The Sanctuary

by Arika Stone

  I followed him out of the room. “So, you’re just going to take it?”

  He spun around. “Let’s get this straight. If you want to party, you do it with me so I can keep an eye on you. We’ll finish this tonight. I’ll let you have your fun, and then you’re not touching this shit ever again. Are we clear?”

  His tone was patronizing, but he got his message across. “Crystal,” I responded.

  “Now, chill out. I’ll be back in a few. I need to shower.”

  I flipped on the television in the basement and began to pace. I had too much energy and felt too good. Nothing mattered. The coke I’d inhaled moments before set in. I heard him on the phone. I tiptoed to the steps to eavesdrop, but he was speaking in Finnish. I didn’t understand it, but I could tell from his tone he was pissed. I heard Natalia’s name mentioned. I assumed he was scolding someone for the coke.

  I wasn’t sure how long he took to unwind, but I managed to keep myself occupied smoking his cigarettes, drinking water, and watching television. I was wired, and I couldn’t sleep. He strolled downstairs and sat next to me on the bed.

  “You won’t be offered this again so don’t worry about feeling uncomfortable around them. I told Natalia I didn’t want this for you, even occasionally. Do you understand?”

  I nodded.

  He tossed the envelope onto the bed along with a mirror, a razor, and a rolled bill. “If you’re going to do coke, you do it right.” He poured it onto the mirror and began to cut lines. “Take one last hit and leave the rest for me.” He handed me the roll.

  I shook my head. For some reason, I felt guilty. I didn’t want to do it in front of him.

  “More for me then.” He laughed before diving in and inhaling two lines. “Are you sure?” He gestured to the last line. “Just do it, Eve.” He held the mirror out for me.

  I took the roll. I hesitated to do it in front of him, but the craving was hard for me to control. I leaned down and inhaled but couldn’t do the entire line.

  He laughed and took the cocaine, finishing what I could not. He grabbed me and laid me down on the bed next to him. He began to kiss my neck, and his hands wrapped around to my nape, quickly untying my halter and pulling it off. He cupped my breasts. “I loved watching Ana handle you. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I got home.”

  “So why didn’t you invite them along?” I teased.

  “Maybe next time. This is still our wedding night.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe you flashed the entire club.” He leaned in and began sucking on my nipples before pulling away and clearing his throat. He glanced at the clock. “I better take another Viagra, or I’m going to have a hard time fucking you all night.” He wiped his nose and got up.

  So that’s what he’d popped before the show and why he had a perpetual hard-on for the entire set. I laid back and waited for his return. I removed my pants and began to masturbate. I couldn’t wait to fuck him.

  “You waste no time, do you?” He laughed, practically jumping on top of me. “Here, let me help you.” Within seconds, his cock was inside of me, and he was fucking me as though he was an eighteen-year-old.

  I’m not sure how long we were fucking, sucking, flipping, and dipping, but time moved too quickly for me. The sex was the best I had ever had; it was positively euphoric. I finally understood why women were drawn to the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. But before I knew it, I was crashing and craving again. My body slowed down on top of his.

  He tossed me off. “Where’s the other envelope Natalia gave you?” He stumbled into the bathroom, searching for my purse.

  I followed him. “There is no more.”

  “Bullshit, Eve. Where the fuck did you put it?” His voice was angry as if I was withholding it from him. He dumped my bag on the counter, sorting through the contents before finding another paper full of cocaine.

  “I swear, Val, I had no idea she gave me that. She must have slipped it in when I wasn’t looking.”

  He opened it and began cutting more lines. “She knew one wasn’t enough for both of us.” He inhaled another line, wiped his nose, and cleared his throat. “Now, where were we?” He walked into me, pushing me out of the bathroom, licking his lips.

  I tried to push past him, but he stopped me, leaning into me and biting my neck. “Stop, Val.” I pushed him aside and walked into the bathroom to take another hit. As I leaned over to inhale, his cock pressed into my ass, but I was so numb it didn’t matter.

  “You’re a bad girl, Eve.” He grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. I stared into the mirror and observed him have his way with me. It was a fucking turn-on watching the reflection of our naked bodies.

  We fucked all night and all morning, bingeing on whatever coke remained. By the time we finished, the sun was shining and morning had arrived. We lay there hot, sweaty, and exhausted on the bed, staring blankly in silence at the television.

  “Are you sure there’s no more?” I asked.

  “There is no more, darling. Try to calm down.”

  “I feel edgy, Val. I don’t feel right.”

  “Relax, we’ll probably both crash soon.” He kissed me on the head, holding me to his chest.

  “I can’t believe we fucked all night and neither of us got off.”

  “It happens.” I saw his eyes start to get heavy and flutter closed. He was fighting to stay awake until I crashed. “Just close your eyes, darling. It’s over.”

  Chapter 40

  I smiled as I placed my shoulder bag on the floor of the foyer of my apartment. It was good to be home.

  “Welcome home, Eve. How was your flight?” Edward picked up my bag.

  “Very good. Thank you for asking.” I walked into the kitchen, searching for water. I was parched.

  “How do you do, Mr. Ruska? May I take your bags for you?”

  “No thank you, Edward. Please call me Val.”

  “We got married,” I said before gulping down half a bottle of water.

  “Congratulations,” Edward said. “Is there anything I may get for either of you?”

  “Please have a set of keys made for Val. Have his name registered with security and forward my name change down to them. Also, make a cup of tea and find my migraine medicine. I’m going to take a bath and then head to bed. I need to be up by five thirty tomorrow, and I would appreciate my normal breakfast.”

  I headed to my bedroom and entered in the security code to open the doors. “Oh, Edward, I also need a second set of keys to my house in L.A. for Val. He’ll be in town for a few weeks before he leaves for business.”

  “Certainly. Vicki asked that you call her. She wanted to verify that you’ll be at the Murdock meeting tomorrow at ten a.m.”

  “Please return her call and let her know I will be in.” I walked into my bedroom and headed straight to the bath. I was completely exhausted and still on Helsinki time. I drew the water and poured bubbles into it.

  Val followed me, closing the door behind him. “Do you mind if I join you?”

  “You want to take a bath with me?” I was surprised.

  “Sure, why not? Besides, I think I’m going to go to sleep too. I’m dragging.”

  I stripped my clothes and stepped into my tub. “Come, there’s plenty of room.”

  “How’s your headache?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m never touching that stuff again. The withdrawal is wicked.” The past four days I’d spent curled up in bed like a zombie. My head had hurt, my nose was sore, and I was a bitch.

  He laughed and stepped into the tub, shifting me forward so he could cuddle. His hands moved up to my shoulders, and he began to massage me.

  Edward walked in, cup of steaming tea in one hand, my migraine medicine in the other, placing them on the ledge of the tub. “Is there anything else I may do?”

  “No, that will be all. Thank you,” Val responded for us.

  “Oh, Edward,” I called out. “Please take the night off. You can finish the errands tomorrow. I’ll see
you at five thirty.”

  “Very well. It’s good to have you home. Have a restful night.” He closed the door, leaving us in peace.

  “You let him come in when you bathe?” Val questioned, continuing to rub my back.

  “It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before. He’s been with me for years.”

  “I’m not fond of it.”

  I wondered why it bothered him, but I didn’t voice my concern. It wasn’t worth fighting over.

  “Why don’t you take off tomorrow? You’re going to be exhausted.” He kissed my neck softly, drawing me into his chest.

  “I’ve been away for too long. I’m sure there is a lot I need to catch up on.”

  “You should take it slow for the first couple of days.”

  “Thank you for being concerned, but I have to get back to work.”

  He needed to understand that just because I’d been off for three months catering to him I couldn’t stop my real life.

  “No need to be snippy.” He kissed my neck.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be. I’m just edgy.” I sighed and leaned back. I already longed for the lazy days of Finland.

  Val continued to kiss my neck, raising his hands to my nipples and gently tweaking them. “Are you sure you can’t stay home?”

  His touch made my clit quiver. “I’ll see what I can do after my morning meeting. That’s the best I can promise.”

  “I think you can do better than that.” He dove into my neck again, sucking hard and deep. I tried to pull away, but he bit down hard, holding me to him.

  “Oww…Val, stop.” I squirmed out of his grasp, stood up and checked my neck in the mirror. “Fuck!” He’d given me a very noticeable bruise on my neck. It was deep purple and would last for days, at the least. I hastily wrapped myself in a towel and stormed to the kitchen to get ice.

  Val followed after me, dripping wet, smiling at his actions.

  “You’re drenched. Go get a towel,” I scolded. “You’re getting the floor wet.”

  “So?” He stood there, eyes twinkling.

  That look was all too familiar. I had to stop his mischief in its tracks. “Let’s get this straight. If you want to trash your house in Helsinki, that’s fine. I lived with your messiness and cleaned up after you. But here, in my house, you’re not going to do the same.” I threw my towel at him. “Dry the floor.”

  Val walked to me, dripping a trail of water behind him. “I thought this was our house? Or was I mistaken?” He turned around, placing a finger on his chin, pretending to ponder, “I remember we married a few days ago, or was I the only one there because you were too busy doing blow?”

  “What does that have to do with keeping my place clean?”

  Full of arrogance, he grabbed an apple off of the counter and flipped it in the air. “What it means is that half of this house is mine too.” He caught the apple, glared at me, and dropped it, making his point.

  “Fuck you.”

  He walked toward me, backing me into the wall. “That sounds like a splendid idea.” He placed a hand on either side of me. “I think I will.” He hoisted me over his shoulder, my bare ass exposed and walked into the bedroom. “And what it also means, my darling wife,”—Val tossed me onto the bed and mounted me—“is that you still need to obey me.”

  “If I give in to your fetishes, it’s only because I want to satisfy you. But I will not allow you to disrespect me.” I tried to wiggle away from him.

  Val seized me, preventing me from moving. “Will you fucking snap out of it? I’ve been trying to make love to you since we got home. I’ve tried being gentle, and I’ve tried being aggressive, but you’re giving me the cold shoulder. Is this the withdrawal, or is this you?”

  All this time he had been trying to seduce me: the massage, the kissing, the biting, even trying to be dominating. Meanwhile, I was the one on edge.

  “I’m just stressed and still hung over. I have to be in the office tomorrow. This meeting has been booked for months.” I propped myself up on my elbows. “You don’t understand these are multi-million-dollar clients. I’m sorry, babe. I’m just not in the mood.”

  “You know I would have cleaned that up,” he said with a half-smile.

  I laughed. “When do you ever clean? Do you know how many cigarette packs, coffee cups, ashtrays, and scraps of papers with hand-written scrawls I throw out every day?”

  “If it bothered you, why didn’t you hire a maid?” He leaned down to kiss me.

  “Then what would I do all day?” I kissed him back. “You know, that half-of-house comment pissed me off. You were being an asshole.”

  “I may have half, but you have all of me,” he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Aren’t we full of ourselves?” It was hard to stay mad at him.

  “Well, if you ever decide to divorce me, you can have everything I own because I would surely die without you.” He smiled. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have said what I did. Let me make it up to you.”

  His lips slithered down my body until he reached the soft peak of my pussy. He wrapped his lips around my hood and flicked his tongue fiercely up and down my clit. His breath was hot against my skin.

  I didn’t know what to do. Poor Val was trying his hardest to get laid, and I didn’t want to deny him his pleasure. It was early in the evening. I could indulge him while still getting enough sleep, but I wasn’t in the mood for sex. I had too much on my mind.

  He slipped a finger inside of me, massaging the delicious G-spot area he knew drove me wild. I forced myself to let out a moan. I didn’t want to bruise his male ego. I had no other choice than to fake it tonight.

  “Okay, okay, you win.” I laughed between breaths, pretending to be in the mood.

  He glanced up from between my legs. “You’re so full of it. I know you, Eve. I know every curve of your body, every inch of your flesh, every move you make when you are ready to let loose.”

  “Are you’re saying I’m predictable and boring?”

  He inched up, pushing my legs open with his body. “No, not at all.” He leaned down and kissed my collarbone, still trying to get me in the mood. “Why don’t we play a little?”

  I searched his face. His eyes were dancing. I had no idea what he had up his sleeve. “What did you have in mind?” The last thing I wanted was him to pull out my collar and dominate me.

  “We can pretend it’s 1950, and you can play the good little wife.” He chuckled.

  “Fuck you. Get off of me.” I slapped his chest. His actions and words were irritating to me.

  “Would you rather me wank off to porn or make love to you?” he asked.

  “I think porn would be the better option right now.” This was no way to get me in the mood. I rolled from underneath him and sauntered toward the kitchen to clean up.

  He followed and leaned on the doorway. “I’ll be away from you for months, maybe even a year. I’ll have enough time on my hands to jerk off. Let’s at least enjoy us while we’re still together.”

  With his words I realized what the other wives meant by letting them have their way. No wonder they were relieved their husbands were leaving on tour. But that’s not the lifestyle I wanted for us. I wanted to be loved completely, not used to satisfy his desires anytime he wanted.

  I brushed past him and headed into the bedroom. “I preferred the way we were.”

  “And we will be that way again, Eve. The next year will test us. That’s all.”

  I slipped into bed. “Goodnight, Val.”

  Val leaned down and kissed me softly. “I love you. Don’t ever forget that. I’m not tired yet, but I’ll join you in a few.” He proceeded out the bedroom. “I promise we will be all right. Sweet dreams, love. I will see you in the morning.”

  Chapter 41

  I woke up refreshed and revived. I rolled around in my bed on my plush mattress with my favorite pillows. I smelled the sheets. They were the perfect mixture of lavender and vanilla. Home. My home. I was secretly glad to be back to the comfo
rts and luxury I was used to. I wanted to stay and enjoy it, but work was beckoning.

  As usual, the bed next to me was empty. Val had taken to sleeping next to me on occasion, but this was typical of him. Not only was he an early riser, but he also managed to function on very little sleep, usually crashing for a few hours at a time.

  I quickly dressed in my gym attire and freshened up. I packed one of my favorite suits into my garment bag, grabbed my satchel, and walked into the kitchen. And as usual, Val was there, newspaper, cigarettes, and coffee already in hand.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” Val leaned back as I passed for his morning kiss.

  “Morning, darling.” I returned his kiss as I draped my belongings over a chair and sat down next to him. “Morning, Edward.”

  “Good morning, Eve. How did you sleep?” Edward placed a plate of egg whites, turkey bacon, fresh fruit and my coffee in front of me.

  “Very well, thank you. Will the car be here in twenty minutes?”

  “But of course.”

  “I won’t be home for dinner.” I sipped my coffee and glanced at the newspaper over Val’s shoulder. “Anything good?”

  Val flipped through the newspaper. “We made the gossip section.”

  I ripped the paper out of his hands and stared at a picture of us walking in the airport.

  Eve Lauren Married?

  Eve Lauren and her fiancé, Valo Ruska, made it official. Although the couple was only engaged last month, they were spotted wearing bands of gold as they returned from his home in Helsinki to her swank pad in New York City yesterday. Could the queen of event planning have eluded her own clique and secretly married her lover in Helsinki? A close friend revealed the couple tied the knot sometime during the winter holidays.

  Eve, who is known to accurately predict the relative lifespan of marriages, perhaps can’t predict her own. We predict this marriage to last as long as Valo’s last album did on the American charts—several weeks before its success is over.