Page 49 of Room Seven

Room Seven gave us a chance to discover our love and I will forever be grateful for the protective bubble it provided.

But in my world, it takes violence to get what you want. In my case, our desire to be together outweighs the evil in my father’s black soul. He didn’t care how much he hurt me as long as he got what he wanted. Revenge for the perceived disrespect.

But love won.

I believe with all my heart and soul, we pay our dues in blood and pain before you can move on from this world. I hope my debt is paid after tonight. Deep inside me, I know this isn’t our first time fighting to be together. But I’ll leave my theories of woo-woo magic about twin flames and fated mates for another time. When I’m dry and warm.

The four of us have finally forged our energies and we are whole. That is all that matters. I reach for both Luther and Mirsha, who walk behind us as Viper leads my new family back to the safety of Room Seven.

Epilogue

Aster

Istarted out wanting to be someone others saw and respected. I had no idea that would turn into me changing one crown for another. You might not see it, but I can feel the weight of it on my head and the link it holds to my heart. This crown...this one I want to wear. And with pride.

I have a drastically new life than I did back in Chicago and I’m ready for even more change.

As it turns out, the owners of Club Sin didn’t end up selling. They wanted to hold onto the New Orleans’ branch of their adult sex club empire and frankly, I don’t blame them. It’s one helluva set up. I’m a little envious, to be honest.

But I have an idea of my own. And if I can pull it off, it will have an irresistible allure of its own.

A stack of papers half an inch thick is pushed in front of me. Sunlight pours through large windows lining the front of the double gallery town home. We are in the middle of the New Orleans’ Garden District and the pulse this place puts out feeds directly to mine. It’s a steady flow of both new and old energy I felt the second the real estate agent pointed to it on a map two weeks ago.

“If you would sign here and here, that will be the last of the paperwork for you. Then your…” the real estate agent turns his curious eyes to the three men in suits standing behind me like sentries. “Today, they are my escorts. Growing up, they were my godfathers.” I lean in like I have a secret to tell, feeling a bit wicked. “And tonight, sweety, they will be my lovers.” I wink at him and sit back, feeling proud of the shock on his face. Maybe I shouldn’t tease, but he makes it easy.

Across from me, Mr. Dupont swallows hard and can’t decide where to look after my little confession.

He takes the pen I used and holds it up to Mirsha first. “And you, gentlemen. You can sign here,” our mousy agent offers, unable to hold eye contact with my godfathers. Poor man. Maybe I should gift him a membership to Club Sin for helping us seal the deal to this place. I make a mental note to do just that.

“It’s all good. This is hers. We are just here for moral support.”

I look up and Viper winks at me. His wicked streak is just as long and wide as mine.

“Bad girl,” Mirsha admonishes in my ear when we rise from the table and the agent stays behind to shuffle some paperwork until we move to another room.

My godfather twirls me around and pins me to the wall of what will be my new office.

I run my hands up his chest before fisting the top of his tie and pulling him closer. His hungry grin is a dark promise I will make sure he keeps.

“Wanna punish me now and give him a juicy story to take home? I bet he could use some color in his life.”

“Don’t give your real estate agent a heart attack,” Luther growls, coming up beside me. “Good ones like him are impossible to find.”

My head falls back and the bubbly laughter that pours out cleanses my soul of all the bad juju it has accumulated in recent years.

I know I sound pretty happy for a girl who lost her father, but how much can I mourn the man willing to use me to advance his greed for power? I feel…actually I don’t know what I feel. It’s only been a few weeks since my mother had him cremated and spread out over the city he desperately wanted to own. Well, now the city owns him. She said it was a beautiful ceremony with lots of people giving their respects. I am sure there were plenty of fancy napkins and silverware to keep her mind working overtime. I don’t blame her for who she is, but I don’t have to suffer through her weaknesses anymore, either.

“Am I late? I got your text to meet you here, but finding here was a bit of a challenge.” A flurry of chaos with blonde hair and pinkeverythingslams through the arched entrance and the smiling face of my new friend comes into view.

I leave my men in the office space and wrap Magnolia in a big hug. Her candid talk with me that night at Club Sin left me with a seed of an idea that will. Fingers crossed it gives women like us a place to find support and a place to share our wicked stories of loving a harem of men.

I pull back and lead her deeper into the large open space of the galley on the left. “What do you think? It was built in the late eighteen hundreds. 1846, I believe. And all the interior wood is original to the home. The wrap-around porch, the wrought-iron gate…it’s all original, actually. We can transform the eight bedrooms into gathering areas and use the front living room space for meetings or something. I don’t know. Yet. It’s coming to me.”

I turn to Magnolia, who wears a shocked expression.

“Am I talking too fast?”

My men watch from the large doorway, always needing to be nearby. Some might find it suffocating. I find it calming and necessary to breathe.

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