Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
I took a piece of thick white bread laden with golden crispy cheese. My stomach rumbled at the sight of it. “Thank you,” I answered softly, hoping he hadn’t heard my stomach. But it was so loud he would’ve had to have heard it.
He glanced up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes and then drank back half of the glass of wine.
I put the forkful of pasta in my mouth. It was heavenly. I tried not to show it but wanted to moan, it was so delicious. His anger appeared to soften a little as he watched me eat.
I subsisted on small portions of soup, fish and rice and vegetables without condiments, for the most part. I occasionally got chicken or steak, usually handfed to me from a patron. Once in a while I’d get a chocolate covered strawberry or something decadent but never in copious amounts. I was religiously weighed and if I went up more than a pound my workout regimen would escalate from intense to boot camp rigid.
He ate, watching me as he did. Under his scrutiny I felt very self-conscious about eating but didn’t want to insult how generous he had been with the food he had ordered for me.
I took a bite of the garlic bread with cheese and suppressed the urge to moan in ecstasy. I couldn’t put away all the food he’d ordered for me; I was used to eating small meals, but hated to waste it so I ate more than I could really manage, enjoying it but starting to feel discomfort. We ate in silence, awkward silence. So awkward that he got up and put the television on, put it on a news channel, and he watched it while eating. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d watched news on television, or anything other than porn.
“You look full,” he said quietly, wiping his mouth with a linen napkin and stepping away from the table. “You don’t have to keep going.” He reached inside his blazer pocket and produced a pewter cigarette case and matching lighter.
“I’m stepping out to the balcony for a smoke. Be right back.” He gave me a thin smile.
When he came back, he looked at me quizzically. I was still sitting at the table, not sure what to do with myself. If he’d left me on the floor, I’d know what was expected; it would be expected that I’d sit and await his direction. But up here at eye level with him I didn’t know what to do with myself.
“How do we get rid of this?” he asked me.
“You can dial 9 for housekeeping. Would you like me to do that…Dare?”
He shook his head. “I can do it.” He called for housekeeping on the room phone and then sat back on the bed and kicked his shoes off.
A moment passed where I sat watching the television from the table and he thumbed away on his smartphone. There was a knock at the door.
He put his shoes back on and went to it and opened it. Cleo and Rafe were in the doorway, two housekeeping staff members behind them.
“Forgive the intrusion, Mr. Ferrano, but because you requested housekeeping, I thought it might be an opportune moment to speak with you.”
“Come in,” Dare said.
Cleo and Rafe both looked to me, sitting at the table with a half-eaten plate of pasta, creamy salad, and cheesy bread. Cleo’s eyebrows shot up but she quickly reined in her shock. I averted my gaze and then fixed my eyes on my lap.
Once the door was closed, Dare started with, “What can I do for you?”
“We wanted to ask if you have any requests for Felicia this evening that we might help with.”
“Meaning?” Dare looked down at Rafe and he looked pissed off.
“Felicia’s attire. Do you have any requirements?”
“I don’t,” Dare replied and then added, “In fact, I’d like to leave tomorrow after my meeting with Chen so if you can have her things packed and arrange transportation to the airport that’d be appreciated.”
“Mr. Ferrano,” Rafe said, looking like he was choosing his words carefully, “We highly recommend you stay at least until the day after tomorrow. We’d be happy for you to stay even longer, as long as you like, but we recommend staying at least that long. And we’re happy to arrange for transportation when you’re ready to go but I urge you to consider staying at least one more day.”
“And why is that?” Dare looked down at Rafe and Rafe looked intimidated. I suppressed the urge to enjoy what I was seeing, worried it might show on my face. Rafe wasn’t the worst guy around here but who he was in front of patrons wasn’t who we was when he was pissed off. I hadn’t had a direct punishment from him since being broken but I had seen him give them out and he could wield a whip like nobody’s business.