Page 15 of A Merry Invitation
“I’m just trying to understand this. And what the hell did you mean Titus won’t bother me again? I told you he wanted to sign me to his label.”
“He wanted to have you in a menage, just like I said earlier. That’s why he brought you here.”
She should be pissed about what he just said, specifically the part about Titus wanting her for sex—any kind of sex—because that wasn’t ever happening. The one thing she knew she wasn’t willing to sacrifice for her career was her integrity. She could be focused on success but not give up sacred parts of herself, of that she’d always been certain. But that was secondary to what was really plaguing her right at this moment.
“Where is here, Slay?” The question sounded simple enough, but something in the way he’d ignored this same question a few moments ago and the way he was now looking at her with barely restrained agitation and a touch of despair.
He let out a sigh and continued rubbing that finger over his beard, his eyes narrowing slightly as he simply watched her. He was contemplating his answer, wondering how she would react to whatever it was.
“This is The Corporation,” he said in an even tone. “It’s a place people come to partake in sexual pleasure.”
It was her turn to let out a whoosh of breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding. She’d had no idea what his answer was going to be, didn’t know what to expect, especially after all that had happened today. But this wasn’t it.
“Are you serious?” Because she wasn’t a prude by any stretch of the imagination. Masturbating on her couch in the middle of the afternoon should’ve been proof of that. At the same time, what the hell?
“Titus is a member. He had a room reserved for you to receive today. A room for you and the other entertainers he’d invited.” He spoke the words in a cool, matter-of-fact way that barely masked his irritation. But his eyes were still narrowed, his shoulders still as tense as they’d been when he walked back into the room.
She took another deep breath and asked, “For me to receive?”
“To receive pleasure,” he said and stopped rubbing the finger over his beard. Instead, he dropped that hand so that both his elbows rested on the arms of the chair. “Members either receive pleasure from the entertainers here, or they can have visitors come in to partake.”
Again, what the hell? Was this really her life? First, she’d received an invitation from a sexy ass guy to have sex with him, then another invite from a music exec to talk about her career future, and now, she was learning that there had actually been another invitation slipped in there. One she most definitely would’ve turned down.
Pricks of irritation ran up and down her arms as her chest began to heave. So many things were going through her mind right now, thoughts on how she should feel about certain parts of this situation conflicting with what she actually felt. Well, not exactly conflicting because Willow didn’t believe in warring with herself. She liked to make decisions quickly and then deal with whatever evolved from that. It made for a lot less stress in her mind and was part of the reason she hadn’t dissected Slay’s invitation. The other part of that had been she’d actuallywantedto have sex with him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his gaze still locked on hers. “I told you there’s no need to worry about Titus contacting you again. I handled it.”
“You handled what?” she asked. “The invitation for a threesome or the next step in my career? Because if he’s not going to contact me again that means I won’t be signing with his label.”
He inclined his head and frowned. “You want to work with a man who’d trick you into a sexual escapade?”
“Nobody makes me do anything I don’t want,” she replied.
“I believe that,” he said with a nod. “But that’s when people—you know the ones who have a modicum of sense and decorum—ask for permission. Titus, on the other hand, isn’t in that category. He was going to get what he wanted from you today before he offered you anything in return.”
“So, you’re saying he was going to force me? Is that something this club condones?”
“Absolutely not,” Slay replied, the bite in his tone causing her to jolt. “We don’t condone anything he did today and he knows it. But I don’t put it past him to have planned to drug you to ensure your cooperation.”
This time she let out a heavy sigh. Again, she wasn’t as surprised as she probably should’ve been. Things like that happened in the music industry far too frequently. Other industries as well and it was a horrific shame across the board. But to think how close she’d come to having it happen to her had her looking at Slay in a whole different light.
“Then I guess I should thank you,” she told him. “For busting in there and saving me from having to kill a man once I sobered up and realized what he’d done to me. ‘Cause that’s exactly what I would’ve done.”
Slay’s lips slid into a slow, panty-dropping smile before he said, “I believe you, with your feisty ass.”
That smile was a work of art, a dangerous weapon to any woman hoping to keep from being dickmatized by this smooth brotha. Willow sighed and this time, she did squeeze her thighs together tighter.
CHAPTER9
“Can you show me?”
Slay swallowed and for the millionth time in the last half hour asked himself, what the hell he was doing?
“Show you what?” he asked Willow after mentally kicking himself and forcing the words from his lips. “What do you want me to show you that your pretty singing ass probably doesn’t already know?”
He didn’t really believe she knew everything. She hadn’t known what Titus was up to today. But this woman was…she just seemed like…hell, she was simply everything. In the weeks since he’d known her, or rather knownofher, his knowledge of her came down to things he could see and the way she sang, walked, looked at him as if he were the only man on earth, and made him feel. That had been it. He’d subscribed to her YouTube channel but hadn’t followed her on any social media platforms for fear of looking like a total creep. Instead, he watched her YouTube channel faithfully, loving the way she was a constant professional when she rehearsed, but still found moments to laugh and joke with the band that always played for her. But today had been the first time he’d ever just talked to her. Christmas didn’t count because the bulk of their conversation had been about how good her pussy tasted, how good his dick felt inside her and stuff like that.
Today, he’d seen a range of emotions in her—anger, annoyance, defiance and then a hint of savage when she’d said she would’ve killed Titus if he’d drugged and taken advantage of her—all of which had stoked his interest in her even further.
