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Cosimo
“Ijust don’t have it, Clara, not all of it at least! How the fuck has this happened. If you wouldn’t have lied about–”
“This is NOT about what I’ve done wrong!” Clara screams into her phone. Watching the video feed of her talking to her father on the balcony of her personal room is giving me a good insight into how to progress the situation from here, but I do hate to hear her so upset.
“You borrowed millions and made me think that it was money you work for! Do you really think I would have let you pay for this trip, let alone my tuition, if I would have known it was dirty money!?”
“Clara, please,” Paul Eldrige sighs. Clara has the call on speaker, and hearing her father make excuses has made my opinion of the man plummet, and it hadn’t exactly been high to begin with.
“Please what?” She asks, the hurt evident in her voice. “He’s going to hold me hostage here until you pay. Are you just okay with that?”
“Of course I’m not! I’ve told you I can call the embassy, or the local police, but I can’t just pull the money out of thin air. You said he’s treating you kindly, right?”
Clara sputters, no doubt thinking about how ‘kindly’ I had treated her last night, and I smirk. “Yes, but that’s besides the point. I’m still going to be held hostage here unless you pay him today. And law enforcement isn’t going to get involved in mafia business. You said it yourself.”
“...I’ll do what I can, Clara. Just promise me if you feel unsafe that you’ll call the police even if you don’t think it will help. Keep your head down and I’ll see what I can work out.” Paul doesn’t sound very convincing, and while I hate that Clara has to be hurt by her dad's aloofness, it does make my life easier knowing that she has to stay.
“Whatever, Dad,” she huffs, hanging up the phone and all but storming back into the bedroom. I have cameras there, too, but I want to give her a little bit of privacy after such an emotional phone conversation.
We had breakfast together early this morning, just the two of us, and while Clara had seemed shy, I didn’t sense nearly the amount of regret in her that I expected. I worried that I pushed her too hard last night, but she appeared satisfied and well rested when she joined me for coffee at the breakfast table, wrapped in the soft robe I had delivered to her room before she had even woken.
It was then she told me she was planning to call her dad, but I convinced her to give me the list of all the things she needs from her villa anyway. “You need to stay here either way. It isn’t safe for you out there,” I told her, and with barely a complaint, she obliged.
Of course, I had called my cohorts last night to clean up the mess at the villa. I didn’t even ask if I had killed those two bastards that had tried to assault Clara, because their lives are worthless to me. But if I ever see them again, there will be no second chances. If they even survived, that is. Leaning back in my office chair and shutting my laptop, I consider what to do with the day stretching out in front of me.
Beautiful Clara and I flirted over breakfast, and while she blushed furiously at first, she opened up after some coaxing and returned my affections. It made me feel like a fool initially, teasing this woman like I was a teenager myself, but the smiles she rewarded me with made everything worth it. With her hair mussed from sleep and her eyelids heavy, she’s the most perfect thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. The undeniable bond I feel for her already burns in my chest, but I welcome it. I had watched her giggle and reach across the table to touch my hand, the hand of a criminal and a killer, and it made me wish for a different life altogether. One where I had the luxury of courting her slowly, savoring her surrender. As it is now, I just have to take what I know is mine, and hope that she doesn’t fight me too hard. So far, so good.
Fuck, I can still taste her sweet pussy on my lips. I’ve been hard since last night, and it doesn’t seem to want to go down anytime soon.
Now, I have to find a way to bind her even closer to me, and take away all the negativity and unhappiness she’s feeling after talking to Paul. My life has recalibrated, and my only concern is Clara.
And how soon I can make her mine fully.
I hit the intercom button to bring my housekeeper in, and she arrives quickly, wiping her hands on her apron. “Yes, Mr. Giordano?”
“Marissa, can you find the best boutiques in town and send them Clara’s size? She’s going to need an entirely new wardrobe. Let them know I’ll pay double if they can deliver them as soon as possible.”
She nods. ‘Yes sir, right away.”
With a self-satisfied smile, I fold my hands behind my head and tilt my office chair back, looking at the view out of my window, overlooking the sea. Boats with white sails bob on the water, looking like toys from all the way up here, and the sight gives me a brilliant idea of how to make sweet Clara’s day a little better.
* * *
I handher the thin circlet of gold, meant to clasp around her neck like a delicate choker. She holds it up to the light, awestruck, until she makes out the looping script running along the metal, spelling,
Giordano
“I’m not wearing this,” Clara insists, now holding it out for me to take again. I take a step back, even as she pushes it towards me insistently. “I’ve been okay with everything so far but this is too much. It’s…weird!”
“Clara, for what feels like the millionth time, all of this is for your protection. That choker will ensure that if for some reason you’re out alone, you’ll be untouchable. All the wives of my family wear them.”
Her mouth falls open. “Did you say wives?”
Seeing her pushback, I try to soften the blow. “For right now, the best thing for us to do is behave as a couple. You said your father doesn’t think he can come up with the money, and I don’t know if you’ve realized this or not,” I move forward, cupping her face in one hand and dragging my thumb over her bottom lip. “But I’ve grown fond of you. And this will keep you safe. It’s as simple as that.”
We’re sitting in my bedroom again while all of her things, new and old, are unloaded into her temporary room. I plan for her to be sleeping in bed with me as soon as possible. Tonight, even, if she’ll have me, but Clara is getting flighty and I want to keep her feeling comfortable with me. The choker, though, I can’t budge on that one. She’s going to wear it, like it or not.
Memories of the previous night are heavy in the room around us, but with the daylight streaming through the windows and the bed being freshly made, there’s enough of a difference that my mind can function. I have something planned for us, but only if she plays along like she’s supposed to.
