Prince Walker
On Bended Knee
Ishot a look at the woman across the table from me and felt a sense of smug satisfaction. The thick scarlet waves had been tamed and pinned up from her face, her smooth creamy shoulders bare in rose-gold Versace. I’d clasped a matching choker around her throat earlier and it glowed against her skin. She was magnificent. All eyes were on her, and for good reason.
In the fortnight she’d been with me, Sasha Ramirez had come into her own.
A rare, radiant beauty. And she was all mine. Even now, I watched as she snuck a look at me and shifted in her seat. Before we’d left for the restaurant, I’d brought her to the brink of orgasm half a dozen times, then left her wanting. She was sitting without underwear on – when I sat back, I could catch a whiff of her musk from the inside pocket of my suit jacket where I’d shoved her panties earlier.
She licked her lips, then reached for a glass of water, and I watched her throat move as she swallowed. Exquisite. Almost as lovely as the lips I’d taunted earlier. It was hard to believe I still hadn’t buried myself between those slick folds. But in a way, this was almost better. I’d never been one for self-restraint, but I was finding that I enjoyed it. It kept me sharp, a fact that Andy appreciated too. Our plans were now well underway, and it would only be a matter of time before we could hit the market. Then my fucking father could take his money and shove it up his ass.
Sure, it wasn’t great that I had creditors breathing down my neck. News was spreading fast that the great Prince Walker wasn’t as “liquid” as before. I brushed that off. We were still on all the best guest lists, and Sasha had quietly been making waves. Although we’d only been out once or twice – just enough to get the tabloids to sit up and take notice.
It would all be over soon enough. Until then, I’d play my father’s fucking game. It was never wise to burn bridges before things were set in stone. Andy might be certain our Swiss deal was in the bag, but then he’d been certain of the Chinese gig too, and that had turned into a shit show.
“So…um…your sister?” Sasha was saying, and I turned my attention back to her. I’d been telling her about my childhood.Unbelievable.I’d never spoken of such things to any woman.
“Bella,” I said, and smiled. The thought of my kid sister made my heart swell a little. And with it came a twinge of pain.
“And you don’t see her much?” Sasha murmured, running an elegantly manicured fingertip around the rim of her wineglass. Yes, she’d come a long way since that first night I’d seen her in her used designer frock in that nightclub.
I shook my head, feeling remorse. “Bella left straight after school. Moved to Europe. Met a guy. I have a couple of nephews now, I think.” I’d never met them. My fucking father and his interfering ways…he’d driven her away. Too much fire in her – they’d been tinder and flame. Even my mother hadn’t heard from her, and I knew it broke her heart. “What about you?” I asked. “Family?” There was a strange tension in her shoulders as she shook her head, almost too abruptly.
“Um… A brother. Emilio. I don’t see him.” She was talking too fast, and I felt my eyes narrow but said nothing. “And Mami. She’s back in Mexico, with my uncle.” Her words were clipped, sentences devoid of detail. She didn’t want to talk about this.
“Were you close growing up?” I pressed, wanting to know more, despite it.Why? Why should I care?
She shrugged. “Mami did her best. Took on housekeeping jobs.” She kept her voice low. “I knew she loved us. That’s what mattered.”
“It couldn’t have been easy,” I acknowledged. “Your…father?”
She shook her head. “I never met him. He was gone before I was born.”
Definitely not easy. A lot of things were beginning to make sense. “I’m sorry,” I said, reaching across the table for her hand. Her smile was small, but I found beauty in it.
“We did okay,” she said, taking her glass with her free hand. I liked the warmth of her fingers in mine.
“On a housekeeper’s income?” I left it hanging.
“No…well, we went into foster care, eventually.” Her voice grew husky. She shrugged. “It could have been worse.”
I imagined that it could not have been. She tugged her fingers free from my grasp and trailed them over the tablecloth, as if wiping something from her skin. No, there was definitely more to this picture. And I sensed it had a lot to do with the horror in her eyes that first night.
“Jane says you’re in negotiations with the Ardmore people,” I changed subject abruptly and she almost sagged with relief.
“Yes!” Her smile was suddenly radiant. “Hair care – can you believe it?” Her light laugh was like music.
“Of course, I can believe it. Your hair is magnificent,” I said, reaching out to stroke a curl. At some point, I was going to take a handful of it and wrap it around my cock. When loose, it tumbled almost to her ass, like a rushing red river.
“Jane said there was quite a lot of competition for the contract, so I’m really fortunate,” she went on. “I feel sorry for the others, though.” She bit her lip. “I can see how tough this industry is. Thank you.”
“For what?” I asked, mulling over her concern for the other models. Why should she care? Angelique never had. The name came to me almost unbidden, and I suddenly realized I hadn’t thought of my ex in days. Longer.
“Thank you for giving me options,” she said softly. “I know…I know we have an arrangement. But I want you to know that I appreciate what you’re doing for me. You don’t have to. I mean…You’re paying me enough.”
I shook my head, as much to clear my mind as to brush off her words. “It’s nothing. Which reminds me.” I glanced around, raising a hand, and watching as the maître d’ hopped to attention. There’d been a reason I’d booked us a table at the hottest new restaurant in town. “Our arrangement… There is more to it, as you may recall.”
She dipped her head. Then looked up, eyes widening as a small group of servers began making their way over to us. One was holding an ice-bucket packed with ice and a bottle of Cristal. Another was bearing a gaudy sparkler propped into some sort of cake. A third man followed with a violin. Half the restaurant spun around to look at the spectacle.Perfect.If I was going to get this right, it needed to look real.
