26. Late-Night Snack
Late-Night Snack
Bianca
Sniff.
Sniff.
Sniff.
I pop an eye open and groan. The purple G-spot stimulator did not disappoint. My climax hit like a Mack truck. I convulsed, toes curled in these fine linen sheets, and fell into a deep sleep.
Face down and ass up, fantasizing about the man I can’t get out of my mind.
Sniff.
Sniff.
Sniff.
“Go away.” I toss the comforter over myself.
Mama Vee told me not to acknowledge any spirits who don’t pay my bills.
I roll over.
Sniff.
Sniff.
Sniff.
“I know that’s not a rat with allergies,” I mutter under the covers.
Sniff.
Sniff.
Sniff.
“I’m up! Whoever is on the other side of the door better have a blank check or know how to fight, waking me up at this time of night.” There isn’t any justice or peace inside these walls.
A large figure underneath the door becomes two. Heavy grunts and sneezes have me second-guessing tugging the door handle.
What if it’s some pervert with his dick in his hand in need of Benadryl?
Girl, shut up.
I grunt at the weight of the door, working overtime not to open. My toes dig into stone tiles as I pull with a powerlifting stamina I don’t possess and trembling arms.
“The damn thing is locked.” I laugh at myself.
There’s a snort before a wet nose wedges itself into the tiny crack it widens with its body. A tank of a dog walks into my room with its twin. They’re waist-tall with dark eyes and Deebo-like chests, like they’ve been pumping iron in a prison yard.
One of them growls.
“No, we’re not.” I keep my tone low and raise a hand.
Floppy ears perk.
“I don’t know where you came from, but go bother someone else.”
Woo—
I snap my fingers. “What did I say?”
In my right mind, I wouldn’t argue with animals clearly on the juice. Benny probably trained them to eat people from their butts to their guts. I hope they bite his ass right out of the frame.
He’s yet to reappear since swallowing me whole days ago. Let those dogs terrorize him, because I’m not the one, the two, or the three.
Hopping fences to outrun a loose pit bull that had no business being outside was a weekly track and field event when I was younger. At this point, if I die, I die. Forty has settled into my body, and my joints sound like snapped twigs.
One dog inches closer. Their paws are the size of my forehead, which might’ve been a sign not to stand my ground. Its head tilts, the all-black fur shining in the light. I stand still and clench at the wet nose grazing my fingers. My pulse skips at the deep inhale it takes before licking my hand.
“Don’t get fresh,” I chuckle, which encourages the other beast to headbutt my left leg for pats.
The other dog snatches the toy from my bed and runs out the door.
“Hey! Get back here.”
Snort.
“You’re the good one.” I glide my hand over the silky coat of the dog not involved in an active robbery. He licks my hand and walks toward the door.
“I was on my way,” I fuss.
Snort.
“Forget y’all and your daddy.”
I follow the rumble of paws down the hall speckled in light. White travertine changes to terracotta tiles at the kitchen archway. The moon yawns over white counters scrubbed from yesterday’s meals. Baskets of fresh citrus from the grove are on a small wooden table in the middle of the kitchen.
“You might be my favorite room here,” I say to the wood beams and reclaimed shelves.
“Mine too.”
I startle at Benny’s voice.
“Do you usually cut fruit in the dark?” I pant between breaths, a hand on the V-cut of my nightgown.
“Sometimes.” He lifts the blade speared with mango to his mouth, relaxed in his chair like a king on a throne. A shirtless king in sweatpants with a GI Joe knife big enough to gut a giant.
“You look good.”
We’re mad at him.
“Thank you.” I push up one of the thin straps. The material brushes against my nipples.
Benny’s gaze doesn’t waver when he wraps his lips over the mango and sucks. The act itself isn’t sexual, but nothing about that damn fruit requires his tongue and throat to work overtime.
He shifts in his seat, a bare foot perched on the rattan arm of his chair. “How was your day?”
“Fine.”
The asshole has the nerve to smile.
His chest contracts as he spears another piece of fruit from a plate on a small table. I push my braids over my shoulder and dodge his dick print.
The dogs stroll into the kitchen with my dildo between their teeth. What kind of disrespectful animals play tug of war with a sex toy? My favorite sex toy.
“Hey!”
Benny chuckles. “You were busy.”
“Had to keep myself entertained.” There are no books, internet, or TV. What was I supposed to do?
“I must not have eaten your pussy right if you need to take care of yourself. Or do you miss this dick?”
My clit pulsates.
Behave.
Benny waits for a response I refuse to give.
I block out the replays from the mirrored ceiling, the courtyard, his desk, and Eden to stand on business.
I prefer to be folded like origami, but the principle is the principle.
He insists on treating me and my emotions like a game night, despite me telling him not to play with me.
How do I know he didn’t go back to Eden to be with Vittoria? He could drop dick off around Sicily like a postal route while I’m still tingling from the attention he gave me before disappearing.
Absolutely not.
“What are you thinking about in that pretty head?”
Your mouth and penis.
“Coupons,” I lie. “I forgot to suspend my newspaper subscription while I’m gone.”
He grins. “Right.”
A dog sneezes. The other follows in a stocky march toward me.
“Hades. Ares.” Benny’s warning shifts their massive paws in reverse. They sprawl over the tile in a gruff. My G-spot stimulator is a casualty between their teeth.
“Hungry? You can stay mad after I feed you. Come here.”
My stomach flutters at the command.
Benny’s brow lifts.
“Don’t boss me around,” I say.
“It’s what we do best.”
Our stare down earns a growl. The dogs jump up, ears alert, barks aimed at Benny.
Laughter hammers my chest.
“They like you,” he mumbles.
“As they should. How do you tell them apart?” I kiss the top of one’s head. He snorts, tail wagging, booty shaking.
Benny reaches for more mango. “That’s Hades. He has a small patch of white hair on his left ear.”
I tease his cheeks. “Aren’t you cute?”
“They ate someone’s bones.”
My hands drop.
“Do you kill people often?”
“Only when necessary,” he says without hesitation. Okay, then! “You never have to be afraid of me.”
The image of Benny when he was younger with his family eases any tension. I believe him.
“Come here, Bianca.”
I pull a chair from the table. Not because I’m scared he’ll get up; I love mangoes. They’re grossly overpriced at home and I don’t mind the snack.
He brings a piece to my lips. “Open.”
Warmth pours over me at the timbre of his voice. I part my lips for the juiciest slice of mango. My tongue glazes his fingers.
He hisses under his breath and wipes the juice from my mouth with the thumb that he brings toward his. “More?”
Oh, fuck this man.
Seriously. If I don’t get my fast ass out of here, I’m fucking this man.
“I can feed myself.” There’s no heat behind my words. It’s between my legs, slick with sweat.
“You can, but you’re on vacation.” His smirk lifts his beard.
A laugh slips. “Smart ass. You and your Lunchables can go to hell.”
His grin catches me off guard. It’s bright and shows every tooth. “I thought I was being a good host by giving you a taste of home.”
“Is that what you call disappearing after fucking and sucking me? Spare me your hospitality, Salvatore.”
He flinches like he’s not guilty of playing with my time and vacation. I ought to stab him with his knife and take my chances with his little mafia. I’ve already rocked a few jaws.
Benny rests his elbows on his knees, teasing the tattoos over the veins in his forearms. His voice softens. “It won’t happen again.”
“Keep going,” I say.
“My apologies, Trouble,” he chuckles. “I promise not to fuck and run.”
“I don’t want to be left,” I admit. “This isn’t my house. I don’t know anyone and I can’t go out. I neglected my freedom for years, and I want it back, Benny. No threats or coercion. I’ll bite if pushed—and not the good kind of biting. I don’t eat ass, but I’ll tear one out.”
A smile puckers his cheeks. “Can’t have you eating ass.”
“Goodnight.” Forget him and that mango.
I make it two steps before my back is against the counter.
“Don’t go.” The mint on his breath mingles with the citrus of his cologne. His stare suspends me from a distance he erases inch by inch. “What are you doing to me, Trouble?” skates over a whisper, straight to my ovaries.
“I got a call from one of my fishermen in Mazara del Vallo when I was in Eden. He’s part of a team that conducts rescue operations when boats with migrants capsize. I keep drones in the area that I deploy remotely for search and rescue with thermal sensors and high-resolution cameras.”
“To detect bodies in the water?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“That’s where you’ve been since Saturday?”
He nods.
“Are rescues something you do often?”
“When I can, but that’s a story for another day.” His gaze grows distant over my shoulders.
“And here I thought you had a secret family.”
“Secret family,” he snickers. “You watch too many movies, love.”
The pet name glides down my nightgown.
“Side pieces tear up your house and car, especially if you lie about a situation. I don’t want one flying through my window like special forces because I’m here.”
The dogs jump at Benny’s bark of laughter. His body shakes, flexing his biceps and the slab of muscle around his stomach. He thumbs the tears from his eyes. “I enjoy you, Trouble. Your windows are safe. Only a few people know where I live, and I don’t have women on the side.”
“Don’t run game on me, crime boss.” The smile lighting his face tugs at my own. “Where is the Bianca you wanted?”
“Right here,” he says softly. “I told the other Bianca not to come.”
Oh.
I clear my throat and ignore my heart throwing its ass in a circle. Summer flings never last, especially one involving kidnapping. I’m too old for situations that will end in heartbreak, a hospital visit, or me cheesing in a mugshot.
“About the one million euros,” I say, bringing us back to the matter of my freedom.
He spears more fruit. “Did you identify your terms?”
“I want no part of any murder or torture,” I say.
“I’ll keep any kills away from you.” He smiles at my sour expression.
“I need protection,” I add. “I’m of no use to anyone if I’m dead.”
“Nobody will touch you but me, love.”
Heat crawls up my throat. My thighs clench.
“I want contact with my people. I won’t share details about you or your little mafia. I’m loved, and I don’t want anyone to worry.”
His voice echoes my longing. “I respect that. You’ll have phone and internet access. I’ll earn your trust.”
“I work half days, not counting if I’m needed at night. And I get to do things, see Sicily. Fifty-hour weeks isn’t living.”
Benny nods. “You’ll get your vacation. Anything else?”
I smile to myself. “My fortieth birthday is this month. It’s my day to do what I want how I see fit.”
“I’ll draw up the paperwork to become a client of your human resources consultancy with one of my legitimate businesses. You’ll be paid as a contractor with money deposited into an account weekly.”
He extends a hand.
“There’s one more order of business. Sex.”
His eyes narrow.
“You’re paying for that too.”
“No.” Benny shakes his head.
“Were you not planning to pay the other Bianca?”
“Yes, but—“
“Well, the price of this pussy just went up. I want double Bianca’s fee for the duration of my time here.”
He frowns. “That’s almost a million euros.”
“Sex work is work, Benny. Consider it reparations for my kidnapping.”
“You drove my car into a reinforced door.”
I shrug. “It wouldn’t have happened if you’d gotten the real Diana.”
Maybe she would’ve fought to escape. The point is, he’s coming out of his pocket. Twice.
Benny stares. I expect him to tell me no, but he says, “Okay.”
“Two million euros,” I clarify.
“That’s what you said.”
“Holy shit!” I’ll be a multi-millionaire before the end of summer.
I jolt at the slap on my butt.
Benny winks. “Go to bed, Trouble. You’ll need your energy.”