“Thanks. Have you changed your mind about joining me?”
I stood there for a moment and took in the beautiful sight in front of me.
“Yeah. I have.”
She sat up and moved towards the front while I climbed in behind her. As I wrapped my arms around her, she snuggled against me.
“What does your father do for a living?” I asked.
“He’s a street performer slash club singer.”
“Huh?” I tilted my head.
“By day, he plays his guitar and sings around the city and, by night, he performs in clubs.”
“What kind of music does he play?”
“Folk mostly.”
“And your mother?”
“She’s a spiritual advisor and she teaches yoga.”
“A what?” I asked in confusion.
“A spiritual advisor.” She turned her head and looked at me.
“Oh. Yeah. A spiritual advisor. I didn’t hear you correctly the first time.”
To me, that was odd.
“What about your parents?” she innocently asked.
I knew what was at risk when I asked her about her parents.
“My parents have been dead for many years, and I’ll be honest with you, Chloe, I don’t want to talk about them,” I spoke in an authoritative voice.
“Okay. I’m sorry.” She removed my arms from her and climbed out of the tub.
“Where are you going?”
“I really don’t feel like taking a bath anymore. I’m tired and I think I’m just going to go to sleep. You wore me out, Mr. Bennett.”
I hurt her feelings. Climbing out of the tub, I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked into the bedroom where Chloe was putting on her nightgown. Walking up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pressed my lips against her shoulder.
“Hey, I’m sorry if I sounded abrupt. It’s just a sensitive subject and it’s something I don’t like to talk about. I need you to respect that.”
“It’s fine, Sebastian. I didn’t know.”
“I know you didn’t,” I whispered. “Let’s go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow touring the city. I thought maybe you’d like to go see Cirque du Soleil tomorrow night.”
“I’ve heard really good things about that show. Isn’t it sold out?” she asked as she turned around in my arms.
Flashing her a smile, I spoke, “I have a couple of tickets.”
“Sounds like fun. I would love to go see that.”
I kissed her forehead, and we climbed into bed. As we lay there, our bodies meshed tightly against one another and it reminded me of our one night in London. The night that I so freely held her while she slept. Another thing I didn’t understand. The overwhelming need to want to hold her. I never held the women I slept with. After fucking them, I either left or turned on my side to face the other way. The one thing I always stayed true to was that I would leave before they awoke. Now that we got the whole parents thing out of the way, hopefully, the questions about my past would stop. But somehow, I doubted it.
I opened my eyes and smiled when I saw Chloe staring up at me.
“Good morning.” I kissed the top of her head.
“Good morning.”
“How long have you been awake?” I asked.
“Just a few minutes. I didn’t want to wake you, so I didn’t move.”
I tightened my grip around her. “I’m happy you didn’t.”
She wiggled out of my grip and sat up. “I’m starving. That last round of sex in the middle of the night ravaged me.”
I chuckled. She was lying on her side with her back to me and when I woke up in the middle of the night, and I couldn’t help myself.
We spent the day shopping, eating, going into a couple of art galleries, and then we decided to sit by the pool for a while and sip a few cocktails before getting ready to go to Cirque du Soleil. Seeing Chloe naked was one thing, but seeing her in the bikini she wore made my cock go crazy. Crazy enough that as soon as we got back to the room, we barely made it through the door before her bottoms were off and I was thrusting deep inside her.
****
Chloe
As Sebastian and I were dressing for the show, my phone rang, and Sienna popped up on the screen.
“Hi there,” I answered with a grin.
“My, my. Look at you in that sexy red dress. Where are you off to?”
“Cirque du Soleil.”
“Lucky bitch. I’ve always wanted to see that. Is he around?”
“Yeah. He’s in the bedroom getting dressed.”
“Oh? Turn the phone around so I can have a peek.”
“No.” I laughed.
Sebastian walked into the bathroom in just his dress pants and I thought Sienna was going to go into cardiac arrest.
“Good God.”
“Sebastian, say hi to Sienna.”
“Hi, Sienna.” He smiled as he waved.
“Hello there, Mr. Bennett,” she spoke in her seductive voice.
Rolling my eyes, I took my phone to the living room.
“Jesus, Chloe. That man is a god.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
“Okay. Go have fun. I just wanted to tell you really quick that Sam has decided to stay another week.”
“Really? Why?” I frowned.
“Because he doesn’t want to leave me.” She winked.
“But do you want him around for another week?”
She shrugged. “He’s fun and—” She paused.
“And what? My eye narrowed at her.
“He’s fun. Ta ta, love. See you soon.”
She ended the call before I could say something. Shaking my head, I set my phone down and walked into the bedroom to put on my shoes.
“You look simply stunning,” Sebastian spoke as he ran his fingers across my shoulder and swept his lips over my neck.
“Thank you, and so do you.” I smiled.
Cirque du Soleil was beyond fantastic. After the show, Sebastian suggested we do some gambling.
“How about we hit the casinos for a while?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? The sun is in Leo.” He smirked.
“Actually, it’s not anymore. We’re at the start of the Venus retrograde. It’s not wise to gamble or invest in anything during this phase.”
He looked at me like I was crazy.
“And you believe all that?” he asked as he cocked his head.
“Yes.”
“Well, I’ll take my chances.”
“Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll just watch.”
We headed back to the Palazzo and straight into the casino.
“I think I’ll hit the high roller room.” He smiled.
“Oh. I wouldn’t do that. Why don’t you just stick to the normal piss poor people tables?”
He chuckled. “Fine. I’ll start there and move to the high roller room later.”
Sebastian took a seat at the blackjack table where Chuck from last night was the dealer.
“Hey. Welcome back, Chloe.” He smiled.
“Hi, Chuck.”
“Aren’t you playing tonight?”
“No.” I shook my head. “We’re in a Venus retrograde right now. Not a lucky night.” I winked.
Sebastian turned his head and looked at me.
“Do you really have to tell people that?” he asked in an irritated way.
I didn’t respond. I just gave him a small smile.
“Ah. I see,” Chuck spoke.
After about ten hands, Sebastian was down a lot of money. After his last losing game, he decided it was time to get up from the blackjack table and head somewhere else.
“Apparently, blackjack isn’t a good game to play tonight. I think I’ll try my luck at roulette.”
“You’re going to play the Devil’s game?” I frowned.
He stopped walking and stared at me.
“What do you mean?”
“Hello. All the numbers on the wheel add up to 666. The Devil’s number.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Chloe.” He laughed.
He wasn’t laughing anymore when he lost over and over again. He was starting to become irritated. I could see it in his face. We left the roulette table and walked into the elegant poker room that was designated for people of Sebastian’s status.
“Fuck this,” he spoke in an irate voice as we walked out three hours later.
“Told ya. Venus retrograde.”
“Save it, Chloe.” He walked a couple steps in front of me.
When we entered the room, he immediately took off his suit coat and threw it across the wing-backed chair in the living room. Pouring himself a drink, he stood in front of the window and stared out into the brightly lit, busy city. He was pissed he lost all that money, but I warned him. Now it was up to me to make him feel better and to forget about the money he lost. Placing my iPhone in the docking station, I pulled up my playlist and the song American Idiot by Green Day started to play. I danced over to where Sebastian was standing, moving all around him as he stood there and stared at me. Bringing my hands in the air, I shimmied my body around, dancing across the suite and singing as loud as I could. Finally, he cracked a smile as he stood there and shook his head. As the song was ending, there was a loud knock at the door. I turned the music off and Sebastian walked over to the door.
“Excuse me, Mr. Bennett. I’m sorry to disturb you, but we had some complaints about music being played too loudly up here.”
Sebastian sighed as he looked at me.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happy again.”
“Very well, sir. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“How are we supposed to enjoy our evening if we can’t play a little loud music,” I shouted from across the room.
Sebastian shut the door and turned to me.
“Now you’ve got us in trouble.”
“Oh please.” I waved my hand. “By the way, don’t ever tell my parents I have that song on my playlist. They would be so pissed.”
He chuckled as he walked over to me and picked me up. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I stared into his mysterious brown eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you into the bedroom and fucking you. That little dance of yours seemed to have turned me on.”
“Ah.” I grinned. “I can dance on the bed if you’d like.”
“Only if you promise to do it naked.” A smile crossed his lips.
“I think I can do that.”
He carried me into the bedroom, where we made love for hours.
Chapter 18
Chloe
Sebastian carried my bag for me to my apartment.
“Home sweet home,” I spoke as I stepped inside.
“You’ve only been gone a couple of days.” He laughed.
“I know, but I like my apartment and it’s good to be back. Speaking of which, I have no clue where you even live.” I pressed my finger against his chest.
“I live in a penthouse on Park Avenue.”
“Of course you do.” I smiled as I took my bag from him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked as he followed me to the bedroom.
“Nothing. You’re rich and rich people live in stuffy penthouses.”
“It’s not stuffy. It happens to be very comfortable.”
“I’m sure it is with your beige walls, dark trim, and dark hardwood floors.”
He stood there and stared at me like he was going to say something but didn’t. Walking over to me, he placed his hands on my hips and kissed my forehead.
“I have to go. I’ll have you over to my stuffy penthouse one day.” He smiled.
“Okay.”
“I’ll be in touch. Have a good week at work.”
Standing there, I bit down on my bottom lip and frowned as he walked out the door.
“Have a good week at work.” Was he planning not to contact me next week? I threw myself down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The weekend spent with him was probably the best couple of days I’d ever had in my life. The sex, the food, the fun; it was all like a dream, but I still didn’t know anything else about him except that his parents were deceased and relationships were off the table. Going back to that conversation, I played it over and over in my head. What could have made him think like that? Why would he think like that? As I was pondering my thoughts and already missing him, there was a knock at the door. Jumping up from the bed, my heart started racing at the thought of seeing him again.
“Mom. Dad.” I tried not to sound disappointed.
“Oh good, you’re home. We were in the area and thought we’d drop by for a visit.” My mom smiled as she kissed my cheek.
“Your mother wants the scoop on your romp in Vegas with that rich guy,” my dad spoke as he went into my refrigerator and pulled out a beer.
“Shush up, Larry. So,” my mom placed her hand on my arm, “How did it go?”
“It was wonderful.” I smiled brightly and then went into the kitchen to make some tea.
“Are the two of you dating?” she asked.
“Here’s the thing.” I turned and looked at her. “We had a slight conversation and he threw it out there that he doesn’t latch on to anyone and relationships are off the table.”
“Oh. That’s strange. Did he say why?”
“Nope. He changed the subject. When I asked about his parents, he told me that they died years ago and he didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Poor man. It sounds like he has a tortured soul. Maybe he just needs some guidance.” She smiled.
After pouring the hot water into the cups, I took them over with the teabags to the table.
“I don’t know, Mom. On one hand, he has a kind and gentle soul, and on the other, I sense a darkness about him.”
“You don’t think he’s dangerous, do you?”
“No. Of course not. I get the feeling something happened in his past that he’s hiding. I don’t know. He’s just very closed off personally.”
She reached her hand over and placed it on top of mine.
“Well, maybe you’re just the girl he needs to bring light into his life. Maybe he needs a spiritual cleansing. Why don’t you have him come over to our apartment and I can help him with that?”
“Somehow, I don’t think he’d go for that. He doesn’t believe in that stuff. He gambled last night.”
She frowned. “Oh. We’re in a Venus retrograde. That wasn’t a good idea.”
“I warned him, but he didn’t listen and lost thousands.”
After a long conversation and we finished our tea, she got up from her chair. “Larry, we need to get going.”
“Coming,” my dad said as he got up from the couch. “It’s nice to have you back home, pumpkin.” He kissed my cheek.
I walked them to the door and then went into the bathroom to take a nice long, relaxing bath.
****
Sebastian
“How did it go?” Eli asked on our drive to the penthouse.
“It went well. We had a great time. She asked about my parents again.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her they’ve been dead for years and I didn’t want to talk about it.”
“I hate to break the news to you, Sebastian, but if you’re going to continue to see Chloe, you’re going to have to tell her about your childhood.”
“Who says I’m going to continue to see her? I took her to Vegas on a whim. It meant nothing.”
He looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“Okay, but I think—”
“Drop it, Eli. I don’t want to talk about Chloe Kane anymore.”
Stepping inside the penthouse, I set my bag down, and Karina, my maid, immediately picked it up.
“Welcome home, Mr. Bennett.”
“Thank you. Did you pick up my dry cleaning?”
“Yes, sir. Your suits are hanging in your
closet.”
“Good. I have an important meeting tomorrow. Also, make sure that you unpack my bag.”
“Yes, sir.”
Walking over to the bar, I poured myself a drink and took it out on the patio. I couldn’t shake the thoughts that were swimming around in my head about Chloe. This weekend was good, really good, and I enjoyed spending time with her. Feeling her naked body pressed against mine while we slept did wonders for me. I hadn’t slept that good in years, actually, not since London. I pulled my ringing phone from my pocket and noticed it was the Palazzo Hotel calling.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Mr. Bennett, this is Cassandra at the Palazzo Hotel. I just wanted to inform you that your hotel bill was already paid, so we won’t be charging the credit card you have on file.”
“What do you mean it’s already been paid? By whom?”
“The woman that was staying in the room with you. She left cash in an envelope this morning at the front desk with a note stating that the room was to be paid for using that.”
Shaking my head, I sighed. “Okay. Thank you for calling and letting me know.”
That woman. I couldn’t believe she did that. I quickly typed out a text message but deleted it. I wanted her to hear the anger in my voice.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Chloe, it’s Sebastian. What the hell were you thinking?” I asked in a stern voice.
“Hi, Sebastian. What are you talking about?”
“I just received a call from the hotel we stayed at in Vegas. They kindly informed me that you paid the hotel bill with the cash you won.”
“Oh. Yeah. It was their money anyway, so why not give it back? Why are you so mad about it?”
I could feel the heat rising inside my veins.
“Because that was your money!” I shouted. “I told you to go and buy something nice with it and you chose to pay the goddamn hotel bill instead.”
“First of all, you need to calm down. Second of all, if you claim it was my money, then I can choose to spend it however I want to and I chose to pay the hotel bill.”
I clenched my fist and slowly closed my eyes for a moment to keep from really losing my cool with her.
“I am more than capable of paying the hotel bill!” I shouted.
“Breathe, Sebastian.”
“What?”
“Take in a long deep breath. Do you meditate?”
“What? Meditate? No, I don’t meditate!”