Page 32 of Grand Master

FEAR AND FASCINATION LIVE CLOSE TOGETHER.

I damn near floated following behind Staress.

Tone hadn’t said much since they both arrived to escort me back to Kenric’s room.

The only thing that I kept thinking about was how his tongue skillfully worked every crevice of my pussy.

I was so out of my mind and stuck on Kenric that I didn’t even bother to pay attention to the new route that we had taken to get to his room.

That’s why he did what he did! He wanted my mind elsewhere when they escorted me! Stay focused, Mira . I scowled at myself as we stepped in front of a black wall that matched the rest of the dark hallway. I could smell the owls; this is where they must have spent most of their time.

Tone placed his hand on the wall in a designated spot then waited for it to light up before it slid open. He said no words as me and Staress stepped inside. Tone didn’t even step in behind us, he simply placed his hand back on the wall letting the door shut in front of him.

Staress turned and eyed him until the door shut then clicked. She scoffed then turned to me with a pained expression on her face.

I didn’t have to look up at the see-through roof to see the owls that I heard ruffling their feathers on the pitch-black rafters.

Kenric’s room was freezing cold, it looked the same except the silk black comforter that adorned his huge bed.

I looked towards the far corner where I remained when I first got here and noticed that a new black velvet sofa was placed there along with a tray of my favorite fruits on a crystal tray.

“At least you have a man that’s obsessed with you.” She uttered sadly.

“A man that’s obsessed and holding me hostage.” I corrected her.

“Look I get it,” She sighed smacking her lips.

“Grand is wrong for taking you, especially since you’re not a fuckin’ fiend.

What I will say is that he really likes you.

It’s different seeing him treat a woman with care.

The women he brings around to fuck are treated coldly.

They never got to sleep in his room,” She held her hands out for emphasis.

“He said you made him laugh. I wanted to jump for joy but couldn’t in front of Tone because he thinks a part of me still wants his brother.” She rolled her eyes.

“You slept with Kenric?!” I asked, a twinge of jealousy rose inside of me, I frowned at her, as she eyed me with wide eyes.

“You call him Kenric? He allows you to call him that?” She asked in disbelief. She easily ignored the tight expression I offered her.

“He insists that I call him that.” I said, ready for her to get back to the question that I asked.

“Oh, wow. Yeah, he’s far gone off you.” She smirked.

“I slept with him, but it’s nothing like my baby Tone.

Don’t get me wrong…Every bit of what Grand gave felt good…

he’s packing a fucking eggplant, he knows how to make you cum back-to-back…

but there was no connection, just a destination for him to get a good nut.

I want a connection; I yearn for it…me and Tone don’t fuck… we make love.” Staress eyes glistened.

I eyed her as she looked away. Her eyes held a sadness that only came from a broken heart.

“Kenric kidnapped you?” I asked softly.

“Grand saved me,” She corrected me with sadness in her eyes. “

Doesn’t matter to me what you view it as.

I was so far gone, so lost, and lonely. No telling where I would be if he didn’t save me.

Grand is a broken man, filled with resentment, pain, and buried hurt.

He goes around saving people like a guardian dark angel.

I sometimes wonder who will save him. Accept him and love him for who he truly is.

” Her eyes bore into mine as she nodded her head for me to look behind her.

“Enough of the small talk… Grand set out two different gowns for you to wear tonight. He likes your hair down, so I brought you some hair supplies that will help you get it together. You know your way around.” Staress said.

I looked at her and nodded my head; I took in her raw chocolate beauty. The painful look in her eyes still pulled at my heartstrings. Staress took her stitch braids out, her hair was shoulder length full of loose crinkles.

“Do you have the freedom to leave this place?” I asked her.

She crossed her arms over her small chest and nodded her head slowly looking off in the distance.

“I could leave; I got a nice home right on the beach.” She smiled.

“Why stay here, and not enjoy your freedom?” I frowned, confused at her answer.

I loved the ocean; the tranquility of the water calmed me. I just didn’t understand why Staress admitted to having freedom and not deciding to take it. Maybe it was Stockholm Syndrome…

“My mother sold me when I was fifteen,” she said, keeping her eyes on the black wall. Her voice was flat like she was forcing herself to detach the feelings that came with her confession.

“Star—”

“She sold me to a forty-year-old pimp, her words still play in my head.” She chuckled bitterly.

“Make momma some fucking money bitch… She hated me and till this day, I never figured out why. I tried to be quiet and good for her, none of that shit mattered. I was a mistake that ruined her life.”

Her words landed like stones; I held my breath as my heart cracked for her.

“So, I got high to blur it, I wanted to stop the feeling, all the dangerous thoughts I had at a young age. I didn’t want to live.” A lone tear slipped down her cheek.

I stepped forward, wanting to console her but she put up a hand stopping me in my tracks. Her pain-stricken face smoothed back into a half-smirk as she shook her head at me.

“I don’t want to leave this,” she said with a steadier voice.

“You might think staying is weak of me, but I’m happy I was saved. I don’t want to go back to feeling lost, out there I’ll probably die. In here I survive and feel wanted.” Her smile dropped.

“I’m not strong enough to make it alone, and I refuse to apologize for that.

I love Tone, more than I should…He makes me feel like I matter, nobody ever made me feel that way, not even Grand.

I want to hold on to that for as long as I can.

In here there’s no abusive ex pimp, I don’t have to spread my legs for a couple of bucks to strange men.

Tone kissed all that away, now I’m just waiting for him to accept me fully and understand that I would never want his brother.

I’m just loyal to Grand because he saved me. That’s it.” She cleared her throat.

“Go get dressed, you cannot be late for tonight.” She smiled weakly.

I stood there staring at her, I wanted to say more. She looked like she needed a hug and more time to express herself. She urged me with a head nod to go get ready, so I picked up my feet and moved towards the checkered wall that was slid halfway open.

The mirror was taller than me, framed in black wood that made the reflection sharper.

I stood in front of it in disbelief, I couldn’t believe how I looked.

I smoothed my hands down the silk gown that clung to my body, fitting me like a glove.

It was black, deep and endless, flowing beyond my feet and onto the floor.

The slit on the side opened with the slightest movement flashing the curve of my thick thigh.

I loved the way the bodice hugged my curves tightly, it dipped low enough to show just enough of my cleavage. Never in my life had I looked like this or wore expensive clothing. My nutmeg complexion glowed under the dim light.

I felt sexy, important, like I belonged to a world I wasn’t supposed to be in. My thick wavy hair tickled my bare back, I was satisfied that it felt softer, it shined with the leave-in conditioner and oil that I massaged through it.

“You look beautiful.” Staress voice startled me from behind.

She leaned against the wall, arms crossed, lips curved in a half-smile reaching her eyes. I turned, enjoying the feel of the silk that brushed against my thighs.

“You think, so?”

“I know, so that dress was made for you. It’s giving queen of all queens chiii.” She snapped her fingers.

I blushed hard and bit into my bottom lip.

“Is it bad…?” I said above a whisper.

“Is what bad?” she asked, tilting her head.

“I want to know more about Kenric but feel like I shouldn’t want to know.” I met her gaze, trying to study her face.

“I’m feeling a pull to him, but I hate the fact that he took me against my will. I feel confused, and maybe it’s because he made it all conflicting with his logic.” I uttered the words more so to myself than to Staress.

I watched her push off the wall; her heels clicked against the polished floor. She stopped just a few feet from me, her eyes searched mine like she was weighing how much of the truth I could handle.

“I don’t think it’s bad.” She finally said.

My chest tightened because I still felt like it was.

“Then what is it?” I asked, still searching my brain for the right answer.

“It’s the Grand effect… He pulled people in naturally.

You don’t even notice it until you’re already orbiting around him like he’s the sun.

It doesn’t matter if you hate or love him…

you feel him. Once you feel him, you can’t pretend you don’t anymore.

He’s like a big puzzle piece that you get determined to figure out. ”

I swallowed hard, looking down at the way the black silk gown hugged my body. I still didn’t even recognize myself.

“I was taken, but at the same time I’m starting to feel the saved part about it all.

My depression has been replaced with great wonder…

I don’t even feel sad anymore about Darius…

it’s like Kenric put it in great prospective for me although I feel like nobody deserves to die just because they do something unforgivable.

I should fear him, he’s a murderer, I feel his dark side, he’s dangerous and toxic… ”

Staress’s expression softened, though there was something tired in it too.

“Fear and fascination live close together. Sometimes they share the same bed. Don’t blame yourself for wanting to know more about him.

Most people want to know the storm that shakes them, even if it scares the hell out of them.

There’s a thrill that they can’t deny, like a moth to a flame, your drawn in. ” She said.

I met her gaze, my voice low. “Did you feel it too?” I asked.

She hesitated; her lips pressed together before she exhaled.

“We all do. One way or another. That’s why some people choose to stay even with no connection to him.

People follow him because he doesn’t just run the board, Mira…

He makes people feel like there’s no better life outside the game.

There are job opportunities that pays better than any other job around L.A.

He shares the wealth and provides a medicine that makes people healthy all while feeling good.

Can you understand the brilliance in just that alone?

He’s a dark soul with beauty etched along the rims of him. ”

Her words cut through me, deep down I knew that she was right.

I found myself caught up in his gravity.

I pondered on my own freedom. The world was a big place.

I depended on Darius and the drugs to occupy my loneliness.

Now that I didn’t have either, what would I do once I did get the chance to run?

Staress told me that she would return with Tone. Once the panel on the wall clicked, I exhaled the breath that I was holding in. The silence felt heavy pressing against me like an extra weight I couldn’t shake. I turned toward the mirror again, but this time I didn’t see the beauty of my gown.

I imagined the chain that Kenric placed around my waist. I touched my right where he once placed it and imagined the coldness attached to it, which was a part of him. Staress’s voice still echoed in my head.

“You might think staying is weak of me, but I’m happy I was saved. I don’t want to go back to feeling lost, out there I’ll probably die. In here I survive and feel wanted.”

I wondered if that was going to be me? One day standing in front of a kidnapped woman telling her that she was saved, instead of what it really was. My thoughts clawed at me. I should have been angry; it seemed like my plan to run and break free the next time I had the chance started to dwindle.

When I closed my eyes, I saw Kenric. The way his hand steadied against my cheek, the way his eyes burned when he told me he was obsessed.

The way he kissed me like he could do just that forever.

I wanted to hate myself for how badly I yearned for the feeling he gave me, it was twisted, thrilling, and toxic.

Most of all, I never had a man describe me better than I could.

I understood exactly what Staress meant when she said she was happy to be saved. I wasn’t happy, at least not yet. But the pull was there. Stronger than fear and logic.

I dropped my hand from my stomach and continued to stare at myself in the mirror. My reflection splintered under my own conflicted gaze.

“God help me,” I whispered helplessly.

“I don’t know if I’m surviving this man…or surrendering slowly but surely...”