Twisted Desire

by Laura Dunaway

  I nodded, inwardly cringing at leaving Penny but knowing if I tried to get out of this, it would set me too far back with Roman and all I’d worked for. But, I couldn’t shake the feeling there was more of a reason than me being one of his best men to send me out on the job, and it had everything to do with Penny. Roman had something up his sleeve with her, that much was obvious, and it frustrated me to no end not knowing what it was.

  As I was walking out the door, I couldn’t resist asking him something. “So, Roman, based on what you just told me, what do you have planned for her?”

  An evil grin appeared on his face, and my stomach sank.

  “I was wondering if you would ask that, Tag. My plan for Ms. Santoro is quite complex. As I expected, her father has accused me of taking her, or having something to do with it, which of course I’ve vehemently denied. He’s hired the best private investigators in New York to find her, but they don’t have a clue where she is, and they never will.”

  He didn’t offer more, and it didn’t escape me he hadn’t really answered my question. All I know is his plan for her is complex, whatever the hell that meant. I was determined to figure out what he was planning and make sure Penny was not going to suffer anymore because of him.

  Penny, my querida, my lover, my everything.

  How was I going to tell her I had to leave the yacht? Just knowing how scared she’d be had me clenching my fists at my sides. Roman said he’d watch over her, but the gnawing feeling that he was the one I should be protecting her from wouldn’t leave me.

  When Roman and I got back in the room where Penny and Fiona were, they both looked up at us with curious eyes. Roman went back and settled between them, as Theo and I stayed standing.

  “Ladies,” Roman started. “Tag and Theo have to leave us for a little while, but they’ll be back soon. Something has come up that I urgently need their attention on. But not to worry, I have a special evening planned for you both.

  What. The. Hell?

  “Tag, where are you going?”

  I had started to walk toward her but froze at the terror in her voice. My eyes went to Roman, who was watching me with intensity. Before I could say anything, Roman spoke.

  “Don’t worry, Ms. Santoro, he will be back. Like I said, I just need him to attend to something for a while, but you will be safe here with me. I won’t let you out of my sight until Tag returns to escort you back to your cabin. My chef has prepared a delicious meal for us to eat. I know you will like it.”

  Penny stood up and met me halfway, not seeming to care that all eyes were on us. “You have to leave now?” she whispered, a tremble in her voice.

  My heart wrenched inside of me, knowing I told her I’d be by her side all night. Please don’t hate me, querida, I didn’t know he’d do this. Instead of saying that, though, I just stood in front of her, hoping my eyes said it for me.

  Knowing Roman’s eyes were watching me closely, I nodded. “Unfortunately yes, but I won’t be long, and you’ll be safe here with Roman and Fiona. I’m sorry.”

  Knowing she needed more from me, but not being able to give it, almost broke me. Having to turn around and walk out the door, knowing she was more scared than ever and not being able to hold her, to reassure her, had me seeing red. My jaw clenched, and my fists were itching to pound the shit out of something. Instead, I just continued walking ahead of Theo, hearing him shut the door behind us.

  Chapter 16

  I watched as Theo shut the door, the sound feeling like a nail in my coffin. I’d never been without Tag on the yacht before, and I was freaking out. He told me he’d be by my side all night—why had Roman sent him away?

  “Shall we?”

  I looked up and saw Roman and Fiona standing, looking at me. Roman had his hand extended to me, waiting for me to put mine in it. I hesitated; the last thing wanting to do was touch him in any way. He was looking at me with that odd look again, making my skin crawl. But knowing it would cause more problems if I didn’t, I put my hand in his and walked alongside him to his dining room. After a few seconds I tried to drop his hand, but it only made him hold onto mine tighter, sending chills down my spine.

  We reached the dining room table and sat down where we were told. Fiona and I were on the ends, and Roman sat at the head. He folded his hands underneath his chin and looked at the two of us.

  “I am a very lucky man tonight, seated between two beautiful women,” he began, looking at each of us. “It’s not often I get this opportunity to enjoy a meal with only two lovely ladies. I am very pleased.”

  Fiona smiled like she’d won the lottery and gushed all over him. I just gave a small smile and stayed quiet. My stomach was churning inside, and I was extremely worried about Tag. We’d just shared something so deep, so intimate, and hadn’t had any time to talk about it, to see what it meant, and now he was sent away. Being with Roman Vitale was the last place I wanted to be.

  A few minutes later our meal of pot roast and seasoned potatoes was served when the door suddenly opened and a beautiful, dark-haired woman entered, followed by a man playing the violin. Her hair was as dark as night and extremely straight, reaching the middle of her back. She was wearing a very short, sheer purple blouse that was tied in a bow just below her breasts and a pair of gold shimmery pants with purple stiletto heels. She had gold bracelets all the way up to her elbows, long golden necklaces surrounding her neck, and large gold hoops in her ears. Her eye shadow was a deep purple and painted on strong over her eyes, with her lashes long and thick with lots of dark mascara. To finish off her look, her lips were painted with a deep red lipstick.

  She rotated her hips around in an extremely sexy manner, and her bracelets jingled as she did, making Roman clap in appreciation. She was obviously a belly dancer, and a good one at that. I found that even though I was worried sick about Tag and where he went, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her.

  She moved around the room like she owned it, eventually reaching Roman and pulling him to stand. He chuckled as she moved him a few inches away from his chair and started circling him like a cat on the prowl. She rubbed her bottom around him as she moved, then suddenly turned around when she reached his front, shimmying her way down to her knees, then slowly shimmying her way back up, only pausing when her face reached his crotch for a moment.

  Roman kept his eyes on her every move, smiling greedily as she continued to stand up and reach the top of his chest. He started to reach out for her but she moved quickly and was on her way around the room, dancing again. He threw his head back and laughed as he sat back down in his chair.

  Fiona caught my eye as the dancer passed behind her, and the look on her face told me she wasn’t happy the girl had come in the room. It made me wonder what kind of relationship she and Roman had, and how long they’d known each other. She hadn’t said much when we were alone while the guys went to the other room, only talking about her job as the manager of one of Roman’s club on the island she lived on. When I asked her the name of the island, her eyes darted around the room and she swiftly changed the subject, telling me she was most likely aware I was on board the yacht not by choice.

  The violin finally stopped, as did the lovely dancer. When she bowed, Roman started clapping furiously and stood up. Not wanting to be rude, I followed his lead, then Fiona did too. Her eyes were glaring at the dancer, though, who didn’t seem to notice. She only had eyes for Roman and beamed when he started praising her.

  “Ladies, this is the lovely SanRisa. Isn’t she a beautiful dancer? I’m so pleased she could be here tonight to entertain us.”

  SanRisa smiled lovingly at Roman as she took a glass of water from a server. “Thank you, love,” she told him when she’d set her glass down. “You know I am always available for Mr. Roman Vitale when he comes to my port,” she told him with a wink.

  Roman gave her a full-on grin, clearly pleased with her words. “You flatter me, my dear. I would love it if you would stay and join us for the rest of our meal.”

  Fiona
shot him a look, obviously surprised by this. I felt like I was at a tennis match, my head going from side to side to see who would win. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some bad blood between Fiona and SanRisa.

  “I would be honored,” SanRisa answered, earning another glare from Fiona.

  A server rushed out and set another place on the table, by me as luck would have it. As she walked over to sit, Roman introduced us.

  “My dear SanRisa, this is a new friend of mine, Penny Santoro. Please, give her a warm welcome.”

  SanRisa didn’t say anything, just took my face between her hands and leaned over, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. My eyes grew in surprise, but I didn’t say anything. When she leaned back, she looked straight in my eyes, then laughed as she blotted my forehead with her napkin.

  “Welcome, beautiful Penny. It is a pleasure to meet you, and so sorry about my lipstick on your forehead, darling. I got it off.”

  I nodded, taken aback, but did my best not to show it. “Thank you.”

  She sat right down next to me and dove into her pot roast. “You know, dancing always gives me such an appetite. Thank you for inviting me to stay, my dear Roman,” she said after swallowing, a look of devotion in her eyes when she looked at him.

  He circled his forefinger around the top of his wine glass, his smile still as big as ever. “Of course, my dear. I would have been hurt if you would have turned me down.”

  At that, a large cough came from Fiona. Roman snapped his head toward her, as if he’d forgotten she was there. Her eyes let him know she was very displeased.

  The lady had guts.

  “Oh, my sweet Fiona, forgive me. You remember SanRisa, don’t you?”

  The look between the two ladies could have melted Antarctica. There was definitely tension between them.

  “How could I forget?” Fiona asked, a sneer on her face.

  SanRisa lifted her wine glass, giving her a mock salute. “So lovely to see you again, Fiona.”

  I was mesmerized by the tension between the two, and it was obvious Roman was fully enjoying it. It hit me then that the issue between them was Roman himself. They didn’t like sharing this powerful man.

  They could have the bastard. I didn’t miss how his eyes kept returning to me all night, but I pretended to be oblivious. My palms were damp, and my stomach was still churning. Roman gave me the creeps and scared me, but he also made me angrier than I’d ever been in my life. I didn’t know how to handle all of the emotions I felt toward him.

  “Roman,” SanRisa chimed, interrupting my thoughts. “How long will you be in port?” Her long red manicured nails clicked on her glass as she picked it up, taking a long sip of her wine. Her lips left a large red stain on the sparkling glass.

  “Oh, only for tonight, my dear,” Roman replied. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to have more time with you.”

  SanRisa put a large pout on her face. Oh, she was good.

  “That makes me sad, amore,” she whined. “Next time you come, please make sure to give me more of your time.”

  Roman lifted his glass to her, a gleam in his eye. “I will, my dear, believe me. I will.”

  Another large cough sounded across the table, and we all looked at Fiona.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, “I can’t seem to get rid of this annoying thing in my throat.” She looked right at SanRisa as she said that, which caused my eyes to widen when I got her meaning that it was SanRisa who was really annoying her.

  A few minutes later, Roman’s phone made a loud beep, causing him to immediately take it out. He read the text, and a large grin crept on his face. Whatever it said, it must have been good.

  He put the phone back in his pocket and looked around the room at the three of us. “SanRisa, I’m pleased you did not have a show at my club tonight and came to entertain us on your night off. I feel very flattered to be on such a high list of yours.”

  Ah, she also worked at Roman’s club.

  “Anything for you, Roman Vitale,” she replied, batting her long dark lashes at him.

  “Roman, when are we going to retire to your room?” Fiona asked, then looked at SanRisa.

  Roman’s eyes immediately darkened, making Fiona sit back in her seat a little. “Are you suggesting I leave my other guests, Fiona? That would be very rude. I also promised my dear Penny that I’d watch over her until Tag returns.”

  Fiona just shook her head, obviously realizing her mistake.

  “Good,” Roman told her. “I will forgive your lapse in judgment this once. You know I am an excellent host and would never excuse myself before the night was over, unless there was an emergency.”

  The only word I could come up with for this evening was bizarre. Two women were cat fighting over Roman, and Tag had been sent off the yacht. I was relieved that the two women hadn’t seemed to notice Roman’s creepy glances toward me all evening. I wanted no part of their venom for vying for him.

  Roman sat back in his chair, addressing me. “Penny, I’m so sorry, dear. How are you enjoying your evening?”

  I gulped, hating that he was now including me in his conversation. I lied through my teeth, knowing it was the safest option, and answered softly, “I’m enjoying myself, thank you.”

  That seemed to please him by the nod he gave me. “Good. I’d hate to hear otherwise.”

  SanRisa turned to face me. “So, Penny, tell me what you do for Roman.”

  I froze in my chair, my dinner threatening to come back up. Before I could answer, Roman took care of it.

  “Penny is my guest, SanRisa. She doesn’t work for me.”

  SanRisa’s eyes grew big. “Ohhh, a guest, I had no idea. Well, that is even better. Are you enjoying yourself on board his yacht?”

  I saw Roman’s eyes squint as he took a swallow of his water, looking at me. He was waiting to see how I’d handle her question. Did he really think I’d tell her the truth?

  “Very much,” I lied. I didn’t miss the faint dash of surprise on Roman’s face. “Who wouldn’t love sailing around, not having a care in the world?”

  I hated myself so much for pretending to be okay with this. But I knew I had to lie. Without Tag by my side, I had no idea what to do, other than pretending everything was great.

  SanRisa smiled big, reaching over to put her hand over mine. “You are so right. Not many get to do that. I am very jealous.”

  Fiona cut in with a laugh. “I wouldn’t be jealous if I were you.” As if realizing what she said, her eyes grew wide, and she immediately looked at Roman. His eyes were darkened in anger and a red sheen had come over his face.

  SanRisa looked between them. “Am I missing something here?”

  Suddenly Roman stood up, making his chair topple over behind him. “If you will excuse me and Fiona for just a moment,” he said, grabbing her out of her chair and practically dragging her out of the room.

  I watched in horror as they left the room, my stomach suddenly even sicker. What was he going to do to her?

  “What the hell was that all about?” SanRisa asked. “Is there something going on I should know about?”

  Hell, no, girl. Get out of here while you still can.

  I shook my head, playing oblivious. “I have no idea,” I said, playing with the fork on my plate. “I hope everything is okay.”

  “More wine, ma’am?” a server asked out of the blue. I jumped; I had no idea he had come in the room.