Pigalle Palace (8 page)

“Am I a bad boy?”

“I know more than you think, Onyx. You hadn't always been the good son. That scar on your face tells a rough story…
How'd it happen?”

“Long story. One day, I'll share it.”

She stared at me sincerely. “The scar is…erotic.”

“Erotic? When I look at it, I tend to block out how it got there.”

“Yes...erotic…”

“Are you flirting with me?”

She giggled. “No.”

“No?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Are you flirting with me?” She turned my question around on me.

“Maybe a little…I just might be.”

Her eyes sparkled whenever the taxi passed underneath a street lamp. “I have a confession… There are times when I daydream of fucking someone right on top of that bar inside of the club.”

“You serious?”

“There's something about Club Vaisseau that's so sexy to me.” She played with her hair, twirling it around her index finger.

“Club Vaisseau exudes sex.”

“Yes. I can see why there is a need for the
special
rooms upstairs.”

“You should check them out one day. Who is this someone you fuck on the bar in your daydreams?”

“He never has a face, but the bar is clear as day.”

“Hmmm, are there people surrounding the bar watching?”

“No, it's me and him, alone…”

“Are you sure it isn't me you're fucking on the bar?”

She stared at me with a gleam of desire in her eyes. She laughed it off. “You think I dream about fucking you on the bar? What part of Paris do you stay?” she asked, diverting my question.

“The north hill of Paris.”

“Ah, Montmartre.”

“Yes. You?”

“I live near Bordeaux.”

“That's quite a ways away.”

She hummed and replied, “I know.”

“Will I beat the sun home?”

“You should be okay.”

“What if I'm not?” I asked. “Will you let me stay at your place?”

My eyes gazed at the way she ran her fingers through her curly hair. The mounted sexual tension between us was peaking. I could feel it.

“I don't think so.” Her words were direct, but her smile told me different.

“I think you're scared to tell me that I'm that
someone
you fuck on top of the bar.”

“You better be glad we're not at work right now,” she teased. “You could get in trouble for sexual harassment.” Her dimpled grin was winning me over by the second.

“Sexual harassment? This is your daydream, remember?”

“True, but I'm not harassing you. I was sharing my dream.”

“Are you seeing anyone?” I asked anyway as if I didn't know.

“I'm interested in someone.”

“Could this someone be me?”

“Maybe.”

I watched how her tongue licked the inside of her lips slowly and I was digging everything about the golden-haired goddess. I wanted to learn all there was about her.

“Tell me more about this fantasy.”

“No...” She laughed.

“I want to hear more… in detail.”

Her dimples deepened as her smile expanded. “No.”

She made flirting fun. I knew my boundaries. We got to know one another in the backseat of the cab, laughed, and left open-ended questions so we could flirt some more.

The cab pulled up to her spot sooner than I wanted him to.

She asked the cab driver, “How much?”

“I'll cover it once I'm dropped off,” I interrupted.

“Thank you. See you tomorrow.”

She smiled at me before hopping out of the cab. I watched her walk up the stairs of the building to her nice apartment home.

“Hey, don't drive off until she's inside.”

The cab driver nodded his head and did what I instructed. Once she was inside, he pulled away from the curb. I smiled to myself, feeling more determined to get her to be mine.

  *  *  *  

The next evening, I went to work an hour early, hoping that Soleil would be there early as well. As the cab pulled up, I saw Soleil standing at the front door.

“Is anyone here yet?” I asked.

“No.”

I was hoping we would be alone. My insides jumped for joy.

“What are you doing here?” I lifted my eyebrow, hoping she would tell me she was thinking about me when she decided to come to work early.

“I had a feeling that you would be here. Plus, I want to practice making this new drink I want to feature tonight.”

Soleil was wearing a short black dress and I gazed at her legs. A naughty smile came to my face as I unlocked the door. I turned on the lights.

She went and sat right on top of the bar and spread her legs. That's when I noticed she wasn't wearing any underwear. As I stood there, watching in awe, she pulled me by my shirt.

“I had that dream again...”

“It was me, wasn't it?”

She nodded and kissed me hard. I hiked up her dress and moved my hand to feel her clit. She was soaking wet. She unbuttoned my pants and placed her hands in my boxer briefs. She smiled widely and moaned. I pushed her on her back on top of the bar, lifting her legs up. Without shame or guilt, our pure unadulterated X-rated sex was taboo.

I flipped her around, bent her over. While her hands gripped the edge of the bar, I fucked her hard from behind. Each thrust sent her into a frenzy while she panted.

As I climaxed, I kept my eyes closed shut. I had to make it a quickie because someone would be walking in the door any moment. I shuddered when I came.

“Wow,” she said, standing up straight. “You want to come to my place after work? We can share another cab.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

She kissed me as if I were too irresistible. I moved my kisses to her neck, pinning her back up against the bar.

“You better quit before we be at this all night,” she said. She shoved her tongue in my mouth one last time.

I moaned, feeling the passion level go back up. “That wouldn't be a problem, would it?”

She laughed devilishly before getting out of my reach. “We'll have more time later.”

I fixed my clothes and she straightened herself out before sauntering to the bathroom.

  *  *  *  

It was hard to concentrate throughout the rest of the night without looking at Soleil. Every time I stared at her while she worked the bar, I felt myself rise. Whenever no one else was looking, she lipped, “Fuck me.”

By the time our work shift ended, we couldn't keep our hands off one another. As soon as we were in her apartment, we were ready for round two. I found myself unable to speak as she grabbed ahold of me roughly, pulling me into her bedroom. She led me into her love den, kissing me the whole way, taking off my clothes.

We collapsed on her bed.

“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, halting, cutting my kisses off. “I don't want you to think that I do this all the time.”

“I don't think that.”

“What you think then?” she asked, kissing me again.

“I'm not thinking...”

More kisses until we were completely naked.

Her phone rang.

I stopped, but she kept kissing my body.

“Your phone...” I said.

She shook her head no. We were doing something that was more important and more urgent than whoever was calling.

Sex with Soleil became wild. We knocked over lamps, broke vases, and pictures fell from the walls. Her headboard sounded like it wanted to go through the wall every time I thrust into her. Hot. Sweaty. Her golden hair in my hands. Intense. In the kitchen. Biting. Nails in my back. On the living room floor. Digging. Felt good. Too good. Couldn't stop. Back to the bed. Moaning. Screaming. Orgasms.

W
ith Essence avoiding me for weeks as if I was some type of black plague, I was doing all I could to stop myself from going crazy. She had been staying in her dorm with Colette and hadn't talked to me since her birthday. I missed her, so I sent her different flowers every day with sweet notes to show I was thinking of her. There were so many types of exotic flowers. I made sure I sent ones she never heard of.

I decided to give her another call, hoping she would pick up this time.

She answered, “Hello.”

“Hey… How are you? I haven't heard from you in a while.”

“I know… Actually, I need to see you. Can I see you now?”

“Yes. Do you need me to come over there?”

“No. I'll be on my way to your place.”

The sound of her voice made me worried. “Is everything all right?”

“Everything will be okay. Do you think we can go somewhere?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I've always wanted to go to the Palace of Versailles. It was on my list of sites to see when I came to study abroad. Will you come
with me?”

“Tonight?”

“Yes, tonight.”

“As long as we're back before I have to work.”

“You always have to work. Don't you get any time off?”

“What do I need to take time off for?”

“I think it's time for you to take a break.”

I closed my eyes and inhaled before I exhaled. She was asking me to disappear or call in when my parents needed us to help run the club. It kept us busy and out of trouble. If someone was attacked by a vampire, our parents knew it wasn't one of us, but if taking time off meant winning her over, I was going to have to do that. “What time are you going to be here?”

“I'm waiting on Colette to get here so I can leave. Her class will be over in another half an hour.”

“All right. Are you going to spend the night with me?”

“I don't know.”

I rubbed my face, feeling frustrated. I was ready for her to come home.

“Essence…”

She cut me off. “Thanks for the flowers. I've been keeping to myself lately.”

“Look, I understand that you're upset with me. I took away your choice. I was selfish. Yes, I can admit that. I wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you. Am I not attractive to you anymore?”

“Yes, baby, you're attractive. I was looking for a great time that night. I don't know if I can deal with you taking my life away from me… But, I'm trying my absolute best to cope with the new me. Look, I'll see you soon. We'll talk then, okay?”

“All right.”

She hung up.

I was going to have to call Azura to tell her I wasn't going to be able
to work. Azura wasn't answering her phone, so I called Legend. When he didn't answer his phone, I called Onyx.

“Yo,” Onyx answered.

“Hey, will you be able to tell Mother and Father that I won't be able to make it tonight? I have to take care of something.”

“You already know that you're going to have to come down here and talk to them yourself. I won't pass on any messages.”

I should've known that would be his answer.

“All right. Thanks for nothing.”

“No problem, bro.”

I hung up and left my apartment to head to the club. I was sure my parents had made it there. It was eight o'clock in the evening and there was no sign of a rainstorm that night. As I was leaving my building, I heard a voice from behind me.

“Rain,” she said sweetly.

I turned around to face Essence.

“Hey, I thought you weren't coming for another hour.”

“I figured that I would come over now. I couldn't wait for Colette.”

“Are you really trying to go to Versailles tonight?”

“I would like to. I was trying to think of places you and I could go to get away for a little bit. Where you headed?”

“I'm on my way to request the night off. You want me to still take off so we can hang out, right?”

Her amber-colored eyes lit up. “Yes, I would love that.”

I flagged down a taxi and we rode down Boulevard de Clichy.

She rested her pretty little head on my shoulder. “I'm so tired. You know, Rain, I've been thinking...I really want to work things out with you. You seem like a sweet person and someone who would take care of me for the rest of my life without question. I want that…”

“Is that what you really want or are you just saying that?”

“I wouldn't say it to say it. I mean it.”

“I'm waiting for you. Whenever you're ready, I'm right here.”

“I'm glad we're getting the chance to get to know one another because I think you're all I could ever want in a man. I would've never thought I would have a life like this. I'll be young forever. I'm stronger, faster, and the power of my mind is amazing.”

“One thing you have to remember is that we are much stronger than humans. We can rip out their hearts, decapitate them, and suck them dry. We are a human's worst nightmare. My family doesn't do any harm to them unless we have to. We aren't perfect and we have made mistakes when we were newborns. We used to have blood slaves before they started volunteering to give blood for money.”