Rock Me Faster (Licks of Leather #4) - Jenna Jacob Page 0,42
my arm around Harmony’s waist, I started toward the same set of steps I’d raced up and down since I’d been able to walk. The wisp of nostalgia blowing through me was mystifying. Perhaps because I knew this was the last time I would set foot on these hallowed stairs, my cold, isolated, dysfunctional childhood was simply breezing through to say goodbye.
After checking in with the doorman, Harmony and I strolled across the Italian marble floor and into the waiting elevator.
As the doors closed, she peered up at me. “I probably should have asked earlier, but…am I still pretending to be your girlfriend?”
“No. Sylvia will be taking center stage tonight, like she always does.”
As the carriage ascended, she chuckled. “Is this where you grew up?”
“Yes. In fact, over there”—I pointed to the corner—“is where I whipped my dick out and pissed all over the fine Moroccan carpet when I was fourteen.”
Harmony burst out laughing. It was like a balm soothing the prickly edges that had been cutting through me since Sylvia had shown up at the hotel.
“Why on earth did you do that?”
“Because I had to pee, and Sylvia told me to hold it until we arrived at one of her stuck-up socialite benefits. Since I’d never disrespect Bernie and piss in any of the cars, I just unzipped, whipped it out, and let it flow.”
“You were a handful as a kid, weren’t you?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I was just screaming for love and attention.”
Harmony blinked at me in stunned surprise.
I smirked. “You didn’t think a big ape like me was capable of enlightenment, did you?”
“Everyone’s capable. It’s hanging on to it and letting it light your path that’s the hard part.”
I was just about to ask how a young, sheltered girl had gained so much wisdom when the elevator dinged and the door slid open.
We stepped into the foyer, and I swallowed down the ball of dread clogging my throat. As if sensing my disquiet, Harmony slid her hand in mine and gave it a little squeeze.
I knew then why I’d invited her. Though she frazzled my nerves with her dazzling beauty, shook the ground beneath my feet with her kind and gentle spirit, she also centered me in ways I couldn’t explain or comprehend.
When the door to Sylvia’s penthouse swung open, I expected to see Thompson, or whatever butler she now employed. Instead, the viper herself rushed toward me…gauzy beige designer pantsuit flowing like smoke around her.
“Oh, Rosner…you came. I’m so happy you’re here, darling,” she cried, wrapping her arms around me in a cold, brittle hug.
“Sylvia,” I murmured without hugging her back.
When she pulled away, she ignored Harmony and quirked a brow. “What is your little friend’s name?”
“Does it matter?”
Harmony tensed. I squeezed her hand, hoping to reassure her that I wasn’t negating her existence but, in fact, trying to protect her. She’d soon learn that I’d walk through the bowels of hell to shield her from Sylvia’s caustic, passive-aggressive demeanor.
“Since you’ll toss her to the curb like all the others once she’s served her purpose, I suppose not.” She shrugged.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Harmony blink and bristle.
Easy, princess. I’ve got your back. And if I weren’t sparring with Atilla the Hun right now, I’d be fantasizing about your front and all the luscious parts in between, too.
“Stop being a bitch to my girl and direct your venom on someone who’s earned it.”
“Someone like you?” Sylvia asked with an icy smile.
“Or yourself,” I quipped.
“Constantly fencing with you is so taxing. Let’s put our swords away, shall we?” She sniffed. “Come in, make yourselves at home.”
As Harmony and I followed her through the portal, I dragged a glance over the same floor-to-ceiling wraparound windows that afforded a stunning view of Central Park. Took in the familiar stark black-and-white art deco décor and glanced at the shimmering blue water of the rooftop pool.
It was no surprise that my sleeping berth on the bus felt ten times homier.
“Sebastian is putting the finishing touches on dinner. Can I get either of you a cocktail, some wine, a glass of champagne?”
“Champagne would be nice, thank you,” Harmony said softly.
“Oh, my,” Sylvia tittered, eyes widening in surprise. “That accent… Where on earth are you from, darling?”
“Kentucky,” she proudly announced.
“I didn’t know they had champagne in…Kentucky.”
“I believe it’s available in every state these days.”
Her sassy reply had me sending up a mental fist pump. “I think I’ll have a glass of that myself.”