5. Shaw
CHAPTER FIVE
SHAW
Later that evening, I skulked into Gennaro Corporation, each step feeling heavy with self-disgust. I had tried to stay away, but after my encounter with Dante in the classroom, my desperate hunger overruled the rationality that had guided my life since my parents died.
The same guards from before flanked the entrance, their positions unchanged. The taller one with deformed knuckles tracked my movement. He made a small gesture to his tattooed partner, who nodded.
My stomach clenched in fear at their silent exchange.
The three women at the front desk greeted me in unison. “Good evening, sir.”
Before I could speak, the Japanese woman from my previous visit typed my information into her computer. “Welcome back, Mr. Hardwin.” Her knowing smile made my face heat. “Are you here for another meeting with President Dragon, or would you like to schedule with someone else?”
“President Dragon, please.”
“How long would you like the meeting to last?”
“An hour.” I pulled out my credit card, the plastic heavy as I handed it over. Using my parents’ inheritance to buy Dante desecrated their memory. They had documented cultural treasures for posterity. And here I was, trading their legacy for sex with a man who probably laughed at my obsession.
Her fingers tapped across the keyboard. “You’re in luck, sir. He’s available immediately.” She paused, her smile widening. “As a thank-you for your return patronage, we’re giving you an additional hour on the house.”
“Oh, thanks.” Was it standard practice, or did Dante request it? The thought that he might want more time with me sent blood rushing to my dick.
She swiped my card, processing the transaction that transformed Dante from untouchable fantasy to purchased reality. Once again, she escorted me to the elevator, passing the mountain-like guard with the jagged scar. His granite face remained impassive, but his eyes followed me to the doors.
As we ascended to the top floor, excitement and nausea merged in my throat.
The doors opened with a soft chime.
I remained frozen, paralyzed by the weight of my decision. Was I really going to give my virginity to someone I paid?
“Sir?” She tilted her head, studying me. “He’s the first door to the left tonight. Is there something else I can help you with?”
I forced a polite smile. “No, I’m sorry. I got distracted for a moment.”
She covered her mouth as she giggled. “There’s no need to apologize, sir. President Dragon has that effect on people sometimes.”
Her casual reminder that Dante’s body belonged to anyone with enough cash twisted my gut. I pushed the thought away before it could steal my nerve and thanked her before walking down the long hallway.
The lack of guards on the penthouse floor still unnerved me.
Where was the muscle protecting their prized merchandise?
My question answered itself when another camera swiveled to track my movement.
The electronic watchers felt worse than human guards, who occasionally looked away. Mechanical lenses recorded everything.
My stomach knotted at the thought of those cameras capturing everything we would do.
Somewhere in the building, a security guard would watch me strip naked, watch me touch Dante, watch me come.
The idea of becoming masturbation material for Mafia men made me sick, but not enough to make me turn around and leave.
Nothing could compete with the need to have Dante again.
I knocked before entering, closing the door behind me.
It was nothing like the business hotel suite we had been in last time.
I’d stepped into a Greek villa so convincing it felt like I’d left the city.
Every window was masked by a floor-to-ceiling screen, looping an endless video of the Aegean Sea beyond a private pool deck.
The illusion was so flawless I could almost taste salt on my tongue.
“Like what you see?”
I turned to find Dante leaning against the doorframe, wearing nothing but a silver silk robe that hung open enough to reveal a pair of light blue swim briefs.
Thin cutouts wrapped around his hips and thighs in sharp geometric slashes, flashing strips of pale skin every time he moved.
The snug fabric clung to every hard line of him, leaving little to the imagination.
I wanted to trace his scars with my tongue.
“Very much,” I admitted, unable to look away from the sharp cut of his hip bones peeking above the waistband.
“I’m impressed, though.” He crossed the room, tilting my chin up with one finger. “I figured it would take you longer to get over your righteous morals before coming back here again.”
Heat flooded my face, and I could only shrug, caught between humiliation and desire. “I promised I’d be here at ten, so here I am.”
“Yes, here you are. Perhaps I should reward you further.” He leaned down, capturing my mouth with his.
The kiss was that of a conqueror claiming his territory. His tongue slid against mine with unhurried confidence, as if he had all night to break me down. My body responded instantly, four years of fantasies igniting under his touch.
Without breaking the kiss, Dante took my hand and led me to the oversized bed. The white-and-blue linens completed the Grecian fantasy, crisp and pristine, waiting to be defiled. He stripped my shirt off, then traced patterns across my chest. A gasp escaped me when he brushed over my nipple.
“Ticklish?” Dante asked in amusement.
“No, just unexpected.” I reached up to run my fingers through his hair, then paused. “Should I not?”
“It’s fine. You will find there’s very little I object to.”
The comment made me frown. “Very little that you want to object to or very little that you’re allowed to object to?”
“Which do you think?” His fingers moved to the button of my pants, working it open.
I caught his wrist to stop him. “The latter.”
An irritated sigh escaped him. “If I told you I don’t object to what’s about to happen, would that change anything?”
“How could you not?”
He used his height advantage to kiss me hard, his mouth demanding my submission. “I don’t have any complaints about you.”
I didn’t resist as he stripped me of my sweater. “Why? Because I’m paying you?” I toed off my shoes and socks next.
“That has nothing to do with it.” He yanked my briefs down with my pants, leaving me naked. “The financial transaction plays no part in what’s about to happen.”
“I wish I could believe that.”
“Would it make a difference if I fucked you for free?”
I pointedly refused to look. “No, because you would only do it to prove your point, which is no better.”
His laugh lacked its normal bite. “You’re impossible.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m right.”
Dante pulled me toward the bed, laying down before maneuvering us until I knelt between his long legs. The position caught me off guard. I should have expected him to take control, regardless of who was penetrating who.
I stared down at the sight of Dante Gennaro sprawled beneath me. The robe had fallen open, revealing the sharp planes of his chest and his swimming briefs stretched tightly over his arousal with a small wet spot developing. His eyes challenged me, daring me to take what I wanted.
“You’re thinking about it too long for a naked man.” Dante slid off his briefs, freeing his erection. “If this bothered you as much as you claim, you wouldn’t have come back.”
“I’m here for answers.”
His tone turned seductive. “About why you can’t stop thinking about me?”
Denying him took more willpower than I wanted to acknowledge. “I want to know why you work here.”
“For your pleasure.” He trailed his fingers down my stomach to wrap around my cock, coaxing it to full hardness.
My body betrayed my moral objections with an immediate response. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Regardless, it’s all I’m interested in right now. If that’s the only reason that you came here tonight, you’re wasting your money and my time.”
Shame burned me. I looked away, unable to maintain eye contact while the truth of my desires lay exposed between us.
“So you did come here for more than answers.” Dante sounded triumphant.
I huffed, irritation masking my vulnerability. “Try not to let it go to your head.”
Rather than gloating, he stroked my cock in earnest. “Then enough words.”
I abandoned the argument, thrusting into his grip. I leaned forward, pressing a tentative kiss to the side of his neck.
When he tilted his head to give me better access, I grew bolder.
I slid the robe from his shoulder, exposing more pale skin marked with faint scars I hadn’t noticed before.
Each one raised questions I knew better than to ask.
Instead, I worshipped his body with my mouth, learning the geography of him with my lips and tongue.
He arched up with a soft sound of need. Taking the hint he wanted more, I untied the silk belt, then pushed open the folds of the robe fully to reveal all of him.
Having Dante hard, wanting, and vulnerable beneath me nearly made me come untouched.
The silk spread beneath him, framing his body like an obscene offering.
When he offered me a condom, I could only stare at it. It was finally happening. The romanticism I’d always imagined for the moment evaporated in the harsh light of the financial transaction for services rendered.
“Did you not pay attention in health class?” He gestured for me to take it. “Surely you know what a condom is.”
“Yeah, but wait.” My protest died when he opened the packet and rolled the condom onto me. The casual way he handled me made my stomach clench. How many other men had he done that for today? That week?
“Shouldn’t I prepare you?” I asked. I may have been inexperienced, but I wasn’t wholly ignorant.
“It’s unnecessary.”
“Are you sure?” I pressed, needing reassurance.
“I took care of myself earlier.” He spread his legs wider, reaching down to circle his entrance with one finger. My brain short-circuited at the sight. “Stop stalling and fuck me.”