Blood in the Golden Palace

Chapter 10: Penny-2

* * * *

Penny woke up in a daze. While her body was well rested, once her mind rebooted, she was quick to remember each and every embarrassing moment of the night before. Penny shot upright and clutched the blanket to her chest. To her horror, she was still wearing the pink negligee. Holding her head, Penny tried pushing the recent memories from mind, but found it impossible. Trapped by her shame, Penny felt an unshakable desire to find a deep, damp hole and crawl into it until the eventual heat death of the universe.

Knock knock knock. “Penny? Are you awake?”

Penny thrust back down into bed, covering her whole body with the blanket. Only her eyes poked out through the sheets. The knock came again, and Penny spoke with a tremor: “Y-yes. I’m awake.”

Angelo paused. “There’s coffee.” The temptation hung in the air a bit before his footsteps left her door. Penny hesitated. As much as she wanted to die in the deepest crater the Earth had to offer, coffee sounded really, really good right about now. Slowly, Penny crawled from her sheets of shame and threw on something decent. Creeping from her bedroom, she kept her eyes pointed directly at the floor. She glanced up as she shuffled into the kitchen. Angelo was seated at the far end of the kitchen island, a mug of coffee in his hands. He didn’t seem upset. In fact, he didn’t seem different at all. Penny stopped just a few feet shy of a stool. Angelo poured her a cup and set it down next to him.

“Good morning,” he said. Penny nodded, shortly. Angelo gently pushed the mug forward, inviting her to take it. “Did you sleep okay?” Penny didn’t know how to answer that, or if she should. Angelo propped his chin in his hand. “Sit,” he ordered. That seemed to do the trick, as Penny finally took her seat adjacent to Angelo’s own. “So. Last night was fun.”

Penny’s insides shriveled. She clutched her mug of coffee. “I…I didn’t…” Finally, she looked back up. Angelo was stirring his cup, waiting patiently for Penny to finish her thought. The minute her eyes met his, the flood gates collapsed.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what got into me last night. That was a horrible violation of your privacy, and I can’t believe I would even consider something like that. It was late, I wasn’t thinking. B-but I know that’s no excuse! I never should have left my room, I never should have gone to yours. It was embarrassing and horrible and wrong and I will never, ever, ever, ever do it again.”

Angelo drummed his fingernails on the counter top. Reaching over, he grabbed a small bowl and offered it to Penny. “Sugar?” Penny blinked. With uncertain hands, she took the sugar bowl and helped herself to a couple of scoops. Angelo took another drink. “You’re right,” he said. “It was a violation of my privacy. You’re lucky that Kitty likes to play to an audience, or she might have been very upset.” He held his coffee to his lips as Penny finally took a sip of hers. “If you wanted to watch, you could have just asked.”

Penny choked. Setting her mug down immediately, she grabbed a napkin and wiped her face. Looking up, she tried to see if Angelo was joking. He was not. “I-I…B-but that’s—”

Angelo shook his head. “Listen,” he continued, “spying on people is never polite, I’ll give you that. But you shouldn’t be ashamed of being curious. s*x is natural, it’s fun. It helps form our social bonds, it releases stress.” He paused. “You…have had s*x before, I’m assuming?”

Penny’s neck grew fiery hot. “Yes,” she said, a little too confidently. “Yes I have. Plenty of times.”

“Oh? And how many times is plenty?”

Penny floundered. “T…twice.”

“Ah.”

“N-no! No, wait, more than twice! I think. I—” Penny shifted in her seat. “It…I’ve never really been in a long term relationship or anything. And I’m working all the time to pay bills and keep food in the fridge, you know? So I just…A lot of times I’m too tired or too busy.”

“Hm.” Angelo tapped on the counter. “Do you enjoy it?”

Penny straightened up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a genuine question. Not everybody does.”

“I…” Penny hesitated. She cleared her throat, feeling some of that shame finally roll off her shoulders. “Yes. I do. At least…I did when I had it.”

“Well that’s good. It’s important to know what you like.”

“I…guess.”

Angelo stood from his seat as he finished his coffee. Setting the empty mug in the sink, he turned to her, hips leaning on the counter behind him. “You have questions.” He wasn’t asking. “Cards on the table. Anything you want to know.” He held up a finger. “So long as you stay on topic. Are you good with that?”

Right, Penny thought, no mafia questions. Penny nibbled at her bottom lip. “Anything?”

“Anything and everything.”

“Okay…” Slowly but surely, Penny’s nerves quieted themselves, allowing her curiosity to take command. “Was that your girlfriend last night?”

Angelo laughed. “Who, Kitty? No. She’s a good friend. Great Scrabble player.”

“Do you…I mean, do you have a lot of…good friends?”

“I have enough.”

“Do you have a girlfriend at all?”

“Not really, no.”

“Oh. How come?”

“Makes things easier.”

“Hm.” Penny leaned forward on the kitchen island. “That thing that she was in. All those straps. Was that like a s*x swing?”

“It was.”

“Why use something like that when you have such a big bed?”

“Honestly? It’s better for my knees.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Penny’s mind went to Angelo’s closet of s****l deviancy. “So are you like…uh…what are they called? Like a top?”

“Top’s a word for it. Most people call them doms or dominants.”

“And a bottom is—?”

“A sub or submissive. And people who switch are, well, switches.”

“Huh. Are you only a dom?”

“Mostly. I’ve subbed for a handful of people in the past. It just takes a special kind of dom for me to get there.”

“Like some kind of older woman or something?”

“Sometimes. A guy or two, if I’m feeling spicy.” He paused. “But that stays between us, yeah? In fact, all of this stays in the kitchen.”

Penny nodded. “Of course.” Feeling far more confident now, Penny giggled. “This is so weird.”

“What is?”

“Well…no one talks so easily about this stuff.” She clarified: “You know how I was a foster kid all my life? When you’re in the system, no one ever really gives you ‘the talk.’ So most of what you learn comes from the internet or from whoever your foster siblings are. And a lot of times I was too scared to search for anything too…unusual.”

“But you’ve considered it?”

“Sometimes.”

“Well the internet is a good start,” said Angelo, “but you want to be careful. Especially someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

Angelo leaned forward on the kitchen island, propped up on his elbows. “Someone inexperienced, I mean. I’d like to say otherwise, but there are plenty of people in the kink world who take advantage of young women like you. Give you bad information on purpose to try and control you.”

Penny smiled somberly. “That just sounds like men,” she said.

Angelo’s smile widened. “You’re not wrong. A cute girl like you, all curious and wide eyed? You’d have to fight them off with a stick. Though plenty of them might be into that.”

Something inside Penny lurched delightfully. It was only then that Penny noticed just how close the two of them were. Angelo was practically bent over at a ninety degree angle, giving only half a foot between them. So whether it was conscious or not, the next words out of her mouth were:

“Are you into that, Mr. Angelo?”

A glint flashed in Angelo’s dark eyes. Penny didn’t look away. It was their own little private game of chicken. With fluid movements, Angelo’s two fingers rested on the bend of Penny’s jaw. He slid them down the contour of her face, until he reached the tip of her tiny chin. He tilted her head just so, with hardly any pressure applied. His very touch left tingles on her skin, making the hairs on her arms and neck stand on end.

“Don’t tempt me.” His fingers left her face, though Angelo didn’t pull away. Not yet. “There are two major tenets of b**m. The first is trust. If you’re ready to play with someone, you better be sure that you know who it is you’re getting into bed with. Or…on a swing with.”

“And the second?”

“The second,” Angelo continued, “is consent. Freely given, enthusiastic, and perpetual. It’s so important, we use safe words when we need to. Something that any party can say if they need to end the play and get back to reality. Maybe someone’s being hit too hard or they’re uncomfortable, or hell, maybe they’re just not that into it. Any reason is acceptable.”

Penny licked her lips without noticing. “So uh…” She fidgeted with her fingers. “When you’re…looking for a Sub. What…what do you like?”

Angelo tilted his head to one side. “I like someone cute. Someone who’s excited to be with me. I like someone who can melt in my hands. The perfect Sub, for me, is someone who doesn’t even have to be touched for me to take control.” With smooth motions, Angelo took Penny’s wrist, and tenderly pushed away the sleeve of her hoodie. “I like someone with pretty skin. So that when I leave my marks…” He ran a fingernail down the tendon in Penny’s arm. Penny shivered, her fingers twitching. “…I can admire them later. Like art.”

Penny’s breath was shallow. Her lips, barely parted, ached to move forward. To close the gap between the pair of them. She could see that Angelo mirrored her urges. But before either of them could stick the landing, Angelo’s hand left her wrist, and he pushed back from the kitchen island. Penny had to stop herself from whimpering. Angelo rinsed out his coffee mug, wiped it, and set it aside to dry.

“I got a call from my father this morning,” he said, switching gears. “I’ll be over the bridge in Los Vet next week. Sorry, but you’ll be by yourself for a while. I don’t know how long it’s going to take.”

Penny’s face fell with disappointment. “I can’t stay cooped up here forever,” she said. Angelo turned to her. “Look, I get why I’m here, but I got to be honest, I’m going crazy in this place.”

Angelo frowned. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“Well, no, but I haven’t even been outside the wall except to meet your sister who hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you.”

“That’s not the point. The point is I’m stuck here, I’ve run out of books, there’s nothing else for me to do and I can’t even go out for a walk without knowing I’m going to be stalked by at least five dudes—”

Penny froze. In her newfound comfort with Angelo, she only just realized how dangerous this laundry list of complaints was. Who was to say her protest wouldn’t be met with hostility, or even punishment? She shrunk down in her seat, shoving her hands under her thighs, if only to protect them from any rogue kitchen appliances. “I…I mean…” Her voice fell a few decibels. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little…stir crazy. F-forget I said anything.” Though she kept her eyes averted, she saw Angelo’s stance shift, and she wondered if she’d be met with a slap in the head for all her troubles. Instead, she saw Angelo’s hands rest on the counter in front of her, folded casually. He waited as she met his gaze. There wasn’t a hint of irritation in those eyes.

“No,” he said, “I understand.” Straightening up, he scratched his head in thought. “We might be able to try. You’d have to spend a lot of time in the hotel, but if Hank kept an eye on things while I was busy…”

Penny perked up. “Hotel?”

Angelo hesitated. “Listen,” he said, “taking you out of the house in any capacity is a gamble. You saw what my family is like. The fact of the matter is, none of us know that you won’t run off to the cops the minute we take our eyes off you. Or that someone else will figure it out whether you want them to or not. My family doesn’t trust easily, and in our business, trust is vital.”

“Then let me earn that trust,” Penny bargained. “Let me prove to you and everyone else that you don’t have to worry about me.”

Angelo pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “If I do this and you make me regret it—”

“I won’t. I swear.”

“I won’t be able to protect you if my father brings the hammer down.”

“I know.”

“He’s not a forgiving man.”

“Right.”

“And he sure as s**t won’t try to understand what you’re going through—”

“Angelo.” Finally, Penny stood, stalling his words. Her eyes were earnest. “I need to get out of this house, or I swear I’ll go absolutely nuts. Please. Just let me go somewhere. Anywhere.” Silence teetered between them, and for a second or two, Penny was afraid Angelo would deny her request. But finally, after an eternity of waiting, his shoulders dropped, and he nodded, giving in.

“All right,” he said. “I’ll take you with me. But Hank is coming with for those times I can’t supervise you.”

Penny could have jumped for joy. But instead, she rounded the island and grabbed onto Angelo’s midsection, surprising him with a bear hug. “Thank you, thank you!” she sang. By the time she realized the hug might have been inappropriate, Angelo’s hand found its way to her head, and he laid it there. A warm, easy feeling washed over Penny, and she leaned further into the hug. She could feel those muscles tighten around her, like the warmth of a good blanket. Angelo was the first to break away, and he cleared his throat.

“We leave tomorrow morning. So you need to be packed tonight.”

“I’ve never been to Los Vet. How long is the drive?”

“Drive?”