by Kenya Wright
“So Concrete Rose, the international bestseller that Ford Enterprises bought, was all about your mom?”
“Yes.”
“Fascinating.”
She opened her mouth as if to argue but closed it.
“What?” I asked.
“You don’t think I’m a horrible person for lying about my past in the media?”
“No way. My publicist says we control our public image. Sometimes the world isn’t ready for the truth. You’re forgetting that I hide my identity as Catharsis.”
“But you showed me your poetry.”
“You’ve been my muse for the past three months.”
She smirked. “Thanks for my laptop by the way. I figured it out.”
Again, she caught me off guard. “How did you figure that out?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe, it does.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Can I at least guess?”
“Nope. Why spend time worrying about the stupidity of the situation because in the end your dad is... oh, never mind.”
“No problem. Go ahead,” I said. “Because in the end, my dad is a douchebag?”
“Of course.”
And so we sat there, eating our food in silence. It was hard to swallow. The clock kept ticking. Each minute that passed meant that Carmen was closer to leaving my life. I could stalk her, but that wasn’t satisfactory. I wouldn’t be able to sit outside her apartment anymore and not feel like a scumbag.
“I know you want to pack after dinner,” I said when the staff cleared our plates. “But since it’s your last night, how about you give me a few hours of a poetry battle?”
She ran her fingers through that lush hair. “I don’t know.”
“Are you worried now that you know I’m Catharsis, you’ll be no match? Granted, this is true, but you should have faith in your own skills.”
She tossed me a wicked smile. “You love to poke at my competitive genes.”
“It would be fun.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on.”
“This can’t happen.” She pointed to her and me, “Even though I’m done with your father.” She displayed her now empty ring finger. “I can’t just start dating his son. It’s ridiculous.”
Knots tightened in my stomach. “I’m just talking about poetry.”
“I just want to make this clear. Poetry and wine won’t lead to you in my pants and...painting semen all over my face.”
I did my best to hide my grin, but nonetheless it appeared. “I don’t think I said anything about painting you with my semen.”
“You sure did.”
“And you remembered?”
“None of your business.”
“Fine.”
“Good.”
I tapped the table a few times and tried another approach. “What did you write about today? You told me you were going to do a high fantasy. Gods and goddesses right?”
“None of your business.” She looked away as if I’d caught her doing something lewd.
“Uh okay. What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“You usually tell me all about your works in progress. It’s not like you had a god or wizard jacking off in the heroine’s room.”
“No…it was a forest,” she mumbled.
I laughed. “Excuse me?”
She rubbed her face with both hands. “The freaking god painted a whole magical forest with his semen. There you go. That was my work in progress today. Thanks Adrian. Your nasty mind seeped into my book.”
Chuckling, I shrugged. “Was it a good scene?”
She thought about it. “It was decent, pretty interesting in fact, yet really depraved.”
“Sounds like I would love it.”
“Clearly.”
Quiet passed through us again. There was no reason for her or me to continue to sit there. Carmen had finished several minutes ago and had no plate or anything in front of her. I had no idea why she remained. I knew why I stayed: to enjoy every last minute near her side.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay what?”
“Okay. Let’s sit by the fireplace for one last time and have our poetry battle.”
I didn’t even say anything for fear of messing it up. Rising from my chair, I walked over to her as I always did and led her to the main sitting room.
“I’m going to miss you.”
She looked up at me. “You’ll be fine.”
“I’ve never been fine. Trust me on that, but with you, I was a bit better. I had more control in the chaos.”
Arm-in-arm, we continued down the hallway. Before her, the passageway had been a bare thing, just mahogany wood and tan carpet. When she moved in, she asked Dad if she could use some of the paintings from the attic to decorate the hallway. Not caring about anything but sex, he’d obliged. I’d gone up into the attic with her and a staff member, rummaging through priceless art that had been stacked away in the back and covered with dust.
My mother’s art collection now decorated the property. Picasso’s Guernica hung in the sitting area downstairs. It had been an odd place for Carmen to suggest. The images were grays, blacks, and whites. The painting showed the tragedies of war. Yet, when the servant hung it high above the couches and marble floor, everything went calm.
We grabbed more art that day and raced around the mansion together, trying to beat each other on who would pick the best spot for what. Van Gogh’s sunflowers currently hung in the hallway. I remembered that was the only painting Carmen and I had hung together. What a bunch of amateurs we had been, fumbling with nails and a hammer, while the staff decorated the other walls.
“You’ll find a great woman who will love you for who you are.” Carmen knocked me out of my reminiscing.
“I’ve already found a great woman. It’s just too bad I can’t have her.”
She took her arm away from me and placed her hands in her pockets, but at least she continued to walk at my pace. “You’ll be fine. There are lots of women out in the world that would love to be your…”
I stopped her right there. Shadows hid her face.
“Why can’t we work out?” I asked.
“Must I state the obvious?”
“Yes,” I begged. “With me, you’ll have to state the obvious. I’m a man who does what he wants and gets it all without asking. Tell me why I can’t have you.” I got closer to her.
She stepped back. “Your father is one reason.”
“I thought we agreed he was a douchebag.”
“He’s still your father.”
“He killed my mother. Give me the next reason.”
Silence. Perhaps, I’d pushed too hard.
“Adrian, is that really how you feel? You believe he killed your mother?”
“Yes. He killed her, in his way. Dad broke her heart and left her alone and poor. I’m not being naïve.”
“Of course not but—”
“She was never mentally stable. He was able to prove it in court with no problem, which is why he got full custody. He threw a mentally unstable woman out onto the streets with not one dime to her name and no ability to see her child. Can you imagine what that would have done to her?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “It would have made anybody go crazy.”
“Exactly. And do you think my mother’s death has somehow changed his ways?”
“No.”
“He’s been just as despicable with you.” I closed the distance between us. “He won with my mom, though. He’s won all of his life.”
“I don’t think he won,” she said. “I doubt his life would even be considered anything more than sad and pathetic.”
“He doesn’t want you. That’s clear. Fine. Good for you, I say. But don’t you give up on me.”
She let me get close to her and didn’t move away. “A-Adrian, I—”
“Did you look forward to our evening together?”
“I might’ve. I
definitely saw you as a close friend.”
“An attractive close friend?”
“No,” she said too quickly and backed all the way into the hallway’s wall.
“You’re lying. You want to fuck me as much as I want to fuck you.”
“That’s inappropriate.”
“I see the way your gaze traveled all over my body when you thought I was too focused on reciting poems.”
“We’re not going down this path.”
“Because you’re into me too.”
She blew out a long breath and edged to the side.
I got back in front of her. “And you like me. Our personalities complement each other. You have to see that. Some nights, we stay up for hours. Sometimes dawn rises when we’re done. People who don’t belong together don’t sit up for hours talking. We have a connection, one that gives us a higher probability of compatibility.”
“Wow. You should consider meeting up with your therapist tomorrow.”
“I’m loony, but I know you want me.”
“You’re a good-looking man.”
I planted my hands on the wall and trapped her in, so she wouldn’t be able to inch away again. “I’m more than that. I’m a sexual god.”
“Oh please.”
“It’s the truth. And you want me.” I leaned her way, wondering if she would back up. She didn’t. I moved in a half of an inch closer. “Do you want me?”
“N-no.”
“You do.”
“Look, Adrian, I—”
I kissed her. I damn sure did. I pressed my hungry mouth against those full lips, and I relished in her taste for as long as I could. I expected her to push me away, slap my face, knee me in the testicles, or run for dear life.
She didn’t. Instead, she sucked my tongue in with a sigh.
And when she did, I knew I had her.
Chapter 7
The Frog Prince
Carmen
Once his lips met mine, I drowned in him with no power to reach my hands out of the water and grasp for land.
Oh, I should stop. I should...
Groaning, he cupped the back of my head and massaged my tongue with his, sending me further down into his waters. My skin cooled while my shoulders relaxed. Passion rippled around me. I moved in waves of desire that kept sweeping my body away from land. Energy prickled across my skin. The sounds of our lips smacking filled the air. Needing more, I leaned all the way into the wall as he moved in closer, pressing his hard body against mine.
This was wrong. I knew it, guessed that he’d kiss me as he’d moved into me closer. But, I couldn’t stop him. Sometimes wicked moments provided the most erotic settings. My whole body came alive—my heart pumped faster, and throbbing sensations woke up in search of how to get stronger.
Hunger lathered his words. “Oh, Carmen, I want you.”
And I knew he meant it. I had seen the evidence of his desire for me earlier this morning. That image of him wielding that meaty sword.
I want you too.
I would’ve been a fool to not admit it. I couldn’t say it out loud, not yet. I should’ve even stopped the kissing, but I didn’t.
His kiss and hold on me was too much. My legs wobbled. He had to clasp his hands onto my waist to hold me up. And he consumed me some more. The smacking sounds of our lips continued to rise in the hallway. Next came both of our tiny moans. Neither could hide the sounds. My mouth enjoyed him too much.
“I want you.” He shifted his mouth’s attention to my neck, tasting my skin and driving me over to his side. “I’ll have you anyway you let me.”
I don’t know.
This couldn’t go on. I held no allegiance to Nick anymore, but the very idea of dating my ex’s son didn’t sit right with me. Just because Nick didn’t have morals didn’t mean I needed to lose mine.
“Please,” Adrian whispered. “Just give me a chance to show you.”
I could barely connect with any of his words while his hands explored my body. God, he was a greedy little kid at the candy shop. He touched me as if he was unsure if he would ever get another chance. His movements were desperate and lust-filled. I felt like a queen on a pedestal, and he admired me—nipping my skin just right, whispering how beautiful I was, and swallowing me whole with the scent and feel of him.
“Marry me,” he mumbled.
I pulled back and froze. “What?”
He blushed. “Uh…”
“What did you say?”
“Uh…”
I climbed out of his arms and put space between us. “Did you say, ‘marry me’?”
“No. Well, yes, but...clearly I was caught up in the moment.”
I stepped back. “Okay.”
He stared at my lips and then rubbed his mouth as if remembering how mine felt against his. “You taste as good as I dreamed.”
I edged back again. “But...we shouldn’t do that again.”
He quirked his eyebrows. “No?”
“No.”
“Why not? You’re done with Dad.”
“It would be weird.”
“The best things in life are weird.”
“What? That’s not true.”
“It is.”
“Name something that is weird that is the best thing in life,” I said.
“Love.” He smiled. “Love is probably the weirdest thing of all. I haven’t been in many real relationships, but if there’s one thing I know, love is insane. None of my friends love the same. No one I know has the same sort of relationship. Behind closed doors, a couple’s love is barely similar to another’s. And everyone that I know is absolutely crazy when they’re in love.”
“It doesn’t matter. This is weird.”
“Love is weird.”
“You’ve already explained that.”
“I want to kiss you again.”
“No. We can’t. I have to pack.”
“Philosophers believe that kissing can wake up feelings. This could be the best way to move on, by awakening something deeper inside of you.”
“I’m fine on the inside.”
“I disagree.”
“Are you saying I’m broken?”
“I’m saying that there might be a few cracks in your heart that you hoped Dad could fill and heal. He can’t heal you. However, I could.”
“I’m fine.”
“Well.” He shrugged. “Of course you are. I just kissed you, but—”
“This is not a philosophical debate.” I walked off. “We can’t do that again.”
“Let’s just take this slow.” He trailed behind me.
I laughed. “Slow? You’re Nick’s son. I won’t hook up with my ex’s kid.”
“You’ll never find a man like me. I’m so into you it’s scary.”
I stopped walking and turned to him. “What does that mean?”
“When I say I want you... ” He got in front of me. “I mean it, and not just in a normal way. I’m telling you that you’re the reason I got a therapist in the first place.”
I backed up and made sure there was some space between us. “I don’t understand.”
“From the first day I met you, I’ve... ”
“What?”
“Followed you.”
It would’ve been easier if he’d just slapped the shit out of me. Violence, I knew how to respond to. Lies and cheating ways were easy to decipher.
How does one reply to a person that says they stalked you? A restraining order is a good start.
“I have to go pack.” I hurried away.
“We have to finish this.” He came up to my side and kept my pace, climbing the stairs right along with me.
“No, we don’t.”
“Yes, we do.”
I got to the stairs and raced up them. “This is what you talk to a therapist about.”
“I will talk to her about it. In fact, I want you to meet Dr. Engles.”
I got to the end of the stairs.
He arrived seconds behind. “I’m the frog
prince. I’ve done some ugly things—jacking off in your room could be one of them.”
“Not could be, Adrian. Definitely with a big old fat capital D. Jacking off in my room was ridiculous.”
“We could add stalking to that list.” He got in front of me again as I rushed to my bedroom. “This is bad too. I get it. But with a therapist and you giving me a chance, it could work.”
“What are you even talking about?”
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “I see something amazing between us. I want to explore it. I’ll do so at your pace. Anything.” His fingers trembled against me. “I get that I’m a frog prince.”
“I already kissed you, and you didn’t transform into the man I need you to be. You’re not a frog prince. You’re Nick’s son and off limits.”
He frowned.
“I’m sorry.”
His voice came out hoarse. “No. I understand, but who do I need to be to have you?”
“Well, not Nick’s son is one thing.”
He snorted. “I could legally deny the title.”
I sighed.
“You need time. Fine. I know you do. You’re moving out and getting rid of an ugly engagement. Cool. I just want a few dates.”
“Dates?” I asked.
“Meetings with wine and conversation. We don’t have to call them dates.”
“But you’ll think they’re dates.”
“You damn right, I will.”
I walked around him. “I can’t date you.”
“But you could meet me for wine and conversation?” He refused to quit as he walked with determination to my room.
“Maybe,” I muttered.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“That’s a maybe with a lower case m. And we don’t kiss again. What happened in the hallway stays in the hallway never to reoccur in this lifetime.”
“Now you’re just lying to yourself,” he giggled. “Maybe you need Dr. Engles more than me.”
I opened my bedroom door and he marched on in as if I’d held it open for him. “Get out of my room.”
“I will when we’re done talking.”
“We’re done.”
“I can help you pack,” he said, but I knew that piling clothes into suitcases wasn’t truly on his mind.
He headed over to my bed and traced his fingers along the outline. “We could get the staff to do all of this for you.”
