Grace Street (A Chapter 8 Novel, #1) (16 page)

“So you like to watch, do you?”

Elsa’s cheeks burned, but still, she couldn’t
take her eyes off of the attractive couple. She licked her lips and
turned her head to see the wickedest of smiles on Mr. Black’s
mouth.

“I thought you knew everything about me?”

His grin widened. “I
strive
to know
everything about you, but there are just some things I can only
learn by spending time with you.”

She returned his smile and glanced at the
couple again when he gripped her hand.

“Are we going to stay here all night watching
these two or go make our own fun?”

She wouldn’t mind staying to watch the
conclusion, but something in his voice and statement urged her away
from the amorous man and woman. Yes, she wanted to make her own fun
with Mr. Black.

Two blocks later, her feet started to ache.
Luckily they arrived at their final destination only a few minutes
later. It looked like an upscale restaurant and when she peered
into the window, it was bustling with well-dressed patrons.
Suddenly feeling exposed in her see-through dress, she began to
have second thoughts. Without a doubt people would see her naked
body underneath, possibly even her tattoo. What a distressing
thought.

Mr. Black seemed to sense her hesitation and
smiled down at her as if amused with her discomfiture. She wouldn’t
give him the pleasure of her humiliation this evening and she
straightened herself with pride.

As they waited for a table, a man who
recognized Mr. Black approached them.

“I’m to be called by my given name in
public,” he whispered in her ear.

“Victor!” the older, gray-haired and well-put
together man put his hand on Victor’s shoulder.

The man’s eyes immediately focused on her
face first then slowly moved down her body. Her face flushed under
his probing gaze and she scanned her shoes - the ones that said,
yes, she did like being fucked in bad ways. Undoubtedly, Victor was
enjoying this.

His hand rested on the small of her back,
giving her comfort when she felt a finger on her chin, bringing her
face up.

“Say hello to District Attorney Drew
Matheson.”

Elsa cringed but forced a smile. Here she was
dressed like a call girl and meeting the esteemed District Attorney
for Richmond. He thrust his hand at her and her good manners kicked
in. She shook his hand and made brief, polite conversation about
being new to the area. He seemed authentically interested as well
as surprised, though she had no idea why.

“This is a treat,” he added when there was a
break in conversation. “I can only think of one other time I’ve
seen Vic in the company of a female and that was a very long time
ago. You remember that, don’t you, Vic?” he glanced at Victor.

The muscle in Victor’s jaw quivered with
agitation.

“You must be one special woman,” Drew
added.

Her demeanor immediately brightened and her
embarrassment abated. Victor’s large hand slipped around her waist,
drawing her nearer to him as his expression darkened. Glaring at
Drew, his grip tightened. He held her so close against his body,
his heat could be felt penetrating the delicate fabric of her
frock.

“She is special,” he commented, stunning
Elsa. He leaned down into her ear and whispered so softly she could
barely hear his words, “and mine.”

Too shocked at what he had just said and the
way he reacted, she didn’t hear the rest of their exchange. Was
this the real Victor in front of her or the Game Maker? She stared
at him, dumbfounded and turned on. Never in a million years would
she have guessed this man to be the jealous type – not with all his
confidence and austerity. Anyway, whether or not she liked it, she
was still just another Chapter according to his own words.

As the hostess seated them, she watched him
closely for some sign of acknowledgement of what he had just told
her, but he showed no further emotion.

She reached for the menu, when he gently
pushed it down.

“There’s no need for you to worry over such
things. I’ll order for you.”

It was hard to be offended by his offer and
he did know her likes and dislikes, after all.

While he ordered for her, she slipped her
shoes off under the table. The sexy platforms were meant to entice
and not for any longer of a walk than it took to get to the
bedroom. Once the waiter left, Victor reached under the table and
took her foot into his strong hands and began circling his thumbs
into her aching arch. His fingers explored the soft spots of her
feet, the raw sensuousness of his touch scorching through her body.
His eyes examined her face as he sat silently teasing her with his
caressing fingertips.

He was so relaxed, she couldn’t resist taking
advantage of his good mood. She had opened the door earlier with
her question and he walked through it, and she wasn’t about to let
him retreat again.

“When you said you’ve loved before, were you
talking about your wife?” she cautiously inquired.

He shook his head and one side of his mouth
lifted in a wry smirk. “I already told you I’m not married.”

“You also told me that lying is part of your
game. So… are you lying?” she asked genuinely concerned.

The muscle in his jaw tensed even though the
twinkle in his eyes was hard to miss. But, as ever, he was
otherwise unreadable. When he didn’t immediately answer, her mouth
became unbearably dry. She would be sickened if she found out he
was married, not just heart sick, but physically ill.

“Please tell me you’re not married,” she
pleaded.

He smiled, but didn’t answer.

“Please, Victor,” she begged again. His given
name felt foreign on her lips.

His mouth parted as he blinked long and hard.
What did that mean? Elsa was frantic as she formulated all sorts of
things that would come from his mouth – an explosion of irritation
for her continued prying or worse, an admission of being
married.

Finally he answered smoothly, “I already
did.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Amused, he chuckled while squeezing her foot.
“I don’t really care if you do or not.”

Her eyes squinted critically and when she
responded, she made sure there was no ambiguity in her statement.
“You should because if I ever find out you’re being unfaithful to
your spouse, I don’t care what you do to me, our
agreement
will be null and void.”

Victor’s brows went up, clearly enjoying
their dialogue and his smile reached from ear-to-ear. “Null and
void? Oh, Elsa, do you really think you can end things between us
that easily?”

Exasperated that the conversation was going
nowhere, she sighed. Why did he have to be so difficult? Would he
always be like this? Would every bit of information she got from
him have to be painfully extracted?

As she sat mulling over everything that had
happened in the last ten hours, he reached his hand under the table
and began massaging her other foot. This man… always brooding yet
so damned irresistible.

Once their food arrived, they began eating in
silence. Uncomfortable with the unnatural quietness, she started
talking about the most mundane and nonsensical things. She could
hear her own voice and how anxious she sounded, but it was like she
was unable to shut herself up. She was nervous. Halfway through
some ridiculous statement, Victor cut her off.

“Do you always find it necessary to try and
fill the silence?”

She closed her mouth and shrugged. “I enjoy
good conversation. When it’s not one-sided, that is.” Undeterred,
she asked, “Do you enjoy your job?”

The corners of Victor’s eyes tightened as
they strayed from her eyes to her mouth. “What job would that be,
Ms. Cassidy?”

She immediately mentally cursed herself. She
wasn’t supposed to know anything about him. Looking down at her
food, she did her best to hold her composure and prayed he couldn’t
see through her pretense. She could play this game, too. She met
his gaze and didn’t blink an eye. “Whatever job is it that you
do.”

His eyes continued to roam over her face,
trying to read her, but she didn’t waiver. She couldn’t or else,
God only knows what the consequences would be.

Bringing his fork to his mouth, his facial
features relaxed and he responded, “I’m good at it.”

She let out the breath she had been holding,
proud of herself for having played his game his way, and gulped
down the non-alcoholic Asian pear sparkler that he had ordered for
her.

“But do you enjoy it?” she repeated.

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug, “Certain
aspects. How about you? Do you enjoy your job?”

Her insides tingled. Victor was engaging her
in normal conversation, something everyone took for granted – but
not her. Not with this man. “Most of the time. I enjoyed it more
when I had coworkers to bounce my ideas off of. I thought I would
enjoy the solitude, but…” she trailed off, feeling like she might
be sharing too much. “I’m easily distracted,” she whispered while
she began to pick at her food.

“I’m well aware of that,” she heard from
across the table.

When she looked up, he was sitting with his
hands in his lap and watching her pensively, probably thinking
about what he was going to write next about her or how he was going
to compare her to his other ‘Chapters.’ Her thoughts were on the
tip of her tongue and if she were to just open her mouth the
slightest bit, all of them would spill out. She bit her bottom lip
to prevent that very thing from happening when Victor spoke.

“What’s on your mind?”

Thinking quickly, she responded, “How normal
you seem outside of 2500 East Grace Street.” The sweet sound of
genuine joy floated up from his throat, a deep and throaty laugh
escaping his mouth. “Even though I’ve been told ‘
normal’
is
a subjective trait,” she grinned.

He laughed louder. “Touché, Elsa.”

***

Victor didn’t do ‘normal,’ but he supposed
this was about as good as it would ever get for him. He was quite
enjoying dinner with Eight. She was engaging and friendly with
nervous energy bubbling just under the surface. He liked her that
way – always on the edge of her seat, wondering what was coming
next.

The choice of attire he had chosen for her
had brought out her soft reserved side, a side he didn’t see often,
but he liked that she didn’t enjoy freely showing herself off in
public. The other Chapters, particularly Three and Four were all
too eager to flaunt themselves in front of anyone who would look
their way. Though he enjoyed Eight’s modesty, in the privacy of the
bedroom is where he drew the line. There – he wanted full exposure
without hesitation.

Victor gave a quick look in the direction of
Drew who kept glancing over at him and Elsa. He hadn’t liked the
way Drew had blatantly ogled Elsa and he felt disrespected. He just
had to bring up Chapter One, too, didn’t he?
Motherfucker
.
He’d never liked that man. On too many occasions Drew refused to
file charges against people because: A. Either he was too damned
lazy and didn’t want the hassle, or ,B. He was too concerned with
his public image to risk trying a case he might lose.

He took a swig of his whiskey and Coke when
the Cambridge case popped into his mind. Thankfully it was a
federal case and, therefore, would be tried in a Federal Court of
Law and the S.O.B. Drew Matheson would have nothing to do with it.
If
the killer was ever caught.

Fucking Anthony Bruce. Why hadn’t that
asshole contacted him yet? He made a mental note to get in touch
with him by Tuesday, at the latest. He and everyone involved in the
case was already doing everything they could on their end and he
was tired of waiting for that cock sucker’s assistance.

He felt a warm touch on the top of his hand,
drawing him out of his thoughts.

“What’s on
your
mind, Victor?”

He liked the way his name sounded coming from
her unspoiled mouth. Of course, he also enjoyed being called his
alter ego’s name. But for now, his given name would be just fine
considering the circumstances.

“A little bit of this, a touch of that,” he
answered mysteriously. “Did you know that sexual arousal is also
subjective, Elsa?” he added for fun.

She shook her head and pinched her eyebrows
together.

“It is, in fact. However, for me, sexual
arousal is my main objective.”

“Isn’t it for most men?” she asked
ironically.

Another laugh caught him by surprise. This
woman had a sharp, dry sense of humor, even if she didn’t realize
it herself.

“Yes, I suppose,” he nodded in agreement as
he waved the waiter over for their check.

Dinner had been short, but he had a plan of
action that was beckoning him. Elsa had a voyeuristic side to her –
something they shared in common and a revealing detail he hadn’t
foreseen. But as always, he was quick on his feet and he had been
plotting out something sinful all during dinner. He would kill two
birds with one stone while both pushing her limits and achieving
his main objective.

***

Elsa was disappointed their
dinner had ended so quickly. She wanted more time with Victor while
he was still in his ‘normal’ state of mind. She grabbed her shoes
as they left the restaurant, deciding to walk the three blocks back
to 2500 East Grace Street barefoot. The sidewalk was dirty, but the
cool pavement felt good on her soles.

Victor took her hand again
and led the way. She stopped several times in front of shop windows
to peek inside, but was pulled along like the tides of the ocean by
the moon. Peaceful and content to be tagging along behind the
enigmatic and dangerous man known as Mr. Black, she had forgotten
about everything he had put her through.
Well maybe not so
much as forgotten, but pushed the things Mr. Black had done to the
back of her mind in favor of the time she was spending with Victor.
She just wanted to enjoy the moment while it
lasted, however fleeting it may be.