Ricky had never been a believer of romance novels, it had always been about getting laid and tossing aside. He often laughed at the foolishness he felt authors possessed when they wrote about feeling your breath get caught in your throat, your heart pounding at a rate you feared could kill you, your mouth agape in wonder, your mind consumed by the sight you beheld. How could he explain feeling everything at the same time, not being able to control every nerve stirring and springing to life?
His eyes were focused on her, from the open toe heels that revealed those well pedicured nails that teased him, making him want to get down and suckle them, to the body hugging wine red gown that did every justice to her champagne glass shape, perfect, flawless, tempting, seductive. He finally let his eyes go to her face, and he wondered how she possibly did that make up that highlighted her high cheeks and honey brown eyes within such a little amount of time.
"Well I am. I acted in an opera when I was a child. Let's get back before they think we've run away."She laughed harder, so hard she felt moisture in her eyes. "You acted in an opera? I can't imagine. Well I would gladly run away with that suite they gave me, especially in the bathtub." She was seeing a side of Ricky she had never envisioned, the side that she could just sit all day and listen to. He shut out an imagination of her in a bathtub and walked on, slowing down because he needed to hear her musical laughter again."It wasn't my choice. It was either that or join my grandmother and sister to purchase girly things while they tied me up and experimented them on me. It was horrible, the memory embarrasses me"That was when control left her, she held his shoulder for support and bent down laughing, throwing her purse in the process. He picked it up and dusted it for her, feeling smiles creep to his lips also.
"Jade..." He swallowed hard, wondering how she had suddenly rid him of all desire to ravage her with three words. Tables seemed to be turned around and he was the one muttering her name, wanting to take it slow and easy with her, to savour her like a new recipe he hadn't tasted before.To slowly worship her, drinking her gradually like an expensive wine he valued a lot.And he did value her.She kissed his palm, and with her eyes on him, ran her tongue round his palms, drawing circles in them and running it again all the way to his neck, leaving a long path of mark on his shirt, one he intended never to wash again. He watched her eyes go darker shade of brown with desire when she came up to his lips. And this time, she straddled him, showing him exactly what she was capable of doing with her lips and tongue.Her tongue which was slipped into her mouth rolled as she drank him in, gripping tightly to his shirt. She pu
"That is all about the review sent by the internal audit department. The personnel department is yet to send theirs." Annabelle tapped the screen of her i-pad, closing the page she had been reading from to her boss. "Alright. Have you been in touch with the managing director? He should have sent the report on yesterday's meeting with the interns in the communications department." They were both seated across each other, with Jade sitting on the bed with her hair swept to the left side of her neck, and her assistant perched at the edge of the seat she had pulled from the front of the dressing table. "Not yet. I am still expecting his mail." Annabelle rubbed the back of her neck as she replied, blinking continuously. She had spent most part of the night gossiping with Ginger, had only slept in the early hours of the morning, and now, the sleep she had deprived herself of was beginning to catch up with her.B
Minutes later, with running shoes, elastic tracksuit of three quartz trousers and a skin embracing top that stopped immediately before her navel, exposing her thin waist, and her hair tied to a disordered bun, she walked out of the royal suite and into the lift, leaning against the wall while waiting to be taken to the sixth floor, where it was indicated in the magazine that the gymnasium was located. She didn't prepare herself for the sight of Ricky on the treadmill machine, which was the first thing she noticed as soon as she walked into the gym. She guessed that even if she had succumbed to her mind's wishes to imagine him as soon as Annabelle let out those words, none would have done justice to his physical structure, especially with an Adidas male tracksuit on him. Nice coincidence, she thought, walking a little slower to get a better view of him; his backside. The sleeveless flannel vest hugged his upper body, exposi
He did think he had gone malady consumed by thoughts of J.K. Raymonds, thank goodness she hadn't heard him and had her headset back to her ears. Ricky bent backwards, lifting the weight he had selected. He noticed some females stare at him with admiration in their eyes, obviously ogling his naked muscles. His biceps seemed to increase as he lifted each round. He didn't know what led him to do it, but he glanced at Jade, and noticed she had her eyes on him. He was sure, and didn't even want to think that perhaps he had been imagining the raw lust in her eyes. She realised she had been caught, and removed her eyes, increasing the speed. An hour later, just as he was wondering when she would get off that damn machine that had men stopping to talk to her while he pretended he couldn't see them and gritted his teeth in anger, she got off the machine, and sat to regain her balance. He was impressed at the endurance she had shown she ha
She removed her eyes from him and turned to the butler who was looking at them, getting entertained the whole time. "Caesar salad with parmesan slices, sparkling cider and spring water." "Okay, sir, ma'am. Your order will be ready in ten minutes." He turned and marched out. "Seriously, you will get sick if you keep consuming little quantity of food and letting out so much energy." He said as soon as they were alone, dropping his glass. She took a sip of water before replying. "I'm okay with that, the shoot is next tomorrow, I don't want to risk adding another pound." He was going to say she needn't worry about her body, she was damn perfect already. But he didn't know if she would appreciate it, since she was so complicated he felt his pants twist in his head whenever he tried to understand her, put a finger to what he imagined she had in mind. "Yes, next tom
Breakfast table was unusually bubbling with laughter and warmth, the kind of warming atmosphere that made one remember family.Thinking of families, Ricky remembered what he had told Jade about his sister Julia and grandmother bullying him playfully when he was still a child, and for the umpteenth time wondered what had compelled him to reveal such embarrassing personal information to her, and how his life had changed in the past month buried deep in the thought of one woman who had a knack for making him experience shivering warm sensations that left him panting for more.He looked around him, at the navy blue decorated table for four with a touch of flowers, the green grasses full of life that surrounded them, the tall skyscrapers he remembered from his earlier visit to Dubai that were built in honour of the founder of the resort, and the beautiful paintings of men dressed in Arabian traditional outfits of long kaftans and scarfs that covered most
He was beginning to sound like an obsessed pet."Hey bro, you're still p*ssy whipped?" Great way to say good morning, what would he do without a friend like Jason? He thought to himself, utterly sarcastically."Morning to you too, gigolo. You still receiving payment for what you know how to do, or you've begun to miss your targets again?" He moved further away from hearing shots, clearly not in the mood for someone to walk up to him with a morning preaching of how to convert to the ways of Allah."You fucking fool, I'll ruin your business once I see you." Ricky chuckled, teasing his bearded jaw, by the tone of Jason's voice, he was satisfied he had said the right thing. It wasn't a secret to anyone who had gone to the same high school with Jason that his first sexual experience was still a source of embarrassment to him. He had been drunk on the night of his first day at high schooland hit it off with a woman twice his age. H
She made his emotions a huddle of cacophony, pushing him into that state of euphoria and ecstatic madness and hunger. It was a kiss that expressed the feeling of raw desire which was mutual between them; unquenching thirst for each other driving them both, leading the way, making them mere passengers in the ride to Nirvana. He cuddled her neck, kissing her lips like the drink he had wanted, needed to be alive for a long time. He had missed her, and so had she, and they told this to one another without uttering a word. Their lips were the words, their touches every proof each needed to know how the other felt about them. It was he who broke the kiss, having been reminded by the medicine he inhaled on her neck that she was convalescing. He fought hard not to remember her fall, that traumatising memory being replaced by the reality of her finally being in his arms. He wasn't panting for breath, but his chest was heaving up and down, his pupils dilated wi
Ricky gulped down his second cup of coffee for the night, the bitterness of the strong black coffee making him clench his teeth. It was just as he had requested for it; black, strong. Yet he felt like calling the staff to ask for a change. But it was exactly what he needed at the moment after being awake for a long long time. It was either that or he would sleep all the way to the U.S. without taking care of the urgent issues which awaited him. He checked the time by his watch, wondering why his assistant was delaying with his luggage. Not that he couldn't travel without his bags anyway considering that he could simply buy everything he needed when he got home, but there were documents he needed to sign as well before leaving. Documents like placing a ban on the P.I. in every country of the world for daring to cross him. He would ensure that although the man could live his life however he wanted without being arrested by the police, he would never be
"But before I say anything, I request that we watch the Homestead news first." Ricky added, and then reclined against the seat while the news anchor switched the TV on.Annabelle who was holding the remote, her heart in her chest switched channels, and they watched as another presenter came into view."We are here with information regarding Mr. Patrick Raymonds, whose offences of using the company as a font for his illegal activities recently went viral."Jade inhaled a deep breath, licking her lips nervously. At this point, the world had already got to know about what she had tried to protect for years, and so emphasising it in a TV didn't ache her anymore as much as she had thought it would."Based on the evidence we have gathered so far, it has been confirmed that Mr. Raymonds forced his wife, the late Prima Donna to sign the company rights over to him, and then started using the company to aid drug traffickers in their activities."The presente
She rubbed her stomach for the umpteenth time, that completely flat abdomen of hers that had served as a habitant for food and drinks...Now carried a child, one created from her and Ricky.She now had responsibility for two; whatever she did would affect the tiny foetus probably struggling to mature into a baby.She wanted to cry, again."Say ahh, Jade."She forced her mouth open, accepting the porridge oats that Chloe held out to her. Now, she couldn't refuse to eat anymore, because one other tiny human would be affected as well.Chloe reached out to wipe the corner of her mouth which the oat had spilled on, and then scooped another spoonful of the porridge.For the past three days since she had woken up, Chloe had been taking care of her during the day, while Annabelle stayed with her at night, during which her sister returned to spend the night with Esmeralda.It had felt strange at first, being at the receiving end o
The last time he had got drunk, and drowned himself in a pool of alcohol because he needed to forget everything that had to do with reality, it had been the night he'd seen Jade with Rafferty at the restaurant, the night he had made the mistake of sending the red haired Kimberly to the floors and Jade had looked at him with those hard eyes.Tonight, he was here because his girlfriend and mother of his child hated him; because he had made another mistake of causing her reputation to be ruined, and killing the trust she had in him.."One more round, sir?" The bartender asked, staring at the empty glasses that Ricky had drained down his throat with skepticism."Yeah, fill everything up.""Just two glasses will do, Robert." Another voice intervened, that familiar teasing voice that Ricky had grown up having beside him."Okay, sir." The bartender replied, without making any pretence of feeling confused about whose order to take. When the owner of the ba
'Some time' became interpreted from hours to days, during which Ricky never left her side. It didn't matter how many times he received calls that the scandal was affecting his stocks as well because he and Jade had openly declared their relationship. Neither did it matter that in the expansive VIP room, Annabelle, Chloe who arrived the morning after the accident and Kiara took turns there as well, and urged him to go home even if it was for a day. He cleaned her every morning and night, his palm lingering on her stomach which was still so flat he still felt it was a dream that his baby was growing there. Outside, security was tightened both in front of her room and the entire hospital as well. Because the media was still outside, camping like locusts and waiting for either him or Jade to come out and give an interview. They had continued writing shit of course, stating that she must have hidden in the hospital room to avoid being prosecuted. B
"You didn't know she's pregnant?" Those were the doctor's first words when he announced after the first examination and scan that mother and child were safe. It had been followed by silence, throwing open of lips like a box of cookies and the question, 'Pregnant?' "No, no..." He muttered, shock gripping him whole. With the help of Kiara, he had carried her to the back of his home where Jade's chauffer had been waiting. Well, waiting for a healthy boss walking with her both legs and seething in anger, not being carried to the car by a crying man soaked in a flood of her blood. She had been admitted into the VIP floor immediately, and sent to the ER where she had been examined and scanned. Now, the good family doctor of his who was attending to her stood in front of him. "It's okay, Ricky. She'll be fine okay? Just get a change of clothes while we prepare for surgery, there's nothing you can do here anyway." The fuck he would have the co
After a while, she excused herself slid off the bed, her actions so calm it scared him so much. More than he could ever explain. He watched her pick up her phone and type some messages, before wiping the tears in her cheeks as though they encompassed a salty liquid of annoying flies rather than evidence of her pains. Then she walked to the closet, and pulled out her office wear. "Babe... Babe please, where are you going? The reporters must be outside." He dared to ask, standing and walking towards her as well. "I already asked my assistant to send for my chauffer. He will pick me up through the back gate. Is that okay by you?" "Fuck" he cursed beneath his breath, it was the tone of sheer politeness and emptiness, worse than the one she had used when they had first met. In desperation, he rushed towards her and wrapped his arms around her from the back, burying his head in her neck. "Jade please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for l
She went deathly pale, green veins popping up visibly on her forehead, and spreading across her shaky palms; teeth clenched tightly together; lips quavering as her eyes failed to focus on a particular object. Seeing that she wasn't going to tell him anything, and that she kept hanging up on callers, Ricky took the phone from her, his heart skipping when his palms made contact with hers. Hers had gone cold like those of a person who had ceased to breathe and function normally. He read the information online as quickly as he could; it had exposed every damn thing about her family and business from Esmeralda's parentage, Chloe and the sleazy bastard who had denied the pregnancy, all the way to her father's crimes while in power as the CEO of the Raymonds corporation. He had committed all sorts of atrocities; using the company as a font for his illegal drug trafficking activities and their warehouses to aid female trafficking. And Jade was being accused o