Alice was sitting on the bed with Charlotte with her arm around her. Charlotte looked up at me and wiped her eyes as I crossed the doorway. “What happened?” I asked, slowly closing the bedroom door behind me. I walked over to the two girls and stood in front of them. If Valerie or one of the men hurt Charlotte in some way, I was going to do something. I already felt very protective over the young girl and it broke my heart to see her cry. I turned to Alice for an explanation, hoping she could tell me more, but she looked just as confused as me. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with her,” Alice replied, patting Charlotte’s arm. “She said she wasn’t hungry for dinner, so I went down without her, and when I came back, I found her like this. She hasn’t told me what happened." Charlotte put her head in her hands and sobbed. Her cries broke my heart. “Alright, Alice, you stay with her. I’m going to go get some food for her and some tea,” I instructed. “Once you’
It was the next weekend and I had another visit with Dante planned. After I told him about how to contact my team, he said that he would get a hold of them straight away. I was so excited to be able to talk with Bridgette again via Dante and was looking forward to our next meeting all week. I told myself that it was because I was anxious to know what he had learned through our collective teams, but I knew it was something more. As much as I tried to ignore my attraction to Dante, it felt like it was impossible. I felt so silly as I got ready for our meeting. There were butterflies in my stomach, like I was back in high school and preparing for my first date with a cute boy. It was so stupid, not to mention dangerous, to feel this way. I was undercover in an escort system. I couldn’t allow anything to distract me. Valerie told me she wanted to personally inspect my outfit before I met Dante tonight. So, I chose a dark green dress and painted my lips red. I spent more t
The next day, I went down to breakfast still thinking about Dante. Which was completely stupid because I had promised myself that I was going to forget about what happened between us last night. The only relationship that could happen was professional. That’s just how things had to be. When I got to breakfast, most of the girls were already there. The energy in the room was exciting and some of them were whispering to each other with their heads close together. For an awful moment, I thought that everyone had found out what happened between Dante and I. But then I realized that wouldn’t be that big of a scandal. We were all escorts after all. I collected my breakfast – half a grapefruit and egg whites – and sat next to Alice and Charlotte. “Why is everyone so eager?” I asked them curiously as I took a sip of my black coffee.“Well, visits from sponsors were canceled today,” Charlotte explained with a shrug. Immediately, I felt my hopes fall. I scolded mysel
“I think I should go back to my room before people begin to question where I am,” I told Dante, yawning and taking my head off his shoulder. “I’ll walk you back,” he noted, sliding his arm through mine. We walked to the mansion and I tried not to think about how good it felt to touch him, even though the touch was so innocent. I found myself wishing that I had met Dante under different circumstances. Maybe in a bar or a coffee shop. Hell, even online. Then, we could have pursued this undeniable connection between us. But, fate, God, or whatever being that was controlling the universe, hated me and I met Dante while I was undercover. It was not only stupid for us to form any sort of emotional or physical relationship, but it was also dangerous. If Dante and I allowed our emotions to get in the mix, we could blow the whole mission right when we were starting to make progress. These thoughts circled around my mind like water circling the drain. Dante said goo
It was the next weekend, and I was floating on a cloud of happiness. Well, not literally. I had a date with Dante today and I was extremely excited…to continue the investigation. Yeah, that was what I would keep telling myself. I wasn’t excited to see him because I missed his smile or his dry sense of humor. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t even fool myself at this point. I had spent an embarrassing amount of time on my hair this morning. I had on a white mini-skirt and a bright green top that perfectly matched Dante’s eyes. God, even I was annoying myself. I walked to our meeting room and pushed open the door without knocking. He had his back to me and he was talking on the phone. I shut the door and waited on the couch until he was done. I couldn’t help but eavesdrop; it sounded like he was talking to someone from his work. It seemed like there was a small emergency. With a sigh, Dante hung up his phone and ran a hand through his curly hair. “Everything oka
Dante’s pants and my dress needed to go. But I didn’t want to stop kissing him to undress further. It was an interesting dilemma to be in. “Gabrielle,” Dante whispered against my neck while he placed hungry kisses in it. Fuck, his warm breath felt so good against my skin. “Hm?” I managed to mumble since I couldn't think straight with his hands all over me. “I wanted you to know that I’ve been tested recently and everything came back negative.” Fuck. A man who cared about sexual health. I liked him even more now. “I’ve been tested recently too. And everything was good. Also, I’m on the pill,” I replied. He sighed in relief. “Good, 'cause I didn’t bring a condom,” he said, causing me to laugh at his grateful expression. Then, a look crossed his face and I knew that something was bothering him. “What is it?” I asked him, knowing that he had a hard time expressing his true feelings. “I just don't want you to feel pressured to do
I woke up in Dante’s arms. He was already awake, staring at me with an unreadable expression. I looked over at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was the middle of the night. I stretched my legs. It weirdly felt amazing to stretch out my sore muscles. It made me blush to think why they were sore. Dante looked so cute. His black curly hair was messy and his green eyes were sleepy. Then I burst my own bubble as I thought about the mission we were still on. By the look on his face, I could tell that he was thinking the same thing. “I don’t regret what happened here tonight,” I told him honestly. “Nor do I,” Dante agreed. “But our feelings for each other could potentially get in the way of taking down The Golden Hive,” I admitted. He nodded. “What should we do?” I asked him. It didn’t help matters that the feeling of his arms around me felt so right. Dante considered my question for a moment. As if he couldn’t help himself, he le
As soon as I came into the kitchen for breakfast, I could tell it was another ‘free day’. The smell coming through the kitchen alone was enough to give it away. If Valerie was here, the girls wouldn’t be cooking bacon, waffles, french toast, and sausage. I went over to a pan and started cracking eggs to fry them up. I waited for a lull in the conversation before I asked the burning question in my mind. “Does anyone know where Miss Valerie is anyway?” I asked the group casually after saying my usual ‘good mornings’ and ‘hellos’. I wanted to know if anyone had any new information on where she was. I was sure that her absence had something to do with the shipment she was getting from the governor. I wondered if something had gone wrong with it again and Valerie was putting out the fire. I thought about the cruel things Bernard would want to do to the governor if he messed up again. The Golden Hive was such a well-connected club that they had unlimited resources to