Chapter 23
*Natalie*
We slip deeper down the hallway, and I hesitate.
“I don’t think we should be going this way…” I murmur, quietly.
He pulls my hand, yanking it in playfully toward him and I laugh silently as I quicken my stride and step in close to him. I give him a look and shake my head.
As we walk further down the hallway, we walk past a couple of doorways that are pulled shut, probably bedrooms…
At the end of the hall, there is a door cracked a couple of inches open.
And then I hear Sophie’s voice again. She sounds upset.
*“...Zane…"* She is saying, and then I can only make out murmuring... “tonight…” she says, more murmuring.
I heard her say Zane’s name!
Zane and I snap our eyes to each other’s and creep closer, softly along the white carpeted hallway.
*“...Stas* said…” a sharp and growling male voice says, I think it is Alexander’s… I am making out only every several words… “…his *house* with her…” he is saying. And then more murmuring.
Zane and I look at each other again, and tiptoe closer.
“Zane wasn’t even *there…”* Sophie is saying, reassuringly.
“Zane wasn’t there?...”
“No…”
“…Well… I thought you were *so tired…”*
“I was…"
“And yet, you had the energy to go over to *Zane’s* house…”
*“Natalie’s* house,” Sophie corrects. "I just... ran into Stas, and I hadn't seen her in so long..."
“Do you like what I’m giving you, Sophie?” he asks abruptly.
“What?” We hear Sophie ask.
“Your apartment… Closets full of beautiful clothes… Jewelry, shoes, handbags… You have everything you could possibly want. I built you up from nothing… And now you are the *Alexander Accardi* muse…. And yet you *lie* to me.”
*“No!* I – ”
“You’re *keeping secrets!”* Alexander growls.
There is silence.
“Why are you keeping secrets, Sophie? Why are you *lying?* Don’t you *want* this? Is this not the life you *wanted?* Have I not given you *everything* you wanted?”
“Alexander…” Sophie says, softly.
Zane jabs his elbow into my side, and gestures over to the door across the hall from the room we hear Sophie and Alexander’s voices coming from.
It is a bathroom, and there is a large mirror inside, reflecting the interior of the adjacent room…
We can see Alexander leaning in on Sophie, Sophie’s back pressed up against the wall. They are in an office, a dark mahogany desk in front of them.
My stomach lurches as I see him pressed up against her pretty butterfly dress, her sweet and perfect body that I was just caressing and kissing…
He shoves his hand through the fold-over opening of her dress, between her thighs, and Sophie gasps, stiffening.
“You need to tell me what you want, *Sophie,”* he demands. We can see him sliding his arm back and forth, his hand inside of Sophie’s dress…
“You *want this right?”* he asks.
Sophie moans, softly.
Alexander pulls his hand out quickly and rustles with his belt and pants, hastily working them down. He reaches over to his desk, sliding a small drawer open, and grabbing out a shiny black square packet.
Zane and I glance at each other, wide eyed. We can hear the packet crinkle, and we can see Alexander maneuvering with his hands around his cock...
“Right, my love?”
Sophie lowers her eyes and nods. Zane and I exchange a sad look.
“Then say it,” Alexander commands.
“I want this…” Sophie softly says, eyes still looking down.
“You want *what?”* Alexander presses. “You want *me?”* he snarls.
There is a long pause.
“Mmm, hmm…” she murmurs softly.
“You want me to fuck you?”
“…Yes…” Sophie whispers after what seems like eternity.
“Than say it.”
There is a long pause.
“I want you to fuck me…” Sophie whispers, almost inaudibly.
Alexander shoves her dress open, and presses her golden thigh up, her knee along the wall, yanks her pretty delicate lacy panties aside, and shoves deep into her.
Zane and I exchange a look, wide eyed, I yank on his hand and we turn, silently jaunting back down the hallway, past the two closed doors, and back around the corner to the party…
We stop in front of the sitting room, people mingling about still, music floating in the air, guests enjoying champagne… Zane and I look at each other, panting from our jaunt down the hall.
“Let’s go…” I say, pulling him along.
We walk past the living room, and through the entry way, finally coming to the door. Zane presses the handle and steps back, opening it for me, and I walk through. Zane looks back one more time as we walk out, the door falling closed behind us.
We walk through the carpeted foyer to the elevators.
Zane presses the down button, and the elevator lights up. We wait. My heart is pounding. My mind processing what we just saw.
The doors open and we step inside.
Zane presses the button for the main floor, and the doors shut again.
“So... Do you think she’s *with* Alexander?” I ask, as soon as the doors close.
Zane shakes his head, shrugging his shoulders. We ride in silence, contemplating.
The elevator doors open and we step out into the dark back hallways on the main floor. We can hear the music pumping from the ballroom, and we walk down the carpeted hallway, past the entrance to the library, and towards the sound of the music. We walk along the edge of the ballroom, hand in hand, music pounding into us, until we get to the front entrance to Cristellos.
I watch my black swirl heels step over the glowing black and white cobblestone floor, and take one last glance at the extravagant palace-like interior, taking it in as we walk to the doors; the uniformed doormen swing the brass-framed glass doors open for us, and we step through them back into the chilly night air.
******
We arrive home through our private drive-in garage that opens into his Man Cave. The drive-in garage is enclosed in glass doors, and has a small wash off station to keep the car and the room clean. We can see his Man Cave through the glass, he has a black leather sectional, and a theatre-size TV mounted on the wall, and a bar.
He grabs my hand, pulling me with him as soon as we walk into the room through the glass doors, “What are you doing?...” I ask, surprised, quickly kicking off my heels.
He turns back to me and slides his hand into my coat, around my waist, pulling me into a kiss.
He caresses my face, and then moves his hands down my arms to my fingers, taking my handbag and placing it delicately on the couch. He turns back to me and slips his fingers into the collar of my wool coat, sliding them inside and sipping my coat off my shoulders, sliding it down my arms, and drops it on the couch next to us. He slides his arm back around my waist, pulling me close.
“Oooh…” I say.
“I want to take a shower with you…” he says, sliding his fingers through the top button holding my dress together. He looks at me mischievously and pops it through the hole, exposing my bare breasts. “I’ve wanted to do that all night… the sides of your tits have been giving me a semi all night… Did you know that?”
I giggle.
He lowers his face to my tits, sucking on one nipple and fondling the other.
“Your tits are so fucking beautiful…” he says, and then pulls me by my hand again, leading me out of his Man Cave and to the elevator. He presses the button and the doors open. We rush inside, and he presses me up against the glass, kissing me, squeezing my tits.
The doors close. He reaches over and hits the second floor button, and turns back to me, swiping a lock of hair behind my ear and kissing me again as the elevator lurches up.
“I’m sorry I brought you into Alexander’s world…” he says. “That was disgusting…” He shakes his head. “I feel *so bad* for her…”
I have an instant flash of jealousy.
“Why?” I demand. “She’s making her own choices.”
“You know why,” Zane says, narrowing his eyes, “I can’t even believe you would say that.”
I am silent. I know why, and I’m ashamed to have not defended her. She sounded scared. She sounded like she was skirting how she really felt with Alexander. She didn’t sound anything like she did when she was with us.
The elevator doors open and Zane pulls me off of the glass, leading me out.
I sigh, “…I don’t know what she wants… But, it sounds like she’s… *indebted* to him…” I say.
Zane nods. I think for a moment.
“I told you I didn’t want a girlfriend!” I say, and laugh.
Zane laughs a little with me.
We walk into our room, pulling off our clothes, discarding them over pieces of furniture as we walk into the bathroom. Zane opens the glass shower door and turns on the faucet, feeling the water, waiting until a hot steam rises up from it.
“I just want to wash all of this off of us…” He says, reaching for my hand and pulling me in with him. The water hits us and I close the door behind us. We let the water hit us, splashing over our faces and hair, washing over us. We cuddle into each other, our wet skin warm against each other.
“Maybe… we should be done.” I say, snuggling into his bare chest. “No more other women. No more big fashion shows or afterparties. No more cocaine..." Zane laughs, "No more Alexander Accardi…” I say. “Tomorrow morning, we go pick up the kids, and just let this all be a… really wild memory…” I say. I smile and look up at him.
He leans down to me and we kiss, and then I settle into his chest, the water from the shower pouring over us, his hands gliding over my shoulders and back, pulling me into his embrace…