“I need to go.” Because every minute I’m here, I’m in danger. I set the envelope of cash in the drawer of the nightstand by her bed.
“Can I call you at least?” she asks.
“That’s not a good idea. I told you that the last time. I can’t see you again, Ciara. It’s too dangerous.”
I walk to the door.
“So that’s it?”
I stop. “I’m sorry, I-”
“You just walk away? Again?”
I turn to face her. “Do you know Giovanni’s men came to my house?” I ask, remembering how scared I’d been. Letting myself get angry. “Do you know they were waiting there for me when I got home? Do you know what I did for you last night?”
This time, it’s her to shift her one good eye away.
“I think we’re even, Ciara.”
I walk out the door then, feelings of guilt and anger warring inside me. I believe her when she says he hurt her after I left, but the family adopted her months after I was gone. She’s officially Sean’s sister. And he won’t hurt her now if only because it won’t look good if he does. He’s like his father, image is everything. I guess if you’re a politician, it matters more than the truth.
I don’t feel easy when I walk away and as if on cue, when I get into my car, my phone vibrates with a message. I take it out and see a text from an unknown number.
“I’m having a dress sent over. Car will pick you up for dinner. Giovanni.”
“How did you get this number?” I text back.
“He’ll be at your house at seven.” I’m not surprised he doesn’t answer my question, am I?
The timing is serendipitous.
If I accept, I will be safe. Safe from Sean, at least. Maybe I’ll be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, but the only thing I know for sure is Sean will come after me if-when-Ciara tells him I’m here. Because she will tell him.
She may say she misses me, and maybe she even believes it, but I think she hates me. Hates me for leaving her behind even if she knows it was the only choice I had.
And now, I make another choice.
I type a text to Giovanni: “I have terms.”
——-
Giovanni
I see her before she sees me.
I’m in the restaurant at my usual table. Here on the floor above the casino, the constant ringing of slot machines is absent. Instead, a pianist plays softly in the background and given the prices of this particular establishment, it’s only the cream of the crop who can afford it.
The hostess gestures to me and Sienna turns. She looks stunning in the long, tight-fitting black gown I sent for her to wear. A look through her closet yesterday told me she wouldn’t have anything appropriate. The dress is slit almost all the way to her hip and the deep V between her breasts displays the curves of those heavy mounds.
Her hair is up but for one tendril that she tucks behind her ear. Although she’s wearing more makeup than she was when my men picked her up the other night, it’s still minimal compared to the women in here.
I don’t miss the eyes that follow her as the hostess leads her to me.
I stand as she nears the table. I don’t hear what the hostess says and I don’t care about the people watching us. I walk around, pull out her chair and get a look at the expanse of skin the low cut back of the dress leaves exposed. Right down to the two dimples on her lower back that I plan on licking later.
“You’re stunning,” I tell her.
“I feel naked.”
“I’m sure the men in here wish you were.”
She sits down and I push her chair in, then resume my own seat.
“I have my own clothes, you know.”
“You’ll wear the clothes I choose for you,” I say. “Term number 1.”
“I thought terms were things people discussed, not something one dictated.”
I signal for the waiter who walks over and pours her a glass of wine.
“Besides, I’m not used to this kind of dress,” she says.
“Well get used to it. I take care of what’s mine.”
“I haven’t agreed yet.”
“Haven’t you?”
She doesn’t reply, just shifts her gaze away.
I smile because yes, she has agreed. Even if she doesn’t realize it yet.
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
She nods, opens her menu. The waiter hovers nearby to take our order.
Sienna studies the menu for longer than I’d say is normal, closes it and looks up at me. She’s not used to this either, I can see it in her flustered expression.
“I don’t know what to order,” she says.
“Then I’ll get you my favorite. Two of the special,” I tell the waiter.
“Yes, sir.” He takes our menus.
She picks up her glass and looks around, drinks a sip then sets it down.
“Name your terms,” I say.
“I will be free to work during the days. I have a shop.”
“I know about the shop and that’s fine. You’ll be driven back and forth to work.”
“I have my own car.”
“That thing is a death trap.”
“It’s not a death trap.”
“It’s duct taped together.”
“It runs fine.”
“Is this worth a battle? Really? Like I said, I take care of what’s mine, Sienna.”
“You realize I’m a person, not a thing, right?”
“I never said you were a thing. You’re very quick to attack.”
“I told you last night that I won’t be bullied.”
“Did I bully you into putting on a beautiful dress? Did I bully you into having dinner with me? Am I not here listening to your terms?”
She exhales, shifts her gaze to her wine glass and picks it up to drink another sip.
“You won’t put me on those blocks again.”
“I wasn’t going to. I already told you that. Next.”
She looks around. “I wish we could discuss this somewhere private.”
“It’s none of anyone’s business.”
“If there’s anything… I don’t want to do…” she starts, lowering her voice. Her eyes dart around the room and I can see the effort it takes for her to meet my gaze again, to say the words. “If you force me-”
“Doesn’t need to be said, Sienna.” I choose my words carefully, but I want to be clear. “You insult me by suggesting otherwise.”
“That’s not-”
“Besides, you already know that, or you wouldn’t be here.”
She studies me, and I see that child inside her eyes again, cautious and fearful.
“And since you bring it up, after dinner you have an appointment for a check-up.”
“Check-up?”
I lean in close. “I need to be sure you’re clean.”
“I am.”
“Regardless, you’ll submit to the examination.”
“I have a doctor.”
“So do I. She’ll be waiting for you in an hour. Non-negotiable.”
“What about you?”
“I’m clean.” I give her a wink.
“You’re a jerk, you know that?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Are you going to be sleeping with anyone else during this time?” she asks.
“Anyone from my stable, you mean?”
“Your stable or anywhere else.”
“I don’t plan on it, no. Do I need to ask the same question to you? If there’s a stable of men…”
“Don’t make fun of me, Giovanni. If we’re having sex, I need to be sure.”
“You can be sure. This is an exclusive arrangement.”
“Have you done this before?”
“A contract like this?”
She nods.
“No, I’ve never had the need or desire to. You’re the first.”
“Like a test-run?”
I take a breath in. She’s trying my patience and I understand why.
“You’re free to say no, Sienna. Money hasn’t yet been transferred. But if you agree, you own your part in this. You own the fact that I gave you a choice and that you chose. That you said yes.”
She purses her lips in irritation. That’s fine. I continue.
“I will know where you are at all times. If you want to go somewhere, that’s fine, but I will know, and my driver will take you. If you need anything, you ask me, and I’ll take care of it. I promise.”