Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Gan Chen entered at that point and strolled directly to our table. “Dario, could I trouble you for a quiet word?”
My heart skipped a beat.
Dare stood and squeezed the back of my neck and then moved out of the room with Mr. Chen. I felt panic rising. I felt nauseous.
No one would touch me. No one would dare. Would they? There were three strands on my throat, weren’t there? I touched my necklace and counted them. 1, 2, 3. Right? 1, 2, 3. Yes, three.
I know he wouldn’t have wanted to leave me unattended, but he was sort of stuck. He couldn’t have dragged me with him, couldn’t have shown distrust.
I sipped my coffee and kept my eyes downcast. X to Y, Angie, X to Y.
Angie? Had I really just thought of myself as Angie?
Conversation continued around me as if I weren’t there, until Rafe leaned over and interrupted my wonky train of thought, which was stuck on repeat.
Angie?
“How are you, Felicia, darling?” he asked.
Not Angie; Felicia.
“I’m good,” I replied. Or rather, lied. I wasn’t fine. I was coming unglued.
“You’ve been missed. Patrons have asked after you.”
It felt like the food in my belly went rancid.
“We’ve had some disappointed patrons who have truly missed you. I just wanted you to know you leave behind a legacy. Girls will aspire to be like you. So, that they can be rewarded like you were.” He sipped from a glass of orange juice.
I said nothing.
“Cleo?” He added, “She’s jealous; she has already been jealous of you for some time. She was enthralled by Donavan and he was enthralled with you, so she lost favor. From there, every opportunity to give you a hard time, she took. And then you getting bought? She needs a reality check with this insubordination. Mr. Chen is recommending to your Master right now that you be the one to punish her. She needs to see you’ve risen above her. If your Master agrees to this, I hope you’ll make her punishment poignant.”
My throat went dry. I couldn’t swallow.
Dare returned and his face wasn’t happy as he came in and was even less happy when he saw that Rafe was leaned in toward me and speaking to me. Rafe must’ve caught sight of Dare’s body language as he suddenly but quickly moved back.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Dare demanded.
“I was just talk–”
“Get the fuck back, Ruiz,” Dare demanded.
Mr. Chen stepped closer to Rafe. “Rafe? Explain yourself.”
“He was told last time I was here that no one was to approach her. Did I fuckin’ say that to you, Ruiz?”
“My apologies, Sir. I would be more than happy to give you a play-by-play, every word that I uttered to your Felicia.”
“What is this shit? Your trainer bitch glaring at my wife and this fucking guy completely ignoring my orders about how I want my wife treated?” Dare inquired.
“Dario,” Delgado tried.
“And fuck you, too.”
Oh shit. This wasn’t good.
Mr. Delgado put his hands up defensively.
“Mr. Ferrano,” Rafe spoke. “Please, I’m very sorry. I only…”
“Is she yours?” Dare clipped.
“Pardon?”
“Is. She. Yours?” Dare was so condescending that Rafe looked like he wanted to shrink into himself.
“No, Sir.”
“So, she’s mine?”
“Absolutely. I just–”
“Baby,” Dare ignored him and addressed me.
I met his eyes. “Yes, Dare?”
“Come over here,” he demanded.
I got to my feet and moved to him and he put his arm around me.
“Come.” He led me out of the room and back to our room.
He was emitting serious angry alpha male vibes.
He slammed our door. I was trembling. And aroused.
“What did he say to you?”
“He told me I’d been missed, that girls were aspiring to be like me so they could be rewarded like me. He said Cleo was jealous and that Mr. Chen would recommend to you that I punish her so that she would know I was above her in status.”
His eyes lit with something unpleasant.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I just stood there.
“Let’s go.”
I was about to inquire, ‘Where?’ but I didn’t. Not only might we be being watched but he was exuding this authority, this dominance that put me into absolute obedience mode.
I followed him. I followed him down the hall to Rafe’s office. Rafe was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands, looking stressed. Mr. Chen was standing there with him but was on his phone. He ended his call and looked at Dare.
“Ruiz.”
“Mr. Ferrano.” Rafe stood.
“I’d like you to have us taken to Cleo, please.”
“Absolutely. And I overstepped, I apologize. I only…”
“My wife has told me what you said. I’m protective, possessive. She’s mine. I have her because I’m extremely protective and possessive and having her enables me to be…me. You get me?”
“One hundred per cent. I won’t make that mistake again. My truest apologies.”
“See that you don’t. If you find me abrasive and disagreeable, this is just who I am. When it comes to my wife, I will lose my mind if anyone lays a hand on her. She’s mine. Just mine.”