Silent Whisper (6 page)

As I sat in the back of the stretch limo, I relaxed back against the leather seat and thought about the first time I had met Dominic at Belle’s.

“Hey Karlie, front and center,” Belle had hollered as she poked her head into the parlor. “Got a newbie out front. He asked for you. Quite a looker I might add.”

I had scrambled to my feet and stopped in front of the mirror on my way out to check my hair and make-up. It was all-good.

I could remember how my stomach had fluttered as the tall, dark stranger turned to gaze at me when I entered the lobby. I’d never seen him before and couldn’t imagine how he would’ve known me, or why he’d asked for me. I decided maybe I’d been referred, in which case I was sort of flattered.

He’d followed me silently up the carpeted staircase to my room. I would never forget how tentative he’d acted with me. It was almost as if he’d never paid for a hooker before; he wasn’t quite sure how everything went down.

With his dazzling good looks and quiet demeanor, I found it difficult to understand why he had felt the need to pay for female company, but it was his cash, and I made damn sure he got his money’s worth
that
night.

A smile crossed my lips as I remembered just how gentle he had been with me. The sight of his nakedness had taken my breath away. He had been so different than the other men who’d paid for my company over the prior year and a half; he was slow and sensual; he tasted every part of my body before burying his sheathed cock inside of me. He had made love to me that very first time. What a rarity it had been.

The truth was Dominic had spoiled me for any man after that. That’s not to say it wasn’t business as usual after he left, but I soon started to look forward to the few days every month that he would claim me as his.

Belle had chided me about getting too attached to a john; it was very dangerous territory in the business. Still, when I told her about the offer he’d made to take me away from it all, she didn’t hesitate in telling me to grab it.

“Honey,” she said, “No matter what happens with him, it’s got to be a better life for you than this. You and Lana are like my own, and I’ll miss the hell out of you, but who knows? Maybe there’s more to him than you know. Just be careful and know that you always have a home back here if things don’t work out in the city.”

“Thanks, Belle,” I said, giving her a hug. “You know I’ll stay in touch.”

Lana hadn’t spoken to me much after I’d given her the news. I promised her that I would stay in touch, and that we would even get together again.

“Sure,” she said, a tinge of resentment in her voice. “Sure we will Karlie.”

And I
had
stayed in touch. I called Belle’s at least once a week to check on her and the rest of the girls. Lana was the only one that wouldn’t come to the phone when I called. I told the others about my condo, my car and now my new job.

“I’m so proud of you Karlie,” Belle said over the phone. I heard the sigh in her voice. “I hope Nick continues to treat you like royalty, but you know, if things should ever change, you can always come home.”

“I know, Belle. I love you, too. Say hi to Lana for me, will you?”

“Sure, sweetie. She misses you no matter what you think,” she whispered into the phone. “She’ll come around.”

I wasn’t sure about that.

I hadn’t told Belle or the others that ‘Nick’ was a Castellano. I knew that if I had, she would’ve talked me out of leaving. It was the only lie that I’d ever told her and it was a necessary one because I didn’t want her to worry—or worse, try and change my mind. Belle, like everyone else in Chester, knew what the Castellano name meant. So I’d given her and the rest of the girls a fake last name for Nick. It was better that way.

My attention was drawn back into the present as Robert pulled the limo into the gravel drive that led to the small, private airstrip that Dominic’s family used.

The Cessna was ready for takeoff. Dominic was already on board when Robert followed me up the steps with my suitcase in hand.

“Have a safe trip, Miss,” he said, stowing my luggage.

“Thanks, Robert,” I smiled, before turning my attention back to Dominic who was sprawled out in one of the leather seats, his tie loosened, a cocktail in one hand, and his DynaTAC cellular phone in his other. He motioned me over to the seat next to him.

“We’re taking off now, Sal.” (Pause) “Yes, I’ve scheduled a meeting on Tuesday with Fat Tony at the social club in East Harlem. I think we can work something out without drawing too much attention.” (Pause) “Listen, I’ve got to go, I’m on this cellular and there are issues with privacy.” (Pause) “Yeah, I’ll be in touch.”

Dominic shut off that contraption of a phone and gave me a smile. “You look exceptionally lovely. May I pour you a glass of wine?”

I gave him a slight frown. “You know, Dominic, I wasn’t trying to
eavesdrop
on your conversation. You did wave me over here if you recall.”

He gave a soft laugh. “I wasn’t referring to you, sweetheart. These cellular phones can have conversations easily picked up by anyone nearby with a scanner. It’s best not to discuss things of a sensitive nature, that’s all. Besides, Sal would’ve kept me on the phone indefinitely and I have something much more appealing to focus on now that you’re here.”

I had to laugh, shaking my head. “You just always know the right thing to say, don’t you? I mean does that come with being Italian—or did you have to learn that skill?”

He stood up, and went to the wet bar, pouring me a glass of white wine.

“A little bit of both,” he said, raising his glass to mine. “Cheers, Karlie. You’re going to love turning twenty-one in New York City.”

Dominic hadn’t been kidding when he said we were going to celebrate my twenty-first birthday in style. He spared no expense or effort in ensuring that my first time in New York City was an experience that I’d never forget.

My birthday, the following evening, started with a romantic dinner at his Manhattan loft prepared by one of his staff. Up to this point, I hadn’t a clue as to just how much wealth he had acquired in the family business.

Oh, I knew of the Castellano
family
wealth, but all of this—it was Dominic’s alone. Never having traveled far from my roots in West Virginia, he had opened up a whole new world for me, and it was one that fairly glittered.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed. I was more than impressed; I was awestruck and amazed. It was one thing seeing how Dominic operated in and around Cherry Hill, New Jersey, but here in New York City it was no different.

There was a bevy of associates around constantly to make sure that his every comfort was met, and because I was with him, they saw to my every comfort as well. It was intoxicating. And I admit something changed in me that night and in the way that I regarded him from that point on.

He gifted me with a gorgeous emerald ring that had smaller diamonds encrusted on either side of it. He had purchased delicate emerald earrings with tiny teardrop diamonds underneath the stone.

His driver took us to a Manhattan nightclub called The Ritz. It was very upscale with live music and dancing.

Dominic and I enjoyed several flutes of champagne, and I was feeling a bit toasted by the time the band played, “Broken Wings.” He smiled as he stood up, pulled me to my feet, and into his arms. It was turning out to be a perfect evening.

It was then that he whispered against my ear ever so softly that he loved me. He’d never said those words to me before, and truthfully, I’d never considered him to be the type of man to verbalize his feelings to a woman even if he had them.

But in that moment, I knew that I was his, and that my plans for retribution for what his father had done to my family, would never touch Dominic.

Because I was pretty sure I loved him too.

Right or wrong—and yes, it
was
wrong for so many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that he was married. I also knew what being a Castellano meant and the things Dominic did to earn his wealth.

So afterwards, back in his loft, we toasted my birthday with yet more champagne and the admission that I loved him back.

I was just tipsy enough to ask a question that had been burning a hole in my brain since the day I had agreed to be accessible to him. A question that I wouldn’t have dared to ask him before I knew that he loved me, and without having a significant amount of champagne in me for courage.

“Have you ever ordered a hit?” I asked, leaning back against him as we reclined together on his overstuffed sofa.

I felt him stiffen momentarily. His hands had been caressing the back of my neck softly as I asked that question, and even now they continued as if I hadn’t put the question out there like that.

I felt his warm breath on my skin, but I couldn’t look at him; I could only wait with baited breath to see what his response would be.

“Why would you ask me such a thing, Karlie?”

“Because I want to know if you trust me with the truth, Dominic, and because I need to know how deeply I might be affected by the truth.”

There was a pause of silence.

“Yes,” he finally said, with a sigh.

I settled against him, exhaling softly. I wasn’t shocked. I wasn’t even surprised. Truth be told, it didn’t change the way that I felt about him at all.

I knew that he was waiting for some sort of reaction out of me, since he had shared something despicable about himself with me, but I had none to give.

“Baby,” he said softly, “My life is what it is. I grew up knowing what I was and what I would always be, the same as my father, and his father before him in Sicily. It’s not a career choice; it’s simply a way of life that I was born into. But I
can
promise you that I will never allow you to become part of it. I will make sure that you are never at risk, and that you have no reason to be concerned about your safety or culpability in anything. Do you understand?”

His dark brown eyes were studying me, wanting to make sure that I knew he was my protector in all of this.

I swallowed nervously under his perusal, and nodded.

And that night, Dominic loved me with a passion that had been absent before, though I never would’ve guessed that he had been holding anything back. It was different that night. Haunting yet exciting at the same time and it felt dangerous.

It might’ve been because of our earlier mutual declaration of love; or it might’ve been because I now knew the extent of this man’s power, along with his promise to be my protector. So let’s face it, his power, along with his passion for me was a potent aphrodisiac for this girl from Chester, West Virginia.

But it also might’ve been because Dominic didn’t permit me to put my diaphragm in before we hit the sheets that night.

“No Karlie,” he said, pulling me gently back to him as I started for the bathroom to do what I always did before sex. His fingers tilted my chin, forcing me to gaze into his dark eyes.

“Not tonight. Not anymore.”

And I didn’t argue because it would’ve been pointless. Dominic had made up his mind as to what he wanted, and it was something that apparently he wanted from
me.

A child.

He had never gone into detail as to the specifics, but I’d gotten the impression that having children was important to Dominic. He had never elaborated as to why they had no children, and I didn’t think it was my place to ask.

After that night, I knew it was a conversation that we needed to have. Bringing Dominic Castellano’s child into this world was something I wasn’t sure that I could ever do.

And it had nothing to do with the fact that he was married. It was because having his child meant that he or she would be born into the same life that he had been born into, and his ancestors before him.

While I loved this man, I couldn’t fathom allowing a child of mine to follow in those kinds of footsteps, and I wasn’t all that sure that I’d have a choice in the matter.

Apparently Dominic had quite a few more surprises for me on this ‘business’ trip to New York City, and the mind-boggling aspect was that it wasn’t his business he was tending to—it was
mine.

Monday morning his driver took us to the infamous garment district in the Lower East Side. I was thrilled that he cared enough to let me see some of the newest fashions on display by designers such as Norma Kamali, Perry Ellis, Ralph Lauren, Bill Blass and Halston.

“Select anything you want,” he instructed as he observed me fingering the parachute silk material on a neon blue Norma Kamali jumpsuit.

I looked over at him and smiled. “I have more than enough in my wardrobe. Besides, most of this is career chic clothing. A little much for West-End Storage, don’t you think?”

“Agreed,” he murmured lifting a lock of hair from my shoulder. “However, I do think it’s suitable for your up and coming career. I think you’ll most certainly need to dress to impress; I mean if you expect to attract clients.”

I stopped what I was doing and looked up at him. He was dead-ass serious, but about what?

“Not following,” I replied, “Care to elaborate?”

“It’s a birthday surprise for you.” He was practically beaming which was something I’d never seen before, but I liked it. “And it should be completed by the time we return.”

“Dominic,” I sighed a bit impatiently, “Is this some form of slow torture? What are you talking about?”

He laughed softly. “Your talents are wasted sitting in that office all day. What kind of person would ignore your potential when it could prove to be quite lucrative?”

“So you’re promoting me? To what?”

“How would you feel about opening a clothing boutique? One that carries your own creations?”

I was stunned and totally confused. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that when we get back, you’ll find that your office has been expanded. I’ve had three of the adjoining storage units emptied and the walls between all three have been opened up to allow space for your workshop. The equipment you’ll need should be in place as well. You’ll have everything you need to design and manufacture your own clothing line for your boutique. Now, we’ll still have to find a suitable location for that, but it won’t take long. In the meantime, you can get started producing the first designs of your very own clothing line.”