I feel like I’m on fire. Shame and humiliation are burning like an inferno inside me, and I can’t stop shaking. People think I’ve been sold to them—allof them! I’ll never live this down. The shame will follow me forever. And what will my father say when he finds out? He’ll kill them, and then me, for sure.
I thought they’d saved me, but they’ve ruined me forever.
I leave the bathroom, intent on getting the hell out of there and away from them. I have no idea where to go, though. I can’t go home, and I don’t have any friends. I just need to go, though. I can’t walk back in there and see all those faces staring at me, all thinking the same thing.
My heels click noisily over the marble floor of the foyer, and I’m almost at the door when I hear him call my name.
“Natalia?”
Dominic’s voice is behind me and I pause momentarily, his voice commanding me to stop. But then I grit my teeth and ignore him. I keep on walking, my steps growing quicker as I speed away from him and this place of humiliation.
The night is cool and I wrap my arms around my bare shoulders, wishing that I’d thought to bring my jacket with me. Night has fallen, and with it the temperature has dropped, but embarrassment is still burning inside me, and now that I’m out of there I can’t stop the tears from falling either.
I’m so confused and so lost and I have nowhere to go, no one I can trust, barring Mary, but I can’t bring her into this. I sit on the edge of the sidewalk and put my head in my hands and sob. Each tear is a bitter relief as I shed myself of the heavy burden. Each shudder of grief makes me even more confused than the last until, in the end, I don’t even know why I’m crying.
I couldn’t give a damn what those people think of me. If they had any sense about them, they wouldn’t speak about me like that because I know far too many powerful men. I look up at the sound of a car coming to a stop and watch as the door to Dominic’s limousine opens.
“Get in,” he orders, his face shrouded in darkness.
I ignore him, my nipples hardening when he leans forward, his blue eyes piercing me from the darkness.
“Natalia,” he warns, “don’t make me ask twice or there’ll be hell to pay.”
I bite the inside of my cheek and squeeze my thighs together. “Go away.”
A rumble comes from his chest and he sits back. Sisco climbs out of the limo and stands in front of me, his hand held out. I stubbornly refuse to take it at first, so he drops to his haunches and looks at me giving a heavy sigh.
“Hey, beautiful.”
I look at him, wincing as he raises a hand and I think he’s going to slap me, but instead he runs his thumb under my eyes and wipes away my tears before licking them from his thumb. His nostrils flare like my sadness turns him on.
“Come on,” he says, and this time I take his hand and let him lead me to the car.
We slide in, me sitting between Sisco and Joey and, as usual, Dominic sitting opposite us, a glass in one hand. The tension is suffocating and I begin to panic that I shouldn’t have trusted Sisco. That I should have run away when he offered me his hand. Dominic scares me, but this silence is even more frightening than his dark mood. Are they going to kill me? I’ve offended him, and princess or not, he could make me disappear. My father is weak right now; no one is scared of him. Frank Costello, the mafia don of NYC, had a heart attack; he’s on his last legs and his businesses are going to be swept up from beneath him. I know that’s why my father agreed to Dominic’s wishes. Combining the two families makes them both strong.
“Why did you leave?” he asks, his voice stern, his tone dark.
Joey’s hand is stroking my back again, and Sisco’s thigh is pressed up against mine. My chest feels tight, and the words won’t come.
“Natalia.” Dominic says my name again, a warning on his lips. “Answer me.”
Sisco leans in and kisses my neck and I shudder. Joey’s hand strays to my knee, his thumb now stroking the sensitive bare skin. My chest feels hot and I look between them both, confusion and desire flaring equally.
“I heard what people were saying,” I stutter, breathless.
“And what were they saying?” Dominic asks.
I’m breathing hard, my chest rising and falling heavily. I look right at Dominic, refusing to show him how scared I am of him.
“They assumed I was sleeping with all three of you. That you had bought me from my father because of a deal gone bad,” I say, the words sounding bitter and angry.
Dominic takes a sip from the drink in his hand. “I didn’t buy you, Natalia,” he says. “I’ve never needed to buy a woman in my life,” he chuckles.
The arrogance of his statement angers me and I narrow my eyes. I decide to ask the question that’s been on my mind since I arrived at their home. “Why won’t you come near me?”
His mouth twitches in amusement. Joey’s stroking has moved higher, and Sisco has taken to stroking the other knee. Every nerve is on fire. Everything heightened to unbelievable limits.
“So, you want me to come near you, little mouse?” he asks, one eyebrow rising like he’s daring me.
