Page 45 of Kings of Desire
How the hell could he get so many people from the Pitt to spend their last dimes here!?
‘Let her pass, she’s boss’s woman,’ another guard spoke as he came from somewhere behind me.
I recognized him as being the driver from the other day, but the man’s got his facts all mixed up. I was far from being Brax’swoman. Deal or no deal.
‘Come, I’ll take you to him. He’s at the other side of the club, underground,’ the same man offered to save the day.
‘Thank you.’ I followed him, walking beneath the neon lights until we reached a secluded part of the club. There was no one around, just the clink of doors opening and closing and maybe a pair of heels echoing through the corridors.
‘Take a left and the door will be right in front of you,’ the guard indicated just when at the same time a girl was leaving from along the exact path he told me to follow.
I gulped, watching her trying to fix her makeup as she was walking, cleaning the spread mascara beneath her reddened eyes, then checking her messed up ponytail.
It was Brax’s doing, for some reason I didn’t doubt that, and I was wondering just how long before I’ll be forced to fill her shoes. I guess it was time to find out since my hand pushed on the doorknob, and I came face to face with the man that I needed to see tonight.
‘This is a surprise. I didn’t expect you would show up,’ Brax raised his eyes from the whiskey glass and burned right through me. Every letter he spoke had a certain intonation to it, mixing wicked lust with superiority, acknowledging my reasons for being here and not holding back from imposing himself in front of me.
I had so many things to say, and yet so few. Out of all the deals I had to make, I feared coming here the most, not because I knew what Brax was capable of, but because I recognized what he was capable of when it came to me. The misting fire burning in his eyes, the raw unhealthy desire of a man incapable of any decent human emotions- all instilling anxiety to the deepest corners of my being.
‘I may not be as weak as you think.’ He couldn’t sense my fear. He feasted on my fear!
‘We’ll see about that,’ the green in his eyes deviously twinkled under thick lashes while tilting his head to examine me.
The corner of his lips lightly raised in satisfaction as his hungry gaze seemed to be unraveling every single part of me.
I never felt so exposed, so vulnerable, as if I was standing completely naked in front of him. I could so easily have seen myself turning to leave out the door with every second that passed between us, but no matter what was waiting for me here, quitting without an agreement was not an option.
‘Can I have a glass of water?’ I asked with what I felt were my last strengths as my throat suddenly went dry from the unbearable heat that seemed to be fueled from somewhere within me.
One of his fingers gestured towards a small table where an icebox of champagne and a bottle of whiskey seemed to be waiting for me ‘I don’t drink water after 6,’ he grinned laying back in his armchair.
I didn’t move since I don’t usually drink alcohol, and now was certainly not the time to start, though Brax seemed to have other plans in mind. ‘Whiskey? Or are you bringing me good news and we’ll go straight to champagne?’
I hated him for the perfect bastard he was. He knew how hard this was for me and he was thriving on every second of my misery.
But I wasn’t willing to let him exploit this any longer... or at least that’s what I thought ‘I don’t drink.’
‘Pour me another glass of whiskey and get yourself one too. If you want to stay in this room, you will have a drink with me.’ As usual, he wasn’t asking, he wastellingme, dissipating my plans of proclaiming independence.
Things were easy. On one hand, I had something he wanted, and on the other, he had something that I wanted. The only thing that made a difference is that when we draw the line, I could be replaced, but I couldn’t replace him. And that made everything so much more difficult for me. He held the upper hand, and that, in every sense of the word would cost me.
I couldn’t refuse his command, not when it meant getting a bus ticket straight back to my apartment, so with timid steps, I reached for the table and filled the damn glasses.
‘Put some ice too,’ another order that made my fists instinctively clench with anguishing frustration and contempt. Every sentence he spoke was intended to test me, and I was moments away from failing.
I brought him the drink, placing it on a coffee table next to his armchair while in my mind, I was rehearsing my speech.
Yes, I was that dumb at the moment, as the simple power of his presence seemed to control every cell in my body, numbing my mind and igniting my senses.
‘Let’s hear it,’ Brax cut straight to the point, erasing every sentence that I was preparing to say and leaving me only with an undeniable truth.
‘I need my family.’ I sounded weak, and that was going to cost me, but all other words seemed to fade when it came to the real reason I was here for.
His eyebrows formed a frown, though only for a moment so brief that I was starting to think it was just in my imagination.
‘Take a seat,’ he hoarsely spoke, laying his head back on the armchair, unwilling to lose eye contact with me even for a second.
I turned to take a step behind me, heading towards the only other chair in the room, though before I could reach it, he decided to elucidate things for me ‘Not there.’
