“Stay just like this for fifteen minutes. It would have only been ten, but you decided to give me a hard time.” Nancy swatted Ariana’s ass and moved on to check Shelby.
Ariana simply nodded and focused on holding the fluid inside. The pressure built beyond what she thought she could endure, but she kept her eyes closed tightly and fought through the cramps. Beside her, she could hear whimpering, moaning and whining. Shelby and Mae were having a hard time, too. The Lullaby apparently didn’t make this easier on them either.
Fisting her hands until her fingernails dug into her palms, Ariana let a tear slip down her cheek.
How could she ever survive this place long enough to find a way out?
Costello downed three fingers of brandy and pinched the bridge of his nose. Ariana had to be hiding the truth from him. She’d reacted too easily to his ministrations earlier. She clearly remembered her past, and the Lullaby should have wiped that all away. A foggy memory at best.
He would need to address it, and soon. But the moment he did, there would be no turning back.
If he did this, what the temptation pulling at him suggested, he could lose his place in the Romero family. And men didn’t just walk away from Frank Romero.
A forceful knock on his door interrupted his pour of a second glass.
“Come in,” he called, dropping the top back onto the crystal decanter. He’d sought out the refuge of his suite to get away from all the noise of the House, but it seemed he couldn’t get far enough away. How he missed having his own apartment in the city, away from all this bullshit. The next year could not pass fast enough. He wanted out of this damn House and back to street work. It was harder, and deadlier work. But at least it wasn’t as fucked up as the House.
He’d rather kill a man. Torture him even. Anything over what he was forced to do to these women. He was just about as maxed out as one could get.
Yes, he was raised to be cold.
Emotionless.
Cruel.
But even the Devil himself had his limits.
Nancy entered the room, a scowl frozen on her already sour face.
“What is it?” he demanded when she continued to glare at him from the doorway.
“Ariana has misbehaved,” she announced.
Fucking hell. Couldn’t the woman get through a simple bath without causing trouble?
“What did she do?” he asked, putting his glass down and folding his arms over his chest. If he was going to have to deal with her, he couldn’t do so with a clouded head.
“She would not comply with getting onto the enema table until I promised her you would be notified. She can’t be allowed to disobey when given such an easy order.” Nancy folded her hands in front of her. The woman could easily be mistaken for the evil witch of the west if only her skin had a greener complexion.
“I didn’t request her to have an enema,” he pointed out. The cleansing of the girl’s ass was at his discretion. If, and when, he wanted to use her back hole, he would request it. But he hadn’t.
“She’s been here a full week,” she retorted.
Costello’s back muscles pulled into a knot. “I’m aware of how long she’s been here. But I still hadn’t required her to have an enema. Who decided for me?” He lowered his chin, his expression communicating his displeasure.
Nancy’s shoulders dropped a fraction. Cousin to Frank or not, she was not to overstep her authority. The Daddies were given full control over their girls.
“I did.”
“And now she’s gotten herself into trouble, and you expect me to go in there and discipline her for disobeying you? Even though you were just as wrong to disobey the House rules?” He continued to keep his glare focused on her.
A light pink tint touched her cheeks.
“I did tell her,” she said quietly but lowered her gaze from his.
“Yes. I see that.” He snorted. He would have to follow through. Letting Ariana think she didn’t have to obey the nannies or anyone else in the House would only serve to get her into more trouble later.
Unless he did the unthinkable and kept her for himself.
“Where is she?”
“She’s still in the community bathroom. She has five more minutes left, I believe,” she said briskly. “You have to punish her, Costello. She can’t go unchecked.”
Costello marched up to Nancy, towering over her by half a head. He let the silence build for a long stretch.
“I’m aware of my duties,” he said in a harsh tone. “I think it’s you who’ve forgotten the rules around here. I don’t want you near her tomorrow. Do you understand?”
Her gaze snapped up to his.
“I’m on duty—”
“Maria can handle anything Ariana needs,” he stated flatly, then brushed past her.