“Either way,” my kidnapper continues. “Your father will probably be happy to let you go when he sees the starting bid. He’s not going to bankrupt himself to save you.”
“You’re wrong,” I tell him. “For the Amatos, family is everything. Above power, above control, about money. He’ll give it all up to get me back.”
Again, the mouth region shifts as if my kidnapper is smiling. “Oh, I wish you were right. But think about it. He was willing to marry you to Vittorio Rizzo. The Cleaver. Just to stave off a war. At least that’s what I heard on the grapevine. True?”
I nod. “It’s true enough. But that was to protect my family. My brothers.”
“No, it was to protect yourbusiness,” the big man says. “Of which your brothers are only a small part. So, it stands to reason that if you weren’t needed to avoid war with the Rizzos, he would have married you off to another family instead. All in the name of the family business. Maybe to form an alliance with the Schieras so he can get access to their seaport. Or perhaps the Balderas, in exchange for their race horses. I mean come on, if a don had offered your papa thirty million Euros for you to marry his son, you think he would have refused? No. Just like your papa won’t pay thirty million Euros to get you back.”
My jaw drops open. “Is that how much you’re going to ask for the starting bid?” I don’t know if my family’s net worth is even that high.
He shrugs. “We’ll see.”
“When does bidding start?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” He glances at the risotto. “Look, what good is it going to do to starve yourself? You’ll just make yourself weaker. You want to keep trying to escape, don’t you? How can you escape if you don’t have any energy? Eat,signorina.”
“Maybe tomorrow.” I look him in the eyes. ”I don't even know your name.."
“Nor will you know it,” he says. “Trust me, it’s better this way.” His voice catches as those latter words leave his lips, as if it’s painful for him to say them. But why would it hurt?
As I continue to gaze into his haunted eyes, I start reciting self-affirmations in my head to build up the courage I’ll need.
I can do this.
Just start walking toward him.
I’m strong.
Just put one foot in front of the other.
I will escape.
I will save my father.
I glance at the tray next to the door. He still hasn’t noticed the missing knife. I was very careful when I took it, well aware that there could be hidden cameras watching. My plan is still a go.
Taking a deep breath, followed by a hard swallow, I stand.
I slowly step toward him, and his eyes follow my every move. When I reach up toward the buttons of my blouse, his gaze seems confused at first. But as I undo the top button, those icy eyes widen with amusement, and I feel a jolt of embarrassment, and my cheeks fill with heat.
He doesn’t want me.
I resist the urge to stop. I want to retreat to a corner and just cry. But I have to keep going. I have totry.
I open the second button, then the third. All the while I keep walking slowly toward where he’s sitting on the bed. I can’t help but feel clumsy as hell. I’ve never attempted to seduce anyone before, and I have no doubt it shows. I mean, who was there to seduce? I’ve only ever kissed one guy in my life, and he vanished shortly after that.
My fingers brush against the pendant I’m wearing, which I revealed by unbuttoning the blouse. I realize he’s staring at it, and the amusement has been replaced by a mixture of sadness and anger. Everything is always about anger with him. The sadness, I’m not so sure about.
I have no idea why some old necklace would have that effect on him, but I can’t have him drifting away on me. I need him completely distracted.
So, to draw his attention away from the pendant, I pull down the open collar of my blouse even lower, so that my bra is bared.
It has the desired effect. His eyes widen and he gazes directly at my chest. I have no doubt my face is completely red at this point, and probably the rest of my body, but I press on.
I pull the collar lower so that he has a good view of my bra, and then I sit right on his lap, shoving my breasts into his face. I should take my bra off, but I can’t bring myself to.
I can feel his hard cock pressing into me once more, and I can smell him… cigarettes, musk, aftershave. His cock, and the lust in his eyes, tell me he’s barely restraining himself, like a dam struggling to hold back a sea of desire.
