“What do you say,moy neyinnyy?” My innocent.
“Moy neyinnyy,” I repeat. The consonants feel hard on my tongue while the vowels roll smoothly.
Con eyes me as I repeat after him, but his next words are meant for the lady with the contracts. “She’s clean.” Con has met the end of his patients.
“You vouch for her?”
“Fuck, woman. Yes.”
That’s Dante this time.
This hostess deserves a freaking gold medal for her ability to withstand the wall of frustration from these three. The invisible aura of power wafting off them makes it hard to breathe. But this chick plows through their attitudes like she’s cutting smoke with a samurai.
“Good Lord! Stop talking about me like I’m not in the room. Yes, I’m clean. I’m a virgin so yeah, nothing evil going on down there.” I take the pen and make it a point that my name can’t be read easily. Since I don’t think I’ll be getting a copy of this contract, I take my phone out and snap a picture.
Thirty seconds later she’s on the elevator, eyes pinned to the floor as the door swooshes together. What a fucking circus ride.
Behind me, I feel the burning gazes of three men lasering my ass. In these shorts, there’s not much left to the imagination. I turn. Will they send me on my way now? There’s a lot a man can do to a girl and not take her virginity. I’m not sure why he kept his abuse limited to anal, but my stepfather never does anything without a plan. Probably to hide the evidence of his crime.
I didn’t stick around to ask. The day after graduating high-school I was out of there and I have never been back. Not that my mother hasn’t pleaded with me to return every single day for the past four years.
“Ty byl prav. Devstvennitsa.”Dante drops his hands to my hips and I’m spun around, falling into his arms. He’s wearing a small grin that is nothing short of predatory.
“Yes,” I say breathlessly. “I am a virgin. I don’t look like your typical stereotype virgin, huh? The kind of girl that looks sweet, wears pink lipstick, and shows just enough cleavage to hint at great breasts under hideous clothing. Since you’re not saying anything, I’m going to take that as one of two things. You either don’t punch V-cards or when you take a virgin you prefer them weak and unable to fight back as you pop that cherry.” I stick my finger just inside my mouth and pull my finger out in a way that makes a loud ‘pop’. I shrug, cock a hip, and level all three with a look of indifference.
“Sorry, boys. Sweet isn’t my style. I know what I want. Question is, are you three the ones who are going to give it to me or not?” Look at me being strong. Fuck yeah!
Dante’s steely eyes haven’t left my mouth since I started talking. The way he’s bracing all his weight on his right foot with the other kicked out a bit like he’s waiting for me to try and make a run for it has me itching to see how far he will chase me.
Sometimes I am too much. Even for myself.
“I didn’t mean to drop the ‘V’ word, but it’s true. Should I follow the help and show myself out or are you guys scared of a little hymen?”
I feel them trying to peel my layers back with their hard gazes as Arabelle does. With her, it doesn’t piss me off, but these three are starting to dig into my nerves. Panic starts to create waves through my body. Only lots of practice of shoving down my emotions helps calm them enough that I don’t melt into a puddle of goo on their pretty hardwood flooring.
“You understand us? You speak our language.”
Of all the things, that is the last question I expected from Dante.
“Yes.” No. Well, not as much as I might lead them to believe. I had to take a second language in college. In fact, I took all the classes I could manage without going brain dead from overload. Anything to keep from having to go home on holidays and vacations.
Tohim.
I shove out the darkness creeping over this moment. He can’t have this. This time is my time.
The silver lining of all those studies is now I’m four years into being a criminal lawyer and can speak English, Spanish, and enough Russian to get me into trouble.
Con skewers me with a hard look. I have a feeling not much passes him by. “What were you just thinking?”
Shuddering with instant humiliation, I take a step back and mentally run through the quick glance I had of the place when we stepped off the elevator.
He reads my moves. “Don’t do it,malyshka. Now answer me.”
“Make me,” I taunt.
“Laila.”
Those amber eyes. Con is all about the warning. He expects his word to be followed.