a daze. “You ready?” I asked him with a knowing smile.

  “Not really but it’s time to go.” He swallowed and glanced over his shoulder before I opened the door.

  “Let’s talk, Matt,” I sighed.

  “What’s up, Rome?”

  “You and Mrs. Palmer seemed to be pretty friendly. I think she likes you.”

  “What?” He sucked at pretending. I stood at his car and folded my arms, looking at him incredulously.

  “Man, Geneviève wanted to leave with you.”

  “She did not,” he laughed, looking up at the night sky. “Can I ask you something?”

  “What’s up?”

  “Do you think you always end up with who you’re supposed to?” I pondered his question for a moment and sighed, leaning against his car.

  “No. Definitely not. I do think that sometimes you meet that person at a fucked up time.” Thoughts of Zuri flooded my mind and I wondered if it were possible to find the perfect girl that everyone would tell me I couldn’t have because she should have been born one year earlier.

  My chest ached thinking about her.

  She was a fling.

  She wasn’t a soul mate.

  “I think that’s a little too much truth for me for one night,” Matt pushed a hand through his hair and shook his head. “Can I tell you something private without you saying anything?”

  “Matt, does it look like I’d say anything?”

  “Nah. Not really. I have to make sure though.” He paused for a minute and looked around like reporters were hiding in the bushes. I didn’t want to pop his bubble and tell him I already knew about the kiss. I’d let him tell me himself.

  “Eve kissed me. It was the hottest thing in the fucking world. I wanted to screw her on the spot. It was the stupidest thing in the world too. She’s married to our boss.”

  “Sometimes the right person finds you in the wrong place. Trust me, I know.”

  “Who have you found in the wrong place, Rome?” He asked with a knowing smirk.

  “What? Nobody,” I lied.

  “Come on man, I just told you something that could get me fired. You can’t open up about Zuri a little?”

  My skin prickled at the mention of her name. He knew. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. She’s a student.” I tried to remain stone-faced but thinking about Zuri made that difficult.

  “I get it. I wouldn’t volunteer that information either. Is she your right person in the wrong place?”

  My throat tightened picturing her eyes dancing in my mind. I needed to go to her. “Hypothetically speaking, if I were messing around with a student…yeah. She’d definitely be the right person in the wrong place.” Matt nodded his head with understanding and patted my shoulder.

  “Be careful with her, Rome. It’s dangerous. I’m an ally though. Not an enemy.” He unlocked his car and got in. I held up two fingers before heading to my car.

  My entire body ached with the need to see Zuri. I pulled out my phone and skipped the text messaging. I wanted to hear her voice.

  “Roman?”

  “Hey, princess,” I smiled against the phone. “You still alone?”

  “Yeah, I am. I thought you forgot about me,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

  “Nah, never that. I’ve been thinking about you all night. You want me to pick you up?”

  “Oh God, please come pick me up. Wait, don’t pull up to my house though. My father has cameras everywhere. Park on another street. I’ll walk to you. I know how to slip past the cameras.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” I put the address in my GPS and raced toward her house. The closer I got, the more my palms heated with the need to slide across her skin. My nostrils flared with the need to take in her scent. My heart skittered with the need to hold her.

  I parked one street over like she said and sent her a text to come out. I scanned the area looking for her and after about five minutes, I saw her walking with her blue backpack slung over one shoulder. I unlocked the doors for her and she slid in. Before I could put the car in drive, Zuri climbed over the console and kissed my lips. I pushed my fingers through her hair then curled them around the back of her neck.

  “I missed you,” she breathed.

  “I missed you too. Let’s go spend the weekend together,” I told her. The entire drive to my house, my hand rested on her thigh. She let her soft fingers skim the back of my hand and dance up my forearm. I realized neither of us could stop touching the other.

  Even when I walked her into my house, we held hands. I set her book bag down in the kitchen and gave her a tour of my modest, three-bedroom home. “It smells like you,” she sighed happily, spinning in a full circle. I let out a laugh and nodded.

  “It does. It’s mine.”

  “It is yours.” She picked up a picture in a frame and smiled at it. She caressed the little boy with dimples and said, “You were adorable.” I shut my eyes for a second and took the picture from her hand before setting it down.

  “Have you eaten, Zuri? Let me feed you.” I pulled her closer with my fingers in the belt loops of her jeans.

  “I am hungry. It’s so late though.”

  “Do you really think we’re going to sleep any time soon, princess?” I kissed her sweet neck and drank her smell in. It was intoxicating.

  “I hope not,” she purred and gripped my shirt in her fists. Little by little, Zuri was starting to take control when we had sex, and I loved watching her blossom. I groaned when she lowered to her knees in front of me.

  All she had to do was be in the same room as me and I was hard as a fucking rock. It made class difficult, to say the least. “You know I like to hear you ask nicely, Miss Okolo.”

  “Mr. Clermont, can I please suck your dick?” I unbuckled my belt and watched her shift from knee to knee, anxious for me to pull it out. When I did, she let out the sexiest growl. It was possessive and it made me fuck her mouth hard.

  “Is this what you needed, princess? My dick in the back of your throat, choking you?” I slid my cock from her mouth long enough for her to breathe out a yes in response, then I continued face fucking her.

  When I felt myself getting ready to cum, I pulled out and marveled at the lustful look in Zuri’s eyes. She wanted more. I wanted her pussy though. I’d been drinking expensive wine and I couldn’t stop thinking about her while I was at Palmer’s. I needed to be inside of her.

  I pulled her perfect ponytail until she was standing upright, then I pushed her over the kitchen counter and snatched her jeans down. I paused to appreciate her lack of underwear. Her pretty pussy stared back at me and I bit my lip at the sight of it.

  “Jesus, you are perfect.” I tugged on her hair and made her look at me. “Zuri, please tell me you’re on the pill or something. I need to feel you without a condom.”

  “I’m on birth control, Roman,” she smiled. I crushed her lips with mine and fed her my tongue while my fingers slid up and down her pussy. She got so wet I couldn’t resist tasting her. I knew without a doubt that she would ride my face before she left my house.

  While she was bent over, I knelt down and buried my tongue in between her sweet walls. She rained desire down my chin and neck until I was soaked with her. I watched her legs wobble and I couldn’t handle not fucking her. I stood and thrust my dick deep into her while she screamed.

  “Go ahead and scream as loud as you want to, Zuri. We’re far away from the Monarch Room. We’re all alone and your pussy belongs to me. Understand?” I slapped her ass and she whined.

  “Yes, Roman.”

  “Good girl. Now stop tensing up and let me all the way in.” I pushed my hand down at the base of her spine making her back concave until all of my inches slid inside of her. She was pure heaven around my cock.

  When she came, I had to pull out because I would have filled her up. I knew better than that shit. It didn’t matter to me if she were
seventeen or eighteen; she was too young to have kids. I would never do that to her.

  I watched my seed shoot across her cocoa skin and I sighed, slapping my dick against her cute ass. “How am I ever supposed to be satiated with you?” Zuri asked, pulling her pants up after I cleaned her off.

  “That’s a part of this thing, Zuri…you’re never supposed to be satiated. That way, I have to keep feeding you.” I wrapped my hand around her slender neck and kissed her flushed lips. Our tongues danced against each other and I felt her body shudder against mine. The way she reacted to me was surreal. I couldn’t describe it if I tried.

  “Roman, can I ask you something?”

  “What is it, princess?” I brushed a stray lock of hair from her dewy face. She was so beautiful. My mind sketched her over and over.

  “Can you draw me? I can’t stop thinking about the way you drew my eyes. It made me feel so beautiful. I can only imagine how it would be to have you draw all of me.” When she stripped out of her clothes, leaving her t-shirt and jeans on the floor in a pile, I couldn’t find my words.

  My muse was standing naked in my kitchen, asking me to sketch her. My fingers burned down to the bone. My mouth went dry and I nodded. “Zuri, all I’ve wanted to do since I met you was sketch you. Just like this.”

  “Oh, thank God, I didn’t know if I was being intrusive. I just want to watch you work.” I smiled and I saw a piece of her melt.

  “I melt when you smile too, princess.” I touched her chin and she blushed. “Now, I’ll sketch you on one condition.”

  “If you say I have to draw too I’m going to punch you in the face.”

  “No, I wasn’t going to say that.” I laughed and slapped her ass. “I was going to say you have to write while I draw.”

  “You want to sketch me writing?”

  “Yes. It’s when you’re the most beautiful. You look so free. So pull out that little blue book and write whatever inspires you.” She pressed her finger to my chest and smiled.

  “You inspire me. I know it sounds corny and I sound like a love-struck teenager but you’re my muse. I love every minute of being in the Monarch Room because it gives me inspiration just watching you move and talk and draw.”

  My eyes dropped to her throat. I could tell it was tight. I pulled her into my arms and hugged her as hard as I could. She was so naked right then and not because her clothes were on the floor. She was giving me the privilege of seeing the real her.

  I kissed her forehead because it was more intimate than anything else I could think to do right then. She didn’t miss the gesture either. She rested her hands on my forearms and shut her eyes to soak it in.

  Before we both got to work, I made her pancakes and she giggled naked at the kitchen table while I sang along to Whitney songs…horribly. “You’re a brave soul for tackling I Will Always Love You , Roman.”

  “Well, you know…not all heroes wear capes.”

  “Not all heroes have dimples like that either. Jesus. Stop smiling. I think you got me pregnant a few times already.” My laughter died down and Zuri nibbled on her bottom lip. “Hey, I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

  “No. I just don’t like playing around with pregnancy. I’m already wrong for fucking you like this.” I rubbed my forehead and sighed. “I want to make sure you don’t get pregnant, okay?”

  “Okay, I told you I’m on birth control though and we’re careful.”

  “I know. Just…don’t joke about that.” I kissed her forehead again.

  “Mental note made. I really didn’t mean anything by it though, Roman.”

  “I know you didn’t. Come on, let’s get to work. I can see we’re not getting any sleep at all.”

  **

  While Life After Death , played through my Bluetooth speakers, Zuri wrote and I sketched her. I had her sit in an armchair, naked with her blue book in her lap and her thick ebony hair fluffed out over her shoulder.

  My hands had never moved so fast before. They’d never been so hot and stung so badly. The stinging reached my tendons and bones but I wouldn’t stop until I was done. I took breaks but I didn’t stop.

  I noticed Zuri’s hands moving too. Like lightning. Like wind. I’d never seen anyone write so fast. I wanted to know what she spilled onto those pages from the depths of her mind.

  I forgot to draw her momentarily because my eyes were so busy taking sips of her long chocolate legs and pouty lips. “Shit,” I breathed when I looked down and realized my hands were trembling. I’d never seen anyone so stunning. I clenched my fingers into a fist, released it, and picked up a willow stick to blend out the soft grays in the background.

  “What’s wrong?” Zuri looked up at me and her eyes stared through me.

  “Nothing. You’re just…gorgeous.”

  “Stop it, Roman,” she laughed.

  “I’m serious. I’ve never seen anyone as perfect as you.” I put my stick down and walked over to her. I pulled my charcoal stained fingertips down her smooth arms and watched the black streaks mark her skin.

  “I’ve never let anyone read anything in my book before.” She looked at me for a second then put her book in my hands. “I want you to read it, Roman.”

  “Me? Why?” I asked, shocked.

  “Because I want you to know me. Can I look at some of your art? I think the best way for us to get to know each other is through our passions.”

  “You’re right. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. I don’t know if you’re ready for that.” I hated the way Zuri’s gaze fell. It was heavy with confusion. If I was going to let her in, I had to do it. I didn’t want her opening herself to me when I remained closed off.

  “Let me finish sketching you and then I’ll take you into my art room.”

  “I don’t want to force you to show me your art.”

  “You’re not forcing me, trust me, Zuri.” I kissed her lips slowly and slid my fingers down the arch of her spine. Nobody ‘Til Somebody Kills You played like a gritty lullaby in the background. Biggie’s thick cadence coated the moment while she sucked on my tongue.

  “Tell me why you love Biggie so much,” I spoke with my nose to hers and my hands on her cheeks.

  “His words,” she said simply. “His words are vivid and they’re ugly but they’re beautiful because they paint a raw picture. A picture only somebody that comes where he comes from can understand but yet he makes it real to everyone.” She took the small blue book from my hands and flipped through the pages with maddening speed.

  “ Monster…” She said without looking up. “Between your lips lie lies. Tongue ties. You gave me life yet you spit venom into my eyes. Into my soul and it seeps inside so deeply that I can’t let go. I can’t say no. I can’t respond because I feel blind. Sticks and stones do hurt, but words bind. My hands are tied when you start hurling knives. Then you leave me bruised and battered. Torn and tattered and I can’t trace the timeline to when my world got shattered so I sit alone. I say my prayers that you’ll never come home. I know it’s not right but my thoughts are my own.”

  Tears rolled down her face as she spoke with a thick, hoarse voice. I wiped the warm salty liquid from her cheeks and held her in my arms. It was all I could do. “Zuri, I’m so sorry you have to go through that.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she sniffled, straightening her back.

  “I know it’s not my fault but you don’t deserve that. You’re an amazing woman. You’re funny and bright and the way your light shines is crazy. Nobody with a light like that should ever have it trampled on.” I kissed her forehead and held her while until our hearts slowed to a rhythmic beat.

  “Let me finish sketching you. It’s all I’ve wanted to do for months.” She nodded and I saw a small smile inching across her lips. We got back to writing and drawing and an hour later, my sketch was mostly done. I still had details to do but it was complete enough for me to step away from it.

  **

  Zuri held my hand as we walked down the hall and she paused to st
are at the pictures hanging on the walls. “Roman, why do you have all these portraits of yourself as a kid? I’m used to some childhood pictures but you’re a little conceited.”

  I chuckled at her and shook my head. “I’m not conceited, Zuri.” I opened up the door to my art room and cut on the light. Her eyes took in all the sketches lining my walls then she turned to me.

  “This isn’t you, is it, Roman?” She asked once she saw more of the same pictures.

  “No, it’s not me in the pictures.” I took a deep breath and prepared to tell her the thing I kept most private. “It’s my son.” Zuri was stunned silent and I didn’t blame her.

  **

  Zuri

  My ears burned hearing he had a son. A child. An entire child.

  This man fucked me every single day for months and I didn’t know he had a child. A part of me wanted to die and I couldn’t explain why.

  I felt so betrayed.

  “What?” I narrowed my eyes and took a step back, suddenly wishing I had on more clothes, or honestly, any at all would have been nice. “You have a fucking kid? You’re just now telling me about this?” My voice trembled and I wish it hadn’t. I didn’t want to show how hurt I was.

  Why the hell was I hurting so bad? The pain vibrated through my core and it hurt worse in my chest. I wondered if he loved the mother of his son. I wondered how many tender moments they shared together and were they more special than the ones he shared with me.

  Did he call her princess too?

  Did he tell her she was his muse?

  Maybe he told her she was beautiful and that he’d never seen anyone so amazing before.

  I rubbed the sore spot in my chest where my heart thumped like I had sludge for blood. “I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you at first.”

  “Do you love his mother?” I asked, my voice thick.

  “What? You’re taking this the wrong way.”

  “Was she your muse too, Roman?” Hot tears streaked my cheeks.