Chapter 29 Grace
GRACE
We’re back at the hotel now, sitting on the gorgeous balcony overlooking Paris.
A platter of fresh strawberries and cream sits between us, but neither of us reaches for it. Dante has been on the phone with Enzo for over an hour, speaking rapid Italian.
Even after he hangs up, he looks lost in thought.
“Dante?” I call.
He blinks like he’s waking up from a dream.
“This feels huge, Grace,” he says. “I finally feel like I’m close to uncovering the truth about my sister.”
I think about the blonde model.
She was aloof and stunning. There was no sign of trouble whatsoever on her face, but Dante saw past her facade.
“How did you know that she needed help?” I ask.
“Her eyes gave her away,” he says. “She was afraid of something. Of someone.”
“But she still left you a message?” I ask.
“Because I let her do it without being seen,” he says. “There was a hidden camera in one of her earrings. She was being watched.”
I remember thinking that there was something strange about the way she typed. It seemed haughty. She kept her chin tilted up while discreetly typing the message into his phone.
She was only doing that so she wouldn’t be found out.
“Someone still owns her?” I whisper.
Dante’s jaw tightens. “Yes. They gave her very specific instructions on how to act and what to say. She’s a cash cow for them, bringing in the big bucks because of her skills.
She’s successful in her industry, but she still has an invisible collar around her neck.
And I’m sure that there are more girls like her. ”
His words send a chill down my spine. It seems unbelievable.
But I know from personal experience that monsters hide in plain sight. They walk among us while carrying out heinous acts against other human beings.
"I must admit that I've never seen anything like it before," he says. "These girls are usually whisked off to some deserted location where they're made to..."
There's so much turmoil in his eyes.
He's thinking about his sister, who had a similar fate.
I reach forward to squeeze his hand. I really wish I had some comforting words to say, but it doesn't feel right to say them. Not right now.
Everything about this is abhorrent. Nothing I can say will make it better.
I can’t even imagine what these girls had to go through.
“Why don’t they try to escape or get help?” I ask.
“Because they’ve been conditioned to believe that no matter how hard they try, they’ll never break free,” he says.
I take a deep breath.
I think about the beautiful blonde model. She was only a child when she was uprooted from everything she knew.
I think about Sarah. It was her own flesh and blood who sold her for a profit. Even she had accepted that she would be owned by someone for the rest of her life.
"The people who control them don't leave things up to chance either," Dante continues.
"They monitor these girls closely. They watch everything.
That's why she kept that earring pointed at my face while she typed the message into my phone.
She put her life at risk by giving me any information at all. "
“What did she mean by Skylink?" I ask.
"I have a couple of theories, but I won’t know for sure until I look into it further."
"And the address?"
"Enzo's team is looking into it," he says, glancing over at the city.
There's something strange about the way he said that. It's weird that he referred to his own men as “Enzo's team.” But then again, I’m not familiar with what the hierarchy is like in the mafia, so I don't overthink it.
“Will you be sharing this information with the other families tonight?” I ask.
“I don’t have a choice anymore,” he says. “For the longest time, I thought I could handle everything myself. I thought that if Enzo and I just worked hard enough, we could accomplish something. But we need help from the other families.”
He looks so troubled as he stares at the horizon. The sky has darkened to an indigo blue, but Dante remains illuminated in my eyes.
"I'm proud of you, Dante," I say.
He turns to look at me. "I haven't accomplished anything yet."
"It's the intent," I say. "You care enough to put your neck on the line. At the end of the day, it's always people like you who end up making a difference in the world."
He shakes his head. “It’s not enough.”
"Things will fall into place," I tell him. "They always do."
He looks unsure, but he lifts my hand to his lips. As he kisses my hand, my head fills with flashbacks of the intimacy we shared at the museum. He brushes his thumb over the inside of my wrist, making everything flutter to life inside me.
Desire burns in his eyes as he watches me watch him.
He picks up a strawberry and dips it in some cream before bringing it to my lips.
"Eat," he commands.
My breath hitches in my throat. I open my mouth and take a bite. His eyes zero in on my lips as I lick the cream with my tongue. He continues feeding me as the sky grows darker and darker. There's only a hint of blue left in the sky now.
"Those lips," he says. "God really took his time making you. And the devil added the final touches, turning you into this irresistible siren."
He takes some cream on his fingertip and brings it to my lips.
"Suck, bella,” he says.
He groans as I wrap my lips around his finger, sucking it deeper into my mouth. I'm obsessed with the taste of his skin. I'm a fiend for the way his eyes darken as he watches me.
"You're such a good girl for Daddy," he says, pushing his chair back.
Instead of coming toward me, he taps his thigh and waits.
I’m in a trance as I walk toward him. As I sit on his lap, he wraps his arm around my waist and tugs me closer, wedging his erection between my ass cheeks.
"My sweet girl," he says. "You feel so right in my arms."
His hand cups one of my breasts and gives it a firm squeeze. He continues feeding me strawberries as his hands wander.
After returning from the show, I changed into a navy blue slip dress with a slit up the thigh. There's black lace covering my breasts, and the material suddenly feels too constricting now.
His hand drags up the slit all the way to my upper thigh. And when it gets in his way, he rips the fabric to give him more access.
"I was fond of this one," I complain.
"Then I'll buy you one in every color, little bird," he says. "But I already told you that I don't want anything getting in the way of me and this sweet cunt.”
He cups my pussy possessively and gives it a rough squeeze. A low growl leaves his chest when he finds that I'm not wearing panties.
His mouth presses against the shell of my ear.
"So eager to please," he says. "You're going to do everything I ask you to, aren't you? Absolutely anything to make Daddy feel good."
He pushes a finger inside me, fucking me slowly as he reaches for another strawberry. He dips it in cream before bringing it to my lips.
"Suck on it slowly, the way you would my cock," he says.
I wrap my lips around the strawberry and lick the cream off. The sweetness of the fruit spreads on my tongue as I swirl my tongue around it. He adds another finger inside me, making me drop my head back and moan.
"Did I say you could stop sucking?" he growls, burying his two fingers all the way to the hilt.
Oh. My. God.
I never thought I would like being ordered around by a man, but Dante brings out this wicked side of me. With him, I'm safe to play.
"What if I don't want to?" I ask.
"You do it anyway," he says. "Because you're my tight little girl, and you do everything Daddy asks you to."
His words make my pussy clench. The evidence of my desire is all over his hand now. I can't hide it even if I wanted to.
"Daddy, I feel funny again," I say, sucking on the strawberry like he asked me to.
"That's because you're a big girl now," he says. "You're still too tight for me, but you love having my cock inside you, don't you?"
His fingers drive in and out of my pussy, the movement so crude that I feel a scream building in my throat.
"I should know better, but I can't help myself, piccola," he says. "Every second I spend without touching you is torment."
I spread my thighs wider, allowing him to do whatever he wants to me. He leans down to kiss my neck. The heel of his palm grinds against my clit, and I detonate.
The pleasure is so wild that it lights up all of the dark spaces inside me.
When I open my eyes again, the first thing I notice is his heaving chest.
"Did I say that you were allowed to come, little bird?" he asks.
I bite down on my bottom lip. "No."
"You should know better by now," he says, pulling his fingers out of me.
My heart leaps to my throat as he swiftly stands and spins me around. He lifts me into his arms and carries me to the bedroom.
He throws me on the bed and crawls on top of me. His hand grabs the neckline of the baby doll lingerie and rips it until my tits spill free. He bites my soft flesh until I try out his name.
His hands hold my breasts captive as he feasts on them, sucking on my nipples until I feel like I can come again from this stimulation alone.
"I'm your Daddy," he says. "That means I'm in charge. Of everything. Is that understood?"
When I nod, he slams his mouth down over mine.
We melt into each other.
He kisses me like he's staking his claim on me. In this moment, I know one thing for certain—I am his, and he is mine. We belong to each other.
Without breaking the kiss, he takes his cock and glides it up and down my slit.
"You feel so good against me, little bird," he says, rocking his hips before positioning himself near my entrance. "Are you going to be a good girl for me now?"
I suck in a breath and nod up at him.
He presses his hand over my mouth as he pins me to the mattress. His mouth is against my ear as he enters me with a rough thrust.
"Daddy's had a rough day, princess. I just need a few pumps inside this tight cunt," he says, rocking inside me as he keeps his hand over my mouth. "And I can't risk anyone hearing you scream."