Pigalle Palace (12 page)

“Baby, watch the movie,” she said, pushing my hands away.

“I'd rather watch your sexy ass in the bedroom than this horrible movie right now.”

I maneuvered around so I could be on top of her. She giggled as I covered her face with more wet kisses.

“Cut it out, Onyx. Let's watch this movie for once.”

The phone rang. I let her go saying, “Saved by the phone.”

“You want me to get it?”

“Sure.”

She answered, “Hello…” She frowned while she listened to whoever it was on the other end.

“Who is it?” I asked, reading her dazed expression.

“Your mother.”

I took the phone from her. “Mother?”

“Onyx?”

“Yes.”

“Have you seen Rain?”

The panic in her voice startled me. “I haven't seen him since I left the club. What's wrong?”

“I can't find him. Legend thinks he may have gone to the university to look for Essence.”

“What? I thought you told him to stay away from the campus right now.”

“Rain hasn't been himself lately. This is the second time he's been to her dorm since I gave him direct orders.”

“I'll go find him.”

“Good. Let me know what happens when you return.”

I hung up the phone and rushed to the door.

“Onyx,” Soleil called after me.

“I'll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” A worried look covered her face.

I kissed her forehead. “I have to go find Rain.”

  *  *  *  

I waited in the shadows on the rooftop of the dorm where Essence and Colette stayed. It was close to 9 p.m. and I spotted Rain following Essence. Why was he stalking this woman?

As soon as Essence disappeared inside of the building, I jumped down from the roof and crept up behind Rain. He felt my presence and turned around.

“How'd you know I was here?” he asked.

“Mother called me. What are you doing here, Rain?”

“I'm here to make sure Essence is safe and I need to make sure that she's not seeing anyone else...”

“You've got to be kidding me. What are you going to do if she is seeing another man? Then what?”

“I will rip him to pieces.”

“That's not in your character, Rain. You might as well let her go.”

Rain stepped close to me and got in my face. “I won't ever let her go. I love her too much.”

“There's nothing you can do about this. Rain, you might as well let Mother kill her.”

“I won't let Mother kill her, Onyx. Are you not my brother? I need you to have my back on this. What if this were Soleil, we were standing here talking about? I don't see you killing your child and I don't see you killing her.”

I understood once Rain put it that way. I would pay for it later to go against our parents, but I had to trust him and have his back. “Let me know if you need my help.”

I
knocked on Essence's dorm room right after Onyx went back home. He needed to trust me to handle my situation. I didn't need any one of them holding my hand through my own mess. I'd created it, so I was going to fix it. If Essence didn't want to be with me, then I was going to have to deal with letting her go.

Essence opened the door for me with a look of surprise. “Rain… What are you doing here?”

“I can't go another day without seeing you. Can I come in?”

She opened the door wider, so I could walk in. “You see me, so what do you want?”

Her beautiful face wore a frown as her thick, poignant voice was like music to my ears.

A soulful slow beat from her iPod greeted me as soon as the door was closed.

“How long are you going to stay away from me?” I asked.

“Not too much longer.”

“I need an exact time frame. We are married and we have to make our bond stronger. You have to stay by your husband's side. Do you understand that?” I sat on a chair that was in the corner of the room.

“I love the way that sounds, Rain… However, you didn't give me much of a choice that night when you bit me. I never asked or agreed to become…this…”

I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my chin. “I understand, but I really wish you'd get over it. I don't want you to keep holding that over my head forever. I want you to love me the way that I love you. Right now, you're not connecting with me the way you should. That makes me believe that you've broken our bond. Have you slept with anyone else, Essence?”

She didn't blink or stutter. In fact, it was as if she had been dying to tell me the truth all along. “Yes...”

I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Why?”

She shrugged. “I just did.”

“Who is he?”

“I can't tell you that.”

“Is he human?”

“No.”

With a deep frown, I badgered, “Another vampire?”

“Yes.”

“Does he know that you're married?”

“Yes, he knows everything.”

I didn't need to hear any more. There was no need to find out who this other vampire was. Instead of cutting her head off or ripping her heart out, which I could've done at that very moment, I fled from her dorm.

A
s soon as I got home from closing the club, Onyx called. I rarely came home alone. My male companion had his hands all over my ass. All I was trying to do was get him into my room so I could fuck him. With my annoying phone ringing from my pocket nonstop, I had to answer it. Only someone in my family would be trying to get to me so desperately.

“Hold on, baby,” I said. “My cell is ringing.”

I reached in my pocket to retrieve my phone. It was Onyx. “
Bonsoir, mon frère.
”

“Have you heard from Legend or any news about Chantal?”

“No. Why? What's up?”

“He's not answering his phone. I just met Chantal's husband in the alley while leaving Vaisseau.”

“Uh-oh. What did you tell him?”

“I told him I never heard of Chantal. He proceeded to tell me that he was going to find her with or without my help.”

I walked over to my couch and sat down, signaling my lover for the night to hold on. “Holy shit. Do you think he knows anything about us? He came right to the club. How did he know where to start searching for her?”

“She came to Paris with her best friend, Jade. From what Legend told me, Jade had to return to Chicago without Chantal. I'm
sure Jade told Chantal's husband everything she knew. She came to the club with Chantal, and she saw Chantal go home with Legend.”

“I was afraid this would happen.”

“We have to warn Legend.”

“Did you try to go over to his place?” I asked.

“Not yet, but I need to.”

“We can't let Mother and Father know anything about this.”

“Exactly. Get some rest,” Onyx said.

“All right. I'll talk to you later.”

He hung up and I asked my male lover for the night, “You ready?”

He nodded.

“Bring your sexy ass over here.”

A
t times, I wondered if my family set the standards too high since I couldn't completely live up to the standard that was set for me. I planned to test the theory about my day-walking powers one day, but not until I felt like it. Other things were on my mind—like Essence breaking our bond.

I spent days upset, pacing, and confusion had my mind warped. I didn't answer my phone. I didn't go to work. I didn't want to be bothered.

I walked slowly to the bathroom to run hot water for a shower. The doorbell rang. I walked down the hallway to see who was at the door. When I looked through the peephole, I couldn't believe she was standing there with sunglasses on. I whisked the door opened to face her.

“What the fuck do you want?” I roared.

“Can we talk for a minute?” Essence asked.

“We have nothing to talk about. You slept with another man. That means you are free to do what you please. Leave me the fuck alone.”

“At least let me tell you how it happened.”

“I don't care about how it happened.”

“Please…”

I leaned against the side of
wall. “Why aren't you with him?”

She removed her shades revealing her red puffy eyes. “I don't want to be with him. I never wanted to be with him. I made a mistake… Look, Rain, I'm so sorry.”

I opened the door wider and let her in, though I shouldn't have. “I'm listening.”

She looked behind me as she could hear the water running from the bathroom. “Am I disturbing your shower?” she asked.

“I'm going to get in the shower as soon as you leave.”

“…Let me take a shower with you.”

She took the liberty to walk down the hallway as if I said it were okay. I followed her to the steamy bathroom anyway.

Without saying another word to one another, I undressed her slowly. Silent tears fell from her eyes. She undressed me next. We got in the hot shower kissing, washing, and massaging one another. It was as if the hot water was washing away her sin. I had a forging heart. That was my nature. I didn't care about any mistakes she made because I loved her unconditionally.

She didn't have to ask me to make love to her. Her body had been begging to be touched by me the moment she walked into my door. As soon as I entered into her pillow-like moist center, I felt as if I never wanted to get out of her. We were resolidifying.

“You belong to me,” I said, thrusting into her most tender place.

“Yes… I don't want anyone else, but you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes…. Oh, yes… Baby, I'm yours. This pussy is yours.”

My ego needed to hear that. As we climaxed, we shared an orgasm. We got out of the shower and lay in the bed. For a few minutes, we were silent. For some reason, I sighed loudly, when my thoughts became too heavy. Would I really be the last man? I wasn't sure if I could trust her ever again.

“Look, he meant nothing,” she said, reading my mind.

“I don't want to talk about him.”

She stared at me oddly with her head cocked to the side. “How can you say you forgive me if you think I will cheat on you again?”

“I forgive you, but I won't forget.”

“So, what happens between us now?”

“We have to go to my parents and they'll tell us what to do next.”

“Why do your parents have to be our guide? How come we can't do whatever we want to do?”

“Because we can't. From now on, we have to follow all of the rules.”

“I want us to start all over, Rain. I really do, but I want you to make our own decisions. I want us to make our own decisions. I'll see you later.”

“Where are you going?”

“Back to the dorm.”

“What? Oh, hell no. I won't let you use me for sex, Essence. I don't play these types of games. Either you're here with me or you're not.”