Slow Release (Ebony and Ivory Book 1) (13 page)

Skye

Damon said I bewitched him, but I felt like I was well and truly under his spell. He was making all my dreams come true, dreams I’ve been carrying in my heart since I was a little girl. I didn’t need the stereotypical romance where the man woos me with champagne and roses. For me, there was nothing more romantic than a man confident enough to not be threatened by a strong, self-assured woman. I knew the world was full of men who had to be the ones in the spotlight, but few and far between were the men who supported career-oriented women. There was nothing sexier than a man who not only supported a woman’s dreams, but also helped them come to pass. Damon was that man. The only thing I’ve ever seen Damon feel threatened by was losing me, and I found that to be damn sexy too.

His voice pulled me out of my reverie. “We’re here.” His eyes took on that serious, cold look they always adopted when he was about to say something non-negotiable. “I don’t want you wandering off tonight. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” I teased.

“I kind of like the sound of that.” He leaned in close so Jerome couldn’t hear him. “Maybe when I fuck you, I’ll make you say it before I permit you to come.”

The familiar heat he always induced with his candid speech coiled low in my belly, and I clenched my knees together in response. He chuckled, and I knew then that he knew exactly what he was doing to me.

“You rented this place for the evening?” I asked, looking at the large, luxurious banquet hall I could see through the plate glass windows.

He lifted my chin with one finger, looked intently into my eyes, and said, “Damon D’Angelo doesn’t rent… he owns.”

“Oh my goodness, you are a piece of work.”

“You have no idea. Now, please accompany me to the ball, and I promise you no harm will come to you at the stroke of midnight. This dream life I’m creating for you doesn’t have time restrictions.”

“I sincerely hope not. I would rather never be spoiled than to be spoiled only to have it taken away.”

“Never going to happen, Princess Acaau.”

“Good, I’d hate to have to put a Haitian hex on your ass.”

Damon

I quickly ushered Skye into the building. Music floated down from the speakers, and guests stood in their various circles, conversing and drinking champagne. I watched her face as she took in her surroundings. I made certain my employees put an extreme amount of effort into every detail for this event. This was Skye’s cover reveal, and I wanted it to be special. Decorating the walls were various shots I picked out from her photo shoot and had framed. There was one wall, however, I had covered in a mural of her cover shot, and I had every intention of leaving it there long after tonight’s gathering. Per my instructions, it was currently covered with a piece of material large enough to drape over the entire wall. I couldn’t wait to see her face when the cover shot was finally revealed; it had turned out perfectly. As if she could read my thoughts, she asked, “What is that? Why is the whole wall covered?”

“Oh no, you’re not ruining my surprise.”

“Come on, Damon, tell me. I’m dying of curiosity.”

“This is coming from a woman who hates surprises? Oh, how quickly you change your tune.” I couldn’t hold back the laughter when her mouth took on an adorable fake pout. “I’m sorry, Skye. You’ll have to wait like everyone else,” I chided.

Skye

Damon ushered me around the room and introduced me to everybody. The people here were an eclectic mix of models, photographers, agents, and even some fans of the industry. It was a bit odd to think complete strangers might become attached to me just because my image would grace a few magazine covers. I knew enough to recognize you had the fans to thank if your career was successful. Still, with everything going on with my stalker, I had to admit that it kind of gave me the creeps.

Damon pulled me away from the crowd and ushered me around the perimeter of the room where the walls were covered with various pictures from my shoot. I turned to look into his eyes and said, “If I forget to thank you later, I’m doing it now. You make me feel so special, Damon.”

“That’s because you are special, love.”

His hand pressed at the back of my neck as he pulled me towards him. His lips locked down on mine as he kissed me greedily and without shame, not caring that we might have an audience. When he pulled away, my hand stroked over his face. “Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome, my lady. It’s my pleasure to show off my beautiful woman.”

“You’re beautiful woman needs to go freshen up.”

“The powder room is right over there,” he answered with a tip of his head. “Go, and come right back.”

“You’re hilarious with that overprotectiveness of yours.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Who are you kidding, Damon D’Angelo? You would be possessive even without the threat of a stalker.”

His voice grew cold, “That son of a bitch crossed the line of being just a mere threat a long time ago, and he’s going to answer to me for it.”

“Vicious, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea. Now, go to the bathroom and hurry back.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I already told you what I was going to do with that
yes sir
shit.”

I walked away and made my way into a bathroom that looked more like a high dollar suite. It even had a make-up table and expensive perfumes laid out on the countertop. I had just finished and was going to wash my hands when I was surprised by the appearance of the model who had caused all that trouble the other day. This was going to be awkward. The last person I wanted to see was the woman whose boyfriend Damon just beat up.

“That’s quite the show of PDA out there.”

I looked at her in puzzlement, so she continued speaking.

“Oh, I forgot. You’re the naïve little princess from the Haitian hut. PDA is short for public display of affection.”

I finished drying my hands and slammed my clutch down on the counter before I addressed her.

“You know, regardless of where I come from, I’m proud of my heritage. Let’s just get to the bottom of things. I’m a brass tacks kind of woman. What is your problem with me?”

“How could I have a problem with you, Skye? We’re sisters.”

“Excuse me? What on earth are you talking about?”

“We both share the same father,
dear
.”

I was suddenly using the edge of the sink to support myself as my knees threatened to buckle beneath me. “How? What? I don’t even know you. The first time I ever saw you was outside the studio.”

Her chuckle sounded more like the cackle of an evil witch as she spoke. “Well, whether you like it or not, we are sisters. Well, we’re half sisters anyway.”

“There’s only one thing I hate more than a trouble maker and that’s a liar.”

“Oh please, if you need proof, sweetie, have that boyfriend of yours get his highly paid personal doctor to do a DNA test. Just because you don’t have the perfect body for modeling like I do, doesn’t mean we don’t have the same blood running through our veins.”

I pushed off the sink and made my last statement as I exited the bathroom. “Thank you. You just strengthened my determination to change that perception. By the time I’m finished, the beauty industry is going to open their doors to women of all sizes.” With my head held high and my gait oozing confidence, I made my way back over to the man who was going to help me turn that aspiration into a reality.

Damon

I looked up to finally see Skye headed in my direction and breathed a sigh of relief. I leaned in and whispered in her ear as she joined me at the front of the room where the big reveal was about to take place.

“I thought I was going to have to come get you. One day, you must divulge the mystery of why it takes women so long to
freshen up
as you so eloquently phrased it.

“Just a pesky little nuisance I wasn’t counting on,” she said with a surreptitious smile.

The distinctive clinking sound a knife makes when it’s tapped against a crystal champagne flute rang through the air, interrupting our conversation and turning our attention to the director of the art gallery.

“If everyone could please give me their undivided attention, it’s time to reveal our newest model’s cover.” I watched as he looked around the room, making certain he had all eyes on him. Satisfied, he raised a hand and gripped the large piece of material, ripping it from the wall with one quick yank. There was a moment of shocked silence before loud gasps of horror and murmurs of disbelief filled the room.

I caught Skye in my arms just before her body could crumple to the floor in an unconscious heap. I had been watching Skye’s face, not wanting to miss her reaction. It was not until after I caught her that I finally looked up to see what caused her and the rest of the guests so much distress. Her beautiful mural had been defaced with red spray paint.
Dead Bitch!
was written right across Skye’s face. This shit just got dangerous… If I thought this guy crossed a line before, he obliterated it now. This crossed a boundary into whole new territory. He went from sending me threatening photos at my home to publicly declaring his intent to kill Skye.

This had to be someone out to get me. I just couldn’t fathom Skye ever doing anything to incite this level of anger and hatred.

Whoever pulled this off had to have some serious connections. First, how had they gained access into my banquet hall? An even bigger mystery was how he even knew the mural existed. Very few people were privy to that knowledge. I was very tight-lipped about it, wanting to keep it a secret lest Skye hear about it. In fact, I wasn’t in the habit of making any of my business dealings known. I had a very tight inner circle, and as much as it pained me to believe, I needed to face the possibility that circle had been breached. This stalker wasn’t just affecting Skye. He was making me do something I never did and that’s question myself. Had I been betrayed and unaware of it because I was too preoccupied with Skye?

Now I wasn’t just going to have the stalker’s ass on a platter; I was going to hunt down whoever betrayed me as well. I needed to send a message to the public that you don’t fuck with Damon D’Angelo. Otherwise, not only would Skye continue to be a target, I would as well. The culprits responsible were going to get a whole lot more than they bargained for. When they threatened my woman, they unknowingly signed their own death warrants.