She smiled, which made my heart melt.
She looked at me as if she was thinking it over and said, “Well, maybe I’ll do that, if you’re good.”
“Oh yeah? What if I don’t want to be good?” I asked her, as I pressed my lips against her neck.
“Oh for fuck sake, are you kidding me?”
I heard my brother’s voice behind me, and I started laughing. I looked in her eyes and saw the heat radiating from them. How can a woman control my body or emotions like this? I feel like a fucking pussy sometimes, like I need my manhood card snatched from my grasp. But then again, I sometimes wish somebody would. I took her hand and kissed her nose.
I said softly, “Later baby.”
And wouldn’t you know it? She whimpered.
“Marcus, I would like you to meet Allura. Allura, this is my annoying-ass brother, Marcus. No resemblance at all, right?”
She rolled her eyes at me and gave him that sexy-ass grin I love so much.
“Hello, Marcus. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Marc looked surprised, no doubt because I called her Allura when I’ve been telling him about a woman named Maxine all this time. But he quickly recovered and gave her his most cover-page GQ smile.
“Allura, it’s nice to meet you as well. And your name; it’s beautiful. French, right?”
She nodded. If it was possible, her smile became more radiant. “Yes, it means the power of attraction.”
“Well, hell. I think your parents hit that name on the bull’s-eye,” Marc replied, appreciating my girlfriend a little too much.
Yes, that’s right. I said it; I said ‘girlfriend.’
“Stop eye-fucking my girlfriend, bro.”
Maxine smacked me and blushed. My brother, however, wasn’t fazed.
“Really? Isn’t that what you do to Marie every chance you get? Yeah, payback is a bitch.” He started laughing, and so did I.
Maxine just shook her head and plopped down on the couch.
“Unfreaking believable. You two are alike in every way.”
My desire to rip her clothes off suddenly came over me. I said to my brother, not taking my eyes off Maxine, “Well, I’m about to hang up on you and fuck the shit out of my woman, something that Marie told me you’ve been lacking.”
“Fuck you. You’re a fucking liar. I’ll go and get her right now and prove it.”
“You know, she’ll just lie for you,” I responded.
But at the same time, he yelled for his wife. I looked at Max, and she shook her head.
“Come on, Marc. I don’t want to see you have sex just to prove a point.”
I feigned disgust.
“Really, little brother, you don’t remember that time…”
I grabbed the remote quickly. “Bye, asshole,” and hung up on him as he started laughing.
I stared at the screen and mumbled, “Jackass” then pushed the television back against the wall. When I turned around, Maxine stared at me. “What?”
She smiled and shook her head, “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
“You think that shit was funny don’t you. I’ll give you something to laugh at.”
She squealed and ran upstairs as I lunged after her. Twenty minutes later I was balls deep in the woman that has my soul and heart wrapped up in a pretty bow. I am so fucked. After our sex fest, I was lying in between her legs as she had her back to the headboard. I was placing feather-light kisses along her stomach as my arms rested along her hips.
“Didn’t you say we were out of condoms?” she questioned me.
I grunted and stopped my kissing assault. She laughed, and I bit her.
“What do you have planned tomorrow night?” I added flatly. “Or do you have to work?”
“Unlike you, Mister, I have to work for a living. I have bills to pay,” she told me.
I sat up a little and pretended to be hurt.
“I have bills too, you know. I do work for a living as well. Speaking of bills, how much do you pay for rent?”
“Uh, none of your business, Mister. You are not paying my bills. Understand?”
We’ve had this conversation multiple times, and she refuses to break. I’ve offered to pay her rent for at least a year, buy her a car so she can get around, and provide whatever else she needs. But she won’t let me. Stubborn girl. She needs to be reminded of who I am, but I won’t push my will on her just yet.
“Alright, alright. I won’t pay your bills. Now can you answer my question about tomorrow night?”
“No, I don’t have to work tomorrow.”
“Then will you come to a fundraiser thing with me tomorrow?”
I sat up and watched her become extremely nervous.
“Um, a thing?”
“Yes, it’s a black tie affair,” I told her, as I rubbed her leg to try to soothe her.
“Black tie affair? I don’t have anything to wear,” she told me, starting to really fidget.
“That’s easily fixable. I’ll get you an outfit.”
She glared at me, and I put my hands up.
“Hey, if you don’t want to keep the dress and shoes, you can return them after the gala.”
“I don’t have time to go shopping tomorrow. I mean, can you go by yourself or take someone else with you?”
I frowned.
“You really want me to take another female with me?”
She gave me this look that told me everything I needed to know.
I chuckled.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so. Listen baby, I really want you to come with me. I want my woman on my arm tomorrow night.” I caressed her cheek. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll have a dress and accessories dropped off at your apartment tomorrow by 3 p.m., and I’ll pick you up at 6:30 p.m.”
She sighed at me, and I knew just by the look on her face she wouldn’t deny me.
“Okay, but can you at least send me a picture of the dress or something?”
“Baby, do you trust me? Don’t worry about anything. I’ll make sure the dress is as beautiful as you.”
I knew she was going to go into freak mode, so I started to kiss her. I tried to take her mind off of tomorrow and focus it on the present.
“No condoms, remember?” she said against my lips.
I smiled at my little inexperienced kitten. But I’m sure by the time I’m done with her, she’ll be my sex goddess.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to improvise.”
I yanked her down under me and consumed the body that I completely OD on every day.
****
The next day I went to get a haircut for the night’s event. I didn’t want to tell Maxine that I had already picked a dress out for her a few days ago. I had my stylist from Dallas ship a black Donna Karan dress that would accentuate all of her beautiful curves in a very sexy way. The box also contained shoes, a purse, and jewelry.
I went to work out after my haircut and did some homework on a few business men I wanted meet tonight. As I explained before, a lot of people come looking for me. But in order for me to sell a business, I have to know how to market them. This is a great place to pitch investments. There will be a lot of men and women whose only lot in life is to make money. Those are the ones I need to impress, which shouldn’t be a problem.
I text Maxine to make sure she received the package I messaged over. She told me she did, but that was all she said. I hoped she liked the dress, and she was still coming. I knew why she was nervous. This wasn’t going to be her crowd, but I wasn’t worried. I knew she could work any crowd and be stunning while doing it.
Around an hour before I was to leave to retrieve my date, she called me and asked if she could meet me there. I was reluctant at first. I even thought about waiting for her, but I decided against it. She knew this was important to me. She wouldn’t leave me hanging. So I told her I would send a car for her at 7 p.m., and she told me that was fine.
When I arrived at the hotel, I was the one to be approached by prospective investor
s and buyers. Word got around rather quickly about my interests, it seems. I made my rounds around the room, but I stayed close to the entrance, so I would see her come in. Who I did see was the brunette that I almost had sex with. She strolled up to me looking beautiful, and I told her so.
She smiled at me.
“Why thank you, Mr. West. It’s ironic that you and I are meeting here like this.”
She put her arm through mine, and then she grabbed my bicep and squeezed. I did give her body a once over, I’m not going to lie to you. If I was single, I probably would have had her in the coat closet already. Yeah, I work like that. But tonight there was only one woman that I wanted on my arm.
“So do you think you’ve socialized enough and would like to finish what we started a few weeks ago?” the brunette said to me.
But I was completely unfocused. I felt her before I saw her. I was about to respond to the brunette, who attached herself to me, when I noticed a few of the sharks in the room sniffing for fresh blood. I followed their gaze and found Maxine standing in the doorway—a vision of perfection. I inhaled deeply and became enthralled, like every woman and man in this room. She was heavenly sinful in that dress, and I couldn’t wait to peel her out of it.
Probably sooner rather than later.
I looked at the brunette and said, “If you’ll excuse me.”
I moved away from her and walked up to Max, never taking my eyes off her. I noticed a few men heading in her direction. But to her credit, she never pulled her eyes off me. She smiled that smile of hers, and I swear I tripped over my own feet.
When I got to her, I drew her in and kissed her lips. Just a quick taste of her is never enough for me. I bent down and kissed her again, allowing our tongues to caress each other quickly.
I said breathlessly, “I didn’t think you were going to show.”
She reached up and raked her thumb along my lips, probably removing the gloss transferred from her lips. But all her touch did was bring my loyal solider to attention. She nodded her head to the brunette.
“So you decided to replace me?”
I shook my head and put her hands in mine.
“Never. There is no woman in this place that could hold a torch to you, baby. You look exquisite, angel.”
She blushed and smiled shyly.
“Well, the dress does make the woman.”
“Oh no, you are clearly making this dress look amazing.” I spun her around to get the full effect. I whispered in her ear, “We will definitely be leaving here as soon as humanly possible.”
I growled in her ear, and she laughed.
“Come on and watch your man make some money.”
We worked the room, and I have to say my ego and confidence went up tremendously since I took her hand. It’s like she gave me a new bolt of energy. I talked to a lot of people. Some were trying to pitch an investment opportunity for me to buy in. But most were trying to either invest in a business themselves and asking for my expertise or they wanted in on whatever I was working on.
Everyone I met had their eyes glued on my date, as they should. I introduced her as Allura Shaw, but I didn’t give her a title. You see, I’m in a room full of sharks. If I would have told them she was my girlfriend, they would have hounded her with questions about me. They knew something was going on, since I never let go of her hand unless it was to shake someone else’s, and she never left my side. But they would never approach her with that much uncertainty.
I have to say though; the woman was remarkable. She smiled her most charming smile and had men around us smitten by her. I whispered in her ear every chance I got how beautiful she was, and I promised to thank her for being here later tonight. I swear when I told her that her eyes lit up with joy.
Okay. Maybe not with joy. But hey, I can dream can’t I?
“So, West, I hear you’re thinking about buying Bernstein’s company. I’m in if you do,” one of the men, that I remembered was named Douglas Paine, prompted me.
“Who told you that?” I said, frowning.
“Your father, actually. He and I go way back. He’s worked my investments for years,” Mr. Paine replied.
I tried to hide my frustration and detestation for the man that was responsible for my existence.
“Hey, I actually thought that was a rumor. West, are you really backing that company?” another one of my top clients, a Thomas Stratford, asked me.
I could tell he wasn’t happy with the news, and he wasn’t the only one. My anger was about to bubble over, but I felt a light hand on my lower back rubbing me underneath my jacket. I took a few deep breaths and plastered a smile on my face.
“Well, Mr. Stratford, you are correct. It is a rumor; a very vicious one at that. I have no interest in getting into bed with Bernstein. So Mr. Paine, if you were waiting for me to co-sign that deal, you’d be waiting for hell to freeze over. As long as I draw breath—and, hell, even way after that—I would not, and my company, West’s Investment Inc., will not be pursuing that venture.”
Mr. Paine frowned.
“I think you need to be smart, young man. There are a lot of people in this room that support Charles Bernstein. You should keep that in mind.”
I put my hands in my pocket to hide the tension that was starting to rise. The nerve of this overweight, stuffed, fucking sausage.
“Well, Doug. This is why it’s a free country with free commerce and all that. If you and the gentlemen in this room, as well as my father and his lackey, would like to go to bed with ole’ Chucky boy, then by all means go for it. But don’t come to me when you have lost all you invested. Don’t come to me to try and save your company. As a matter of fact, please invest your life worth in the likes of Bernstein. That will benefit me in the long run, when I buy you all out.”
Mr. Paine turned red and pointed a sausage-looking finger at me.
“You better be careful, you self-righteous little punk. Mind who made a way for you in this business. If it wasn’t for us, you and you brother would have nothing.”
“And Mr. Paine, don’t forget who made you the millions you’re sitting pretty on right now. If it weren’t for my brother and me, no telling where you would be right now. Like I said, if you want to go to bed with Bernstein, go for it. Just understand that my business will not be involved.”
We had a staring match before the fat fuck left my sight. Pompous son of a bitch.
“West, is there something we should know about Bernstein? I mean we all know you have a history with him,” Stratford asked me.
I was aware, of course, of Maxine being next to me. So I quickly answered him, “Look Tom, most of my clients pay me for my insight on companies and sometimes even the people running those companies. In all the years I’ve been in business, neither I nor my brother have ever mixed business with personal shit. And I have had some successful ventures with Bernstein’s company in the past. However, I do know the man personally. Just knowing him like I do, I wouldn’t recommend going deep into a business like this with him. It’s as simple as that. You can take my word for it, or you can take your business elsewhere and pursue it.”
After a while, the business talk was over. It seemed the woman beside me blossomed even further. She charmed the pants of some multi-millionaires by just talking. I told you; it’s the sound of her voice that hypnotizes you.
I wasn’t jealous she was getting all the attention. That, is until I heard the voice of a man that has me contemplating murder in cold blood on a regular basis.
“Well, well, well. This is a surprise, West. Usually, you’d have some skinny, dense blonde on your arm. How did you manage getting this beauty to be by your side?”
I waited until the man came up next to me before I spoke to him. Dexter Morgan smiled at Maxine and put his hand out to her. When he said his name, his voice went down two octaves lower. He then raised her hand to his mouth.
I blocked her hand from his mouth, and took it in my hand I said coolly, “Morgan you do know this party is for succ
essful businessmen, right? I know I’m supposed to be here but, why are you here?” I told him, not hiding my disdain for the man.
I watched him visually undress Maxine with no regard for the fact that I was standing right beside her.
“It’s clear why I’m here: to meet this lovely, ebony queen,” he said to me.
But he kept looking directly at Maxine. I rolled my eyes and looked over at her, only to see she was actually eating up his shit. What the hell?
“You are too kind, Mr. Morgan,” she told him, and a shit-eating grin spread across his face.
I wanted to punch him in said face, actually. Just at that moment, things got worse. The brunette came swaying in our direction, linked her arm with Dexter’s, and smiled seductively at me. I felt Maxine’s eyes on her and then on me. I knew at that moment that this was an ambush. ‘Aw, shit.’
The four of us stood there and talked about nothing. But the brunette, whose name I still couldn’t remember, was smiling and flirting with me. She kept touching my arm or laughing a little too enthusiastically at something I said. Dexter was trying his best to impress Max; asking her where she was from and trying to connect their past and culture. He was pouring it on rather thick. What was pissing me off was that Max seemed to be buying into his bullshit. I wanted to expose the fraud, but I also had to keep fighting off the clear advances the brunette was giving me.
I started to feel my anger rising, especially when Dexter said to my date, “Hey, let me introduce you to someone that could probably get you started in your career. He’s in charge of the top sports rehabilitation center on the East Coast.”
I saw Max’s eyes light up. Because she looked at me with those eyes, I couldn’t and wouldn’t dream of saying no or interfering. So I was a very obedient boyfriend and simply nodded my okay. Then she left my side for the first time tonight.
I needed a stronger drink, and I walked to the bar with the brunette following.
“So is that your girlfriend or something?” she asked me.
“Yes,” I said simply, not looking at her as I ordered my drink.
I, of course, out of courtesy asked her what she was drinking. She told me white wine, so I ordered for her as well. When my Scotch came, I drank it quickly and ordered another one.
Ruined: Loving An Alpha Male: BWWM Romance Page 17