by Mj Fields
“I know, Mel,” I cut her off before she finishes. I have been down that rabbit hole already tonight; I’d prefer not to revisit the trip.
“Mommy?”
We both look toward the house where Melyssa’s daughter, Torrance, is in her husband’s arms, rubbing her eyes.
“Hey, sugar,” Mel smiles.
“I wanna sleep with you and Daddy,” she says then yawns.
“That’s not what you said in there.” Sabato sighs. “You said you wanted to come say goodnight.”
She shimmies out of his grip and walks over to her mother as she tells him, “Sometimes, you gotta share, Dad.”
Sabato rolls his eyes behind her back. I can’t help getting a kick out of it.
“He does need to learn to share better, doesn’t he?” Mel says, taking her hand. Then she wraps her arm around me and gives me a quick hug, “See you in the morning?”
“Of course,” I tell her then bend down to give Torrance a quick one-armed hug. “Night, little lady.”
She smiles big. “Night, Aunt Paige.”
When they walk in, Sabato walks toward me, anger playing in his eyes. “Who’s Warren and why does Mel want to slash his tires?”
“It’s nothing.” I laugh. “It was years ago.”
“If it was nothing, my wife wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“It really has nothing to do with Mel. He was just an asshole who did me wrong.” I only give him enough information so his curiosity is quenched. Plus, it saves me a hell of a lot of embarrassment.
“Does he need to be taken care of?”
“Jesus, Sabato, no,” I gasp.
He just looks at me.
“I’m serious. It’s all good. Just some hurt feelings is all.”
He nods. “All right then.
In bed, I lie awake thinking about Mel, Laney, and Nikki. I think of all the times I spent trying to make my mark on the world. To become successful as I compare my life to theirs. It saddens me to realize I’ve failed.
I hear a knock on the door and wipe away the tears as it opens and Laney walks in with an arm full of towels.
“I brought these for …” She pauses, sets the towels down, and hurries toward me. “What’s wrong?”
“Too much wine?” I force a laugh.
I don’t want to admit I may be a little jealous of her, or for any of my friends to think I am anything but ecstatic over their successes.
Nikki is doing exactly what she planned all her life, and she has Abe, a man who adores her. He may be a little dominant for my tastes, but she’s happy. That’s all that matters.
Laney went through hell growing up with the loss of her twin, her family falling apart, and then with her college boyfriend. He was a cheat, and obviously a fool. In the end, though, she found the one person who loved her hard enough to get through it all. Now she and Dominic live a beautiful life, where she works beside him.
Mel … Dear Lord, Mel was a virgin longer than I was, and apparently, she couldn’t ever “get there” with the little bit of fooling around she did, so she had all but given up until she saw bad boy Sabato Efisto putting on one hell of a show at a sex club. Evidently, that did it for her. Years later, he’s still doing it for her.
Sitting down on the side of the bed, Laney pushes my hair behind my ear and smiles sadly. “You’re going to find a better job, one where they will appreciate you.”
I sniff. “Well, apparently, I lack confidence.”
“Well, they lack brains.” She wipes a tear from my face and looks at me for a few minutes. “That last one, he didn’t deserve you—none of them have.”
“I can confidently say that is one hundred percent accurate.”
She laughs and hugs me. “Can I tell you a secret?”
I nod.
“I can’t wait to see you fall.”
I huff, “Aren’t you sick of that?”
“I’ve yet to see it.” She grins. “But I will.”
“Maybe I don’t want that kind of love,” I admit.
“None of us did.” She nods. “But when all the chips fall into place, when you least expect it, it suddenly becomes clear that all the hell you’ve gone through was preparing you for that moment.”
“Well, I hope that moment comes with a corner office on Fifth Avenue with the firm that puts FF out of business.”
“So you can be queen?”
“So I can be queen,” I agree.
Chapter 5
Masterpiece
Vincent
She’s fucking with my sleep, my focus, my planning for what’s next. She’s fucking with everything except my cock.
“Do you have a minute?”
I look up to see Sabato at my door.
I nod, and he opens the screen door, walks in, and looks around. It’s clear he doesn’t care for the place.
“Who is Warren?” he immediately asks.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lie, unwilling to admit that I overheard the conversation between Paige and Melyssa Efisto.
“You’re full of shit. I saw you in the shadows on the patio.”
“I have no reason or inclination to divulge any information I do or do not know, to you.”
He sighs, looking mildly annoyed as he sits like we have anything more to discuss. We don’t.
“Point taken. Not accepted, but you may want some information I have someday,” he says flippantly. “Like Franco’s whereabouts.”
I grab another cup out of the cupboard and pour him some coffee. Then I set it in front of him and sit down.
“Thank you.” He picks it up and takes a sip. “Tomorrow, I’d like us all to go out to dinner at Queens House. I will make sure your ill-tempered friend, Franco, knows Valentina will be there, and if he chooses to, he can explain that he was wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“I believe he’s under the impression that there are people out there who would try to seek retribution for Benito’s murder.”
“There are others out there,” I tell him.
“They’ve been dealt with or have been redirected to more lucrative opportunities. Dead men have nothing to offer those whose loyalty was bought and paid for. Franco has a much stronger sense of loyalty and responsibility than any of those money hungry bastards. He’ll be of more use protecting what’s his.” He pauses and studies me. I assume he, too, believes I have a misguided sense of love, loyalty, or responsibility like the rest of the men surrounding me. He’s wrong.
“If there is no danger, then I agree.”
“She doesn’t know his whereabouts. I prefer she doesn’t until they can come face to face.”
“I won’t say a word.”
“Dominic doesn’t know either.”
This shocks me, but it doesn’t really surprise me.
“So, now, who is Warren?”
I hate that I am about to, in a way, admit that I was curious, as well.
“Warren Black attended high school with your wife, Laney, Nikki, and Paige. They also all attended the same college. His family owns a bank that owns half of Tybee Island.”
He rubs his chin in thought.
“He has no record,” I add.
“Then, why would Melyssa want to—”
“I assume Paige and he had relations, and it didn’t end well.”
He smirks. “So, my wife is threatening illegal activity for a friend.”
I don’t know why this amuses him, but it does.
Still smirking, he stands and looks at me. “Nice chat.”
Then he leaves.
I have watched her drink enough wine today to intoxicate two men twice my size. She is, however, having a great time drinking and talking with her friends. I suppose that is warranted, having overheard several conversations that have peeled away some layers of the woman Paige tries to portray.
I have noticed her look at me when she thinks I’m not looking. Hours ago, she would look away quickly when I noticed. The more she drinks, though, the more
she lets go of the fear of being caught gawking.
There have been whispers and snickers between her and her friends. I assume they know more than they should about what went down last night. Oddly, I don’t give a damn.
When it is suggested they all go out, Valentina looks to me for approval, knowing I will look into it. I already have.
When I’m asked to join, I decline, but Valentina insists. Knowing Franco will be there, and that Sabato, someone who Franco never actually liked is involved, I accept.
In the car to Queens House, Paige is sitting across from me. I would have preferred to be in the front with Dominic’s driver, but somehow, I ended up with all of them.
She’s wearing a low-cut black dress that is also short. Very, very short. So short in fact that I know she is wearing red lace underneath it. I am ninety-nine percent sure she is braless, too. The fact that her large tits, the ones I saw the other night, the ones I held last night, the ones that are etched in my mind probably forever, are unbound causes me to get hard again.
I watch her eyes dart down to my cock. She licks her lips quickly then looks back up at me. I don’t give a damn that she knows I’m hard.
When we pull up in front of what looks like an old castle, there is no sign with the establishment’s name. I know why. It’s a members-only club, a dining establishment that is also a sex club. From the outside, you would never be able to tell. Just by the name, you don’t know either, but I did some digging.
I am the first one out of the car, giving myself the opportunity to adjust my cock so that it hopefully won’t be all that noticeable.
“What is this place?” Paige asks, nearly falling out.
I catch her arm and help her stand. “My guess is a restaurant, since we’re here for dinner.”
Her perfect white teeth sink into her bottom lip before she licks it, which isn’t helping the situation in my fucking pants.
“Smartass,” she slurs.
“I’ve never been here,” Valentina says, stepping out.
“Of course you haven’t.” Sabato chuckles. “It’s new and private. Welcome to Queens House.”
Welcome to a place where women fuck with men, is more appropriate, I think.
Inside, it looks like a medieval castle. They clearly spared no expense when decorating it.
I watch Paige take it all in and catch her from falling on her ass more times than once as we walk toward the upper dining area that looks down over the main dining area. The wait staff are all men, dressed in black. In the back of the room are three empty thrones.
“Is that where the queens sit?” Paige points down. “If so, I’m in the wrong section.”
They all chuckle, as they have for days now while she has been on a verbal anti-male mission. She’s even talked about becoming a lesbian, which they laughed at.
I am somehow seated next to her.
When I feel her hand slide from my knee to my thigh, I glance over at her and whisper, “Not the time or the place.”
She grabs my cock, smirks, and whispers back, “Says the man who stared at my tits and panties all the way here. The man whose cock is hard in my hand. Seems to be a suita … suitab … suitable time and place to me.”
“You better finish what you’re starting this time.” I slide my hand over, grip her knee, then yank her leg so both are spread. I waste no time moving my hand up her soft thigh then pushing my finger under her lace panties and rubbing her wet, hot lips.
Her grip on my cock tightens as I plunge a finger inside her cunt. Then her thighs clamp together around my hand, and she whimpers.
“Care to join me in the bathroom?” Melyssa stands, and Valentina follows.
“I need the ladies, as well.” Paige starts to stand, but I clamp her knee tightly.
“Don’t start this and pussy out,” I hiss at her as she pushes her chair back.
I quickly remove my wet, pussy-soaked hand from her thigh so I don’t get caught.
I am fuming that I have let her fucking control this shit thus far. It’s not how I operate, and now I know why.
“You don’t need the ladies room also?” Dominic half-jokes with his wife.
She shakes her head. “I’m perfectly content right here.”
“Tired, huh?” He leans in and kisses her cheek.
She smiles. “You know I am.”
When I see him place his hand on her abdomen and close his eyes, I assume she is with child.
Dominic looks at me, then around the table. “Where is Sabato?”
“I don’t think he came up with us,” Laney remarks.
They both look at me.
“I haven’t seen him either.”
As if on cue, Sabato walks up the stairs. He comes over then sits down next to me with a look of accomplishment on his face. Then he grabs a glass of wine and drinks it all before asking, “Where’s my wife?”
“She, Paige, and Valentina went to the bathroom,” Laney tells him.
He rocks back in his chair and links his fingers behind his neck.
“What the hell is with you?” Dominic half-laughs.
Sabato nods toward the opposite side of the building, where there is another private upper dining area. “I do good work,” he says smugly.
Laney gasps. “Is that Franco?”
He nods.
“Franco,” Dominic says his name fondly.
We all watch the interaction between Franco and Valentina. Well, they do. I want to know where the hell Paige is.
I see Melyssa walk up the stairs, smiling as she looks directly at Sabato, who shrugs yet has a shit-ass grin on his face. She bounds over to him, sits on his lap, and then whispers something in his ear as she hugs him. He points to Franco and Valentina as they walk farther back in the area until they are out of sight.
“Well, we know what’s going on over there.” Laney smiles. “Now, where’s Paige?”
Exactly. Where the fuck is she?
“She and Thor are talking”—Mel giggles—“down there.”
I look down and see Paige sitting on one of the thrones. Thor, Sabato’s half-brother, is beside her, and another woman dressed in a leather corset is sitting on the other throne.
“She know what she’s in for?” Sabato asks.
Melyssa nods. “You know your brother; he won’t put her in a situation she doesn’t want to be in.”
“Situation?” Laney asks as the waiters place food on the table.
“Queens House is a place for females to explore their …” Sabato pauses.
“Dominant side,” Melyssa finishes for him.
“I was going to say their strength.” Sabato winks at her.
Unable to stop myself, I ask, “Meaning what?”
“Meaning the men here like to be dominated, and the women here like to dominate. I assume Paige expressed interest,” he says as if it’s no big fucking deal.
“It’s a sex club?” Laney gasps.
I look at Dominic, whose eyes narrow at Sabato.
“No, it’s a place where people get to explore sides of themselves in a safe controlled environment,” Sabato answers robotically.
“She’s drunk,” I remind him.
“She’ll be fine,” he says. “My brother is a do-gooder.”
“I’m not sure she should be doing this. Not tonight. Not drunk.” Laney becomes the voice of reason, and my new favorite person at this table.
“She’ll be presented with an opportunity to watch and see if it’s anything she’s interested in. If not, Thor will make sure she gets home safely.” Melyssa becomes my least favorite person at this table, aside from her smug fucking husband.
“I’m not sure about this,” Laney voices her concern again.
“After all she’s been through, I think you’re wrong. Think about it, Laney,” Melyssa persists. “She deserves to take every bit of her hurt and frustration out on someone who’s clearly and literally asking for it. She needs this.”
“Is it safe here?” Dominic asks Sabato.
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“Of course it’s safe,” he answers.
Dominic looks at me, and I try to hide the fact that I’m fucking furious. He may get the wrong idea. I’m not into her like that, but I’m sure as fuck not cool with the woman who was rubbing my cock, who I was knuckles deep in, a woman who was worked up for me, fucking someone else when she has given me blue balls for a week now. Fuck that, her pussy is mine.
Dominic leans in and asks, “Will you stay and see that she gets home?”
“If I must,” I answer, meaning: you bet your ass she’s going home.
When they all leave, I am at the bar, watching Thor hand her a drink while the other woman talks to her. I slam down my third double, which washes away any sort of sense I may have.
Walking up to her, ignoring Thor, who I would like to fucking throttle, I see her look down when she notices me.
“Paige, you ready to go back to the vineyard?”
“She’s not,” Thor answers for her.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is supposed to be all girl power shit, yet you’re answering for her?”
He starts to respond, when I grab her chin and lift it so she’s forced to look at me. “Let’s go.”
She pulls her chin out of my hand. “I’m staying.”
“You’re drunk. He’s been feeding you more alcohol—”
“She’s been drinking water for the past hour,” Thor again steps in.
“You should step back before you end up in a situation you don’t wish to be in,” I warn.
“You may want to think about whose place you’re in and consider Paige’s wishes.”
I step toward him, ready to deliver what he’s been warned about, when Paige stands up.
“Give me one minute please.”
Thor nods then holds his hand out for the other woman.
When they walk away, she begins to say some shit, but I shut it down.
“You don’t get to grab my cock, ride my finger, getting worked up so you can go fuck someone else.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do.” She pushes against my chest. “I’m in control here.”
“You tell me whose cock you’ll be thinking about while you fuck some … some …” I look around at the men in the room, wishing I could find something obviously wrong with them. Unable to find the words, I look back at her. “You’re drunk.”