Page 10 of Lau Ahi
He’s a bloody gladiator.
“What’s on your mind?” That was the only thing I could think of to say, since he seemed amused by my lack of a previous response.
“You sound intrigued.”
Refusing to avoid the obvious I spoke candidly. “Mildly. Which is far more than I can say about any man I’ve come in contact with in some time so you should be honored, honestly.”
His mouth quirked again clearly signaling I amused him. “A feminist or a full-blown misandrist?”
“Just like a man. Believing that a woman is incapable of multi-tasking.”
His grin was now a laugh and it was amazing how deep his voice actually was. I thought I’d imagined it simply due to the noise in this place. But his laughter didn’t rumble like thunder. That sound was too airy to describe his voice. His tone was in a much lower register, to the point that it quaked like the earthdid when the tectonic plates shifted. His voice sounded primal, ancient, as though he could command the mantle to break through the crust and destroy entire cities with a simple call to action.Volcanic. That was what it felt like hearing him speak. As though lava was rushing through my body and a puff of air from his lungs could incinerate whatever it touched.
There has to be an intoxicant in this air here to be waxing poetically about a man.
“I assure you that in this brief interaction I don’t doubt that you’re capable of achieving whatever you set your mind to. The last thing I would ever do is underestimate a woman.” His tone changed losing some of its playfulness from before.
“You sound bitter.”
Another observation I could’ve kept to myself had I been one for polite conversation. Since I wasn’t, the question came out without a care to his feelings. Probably rude but the way his face softened when he looked down at me showed he wasn’t really offended.
“No. But in my line of work I’ve seen how things can play out with any gender. A man underestimating his opponent simply because of their sex has been one of man’s greatest downfalls since time began.”
And despite this peek into his profession I still wouldn’t decipher if he was government or criminal. I was leaning more toward the latter because of how long his hair was but times were changing thanks to the Crown Act. It was slicked back off his face but the simple fact that he could keep it in a tie meant it was longer than was traditionally accepted in those fields.
“You’re sounding like a borderline feminist yourself, sir.”
His massive shoulders lifted with ease. “A title I wouldn’t be ashamed to wear.”
My cheeks were hurting and it reminded me that I’d been smiling at a man for all this time. I rarely smiled and certainlynot for long periods of time. My brain recoiled, despite my body not moving at all.
“All of this lead-up has been for something. Is this where you tell me you desire to have me in your bed and you’ll do anything to get me there?” I was off guard realizing that I was enjoying spending time with this stranger had my brain scrambling. I was being defensive for sure but I felt as though it was necessary. He had me on unstable ground and my level of intelligence made that an infrequent occurrence.
“No.”
My brows shot up and I was thankful they were hidden behind my mask. With the way his features shifted, I felt as though he’d noticed. “No?”
“I don’t have to see the entirety of your face to know that you are a strikingly beautiful woman. And yes, pleasure is always a desire for anyone. You seek your pleasure from dominating those whom society would deem superior to you.”
And now he thought he knew me well enough to speak on what I wanted? Damn him, he might be on to something but I wasn’t about to provide him with the satisfaction of confirming it.
“Oh? How would you gather that without knowing who I am? Is this your way of telling me that we’ve interacted before and you’ve been waiting for your chance?”
“I don’t have a clue who you are. Another point of fact that leans heavily into the reality of your having enchanted me in such a short time. But when I say society, I mean the social hierarchy that paints a false narrative that a Black woman is at the bottom and a white man is at the top. Your ATM would be in the higher echelons of that hierarchy from his skin color and finances alone. Add in the ties he has to the government and you’ve got financial claws into a man that is very well connected.”
I was impressed, damn him. Again. I’d lost count of how many times his words had me looking at him as more than a pretty face and an effective phallus. The flattery that I thought was stupid had apparently worked because the warmth was back and I was biting back another smile.
“So, what is it that you suggest?”
I wasn’t playing with fire but I was damn sure beckoning the lava to come closer to me as though I had a way to control it. Like my coldness could shape it into what I needed it to be for at least tonight. And maybe take a bit of its warmth with me whenever we went our separate ways. Because despite how desirable he was I wasn’t going to tie myself into anything past tonight even if I saw him here again. I didn’t do attachments.
You don’t do flirting either but it looks like he changed that.
His voice interrupted the way I wanted to yell at my brain. Which was bad, since if I would’ve actually done it he might’ve saved me from myself.
“I give you my key and you do what you feel is right. That could be to leave me right where I was or join me to explore everything going through your brain that you don’t want to admit is there.” He held up the same card that was attached to my wrist but didn’t extend it toward me.
I wasn’t entirely sure how I got here. To actually contemplate taking this man up on his offer. He’d been respectful with his ask, something that many others here couldn’t claim, and I was intrigued by what he was looking to achieve tonight.
