Though it hurts a little, the pleasure overpowers the pain, and soon, I am riding the crest of my release. He plunges into me a dozen more times before joining me in ecstasy, pulling himself out of me at the last moment and spilling his seed on my stomach.
"I’ll be back." He tilts his head with a soft smile before getting up to go to the bathroom. When he comes back, he has a damp washcloth in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He gives me water and cleans me with the washcloth, which is wet and hot. He wipes up the mess on my belly, the stickiness on my inner thighs, and the very core of me. The heat soothes the sore muscles there.
I drink my water as he cleans me up with tenderness that brings tears to my eyes. He brushes my hair out of my face and tucks it behind my ear. "Qualcosa non va, cara? Did I hurt you?"
I laugh and press my lips against his cheek. "I don't think I've ever heard you speak so much Italian before."
"Italian? Damn. I was trying to speak German." Chuckling, he tosses the wet rag on the nightstand and joins me in bed once more, drawing me into his arms. "How's your head, baby? Are you still a little tipsy?"
“A little.” I nod, causing my head to spin enough that my stomach suffers the consequences. He softly runs his thumb from my cheek to chin. “I’ll get you some aspirin from the bathroom.” Before I can disagree and chalk it up to my body’s strong disagreement with any amount of alcohol, he dashes out of the room attentively.
As clanks resonate from the bathroom, I clutch my forehead. What have I done? Knocked down the walls I so carefully built to avoid him in this way, only to have them crash and burn the moment he grazed his lips over my neck.
Maybe being an idiot was a new trend of mine. It would explain the incompetence of missing big-red-Fed following me around for weeks, or spilling tea on papers, or shouting in the middle of a restaurant because of a possible translation about an attempt on my (previously perceived) dick-boss’s life. My heavy eyes find their way to the muted movie just ending. Even with grotesque figures chasing after the last of the family, it didn't scare me. I guess it’s true what everyone says– that music really makes a horror film.
“Here you are, darling.” Vincenzo shuffled back into the room, both hands full of bottles. My eyes widened in shock. So, he was going to kill me after all. Drown me in alcohol and a plethora of foreign medications. He must be reading my face because he lets out a chuckle I’d never heard before.
“I didn’t know which you’d prefer, so instead of toiling over it a moment longer, I decided to bring them all to you.” He proudly places them on the bedside table and begins to list their names.
“Okay,” I cut him off after the sixth bottle. “Just– just give me whatever is the weakest. I've already had enough alcohol to numb an elephant.” I turned on my side, and his pink lips parted into a grin. God, why did it have to be me in his bed tonight? This genetically blessed man wanted nothing more than a hook-up, and here I was.
In the heat of the moment, I believed him. Every word sailing from his perfect mouth about how he’d care for me. But just as soon as I fail to please him, he’ll turn on me like he did today when I ruined his paperwork. Or worse, he’d shoot me in the head for knowing too much.
There wasn’t a good ending for us, and the longer I lay here, the worse I felt about it all. Every anxious thought swirls in my curdled stomach until the lights are out, and he’s wrapping his caring arms around my waist from behind. His soft breaths on my neck should be soothing, but they’re not. They’re unnerving, like curling up next to a hibernating bear. Any sudden movement, and he’d snap my neck in half without a second thought. He had said I could leave whenever I pleased just before his snores began, but was kissing my face and begging me to stay, so what was I to do?
If I had somehow become lucky enough in the hours cooped up here, he might forget this all– the alcohol washing away every trace of my lingering body dancing in his mind and on his tongue. I let out a heavy sigh, less about releasing my building stress and more about seeing how heavy of a sleeper he was. Sneaking out to avoid any uncomfortable talk seems best. His guards would easily let me leave as he had instructed them, so there’s really no reason to keep laying here.
I bitemy lip hard enough that the metallic taste in my mouth alerts me to stop. With one more shaky breath, I push myself out of bed, changing into my clothes before placing his pink pajamas on the end of his massive bed. Though I feared waking him, I still took one last look at his perfect frame rising and falling under the silky sheets. “Forget,” I whisper, waving my fingers like a freak, before hurrying out of the room as quietly as possible.
As I leave, the guards tip their heads to me with respect I didn't earn. I massage my temples after making it outside, blinking away the useless hot tears that fell along with the rain pouring just beyond the awning I slumped under.
I pull out my phone and flip through the uber app to get the cheapest car home. When the silver Toyota Prius pulls up to the side of an empty valet desk, I run out to it, sliding into the back seat, now soaked from only a moment in the unforgiving downpour.
“Jessica?” the man gruffly asserts, more as a command than a question.
“Yep.” I flip through my phone, avoiding his brief pause before speeding off to my home. Thinking about Vincenzo is the last thing I want, but my eyes begin to close from exhaustion. I see him over me, with more love in his eyes than anyone has ever looked at me, and I want to die. Okay, maybe that’s dramatic, but I want to forget about everything except how to do my job. If I can do that right, then I can keep it and continue on with life in its usual routine– plus the irritating addition of ultimatum-filled orders from the FBI.
The mere thought of the hole I dug myself into makes my blood boil in defiance, and when the car comes to a stop, I leave without so much as a thank-you. It’s possible I’m projecting my searing anger, but I can’t feel too poorly. My money should be enough to express gratitude for his service. I shuffle through the rain, ignoring the continued guilt pinging through me, before proceeding inside. I don’t even want to think about the disaster of an apartment sure to greet me when I arrive, and Kinzi sleeping in the middle of it.
Upon turning my key, I feel a tug on the handle, and I practically face plant into a man made of muscle.
“Fuck!” I shriek, and he raises his hands in surrender. His plump pink cheeks grow deeper shades of red, and I catch my breath, seeing he has no intention to kill me. Still, I remain in a fighting stance. “Why the fuck are you in my–” I stop for a moment, coming to the realization that Vincenzo must have sent him. I close my eyes in an attempt to hold back the annoying tears brimming.
“Ms. Lee, I apologize for shocking you. I was sent to care for your dog. She’s asleep on your bed, and your apartment is clean. Will there be anything else I can do for you before I leave?” I involuntarily slow-blink upon hearing the sound of his giant-like voice.
“No. Thank you.” is all I could manage before switching places with him and closing the door on his sweaty back. “Forget,” I whisper at my dark apartment and stumble my way to my room for what promised to be another sleepless night.