A Dangerous Bargain

GIOVANNI

“You heard me. Pay my money plus interest in 14 days, or pay me back with your body. It's simple enough for your tiny brain to comprehend, no?”

I watched as the slight woman strapped to the chair in front of me ground her jaw in pure annoyance.

Before I knew what was happening, she spat, and I felt the warm saliva hit my cheek.

“You are nothing but a horny, perverted prick. You haven't changed a bit in four years, and it's sad.”

I couldn't help but chuckle as I got a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped my cheek. I grabbed her by the chin and stuffed the handkerchief into her pretty little dissenting mouth.

“Change?” I scoffed. “Now, why would I do that? Why would I want to trade being the predator for the scared little coniglietto (bunny) you are? I could have you chopped up and served to your fat, conniving father if I wanted to. That's power, and only a fool gives up power.”

She pushed the handkerchief out of her mouth with her tongue. “I don't give a fuck how much I owe you. I’m not giving you my body. And you're sick for asking. I said I'll pay you back every dime I owe.”

I laughed in her face. “Let's do a little math, shall we? You owe me 35,000 dollars. That's the principal. The interest for such an amount is 100 dollars every day after one week of borrowing. Delayed payment is 100 dollars on top of the interest. You've been owing for two months now. Let's say 30 days each. That's 12,000 dollars plus 35,000. So, you owe me 47,000 dollars. Tell me, bella, where will you get 47,000 dollars in two weeks? I know you're resourceful, but even you can't pull that off.”

I saw something that looked very much like fear cross her face. I tried not to let my delight show. Fear was good. I could use fear. Fear meant I was starting to chip away at that faux bravado she was putting up. It’d only be a matter of time before she became putty for me to mold as I pleased.

But of course, this was Elaine Martinez, and I would not get where I wanted easily. She proved it by setting her jaw and leveling a look at me that said nothing but fuck you.

“I'll make it work,” she told me.

“Dio, you are so fucking stubborn. Even when all the facts are right in front of your face.”

“I'd rather be stubborn than let you rob me of my dignity.”

“Dignity?” I cackled. “What dignity? You're strapped to a chair, dirt poor, and owing thousands of dollars, so don't even fucking talk about dignity. You had none to begin with, seeing how eager you were to jump on my dick all those years ago.”

Her eyes widened. “You absolute fucker! How dare you?!”

“The way I see it, I'm giving you an out. You get to spend two weeks—which frankly is not nearly enough time for me to finish what I have in store for you, but I'll make do—in my bed, and by the end of it, you'll be debt free and begging for more. Easy peasy.”

“Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to me? You could have any woman you want. Why me?”

I refused to believe those were tears in her eyes.

“Well, any woman isn't owing me 47,000 dollars.”

“That's nothing to you. It's literally just a drop in the ocean for you. You have a lot of money. Why can't you forgive my debt instead of going through this charade?”

That word “forgive” completely soured my good mood. I had no bandwidth for forgiveness. That word was synonymous with weakness in my book, and I was a lot of things, but I was never weak.

“You can say whatever you want,” I said, my voice frigid. “The decision has been made. It’s done. All that’s left is for you to make your choice.”

Instead of answering, she began to struggle harder with her binds. It was doing nothing but deepening the angry red marks on her fair wrists.

I sighed internally. I really expected more from her.

Snapping my fingers loudly, I called my men back. I bent to her ear and whispered, “You're quite the tigress, bella, but let's see how tough of a kitty you are after I break all your claws.”

I took two steps back from her and motioned to my men. “Take care of her.”

“Wait,” Elaine's frightened voice sounded out. “What do you mean . . .”

Before she could say anything else, a mask was forcefully placed over her nose and mouth, followed by a heavy black bag.

I watched as she struggled with the gas, the bag, and two pairs of beefy arms holding her down. It was a fight she was never going to win.

I smirked as I observed her body finally go limp.

“This is just the beginning, bella,” I muttered. “There's more to come. I hope you're pumped for this ride because I know I am.”