by Raven Crow
The men were nearly to the top step before I reached the middle portion where the staircases joined back together. I had been too caught up looking around at the unique interior design of the house. There was amber-colored, wooden, flooring throughout. Also there were two large, skylights which I could see through the blanket of stars overhead. They had a collection of fancy, painted, face masks hanging on the walls along with other varies paintings. I finished scanning as much of the room before reaching the top step.
I hadn’t heard what the men had been talking about while I had been lagging behind. I finally caught up to them in a long hallway where they had stopped.
“Hey Jo, it looks like you are going to have to meet my mothers in the morning. Apparently, they were called at the last minute for an appearance in, Glendale. Oh, I don’t think that I told you that my mothers are Tellers—I mean fortunetellers.”
“Wow that is really cool. I’d love to have them read my fortune sometime.”
“Ha ha…sure they’d love that maybe a little too much.”
With his words I felt my nerves calm down inside of me. His mothers sounded very chill and easy-going so there was nothing for me to be nervous about.
“I made up these two rooms for the two of you.” Pierce smiled while pointing at the rooms to which he was referring. “Also, there is some food for you both down in the kitchen when you are ready. I must apologize but I need to get off to bed I have a big day tomorrow. I will be downstairs in the east wing should you need any during the night.” He offered before starting to walk away.
“Thank you very much we should be fine Pierce have a good night.” Gio yelled to him as he disappeared down the stairs. He set his attention on me with his brows raised. “Well, whatever should we do now that we’re all alone Jo?” His raspy tone implied that he already had an idea in mind.
“What exactly do you have in mind Gio?”
“I’m going to be honest with you Jo what I have in mind involves vigorous activity, sweating, and possibly—no definitely nudity. Are you up for it?” He grinned while walking towards one of the bedroom doors.
“I am definitely up for whatever you have in mind.” I walked over to him passing him while entering the room.
He closed and locked the door before joining me.
“I have missed you Jo. I have missed touching your beautiful, soft, body.” He growled from behind me. I felt his hands slowly moving up my shirt as he removed it. “I missed kissing this neck.” He gently placed small kisses down the back of my neck while he rubbed my boobs with his hand from behind. “Did you miss me Jo?”
I turned to face him before pulling his shirt off.
“I missed you so much. Stop making me wait Gio.” I groaned into his mouth as I kissed him.
“I’m sorry.” He grunted while he undressed and I did the same. “No more waiting…come over here.” He yanked me up into his arms while moving us onto the bed.
I put my head back onto the pillow while looking up at him. He was so handsome. His body was so toned like he’d been working out since the last time we’d been together.
He placed himself on top of me and I could feel that he was hard. I wrapped my arms around his shoulder feeling the strength in them. He kissed me slowly while pumping his hips down into me. I moaned loudly as I let go while he entered me. He felt so good inside of me which made me whimper into his mouth while we kissed.
He was so gently yet firm while he pumped down into me over and over again pushing moans out of me every time. I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from yelling out if he stayed in the same place; he seemed to know just where to hammer in order to make me climax fast. He sucked my bottom lip which drove me crazy before he increased his rhythm. I felt my body start to shake uncontrollably as I climaxed and yelling.
“I love you Jo. I am in love with you.” He grunted.
“I love you Gio. I am so in love with you.” I cried out while holding back tears.
I felt him jerk violently for a minute with a stressed face and his eyes closed. He nearly collapsed down next to me on his back before looking at me.
“I meant what I said Jo. I have never said that to anyone before now.”
“I know that you meant it I meant it too.” I pulled myself onto my side with my head rested on my hand. “I have never been in love before Gio. I think that I like it.” I giggled.
He leaned over kissing me on the forehead.
“I think that I will go grab some of that food that Pierce was talking about earlier for us. Do you have any special requests?” He offered while he stood to dress.
“You are so sweet I can go with to help?”
“No you stay here remain just like that. I will get the food and bring it up to you.”
“Well in that case, bring me something sweet and something salty please. Thank you.”
“You got it beautiful!” He jetted out the door.
He said he loved me. I shook violently in the bed with joy.
Chapter 15
Pen
Managing to complete my check list I arrived at the marina earlier with a belly full of nerves. I had no idea how to run a marina. My grandfather was the mechanic and fisherman not me. Something inside of me wanted to try to fill my grandfather’s shoes in a way. In the past several days since I spoke with King Moreau I half expected him to have changed his mind.
I got out of my crappy car, the last remaining evidence of my previous poverty, before heading towards the docks. I had on dark, blue shorts with a white, bodysuit and white boat shoes. I had decided to pull my hair back into a ponytail which made me look a lot younger then I had planned.
I passed the old rundown shack with a sign which was faded away that said, boat rental and bait shop. I didn’t stop to get a look inside of it. While as I neared the wooden docks I heard boats off in the distance. Once down by the docks I went to step onto the first wooden walkway.
“Penelope stop!” King Moreau yelled from the parking lot stopping me in my tracks. “Don’t go near the docks their not safe!” He repeated his warning while adding more detail.
I looked down at the dock walkway noticing immediately that there were clear signs of corrosion and if I had stepped onto it I might have ended up in the water. I backed away quickly before heading back towards the parking lot where King Moreau was waiting.
“Thank you for the warning I didn’t even see that the wood was decayed. You saved me from going into the lake for an unplanned swim.” I expressed.
He was dressed in a pair of blue shorts with a white, short-sleeved, polo shirt which showed off his tanned, cut arms.
“Well I can’t have you falling into the lake on your first day as the new owner, now can I?” He joked with a smile.
“I love a good swim but only when I’m prepared for it. Ha ha.” I laughed it off while trying to play cool which I wasn’t.
“I am sorry that I was late I tried to get over here early. I’m really excited to get this project underway.”
“You weren’t late I was early. Truthfully, ever since your visit the other day the marina has been the only thing that I thought about. I am very eager to restore my grandfather’s legacy.”
“Good to hear. I have a crew on the way now. They will get all the necessary repairs started. This place should be fully operational in three weeks. At least I hope that it is I really want to have the coronation here on my yacht.”
“I bet that’s something that the whole town would want to attend.” I secretly dreaded the thought. “Are you sure that this place will be complete by that time…I mean look at rundown this place is?” I stressed while my eyes scanned the wreckage which was my families’ marina.
“This place will be complete by then, no problem. I don’t think that’s what this is really about though, is it Penelope?” He lowered his tone. “Are you worried about the townsfolk? They haven’t exactly been very kind to you over the years I hear.”
“Yes…to say the least the people around here hav
e been anything but kind to my family ever since I was born.”
“From now on I bet things will start to change.” He added before starting to walk towards old bait shack.
“I don’t expect things to get any better. People don’t change in my experience. But I’m over it. I only care about getting my families’ business back up and running again.” I followed him as his pace seemed to increase. “I hope to rebuild a bigger, better marina and hopefully a restaurant as well. I of course would hire someone to run that part of the business but I want to be around to oversee the whole operation.” I unfolded my plans. He looked back at me and smiled.
“Well I see that you have taking a great deal of effort and time to think about the remodel. That’s good, because although I have the crew coming in to take care of the labor, to make this place really come together and be successful it will take a headstrong owner to make this place a success.”
I felt immediately out of my comfort zone. He seemed to have a unrealistic belief in me and my abilities which I wasn’t sure why he’d think I was capable of running a successful business. At that point I began to feel like a phony. I was going to need some help with the business end in order to make this place work. I wasn’t going to let the king know my real fears at any rate.
“You sound like you know what you are talking about when it comes to running a business. I don’t mean to be rude but may I ask your age? You seem quite young.” I caught up to him to ask.
“That’s not rude…I’m twenty seven how about yourself, Penelope?”
“I’m twenty five. Have you ever run a business before?”
“Yes—but I have to admit that all of those businesses were fully operational when I took over.” He stopped before turning to face me once we reached the bait shack. “This marina can be very stressful I know firsthand. Just jump in and start and only think about the stresses after you have a solution for them. I can give you a list of suggestions for possible problems and some solutions for them that you can follow that will help you get started.”
“That would be very helpful, thank you. I wish that I had some sort of college education to help navigate this process.”
“Penelope I have two degrees; one in business from Harvard Business, and a second one in corporate law also from Harvard, and I can tell you that none of that prepared me for when my employees walked out on us during a workers’ strike nor did it help when a hurricane hit one of my businesses and we lost products and property.” He finished. He didn’t seem the least bit arrogant about his very impressive education and background. He appeared to be humbled.
“Your Majesty please call me Pen, it seems strange to hear my full name.”
“Alright I will call you Pen but only if you call me Blaine. I am not used to the formalities of my position as of late.”
The sound of a vehicle shifted our attention towards the parking lot where I spotted Sax’s car pulling in before parking. I was shocked to see him at the marina. I hadn’t made in plans with him but he did know that I was meeting with the king today.
“Will you excuse me for a moment?” I begged Blaine.
“Of course, I will have a look around this old, rundown thing.” He informed me before walking off around the shack.
I turned to head back to the parking lot but Sax was already nearly over to me so I just paused to wait for him to reach me.
“Hello there, I thought that I might come down to lend a hand or just help support you. I hope that it is ok that I just showed up?” Sax exclaimed with the cutest facial expression.
I couldn’t resist his eagerness to support me. I’d have had that before now.
“Of course I don’t mind. I’m so happy to see you. I haven’t seen you for a few days I missed seeing your face.” I replied. I wanted to throw my arms around him and kiss him but I didn’t think that it would be very professional.
“Where did the king go I saw his car in the parking lot isn’t he here too?” Sax asked while looking around.
“I think that he is over there looking at the bait shack.” I said while looking towards the shack.
“Oh I see him now.”
Blaine walked out from behind the shack heading towards us.
“Hello Saxon. Did you come down to get your hands dirty?” Blaine asked in a joking tone.
“Yes—majesty indeed I did. I don’t see the crew though. Am I earlier or are they not coming today?”
“You are right on time they are late. Would you excuse me, I’ll see what is keeping them?” He asked while pulling his phone out of his pocket to make a call.
Before he could speak the loud sound of a truck backing up drew our eyes over towards a large truck heading our way.
“Looks like the crew has arrived.” I announced while we all moved out of the way of the truck.
Blaine walked off to talk to the men that had started to arrive.
“Maybe we should get out of the way? Come on we can go over there where we won’t get in the way.” Sax led me over towards the docks where I had initially tried to go when I first arrived.
Chapter 16
Sax
I had told myself that I was going into town to run some errands but instead I ended up at the marina. The marina that I didn’t even know existed until King Moreau II told Pen that her family owned it. So far from what I had seen of the place it looked very rundown but not unsalable.
“What do you think…do you think they can repair this place?” Pen peered up at me behind a stern look.
“I don’t know…maybe anything is possible, I guess. It sure looks as though King Moreau II has brought enough men to get the job done.”
“Yes he did—I hope you are right.” She popped her head back to look at the chaos behind us.
“Honestly, I don’t have a clue how to run a successful marina that’s something that is out of my area of expertise unfortunately.”
We neared one of the five docks. The water was a perfect, clear, emerald, color which seemed as though it stretched out for miles ahead of us. The huge city of Bakersfield was a small, blur on the lake’s horizon.
“Be careful not to stand on the dock the boards are corroded.” Pen warned before taking my arm nudging me back towards her.
“Wow, thanks I didn’t notice.” I looked down at the rotting wooden dock which I was about to step out onto if she hadn’t stopped me.
“Let’s go over there by the rocks on the shoreline. We’ll be out of the way over there.” Pen pointed before heading off of the marina launch ramp towards the shoreline. “I don’t think that I have ever been on this part of the shoreline before, have you?”
“No I don’t think that I have been here ever. This view of the lake is something that I think that I would have remembered. I’m going to have to get a boat so I can launch it from here.” I eagerly replied with hopes of taking her out onto a yacht one day.
“Really…that sounds fun. I would love to go on your boat once you get one.” She smiled.
“Sounds like a plan. You can help me pick one out too.” I winked at her.
“I know nothing about boats though maybe you would be better off asking Gio to help you with that decision.” She shook her head.
“No…I want to have your help. You are the one that’s going to be on the boat with me the most so you should have a say.” I pushed.
“Fine—I’ll help you find a boat but I’m warning you I’m probably going to base my decision off of the size of the boat’s cabin and color. Stupid shit like that.” Pen laughed while she stepped up onto a large rock by the bank. “This lake is really beautiful. I don’t think that I have really looked at it this close up for years now.” She told me while leaning over as she stared at the water like she was in some sort of trance.
“Please tell me that you have at least been out on the lake before Pen?” I asked as I wondered if she had missed yet another experience because of that curse.
“You know I don’t know if I have or not if so, I was too yo
ung to remember.” She turned to face me. “I spent most of my childhood playing with Daphne or the few others that were brave enough to hang around the ‘Cursed Pen’.” She used air quotes for her made up nickname. “I can’t believe that she’s gone.” She said in a lower tone.
“I know. I can’t believe that someone is killing people here at all let alone someone like Daphne.”
I climbed onto a larger rock alongside the rock that Pen was on before offering my hand to her. She smiled with a closed mouth while taking my hand as she climbed up onto the rock with me.
“Do you think that your parents are going to catch the killer soon?”
“I hope so.” I put my hand on her lower back.
I tried to give her some hope but secretly I knew that my parents had no suspects yet, making their investigation slow going at best. I wanted to tell her about the fact the Daphne probably knew her would be killer but I couldn’t betray my family’s trust.
“Well Jo told me that she saw some Bakersfield police officers on campus a week ago. Do you think that had something to do with Daphne because she attended that school too?”
“Really…I wasn’t aware that the Bakersfield police were involved in any Greenville cases. Those two departments never work together—or at least they never have in the past. Other than using their lab Greenville PD doesn’t deal with Bakersfield PD.” I became puzzled by her question.
Suddenly a loud commotion from behind us made me turn around bringing my attention to the launch ramp.
“What was that?” She snapped. We both jumped down off the rock. “I wonder what they are doing over there…should we go and see?”
We were halfway up the launch ramp when King Moreau II joined us.
“Hey there you two are. I finally got the crew started on the bait shack. They are going to knock it down before they rebuild it along with a new restaurant and the inn attached.” King Moreau II announced with a gust of energy.
