Page 76 of Kings of Desire
‘Yes, you will be,’ a threat that I knew held ground.
‘I wasn’t feeling well.’ But I kind of forgot to mention the part where I was too drunk to get out of bed.
‘Oh, really!? My driver was in front of your apartment for an hour. When I saw you weren’t picking up, I asked him to go inside, but surprise, you weren’t home.’
‘I... I don’t live there anymore.’
‘You don’t!?’ Seemed that the mighty Brax left out a detail.
‘No... I live... I live in the Hills.’
‘This has to be good.’ I could sense him from the other end flaring his nostrils.
‘There’s nothing good about it. I just have other... arrangements. Nothing that could affect ourdeal.’ In the end, that’s the only thing he cared about, that hispaymentwould still be intact when the time would come for him to claim it. ‘I could come now if you still want me to,’ I lowered my tone to a more seductive one, hoping that I will get him to soften.
‘There will be consequences to this. No one keeps me waiting.’’As long asthe consequencesdon’t affect yourtheirpart in our deal...,’ I was the only one responsible for my mistakes.
‘No... they won’t be affected,’ he growled as I could feel all devious thoughts forming in his mind. ‘Text me the fucking address’- and he hung up, leaving me to stare at my phone.
In less than five, his jeep was parked outside my window, though before I got a chance to get out the door, someone rang my doorbell. It was one of Brax’s men, holding a large white box with an extremely elegant cherry flower pink ribbon. Wherever was in the box must have been expensive, which left me to stare at it, almost shocked.
‘Boss asked to give this to you,’ the man handed me the package ‘That was before he put my phone on fire, but since he gave me no other instructions regarding it, here it is.’
‘Thank you,’ I spoke, unsure of what exactly I needed to do with it, though before I walked out the door, I decided to open it.
A note quietly waited on top of some pink luxury wrapping paper.
An upgrade to your dress
Putting the note aside, I tugged the wrapping, only to reveal an exquisite black dress. Handsewn crystals were decorating a bustier top, exquisite lines were shaping a perfect knee-length piece of clothing, while beneath it laid a pair of black stilettos. I recognized the brand as being one of high value, as I did have a few other pieces from the same store waiting in my closet, yet this dress held a different meaning.
Even though I would hate to admit it, with Ferris this gesture wasn’t an uncommon one, and I suspected of not being the first with an over-the-top wardrobe, or the first spoiled with a few expensive gifts. Let’s just say that his more romantic nature was leaning towards being the type to do this... But when it came to Brax, things were oceans apart from a gesture of this nature. Sure, he gave me a gown before, but that was only business. He needed me to wear that golden dress, while this time... This time he gave me the dress with his heart, and that’s exactly why the piece of clothing I held in my hands conveyed more meaning than my whole dressing room. The present wasn’t with a hidden purpose, he didn’t need to seduce me since I was already his. And to put my mind at ease somehow, I was starting to believe that he wanted to take me to a public place and he would be ashamed of my usual clothing. That must be it! A present that would still serve him somehow as he was unwilling to spoil his image with me.
Gathering my strength, I ran to the bathroom to change, slipping between the straps and crystals, fitting the dress and the red sole stilettos. In less than ten minutes I managed to turn the ruin I was posing as earlier, into a princess. A red-eyed princess since the alcohol effects hadn’t fully left my system, but still...
‘I’m ready. Take me to him,’ I let the driver know the instant I walked out of the bathroom, and before I knew it, we were boarding the jeep so he could drive me towards my final destination.
As I observed, Brax’s house looked extremely glamorous at night with imposing lights underlining every line of exceptional architectural design, making it resemble more to one of his art pieces than an actual home. Certainly, a place worthy of the Hills, even if the man who owned it had strayed so far from the Elite etiquette. Or maybe he was just like them, separated only by origins, but both sharing similar goals or means.
Climbing the front entrance stairs, I glanced around me, searching for guards, though I didn’t seem to find any. Without additional company, I decided to knock, patiently... or most likely impatiently waiting for someone to open the door. Yet minutes passed and nothing happened. No sign of anyone coming my way. I just needed to wait a little longer, but after my third attempt of knocking, I decided to turn the door handle and let myself in.
Already familiar with the place, I ventured to look into the living room and see if Brax was actually there since it was a little strange for him to have called me here without actually being home.
But maybe I shouldn’t have done that. Maybe I should have just turned to leave when no one answered, or hadn’t even come into his place at all. Perhaps I should have just tried to fix things in the morning, because Brax wasgone,leaving a steaming dragon to occupy his body.
I found him sitting on a sofa with a large whiskey glass resting between his fingers, and his mind lost to an entirely different place since his gaze was fixed on a closed widescreen tv. There was something extremely attractive about his madness tonight, making me realize that I was starting to be a sucker for muscles wrapped in a fine Italian suit... Or maybe I was the one that was losing their minds.
‘Brax...,’ daring to call him back to reality, I unwillingly managed to draw his wrath over on me.
‘Shit, I forgot about that,’ his eyebrows shifted into a frown, noticing the wayhisdress was wrapped aroundmybody.
‘Thank you. It’s amazing,’ I smiled, not knowing how exactly I should react after receiving such a gift from him.
‘You alreadythanked mewith your behavior.’ The disappointment in his voice answered my questions, reminding me exactly how much I had fucked things up tonight, risking the future of my family
One thing was clear, I wasn’t even close to being out of the woods yet.
A sudden sound of shattered crystal and porcelain clicking together came to my attention, making my eyes shift to the opposite corner of the room and noticing an older woman cleaning up some broken plates and glasses from the floor. An insane rhythm began pumping through my veins as I glimpsed a round table for two having been thrown next to a large window with scraps of food and a spilled bottle of champagne covering a white mohair rug.
