Savage Little Games: Chapter 8

I thought shopping with Dante Salvato was bad enough. It never occurred to me that I would have to take off my clothes and try everything on, even panties and bras, in front of him.

At first, I tried to pull on one dress before fully taking off the one I’m wearing. It was more trouble than it was worth. Eventually, Salvato still got a peek at my bra, so I gave up. Changing as fast as possible became my new method.

I never knew how much I hated the word “wait” until I had to hear it from his mouth over and over again. Making me stand in front of where he’s lounging in his chair like a king, he would stare at me for long, silent moments. This happened over and over, yet he always approved each piece for purchase, especially the dresses so tight across my boobs that I could’ve used the next size up.

The bathing suits go on over my bra and panties, yet they still feel too revealing as he inspects them on my body.

Not for the first time, his dark gaze lowers to my ribs.

“Those men will pay for what they did to you.”

Oh, shit.

“That’s okay. It’s over and done with.”

“No, it’s not. You wince each time fabric brushes them.”

“Then don’t make me keep trying on clothes!”

“You’re almost done now.”

Shaking my head, I turn my back to him to remove the bikini and move on to the provocative sleepwear. Those are definitely going on top of my underwear.

“Seriously, Salvato. Please don’t do anything crazy. You know, like start a war with the Russians over a few bruises?”

When he doesn’t respond, I turn around in the short see-through white nightie to face him again. “Dante?” I ask, using his first name to get his attention off the lace around my bra-covered boobs.

“What?” he replies.

“Promise me you won’t do anything to cause trouble with the Russians.”

“I’m not promising you anything.”

Great. Asshole. “I don’t want you to go looking for revenge or whatever. Please? I’m not worth it.”

“Are things over between you and Mitchell?” he asks, completely off topic.

“Hell, yes. Why?” I can’t help but ask. “That doesn’t mean that anything is going to happen between us.”

“How did you end up with a loser like him?”

Turning around to remove the white nightie for a black one, I try to figure out how to answer that. “Ah. I don’t know. I was lonely. He was sweet at first, affectionate.”

“How sweet? How was he affectionate?”

“Well, he would…” I try to think of an example, but nothing comes to mind. “It’s hard to remember now that I’m so angry with him. Mostly we just shared an apartment, okay? I depended on him paying half the rent.”

“Until he lost his job?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why he lost his job?”

“Uh-huh. He was mouthing off to management. At least that’s what he told me.”

I turn around to wait on his approval for the black teddy and matching thong that I slipped on over the borrowed one.

“That may be partially true,” Salvato replies as he examines the lingerie. “Mitchell most likely mouthed off to management, but it was after they fired him for not checking IDs.”

“What?”

“He let some kids into Boltero’s casino. One of them got into an argument with a regular during a poker game, and he got shot.”

“Oh, wow.”

Salvato’s finger traces his bottom lip as he stares at the embroidered flowers across my boobs on the black nightie. “If the kid hadn’t lived, your ex may not have either.”

“I-I had no idea.”

“I didn’t think you did. But everyone else knows, all the other casinos. That’s why no one will hire him. He’s slack and makes bad decisions. He knew the kid was underage.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“I have eyes and ears everywhere, even in other casinos. Also, it’s in the police report. The kid told the cops Mitchell wanted a hundred bucks to let him sneak inside.”

Mitch got a kid shot and lost his job for a measly hundred bucks? Shaking my head, I scoff. “I can’t believe he would be so stupid.”

“I can’t believe you were ever with him to begin with, butterfly.”

I can’t tell him the truth, that Mitchell was the first man I dated seriously in two decades. I didn’t want men coming and going from my bedroom while Cole was growing up, so I abstained. My son was worth the small sacrifice. But once he left for college, I hated the empty apartment so damn much. It was the first time I had been alone in my entire life. I thought Mitch was a good guy. Or maybe I just didn’t want to see his faults.

It’s unnerving that Salvato knows so much about Mitch, more than I did when I was living with the man. A thought suddenly occurs to me.

“Have you been looking into , too?” I ask him.

“Of course, I have.”

Oh, shit.

“Do you think I would just let you live with me without finding out everything I can about you?”

“And? What deep dark secrets of mine did you manage to find?” It’s impossible not to hold my breath.

“I didn’t know you had a son, especially one old enough to be in college.”

I glare at him in warning. “You better leave my son out of this!”

“You have my word that Cole won’t be harmed.”

I wince when he says my son’s name so familiarly, hating that he knows it at all. “Your word? And why should I trust your word, Salvato?”

“Because you don’t really have a choice, do you, Vanessa?” Before I can respond, he says, “Is that everything?”

I glance around on the pile that was on the bench that’s now in the done pile. “Looks like it.”

“Great. Let’s get all this paid for so I can get back to work.” When he stands up, the dressing room becomes half the size it was when he was still sitting.

I press my back to the wall so he can leave, but he just finds the dress I wore down here in the pile and slips it over my head like I’m a child or his personal, life-sized doll to play with. Slapping his hands away, I slip my arms through the holes and even get it zipped in the back on my own.

“We’re having dinner together tonight at seven. You should wear one of the new dresses.”

“What’s wrong with this one?” I ask, eying the front of the pretty green one. It’s soft and covers more than any of the new options.

Salvato grunts something under his breath but doesn’t comment. He just turns around to scoop up the pile of expensive clothing and walks out of the dressing room.