Slow Release (Ebony and Ivory Book 1) (5 page)

Skye

I waited until the maid set our food down and left before I looked at Damon. In a seating arrangement he insisted upon, he was at the head of the table and I sat right next to him.

“Not that it’s any of my business, but you really should be more careful.”

His look was one of amusement as he cocked his head to the side and smiled at me indulgently. “Oh really, do tell.” He raised one of his brows in a cocky manner as he continued, “If my life is in danger, I need to know.”

“Ha,” I chuckled, “it could be, considering how brutal you are with your women. You know, the whole hell hath no fury thing.”

His countenance changed suddenly, and it was obvious he no longer found the conversation humorous. “I don’t play games, Skye. The women I took to bed were given full disclosure. They were fucks, nothing more, nothing less. I’m sure that’s difficult for you to understand, especially since you’re probably a virgin and extremely naïve in matters of sex. I don’t expect you to understand, though. I just need you to accept the truth. These women weren’t victims of my insatiable cock, just as they aren’t victims in any other area of their lives. These are worldly women who thought they could get the career of their dreams by offering me their golden pussies. I don’t like being used, and I damn sure don’t like being lied to.” I watched his mouth as he ran his tongue over his teeth and made a sucking noise, expressing his contempt. “As I previously stated, these women may have felt scorned, but it certainly wasn’t because of anything I’ve done to them. It was their own skewed perceptions that deceived them. I can assure you, young lady, I’m keeping it real.”

His candidness caught me off guard, and I was grateful my dark skin hid my embarrassment. I could feel the heat radiating from my chest to my face, flushing my cheeks and trying to betray my discomfort. I’d never been subjected to a man who was so blunt and outspoken about his sexuality. He talked about his body and bedding women with no reserve. Once again, his expression changed, and he gently laid his hand over mine, stroking it with the pad of his thumb as he spoke.

“Skye, though I’d like to think your concern for me is motivated by jealousy, I’m not so naïve as to believe we’re there yet. I do, however, want to assure you that you’re innocence and your virginity are safe with me.”

I looked up at him through my long dark lashes. “How did you know?”

“I thought we’d already been over this? I’m a worldly man. Women are my job, and I’m very good at reading them. Don’t deceive yourself into thinking I don’t want to clear this table off with a sweep of my arm right now so I can lay you down and enjoy your body. I have every intention of making you mine, but when I do, it will happen because you want it, not because I forced your hand. I can assure you that I have access to pretty much any woman I want, but I want you. My intentions are not those of a noble man; I plan to seduce you and make you mine. I’m not your average man, Skye.”

“Yeah, I’m catching on to that real quick.”

“I’m not your average person, period. Have you called your mother?”

I was shocked by his abrupt change of subject. “I’m sorry to say I haven’t even thought about it. I’ve been a bit overwhelmed.”

“I’m here for you, Skye. A certain amount of culture shock is to be expected. If you need a friend or someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”

This time it was me who raised a sardonic brow as I spoke, “You’re almost too good to be true.”

“As I said… my intentions are not those of a noble knight in shining armor.”

I chuckled as I eyed him. “Are you saying you’re more like the hooded predator lurking in the woods?”

“I think you’re beginning to understand just what you’re dealing with.”

It wasn’t his words that struck me like a slap to the face; it was his eyes. They held promise and determination to endure whatever necessary until he got what he wanted—me.

Damon

I sat at my desk and watched her as she reclined on her bad and talked to her mom on the phone I provided. I was sickened when I learned her mother was so poverty stricken she didn’t have a phone. If she wanted to talk to her daughter, she was forced to walk to the closest store. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it had been necessary for a young boy to run down to her hut just to tell her that her daughter was on the phone. I could tell everything that transpired just by listening to Skye’s side of the conversation.

The thing that struck a chord in me was the character these women had. They were acting like this was normal because, to them, it was. All of that was about to change, and I was going to make it happen. I was going to make certain they had a new perception of normal, a better quality of life.

I picked up the phone to dial one of my attorneys as I continued to watch the object of my obsession through the surveillance monitor. The man I was contacting was one of the lawyers I kept on retainer. He worked solely for me and did all my out of state and overseas work. Jamal was a nomad by nature, and there wasn’t any part of the world he wasn’t familiar with.

“Jamal, I need you to fly out to Haiti tomorrow and secure a home. I need it trimmed out with all new furnishings, and I want each member of this family to have their own laptop and phone. Don’t be cheap about it either. As far as the actual housing, put them in a large home but not a mansion. It’s the family of one of my models, and I don’t want to make them targets for crime.”

“Yeah, I heard about her through the grapevine. You’ve got all the women in a tizzy thinking they won’t be bedding you anymore.”

“It’s me that beds them, and they should be worried. I’m beyond intrigued with this new girl.”

“Ha, ha, so they should be concerned.”

“Back to business, Jamal… I want those kids put in private school, and if there are any who aren’t school age yet, I want them put in daycare. Find one that teaches them, not some fucking money racket with too many kids and not enough caregivers. Skype me, or send pictures to show me what you find so I know it’s to my liking. Do that for the house too; I want pics of everything. Oh, and one more thing. Hire a housekeeper/cook for Ms. Acaau. I can assure you that any woman who has five kids at home needs hired help.”

Jamal chuckled, “I don’t doubt that, brother. I don’t doubt that at all. Okay, consider the woman on her way to a better life.”

“I’ll speak with you tomorrow.”

“Yes, you will because I’m heading out tonight.”

“Always the nomad.”

“You got that right, brother.”

I hung the phone up knowing that, by this time next week, my Skye would have one less thing to worry about. It couldn’t be easy on her to accept living in the lap of luxury while her mother and siblings were crowded inside a tiny hut. It wasn’t just the fact that I wanted to combat any feelings of guilt that might be plaguing her; it was also that I knew her mother had been one of the reasons she agreed to come here. I wasn’t so naïve as to not be aware of how huge of an influence her mother was in her life. My own upbringing had taught me how strong the bond is between a mother and her child, and I know those connections run especially deep between a mother and her daughter in the African American culture. The old saying, “When you marry the girl, you marry her whole family,” was indeed a fact.

Skye

I hung up the phone and brushed away the lone tear falling down my cheek. Spawned from guilt, it escaped despite my steely resolve to hold it at bay. Here I was, living in luxury due to the kindness of a stranger while my mother had to walk two blocks just to get to a phone. Regardless of what Damon’s motives were, he’d been good to me up to this point. What man didn’t think about sleeping with a woman? It certainly didn’t make him the villain he painted himself to be. I set the goal to get my mother a phone with unlimited minutes and international access as soon as possible. I wanted something that would enable me to Skype with my family while I talked with them.

I pushed the guilt I felt away and committed to focusing on the positives, the things that would make me the money I needed to help my mother. I was lucky in that, for me, it wasn’t going to be all about the job and the income; it was also about the dream—my dream. That didn’t change the fact that my mother had been forced to work numerous jobs to support her children. She’d been left to take care of us all on her own after my father left. It wasn’t just his abandonment that hurt so badly either; it was the way he had done it.

He left, all the while leading my mother to believe he was coming to America to work so that he could bring money home. It was something he had done several times before, so none of us saw it coming when he didn’t return. He would go, illegally sneak into America, find work for a while, and then return with enough money to last the family for months. Or, it would have been enough to last if he didn’t spend it all on alcohol. The last time he left, though, the bright lights and big city evidently went to his head because he hooked up with a woman and divorced my mother.

I don’t know where my father ended up living, and I don’t care to know. A man that callous, who could abandon his family and not even go to his own child’s funeral, wasn’t the type of man I wanted to claim as my father. The only thing we had in common back then, or would ever have in common, was our DNA.

I went to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and prepare for bed. Tomorrow was my first day at the studio, and I wanted to be rested so I could be at my best. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't feeling nervous about starting work. I’m certain the drive to see my family in better living conditions was a factor in my lack of fear over my new career.

I pulled back the comforter and sunk into a bed that was unlike anything I had ever slept in before. It felt as if it molded to my body, enveloping me in a cloud of comfort. I gave in and, in a matter of moments, was fast asleep.