AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After just over an hour they landed. Kira had been surprised, as they had not landed on the same runway she and Craig had left from but one which was part of the large estate they were visiting just outside Vegas. As they alighted from the aircraft a large stretch limo moved forwards to meet them, taking them the half mile or so to the main gates of the estate itself. Kira couldn’t help but be impressed by the style in which she was being transported, although Craig seemed almost used to it.
“Who is Mr James” she asked softly as she sat at one end of the large car
Craig lost in thought looked up at her “Paul James” he offered her with a smile
“When I bought my first hotel, it was Paul who financed me….got me started” he said
“Oh” she said softly “I see”
“He always took an interest in me, helped me….he didn’t have to…but he did. You’ll like him Kira”
She smiled warmly “I already do” she said looking into his eyes
“Will you be able to help him” she asked
Craig looked warily at her not speaking for a second before answering
“I think so….. As I said he came after me a few years ago and I beat him…. I know how he works”
“Who…” she began before the car drawing up took the question from her mouth
Craig exited the car holding her hand as she came out. She found herself looking at a magnificent house, with a driveway which swept up to the front of the entrance and then circled back around to rejoin the main driveway. From close by she could hear music and the sound of people laughing and talking. However, it was the man who came forward to meet them who most caught her attention. Paul James was nearly as tall as Craig and despite his salt and pepper hair was still an attractive man. He greeted Craig warmly as did Craig him. They embraced in the way that men did smiling warmly at each other. Kira had stood back shyly until Craig pulled her forward his hand gently in hers.
“Paul I would like you to meet Kira Black”
The older man smiled warmly at her
“You are very welcome Kira” he said “It is a pleasure to meet you”
“Kira is the interior designer for the Superior” Craig added looking into her eyes
“Indeed” Paul James added looking interested “I have some hotels needing to be remodelled ….. We should talk later” he smiled
Kira smiled back, not entirely sure if he was just being polite. However, she had the distinct impression that Paul James like Craig never wasted time on meaningless pleasantries.
The three of them had then moved around to the back of the house, where Kira could see about 100 people all milling around talking and laughing. Waiters moved around the guests distributing snacks and drinks as requested and a band played soft music in the background. Craig introduced her to several of his friends, all hotel owners and all interested in her line of work. While Kira was deep in talks with one man John, a cheerful man who had recently bought over an off strip hotel with plans to turn it into a themed one, Craig had excused himself. She watched as he, Paul and two others moved back into the main house, their faces serious. She continued with her discussion listening to John’s problems and offering potential solutions, finding that he seemed genuinely impressed with her ideas, soon taking her business card with a promise to phone her the following week. Kira soon found she repeated this with many different people and was amazed to realise that she had made more potential business leads in 2 hours than she and Bill had been able to do in several years. The power of networking she thought to herself with an ironic smile.
Suddenly feeling a little tired after two hours of talking, Kira had moved to the edge of the party, ready to escape to a quieter seated area, only to find herself face to face with a man who introduced himself as Ben. Her senses had prickled uncomfortably as he lifted her hand to kiss it, his lips dropping on her skin for several seconds more than necessary. Finally it was Kira who moved her hand from his pulling it forcibly from his grip, smelling the drink on his breath. Ben was taller than Kira and was slightly overweight, and at that moment he was looking down on her with greedy eyes which openly admired her as they travelled all over her body.
Kira tried to move past him “Excuse me” she said trying to walk around him, but he moved to step in front of her
“Your Craig’s little playmate” he said his voice full of innuendo
“I’m the interior designer on his new project” Kira replied her voice prim and cold
He laughed “Sure you are hon” he said, his eyes still devouring her
“Craig sure knows how to live” he mussed “I wouldn’t mind a little myself….. tell you what darling take my card…..when you and Craig are over give me a call…..I think you’ll find i’m very generous…….all my mistresses do” he sneered salaciously at her
And with that he held out his card to her with a sickly smile
Ignoring it Kira tried to turn to move away from him, but he grabbed her arm keeping
her there while trying to force the card into her hand
“Get your hands off me” she said coldly
“Or what you going to do darling” he smiled down at her the smell of alcohol making her feel sick
From behind her she heard a soft dangerous masculine voice which she recognised instantly
“Its not what she’s going to do to you Ben that you should be worried about, now get your hands off her”
Instantly Kira felt herself being released
“Hey Craig….How are you….I was just chatting with your girlfriend” he said in a whinny voice before turning to her
“No harm done eh honey” he said winking at her before walking away.
She saw Craig glaring after him his face angry his eyes cold slits, before turning to look at her with concern
“You OK Kira” he asked softly. Kira still looking down at the floor nodded slightly still not looking up to meet his eyes
“What did he say” Craig continued seeing how upset she looked
Finally she raised her eyes to meet his gaze
“He just wanted to make sure that when you had finished with me that I had his number….. You know that I had someone else to move on to”
She got little satisfaction at the way he flinched
“I’ll kill him” he said ready to move towards the disappearing Ben
“Why Craig” she asked turning away herself
“Look around you half of the women here are mistresses. The play things of rich old men who put them up in nice apartments so that they can visit them when it suits them, he was only saying what many others are thinking…. After all you have a lousy reputation as far as women are concerned…everybody here sees me as your latest little play thing”
Craig shifted uncomfortably
“Your not my mistress” he said slowly, suddenly ashamed of what his plans had been. Kiras mouth curled into a sneer
“No, I’m not even that am I. Maybe we should get Ben back here and explain to him that if he really wants to bed me he should just go after one of my friends and blackmail me…. So much easier isn’t it Craig”
Kira couldn’t understand herself why she was so angry, the run in with Ben had been uncomfortable but nothing she couldn’t have handled. It was more to do with the sudden realisation that she was even less than a mistress to him and that in a couple of days her time would be up and she would be thrown back to the emptiness that had been her life since the last time he had thrown her aside. Kira suddenly felt crushed. The elation she had felt as they had joked and laughed that morning seemed a distant memory at the thought that she would soon be once more alone
Looking up she could see Craig frowning down on her his lips tight.
“What do you want me to say Kira” he asked “Would you have come with me if I hadn’t”
She shook her head knowing that she would never have gone with him had he not forced her
“I wanted you” he said softly “After two minutes alone with you in your room I knew two things, firstly that I wanted you and secondly that there was no way in hell that you would have gone anywhere willingly with me”
Kira looked at him intently
“Well I guess that you always get what you want don’t you Craig” she said coldly “and to hell with anyone else”
“It hasn’t seemed to be that hard for you” he said an icy edge to his voice. Kira lifted her chin defiantly at him
“It’s like you told me on the way over it would make the days go more pleasantly” she said glaring at him
Craig’s eyes opened in stunned surprise hearing his words thrown back at him, before with a sure look he shook his head
“No, I don’t think so Kira, nobody is that good a liar…nobody can make their body respond the way you did and not mean it” he said with certainty
“Really, because you’ve been calling me a liar since we first met” she said coldly, Turning away from him so that he wouldn’t see the tremor in her lips she threw back at him
