Page 5 of Good As Hell

~The Penthouse~

Just the scrolled word on the black card with a code on the back. I waited until an hour after I left Fifi in her room because I knew that she was going to argue with me the entire time. The way she was mugging me the whole time after the server dropped off that card you would have thought I was exactly the slag tabloids made me out to be. The silent but loud “I’m totally judging you and you better not,” seared me for the full ten minutes it took me to convince her I wasn’t going to go hook up with the prince.

Stepping into the elevator, I press the floor to the penthouse suite, then enter the code. My heart hammers as the door closes, but I’m not deterred there is something about the filthy sweet promise in his gaze that has me wanting to know if I can make him shatter the same way his earlier dismissal made me pause.

One thing about me is I love a challenge and Hassan Al Rasheed has proven to be one I can’t resist.

My reputation as being as current highest grossing singer in the world does nothing to stop the smears. Being a woman whois sex positive and wants young women to lean into their power and body autonomy always has its critics. Mostly tight mouthed women and even tighter sphincter men but I don’t let that deter me.

I long ago stopped being concerned about what people think. I own every part of me and it’s made me damn near a billion dollars. If I can secure this deal with a leading spirits company, I will be well only way.

My five-year plan hinges on me generating enough buzz to secure my future with Le Bonne Champagne. I’d heard the premium beverage company was in financial straights because of the heirs fighting over control needed a spokesperson and a serious rebrand. No, I want a partnership. After my tour I will be ready to go all in. They were prime for the picking. I heard that two of the brothers were actively looking for someone to help them do a takeover of the company. Yet they had a sister, Anais, who’d gone to school with one of my sisters, Kadence. They’d been friends, and she’d confided how she hated what they were doing to her late father’s legacy. I’d pick the right time to come to her rescue. She could keep the face of the billion dollar business and I’d be her silent benefactor. The deal is all but done but once I finish this tour, I will be free to do as I wish and invest the capital she needs to take over the company.

The elevator dings, bringing me out of my musings. Elevator doors swoosh open. I find myself facing the backs of two giants. Giants who slowly turn to me with frowns on their faces.

“Hi,” my smile fails miserably when they don’t move for a small eternity. The one on the right steps back. I can’t help but notice the way his shoes gleam against the polished floor.

The space I’m given to move forward and out of the elevator is barely enough, but as I pass the guard to my left steps back swiftly as if he’s been burned.

Sliding him a mean look, I turn to the other guard. “Is Hassan here? He gave me this.” He shoots a bored glance at the proffered card then speaks into his watch in what I assume is Arabic.

“His Highness will be with you shortly.” He informs me in a polite tone, nodding to the seating area just inside the room. I clasp my hands nervously, already second guessing myself.

Why him? I really don’t have an answer. Of the hundreds of nice guys I could have ended my drought with, why would I come here tonight knowing that he wants nothing other than sex? Because that’s why. No strings. No promises. And if the rumor mill is true, he’s discreet and he never has a lover more than once.

“Lyric.”

I turn after a small eternity. It’s like he’s appeared out of nowhere. And it’s only him. The guards have disappeared without a sound.

He towers over me, looking as severe as he did earlier. Not when he looked at me in the ballroom, no, he has that same severity as before during the screening.

The hairs on the back of my neck rise as if he’s overtly threatened me when he’s done nothing of the like. Still, I take step back watching as the muscle in his jaw ticks in response.

“You came.” Stating the obvious along with hinting at why he’s miffed. His Highness, as the guard called him doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Noting and ignoring the information I don’t apologize, I shrug. “I didn’t have any other plans.” Letting him know he’s the lucky one. And he is more than he realizes.

“One night,” he states the terms.

Now, it’s my turn to assess the high and mighty prince.

“No gift?” I smirk, daring him.

Thick, gorgeous lashes lower, casting shadows on his sharp high cheekbones before he pierces me with a hard stare. “What would you like?’

“A yacht — just like yours.” I add a smirk just to fuck with him.

Silence falls between us. I see if he’s going to take the bait and cuss me out for daring to ask him for a hundred million dollar yacht. I’m the biggest star in the world, I could remind him of that.

Watching his assessment of me become too much, I can’t help the giggle that spills free as I watch the emotions play across his face that range from stunned disbelief and puzzlement to chagrin.

“Gotcha,” I quip.

He shakes his head a little, his hand covering his chiseled jaw. Personally, I think it’s to hide a smile. One, he’d rather perish than let me see.

“I thought you didn’t like me.” A self-deprecating shrug is my only armor.

“I don’t.” His voice is low as the depths of hell. “I’m still going to give you the best night of your life, jameela. But only one night.”

My feet are glued to the floor as he steps to me. Reaching out, he gives me enough time to step away, but I don’t. My heart torn between the callousness of his words and the sheer intensity of his gaze. His fingers smooth over the side of my face. “I knew you would be soft. I wonder if you are everywhere?”

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