Mommy's Dearest (Black Rose Book 3)

by Suzanne Steele

  He slid his hand down to cup her mound. “The only panties that interest me are yours. Preferably when they still smell like you.”

  Without warning, he began tickling her ribs. Soon she was laughing so hard that she was wiping tears. Between bouts of laughter, she begged him to stop but he had no intention of letting up anytime soon. Melanie was the only woman who could tempt his inner child to come out and play. At moments like this, he felt young and carefree. He treasured these moments with her.

  She was the only woman he would ever love. It took a certain kind of woman to break through a killer’s heart. Melanie had claimed his black heart long ago and held it gently in her hands as if it were her greatest treasure. And to her, it was.

  Chapter Forty Nine

  “You’re hurting me!” Goldie winced as fear thrummed in her veins. She was sitting in the shadows at a corner table at Shady Ladies, having been cornered moments ago by the one person she never wanted to see again: Brian Reed. She had already performed her only number for the night, so she was free to mingle. She just hadn’t anticipated having to deal with him.

  “You don’t know what pain is,” he growled, tugging the collar of his shirt down to reveal the faint bruising that lingered from their physical confrontation from the previous week. Goldie’s jaw went slack when she saw the bruises. Despite how richly he’d deserved an ass-kicking that night, she had never caused another person physical harm before, and it was upsetting.

  Brian’s clipped words intruded on her thoughts. “Now get Queen’s ass over here and introduce me. Don’t forget, you faked your own abduction. You do understand that filing a false police report is a crime, right? And if you have a criminal record, Ross will wash his hands of you. You’ll be outta here so fast… So don’t fuck with me. Believe me, I won’t go down alone.” He released her arm and shoved her away.

  She didn’t like this ugly side of him. If she ever saw him again, she had expected that he would be apologetic for how he’d treated her that awful night. Sure, her bruises had healed, but she’d never forget how far he took things with her. The fact that he had sought her out in a public place tonight suggested that she’d been wrong to ever suspect he was Mummy Man. He wasn’t smart enough to pull that off.

  “Fuck you!” she hissed. “I fucking hate you! You’re a bastard fake who tricked me into turning on my best friend.”

  “‘Fuck you, I hate you. You’re a bastard fake who tricked me into turning on my best friend.’” He mimicked her in an exaggerated, whiny tone. He slammed back a shot and licked his lips as he glared at her. “You’re delusional, you know that? I did nothing but play on your lack of confidence. You’re so jealous of your best friend that you can’t stand it. You can’t stand the fact that she has everything you want but will never, ever have. You think somebody’s going to ride in on a white horse and save you from all this?” He waved his hand for emphasis. “I don’t think so. Nobody wants to rescue your ugly ass.”

  How could she have been so stupid? It was like she’d rung a bell that she couldn’t un-ring. He was playing on every insecurity she’d ever had.

  “Now do what you’re fucking told or I’m going to break your arm.” He clamped his hand around her forearm and tugged it under the table before twisting it back at an unnatural angle. It wouldn’t take much effort to break it. No one could see what was going on in the dimly lit corner. Even if she did tell anyone what a monster he’d turned out to be, she’d go to jail for filing that police report when she knew all along that she’d gone along with his plan; at least, she had at first.

  “Did you kill those other women, Brian? Please tell me you didn’t do that. I can’t be part of anything like that.” There were tears in her eyes; a mixture of pain from the arm he was still twisting and the emotional pain of knowing she’d betrayed the only person who had ever been there for her.

  He let go of her arm abruptly. In a matter of seconds his demeanor changed. The hatred in his eyes softened to a compassionate regard. “Fuck, Goldie, I could never kill anyone. Hell, I don’t know if I could do something that awful even if I had to defend myself.” He leaned back against the cushioned seat and shook his head in dismay. “I thought you and I were friends. I can’t believe you’d even ask me something like that.”

  Goldie placed her hand on his arm and squeezed lightly. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. You were pretty believable the other night, though,” she laughed awkwardly.

  “Yeah, about that,” he began shyly. “Sorry. I just thought you wanted to see a fantasy through to the end. I misunderstood and took things too far. My mistake. God! I’m such an asshole.”

  “Stop, stop. It’s okay, really.” Goldie smiled at him and felt a flush of pleasure when he smiled back at her, like old times. “Wait right here. I’ll go get her and introduce you.”

  It wasn’t that Goldie was that naïve, she just wanted to believe somebody loved her. And she wanted it enough to ignore the truth that she could see, quite literally, sitting right in front of her.

  “I don’t know, Goldie. You’ve kinda hurt my feelings,” he looked away as if he couldn’t even bear to look at her. Brian enjoyed seeing how easily he could manipulate her emotions. He felt like a puppeteer and couldn’t resist seeing how far he could take things with her before moving on to his true target.

  “I’m sorry, I just thought we…well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. I can see now that I misunderstood.” At his continued petulant silence, she turned to the only asset she could ever really count on: her sexuality. “C’mon, baby,” she purred as she nestled up against his side. “Don’t be mad at me. I can’t stand it when you’re mad.”

  “Well, I can’t help it,” he muttered. “I don’t have a lot of friends so when one turns on me like this…”

  “What can I do to make it better?” she asked, biting her lip coyly.

  “I don’t know,” he shrugged, sniffing delicately. “I should probably just go.” He stood and started to pull some cash from his wallet to settle his tab, but she stopped him and pressed her body against him, subtly arching her chest until she was rubbing against him like a cat.

  “But, baby,” she pouted prettily, “why go when I can make you come?” She lightly scratched her nails against his chest and slid her hand down to cup his stiffening cock. When she felt it elongate until it was straining against her hand, she began to rhythmically squeeze and rub him, secure in the knowledge that her body was blocking the view of any customers who might have taken an interest. “Let me make it up to you. Trust me, baby, nobody knows what a cock needs better than me.”

  He did love his work. In between satisfying the beast within him and its relentless bloodlust, he saw nothing wrong with sating his more basic needs along the way. And Goldie was naturally insecure and desperate for approval. So why not? Queen Bee would still be there when he’d finished.

  Still, he made a show of hesitating. “Well, I do want us to be friends…”

  “Then let me make you feel good. One friend to another.” She leaned up to whisper in his ear, “Believe me, I know what I’m doing. Hmm?”

  Brian followed her from the table. He’d had plenty of blowjobs but he’d never gotten one from anyone at Shady Ladies before. He was not prepared for his visceral reaction to the taboo prospect of Goldie sucking him off. As if she could read his dirty mind, she pulled him into the supply closet by the rear exit door. The experience promised to be an unexpected adventure in restraint and discipline because he wanted to jam his dick down her throat the second she wrapped her lips around it.

  Brian prided himself on his sexual control, but the taboo that surrounded the simple facts of where he was and who he was with nearly had him coming undone. The head of his cock felt incredibly taut and tender as Goldie’s tongue fluttered and swirled over it. When she sucked his length to the back of her throat, he arched his back and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and muttering under this breath, “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” The wo
rds erupted from his mouth in perfect rhythm with the quickening thrusts of his hips against her face.

  Goldie pulled away just enough to whisper, “Spread.”

  “What?” He tensed, tentatively moving his feet apart, with his pants around his knees as she worked him over.

  She leaned back and gazed up at him as she continued to stroke him, moving her tight fist up and down his slender shaft. “More. Spread for me, baby, wide. I want everything.”

  He frowned and swallowed hard, then nodded and slowly reached behind his hips. Licking his lips between ragged breaths, he used his fingers to pull his ass cheeks apart.

  “Come on,” she whispered playfully. “You can do better than that.”

  He gulped and complied. At the sensation of her fingertip lightly stroking across the sensitive inner flesh of his asshole, he groaned, the sound incredibly loud to his own ears in the dark, confined space.

  Illuminated by the light filtering in from under the door, Goldie maintained eye contact with Brian as she slowly licked her finger. Slack-jawed, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes on a groan as she slid her fingertip over his taint until she was again stroking his puckered rear entrance. With her hot, wet mouth tormenting his cock, she fingered his tight hole and pushed inside in a single, smooth thrust.

  A few skillful strokes against his prostate had Brian at her mercy and he couldn’t resist the urge to climax down her throat. “Fucking hell!” he grunted as his cum filled her mouth and trailed down her chin.

  “Queen Bee! Yoo-hoo!” Goldie waved as she called her best friend over to their table.

  Queen Bee looked up from her conversation with a customer and frowned slightly at the sight of Goldie snuggled up in Brian’s lap. With a shrug, she forced a smile and nodded. It was good to see Goldie smiling again, especially after everything she had been through. But Queen Bee wasn’t so sure about her friend’s choice of companion for the evening. She knew Goldie was conflicted about Brian and his intentions, but they seemed to have resolved their differences. Queen Bee wasn’t conflicted in the least; she didn’t like him and she didn’t want him anywhere near her friend. But Goldie was a grown-ass woman, so who was she to judge?

  Queen Bee excused herself and strode over with a confident sway of her hips. I wish I could be like her. She’s so beautiful, Goldie thought to herself. She couldn’t stifle the pang of guilt in her chest when her friend bent down and kissed her cheek.

  “Hello, beautiful. What can I do for you?”

  “I want to introduce you to my friend, Brian.”

  “Enchante’, darling,” Queen Bee said as she held out her elegant hand for him to kiss, which he did with a wicked grin.

  “Goldie, your friend is beautiful, and she speaks French.”

  “Oh no, dear, nothing like that,” Queen Bee laughed. “A few phrases here and there is all.”

  “Join us. Have a drink.”

  She glanced at Goldie for approval and Goldie nodded as she thought about how much Queen Bee’s loyalty meant to her. She felt like a traitor every time Queen Bee was kind to her. She was confused by the jealousy she felt toward her friend, so she tried to shrug it off and enjoy the rest of the evening.

  Even though she had done what she’d deemed necessary to be on good terms with Brian, Goldie resented him for the rift he had caused in a friendship that was deeply important to her. His words came back to haunt her: You’re delusional. I did nothing but play on your lack of confidence. You’re so jealous of your best friend that you can’t stand it.

  The man had a real Jekyll and Hyde thing going on, that was for sure. Goldie decided that a good stiff drink or three would be just what she needed. She’d just catch a damn cab home. “I need a martini, honey, a vodka martini,” she said.

  “Ooh, that sounds good, girl.” Queen Bee turned her gaze toward Brian. “Why don’t you get us a bottle of champagne too?” she said invitingly. She’d never sleep with anyone but Terry, of course, but she could fake-flirt with the best of them. She was here to make money and that’s exactly what she was going to do.

  While he waved a waitress over, the two women exchanged a quick glance that Queen Bee took as a tacit agreement to make all the money they could off of Brian. She knew Goldie knew the score, that their job required that they encourage customers to spend money at the club. Queen Bee wasn’t particularly interested in Brian as a person, even if he was Goldie’s friend, but he was a customer and she knew how to do her job.

  At first, Goldie was glad Brian and her friend seemed to be getting along, until Brian began focusing all his attention on Queen Bee. She knew Queen Bee was just playing along, but now that she was at their table Brian seemed to have forgotten Goldie existed. One minute he was jizzing down her throat in a cramped, musty supply closet, and then next minute he was ignoring her. He seemed determined to touch Queen Bee, even when she subtly moved away from him. He laughed indulgently at everything she said. Over the course of the evening, the seeds of resentment had been planted within Goldie once again and they were growing by the second.

  Jealousy, resentment, and anger were taking hold again in Goldie’s heart, and she hated herself for it. But between Brian’s manipulative nature and the way he and Queen Bee were openly flirting, Goldie was beginning to see red. But she didn’t want to make a scene or draw attention to her growing displeasure.

  After their interlude in the supply closet, she had thought maybe Brian was into her after all, that maybe he wanted something more from her. But she was starting to see the truth: they weren’t two people in a relationship working through issues. She could see now that, for Brian, the blowjob hadn’t been a moment of intimacy at all; it had been all about control.

  Unfortunately, she could also see that Brian had her in a real bind. He was right: she’d broken the law by agreeing to fake her own abduction and then, albeit reluctantly, filing a false police report. He’d made it clear that he wasn’t going down alone. If she confessed to Queen Bee and the wrong people found out, she’d find herself unemployed and maybe even behind bars.

  Goldie knew all too well the prejudice and brutality she would surely suffer in prison. She’d heard the horror stories from transgender friends that had served time behind the concrete walls of bigotry and racism. They’d rape her. Sodomize her. Pass her around. Eventually, they’d kill her. So yes, tonight she’d get some small satisfaction from helping Queen Bee get all the money she could from Brian Reed. She’d bleed him dry for pitting her against her friend.

  Maybe what Brian Reed needed was a dose of his own medicine. Who were those mysterious friends of Queen Bee’s? Charles and Melanie. She could tell at a glance that they were probably well connected. Maybe they could help her somehow. Now her dilemma was how to ask them for help without alerting her best friend of the vile lie she’d told. It seemed pretty impossible to her, unfortunately. She knew she couldn’t have it both ways. If she taught Brian a lesson like she wanted to, then she’d lose her best friend. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

  “Pass that bottle, honey,” she said to Queen Bee, “I need a damn drink.”

  Chapter Fifty

  The girls had finally managed to send Brian on his way and were in the dressing room having some girl time. It had been a good night. For Goldie, Brian’s presence had been an ordeal in its own way, but reconnecting with her best friend had provided an escape from some of life’s unpleasantness.

  “That was so sweet, girl, including me so I’d make some money too,” Queen Bee turned and smiled at her bestie.

  Yeah, I’m some fucking friend; a liar, a fake, and a jealous bitch. “I owe you that, at the very least, after all you’ve done for me.”

  It was a true statement and she meant it from the heart. She hated herself for getting into such an impossible situation, but she knew she had no one else to blame. She had believed a man’s lies and allowed herself to be manipulated and used. She had let him pull her out of her normal behavioral patterns in the name of love or som
ething like it. Well, fuck love and fuck the fantasy of a knight in shining armor. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice…

  “Where are you, girl? Because you are not listening to me,” Queen Bee said with a laugh, but she couldn’t hide her concerned expression.

  “Probably too much alcohol,” Goldie answered in an effort to deflect. “I’m gonna catch a cab home.”

  “I can take you home, girl. I have no problem making a detour.”

  Goldie couldn’t help but think detour was a great way to describe her life right now. She had every intention of getting back on track and staying there. She walked over and kissed Queen Bee’s cheek, then straightened and said solemnly, “Always remember, no matter what happens, I love you.”

  “I love you too, girl. Hey, lighten up, sweetheart. Life is good. Everything’s going our way! I’ll see you tomorrow.” Bee never caught the ominous meaning of Goldie’s words, but later she would reflect on that moment and wish she’d been paying more attention.

  Goldie waved over her shoulder and headed to the rear exit. Of course, she had to pass by the supply closet on her way out, which put her in a foul mood all over again. She just needed to walk and sort through her thoughts. There had to be an answer. She just had to find it. Surely the open air, the starry sky and a little exercise would do her good. Sometimes she relished being alone, especially when she was busy beating herself up for yet another stupid mistake.

  At times like this, she wished she had the support of her family rather than their condemnation of her unconventional path in life. But she understood better than most that we don’t get to pick our parents. She just hoped she wasn’t about to lose her only real friend.

  Chapter Fifty One