9

9

Emma Starr

God, I could feel my entire body heat up at his gaze.

I tore my eyes off him with the intent to take off the outfit.

“Going somewhere, princess?”

A familiar voice tuned in, making me look behind me. It was Nicholas. His hands were in his pockets... and, there was this gaze in his eyes. It was raw and full of wanting.

“W-what are you doing?” I started, only for him to surge nearer. “Hmm, why don’t I ask the questions instead? How does it feel to kiss anyone apart from me? I was in your head the entire time, wasn’t I?”

I narrowed my eyes at how he knew that.

“Nope, I saw it as an act. Why are you getting worked up?”

“Worked up? That’s incorrect. I make people work up. For women, it’s rarely the other way round.”

I glared at him, wondering why he was a jerk most time.

“Then go meet those ‘women’.”

He moved to stop me but I was quick to sidestep his grasp. On realization that I did that, I gave myself some sort of inner accolade.

Maybe, just maybe… I could resist him after all.

Looking down at my phone, it read, 2:00 pm meaning, it was time to pick Jonathan up from school. Quickly, I fondled the last piece of the acting costume I wore putting on my governess outfit as quickly as I could.

“Miss Emma, wait!”

The hairstylist ran after me for her pins, only for me to remove them by throwing them at her. “Here you go. So sorry!”

I yelled pacing through the door and walking down the hall to change to get rid of the casual outfit.

Jonathan was only five so I couldn’t leave him on his own after school hours.

There was a time I did this, only to meet a parachute on his body with his friends cheering him to take off.

Luckily, I arrived in time enough to remove the chute. God help me, who knows what it might be this time! The whole acting stuff took my time.

“Taxi!”

He waved to me, motioning for me to get in which I did as swiftly as possible. “Please drive a bit fast, sir. It’s an emergency.”

“Sure ma’am.”

My phone rang as he pressed the accelerator.

I looked at the screen only to see it was a call from Morticia. Looking at the urgency of things, I debated on whether to pick up now or give her a call later. This was my home girl.

I clicked receive button. I highlighted from the taxi, walking inside Sun Valley to pick up my son from school as I talked to her.

“Hey Morticia, you won’t believe what happened. I appeared on set today…”

I got inside the room, with Jonathan at my side only to see a woman in a bikini smiling at me. She was blonde. With these tips that had fillers with a glass of champagne in her hands, which she held scanning her eyes over the both of us.

Holy shit.

Nicholas was so going to answer me today!

“Are kids allowed here?”

She said smoothly.

Excuse me? You’re the one flashing several nudities on a five-year-old.

I said those words but kept them in my head as I covered Jonathan’s eyes and pulled him along to the inner room with me. I slammed the door shut as quickly as I could, running my hands over my hair in distress. Why did I even accept his stupid offer?

I was regretting moving in with him.

“Remove your clothes, baby, while I prepare your bath and something for you to eat.”

“Okay, mommy.”

“Yes, baby.”

I said, moving to turn on the heater and diluting it with some cold water.

“Mommy, who was that woman?”

“She’s a casual friend to your dad.”

“A friend?”

“Yes, baby.”

“Are you his friend too?”

I smiled at his words me replying,

“Nope. It’s more complicated than that. Your bath is ready, come on in now.”

He walked to the bathroom in his towel. I moved to cross-check the water level of the tub. Opening the plug hole, I filtered some parts of the water which seeped out.

“Is it okay?”

“Yes, get in.”

Walking out, I picked up my phone dialing Nicholas’ number only for it to ring at a secluded corner of the room. “Grr...”

I hate my life!

I thought of those words dashing out of the room only to be met by the face of the same blonde woman. She was still in a bikini, only this time, there was nail polish in her hands. She seemed to be applying it the wrong way with no knowledge of what she was doing.

An idea flashed over my head that minute making me smirk to myself. She seemed like an airhead. It might work on her, who knew?

“Need some help?”

She narrowed her brows at me before replying,

“Yeah sure... I’m bad at applying nail polish, so definitely!”

I sat just beside her taking the bottle of polish, and opening it while I prepared my mind for what was ahead.

“So... how do you know Nicholas?”

I asked her, making her smile with a little blush on her cheeks. “He picked me up at the beach today, and um, brought me here to his suite. We had fun until he went out for some business.”

“Fun?” I let out in reply. “I see.”

My hands were feathery, in a way she enjoyed herself. It was only a matter of time before she saw me as a friend. Besides, I had worked with a mani-pedi organization in the past so I had no problem doing this efficiently.

“Yeah, how about you?”

“Well, I’m his...fiancée.”

She gasped, disentangling her hands from mine with shock written on her features.

“You’re his fiancée?! Are you messing with me?”

“Nope.”

“Are you joking with... me?”

“That little boy inside is our son. I’m not joking,”

I folded my hands looking at her, with a satisfied expression at how terrified she currently appeared.

“That’s some real serious shit,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I’m not angry. Not like I love him or anything. I’m just here for my son.”

I walked to her, taking her hands back and commencing to apply more polish on them.

“Oh... are you sure?”

“Yep.”

“Phew, you got me there.”

The door opened only for Nicholas to walk in.

“Emma?”

A confused look appeared on his face as he stared at the both of us narrowing his eyes at what was happening.

“Nicholas finally, you’re here. Why don’t you join us?”

“Join you?” he repeated.

“Yes, please do.”

I said, standing up and taking two wine glasses while Nicholas came forward standing directly in front of the minibar. “We need to talk.”

“Champagne?”

I asked ignoring his words, pouring the wine into two glasses and also pouring some more inside the woman’s glass. “Thanks,” she said blindly smiling at me and highlighting her sets of white teeth, from her filler lips.

“You need to go,” he said to the blonde woman.

“Huh, why? You said we came here to have fun, right.”

She said, blowing gum. It seemed like he ignored her words, making his way to her to take her wrists. He then commenced to pull her along with him, to the exit of the room, while she shrieked in protest.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll call you,” he whispered.

I scoffed at his words to her, as he slammed the door shut before making his way back to me.

“Is this what we doing now?”

“Emma...”

“You were supposed to keep them away from here, right?” I said.

“Yes, I forgot you hear? I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not if you’ll do it all again.” At my words, he stepped closer, narrowing his eyes.

“You... you’ve fallen for me, haven’t you?”

“M-Me?”

I moved a step back as quickly as I could, so he didn’t have the opportunity to touch me. If anything, his touch made me earn more… I was currently trying to avoid that.

I stared into his almond brown eyes, flickering my eyes over the white round neck shirt he wore which clenched around his muscles and biceps fitting perfectly.

“Hmm.” his face had a smirk this time with a more intense and heated look. “Then why are you angry?”

“I’m only worried about what influences Jonathan, Nicholas. I don’t care. You can have a thousand women out there for god-knows-what but I’ll appreciate it if you don’t bring them in here.”

“Okay, snowflake.”

“Yeah...”

Nicholas stepped nearer, with intense proximity, making my back connect fully with the chair I sat on.

“What are you doing?” My cheeks became red in embarrassment.Slowly, he connected his hands to the sides of my lap, going in between my legs.

“What do you think, Emma?”

A bold smirk was carved around his lips, which I wished I could wipe off. “You’re being stupid, this won’t and can’t solve any situation on the ground right now.”

“Hmm, tell me more baby.” he leaned in, whispering in my ears bringing sweet sensations convulsing my body. I pressed my lips together, with the intent that he didn’t get any reaction of any sort from me.

He noticed this, because he went a little lower in a way that his lips were only an inch away from mine. “Stop.It.”

“Beg for it, you know you want to.”

I sighed at his words, cupping my fingers around the dark-shaven hair around his chin intensely staring at his lips with the thoughts of what they had done to me in the past.

Just as I was about to place my lips on his, the thought that he kissed the other woman who left the room flashed through my mind making me withdraw from everything. His touch, hold, everything that screamed intimacy between us.

“Emma...“

He trailed while I batted an eyelash, with my entire body turned on by everything he just did.