Page 186 of Merciless Daddy

“I don’t deserve it.”

“Careful,” he said. “That sounded a lot like you’re talking yourself down.”

“But it’s true. I’m . . . nothing. A pakhan’s daughter. I’m a bad person.”

He fixed me with a serious look. “You’re not nothing. You’re . . . everything. And as for being a bad person. Bella, you didn’t ask to be born a pakhan’s daughter. And I’ve seen the way you are. You’re so worried that people might be affected by this nonsense with Giannia that you were trying to turn yourself in. You helped set up a fund for our employees. Yes, you were born into an imperfect world. But you’re perfect, baby. As perfect as anyone.”

My heart pounded in my chest and I felt tears prick at my eyes. I wanted to believe him, I really did.

“Thank you for saying that,” I said.

He reached out a hand, brushed my cheek. “I told you. I’m an honest man.”

“How deep is it?” I asked. “The water?”

“Near the rocks? Eight feet. Farther out, more.”

“How far to the drop?”

“About thirty yards. Come. Let’s go in. It’ll be warm.”

I nodded.

Sal peeled off his top. I admired his beautiful body, then shrugged my clothes off, leaving only my swimsuit. Sal smiled, then stepped into the water. It reached his knees, then his waist. He turned toward me.

“Come in whenever you want.”

I entered slowly.

The water held heat from the sun. It climbed my legs, my hips, my stomach. I had swum before. Pools in hotels. Indoor clubs where guards watched from every wall. My father’s men shouted instructions if I moved farther than they considered necessary.

This was different.

There were no tiles beneath my feet. No edge. No place I could touch and call solid. I felt the sand between my toes. It was beautiful.

I moved farther out. Sal swam beside me. Not touching. He did not ask whether I was all right every five seconds. He did not explain how water worked as if I were an idiot.

I counted distance from the shore.

Ten strokes.

Fifteen.

Twenty.

My breathing shortened.

Sal noticed. Of course he did.

“Do you want to go back?” he asked.

“No. I like it.”

“Do you want me closer?”

I looked at him.

“Yes, Daddy.”