Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
CHAPTER NINE
The Perfect Storm
Lennox was in a deep, dark sleep when he realized that the music he was hearing wasn’t a part of some dream. It was his default ringtone. The one that everyone over the age of thirty with an iPhone seemed to choose as their default tune, including himself. Opening one eye, he stretched across his king-sized bed, half-naked beneath thin sheets. He clumsily lunged for his cellphone, knocking over something in the darkness.
Whatever it was hit the floor hard, then rolled away. He brought the phone to his eyes as the side of his face pushed hard into the pillow, struggling to make out the words on the darkened screen. It was no use. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Yawned. Increased the brightness. Now, he could see. Two missed calls from Nadia. A voicemail, too. He listened to it as he slipped his arm behind his head and leaned against the headboard.
“Len, you’re somethin’ else. Wow… It’s late, I know. Um, just uh, just wanted to tell you that the flowers are beautiful. Gettin’ flowers at night is different. I didn’t expect that. Hell, getting flowers period is out of the norm nowadays. I didn’t think men sent flowers anymore.” She chuckled. “But yeah, Thank you… thank you so much. I want to talk to you about something you had written on the card.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what your schedule is like this week, but if I can meet you tomorrow sometime, would that work? Let me know either way. If not, we can plan somethin’ for another day this week. I know with your two jobs ’nd all, and my crazy schedule, it might be hard sometimes to link up without more advance notice… Well… goodnight.”
And that was that.
He sat there for a little while, gripping the phone. Then, he set it down. Taking a deep breath, he leaned over and grabbed his bottle of water to drink. He chugged it, crushed the empty plastic bottle, and tossed it into the trashcan. Back under the covers, he allowed flashes of Nadia dancing on stage to enter his mind.
Spinning red lights had glazed her limbs in hues of magenta, burgundy and crimson. A seductive glance from over her glittery bare shoulder and a shake of her ample ass sent his dick into beast mode. He ran his fingers along her bare, slick flesh as she gyrated against him. The scent of sweat blended with her intoxicating perfume, filling his nostrils as he gripped her from behind. There were so many men in that gentlemen’s club, but for a split second, it felt like it had been only the pair of them. Cigar smoke eddied past him as he squeezed her and gave her flesh a tender slap, a firm pinch, before paying her what she was owed. He knew he was falling for her fast and hard when he stood amongst other ravenous wolves and felt not a shred of jealousy.
In his mind, he was the leader of the pack. It was obvious: They couldn’t compete where they couldn’t compare… She was his and his alone—and anything she did, spoke of, or contemplated before they reunited didn’t matter. It was vapor. Gone with the wind. As he pondered their time together at her place of business, an unexpected pang of guilt seized him out of nowhere. I’ve been plotting against her.
Everything he did in the last few weeks was calculated. A slow dance to a fast takedown. A beautiful manipulation. A spirited chase with a deep, dark, nasty mean streak. He was hunting. Afterall, that’s what men did, right? We pursue. He was hiding in the shadows, then pounced at just the right time.
I mean, shit. I guess I felt a little guilty because she’s happy about the gesture, but I know she understands what this is about. Men are made to provide, dominate, and conquer. Most women seem to crave that and resent it at the same time. But this was nature. Yet, he could not fight his instincts when it came to Nadia, but he could control how he went about it. This was no ordinary conquest. He could feel it in the depths of his soul.
Yeah, she was right. She was the one that had gotten away. But it was more than that. Deeper than that. He was now at a crossroads. In deep shit. His life had gotten terribly complicated, and in some way, she was the only thing that felt right at that moment. With all of her hurdles, Nadia was the easiest person to understand in his life.
My own father wants me to abandon my values. The ones he and my mother instilled in me and my sister, not tellin’ me that when it came to old man Wilde, all that shit went out the window. One set of rules for the world. One set of rules for Grandpa. I was expected to do what was predictable in this family: fall in line. I prefer to stand in my own circle. The other option is to live my life the way I see fit, regardless of the consequences.