SWNOVELS Savage Little Games: Chapter 14
When we’re on the elevator, in the small, enclosed space together, Dante continues to be absorbed by his phone while I can’t help but notice an unusual stench emitting from him. Despite the handful of guests on the ride with us, I tell him, “You stink like stale cigars.”
He doesn’t respond or look up.
“You’re taking a shower before you get in bed with me.”
“Still under the delusion that you can give me orders and I’ll obey?” he asks while typing on his phone, most likely giving instructions to his men on how to hurt Gavin.
“Please don’t hurt him,” I whisper softly, hating that there are witnesses to my pleading.
“Fine. I won’t.”
That was way too easy. Of course, the mafia king doesn’t have to get his hands dirty if he doesn’t want to. He has people for everything. “Please don’t order anyone else to hurt him either!” I quickly add.
“Eli doesn’t require my orders to inflict pain.”
“Dante!” I yell indignantly, drawing the attention of all the guests on the elevator. Trying another route, I tell him, “Punish me. Punish me instead of him. Please.”
“Why do you give two shits about the stripper boy?” Dante lifts his eyes to mine. “Are you so fucking naïve that you actually think he cares for you? He’s a bisexual playboy who literally fucks anyone and everyone he meets.”
“I know that,” I say in a huff while crossing my arms over my chest. The words are a lie. I knew Gavin was a player; I just didn’t know he played both sexes. Not that it really matters. I wasn’t letting him play me. It was just a dance.
Neither of us say anything else as the elevator stops on several floors to let people off. Once we get to the penthouse, I try to go down the hall to the bedroom, but Dante steps in front of me, blocking my way.
“Move.”
“No.”
“What is your problem?”
“You’re not going to bed yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because my doctor is on the way up here to examine you.”
“What?” I exclaim in confusion. He has a personal doctor to force on me? No freaking way. “I’m not letting anyone examine me!”
“Yes, you will. She’s on her way up to check your rib injury.”
“My…that’s ridiculous.”
“You do remember our deal, don’t you?”
Our deal, meaning I have to do as I’m told. “Fine. I’ll see the doctor, but you have to go take a shower. It’s gross. I didn’t know you even smoked.”
“This isn’t a negotiation.”
“No? You just expect me to do what I’m told? Well, trust me, I hate that probably as much as you do!”
“I’m not the one who was stupid enough to date a prick who got so deep into debt you had your ass beaten.”
Too tired to think of a comeback, all I can mutter is, “Touché.”
That one word seems to diffuse most of the tension between us.
Since my feet ache, I go and sit down on one of the stools at the kitchen’s bar to wait, watching as Dante runs his fingers through his hair, then heads for the refrigerator. He removes a plate of something and begins heating it up, rattling utensils loudly when he finds a fork.
“Did you eat dinner?” he asks while watching the plate spin in the microwave rather than look at me.
“Yes.”
I start to ask how often he eats with his daughters, but I’m too tired and annoyed to try and have a conversation with the man who told his guards to “string up” Gavin in his basement dungeon. “What will it take to convince you to let Gavin go?” I ask him seriously.
Dante turns around to lean his back against the counter next to the microwave and bites down on the tines of the fork. It takes less time than I expected for him to throw out his proposition.
“Here’s my one and only offer: I’ll let Gavin go when the sun comes up, if…”
“If what?”
“If you’ll agree to ride my hand and my tongue to completion, at least once. And at a time of my choosing.” Whoa. He can’t be serious. “Both at the same or on two separate occasions. My preference,” he tacks on as if those details are important.
That’s not at all what I expected him to say. I figured the selfish bastard would tell me to get on my knees and suck his cock or go big and demand that I let him fuck me. He didn’t ask for either. No, he wants to not only finger me and lick me but do both until I come for him.
“That…that’s what you want? S-seriously?” I can’t help the stutter that escapes my mouth when I ask for confirmation.
“Seriously.”
“Until completion is too broad. What about a time limit?”
“I’m not negotiating any further. I believe my offer is more than generous, so take it or leave it, butterfly.”
As if on cue, the microwave beeps. “And this deal expires the moment I start eating.” Now he grins at me, like a conniving devil who knows I’m about to sell my soul. Or at least what I know will be two soul-shattering orgasms surrendered to him, either now or at some other point at a time of his choosing.
He turns his back to me, opening the door of the microwave.
It could be worse, right? And I owe it to Gavin to do whatever it takes to set him free. Even this since I went down to the club and started shit I shouldn’t have with him tonight.
“I accept,” I blurt out.
“I thought you would,” Dante says confidently before he takes the first bite of his dinner.
Thankfully, I’m saved from further conversation about my concessions for now when a guard escorts a tall, middle-aged woman into the penthouse. In her immaculate black pantsuit and heels with perfectly styled brown hair, my first impression is that she’s well off.
At least it’s a female doctor who I’m required to have examine me. She’s carrying a little medical bag and all, making her look legit.
“Hello, Dr. Gates,” Dante greets her without leaving the kitchen. He barely lifts his eyes from stirring his plate of food. “Feel free to use my office since I have business to attend to in the basement.” I try not to think too hard about the “business” he’ll be attending to. To me he says, “Go,” shooing me away like an annoying gnat.
“Yes, sir,” I mutter sarcastically before I walk over to meet the doctor.
“You must be Vanessa.” Giving me a warm smile, she holds out her hand for me to shake.
“I’m sorry you had to come up here so late.”
Her smile dims and her voice is tight when she replies. “It’s always a pleasure to assist Mr. Salvato.” Waving her arm toward the hallway, she says, “Shall we?”
“Yes, let’s get this over with,” I agree leading the way to his office.
Once we’re both inside, she shuts the door, then locks it which immediately elevates my opinion of her.
Getting right down to it, she announces, “I don’t know if he has cameras in here. It’s a safe bet to assume so. Do you mind removing your dress so I can take a look at your ribs?”
“Sure, but my ribs are fine. Just bruised.”
“I was told to examine them, so exam them I must,” she replies.
“Right.” As I undress for the woman I just met, doctor or not, I ask her, “So, how did someone like you get involved with Dante Salvato?”
She walks over to his desk to set down her bag and open it. “He took care of the men responsible for my husband’s murder.”
“Oh,” I mutter in surprise. I’m assuming that “took care of” means he killed them. “I’m so sorry,” I tell her sincerely as I ease my arms from the straps to shimmy the chainmail dress down my body.
“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Saw too much,” she explains. “Now I come when called to help Mr. Salvato, no questions asked. Are you ready?”
Instinctively I wrap an arm around my breasts. “Yes.”
The doctor heads for the light switches on the wall, flipping them on so I’m standing under a spotlight in Dante’s office in nothing but my heels and panties. This is not how I expected the night to end. Although, I’m guessing Gavin didn’t plan on being tortured tonight either…
“Those are some nasty bruises you’ve got,” Dr. Gates remarks as she comes closer, her eyes zeroing in on the dark splotches along my side and hip. “Do you mind if I prod them?”
“Go for it.”
Even though I’m expecting the press of her fingertips, I still hiss in pain.
“Sorry,” she says softly. “I would need an x-ray to confirm, but I’m fairly confident there are no fractures.”
“I figured it would hurt worse if a rib was broken.”
She pokes around my bruised hip, then turns my head to the side to see my neck better. “Any trouble swallowing or speaking?”
“No.”
“Good. The bruises should all heal within a few days. You can take over-the-counter pain relievers as needed.”
“Right. Thanks.”
When I reach down to pick up my dress, she gives me a hand, so I don’t have to bend so far.
“Did Dante punish the ones responsible?” Dr. Gates asks as she returns to gather her bag from the desk.
“You’re that certain that he didn’t give me the bruises himself?” I ask her in surprise.
“Yes.” Glancing over her shoulder at me, she asks, “Am I wrong?”
“No. It wasn’t Dante. And I asked him not to retaliate.”
“Why not? The next person they do this to may not survive.”
“I…that’s…I would rather take that chance than start a war with the Russians.”
“Ah. Cooler heads do prevail. And Dante’s temper could always use a little…refrigeration.”
“Just a little?” I scoff with a grin.
“Fine. More than a little. But vengeance is a necessity in their world. A way to balance the scales, right the wrongs.”
“And who decides what’s right and wrong? It’s just war after bloody war as they go back and forth, so nobody really wins.”
“Only the strongest survive,” she says. Walking over toward the door, she unlocks and opens it. “If it weren’t for vigilantes like Dante, taking the law into their own hands, the men who murdered my Larry would probably still be walking around free to do as they please. Maybe it makes me a bad person, but I believe they got what they deserved. And I know for certain that they can’t hurt anyone else ever again.”
“What about the oath you took to do no harm?” I can’t help but ask her. She seems like a nice, ethical doctor so it doesn’t make sense why she would approve of the violence.
“I didn’t harm anyone. Dante did. And I can never repay the debt owed to him for shouldering that burden for me. That’s why I come when he calls. Be sure to duck on the way out.”
“Huh?” I ask in confusion.
“It would be a shame if you hit your head from atop that high horse you’re riding.”
She’s already out the door when I snort out a laugh. The bitchy doctor just defended Dante and called me out.
And I can’t help but wonder if she’s right.
What would I do if someone hurt Cole? Would I wait for the slow wheels of legal justice to churn or take matters into my own hands?
I hate how fast I’m able to answer that question.