“I’m your whore and you can do whatever you want to do to me,” I conceded before I crawled off his lap and got on all fours.
It wasn’t for his benefit though he would think it was, and like the man he was, he did and before I knew it, he was behind me and thrust his cock back inside me while his fingers grabbed hold of my waist and pounded me into oblivion.
I couldn’t deny how good it felt but why did I feel like I’d already been bought and sold? A transaction that had not yet taken place but somehow we both knew the dynamics had changed.
My fucking body responded to his touch, every stretch his cock made inside me and when he began to caress my G-spot, I started to feel myself give in to his every whim. His caresses from inside out had me conflicted and yet, it felt so good. The tears still came and spilled over until all I could think about was how he knew how to work my body despite his change of attitude toward me.
Another orgasm flowed through my veins like a rush of the most intoxicating drug in the world; I clenched my vaginal muscles as tightly as possible as he kissed my back and moaned out loud as he came inside me.
“I haven’t come that hard in a long time.” He collapsed on the bed before I did the same and turned away from him.
I didn’t want him to see my stupid fucking tears and then have him ask why I was crying when I did this for a living. It wasn’t like he was the first man to call me a whore while he was fucking me.
Yes, but he isn’t your client.
I didn’t respond when I felt his weight shift on the bed and he got up. I knew he would want to drive me back to the gym soon. Might as well prepare for the inevitable but I was paralyzed by fear and hurt. I really had fallen for his whole act and look what it had gotten me.
I was still the stupid bitch who wanted to see people better than they were. I couldn’t even blame him now that he knew the truth, and why I thought he would be fine with my situation just showed me how much I still had to learn.
My heart felt heavy, too big for my body and if I could rip it out of my chest and hand it to him, I would have at that moment because I had no use for it any longer. All it did was get me in trouble.
Torin’s fingers surprised me as he parted my legs and cleaned me with a warm, damp hand towel. I reached out and bunched the silk sheets in my hands and fisted them before I let go. I would need to toughen up if I wanted to survive this night. Resigned to my new status, I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to claim me.
Chapter Eleven
Torin
CHIARA HAD FALLEN asleep as Torin cleaned her up.
She wouldn’t face him, and he thought maybe he’d gone too far, calling her his “bitch” and his “whore.” He hadn’t meant them literally even though he knew what she did for a living.
It hadn’t been that hard to find out more about her. Jesse knew quite a bit about her and only told him that although she was one of the women hired out by Vogue Hotel and Casino, she was actually one of Raymond Jackson’s girls.
He knew the name.
The man was an original gangster who dealt with the Italian Mafia and ran other businesses although pussy was one of his biggest markets. Everyone knew Jackson employed the best looking, most expensive and high class pussy. Not one of his women looked cheap nor were they on drugs, and most importantly, they were clean.
He’d already practically barebacked with her Friday and now that he had genuine feelings for her, he’d purposely not used any protection because he wasn’t worried about catching anything from her. She was too meticulous with her grooming; she didn’t have any diseases other than wounded pride, a broken spirit and self-worth that could use some improvement.
Torin leaned over and looked at her tear-streaked face and knew he’d gone too far with his dirty pillow talk. She thought he meant it when he was just spouting off at the mouth to get her and him off harder than before. Of course she would take being a whore to heart—she was an escort after all.
He leaned over and kissed her cheek softly before he stood, grabbed a pair of sweats and slid them on. His whole body was slicked with sweat from their vigorous yet very satisfying sex but if he truly cared about her then he would want to help her, wouldn’t he? Or did he want to share her with various other men for the next six months?
After he’d hydrated himself with a bottle of water, he picked up the phone and dialed the number he’d gotten from Jesse. It was Karl Schmidt’s phone number; he handled all the escorts that worked exclusively with Vogue Hotel and Casino.
Torin’s heart beat faster than he was comfortable with but he needed to do this to prove Chiara meant more to him. For the first time, he didn’t give a shit about how many men she’d been with or how long she’d been in the business. She felt like she belonged to him and that’s all that mattered.
Karl answered after several rings. “Hello?”
“Mr. Schmidt, you don’t know me but my name is Torin Duffy—”
“You must have ESP, Mr. Duffy.”
Torin was taken aback by his tone. “I’m sorry?”
“Extrasensory perception,” Karl said with a slight German accent.
“Yes, I know what ESP means, Mr. Schmidt. I may be a mixed martial arts star but that doesn’t equate to me being stupid.” Torin could hear his Irish accent become more pronounced.
“I didn’t mean to insult your intelligence. I only meant I needed to speak to you and all the sudden, you called me. It saved me hunting down a mobile phone number for you by calling your contacts. I’m not exactly sure you want everyone to know that you’re consorting with a…lady of the evening.”
“How very quaint of you.” Torin breathed into the phone. “Let’s just call a spade a spade—no pun intended. Chiara’s an escort, hooker, prostitute—”
“Ms. Bassi is simply considered an escort¸ nothing more and nothing less,” Karl cut him off. “She doesn’t walk the street corners as you know and not every client necessarily wants sex. However, all clients do pay. Neither Mr. Jackson nor myself are very happy with you acquiring our merchandise and not contributing to her expenses. It’s considered rude and you aren’t exactly endearing yourself to us in your current position.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk about.”
“Really? Well, that’s a good thing if you don’t want to end up with broken legs and busted ribs, Mr. Duffy. Ms. Bassi is Mr. Jackson’s property though we are leasing her until her contract expires—”
“Listen, Chiara never asked me for any money.” Torin paced and knew it was a lousy excuse but it was better than ending up fatally injured.
“Yes, but what she gave you for free wasn’t hers to give, are you catching my drift? She can’t not charge a client because she has feelings for you.”
“I was never her client.”
Karl laughed out loud. “Are you serious, Mr. Duffy? What the fuck do you think Friday night was? Did you think your birthday had come early? She was on the clock when she was with you. Jesse paid and therefore that was a sexual transaction whether or not you ponied up any cash, understood?”
Torin was glad they weren’t speaking face to face because he would have grabbed this smug prick and wrapped his hands around his fucking throat. “Can we meet or not?”
“Yes, of course.” Karl paused before he went in for the kill. “How is Friday for you? Mr. Jackson will be in town and you can explain any…issues, and your predicament to him, face to face. We assume you are trying to rectify this situation and aren’t just being a smart ass. You might be famous but that doesn’t mean you’re untouchable.”
“I wouldn’t make the mistake of thinking I was—I’ve never been that arrogant.”
“That’s good because neither Raymond nor I like arrogant assholes who think they can use our merchandise without paying for it. It’s quite presumptuous and rude.”
Torin had his fill with speaking to this prick. “Yeah, that’s fine. Just text me what time I should be there.”
“Will do. Have a nice day.”
He ended the conversation without responding and threw his phone on the sofa before he ran his hands through his short hair.
“What the fuck are you involved in, Chiara?” he asked though she wasn’t there to respond.
LATER THAT EVENING, Chiara woke up and met Torin in the kitchen.
She wore a robe he’d set out for her so she could take a shower and her hair was damp from that recent activity.
He grabbed her by the waist and held her in his arms. “I’m sorry if things went a bit too far during our lovemaking. I called you some awful names and I didn’t mean the way it came out or sounded. You aren’t my bitch or my whore…I…care about you, more than I have cared about any woman in a very long time. God knows I want you to feel safe around me because there are so few people who make you feel that way. You don’t ever have to think you can’t tell me the truth.”
His heart thundered in his chest as she laid against him and didn’t say a word for a long time but her body relaxed as he held on to her.
“Listen, I have a meeting with some people on Friday and we’re gonna get this all worked out for you.”
“What do you mean?” she questioned as she pulled away from him and glared in his direction, her amber eyes cold yet uncertain. “What people are you talking about, Tor?”
He smiled because he adored when she used his nickname. “Karl Schmidt and Raymond Jackson. I understand he’s your employer.”
Chiara breathed deeply as she pulled away from him and folded her arms against her chest. “What are you making?”
“Something simple. Pasta with a cream sauce. It’s one of the few dishes I can make without it turning into a right disaster. Unfortunately, I’m not like you when it comes to cooking. My vast array of knowledge does not extend to cooking.”
“Why would you meet with them? Are you trying to ‘buy’ me out of my contract so you can take over? I have no wish to trade one owner for another.”
Torin turned away from the pasta on the stove with icy blue eyes. “Who ever said I wanted to own you? What the fuck kind of man do you think I am? Do I look like a pimp to you? If you want to be with me you can be but I don’t want to own you. I just don’t like sharing you with anonymous men so excuse-fuckin’-me!”
She pinned her long, dark hair into a ponytail. “I don’t know what you had in mind but know this: I won’t be anyone’s property when I am finally free and clear, you got that? I may seem like a bitch to you but it’s only because I have never ever had my life belong to me. I’ve always had obligations so excuse me if I’m a little bit suspicious of you wantin’ to help me—everyone has always had strings attached to their ‘help.’ Is it no wonder I’m suspicious?”
“Well with me comes no strings.” He turned his back on her and turned the burner on low cooking the cheesy cream sauce. “I just want to make sure that you’re safe and sound. If you still want to go to Paris then by all means, you can go—”
“Take a look around me, Torin!” Chiara exclaimed. “I can’t go anywhere. Yes, I would like to go to Paris but I can’t leave my sister here to fend for herself. She’s manic depressive for God’s sake with severe issues and needs to be monitored at all times. She’d be lost without me! Sienna has been dependent on me my whole adult life. Why the hell did you think I became a whore in the first place? Because I had serious broken home issues? Boo fucking hoo! So what? A lot of people come from fucked up homes but they don’t sell their bodies just to get by.”
“Then why did you become an escort?” Torin growled as he turned around to face her, his whole body on fire with rage.
“My sister was in a goddamn mental institution and I couldn’t fuckin’ pay her bills on a salary from Coach!” she shouted back. “Raymond didn’t even want me to become a whore, he wanted me to be a hostess but what they make in a month was the bill for her expensive funny farm! I. Had. No. Choice. Don’t you understand that? I suppose I could have found a way to scrape by on two jobs but I wouldn’t have been able to manage that. I was eighteen years old and I wasn’t thinking that far into the future.”
“Listen, I’m not the enemy, Chiara. I just want to help so there is no reason why you should feel any animosity towards me. I know you had it bad and I never judged you for what you did. Hell, I’ve used women my whole fuckin’ life and I still can’t be bothered to judge you now. You’re certainly not the type of woman I’d ever thought I’d bring home to meet my mother but you’re the woman I fell for and goddamn it if I’m not going to keep you—come hell or high water.”
She glanced at him before her eyes filled with tears. “I know that and I wasn’t expecting anyone to save me. Certainly not you…when you can have any woman you want. Why me?”
“You’re the one I want to wake up next to for the rest of my life. I knew it the first time we had sex and I know it now. I want you to be in my bed, in my house, and in my life. I can’t live without you and somehow, you’ve managed to get under my skin and I want to keep you, not own you. You got that?”
Chiara wiped her tears away with her hand. “I have feelings for you too but I never expected them to be reciprocated. I mean…I knew you felt a certain way about me but this can never last. If you really want me then let me go and we can meet again…after my contract is up.”
Torin turned off the burners and grabbed the two large bowls he’d placed on the counter. “Can you set the table and grab the bottle of Pinot Gris I set in the fridge?”
“Pinot…Gris?”
“Yes, the French version of Pinot Grigio but it tastes better and is a bit rarer than the popular wine you like. You’ll find it is more full bodied and tastier than the stuff you like.”
Chiara raised one her perfectly shaped eyebrows. “Wow…a mixed martial arts fighter who is a wine snob? I didn’t take you to be so particular about your wine. I can’t think of anything more boring than Merlot or Chardonnay but you have the audacity to complain because I enjoy Pinot Grigio?”
“That’s your problem, babe. You don’t even know your own worth. You’re better than Grigio…you deserve Pinot Gris.”
She smiled before she grabbed two plates, hunted around until she found the silverware and two wine stems he’d pulled out before she took them to the table.
He drained the pasta and rinsed it quickly before he dumped it in the bowl and followed this up by a quick dash of sea salt and olive oil. After he placed the cream sauce in a separate bowl, he brought them both into the vast dining room he never ate in and set them on an ornate glass dining room table. Chiara had grabbed the Pinot Gris and poured them both half glasses before she set it in the middle next to the food.
Torin grabbed her plate and served her first before he served himself and sat across from her. She twirled the pasta around her fork and took a bite before her eyes closed a huge smile spread across her face.
“Mmm, this is good.”
“Glad you think so. There’s shrimp and scallops in the cream sauce so I hope you aren’t allergic to seafood.”
“Not at all. I love it but I can’t eat like this all the time because of my diet. I will never keep my figure if you keep trying to fatten me up.”
Torin smiled back after he’d swallowed a mouthful. “Nonsense. You’re a gym fanatic just like I am, and besides, I’m sure we can find other interesting ways to work it off tonight. You won’t even have to go anywhere other than down the hall and upstairs to my bedroom either.”
“You’re such a horn-dog.” She shook her head. “Although don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not complaining.”
“I would hope not.”
They ate in silence for a while before her smile faded and she put her fork down. Chiara grabbed her glass of wine and drank heartily from it.
“What’s the matter?”
“Aren’t you the least bit worried about what they will ask you to do? Angelo Abandonato will be there and believe me, between him and Raymond, no one gets a free ride. Do you expect them just to let me go without a sacrifice on y
our behalf? How the hell is that supposed to make me feel, Torin?”
“Everything in life has its price and I’m willing to pay whatever it takes because I think you’re worth it, darlin’. You’ve always been worth it yet you’ve never known and I plan to rectify that.”
“You can’t save me like that. Don’t you think that would be a bit too convenient and too easy? They won’t let you.”
Torin shrugged. “Well, we won’t know until we hear them out.”
“That’s the problem,” Chiara whispered. “Karl called me last night and told me about this meeting. I didn’t think I would make our date because I had such a hangover from a bottle of Chardonnay I drowned last night thinking about what I was supposed to say to you. It would kill me if they put your career at risk for me.”
“They wouldn’t dare touch my career, babe. They’re businessmen first. I fucked around with their ‘merchandise’ and didn’t pay for my transactions, so to speak. They’ll probably want money and I’m not short of that.”
“Sweetie, a night with me costs one hundred thousand dollars. You spent almost half the evening and all day with me Sunday. It doesn’t matter to them that sex wasn’t involved. We were together and that is my time, which they own.”
“I knew you weren’t cheap. I can afford to pay the price. I have a nice chunk of change since I made some very good investments. It’s no problem and to be honest, I would pay anything they wanted to be with you.”
“Are you in love with me?”
Torin laughed out loud. “Not yet but I will be if we continue at the pace we’re goin’. How could I not fall in love with you?”
“I know they’re going to want more than money. That would be too good to be true, not when they own casinos, control certain bookies and can earn a healthy payday on you.”
“That’s not so bad. I would earn them a motherfuckin’ mint if it meant they would let you go.” He cleared his plate and swigged from his wine. “Not everything is about money and believe me, it don’t mean a fuckin’ thing if you don’t have someone who you can share your life with. I learned that shit the hard way. I’m through playin’ the field and fuckin’ women I don’t give a crap about. I wanna settle down, and have a woman to love. Maybe one day we can even add a couple of kids to our perfect union.”
Love TKO Page 14
