Jameson Hotel - the Dark Suite Series: Parts One, Two & Three (33 page)

INAMORATA

E
ight in the
morning and she’s gone.

“Fuck, you better
not be cleaning the blood again.”

I rise and slip into
my robe, take a piss, then check to see if she’s showered before heading
downstairs. No sign of her.

“Jules.”

Silence.

My fireplace is the
only source of light in the dark room and I can tell it’s been burning for some
time because of the large embers glowing underneath the flaming wood. The
breakfast cart is pulled into the living room, there’s a piece of toast
missing, and my coffee cup is used. I wonder if she’s already left for work.

“Julia.”

Nothing. Yeah, must
be at work.

I take the remaining
toast and check the garage, remembering the guy’s Suzuki on my way down. What
the fuck am I going to do with that thing? Maybe I need to bring in a digger to
bury it. No. I should sink it in the lake, but then it could reappear in a year
or two if the drought continues. That’s not the best solution.

The change in water
levels could be bad for business in a few years. And not just here... Lake Mead
back in Vegas is disappearing quickly. Soon all the bodies my father deposited
will show up and a massive graveyard will appear, with the concrete blocks
symbolizing headstones.

“Whoa,” I whisper,
nearly choking on my toast when I reach the garage.

What the hell is
Mera
Calloway’s truck doing here?

I search the garage,
run upstairs and check every room on my ground floor, then race to the top
floor, still holding the toast in my hand, wishing it were my knife. Where the
fuck is my knife anyway?

“Nightstand.”

Grab it... check the
deck... then the bathroom again.

“Jules!”

And where is that
bitch,
Mera
?

I stop, wait,
breathe, listen... a muffled noise comes from the guest bedroom, then another.
I hold the blade steady, walking cautiously past the guest bath then setting
the palm of my hand against the bedroom door. It’s opened a crack, not enough
for me to see inside, but I can hear what’s going on and I know the sound well,
too well.

Someone’s gagged.

But the sounds
aren’t high enough to be coming from Jules. It has to be
Mera
.

I open the door
slowly, seeing Jules with her back turned, sitting at the foot of the bed.
She’s dressed in a sweatshirt and sleep shorts and
Mera’s
next to her, lying down. She has her wrists and ankles cuffed and her mouth
covered with one of my ties.

She got her. My
woman brought me a gift.

The word ‘goodbye’
is sliced into her stomach and I can tell by the smears of blood that Jules
wiped her blade on my sheets. It’s enchanting and somewhat relaxing to watch
this play out, being a spectator for once instead of in the ring.

I take a seat on the
low dresser and chew my toast, continuing to enjoy the show.

“I can’t believe you
hurt a little boy,” Jules says. There’s no anger in her voice as I’d expect,
but I do sense remorse. For one, she’s hiding
Mera
out in this room, meaning she feels guilty or possibly regrets that she’s here.
She’s also no longer holding her knife; it’s on the windowsill, away from her
victim.

“I know this will
hurt like hell when you come off your high, and I’m sorry, but it’s only going
to get worse when Mark gets his hands on you.”

The room smells like
urine and damp clothing, the type of odor that reminds me of an animal shelter.
Two towels are hanging off the bedpost and
Mera’s
still in her bikini top, although her bottoms are on the rug next to the bed,
replaced with a pair of sweatpants. Next to her leg is a small bottle, clear,
half full, with a needle close by. She’s not sobbing or thrashing to get away.
She moans, but it’s a definite doped up sound.

“You’re cold and
heartless for hurting
Daxton
,” she continues. “He’s
an innocent child and the nephew of the man that I love... you deserve whatever
he has in store for you, but... I get you first.”

She stands and grabs
the knife, moving back to
Mera’s
body and raising it,
about to stab...

“Marry me,” I say,
chewing my toast.

In a startled
uncertainty, she turns rapidly, lowering the knife and holding it behind her
back like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She looks at
Mera
,
the
blood smears on the bed, and then at me.

I smile and wink.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I ask.

“The mess. I didn’t
think about the fact that she might need to use the bathroom and I was really
into hurting her the same way she hurt
Dax
... I got
lost in the moment and didn’t realize until it was over that I was wiping the
bloody blade on your sheets. I kind of fucked up.”

I laugh while taking
another bite of toast. She hasn’t responded to my proposal. “Marry me,” I
repeat, pointing my toast at her.

“What?”

“Yeah, we’re perfect
for one another. Just say yes and then we’ll deal with
Mera
.”

Her jaw and arms
drop the way they always do when she wants to tell me I’m being a total twit,
like when I took her to my own restaurant for dinner, or when I told her the
belt punishment was fun. Seriously, I think my proposal’s quite romantic. I
mean, five hours ago she delivered a round of phenomenal head and now she’s
holding a bloody blade over a bound women. I can’t think of a better time to
ask her to be my wife.

“You haven’t even
said you loved me yet, but you’re proposing? Tell me how that works? You’re the
only person in this world who’s asked someone to marry him without first
professing his love.”

Mera
moans and I can’t help but smile. I thought
I professed my love with the
Berti
in her hand, but I
can say the actual words if that’s what she needs to hear.

“I love you.” I look
at my toast and take a final bite, wipe the crumbs from my fingertips then give
it another go. “Now, marry me.”

“No. This isn’t how
you propose to someone, Mark.”

“Says who? Who the
fuck has a franchise on proposals and says there’s a right and a wrong way of
doing it? That’s bullshit, now marry me.”

“No, I’m not ready.”

“What do you mean,
no?”

She exhales and
walks closer, spreading my knees apart and shifting her body between my legs.
My hands rest on the small of her back as we discuss this face-to-face.

“I’m sorry, I’m
not
ready.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm? What does that
mean? Are you angry? Disappointed? What?”

“Do you think
someone better’s going to come along?” I’m uncertain that’s the right thing to
ask, seeing how it made her grin. “Alright, it doesn’t matter, we’ll just be
engaged until we’re dead.”

Slowly, she leans
closer, her head tilts, eyes close, I follow, wetting my lips before we kiss.
My tongue gets a wet tease before she pulls back and whispers, “You’re
irreplaceable, but your relationship skills are downright tasteless.” She
places her arms around my neck and swings her hips. “I’m not waiting for
someone
better
to come along, but I
think we should live together before we get married. Besides, you were the one
who said you weren’t ready for us to share a place, that’s why I have my own
suite, remember? Are you taking all that back? Now you want to rush into a
marriage?”

“It was before all
this other shit happened, and no, I don’t want to rush anything, but I’m also
not going to lose a woman like you, that’s for damn sure.”

“Well, I’m not going
anywhere, I promise. Not unless I want to end up under a layer of concrete in
your garage, right?” she jokes.

She turns to
Mera
who’s coming out of her junked-up state.

“What are you going
to do with her?” she asks.

I check my watch and
shake my head. “Right now? Not much. We can leave her here since the bed’s
already full of piss and blood. Then I’ll deal with her at nightfall.”

“We,” Jules says.
“You’re not leaving me out this time.”

“We’ll discuss it
later... so how’d you get her up here?”

“How’d you get that
guy in your garage?”

“Easy, I told him he
needed to give you an apology.”

“Sweet.”

I nod. “Most people
are gullible and I’m assuming
Mera
was the same.”

She gives me a wide-eyed
look. “Oh my god, I can’t believe how easy it was. I told her I had a family
suite because it was all that was left when I checked in and if she wanted, she
could stay in the extra bed ‘til morning. She brought a few things from her
truck and followed me straight up and inside. I didn’t have to do a thing; it
was crazy. I kept thinking to myself, wow, this must be how a lot of killers
get their victims - act friendly to people and invite them over... then she
offered me some of her Special K, but I declined, she shot up and was out.
Done,” she speaks enthusiastically. “Oh, I used the cuffs that were under your
bed. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Nope. Don’t mind a
bit. So you’ve been keeping her drugged?”

“Yeah, I wanted you
to get some sleep. I’ve been shooting her with the same amount I saw her take
when she first arrived, it knocks her out, but it doesn’t last all that long.”

I nod. “It’s a high
dose if she’s not moving or communicating. I’m surprised she doesn’t snort the
stuff like most people. She has it in liquid form, which means it’s probably
from some vet’s office instead of from the street. And I bet with the dose you
gave her, she’s entered a K-hole; it’s like a near-death experience.”

“So you’ve tried
it?”

“It’s a shitty drug
I took at one of my father’s parties back in Vegas that turned me into a
drooling, graceless mess - something I’d never touch again. I’m sure
Mera
enjoys it because it puts her in a fantasy world where
she imagines people are viewing her as a queen.”

There’s slight
movement in the bed, a mumble, and a twitch of her foot.

“I’ll tape her mouth
for the rest of the day and check on her from time to time. Did anyone see you
bring her truck around?”

She shakes her head.
“It was four in the morning, after you went to bed. The hotel was quiet. What
do we do with it? Should we drive it off a cliff?”

“No. This isn’t a
movie. Trust me, we want to take it back to where
Mera
came from, or where she was headed. Luckily, it’s the same destination for her
truck as the guy’s car. I’ll figure out the details today.” I eye my watch
again. “Sooner than later, I hope.”

“I better get ready
for work. You sure this is okay?”

“What? That you’re
not marrying me? Fuck no, it’s not okay, but I’ll drown my sorrows in a bottle
of whiskey and forget about your ass by the end of the day.”

“No,” she laughs. “I
meant...”

“I know what you
were referring to.” I take her hand, leading her to my front door. “You got
your key card?”

She nods, taking it
out of her sweatshirt.

“The rest of your
clothing, shoes, towel, and other things?”

She looks down; what
she has on is it.

“Do you have your
third hand?”

She stares
inquisitively, looking down at my dick then with a grin, she brings the
Berti
out and kisses it.

“Still have your
sanity?” I ask lovingly, while brushing her cheek with the back of my hand.

Another nod.

“Everything you did
was brilliant, from your maturity in the pool and the way you took control of
the situation with
Mera
, to your cleverness afterward
and your restraint in our relationship. I’m amazed you walked into my life.”

“You’re such a
sweetheart this morning, but I’m not saying yes to your proposal.”

I shrug. “It was
worth another shot, now kiss me, you wickedly beautiful woman.”

She smiles and grips
my neck, bringing my mouth to hers in a marathon of tongue and hip action. We
laugh with pressed lips, her wrists secured and raised above her head, my cock
rubbing her pussy, and both of us inserting dirty talk into our moment of play.

“You have no idea
how much you turn me on. Tell me you can’t wait to feel my cock.”

“You better fuck me
hard with it tonight... fuck me until I call out your name and cum.”

“
Mmm
,”
I moan while pulling her sweatshirt up and kissing her tits. “Spread your legs
so I can fuck your pussy right now.” I prod my dick toward her and clutch her
chin.

“It’s tempting, but
I
gotta
go. My boss will get pissed if I’m late,
right?” She bats her eyelashes.