stagehands into tears for such small offenses as not making sure her water was cold enough. Her heart is black and she deserves anything I give her….particularly since she thought she could control me.
Not gonna happen.
I follow them to a car and within minutes, we have arrived in the Red Light district of Amsterdam.
The streets are wet and dark as we walk down them, glancing into the windows that line the street. Women sit in rooms, waiting for customers, as the red lights flicker over their heads.
I meet the gaze of one woman, a pretty dark haired woman. Her eyes light up as she sees me and she grins, revealing yellowed teeth. I cringe.
Not gonna happen.
“Gross,” Amy scowls. “It looks like the city’s leftovers are here. Let’s go someplace else.”
She starts to turn around, but I catch a glimpse of another window down the street, one that houses two women. I put my hand on Amy’s arm.
“Wait.”
We walk a bit closer, then closer still, all the while, Amy is practically holding up Tara.
The two girls look like sisters, identical shoulder-length blonde hair, large green eyes, slip hips. They’re dressed in identical lingerie and are sitting in the same identical pose, perched atop two tall stools.
“Twins,” Amy breathes, turning to stare at me, her eyes widened. “Yes.”
I have to grin at the possibilities.
“Where are we?” Tara mumbles, her head rolling around on her neck like a broken bobble-head doll. I raise an eyebrow at Amy.
She scowls and slaps Tara’s face lightly, then harder. “Wake the fuck up, Tara,” she snaps. “You’ve got to grow up and learn how to handle your liquor better.”
I gaze at her. “I doubt that the liquor is her problem.”
Amy ignores my meaning and shakes Tara’s arm as we ring the bell next to the window. One of the girls comes forward and speaks through the speaker.
“Yes?”
“We want to hire you,” Amy says firmly. “Let us in.”
“Payment first,” the girl answers, just as firmly, holding Amy’s gaze. Amy frowns, but we do as requested, pushing our payment through a little window. After the transaction is complete, we’re buzzed in. I glance around the dingy hallway as we make our way to the door.
It opens immediately.
“Welcome,” the blond girl purrs now, motioning for us to come inside. Her sister is on the bed and the shades have been drawn.
“I’m Anika,” the standing girl says. “And that is Anna. We’re here to please you. What would you like?”
Amy shoves Tara onto the bed and then pulls at me, but I stand fast.
“I’m going to watch,” I tell Anika. “So I’d like the four of you to give me something interesting to see.”
Anika eyes Tara skeptically. “Well, three of us can do that,” she finally answers. But Tara is scowling again.
“What the fuck, Dom?” she demands. “You’re not going to watch. You’re here to participate.”
She stands with her hands on her hips, her eyes shooting sparks. But I’m calm.
“Amy, do you really want our first time to be here…. In a dingy room with three other people?”
She pauses, relaxing a tiny bit.
“Make me horny,” I suggest. “Then we’ll go back to my hotel room and take it from there.”
She hesitates, but only for a split second.
“Fine.” She lifts her chin. “What would you like to see? What would make you horny, Dominic?”
I settle onto a tall stool, my feet crossed in front of me.
“Lick her,” I gesture toward Anika. “Then her,” and I point at Anna. “Then they both can lick you. Do you have your pierced toy in your purse?”
Amy shakes her head, but Anika chimes in. “We have a whole cabinet of toys.”
“Perfect,” I smile. “I’ll give you a toy when the time is right.”
They nod and words fade away as they pile into the bed. Clothing comes off and sex noises fill the room. Wet noises, moaning, sucking. Whimpers. Sighs.
I can see that Amy is enjoying herself, just as I can see that Tara has passed out against the wall. It doesn’t matter. I’m not here for Tara.
After everyone has been sufficiently licked, I find a toy in the cabinet, a two-headed dildo. A head for the front and one for the back.
I hand it to Anika. “Use this on her. She likes it up the ass.”
Amy’s eyes are unfocused as the three women continue. Hands are everywhere, on soft female thighs and plump female lips. It’s enough to lift my dick, but I don’t concentrate on that.
Instead, I can’t help but ponder how I got to this point. A twinge of pain pulls at my belly as I think of a pair of blue eyes, innocent eyes. Eyes that loved me. Eyes that decimated me.
She would horrified if she knew I was here, if she knew how far I’ve fallen into the darkness. I swallow hard and reach into my pocket, fingering her necklace and steeling my heart.
She’s not here.
She’ll never be here.
Bile rises from my stomach as I remember her…as I remember what happened. What I caused. I swallow the ugly taste and swallow again, hard. Forcing the memories from my mind, I turn my attention back to the present and the women debauching themselves in front of me.
No one controls Dominic Kinkaide. Not anymore. I don’t have a heart left to control.
Since the women are all distracted with each other, I pull out my phone and snap pictures. And when I’m done with that, I turn on the video camera.
It only takes a couple of minutes to get what I need.
And for Amy to get what she needs. She moans and writhes on the bed as Anika brings her to orgasm, her hands twisting in the sheets beside her. Her face is sweaty, her eye make-up smeared.
As she comes, she calls out and holds my gaze. She lies still for a moment, and then the twins get up matter-of-factly, straightening their hair and putting their lingerie back on, preparing for the next customers.
Amy is limp as we walk to the car and I almost have to carry Tara.
The ride to the hotel is quiet as Amy leans into me, spent from her kinky sex with the prostitutes.
She puts a hand on my thigh as our driver pulls up to the curb in front of the hotel.
“Come to my room,” she says throatily, her hands smelling like sex.
I lift an eyebrow. “For what? You already came tonight. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
Her eyes narrow and she grips my leg tighter. “Dominic, I already told you what would happen if you don’t fuck me tonight. You don’t want to risk that, trust me. Because I meant what I said.”
I stare at her, my eyes hard as I lift her fingers from my thigh and squeeze them firmly in my hand. Not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to get my point across.
“Amy, you’re a bitch. And I don’t give a flying fuck if you walk away from me tonight.”
She snarls, her face twisting into something ugly. “Don’t you know by now? I always get what I want. And trust me, if you walk away from me, I swear to Christ that I’ll make up a fantastic story about being jilted by you for the studio heads. They’ll be so pissed at you that they might fire you. Do you want that?”
I smile now, amused as I pull out my phone. Quickly, I find the video of her with the prostitutes on my phone. She gasps as she watches Anika fucking her with the dildo.
“I doubt they would be pissed at me when they hear that I broke up with you because this video leaked online. Obviously, they would understand that I just can’t be linked to something so scandalous. And they wouldn’t want to be linked to you, either. You’d be the one fired, Amy. Not me. So tread lightly.”
I pause with my fingers poised over the button that would link the video to YouTube.
“I’m going to get out of this car and you’re never going to try and put me into a corner again. I don’t like ultimatums. You’re going to go your way, I’m going to go mine. We’ll wor
k together. I won’t say anything bad about you, and you won’t say anything bad about me. And this video will stay on my phone. But the first time I get a hint that you’re spreading shit about me to the studio heads, this video will be anonymously submitted to every possible gossip site online within minutes. Got it?”
Amy stares at me with poison in her eyes. “You’re a fucking dickhead, Dominic. And you’ve fucked with the wrong woman. Someday, I’ll fuck you back…so hard that your asshole will bleed.”
I roll my eyes at that visual as I open the car door and get out.
“Well, until then,” I say calmly, and I close my door.
I feel her astonished gaze burning into my shoulder blades as I walk away and leave her in the car with Tara passed out on the seat beside her.
I don’t feel vindicated. I don’t feel good. I just feel empty, like always. But at least I’ve got Amy off my back and I won’t have to deal with her anymore.
I make my way to my hotel room and as I do, I find police officers swarming the lobby and in the elevators. I turn to one.
“What happened?”
He looks at me, shaking his head wearily and speaking with a heavy accent.
“An American rock band is having a wild party with under-age girls,” he growls. “Fecking celebrities. They think they don’t follow the same rules.”
I stare at him, not responding, because I know that we don’t. We don’t follow the same rules. I get off on my floor and as soon as I do, I pick up the phone to call Tally. He answers on the first ring.
“You’ve got a mess to clean up,” I tell him. “And it’s not mine.”
Chapter Eight
Shooting for the promos with Amy is uncomfortable, to say the least. She shoots daggers at me from across the room with her eyes and when we have to kiss for a picture, she bites my lip.
But I don’t react. I won’t give her the satisfaction.
Instead, when she is sitting in a lounger by the wall, I engage in phone sex with an old friend, Kira, from back home. Amy glares at me for a moment, then stalks away to her trailer. I grin into the phone.
“Yes, I’ll be home soon, Kira. No, I can’t fly you here. I won’t be here long enough. I’m coming to Chicago soon. Maybe I’ll even be home next weekend.”
Kira laughs her familiar laugh. I’ve known her for so long, she’s known me since we were kids. In fact, she was Emma’s best friend. She knows what Emma did to me. And she’s been here to comfort me for years.
“I heard Sin almost got hauled off to jail last night,” she mentions. “Fiona called me this morning complaining about it.”
I grin, trying to picture how worked up my little sister Fiona probably was. Since she’d taken the job as Sin’s manager, he’s definitely put her through her paces.
“Yeah. He’s got to get better about guessing girls’ ages. Or he has to start taking an interest. So far, he doesn’t give a flying fuck.”
Kira laughs. “Well, I’m glad he didn’t get into trouble. It’s a good thing the laws there are so much more relaxed about that stuff.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “It’s the only thing that kept him out of jail. Has it hit the news there yet?”
“It’s on some gossip sites,” Kira answers. “But I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It’ll blow over.”
“I agree,” I tell her. “Sin’s having a party next weekend at his house. Are you coming?”
“I am if you are,” she purrs. “I’ve missed you.”
I grin. “I’ll be there.”
We hang up and I head outside, through the halls that lead to the doors. The sunlight pours in through the glass, and I can see the crowds of women flocking outdoors, just waiting to get a glimpse of Amy or me.
The second I emerge, the women begin screaming and pressing toward me. Security moves me fluidly through the crush of women and within a minute, I’m deposited into a waiting car.
As the darkness envelopes me, I close my eyes. As we drive away, I can still hear the women calling out my name. Asking for pictures, asking for autographs, asking for kisses and hugs.
They don’t know me.
They don’t know what I’ve done, or what I’m capable of.
They don’t know any of it.
I close my eyes.
********
“You’ve got to be home on Monday,” Tally tells me firmly. “Shooting begins. I don’t give a rat’s ass what happened with Amy. You’ll be on set and you’ll be cordial to her. So have fun with your brother, clear your head and get ready to work.”
I sigh into the phone. “You worry too much,” I tell him. “I’ll be fine. Amy won’t be a problem. Shooting will go off without a hitch.”
“It better,” he growls, then hangs up. I roll my eyes and toss my phone down. Tally tries to sound like an ass, but his bark is worse than his bite. At least, it is with my brothers and me.
I finish packing and then head to Providence to have lunch before I board my plane for home. I make my way inconspicuously through the restaurant and find my favorite table.
I by-pass the hostess, but she sees me as she shows someone else their table.
She pauses at mine.
“Have you spoken with Tally about me yet?” she asks, her hand on my shoulder.
I shake my head. “Not yet. I’m sorry. I haven’t had a chance. But I will soon. And I’ll give him your number.”
And maybe I will. Tally can do what he wants with it. Melanie nods in satisfaction.
“Thank you. And if you need anything else from me, let me know.” Her tone is suggestive. I smile.
“Thanks. I will. Is Alex here today?”
Melanie nods as she starts to walk away. “Yeah. She’ll be with you shortly.”
As I wait, I decide to hit the men’s room. As I pass down the long hall that leads to it, an office door is slightly ajar. I glance inside as I pass and am startled to see Alex sitting on the desk, her legs wrapped tightly around the manager’s waist.
I freeze in place, staring.
Alex has her arms wrapped around his neck, her wedding band glinting in the light. Her tongue is buried in manager’s throat. My heart feels heavy as I remember what she’d said to me before.
Sorry, dude. You’re hot and all, but I’m one of the few out there who believes that marriage is sacred.
Not that sacred, apparently.
She must feel someone staring, because she opens her eyes and sees me. She yanks away from the manager, her eyes wide. I don’t wait. I go to the restroom, wash my hands and then head back to my table.
Alex is there within seconds.
“Dominic, it wasn’t what you think.”
“Really?” I raise an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure it was exactly what it looked like.”
She starts to protest, to offer lame explanations about how she needs the money and the manager was going to cut her hours, but I hold up a hand.
“It’s not my business,” I tell her coldly. “And actually, I’ve lost my appetite today.”
Without another word, I get up and leave, ignoring her protests from behind me.
As I drive away, I have to examine why I’m so annoyed. Because honestly, I’m pissed. And it shouldn’t be my business.
What it boils down to, though, is that I thought Alex was a decent person. One of the only decent people I’ve met in LA. And the fact that she’s like everyone else is depressing.
Everyone wants to use everybody else. They want something, they need something. They are willing to do anything to get what they want. They’ll break marriage vows, cross lines of decency, stretch bounds of propriety.
Where does it end? And is there anyone out in the world who is a decent person? A person who is good on the inside?
I’m beginning to think that there’s not. In fact, I’m convinced of it.
I sigh as I drive to the airport and board my plane.
Soon, I’ll be home, just for the weekend. I can relax, soak in the wild atmosphere of Sin’s party and d
isappear into the shadows.
Until We Burn Page 5
