The Gulfstream V climbed through the Texas haze, the engines emitting a low, expensive hum that vibrated through the floorboards of the cabin. Aubrey sat in a plush, cream-colored leather captain's chair, his body feeling like a map of the previous night's excesses. Every muscle in his legs ached with a dull, satisfying throb—a physical reminder of the way Malia had gripped him, and the way the twins, Maya and Mya, had pushed his stamina to its absolute limit.
Outside the window, Houston was shrinking into a collection of concrete veins and glittering glass, but in Aubrey's mind, he was still back in that limestone mansion. He could still smell the chlorine from the pool and the heavy, sweet scent of the vanilla oil the twins had used. It was a sensory loop he couldn't break, a "victory lap" playing in his head.
Jas Prince sat across from him, looking entirely too refreshed for a man who had been up until dawn. He was clipping the end of a thick Cohiba cigar, the blue flame of his lighter casting a sharp glow on his diamond-encrusted watch. He looked at Aubrey, who was staring blankly at the seat in front of him with a faint, tired smirk.
"Man, look at you," Jas laughed, his voice cutting through the jet's white noise. "You look like you've been through a war and won. I saw the state of that master suite when I went to grab your bags. It looked like a tornado hit a Victoria's Secret warehouse. Wayne doesn't do anything small, but I think he outdid himself with the 'Welcome Committee' for you."
Aubrey let out a long, slow breath, leaning his head back against the headrest. "Jas... I've seen things in Toronto, man. I thought I knew what a 'good time' was. But Houston? Houston is a different dimension. It's like the rules of physics don't apply once those mansion gates close."
Jas leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his eyes gleaming with the kind of brotherhood that only forms in the middle of a takeover. "Give me the jist, Toronto. Don't leave out the details. I know Wayne's roster—those girls aren't just 'entertainment,' they're the elite. Was it the twins?"
Aubrey shifted in his seat, the memory of the night flooding back with a vivid, erotic heat. "Maya and Mya," he muttered, his voice dropping into that gravelly, late-night register. "They don't even use words, Jas. It's like they have a hive mind. One was in front of me, eyes locked onto mine, while the other was behind, tracing the lines of my tattoos with her tongue. I felt like a sacrifice, but in the best way possible."
He paused, thinking of the tall one. "And Malia... man, that mahogany skin. She had this way of moving—completely in control, straddling my chest while she watched the twins work on me. She made me feel like I was the King, but she was the one holding the crown. We moved from the pool to the bed, and honestly? I don't think I touched the mattress for the first hour. It was all silk, sweat, and that three-way rhythm. I didn't stand a chance, but I didn't want to. I've never felt power like that—knowing that the ink on my contract was barely dry and I already had the baddest women in the South making sure I didn't forget who I was becoming."
Jas chuckled, blowing a thick cloud of blue smoke toward the cabin's ventilation. "That's the 'Toast,' Aubrey. That's the feeling of the world opening its legs for you. But listen to me carefully—because the air gets thinner where we're going."
The levity in the cabin shifted. Jas tapped his cigar over a crystal ashtray, his expression hardening. "Houston was your reward. It was the celebration of the soldier. But Miami? Miami is the boardroom. You're meeting Robyn at the Setai, and she's not a 'gift' from Wayne. She's a peer. She's a shark. If you walk in there acting like the kid who just got his first taste of a three-way, she'll smell it on you. She'll chew you up and spit you out before the first chorus."
Aubrey felt the coldness return, the "hardened edge" he had been cultivating since the airport in Toronto. He pulled out his yellow legal pad from his backpack. The pages were becoming a crowded history of his descent into the industry. He found the list—A Toast to All the Girls I've Slept With—and clicked his pen.
Malia - Houston. The Mahogany Queen. Eyes like liquid gold and a grip that felt like ownership.
Maya & Mya - The Twins. An amber-skinned fever dream. They taught me that two is better than one, but zero is better than losing the lead.
He stared at the crown emoji next to Robyn's name. The Houston girls were his spoils of war, but Robyn was the war itself. She was the one who could make him a legend or make him a footnote.
"I'm not going to fuck it up, Jas," Aubrey said, his voice flat and determined. He closed the notebook with a sharp snap. "The Houston stuff... it was a distraction I needed. A release. But my head is back in the game. I'm not going to Miami to be a fan. I'm going to be the guy she can't stop thinking about."
"Good," Jas said, leaning back as the pilot announced their descent into Opa-locka. "Because in Miami, the lights are brighter, the cameras are everywhere, and the women? The women don't just want your time. They want your legacy."
As the jet banked over the turquoise waters of the Florida coast, Aubrey looked down at the sprawling neon grid of Miami. He felt a surge of adrenaline that was different from the lust of the previous night. This was the hunger for the throne. He checked his reflection in the window—his eyes were tired, shadowed by the lack of sleep, but there was a new, predatory light in them.
The "Certified Lover Boy" was evolving. He was leaving the "actor" in the Houston dirt. He was becoming a man who could walk into a room with the biggest star in the world and make her feel like she was the one lucky to be there.
The tires hit the tarmac with a puff of smoke, and the cabin door opened to the heavy, salt-scented heat of the 305. Aubrey stepped out, adjusted his black hoodie, and didn't look back. The empire was waiting.
"Quick update: Updates will be sporadic for one more week while I finish up my exams. I'll still try to post here when I can! For those who can't wait, you can find advanced chapters over at
Patreon.com/thetribes where you can get over 25 advance chapters.
See you all on the other side of finals!"