The Rain | Cricky [C]

Chapter 2 | Blood Money

The witch's wind graced my face on such a beautiful night. A full moon set the mood for one of my favorite events. Tonight was the night of the week our town always gathered for; The drag racing. No, not men dressed as women. Drag racing as in cars. A town usually so quiet is disturbed one night a week by the roaring engines of racers.

Stands are filled with everyone in this town. Small and large, young and old, ugly and pretty, and everything in between. For those of us that can afford it, there's private rooms at the top of the stands. Many times, I've sat with Nikki and Kuza while we watched the beautiful cars flash down the straight track and our gorgeous women say in our laps. A few dragsters from out of town are coming in to compete tonight. It should get interesting. Of course, I look forward to this every time I had the opportunity to go.

The only element of the night that was tainted was my dear fiance's attitude. He's come to understand why I've decided to return to owning slaves. However, that doesn't mean he's happy about it. As I left, one of the servants was trying their best to help him with something, but he was getting frustrated with even breathing. Ghost can be fussy all he wants. At the end of the day, he still loves me and won't leave me. I let him throw his tantrum because I know he just has to get it out of his system.

Cigar and cigarette smoke floated into my senses. The clinking of glasses casually graced my ears. Even this high up, the smell of gasoline was prominent. It was fueling to both the cars and my primal instincts. Any man, even the most heterosexual, can respect a good car. That, and a sexy body; Both that made of metal, and sinful flesh. Ashley, though someone I consider purely a friend, was gorgeous as she drifted across the room. She leaned over the back of Nikki's chair, handing him a bottle of scotch and a manila folder.

"Thanks, Babe." Nikki leaned his head back to her and reached his lips up.

She bent over and kissed him. Ashley walked over to the table at the back of the room to poor herself something strong. I watched her delicate frame twist the top off of a dark bottle holding a red substance. My coffin ring pressed into my upper lip as I rested my hand to my knuckles. Kuza took the crystal bottle that now sat on the table and screwed it open. He poured two glasses worth, but didn't bother with a third. At this point, he was used to my ways.

Ashley walked back over with a Pepsi bottle in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. She handed the soda to me, to which I thanked her. Nikki was busy scanning through the folder he had been given. She took a seat at the end of the row of cushioned chairs. Ashley leaned back and watched the racers line up through the glass front to the private room. I clicked my ring against the side of my drink and caught a moment where Nikki slipped a photo out of the folder.

"Don't cheat me." I told him as I darted my eyes to his.

He sighed and placed the picture with the rest. I didn't catch which it was, though I wish I would've. Maybe then I could test him a little more and try to get what he desperately wanted to keep. He and I had developed a catty game with each other. I'd swat, he's swat back. At the end of the day we still drank from the same milk bowl.

Kuza stammered a laugh as he raised his glass to his lips, "You know you can't get anything past you."

"Hm, I take pride in that fact." I responded stalely.

He sipped down a generous amount of liquor. The noise of quenched thirst peaked from his throat as he sat forward, resting the glass on the table. "So," He leaned back again, "Where's the Mrs.?"

"Where's yours?" I snapped back in efforts to avoid discussing my own.

Kuza took his hand propped up on the armrest of his chair and pressed two fingers to his right temple. His eyes were dead but in the center of mine as he sternly said, "Departed."

"I hope whatever fishes she's food to don't catch what you've got." I teased him.

A rather dark joke, but we both knew it to be true. There was nothing he wouldn't fuck. If it had a hole he could stick his cock in and a nice rack, he didn't care about any other details. I was the opposite. Perfection was my aim in life. Whether it be my home, cars, businesses, or lovers, they had to be apart of my image. In my head, I saw a certain way I needed things to be. An image.

After taking a sly drink, I told him, "My dear love isn't in the best of moods with me." I twisted the band on my finger as I gazed out the window, "Besides, I figured it was best if he wasn't here for this."

Nikki handed me the folder he so carefully had gone over. I opened it with caution to prevent anything from falling out. Headshots, big and small, filled the inside. Some were sweet modeling pictures. Others, taken against the subject's will in a dingy warehouse. One of those warehouse photos in particular caught my eye. A young boy, looking so broken against the sun faded wood flooring under him. His black hair was gorgeous against his thin, gaunt face. He reminded me so much of Ghost when I first bought him.

I threw that picture down first on the table. Nikki visibly tensed him. His eyes wondered a bit as he glanced at me spitefully almost, but I didn't acknowledge it. I guess we found the lucky winner on the first try. There were a few, not as cute as the first, but would do for me. I picked them out from the photos and placed them on the table. Then I handed the closed folder back to Nikki.

He plucked it from my fingers with subtle tension. Ashley reached across Kuza and took it from him, then tucked it next to her leg. Nikki stared at the photos on the table. He put his hand on the other few and pushed them closer towards me.

"You can have these," His fingertips rested upon the prized one, "But not this one."

"They're all for sale regardless. Why does it matter?" I questioned him.

He tapped his finger on the photo, "This one is different. Just like how Ghost was different. This one. Is different."

"You trade them. You don't fuck them. Let me worry about their precious personalities." I seethed, sounding like a snake in my tone.

"Bet for him." Ashley suggested.

Nikki dared her a dirty look. She turned her foot along with swaying her glass and pursed her lips. She didn't give a shit about his thoughts. Not in business, at least. He might be the man of the relationship, but she fucking ran the show like a dominatrix. With a vile stare, Nikki looked back at me.

"It's not worth it." He responded, "You can't win bets against Chris. He's got Devil's luck. You can have this one, on one condition. You can't get rid of him."

My mouth gaped, "That's not apart of the plan. I promised Ghost none of them would stay. I can't do that to him."

"Then I guess we don't have a deal." He stated.

I looked down at the photo on the table. Something about him, even his photo, was alluring. I had to give that one a try. I needed a taste of something so beautiful. Perhaps I just won't tell Ghost this part of the deal. I'll make him believe this one just won't sell at the auctions. That's believable. Most bidders wouldn't go for the type of malnourished goth.

"I'll take him." I muttered.

Though I did want this one more than the rest combine, I was worried the trouble it'd bring me with my beauty at home. I thought of Ghost so beautifully resting in my sheets in just my jersey. That's when he looks best. So fucking beautiful, and I'm going to pull a lie on him? I'm a terrible person. Fuck, I hope he doesn't find out about this.