“Anyway, my point is the character wasn’t worth shit. I might as well have picked according to status.” I said, swirling the ice around my drink.
“Well, luckily for me I figured that out a long time ago. Long before I would’ve found myself hosting one of these.” He proudly declares.“Oh, is that why you’re a bit of a slut?” The words come out before my brain has an opportunity to register them. I slap my hands over my mouth, embarrassed by what I just said. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. That was so rude, I wasn’t thinking.” I say from behind my hands.“That’s okay.” He laughs, “yes, that is why I am a bit of a slut.” He was clearly enjoying this a bit too much. “Though I wouldn’t say I pick according to status. I’m more of a appearance kind of guy, myself.”“If I decided to forsake character, that would probably make it on my shortlist. That would probably be the only way you’d make it, since you Blackburn men are probably all the same.” I say, probably getting too comfortable with him.It was true though. His playboy nature aside, Alec was the youngest and most successful of the Blackburn seniors. Being an oopsie baby born when Camden’s grandparents were well into their fifties, the closest sibling to him in age was almost out of high school when he was born. He is a tech entrepreneur and somewhat of a venture capitalist. Any business venture that his hands touch turns to gold.“Well the same can be said for you. You have insulted me so much in the past five minutes I don’t think your personality would even attract me that much.” He retorts.“Ouch, you wound me, Alec.” I bring my hand up and clutch my chest in faux pain. “But only just a bit. It would hurt a little bit more if you didn’t just just admit to thinking that I’m pretty.”I tilt my head to the side and look him up and down, “I’m flattered, truly. But I think I’ve had enough Blackburn dick to last me a lifetime.” I say coyly, deciding to attend to my drink.I don’t even look up when I hear him drag his barstool closer to me. He gets so close that I can feel his breath against my skin when he says what he does next. “It’s probably a good thing, too. If you’re so tired out by a boy… a man just might break you.” He says, the challenge in his tone clear.“Is there really much of a difference? Like I said, you Blackburn men are all the same. You take any little comment as a challenge.” I flirt back.“Why don’t you come up to mine and see just how much of a… difference there is.” He whispers.“Tsk tsk tsk. The impropriety, what will the people say?” I ask, casually reminding him of the fact that we were in a room full of people.“You can’t back down now, darling. Where is all that nerve you had just a second ago?”“Still here.” I reply.“Will it still be here at the end of the night?” I nod in response. “Good, then when you’re ready, you know where to find me.” Be slips a piece of paper into my hand; and with that he got up from his seat and walked out of the reception venue.**************Right now the party was starting to dwindle, people were ready to go home. I should probably consider leaving, myself. I don’t need to be here for the wrap up, the vendors already know what to do.I do my rounds, thanking everyone for coming and bidding them a good night; as it was steadily creating toward midnight at this point.My feet were killing me so I was somewhat stumbling to the exit. Every movement brought my attention to something that was scraping against my chest. All night I had been bothered by this scratching, I just thought it was a tag I forgot to cut off.I reach into my dress to find the source of my discomfort. A folded up piece of paper.I unravel it to see that on it there was a address. A room number in a nearby hotel.At the end of the short ride, I paid the driver and proceed to make my way to the elevators, up to the ninth floor. When the doors open, I walk down the corridor to the room number that was on my paper.I can feel my heartbeat pick up pace as I bring my hand up to knock. It beats even faster as I wait for an answer.Alec opens the door wearing nothing but a pair of silk pijama bottoms. I take a moment to appreciate his bare torso before I bring my eyes up to meet his.“You came. I was beginning to think you’d have me waiting all night.” He said, his eyes gleaming with obvious amusement at the fact that he caught me ogling him.“I had to see for myself what all the hype was about.” I smiled.He held out his hand for me to take “come see, then.”I took his hand and he dragged me inside, swiftly closing the door behind us. His mouth was on mine before the door even clicked shut.The kiss was passionate and urgent. It was definitely not the kind I was used to. We both knew what we wanted from each other, and we weren’t going to waste each others time.I brought my arms around his neck to pull him closer to me. I felt him palm my ass before he picked me up and put me on top of the entryway table. His hands began to inch up my skirt; and his mouth left mine as he started trailing kisses down my neck. His mouth finds the delicate spot behind my ear, he gives it a light suck and pulls a soft moan from me. I feel him smiling against my skin.His hands still up my skirt; one cupping my ass, the other one tracing my folds though my underwear. When his thumb grazes my clit through the fabric, it sends a delicious shiver down my spine. I start to move my hips, trying to get more from him.“You’re very eager.” He whispers into my ear, and I can only offer a small whimper in response.He pulls my underwear to the side and I take a relieved breath as he plunges a single finger into me. He pulls it out slowly, torturously, before adding another one. He brings his mouth back onto mine, swallowing my gasp. He begins to rub my clit as he pumps his fingers in and out of me.I ride his hand, bringing myself closer to the edge.“That’s right, ride my fingers.” He breaths onto my lips.He starts to go faster and faster, and I feel myself on the cusp of an orgasm. He hooks his fingers inside me, reaching a sweet spot; and I just lose it. I throw my head back and clench my thighs as I ride out the orgasm.When I come back down from my high, I open my eyes look back at him.“Open.” He says, looking at my lips. I do as he says. He pulls his fingers out of my pussy and brings them to my lips to taste.I lick my cum off of his fingers, and he gives me a devious smile.This is going to end up being a very good night.The elevator dings open and I begin the unusually long walk to my office like I didn’t just spend the last two weeks not showering and eating my weight in ice-cream.When I got back to the apartment I used to share with Cam the morning after my ravenous night with Alec, the full weight of the previous day’s events fell on me like a semi truck. Walking into that apartment was like being woken up from a blissful sleep by having ice water dumped on you. I immediately got to work packing all of Cam’s stuff and putting them into boxes. I then had my brother, and Cam’s (ex?)best friend, come pick them up from from my apartment and drop them off at Cam’s parents’ house; not before making him promise not to tell them anything if Cam hadn’t already.When I could no longer distract myself with my spring cleaning project, I took in just how devastatingly empty my apartment looked. It felt so cold and hollow. The first couple of nights there I couldn’t even bring myself to sleep in the bed. The
I was deep in thought, reviewing the small changes to the plans for the shopping centre that I instructed my team to adjust before I left. I was making the final touches when Rachel sauntered into my office. “Hi,” she chirped, pulling me out of my concentration. “Do you have any plans for lunch?”I looked at the time and noticed that it was already slightly after noon. I had been haunched over my desk for almost four hours and I didn’t even notice.“Um, no.” I reply, “ just let me finish this up this one thing real quick and I’ll be right with you.” She makes her way to the lounge area in the corner of my office and dramatically plops down into one of the seats. “These are pretty, did you get them yourself?” She asks, noticing the flowers on the coffee table. “No, someone sent them.” I answer carefully. I didn’t want to give more information, but I didn’t exactly want to lie. Rachel knows me too well for me to be able to get away with lying to her; and if she detects even the smalle
The rest of the week had gone by without a hitch. Work had gotten busier so I didn’t have time to fester on the potential mess with Alec and our potentially intertwined business interests. I met with a few more clients for home designs, and finalised a partnership with a real estate development company. All in all I was grateful for the opportunity to throw myself into my work this week. It’s Friday and it’s getting late. I’m supposed to be meeting Emma, Rory and Rachel at Melody Line, a jazz club downtown, for our weekly cool down. It’s been a tradition of ours since we moved back here after our semester abroad in our final year. I was shutting down my computer and getting ready to leave when I heard a knock at my door. “Come in.” I said, wondering who was still here at this hour. Liliana had already left, along with the rest of the floor. “You have to make it quick, I’m on my way out.” I say without looking up at whoever just walked in through the door. “I promise I won’t be lon
“Wow, what a cunt!” Rory was on her third Long Island; and being the lightweight she is, all sense of propriety had left a long time ago.Rory had started coming along to our weekly nights shortly after we met at one of the first of Cam’s family’s get togethers that I had been invited to a little over three years ago. We got on like a house on fire, and soon started hanging out regularly outside of those family events. She integrated into the group very easily, winning the girls over with her crass charm.“You can’t go around calling people cunts so loudly.” Rachel chastises her. Ever the sensible one, she decided to stick with virgin cocktails for the night.“Well if the shoe fits this well I can just start calling her Cinderella.” She retorts“I think you’ve had enough, you’re starting to not make sense.” Rachel goes to reach for Rory’s drink. Rory pulls her drink away from Rachel’s reach and pouts like a child.“She’s right though, that was cunt behaviour” Emma says while going to
****Alec****What I said to the girls last night wasn’t a lie, and Rachel had been right on the money. Life in the UK had gotten a bit repetitive and therefore boring. I went, I saw, I conquered, and did it so many times over the last fifteen years that I’d gotten bored.The irony of my return is not lost on me. I initially left home and decided to settle elsewhere because I felt there was nothing here for me. My brothers were already out there in the world, doing shit, conquering life in their own way. I couldn’t go anywhere without seeming like I was following my brothers around like a lost puppy. I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without being harassed by my brothers’ shadows. Everyone only ever saw me as an extension of them, I hated it. So, I decided immediately after college that I’d put as much distance between us as possible, a whole ocean’s worth, and make a name for myself that wouldn’t be tainted with my brothers’ legacies. But at this point, I’ve built enough. I have
“And why wouldn’t they? I picked based on which firm would be best able to execute my vision, I wasn’t going to disqualify Brokk just because you have a problem with their CEO.” I say, my tone final.“You don’t have a problem with how she abandoned and hurt your nephew on their wedding day?” Adeline started to get louder.“How SHE hurt Cam?” A dry laugh comes out of RoryAt this point the whole table was silent, watching the conversation unfold. Camden just kept his head down.“I think what Adeline is trying to say is that Dariana has shown, through her character, that she’s incapable of bearing any kind of responsibility.” Lachlan says calmly and places his hand on Adeline’s in an effort to try and calm the conversation.“Are you serious?” Rory exclaims. “You’re seriously just going to sit there and let them shit talk Dari’s?” Stares daggers at Cam.“It’s just their opinion.” Cam mumbles without looking up at any of us, electing to focus on his plate.“You know your perfect son isn’t
****Dariana****Tonight marks the first time in three years that I’m not at one of Adeline’s monthly dinners. This is nailed in by the fact that I’m sitting at home alone having takeout with a coconut mask in my hair that’s keeps leaking out of my shower cap and on to my forehead.One of the things I’ll never forgive Cam for is depriving me of his mothers cooking. Adeline was an amazing cook. When Barret, her youngest, was school age she opened a restaurant right in the heart of the city. Her specialty was Italian and French cuisine, but every so often she’d incorporate flavours and cooking styles from all over the world in her dishes.Truly that woman has a gift. One that I will never get to experience as I can never set foot in her restaurant again; seeing as she probably views me as the flakey bitch who broke her little boys heart.Just as I’m about to finish up my food, there comes a knock at my door. Curious, I dust my hands off on my robe and I go to answer it.Standing on the o
Walking into this Monday morning, I feel refreshed. I feel like I’m slowly starting to adjust to everything. Having George popping in and out of my apartment this weekend helped to make everything feel a lot less lonely. Not to mention, we had finally managed to figure out how to place those large rollers on my head; so now I have the extra benefit of a perfect hair day to kick off the week.As usual, Liliana was ready to greet me at my door with my schedule for today. This week, however, she did not hold back.Today was supposed to be my first official day back; so there was a lot that I needed to attend to.After giving me the rundown for the week, Liliana left my office. Only to, like last week, return with a bouquet. “Another one came for you this morning. Still no card; and this time it’s just the flowers, so no package.” She said.“Oh, okay. Just put them on the coffee table.” I point to the flowers from last week that had begun to wilt. “You can throw those out.” I say.“You
AlecI could barely manage to keep my composure for the rest of the night. The second Carlos left that conference room I wanted to rush to Carter or Lachlan and smack the shit out of them for ending up in this situation.More importantly, they deserve to have their shit rocked for hiding it until their fuck up was forced on me. I guess that habit is hereditary. Can’t blame Cam anymore for his bad genes. It’s a wonder I turned out the way I did. It’s a wonder Barry or Rory turned out so much better than their parents.It takes all of my will power to put a pause on my anger and continue with the evening. As the host, I can’t just leave while the party is going hot, so to speak. I have to paste a smile on my face and put on the performance of a lifetime despite my own feelings about the direction the night has taken.I’m just about done with these people. And to make matters even worse, when I came out of the conference room and returned to the banquet hall, Dariana and Rachel had lef
Alec I don’t know what she’s doing here, but clearly her plans for the evening do not involve getting herself back in my good graces. If they do, she has a really fucked up way of showing. About fifteen minutes after Dom and I walked away from Hadley and we went on to shmooze some more; I see Hadley move across the room from where she was stewing and plotting all the way to the table where Dari and Rachel are sat. I internally cross my fingers, hoping that she’s not there to cause trouble. There are some heavy hitters in the finance industry sitting at that table. Aaron Pryce alone would be a decent sized fish that could introduce Carrington Holdings into the workings of the game this side of the pond. Im hoping she can be mature and put potential business interests over her personal ones. Besides, she knows fuck all about what could possibly be between Dari and I. Hadley approaching her sideways would be jumping the gun on an unsure situation, and she’s too strategic, too
AlecIt took quite a bit of time and a lot of deep breaths and unsavoury thoughts for me to calm myself down after I let Dari out of the bathroom. I would have probably enjoyed the alternative a lot more, but that would have been a lot messier and harder to hide.I walk out of that bathroom almost ten minutes later, and I go to try reconnect with this crowd of people as best as I can. I spot Dom at our table, with a sour look on his face that he probably doesn’t realise he’s making as he talks to someone who’s face I cannot see as they are turned away from me. But I don’t need to see her face to know who it is, because only one raven haired head could put that expression on Dom’s face.And once his eyes meet mine, I can tell he’s more annoyed with me for putting him in this situation than he is with Hadley for yapping his ear off. “So it seems you were serious about coming.” I say, standing next to Dom. “Of course I was. But you probably had a feeling, seeing as you went through a
Dariana Emma was right. Once again to my annoyance, she was right. And damn her for it. A little quickie in the bathroom really does make things better. I walked out of that bathroom high off the fucking pheromones. A little post-nut-euphoria if you will. I feel like I might even be able to give Rachel a little more time that initially bargained for. I came out of the bathroom first, leaving Alec to sort himself out in the bathroom like he asked me really nicely to. But obviously not before making sure that I don’t look like what I just did. And once I do, it’s like my social battery has been recharged. I suddenly have the energy to deal with the rest of the night. “You look like you’re doing much better.” Rachel looks me up and down once I make it back to our table. “Yeah, I think I just needed some fresh air and time to myself.” I say. “Mmhkay…” She furrows her brows, eying me suspiciously. “I knew you did. Now. Let’s go and try to make the most out of the rest of this e
DarianaI don’t know how long I stand in front of the mirror. Staring at my reflection and trying to summon my best smile for the next one or so hours that I am bound to this place. I close my eyes and try to imagine myself back at home, on my couch or in my bed, gorging on a large bowl of popcorn while watching some trashy reality television.I sigh. My god, when did my fantasies get so depressing.“Was I boring you?” Suddenly being made aware of the fact that I am no longer alone in this relatively small space had my jump a little.“What the hell!” I scold Alec as I look him in the eye in the reflection once I manage to calm myself from the scare. “Why are you in here?”“I thought we could use a moment.” He says, in an annoyingly nonchalant tone. He starts to walk up to me, and in the mirror I see his eyes trailing all over my body. “Just us, no one else around.” His voice a little low.“What if someone saw you come in?” I ask, I am unwilling to let myself forget all of the potenti
Dariana Dinner started shortly after we found our seats, but not before more people decided to graciously share their opinions on my life. Almost all of them falling somewhere within the realm of the same things my parents had been saying. About how it’s my fault because Cam was a “low class pick”, and in a somewhat mocking tone suggesting my career would ‘of course’ drive away the ‘better ones’. God, I forgot just how vapid and conservative these types could be. Unfortunately Shelby and I were at different tables, but thankfully I was considered enough to not be put at a table with a bunch of strangers. But that means, however, that I was put at the main table between Alec and some other HapheusTech exec I couldn’t be bothered to maintain a conversation with. He’s not bad or weird, just… old. And he works outside of any department I would need to collaborate with so there’s nothing for us to talk about. And Alec spends a majority of the time talking to Dominic on the othe
Dariana “Is that a question?” I ask her, but she’s not looking at me anymore, she’s too busy watching Alec walk away. Can’t say I blame her, it’s a good view— one that I will never admit to watching myself. And I won’t begin to acknowledge it now. But seeing her drift off while watching after him makes me feel a bit…. weird inside. But that’s another thing I won’t begin to acknowledge right now. “A little bit…” She finally manages to mumble. “Come on.” I say, pulling Shelby toward one of the tables so we could sit down. “These shoes aren’t exactly meant for standing around.” I say. They may be gorgeous, but this may be the last time I allow Emma to pick my shoes, the stiletto heal is biting into the heel of my foot. “This isn’t our table.” She says once we get to one. “We can always just move later.” I shrug, nudging her into a chair and not-so-gracefully plopping into one of my own. “Sweet relief.” I breathe out. “So… You and Bradley Greene, huh?” I say in an attempt
Dariana The sound of the doors opening is immediately drowned out by the music and the sound of chatter coming from the event hall. The familiar mixture of sounds does very little to comfort me, but it does serve as a sort of switch. Sending me into a practiced, almost robotic, stance; moving me through the room with an ease and grace I wish I felt. At first I try to convince myself that no one cares, that there are much more important and much more interesting people here for people to look at. That everyone is staring at Dominic and Rachel, the co-host and his new girlfriend. That would, of course, make for better news. It’s new and interesting, where I hopefully have made enough rounds around dinner and tea tables that my scandal is old and tired. That hope dies in me when I separate from Rachel and her beau when they head for the bar and the eyes still follow me. People look at me out of the corner of their eyes, some don’t even pretend to look like they’re not tal
*DON’T PAY FOR THIS CHAPTER!!! SKIP IT!!!* This was supposed to be a chapter but there was a mistake that I didn’t notice pre-publish. It was an error with the title. Then I forgot I could just edit it so I re-published the chapter *insert facepalm here*. I am very very sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused, I’ll get better about these things, I promise. The rest of this is just going to be the first quarter of the next chapter because I cannot put less than five hundred words down and I really do not have much to say outside of my deepest apologies. Especially considering that I did warn you in the first line so you wouldn’t be subjected to this. But if you are comfortable enough to have your settings set up in a way where you auto subscribe to chapters… *shrugging my shoulders* I feel like this is your lesson to be more careful. Because what if you don’t like a book? Now you have wasted valuable coins on a book you don’t like…. *sigh* tsk tsk tsk. I’m glad I cou