Max had unnerved me to the point that I couldn’t drive home without wrecking my car and probably taking out a family in the process. It wasn’t me I cared about; it was our son. My fear was that I might die and leave him to Max and Jonas. With Max’s obsessive sexual behavior, he would never be around to take care of Maxim, and then there was his post-traumatic stress brother, Jonas.
There is no way in hell I would put myself in jeopardy with the possibility of those two having influence over my son.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your loss.” “I’m not very good company today,” I said, focusing on the conversation.
“Don’t be sorry. We were high school sweethearts, and we had more time together than most couples.”
How profound. I have been with Max only months, and I may never have the kind of relationship this man enjoyed with his wife. I looked in his face. His black hair had begun to gray on the sides. He was confident, and his clear bluish-gray eyes aroused my body. He may have seen the desires that I harbored, not for him but for Max. It’s probably a hormonal thing. I looked for the moon. A full moon, I thought.
“Where do you know Max from? You don’t appear to be the kind of woman he would be interested in.” That statement hit me hard. I sat back and then sat up.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because you’re not a virgin. Your personal information states that you have a child.”
“What else does it say? Does it tell you about my sexual orientation or how I like my men?”
“Please accept my apology, Ms. Bishop. I didn’t mean to—”
I was angry, and I had to let out steam. “I accept your apology, and thank you for the ride home,” I said with bitterness in my voice. Max was turning me off to men. I didn’t know how to be charming. I saw far too much in their faces, which made me defensive. I found myself not trusting them. This should not happen at my age. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was suppose to find my Prince Charming and marry him and live happily ever after.
Finally home. St. John offered to see me to my door. I refused. I stepped out of the limo and staggered into my house to find my roommate, Crystal, watching my thirty-two-inch flat-screen television, which I had purchased at a bargain basement sale. She had a large bowl of popcorn and a can of cola. “What took you so long?” I hadn’t noticed that St. John might have taken the scenic route to my home.
“The…the traffic was heavy.”
“This time of night?” Crystal raised an eyebrow as if she didn’t believe me. “Alex, that gorgeous man, you know the one I had been eyeing most of the night? He stopped me as I was pulling into the driveway.” I looked at Crystal, wondering who she could be talking about because it was well past two a.m. “You know, the one I thought was gay. He said he would be back to see you.” A loud sound of a fist hit the door. I knew it was my Mr. Black, and by the sound of the knock he was angry.
“Crystal, I need some privacy to handle this.” Crystal had a look of admiration on her face. It should have been one of concern.
“I wish it was me,” Crystal added, wandering into her bedroom and closing the door. I heard music playing, which was great to mask the yelling that was sure to occur.
Opening the door, I placed my hand to my heart as if I could calm the thumping in my chest. His face was intense, his lips inviting, his body hot, and I wanted to jump into his arms, wrap my legs around his waist, and fuck him all night.
“Why would you allow St. John to take you home?”
“What business is it of yours?”
“Can I come in, Alex, just for a minute?” My gorgeous man walked in and didn’t give me a chance to say no, and he sat down. He looked around. “I’m concerned about you. St. John is a man that has peculiar sexual habits.”
“Like you, Max. You’re worried about what I do in the bed. You, who have just about wrecked my life.”
“I deserve that. But you don’t understand. He’s a dangerous man.”
“You’re a dangerous man.”
“I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“You already have. So please leave now.” Max put his head down and didn’t say a word, and placed his hands in his pockets, and lumbered out of the door.
I closed the door and lay with my face and body leaning on the door. I wanted to run to him and fall to my knees and hold on to his fine, muscular legs for dear life, and allow him to fuck me wherever and whenever he wanted. I could feel his dick in my vagina in my dreams. I could feel his body enter mine. All the closeness I craved from being in his presence for however short or long our life together had been, it came back in a torrent of desire.
He has hurt me deeply and we may never find each other.
Waking early the next morning, I made coffee for myself and Crystal. I was a year older than Crystal. Crystal, all of twenty-two and full of my lost youthful arrogance, liked to spend her mornings in bed, except when she smelled a good cup of java. But this morning she was working on her beauty sleep. She was a beauty, but you couldn’t tell by the losers she hung out with. Her black hair was now cut short like a boy’s, or maybe she’d had extensions, and the red streak was long gone. She wore a size four in dresses, which made me envious of her because she could eat everything and never gain weight.
After pouring my coffee, a ping registered and I saw I had an e-mail. When I checked it, I found it was from work.
Ms. Bishop,
I was informed that you are not working the night shift and that Mr. St. John stated that you will accompany him to the opening of his new hotel. He will send you several gowns, and you can select one for the occasion.
Is he out of his fucking mind? I never agreed to—
My thoughts were interrupted by a loud ring from my smartphone.
“Ms. Bishop, this is Charles St. John.”
“Yes, Mr. St. John, I recognize your voice.”
“I was wondering whether you would join me in the opening of my new hotel.”
“I don’t know, Mr. St. John.”
“Please call me Charles or Charlie, whichever one you prefer.”
“Well, Charles, I—”
“As a courtesy to me…my wife…well, I’m not good at being alone.”
“Since you put it that way, I will be happy to accompany you this once.”
“Thank you, Alex. You won’t regret it.”
I’m already regretting it. I fell into my chair and sipped the last bit of coffee when at about 10 a.m. a knock on the door jarred me from my seat. I peeped through the small opening on the Shaker door and spotted two women carrying garment bags. I opened the door, and they marched in and hung the dresses on an iron rod. Under the dresses were six pairs of shoes.
Thank God I could walk in high heels because the Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik heels were five and six inches. It must be wonderful to be rich and have so much information at your fingertips, but then I have Google, but not the time, I thought. I thanked the girls and asked them what should I do with the extra dresses, and they said that they were a present from St. John.
I didn’t feel comfortable keeping the dresses, and I didn’t know when I would be able to use them. As I was going through the dresses looking for something I might wear with a strange man, in walked Crystal, who stopped in her tracks and let out a scream. “Holy shit. Where did you…who sent this?”
Crystal’s large blue eyes opened wide. She rushed to the dresses and began caressing them as if they were babies. “Look at the labels and the prices.”
“Don’t get too excited. I’m keeping only one. I’m sending the rest back after tonight.”
“But why?” she moaned. The sounds coming from her were like those of a girl who had been told that her first boyfriend had just dumped her on the night of the prom.
“Crystal, I have to go to a function tonight and I need you to work in my place. My customers are big tippers and you can make pretty good money.”
“OK, but who are you going on a date with?”
she murmured in a daze trying on the shoes.
“I’m going to a function with Mr. St. John.”
“Holy shit. You just started working at his hotel and already you have managed to snag two billionaires.”
“I didn’t snag anything.”
“Maybe they have a friend that you could introduce me to, or a wayward brother. Those kinds of guys are always attracted to me.”
I thought about Jonas Blackstone. You didn’t get more confused and wayward than him. I wasn’t going to be responsible for introducing his sick ass to impressionable Crystal. She had just moved to Seattle from Iowa. She didn’t need a crazy, unstable man like Jonas messing up her life before she had a chance to live. I wouldn’t do that to her. She would have to do that to herself.
Then I thought of Joshua. They looked as if they could make it. After all, he lived on a farm, and Iowa was nothing but farming country.
“Yeah…sure, Crystal,” I said, thinking I could keep Joshua out of my hair but in my life.
Chapter 13
Along with the dresses and numerous silk undergarments was a note telling me when St. John’s limousine would pick me up and carry me to the hotel. Crystal had gone to work, and I spent my time trying to fix my unruly hair until a knock came. The woman introduced herself as a stylist. She was sent by St. John. Just in time to save the day. By nine o’clock I had dressed and waited for the limo.
When I peered out the window, I saw the limo and out stepped St. John dressed in a traditional black designer tux with white shirt and black bow tie. When he reached the door, I opened it. He had a bouquet of red roses and handed it to me. I felt special again. Then he pulled a black box from his pocket and opened it. The most beautiful teardrop necklace of diamonds and rubies fell into his hands. “It matches your dress.”
“How did you know?”
“I didn’t know, so I bought one for each dress.” His blue-gray eyes didn’t lie or appear false, and because of that I found him most attractive. He was indeed appealing with his good looks and easy manner. Not as attractive as Mr. Black, but who was? He had coarse black-and-white hair, and he could have been a ringer for George Clooney at forty.
When Charles smiled, I let down my guard because his smile was so straightforward and honest. I couldn’t imagine that man wanting to tie me up and spank me. His quiet eyes hid a natural quest for excitement and radiated sex appeal. I guess I’m attracted to quiet men. I discovered that I was attracted to this quiet storm—this temptation in black.
He walked me to the car, his driver opened the door, and I climbed in. Charles St. John strolled to the other side, slid his quiet, handsome self in, and faced me.
“I hope you don’t think that I asked you out because of my grief. I noticed you and you remind me…” He stared long but didn’t complete the sentence. “I know it’s too soon to say that I am attracted to you and hope you will consider dating me.”
What the fuck. I can’t date you or anyone with Black dogging my every move. He’s waiting for me to slip up, and then I won’t get a chance to get my son back.
“I know you have a son and I wouldn’t do anything to cause you any problems. As a matter of fact, I can probably help you because I have lawyers on my payroll that specialize in family matters.”
“Charles, I don’t want to talk about that now. I’m happy that you invited me out and I will have a chance to relax for once.”
We arrived at the hotel, and it was more like an opening for a movie. Max’s fundraiser was different from many hotel openings. It was filled with older, reserved billionaires.
Charles’s hotel had young and exciting people from different backgrounds who came to drink, dance, and get laid. Where does St. John fit in? I questioned. We stepped out of the limo, and cameras were flashing all around, and I was blinded by them. Charles grabbed my arm and looped it under his and led me through the doors and into the entrance of this magnificent palace with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling every few yards. Someone pulled St. John in the direction of a group of men and asked that he introduce me.
“Is she your daughter?”
Charles smiled and said, “Good Lord, man, I’m only thirty-five.”
“It must be the hair.” And then I heard whispers ringing like the peal of a bell. “Blackstone…Blackstone…Blackstone.”
I turned to see Max sauntering in with Ms. Corday. I guessed they were an item now. The smile on her face signaled that she had been fucked within an inch of her life. She clung to his arm as if he was the last man on earth, and he was my last man on earth.
Glancing at Corday, I spotted her leaning in and whispering in Max’s ear. His eyes shifted my way; he pulled his arm from hers and strode in my direction. St. John had been corralled by a group of women dying for his attention. I found the nearest bar and ordered wine, and then I heard, “What are you doing here, and with St. John?”
I turned and looked into his incredibly handsome face. I could feel the intense longing for whatever he could give me, and that was just at a glance with his devilish green eyes.
“You have no right to ask me anything.”
“Is he bothering you, Alex?” St. John asked. I turned to see Charles standing close behind me with a drink in his hand.
“He’s calling you Alex now?” Max’s voiced lowered a few octaves.
“This is my hotel, Blackstone, and this is my party, and she is my guest. I did not invite you. Do I have to have you removed?”
“Don’t worry. I’m leaving.” Max left wearing a sinister expression, his brow furrowed. I had never seen his face truly angry. A chill crossed my spine and left me cold. The warmth of St. John’s arm gave me comfort.
“Don’t worry, Alex. He can’t hurt you, not with me around.”
“Max would never try to hurt me intentionally.”
“But he has, hasn’t he? You two have a son together and he bribed a judge to give him custody. From my investigation, he and the judge were roommates in college. That is something that is not common knowledge, especially for the type of lawyer who represented you.”
“It was all I could afford,” I murmured, angry to find out the truth about Max’s underhanded dealings.
“The cards were stacked against you. Even if you brought in an expensive lawyer who would cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars, it would not be enough for a billionaire who has connections and who knows everyone’s secrets. There is only one man in this town that can handle Maximilian.”
“Whoever he is, I can’t afford him.”
“You are standing here with him, and he finds you ravishing.” I looked at Charles St. John and saw him for the first time. He was as handsome as Max. He began to appeal to me in a way that Max had not. Because I was so in love with Max, I couldn’t stand to look at another man. Because Max had introduced me to his sexual lifestyle, I had forgotten that there were men who were like I use to be—vanilla. Because I was afraid of Max, I ran from him to make a life for myself. I had been running in a circle.
There was no place to run far enough where he could not find me and my son. So now I had to take a stand and fight him. And Charles could be my ammunition and my shield.
“Alex, I don’t have children because my wife died early and she had trouble conceiving. I understand how empty she felt, and I don’t want you to go through that. I will do everything I can to get your son back.”
“I need a job, and not in a hotel as a cocktail waitress. Can you help me? Max owns most of the companies in Seattle, and he sent out a memo that I was not to be hired by any firm, hotel, bank, or newspaper.”
“I never received that memo. I own several banks, and if you’re serious, then I can hire you tomorrow.” I leaned over and kissed Charles on the cheek with enthusiasm of a teenage girl receiving a corsage for the prom. His face lit up, and the pain of loss was erased from his brow.
“Let’s have a glass of champagne,” St. John stated eagerly.
“I thought you didn’t drink.”
&nb
sp; “That’s only at meetings. I like to keep a clear head and watch my staff. I need to know who throws down more liquor than they should. In my business, you have to know everything that’s going on. I have airline contracts, and my managers have to be levelheaded or else people will die. Take Max—that man never misses a meeting, night or day, and whatever country his business takes him to, he is there and cold sober. I admire him. I don’t know how he does it. I guess that will end now that he has a son to care for.”
I know how he does it. He gets in a big dose of fucking and then marches off without a care in the world. That was until I left him and he found out he had a child. I bet his business is suffering now.
A business partner took St. John from our table, so I headed for the nearest restroom. I hadn’t made it to the door when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was a light touch but a firm one. I knew it was not Max because his touch caused my body to quake whenever he placed his hand on me. I turned around to see Blake Scotto dressed in a dark suit and white shirt with an earpiece dangling from his ear.
“What are you doing here, Blake?”
“I’m working. Some of us have to work for a living to pay for a meal out once a month.” He gave a light smile. His best assets were his teeth and his smile. I thought he should smile more; that smile could stop a woman in her tracks. “I would ask you the same thing if I didn’t know that you are hanging with the billionaire club.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say hanging with billionaires. You don’t hang with them. I couldn’t keep up with them if I wanted to, and I don’t want to.”
“I saw you earlier and I wanted to speak to you. I want to tell you how amazing you look. Expensive jewels do nothing for you.” Blake’s fingers caressed my necklace, and my eyes followed his fingers. I looked around to see if St. John had seen Blake. St. John’s back was turned. It might prove awkward explaining to Charles that I knew his security officer. Not that I cared to make the explanation, but I just wasn’t in the mood to answer questions.
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