11. Darling, I Already Paid
CHAPTER 11
DARLING, I ALREADY PAID
Paloma
“Put me down.” I squirm to free myself from the tight hold he has on my legs. I don’t miss the languid circles his thumb draws inside my thigh. “You can’t just grab me like that, like some sort of caveman. Are you insane?”
“The thought has crossed my mind. But no, not yet,” he grumbles, slowing down as we pass my dressing room. After a second of contemplation, he picks up the pace again. “I’ll have someone grab your things later.”
“What?” I push against his back to look up. A part of me hopes someone can see us. How is it possible that he can waltz into the theater, offer an obscene amount of money for me, and then, just walk out with me hanging over his shoulder. If this isn’t the definition of insanity, I don’t know what is. “Put me down.”
“No.” He pushes the door open, and a rush of cold air hits me square on the butt. He lets out a long breath. “You can barely walk.” Without missing a step, he lowers his left shoulder and slides me down so he’s carrying me in his arms instead.
I immediately regret the change in position because now I have a full view of his beautiful profile. The warmth emanating off his chest and his musky scent make me melt into him, even though all I want to do is slap him again.
“You’re not going to get away with this? This is kidnapping. Dad will call the police. He’ll find me.” I’m throwing everything I have at him, hoping he’ll reconsider and see this whole wreck for what it is…. normal people don’t go around buying virgins. “He will make you pay for this.”
“Darling, I already paid.” He glances down at me for a beat. “Twice.”
He finally stops. But I’m too distracted by his words to notice that’s he’s shoving me in the back of a limo. By the time I react, he’s already next to me, and the car is peeling off the curb. I shift my body in the seat, wincing when my toes push against my ballet shoes. I’m still dressed as the white swan. I glance out the window. Time slows down as I stare at the Performance Arts Centre getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
I swallow my tears. This can’t be a goodbye. Soon I will return to my old life, to Dad. Archer can’t keep me forever. I don’t care how much money he paid for me. I stop to inhale as his voice echoes in my head again…. six million dollars. Those three little words magically made Dad’s problems go away. Dad is safe. Dad is going to be okay. He now has the money to pay off his debt and replace the funds he took from his campaign. He’s going to be okay. I repeat, placing my hand over my mouth.
“Drink some water.” Archer hands me a small bottle. “Are you hungry?”
“No,” I lie. “I don’t want anything from you.”
He cuts me a glance. “Drink.”
I look away from him, twist the cap and drink. Slowly, I feel the dehydration dissipate. I normally drink a gallon of water after a show or practice. But with everything that happened as soon as the show ended, I didn’t have time.
“One more.” He hands me another bottle with no cap.
I drink it slower and sit back. I chance a peek at Archer sitting on the opposite end of the back seat with his legs out in front of him. He seems calm and collected as usual, as if he hadn’t just turned my entire life upside down.
“Where are we going?” I shoot a quick glance out the window. We’re still in the city and not heading home. “Where are you taking me, Archer?”
“To a friend’s place. We’ll be there shortly.” He fishes his phone out of his pocket and types a quick message before tossing the device on the seat.
I make a grab for it. When he merely looks at me, I tap on the phone app and call Dad. The phone trills and trills in my ear. He doesn’t answer. I try Chuck next. Again, no answer. Then, I enter Hunter’s number, and he answers right away.
“Hello?” he answers on the first ring.
“Hunter.” Tears flow freely down my cheek as I hold the mobile with both hands, afraid to let go of my only lifeline. “I’m still in the city.” I pause remembering Hunter was also at the theater with Dad. He knows Archer took me out of there after he ended the auction—the one Hunter did nothing to stop. He simply sat in Dad’s box and watched the men on the floor bid on me. “I’m with Archer,” I finally say.
“Everything is going to be okay, I promise,” Hunter says before Archer takes the phone from me.
“Hunter,” Archer says holding the device between us as he taps on the speaker icon. “Whatever you need to say to Paloma say it now. Because after I hang up, you will never speak to her again. You won’t look at her. You won’t even think of her. She’s not your girlfriend anymore. If she ever was. From now on, she’s mine. Do you understand?”
“You son of a bitch.” Hunter’s angry voice fills the space between Archer and me.
“Do you understand?” he asks louder, making me jolt in surprise. “Answer.”
“I understand,” Hunter finally says. “Where are you taking her?”
“Is that all you want to say?” Archer looks up at me. When Hunter says nothing, Archer continues. “Good. Because she can’t talk to you anymore. She needs to get ready for our wedding.”
“The fu?—”
Archer kills the call.
“Our wedding?” I echo his words. “Now I know you really lost your mind.”
“Did you not read the contract? The buyer is required to marry Paloma Honor Davis upon completion of the transaction.” His intense blue gaze lifts to meet mine. “I’m the buyer, Little Dove.”
Heat rushes to my cheek. I can’t tell him that I didn’t know about the marriage clause because I didn’t read the contract. Dad asked me to trust him, and I did. He said he had handled everything, that our family was going to be okay. That in a few months everything was going to go back to normal. And all I had to do was sign the paper in front of me. I signed thinking the contract was for six months. I’m an idiot for believing my life could ever go back to normal. That I could sell my body and come out unscathed.
I take the phone again and call Dad.
No answer.
I’m alone in this.
“Here we are.” Archer leans forward to survey his surroundings.
I do the same, and my stomach drops. We’re back at the Crucible where I signed that horrible contract. I spent hours in the private garage waiting for Dad to get the money he needed. Only for him to return with a contract for a virgin auction. I was shocked that Dad knew that about me. I’m twenty-five years old. How can he assume I’d never had sex with Hunter? Did Dad ask Hunter to keep his hands to himself?
Now it makes sense why Hunter would only kiss my hand or my forehead. One time I tried to get him to make love to me. But all I got from him was an icy reaction. He was repulsed that I would even think to ask him for sex. Though I could read the lust in his eyes. I was so confused and deeply hurt by his rejection that I never brought it up again.
“Let’s go.” He offers me his hand. “I’ll carry you upstairs where you’ll be able to change out of those shoes.” He helps me out of the limo, and then, swoops me into his arms.
I do my best not to melt into him. I’m still mad at him. Every time I think of the auction, of all those men ogling me, my stomach drops. The memories of that moment literally give me vertigo. And I can only blame Archer for it.
“I hate you,” I say to his profile.
“I’m okay with that,” he deadpans.
“You could’ve prevented all of this. If only you had helped us when I asked.” I press my lips together to keep the last scrap of self-control I have left.
“Have you ever considered that your father could’ve stopped this too?” He strides toward the small lobby with a brilliant chandelier hanging from the ceiling, casting a warm glow around us. “He could’ve made a different deal, hell, he could’ve not gambled with campaign funds, made better investments.”
“He had no way of knowing his investments would go belly up.” My counter argument is weak at best, mainly because I don’t know exactly how Dad lost so much money in such a short amount of time. “You could’ve helped him. Chuck is your friend.”
“Like I said, when you first came to me, Little Dove, I’m sorry if you were under the impression that I’m running a charity. Your father has received all I’m willing to give to his cause.”
“But now you paid for me.” I inhale his scent. “Why?”
“Because I had to.” His jaw clenches.
As soon as he reaches the elevator bay, the doors slide open. “Good evening, Mr. Archer. Mr. Valentino is expecting you.” The bouncer looking guy nods at Archer and doesn’t even bat an eye at the fact that Archer is carrying a woman in his arms dressed as a fucking swan.
The car rattles quietly as it begins its ascent. It’s humiliating to be in his arms like this. “You can put me down now. I can walk from here.”
“No,” he simply says, not even slanting a glance at me.
His coldness hurts me for some reason. The desire in his eyes is still there. Is that what he meant when he said he had to buy me? He couldn’t have me before, so now this was his chance. Lust is all he feels for me.
I try to picture our future together. I’m too young to be married. Though I always assumed that after my ballet career was over that I would find a husband and have a family of my own. I longed to be part of something as good as that. To be important to someone like that. But not like this.
Archer bought me like I’m some sort of prized pig. My whole-body quavers when it dawns on me that before the night is over, Archer will take me to his bed. He will claim his prize and finally appease his lust for me.
“Hello. Welcome.” A woman in her fifties with dark hair and big brown eyes greets us at the door. “I am Pinna,” she says in a slight Italian accent, making eye contact with me. Again, no shock at seeing Archer carrying me. “I will show you to your room.” She smiles at Archer. “Don—Mr. Valentino will see you in the study.”
“I’m not leaving her side.” He dips his head toward the grand staircase. “This way?”
“Um yes.” She nods, not at all fazed by his brusque tone. “Ms. Caterina said to put the dress upstairs. It arrived ten minutes ago. Very pretty. It’s a one of a kind.” She scampers ahead of Archer’s long strides. “In here.” She opens the door.
Archer heads straight for the bed and lays me on it.
I stare up at him in horror. “You can’t seriously be thinking about this right now?”
“I’m not.” He cocks an eyebrow as if asking, ‘are you?’ When I shake my head, he bends down on one knee to work on the laces of my ballet shoes. Once he frees my feet, he examines the dry blood stuck to my white tights, and then, my ankle. “You’re in pain.” It’s not a question.
“I’m used to it. I think I broke my toenail. It’s fine.” I push his hands away from me. “I just need to ice my knee. Normally, that would’ve been done by now. Except.” I point toward the door, unable to say aloud the word auction.
“I will get you some.” He gently runs his thumb into the joint of my knee, then glances up at me. “A high price to pay for perfection.”
Suddenly I’m painfully aware that we’re alone. My heart races as his gaze slides from my face down to my legs. Did he just compliment my performance? I inhale, getting lost in the blue sea of his eyes. It’s as if the storm has passed and now there’s nothing but calm waters. A tiny spark ignites in my core, and the air around us shifts and crackles. He scares me. And I know it all has to do with self-preservation. This intense energy between us that threatens to swallow me whole makes me feel vulnerable. I’m still that moth. And he’s still that flame I can’t resist.
“Paloma.” He shakes his head once.
“Hi, sorry to interrupt.” A beautiful tall woman with long hair that falls in perfect fat waves around her shoulders beams at us. There’s something angelic about her tone of voice that I find calming. She raises her hand. “I’m Caterina. Welcome to our home.” She smiles then her gaze settles on Archer. “My husband Rex would like a word. Don’t worry. She’s safe with me.”
Archer glances upward as if asking for deliverance or patience or maybe both. “Fine.” He rises to his feet. “She needs ice.”
“I can take care of that.” She nods. “He’s in the study.”
“Jesus.” He runs a hand through his hair, then says to me, “I won’t be long.”
As soon as the door closes behind me, Caterina turns to me. “Let’s get you ready. How about I draw you a bath. You can soak while we find you some clothes for after the wedding.”
“That’s sounds heavenly. Thank you.”
She disappears into the en-suite bathroom, then returns with a bathrobe. When she leaves again, I take the time to finally shed my costume. I start with the head piece, then my tutu, the leotard, and finally my tights. My feet are a disaster, but I can’t worry about that. I don the bathrobe and head for the bathroom.
“We don’t get a lot of ballerinas in the middle of the night.” Caterina chuckles while testing the water temperature. After she adds suds, she faces me. “You’ll be alright. May I?” She points at my robe.
“Thank you.” It seems I can’t stop saying that word. I let her pull the terry fabric off of me and then I climb in the soapy warm water.
“Better?” she asks.
“Yes.” I slide farther down.
“Come out when you’re ready. Pinna can help you with your hair and makeup.” She winks and disappears again.
I put away all thoughts of the impeding wedding and let my body submerge. My muscles relax and the aches and pains dial down to almost nothing. I come up for air and undo my ballerina bun, placing the bobby pins on the lip of the tub. Next to the freestanding tub, there’s a pedestal table with body wash and other bottles on it. I squirt shampoo on my hand and work it into a lather on my head. Slowly, bit by bit, I wash away this entire night.
When I feel more like myself again, I stand and use the spray handle to rinse off the soap. I climb out and put on the bathrobe again.
“Paloma.” Caterina knocks on the door. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah, I’m all finished here.” I stand there waiting because I don’t know what else to do.
“I have ice. Come sit down. You can ice your knee while Pinna works on your hair.” She lets the door swing open. “It’ll be okay,” she says when I sit on the chair they placed in front of a full-length mirror. After a beat, she adds, “My marriage to Rex was also an arranged marriage. It worked out for us. In the end. I’m sure yours will too.”
Tears spill down my cheeks. I’m embarrassed and angry and shocked that Archer didn’t even bother to tell them the truth. “Ours is not an arranged marriage. Archer bought me at a fucking virgin auction.” I finally say the word aloud. “He bought me the way you buy cattle.” I’m sure I screamed that last bit. Then I realize none of this was Caterina’s fault. She’s just being kind. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be.” She dashes to the door and looks both ways out on the hallway. When she returns, she sits on her ankles. “If you need to escape, I can help you. I have a place in Chelsea. You can stay there until you figure out what to do next.”
“You would do that?” My heart flutters with hope. I can see Dad again. He’ll tell Archer that this wedding is insane. The contract I signed can’t have any kind of weight in a court of law. “What about your husband?”
“I will handle my husband.” Her eyes fill with love at the mention of him. “Pinna,” she calls for the woman who opened the door for us and is now in the process of sewing the hem of a wedding dress.
“I’m here.” Pinna nods.
“Is Donata still in the study with the others?” Caterina asks. “How much time do you think we have?”
“I don’t know. I don’t eavesdrop behind doors.” She shrugs.
“Pinna. I know you do.” Caterina rolls her eyes. “She needs our help. I just need to know what’s the hold up so we can gauge how much time we have.”
“Okay.” She drops the dress on the bed. “So, first Mr. Rex says, why the fuck did you invite them here? Why not your house? Then Mr. Santino says, because the twins are sleeping. Right?” She beams. “But then Mr. Rex says, I told you not to get involved. What were you thinking?”
“Pinna.” Caterina puts her arm around Pinna’s shoulders. “Get to the part where we find out why they haven’t come for her.”
“Oh yes, the priest is not here yet. He’s sleeping.” She looks to me. “But he’s on his way. Father Esposito is the best. He will do a good ceremony for you.”
“A priest?” I shoot to my feet. “I’m not even religious. This can’t be happening.”
“It won’t.” Caterina puts up her hands. “There’s a secret door we can use. No one will know we’re gone. Crap, you need clothes. Pinna?”
“Yes, here.” She hands me a pair of pants, a chunky sweater that’s super soft then sets a pair of tall boots by my feet. “Maybe you need a pair of bedroom slippers instead. Oh that looks painful.” She grabs a tube of ointment from her pocket. “Mr. Archer said you needed an antibiotic for your feet.” She happily dabs my toes. “You’re a real live ballerina,” she exclaims when she’s finished.
“Get dressed so we can get of here before they send for you.” Caterina hands me the sweater.
I take it, then I blow out a breath, feeling deflated. Even though marriage wasn’t my plan, I still did agree to give myself to a buyer. Tonight, that’s Archer. What I feel or don’t feel for him doesn’t matter. If I leave now, Dad won’t receive the money he needs. Our family will be ruined. I can’t do that to him.
“I can’t leave.” I shake my head.
“Why not?” She places her hand over mine. “I can help you. Once I explain to Rex what happened, he’ll help you too.”
“I’m not the one who needs help,” I say mostly to myself. I’m here to help Dad. I have to marry Archer to save Dad. It’s as simple as that. “Do you love your husband?” I ask.
“Very much. He can be a total grump. But underneath his all-powerful, arrogant exterior, there’s a man who would take a bullet for me.” She flashes me a bright smile. “I don’t know if that should be a requirement for marrying someone, but for what it’s worth, I don’t think Mr. Archer intends to hurt you. He strikes me as someone who has suffered a lot. I recognize the pain in his eyes. I get why he’s so intense.”
“It’s not that.” I can’t tell her I’m a virgin. That the only reason Archer bought me is because he wants me, because once, I promised him sex and then didn’t deliver. How embarrassing is that?
“Then what is it?” She takes my hand in hers. “You can tell me.”
“If I don’t marry him, my father won’t get the money he needs,” I confess.
“Hm, well, I wish I could say I’ve never heard such a thing.” Her gaze flicks to Pinna then back to me. “What do you want to do?”
“I have no choice. I have to go through with it.” I turn to Pinna who’s once again working on the dress. “Do I have to wear that?”
“I’m afraid so.” Caterina bites her lower lip. “Archer had the dress delivered here for you and said you must wear it.”
“Okay,” I concede.
The real humiliation happened back on the stage. Wearing a wedding dress is the least of my worries at this point. It doesn’t matter that now Archer can dictate what I wear or where I live. What matters is that Dad is safe. Archer might’ve paid for my body, but I get to keep my heart and soul. I imagine them safely tucked away in the music box that belonged to my mother. Those are two things I will never give to Archer.
All he’ll ever get from me is hate.