6
Xavier
I wait at the bottom of the staircase for Lina, she should be coming down at any moment. Being with her in the Jacuzzi earlier sparked something in me. Something I hadn’t felt in years—happiness. I haven’t been happy since before Nora died. First my parents, then my sister. It’s like this dark rain cloud has been hovering over me for years and I’ve grown accustomed to it. After only a short time with Lina, I already see a peak of sunshine trying to make its way through that cloud. I can’t describe how or why I feel like I do. But, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t excite me a little. Getting a taste of happiness again, that is.
My thoughts come to a halt as I hear heels clank against the marble floors. My heart races because I haven’t heard that sound in this house in a long time. When Lina comes into sight, my mouth unintentionally parts as I take her in. She’s wearing a black satin spaghetti-strap dress that hugs her curves. It falls just past her knees. She paired the dress with black stilettos and bright red lipstick. Her wavy hair is naturally full and perfect, her curls bounce with each step she takes. I feel all the blood rush in between my legs as I stare up at her. She looks—ravishing.
“You clean up well,” I clear my throat as I reach my hand out to her.
“As do you, Mr. Almasi.” She grins, taking my hand. Carl opens the door to the Mercedes and I help her inside, then make my way in after her. My eyes trail down as she crosses her legs and I swallow hard.
“Where are we going?” She smiles over to me.
“One of my favorite places.” I wink over to her and she laughs nervously before taking her attention back outside.
────
After quite a long drive, the SUV pulls up to an all too familiar building. The city lights are almost blinding as Carl opens the door for us. I step out and reach my hand back to Lina. She takes it as I help her out of the SUV and the two of us walk into the building with our arms linked together. If we’re going to pull this off, it needs to be believable.
“Mr. Almasi.” One of the regular guys smiles over to me.
“And I assume this is Mrs. Almasi. It’s a pleasure, ma’am.” He nods his head at Lina and her eyes quickly bounce up into mine.
“It’s a pleasure.” She lies, holding his stare. We both follow him to the elevator and he nods his head before the doors close. Carl, Lina, and I stand silently as the elevator takes us to the top floor. I’d be lying if I said my heart wasn’t racing uncontrollably standing this close to such a beautiful woman.
When the doors open I see the table in the center of the empty room. The floor-length windows overlook the beautiful New York City skyline. I pull out Lina’s chair and watch her eyes light up as she takes in the gorgeous view.
“I see why this is your favorite place.” She says, holding my stare. Her beautiful brown eyes glisten as they peer back out to the city. The elevator dings again and I now see Claire step out. Her gray hair is longer than the last time I saw her.
“Mr. Almasi.” she dips her head towards me with a smile.
“I see you’ve brought a friend.”
“Claire.” I watch as she reaches out towards Lina’s hand. Lina takes it and holds her stare.
“Zara,” she dips her head down and her eyes break from Claire’s then straight into mine. That’s the name that was on the phony passport, Zara. I didn’t ask them to do that, but it’s what came with buying her. Full proof that she indeed belongs to me. I feel disgusted with myself as I hear her say that name. It’s an ugly reminder of our situation.
“Mr. Almasi, can I get you your regular, sir?” Claire asks and I nod. I watch as she disappears into the elevators again and I exhale.
“Why did you say that name?” I ask as my mood shifts.
“Should I have given her my real name?” She asks, squinting her eyes at me.
“Should I have said I’m Lina Harrington of Chicago? I’m dining with Mr. Almasi here, did you know he recently saved me from being sold because I’m twenty-three and still a virgin?” She says sternly as her now heated gaze holds mine. I’m at a loss for words as I process what she’s just said. She’s got a sarcastic smart-ass mouth for such a petite little thing.
“Look–” I pause as I search her eyes. I watch as they become glossy which makes me rethink what I was going to originally say. I continue to hold her stare.
“I don’t know how this is supposed to work either,” I say and her face falls.
“What do you mean? You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”
“Yes and no.”
“ What do you mean, yes and no? ” Her voice goes deep as she swallows hard. I know I need to tell her the truth, but saying these words out loud will shatter what little bit of strength I still have left. Silence fills the room as we both sit there.
“My sister Nora was taken a year after my parents died,” I say, staring at the table.
“Long story short, I spent months trying to find her and when I finally did, it was too late. She had been sold to multiple men—” My voice breaks as I try my hardest to hold it together.
“She kept trying to escape until they ultimately killed her. At least that’s what I was told by one of the men right before I put a bullet in his brain.” I say as my eyes fill with unavoidable emotion.
“I really tried —” I say.
Within seconds I felt Lina’s warm hand on top of mine. Neither of us say a word as we sit there in silence. Her thumb rubs the top of my hand as I try to hold myself together. The elevators ding once again and Claire comes into our sight. To my surprise, Lina’s hand doesn’t move from mine. Her hand stays there as Claire pours us a glass of champagne then she disappears again.
“I can’t imagine going through what you went through, Xavier.” She says, still rubbing my hand with her thumb.
“When I finally found all of the men responsible, the feeling of revenge was sweet, but the loss of her still stung. I killed everyone, but still, we never found her body.” I clear my throat as I reach for my glass of champagne. The air lingers between us for a few minutes.
“So how many other women have you rescued before?” she asks and I don’t know why I chuckle, but I do.
“You're the first Lina,”
“But you said you —” she pauses.
“Killed men that murdered and raped women, yes. But rescue the women? I’ve never done that before. Never had the opportunity—until you.” I say and she quickly takes the champagne glass and chugs it back.
“I’m sorry I —” she pauses.
“No, I should be the one that’s sorry, Lina.”
“Why?”
“For bringing you into this mess.” I exhale as I take another sip.
“I think you and I both know that you saved me from an even bigger mess.” She forces a laugh.
“No matter what happens next, I’m pretty sure it’s better than what would have happened had I stayed there. So, thank you.” She says pointing her glass to me. I smile as our glasses clank together.
────
“So what were you going to college for?” I ask her as she cuts her steak and she smiles.
“I want to be a surgeon,” She bites her bottom lip and I about lose all control as I watch her do that. I clear my throat.
“I do well under pressure and I love helping people, so—” She takes a bite of her steak.
“And you have an older brother?”
“Yes, Logan.” I watch her face fall.
“I just helped him last month pick out an engagement ring for his girlfriend, Jess—but I bet recent events have probably halted his plans.” she bites the side of her cheek.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” I ask as curiosity gets the best of me.
“No, we broke things off last summer.”
“Why?” I bounce back rather quickly. Genuinely wanting to know. Her body language changes at my curiosity.
“When you love someone you respect their choices in life, right?” she asks and I nod.
“You’re supposed to yes,” I respond.
“For some reason, I just couldn’t take that next step with him. I can’t tell you why because I don’t even know why myself. We had been dating for over a year, but deep down it just didn’t feel right. He didn’t respect my choice and left me. So I buried myself in school.” She smiles as she takes a sip.
“So you’ve never —”
“Never what?”
“Had an orgasm?” I ask, narrowing my eyes on her and she chuckles softly.
“I said I was a virgin, I didn’t say I’ve never orgasmed before.” Her brown eyes hold mine and I swallow hard. I feel all of my blood rush to my cheeks and then straight in between my legs again.
“Well then —” I clear my throat and she laughs.
“Are you ready for dessert?” She tilts her head back as she chugs the rest of her champagne. We shared the champagne bottle as we both spat questions back and forth to each other. I know she has to be feeling a buzz from it because I certainly am.
“I don’t do dessert.” I narrow my eyes on her.
“Of course you don’t.” She laughs as she stands. I follow her towards the elevators and we both step inside. I press the ground floor as my heart races fast. As weird as it sounds, I study every inch of her in my peripheral vision. Then as the elevator opens I see Carl nod at me as we make our way through the now busy restaurant. I reach my hand back for her and she takes it gently gripping mine as I lead her to the SUV. I open the door and she slides in first, then I make my way in behind her.
“Home sir?” Carl asks with his eyes still glued on the road.
“I think Miss. Lina would like some dessert. Surely there are some places nearby.” I say looking at his smile slowly appearing in the rear-view mirror.
“Of course sir.”
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I watch as Lina licks the ice-cream cone slowly, savoring every bite.
“You sure you don’t want some?” Lina asks as she lifts the chocolate ice-cream towards me.
“Come on, live a little.” She smirks, taunting me while waving the ice-cream cone side-to-side. I don’t why I do it, maybe because I’m still feeling buzzed from the champagne. But, I place my hand over hers and bring the cone to my lips. She laughs loudly as I lick her ice-cream then take a bite of the cone.
“Hey, I said some – not all!” She playfully pushes me away and I laugh as I watch the smile form on her face. The girl behind the counter laughs as she watches us. But if she only knew the true reason we were together tonight she wouldn’t be smiling.
“Come, let’s get out of here,” I say as I place my hand on her lower back and lead us out of the parlor. We laugh and make jokes for the rest of the long car ride home. And, I’m not going to lie, tonight has been the most fun that I’ve had in years.