Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 36484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
He held her hands. “I don’t want to frighten you.”
“You don’t. You’re nothing like your father, Raphael.”
He wrapped his hand around her hair. “You’re right, I’m not. I could never hurt you.”
She smiled at him.
“I’m going to have to stop you.”
“So you can have your father here?”
“Yes.”
“You need me to go back into the closet?”
“Yes, but I’ll make you a milkshake to help you.”
She giggled. “Okay. I can live with that.” She kissed him again. “Can I use the bathroom first?”
“Yes.”
She climbed off his lap and saw his length pressing against the front of his pants.
“You know you don’t have to do any of this. I won’t send you back to my father and I won’t hurt you if you don’t want to.”
“I know you’re a good man. A million times better than the one you call father.”
“Do you know what happened with your parents?”
She shook her head. “I was born like this.”
“Like what?”
“A no one. I have nothing to give and nothing to offer. This is all I am.”
“You’re a lot more.” He cupped her cheek. “Go to the bathroom. I’ll fix you something to eat.”
She didn’t argue with him.
Using the bathroom, she washed her hands, splashed more water on her face, and went back to the tiny, locked room. Seconds later, Raphael came back. He held a large glass complete with a milkshake and what looked like some whipped cream on top and a cherry.
She took the glass as he heard the knock on the door.
“Soon.”
He closed the door. Clicked off the light, closed the other door, and left.
Sipping at her milkshake, she took a bite of the cherry, licking the cream from it before she did.
Time once again melted away.
Would there ever be a time when she wasn’t trapped or locked up? Where she could live a good life without fear of being caught or hurt?
Just once, she’d love to know what it would be like to be normal. She finished the milkshake, and it only served to remind her of his hungry she was. Lying down on the floor, she waited.
Was Giavanni close?
Did he know she was there?
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door was opened and Raphael helped her out of the tight, cramped space. He picked her up this time and placed her on the edge of his bed. He rubbed her thighs and legs. “I know you’ve spent the better part of a day in there, and I don’t want you hurting.” He was careful with her wound.
“Thank you. What did your father say?”
“He claimed not to know him or any of his associations. I’ve got men working on an identification. I’ll know soon.”
“Will your father be stopping by more often?”
“Probably not. I passed two of his fucked-up tests today.”
“This was the second?”
“Yes.”
“What was the first?
“You don’t want to know.”
“I don’t want to know or you don’t want me to know?”
“Both, Elenore. You know I’m not a good man.”
“Girls?” she asked.
Raphael frowned.
“It was more girls, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“It doesn’t stop you from being a good man.”
“No, a good man would have taken them to the nearest police station or found someone who could help locate their parents. Instead, they are chained to my father’s bed.”
“So long as they make him happy, it won’t be too bad.”
“And you, did you make him happy?”
“I have the scars to prove it.” She reached around to touch her back. Tears filled her eyes. “Giavanni isn’t a good man.”
“One day, I’m going to make him pay for what he did to you. Every single scar, he will come to regret.”
“I don’t want to lose you in the process.” He took her hand that she’d placed against his cheek.
“Never. You won’t lose me. I’ll do what needs to be done. It’s getting late. I’m going to give you something to eat and then I think it’s time for you to go to bed.”
“I don’t want to sleep alone.” She looked at his bed. “Could I sleep here with you?” She expected him to say no.
He hesitated but suddenly, he nodded his head. “Yes, you can stay here with me.”
Chapter Six
Raphael was no stranger when it came to women.
He’d fucked his fair share of them. He used to love to use them for his own pleasure, for his own gain. Early in his life, he’d been told until his father found the right woman for him, he wasn’t to get attached to women. They were to be used and discarded like toys.
His father always knew how to play the game. To many of his soldiers, like Antonio, he was a man to be feared, loved, revered. Raphael knew the truth. He’d seen the darkness up close and personal.
Staring down at the woman in his bed, something shifted inside him. He’d fallen for this girl years ago, and now, she was a woman.