Silk Ropes

Excerpt

Sample Chapter For SILK ROPES by Justus Roux

Justine hurried around trying to grab the last few things she was going to need for her trip.

“Mom, it’s Dad,” Crystal said as she handed Justine the phone.

“Don’t you dare tell me you can’t make it.” She tried to cradle the phone against her shoulder as she shoved her PDA into her purse.

“I’m just going to be a little late.”

“God damn it, Andrew, I told you I have a plane to catch.”

“It can’t be helped.”

“Fine…when are you showing up?”

“In about an hour.”

“Marie will be here. I have to go. You better show up.”

“Of course I will.”

“I’ve heard that before.” Justine slammed the phone down.

“Dad isn’t coming, is he?” Crystal asked.

“He said he was.”

“He’s said that before.”

“Marie,” Justine called out. She thanked God everyday for Marie. Hiring her was the best thing she had done in awhile.

“Don’t worry, Justine. I will get them ready for their father. If he doesn’t show up, I will go to plan B.”

“Thank goodness for plan B.” Justine chuckled.

She couldn’t believe it had been a year since her divorce. Though she had to admit it was long overdue. Her three children were the only good things to come out of her twenty-year marriage to Andrew. Andrew Junior. was seventeen, Crystal was sixteen and Christopher was fifteen. Her three treasures she always called them. And now that Andrew Senior was out of the picture, everything seemed so much more relaxed.

“Do we have to go with Dad?” Andy asked.

“You know you have to.”

“When I turn eighteen I don’t.”

“Come on, kids, let’s let your mother get ready. You know this book signing is important.”

“You will do great, Mom,” Christopher said.

“Thank you, honey.”

Justine kissed everyone goodbye then headed for her car.

It had been scary leaving Andrew after all those years of being together. She almost didn’t have the courage to do it. Catching him with his little whore was probably the best thing that could have happened to her family. Strange to think something like that, but it was true. She often wondered if she would have had the courage to leave him if she hadn’t caught him cheating.

Justine wrote tales of romance. Funny seeing as how she had such little romance in her real life. But it was her stories of love and lust that put food on the table. Andrew was always belittling her work. The more her stories sold, the more he would criticize. Well, that’s the magic of divorce—his words meant nothing now. His lack of spending time with the kids was the only thing that got under her skin, even though the children seemed indifferent to whether he showed up or not.

Justine drove to the airport and went through all the security hoops. She hated flying. She settled into her seat and gazed out the window as the flight attendant went through the motions of informing them about the emergency procedures.

Justine had just turned forty. Age never bothered her—it bothered Andrew though. He went through a ten-year mid-life crisis. Justine could feel the anger starting to build. Every time she thought about that man she got angry.

A part of her was mad at herself for staying with him for so long. She looked over at the pleasant-looking man who was obviously flirting with her. It had been so long since she had felt the warmth of a man’s touch. After the hell Andrew had put her through, she was in no hurry to rush into any kind of relationship.

She politely smiled at the man then turned her attention back to the window.

Luckily, the flight went smoothly and she was able to check into her hotel room right away. Her publisher had set up everything for her, so all she had to do was show up at the signing. Once she freshened up, she grabbed her things and headed to the event center.
The book show was a wonderful chaotic experience. She got to meet with her readers and fellow writers. It was a long, busy day for her. When it was over, she crashed on the bed in her room and reached for the phone.

“Marie, how is everything?”

“Justine…Andrew never showed up.”

“That fucking bastard.” Justine sat straight up. “Let me talk to the kids.”

Justine talked with each one, relieved to hear their lack of disappointment.

“Don’t worry, Justine, we had fun today.”

“Thank you, Marie.”

Justine hung up the phone and lay on the bed for a moment, then dialed up Andrew. He gave her the same song and dance as to why he hadn’t picked up the kids. There was always a meeting or something to that effect. She was too tired to argue with him.
She had a long day scheduled for tomorrow.

* * * *

Barett sat in the lobby of the hotel. His meeting had gone on longer than he had thought it would. Las Vegas had never really appealed to him. He wasn’t much of a gambler. He wanted to go home to Germany. It had been a long two weeks. With his business he was often traveling. Being the owner of a successful company took a lot of commitment.
He watched the ladies hustling through the lobby. There was some kind of book convention going on. He smiled at a couple of the women. Some even mistook him for one of those cover models.

Barett was a handsome man. He stood six-foot-four and had shoulder-length, sandy-brown hair. He was quite muscular due to his love of working out. His eyes were a deep blue and his smile was breathtaking. But it was his deep accented voice that really got a person’s attention.

As he waited for his limo, he finished up some business calls. It looked like he was going to be in the States for a little longer than he had expected.

His breath caught when he saw a petite woman hurrying through the lobby. She was busy looking at her PDA as she navigated her way through the crowd. He was instantly drawn to her. She was a pretty woman with shoulder-length brown hair that seemed to have a mind of its own. She appeared to be in good shape, though the business dress she wore revealed little of her body. It wasn’t her appearance that drew him to her. It was the aura around her. His heart skipped a beat when she laughed. Her laughter was contagious. Everyone around her smiled.

Barett had seen his fair share of strikingly beautiful women. Hell, he had dated many women who were but fantasies to other men. Yet, this pretty little woman enthralled him and he hadn’t even spoken with her yet.

Barett made his way over to her. He had to meet her, had to find out if she was married. A crush of people entered the lobby and he quickly lost track of her.

“Damn it,” he muttered.

He went to the main desk.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, sir.” The young desk clerk instantly perked up seeing Barett.

Barett barely noticed the feeble attempts of the young woman’s flirting. He was forty-two and any woman younger than thirty-five just didn’t capture his attention.

“What is this convention that is going on?”

“It’s the romance author convention. Here is a list of authors that will be attending the book signing today, if you’re interested.”

“Thank you.”

Barett took the flyer from her and looked it over. His eyes stopped on one picture. “Justine Meyers,” he said softly.

When his driver arrived he instructed him to wait. He was going to meet this Justine Meyers. There was no way he could leave without doing so.

* * * *

Justine happily signed book after book. She loved meeting her readers. Putting faces to names was always so nice.

“Hello, Justine.”

Justine looked up to see the owner of such a sexy voice. Her eyes locked with the most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

“My name is Barett Depenau and I must have dinner with you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I saw you in the lobby and was instantly attracted to you.”

Justine was taken aback by Barett’s bluntness. This was obviously a man used to getting what he wanted.

“I will be more than happy to sign a book for you, Mr. Depenau, but…”

“Are you married? Seeing anyone?”

“No.”

“Then please join me for dinner. We can go to this hotel’s restaurant if you like.”

Justine didn’t know what to say. There was no way this gorgeous man was asking her out. She must be daydreaming.

“I will meet you at eight tonight in the lobby.” He reached down and gently grabbed her hand, then bent over and kissed it. “Until tonight, Justine.”

Justine couldn’t move for a moment.

“Wow, what a hottie,” the author next to her said.

Justine snapped herself out of it and went back to signing books. She didn’t know if she was going to meet the mysterious stranger this evening or not. He could be a fruitcake for all she knew. Yet, she couldn’t deny her body’s response to him.

Should she, this once, throw caution to the wind? After all, they were just having dinner—nothing more.

* * * *

Barett spent the afternoon in meeting after meeting. In between meetings he read an eBook of one of Justine’s novels. She knew how to tell a story, he gave her that. But what interested him the most was the subject matter of this particular story. A Master and his slaves, but more to the point was that this Master was bisexual. A spark of hope flickered in him. If Justine could write about such things maybe she was open to this lifestyle in real life.

Barett lived this lifestyle. He was a Master and had a male submissive. He had been through relationship after relationship looking for a woman open-minded enough to accept him as he was. Yet each time, when it came time for him to tell a woman about his submissive Derek, they would be repulsed or just call off the relationship. Maybe he was fooling himself. Maybe there wasn’t a woman out there who would love him for who he was.

Barett was bisexual and needed to be with a man and a woman. Derek was also bisexual, but leaned more toward being with men. Barett loved Derek. Hell, they had been together for over ten years. He would find a woman who would accept Derek and his lifestyle. He had to. He wanted a woman he could love like he loved Derek. Whether or not she wanted to be his submissive mattered little. The only thing he wanted was for her to love him as he was.

Barett waited in the lobby for Justine. He really hoped she was going to show up. He smiled when he spotted her walking toward him.

“Good evening, Justine.”

“Good evening.”

Barett offered her his arm and led her to the restaurant.

Barett can’t be real. He was charming, handsome and very smart. No, there was no way this man was real. What was the catch?

After dinner, Barett took her for a walk down the Vegas strip. The lights illuminated everything and the wide variety of people was fascinating. She felt safe being with him. They talked and walked forever, then finally, he brought her back to the hotel.

“I want to make love to you,” he whispered softly in her ear.

“I don’t know you well enough. I’m not the kind of woman…”

He pressed his fingertips to her lips.

“Then I shall wait.” He smiled at her. “I want to see you again.”

Justine gave him her cell number. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her like she had never been kissed before. She melted into Barett’s embrace and surrendered to his sensuous kiss. He literally took her breath away. She was unable to say anything when he released her.

“I will call you later, Justine.”

And just like that, he was gone. She stood there for a moment, wishing she had for once let go and made love to him.

Justine went into her room and sat on the bed. She could hardly believe what had just happened to her. Did she really spend time with Barett or was she just daydreaming?
Her cell phone rang.

“Good night, Justine.”

“Good night, Barett.”

That’s all he said. She cradled the phone in her hand for a moment. He was real. Oh sweet Jesus, he was real.