The moment we arrive back at the penthouse after the Live Fashion Show, I’m seductively pinned up against the wall. Ace nuzzles my neck and covers me in hot kisses.
'Ace, what are you doing?' I giggle. His lips smash onto mine as we share a fiery kiss. Panting, he cups my face and leans his forehead against mine.
'I’m just thanking you,' he smirks. His hands slowly glide up my thighs, along my stomach, and he cups my breasts as he continues to kiss me, now sucking at my neck, which will leave a hickey.
'People will see that Ace!' I giggle.
'Good! Let them see it. I want everyone to know you’re mine,' he smiles, mischievously. He begins unbuckling his belt as we continue kissing against the wall. Lifting my dress, he runs his fingers up my thigh, grips my underwear and pulls them down. Cupping my thighs, I jump up and wrap my legs around his waist and he begins thrusting; Ace’s eyes are blazing with passion. My legs tighten around his waist, pulling him in as deep as possible, as we both moan. He continues to thrust harder and faster until waves of pleasure take over, and I helplessly cry out Ace’s name as I climax. Both of us drip with sweat and pant, my lips lock onto his, and I give him the sweetest, most gentle kiss.
‘I love you, Ace,’ I smile. Kissing my nose, my cheek, then my lips with a quick peck, he whispers back, 'I love you, Zurielle.'
Removing the rest of our clothing we make our way up into the shower, all the while, Ace’s phone is constantly beeping with messages and ringing.
'Do you want to answer your phone?' I ask.
'No, they can wait until tomorrow. I only want to focus on you tonight,' he smiles.
After we shower, we slip into bed.
'I still can't believe Mark went this far to jeopardise my business. I can’t believe you saved my show, my reputation, my hard work. I didn’t even know you could play the piano! And your voice! I thought I was staring at an angel sent from the heavens, when I saw you, seated at the piano and you began to sing. It was like a sense of euphoria took over me,' he smiles.
'I couldn’t let Mark ruin your show and humiliate you like that. It was the least I could do, to make it up to you, after I left you, without hearing you out about the photos,' I say, as my eyes well up.
'Zurielle, babe, come here, it’s okay,' he says, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close.
'No, it’s not okay, Ace. When I read your text messages I could feel the pain in them. I should have jumped off the bus and run straight back to you, but I didn’t,' I cry.
'When you didn’t answer your phone or reply to my messages, I wanted to chase after you. But, I wasn’t able to because the show was about to go live. It would not have looked good for my company if I wasn’t there. I was so relieved when Jack texted to say he found you at the Snake Pit, and explained everything to you. I was excited to have you by my side for the fashion show. And for everyone to see us together. Then I found out Mark was sabotaging the show, and the models came out on stage with the dresses slightly different, but still beautiful. To hear your quick-thinking was behind it, just blew my mind. When Sasha fell on stage after her heel snapped off, I noticed a couple of them were a bit wobbly on their feet. Poor Sasha. She did well to hide her embarrassment; limping off the stage. Bloody Mark, harming my staff like that!' Ace growls.
'We can deal with Mark tomorrow. I’m just glad your show went well, despite what happened behind the scenes, and that I'm here with you.'
'All thanks to you, Zurielle,' he smiles.
Ace switches on the TV with the remote; the news is reporting what a success the Live Fashion Show was, and how it went out with a bang!
'Who is the mysterious young woman Mr Brightly passionately kissed on live television? Only to scoop her off her feet and leave the stage with her? Rumours have it, Nessa Knight was supposed to close the show with her song that is currently number one on the charts. Not that we are complaining; the mysterious woman was completely amazing! We need to know who she is and how she won the heart of one of the world’s richest bachelors!'
'Congratulations, Zurielle. Seems like everyone enjoyed your number on stage, just as much as I did,' he smiles.
'Never in a million years did I think I would ever play the piano and sing on a stage in front of millions of people. I was so nervous, but I think it helped that I had been practising at the Snake Pit this last month. Otherwise, I may not have had the courage to do it,' I confess.
'Well, you nailed it, babe. I’m so proud of you,’ he says, then kisses me.
The news reporter on the TV speaks about Ace being shot by the gang leader of the Spider Backs.
'The mysterious lover of Mr Brightly appears to be linked to the Spider Backs. Rumours say she was the gang leader’s lover and that she was involved in underworld criminal activity. So how did Mr Brightly meet her, and become involved with this mysterious woman? Hopefully, we will have the answers after further investigations. So stay tuned for your nightly news!'
Ace switches the TV off while I sink down and hide under the covers.
'Why do they have to bring the Spider Backs up? Why are they still pursuing this story?' I whinge. Ace slides under the covers with me. We face eachother, as we hide away from the world, as if this one cover shields us from the world.
'People are curious. They want to know things. Especially about famous people. Everything will be fine. We have each other and that’s all that matters,' he says, caressing my face.
'Do you think they will give up on the story and move onto other matters?' I ask.
'Since the fashion show just happened, and you’re in the picture now, and our history with the Spider Backs, I don’t think this is a story they will drop anytime soon. You do realise you won’t be able to go anywhere on your own anymore without paparazzi following you everywhere? I will organise your own personal bodyguards for when you want to go places without me.’
'Are they really going to follow me everywhere?' I ask.
'Yes, so be mindful when you’re on phone calls; of them eavesdropping on private conversations. Even if you think it’s just a regular person having a cup of coffee. They’re most likely journalists trying to gain information to use about us,' he explains.
'Oh! And no more busses or cabs. You can use any of my other cars. Or I will organise one of your new bodyguards to be your driver,' he smiles.
'Yes, boss,' I say, sarcastically. Ace rolls over on top of me, pinning my wrists above my head. His face hovers over mine as he nips and kisses me along my neck. I moan.
'What was that you said?' He teases. My cheeks are flustered and my eyes are staring at his lips. I want to taste them...
'I want to taste your lips,’ I plead.
'That’s what I thought you said,' he smiles, then smashes his lips onto mine.
'Zurielle Summers: you are all mine!' He growls seductively in my ear. We spend the rest of the night ravishing each other’s bodies.
The following morning, we arrive at the police station to give our statements. Ace has brought his lawyer William along. Mark also has his lawyer with him in another room. After giving our statements our lawyers have a private meeting. We wait patiently until William comes out of the room to speak with us.'Mark wants you to drop the charges. He is willing to move on with his life and not contact you again.' William states, and Ace scoffs.'Really? And if I don’t drop the charges?' He asks.'He said he will go to the media and expose all your secrets. He is claiming he is innocent and that he was only at the show trying to help out, and that you are both framing him.' Ace and I frown.'There are so many witnesses against him. He will be found guilty! One of my staff members has an injury because of him!' Ace yells.'Well, Mark has said if you pursue this, it will have to go to court and the media will find out about this, on top of other secrets. Such as Zurielle's father being involv
Ace opens the door to his Lamborghini and helps me into his car. I can tell he is annoyed, but he's trying to stay calm for my sake. We drive away from the building and I place my hand on his shoulder.'It’s okay, Ace. It could have been a lot worse.' I frown.'A lot worse! Zurielle, they implied you were a prostitute. Who the hell would say such a thing?' He asks himself.A few minutes of silence goes by.'You are very quiet, is there something you know that I don’t?' He asks.'I may have gotten into an altercation with one of your receptionists a while back, who suggested I slept with you for the job, and that I was here for your... pleasure. I was so angry and hurt, that I threw my cold tea in her face. It wouldn't surprise me if she contacted the media.'Ace is quiet for a moment. I can’t bring myself to look at him; his knuckles on the steering wheel have whitened from gripping the wheel in anger.'Her name?' He asks, sternly.'C-Carol.' I stutter.'Part of me always knew Carol w
Upon waking, the room is full of smoke I wave my hands around trying to fan the smoke away from my face. I'm coughing. I realise I'm in my bed. Quickly, I jump out and open the door, where flames are blazing throughout the house.'Mum! Dad!' I scream. Their bedroom door is locked. I use my body weight to bang into the door. I fall to the ground when I force it open. When I look up, I'm no longer in my house. I'm surrounded by trees.'Zurielle!' Ace calls out. I stand up. It's dark, and all I can see are trees.'Ace!' I call out to him. Relief washes over me as, Ace steps out from the trees, we smile at eachother, and suddenly a gunshot goes off.The colour drains from Ace’s face as he presses his hand against his abdomen. Removing his hand, he looks down. Blood. He has been shot.'Ace!' I scream as I run towards him. He falls to his knees, revealing Red Back standing behind him with a gun.'No!' I scream. He grabs me by the hair and pushes me back. Instead of landing on dirt, I land i
We tell the story of how Ace and I met and our other run-ins. Libby laughs at our regular run-ins, especially at me kneeing Ace in the balls in the stairwell.'This is a very romantic and hilarious story. It sounds like this is also new to you, Ace; learning to socialise and being in a relationship. Is there a reason why you stop pursuing relationships with people?' Libby asks, focusing on Ace.Placing my hand on Ace’s back, I give him a nod and an empathetic smile.'It’s not just me who needs to heal, Ace,' I say reassuringly.He nods and sighs, and tells Libby about the horrible upbringing he had with his mother, and his first serious long-term relationship with Ava, who his mother convinced him to date. Then how after a while his mother convinced him to propose to her, only to find her cheating on him. And then how his mother passed away, but not before reminding him he was a disappointment to her.'Since that day, I haven’t pursued a relationship; friendship or romance,' Ace expla
The next day, I'm head-deep in my work. It’s almost lunchtime.'I have a, um... meeting. Will you be fine for a few hours?' Ace asks.‘Yep. I want to catch up with Cleo at some point. I’ll find her and have lunch with her.' I smile. Ace kisses me on the forehead and leaves. I have been going to all his meetings. Strange he doesn’t want me to attend this one.Stretching my arms out, I stand and take the staircase to the ground floor. I'm not comfortable being in the elevator on my own; the stairs will be the better option for now.Cleo runs up to me and embraces me in a tight hug.'Funny, we work in the same building yet we never see each other,' she jokes.'We have to make more of an effort to see each other. Also that's why I'm here. I'm hoping we can have lunch together.''Sure. I’m having lunch with the receptionists and a couple of models across the road. Come with me. You know the models. Have you met the receptionists?' She asks.My mind flashes back to when I threw cold tea at
Halfway through the work day, I suddenly remember Cora’s offer about having a girl’s weekend away glamping.'Ace, do you have anything planned for us this weekend or next weekend?''Not yet. Do you have something in mind?' He smiles.'Cora invited me and some of the other ladies to a weekend away glamping.''Glamping?' He says and raises an eyebrow.'Yeah. It’s camping, except we do girly things like paint our nails and have facials.' I laugh.'I’ll make sure you have the weekend free to join them, but I’ll organise a bodyguard or two to go with you. I’ll ask them to watch from a distance, so it will be less noticeable. I don’t want paps sneaking around, or potential threats anywhere near you.''Potential threat?' I ask with worry.'I don’t know Mark’s whereabouts, or if he plans on staying true to his word by staying away from us. My being a billionaire puts you at risk of being ransomed by thugs.''Oh... you know what? Don’t worry about it. I think I’ve changed my mind.' I say with
Hailey is literally sleeping on top of me, like I'm some kind of teddy bear. I can feel her drool dribble down my neck. I push the strands of her brown hair off my face and roll away from her. A moment later Hailey snuggles into my back and mutters something meant for Jack in her sleep. I try not to laugh and eventually fall asleep.'Rise and shine my Queens!' Cora stands in front of our beds looking like a soldier. She is wearing cargo pants with black boots and a green tank top.'Oh... were we meant to bring clothes like that?' Hailey asks, as she pulls out ten different little dresses from her bag.'Don’t forget swimwear underneath your clothes. Unless you prefer to swim in your birthday suit and wear solid shoes and pants, or your name is Hailey, and you didn’t bring any.' She laughs, and Hailey rolls her eyes at her.'I brought a couple sets of trackie pants. Here, you can wear these.' I say, handing her a pair.I'm wearing trackie pants and a crop top with boots, and my bikini u
As the sun rises, the sound of a helicopter is heard hovering in the sky. We jump up and down, and wave our arms in the air, trying to get the pilot’s attention.We slump in disappointment, as it flies past us. Sighing, I lean against a tree.‘I’m so tired, and so hungry I can barely stay awake.’ I sob.‘It’ll be okay.’ Hailey says and hugs me. I bury my face in her shoulder and look up to see Carol giving me a sympathetic look. I grab her arm, and pull her into us, hugging them both.‘I’m sorry I slapped you, Carol.’ I cry.‘No, I should be the one apologising. To both of you. You might be a little on the crazy side Hailey, but you’re quite fun to be around and you’re definitely not a bitch. If anything, I have been the bitch. Zurielle, I’m sorry about what I said about you and Ace. I was jealous because I had a crush on Ace and he turned me down a couple of years ago,’ she confesses.‘I had no idea that you liked Ace that way. He hasn’t mentioned it.’‘I used to like him. I moved on