SERAPHIC BLISS

30. Admirer from Afar

Warning: sexual themes

The lift beneath Victoria's feet jolts , she steadies herself with a hand to the wall , then stops , startled by the velvet texture. This hotel does not miss an opportunity to impress. She looks down on her new phone , it is late in evening , but Ace never sets a time-she assumes he is aware that her visits are unplanned. She had been paid generously for the information she had extracted from Lucas's network.

From her position in the hallway , she hears laughter , women's laughter.

She considers turning around and making her exit but stops herself mid-debate: she realizes that her underhand schedule she has progressions so she is going to have to see him again. She can't risk it , with the minimal work she has taken on.

And she approaches the room at the end of the corridor and grits her teeth . drawing determination to enter the room. The door creaks on its hinges and swings open beneath her palm.

The hotel room is completely deserted.

There are drinks everywhere present in the form of half drunk glasses and opened bottles ,some over turned and some stacked. She almost stumbles onto the hallway, on two pairs of stilettos , two black and the two pink ones abandoned on the carpet . The smell of perfume is overpowering and there are multiple bags and purses scattered on the floor. She hears a noise from the adjacent room and moves hesitantly , careful to keep silent and listen against the door.

All is unnervingly quite.

Hoping her only big client is not brutally murdered by the stiletto wearing stampede she pushes the door open.

Ace is there alright , although its hard to determine where he starts and where the various women end. There are an awful lot of limbs moving , bare and bronzed in the soft candle light and clothes scattered around the bed. She can only make out his head , his hair , dark amongst the blonde and the scarlet waves of his company.

The noises coming from the room can give a brothel a run for its money.

The sheer indulgence of the heated gathering of three makes her cheeks into an embarrassing shade of red. She makes a noise of shocked exclamation and backs away to make her very prompt exit.

"Wait-"

The noises subside and she hears the women shift , restlessly. She turns around for the second time.

An uncomfortable silence ensues.

The redhead stops what she's doing and looks Victoria up and down "Is she joining?"

She does not like the amount of effort she puts in shaking her head.

Ace struggles against the women currently fighting for a position on his laps and blinks-but while his hair is thoroughly messed up and his lips are flushed in scarlet , swollen at most. She decided to ignore the unexpected visual's effect on her pulse.

He is a little breathless and his Russian is heavier under the influence of Lust ; apologetically charming "i did not think you would come"

She avoids his eyes "I can tell"

"Would you-" he is cut off momentarily by the mouth of a particularly busty blonde , Victoria struggles to maintain her poise as between each breath he manages . "would you wait?"

"wait?" she laughs "I'm not listening to this , I'll come bac-"

"ten minutes"

" what? No-"

"Ten minutes , Lisichka"

She stands conflicted

"I have information on Martha Woodward" He has to lean to one side as the two women irritated by his lack of engagement, begin to occupy themselves "Ten minutes, Lisichka"