Page 99 of Roulette: The Madam

“Are you trying to tell me something, Princess?”

She kissed the skin of her teeth. “I’ve told you what you need to know, Israel. What you do with that information and how you handle it is completely on you.”

“Now that you’ve made it clear you’re not interested in monogamy, it’s time I made it very clear that I don’t give a fuck.”

“Umm– feisty much?”

“Call it whatever you want.”

“Don’t get yourself hurt if you don’t have to, Israel. I see you with someone quieter. Calmer. A couch potato with good pussy and the head of a genius. Someone who reads novels on a weekly basis and finds joy in visits to the library or bookstore.

“Someone who wants children. Maybe two. No. One. Your first child will be your last child. You don’t seem like the type to have a clan. She won’t be either. She’ll enjoy her solitude too much to compromise the silence she adores. Maybe she’ll have a garden. Maybe she’ll be a maker.”

She lowered her chin and squinted her left eye as if she was thinking of more characteristics to describe a woman I wasn’t interested in.

“Maybe she’ll be you. Maybe she’ll have a club, several. Maybe she’ll be a Madam,” I expressed. “Maybe she’ll find comfort in chaos.”

She licked her bottom lip and grabbed the champagne from the iced bucket beside the table. I quickly relieved her of its weight and leaned closer to pour a glass of the bubbly liquid.

“You like pain, Israel?”

“I like you, Princess.”

She placed the champagne to her lips and sipped. Her pensive gaze made me wonder what was on the top of her dome.

“I’m not the girl next door. I am the girl down the block that everyone warns you will break your heart.”

“No you won’t.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“An observation. Even with the shell around it, your heart is still soft to the touch. You mean well, Roulette. You only fire when you feel threatened or have been violated. You won’t have to feel any of that with me. Good things are the only thing you’ll feel.”

“I’m starving.”

I lifted a hand and beckoned for the server onboard. The chef had spent the better part of the evening preparing dinner. It was time to cash in on the fruit of his labor.

“Good evening, ma’am. Welcome aboard.”

With her head bowed briefly, she acknowledged Roulette.

“Good evening.”

“Yes sir?”

She stopped just short of my extended foot.

“The lady is ready to be served.”

“Sounds good. I will return shortly.”

TEN

Dazzling.

Tantalizing.

Eerily satisfying.

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