6. Dante
CHAPTER SIX
DANTE
Iguided Shaw to the bathroom, where Grecian luxury disguised its true purpose. The camera had blind spots Salvatore never fixed. Even gods of depravity needed to piss in private.
Shaw cleaned himself with shy efficiency, averting his gaze while I wiped away the evidence of our encounter.
The professional detachment I’d perfected over years of servicing New York’s elite faltered when I caught him stealing glances through the mirror.
His unguarded curiosity demanded corruption.
I cleared my throat, prompting him to flinch. “Follow me.”
His eyes widened when we stepped onto the balcony terrace. “Holy shit.”
The outdoor space extended the Greek villa fantasy.
White stone tiles covered the floor, inlaid with intricate blue mosaic.
Marble columns framed the perimeter, supporting a partial pergola draped with artificial grapevines and twinkling lights.
Potted olive trees and fragrant herbs created the illusion of a Grecian garden, while strategically placed privacy screens blocked the neighboring buildings without sacrificing the Manhattan skyline.
The centerpiece was a sunken hot tub lined with azure tiles, designed to mimic a private plunge pool.
Surrounding it were plush loungers upholstered in crisp white fabric with navy piping.
Stone urns overflowing with cascading flowers completed the illusion, while hidden speakers played the faint sound of distant waves.
“Impressed?” I asked, activating the fire pit with a remote. The flames cast golden light across his face as I turned on the hot tub jets. “You should consider yourself lucky. I rarely let anyone back here.”
The space was my reward for being Salvatore’s top earner, his perfect whore. It was one of the rare places at Gennaro Corporation where Dragon could disappear and Dante could breathe.
“I can’t believe something like this exists up here,” he murmured, still staring at everything in awe.
Slipping into the bubbling water, I let the heat ease muscles that carried the memory of countless hands. “It’s great in the winter, especially when it snows.”
Shaw joined me, his body sliding into the water with a sigh. “I can imagine. Wow, no wonder people love these. This is amazing.”
The comment confused me. “Hot tubs?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve never been in one before.”
I blinked in astonishment. “Never?”
His grin turned wry. “While ancient Egyptians enjoyed bathhouses, modern Cairo homes have little use for them.”
A question about his life in Egypt surfaced, but I smothered it. While the wind and bubbling water hid some parts of conversation from the security cameras, I didn’t want to risk seeming too interested. Salvatore collected vulnerabilities. I refused to hand him this one.
“Is this okay with you?” Shaw asked, breaking the quiet.
I feigned ignorance. “What? Letting you back here?”
“No, I mean with our situation.”
“I’m obviously not the one with the issue.” I guided him onto my lap, positioning him so the lone security camera on the balcony would only see his back. “It’s a little late for regrets, wouldn’t you agree?”
“It’s not a regret, so much as it’s…”
“Shame? Embarrassment? Disappointment? What?” I wanted to hear him say it. To verbalize his moral conflict about paying for sex with someone he knew from high school.
He shrugged, not quite able to meet my gaze. “I don’t know. It’s weird.”
“Did you enjoy it?” I received a miserable nod for an answer. “Then what’s the problem? Accept it for what it is. Stop overcomplicating things.”
He shifted to relieve the pressure on his knees. “Yeah, but what is it?”
“Intriguing.” It might even be a little addictive, but I’d never admit it out loud. Instead, I captured his lips, tasting the remnants of his innocence. I ran my thumbs over his nipples, feeling them harden under my touch, calculating how to ensure he kept coming back.
He gasped as he jerked in surprise. “Don’t!”
“Why not?” I asked.
His only answer was a stubborn set of his jaw.
I switched topics. “Was your first time what you expected?”
Shaw ducked his head, color flooding his cheeks as he traced invisible patterns on the water’s surface. “Not really. I’m sorry if I was awful.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. You did well for a virgin.” I kept my voice low, calculating how much praise would disarm him. “Most first-timers can barely last thirty seconds after getting inside me.”
He gave me a wan smile. “Well, at least I didn’t humiliate myself, I guess.”
“Your technique needs refinement, but your enthusiasm made up for it.” I traced a finger along his collarbone, watching goose bumps rise despite the heat. “Why hire me? You could have found someone who would fuck you for free.”
He looked away, jaw tightening. “I wanted you.”
Clients paid for the fantasy. Shaw desiring the real me was dangerous for us both.
“You realize how fucked-up that is, right?” I kept my tone clinical, though my fingers continued to caress him. “Paying to lose your virginity to someone you knew in high school?”
“Does it bother you?” He met my gaze, unflinching. “That I know who you really are?”
“Who you know doesn’t exist here.” My tone softened. “Only Dragon is for sale. Remember that if you want to keep coming back.”
His tongue darted out, wetting his lips nervously. “And if I want both?”
I slid my hand up his thigh under the water. “You get what you pay for, nothing more. Don’t confuse the fantasy with reality. I’m working.” I traced the curve of his ear, making him shiver despite the heat. “This is my job.”
“A job you chose?” His question cut too close.
“We all make choices.” I kept my expression neutral, not wanting to give ammo to him or Salvatore. “If being with a sex worker makes you hate yourself for wanting me, that’s on you.”
“I don’t hate myself for wanting you.” He frowned as he struggled to express himself. “I hate that it has to be here.”
“That’s the only way this is allowed.” I needed to be careful before I did something stupid like tell him the truth about how I’d noticed him long before he walked into Gennaro Corporation, that I’d cataloged his smiles and stored them away like treasures.
The bubbling water filled the silence between us, a physical manifestation of the tension I couldn’t afford to acknowledge.
Shaw studied me with an uncomfortable intensity. “Was this your first time with a client you knew from the outside world?”
“No, but I’ve never been with anyone from school before. You’re the only one our age who can afford me.”
“Does it make it harder or easier?”
I considered his question, weighing my answer carefully. “With strangers, I can be whoever they need me to be. With you…” I trailed off, unsure how to finish without revealing too much.
“With me?”
“With you, I have to be more careful.” I chose my words carefully. “The lines blur.”
He shifted closer, pressing his body against mine. “What about your first time?”
I shook my head. “That’s not a conversation for now.”
“But I want to know.”
“It wasn’t like yours.” My voice dropped, barely audible over the bubbling water. “And I’d rather not revisit it while I’m in a good mood.”
He looked down in embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago.” I forced a smile that didn’t reach my eyes.
“Did I hurt you?” Shaw asked, his concern touching but unnecessary.
“No, but even if you did, that would have been fine.” I enjoyed pain with my pleasure more than the average person.
His thumb brushed a scar on my shoulder. “Are these from work?”
I moved his hand away. “Don’t ask questions if you’re not ready to hear the answers.”
“Sorry.” He couldn’t meet my gaze. “I should get out. The heat’s getting to me.”
After climbing out of the hot tub, we returned inside. I tossed him a towel before drying myself and wrapping it around my waist.
As he redressed, Ishi knocked on the door to signal our time had ended.
When he reached the door, I planted a hand flat against it to block his exit. “You’ll come back.”
He hesitated. “I don’t know if I should.”
I chuckled at his ignorance. “When you’re alone tonight, touching yourself and thinking about what we did, remember that I have so many more pleasures left to show you.
” I kept my voice low as I murmured near his ear, too quietly for the cameras to hear.
“Next time, maybe I’ll bend you over the balcony and fuck you under the stars while the city stretches out below us.
I’ll make you come so hard you’ll forget all those virtuous dilemmas keeping you awake at night. ”
He trembled against me. “Someone could see.”
“That’s half the thrill.” I nipped at his earlobe, making him gasp. “The risk. The danger. Knowing you’re doing something forbidden.”
The knock became more insistent.
“Tell me you’ll come back,” I demanded, brushing my thumb against his cheek. My need for him to become a regular wasn’t merely a selfish desire to enjoy him, but also to keep Salvatore from becoming suspicious about us meeting outside the brothel.
“We’ll see,” Shaw said, before slipping out without another word.
He didn’t look back.
The door clicked shut, and I stood in nothing but a towel, staring at the polished wood while Ishi’s footsteps retreated down the hallway with someone who might never return.
I’d played things wrong. I’d pushed when I should have pulled, threatened when I should have seduced. Despite years of training Salvatore’s clients to crave me, I’d let one earnest virgin from my past tangle my instincts into uselessness.
It looked like I’d have to get creative to entice Shaw back.