Chapter 9: He's an ass man

Belle Rose

“Holy cow,” Joe, our cook, blurts out, looking around in disbelief. “Did you clean this kitchen?” he asks me. I nod, and he just shakes his head, chuckling to himself as he walks over to the stove with the rest of the kitchen staff trailing behind him. “You know he never comes in here.”

“Who?” I ask, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“The boss,” he answers, chuckling again, and the others join in.

“So what? I woke up early and started cleaning because I was anxious,” I tell them, starting to prep some ingredients.

“Anxious cleaning?” Joe asks, smirking at me like he doesn’t buy it.

“Yeah. Anxious cleaning. I should have started prepping, but I got caught up in cleaning and couldn’t stop for a couple of hours,” I explain.

“I don’t get why you’d want to do extra work,” Sofia chimes in. “Why not just stay in your room?”

“It’s good she’s ready to work. Maybe you should be too,” Marissa tells her, handing us the knives. Of course, he doesn’t let us have free access to knives.

I could have killed him in his sleep this morning. Not that my body would have let me, considering the sex dream. Maybe if I kill him, it would stop.

I doubt it. It was just one dream anyway, a lapse in judgment.

I was wrong. The next few nights, I dream of him, for some strange reason.

During the day, he’s still cold, but he touches my hand or any of my bare skin when I serve his lunch and dinner, and he keeps staring at me.

He’s like a watchful presence looming over me, controlling what I do.

“Belle, right?” one of the guys, one who was in the diner, asks, cornering me in the halls after I step out of Enzo’s office.

“Yes,” I answer curtly, giving him a quick smile before trying to move past him. But his arm blocks my way as he leans against the wall.

“I’m Rafael,” he introduces himself. He’s one of Enzo’s brothers.

“Hi,” I mumble, avoiding his gaze. His fingers lift my chin up, forcing me to look at him.

“Why don’t you give me a kiss, princess?” he teases, leaning in closer. I flinch a little from his grip, but he holds me tighter.

“~Non toccarla, cazzo~ (don’t you fucking touch her),” a voice growls behind me, and Rafael immediately lets go. He holds his hands up and backs away, disappearing down the hall, leaving me alone with Enzo.

He turns me around and holds me by the waist, his hands sneaking lower to my ass. “Don’t let anyone touch you but me,” he says through gritted teeth, his eyes boring into me with a warning and a show of dominance.

“I didn’t want him to,” I mumble. I don’t know why I talk back to him. If I just let him say what he wants and do what he wants, he’ll leave me alone. He hasn’t even tried to kiss me or have sex with me. That doesn’t make him any better, though, he’s still a monster.

“You’re mine,” he declares, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I know ~I’m his~. He loves to remind me of that false fact.

“I know,” I whimper as he squeezes.

“So you should have come back into my office when he tried to touch you,” he hisses. “You understand, ~gattina~?”

“Yes. I’m sorry,” I reply, and his grip loosens. He takes my hand and drags me back into his office, pulling me over his knee once he sits down and stroking my ass. “W-what are you d-doing?”

“Well, ~gattina~, you broke a rule. Now I’m gonna have to punish you,” he tells me, smoothing his hand over my skin.

“B-but I-I didn’t do anything,” I plead.

“Keep talking back and you’ll get more,” he whispers, and then his hand comes down. I gasp and hear the sound of his hand hitting my ass again. Even though it hurts like hell, I’ve never been turned on by spanking until now. I can feel my panties getting wet, and I’m scared they’ll soak through onto his pants.

After a few more hard hits, he lifts me up as if I weigh nothing and sets me on his lap, straddling him.

“Learned your lesson?”

“Yes,” I answer in a small, submissive voice.

He just starts to work with me on his lap, holding me there with his hand on my sore, bare ass. I’m not really sure if he wants me to do something, but I just rest my cheek on his shoulder like he’s my pillow.

I breathe in his scent, and his hand rubs over the likely red patches on my butt as he works. I listen to him breathe and close my eyes...

***

~As the tank starts to fill with water, I pound on the glass, hoping someone will hear me and rescue me. My dad and uncle stand there, laughing at the sight of me.~

~Why couldn’t they ever care? Why can’t they save me, just once?~

~The water begins to hit my chin, my legs dangling in the water as I gasp for air at the top of the tank. No one will save me. It’s no use.~

~As the water rises until there is no air left for me to breathe, I sink back down in the tank, ready to let go, give in, stop fighting.~

~But there he is. My savior. Enzo. He grabs a brick and pounds on the glass, freeing the water and letting it drench him. He doesn’t care. He only takes me in his arms and holds me to his warmth.~

~“You’re mine, ~gattina~. I protect what’s mine,” he whispers huskily. I’m his. He saved me.~

~He strokes my wet hair, and I find myself in bed with him, in his bed. I’m now naked under the sheets, my body pressed up against his.~

~I watch his handsome face, his once tense features now relaxed. His arms wrap around my waist, and his fingers begin to draw little patterns on my back.~

~His scent fills my senses as I press my face into his chest. This moment is perfect…~

***

Suddenly, I jerk awake, finding myself in my room. He must have brought me here, or had someone else do it.

I had fallen asleep on him, then dreamt a strange dream where he saved me from drowning, and comforted me afterward. But that's how I know it was just a dream—because he doesn't comfort people.

But then again, he did let me sleep on him. And now it seems to be morning, which means he excused me from my duties last night.

I start prepping early, before the rest of the staff join me in the kitchen.

“Where were you yesterday?” Sofia questions, her eyebrows raised in curiosity. “You missed kitchen cleanup.”

“I was tied up with the boss,” I respond, rolling my eyes at the memory of his punishment. My ass is still sore, and I didn't even do anything wrong.

“We have extra prep for dinner today. There's an unexpected business meeting.”

“Belle, Sofia,” Marissa calls out. “You two are on dinner service today. Okay?” We nod in agreement.