Hi there. Thanks for clicking on my story.
I apologize for any and all linguistic mistakes. I am not native speaker, so please bear with me ;)

Also, you all know it, but still: I do not own anything you recognize, be it characters, places, dialogue or storylines.

The beginning of this first chapter might be dipping into M-rating territory, but the rest of the story is not, so... there.
Enjoy :)

For Your Entertainment

He groaned and jerked inside her. His skin rubbed against her - Nina moaned, pretending pleasure where there was none. Indeed, it stung where she should have been best protected. His head tilted back and she turned hers away. Auburn hair fanned around her, strands sticking to her face.
She was sweating. He was sweating. Where they met, their skins made an ugly smacking sound.
He was moving faster now; the bed kept heading the wall above her head. She tightened her legs around his hips - just to end it, for now.

The end came; he sagged against her. Nina let her legs drop and her arms fall. He rolled off her and cold air hit her damp skin. It was refreshing, but she still reached for the blanket to cover herself up.

When she moved, he turned his head to look at her. His upper lip pulled back in a sneer and he wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand.
She flinched when the same hand reached out to push the hair out of her face.

He grunted. "You've been better," he said, the Slavic accent even more prominent in his exhaustion. "Before."

Fear shot through her like an arrow. "I'm sorry."

He pulled a face and pushed away. She pulled the blanket tighter around her as he got up and walked across the room to the bowl of water and the washcloth. The maids did that sort of thing for him - as if he was an ancient king above using such mundane things like a sink or a shower.

"David," she asked, figuring this was the best time she would come across. "About tonight-"

"Yes," he said. "You will absolutely need to come."

Nina did not dare say that she did not want to. He knew it, but he would not like hearing it. He did not like hearing from her as a general rule.

"I just don't want to be a bother," she said, because he always considered her a bother but never bothered engaging with her. If he found another girl tonight, he would take her up whether she was by his side or not.

"Aw," he made and the sound made her skin crawl. "But I need you tonight. Langbourne's missed you last time..."

Last time, she had been bleeding and useless - not that he ever actually let any other man have her. She hated it nonetheless when he pretended; also because she never knew how far he would take the charade.

He was done with his washing and strolled over to her. Her shoulders pulled up. His fingers traced over her cheek, just a little too hard.

"No need for underwear, tonight," he said.

She felt like she wanted to vomit, but nodded anyway. He patted her cheek, like you would a pet or a small child. He left her without another word, stalking out of the room still stark-naked, probably to the dismay of any maid or busboy that encountered him next.

For about ten minutes, Nina remained rooted to the bed - she did not want him to catch her bending over looking for her clothes if he decided to come back. When she was finally sure, or as sure as she could be, she clambered out of bed and began looking for her shirt and pants on the floor.
He had teared her bra, which was a shame, because it had been both beautiful and expensive. Not that she had paid for it herself. She could not remember when she had last paid for anything herself.

She fished her Chanel shirt out from under the bed and pulled it over her head. Her flannel pants she found tossed over the couch, much like she had been roughly half an hour before.

Nina did the best she could to avoid eye contact when she left the room - ot wherever she went, really. The staff kept glancing at her with a pity that made her stomach turn and David's goons were not to be trusted. It was better to fly under the radar as long as she could manage it.

Her bare feet traced over the cold floor. The opulence of the place still made her head spin whenever the whiteness of the marble blinded her or her fingers traced over the ridges in a Roman-like pillar.
David came from a poor background; he had made a living trading drugs and weapons - and probably also girls, though she could not be sure. Originally from the Baltic, he now loved to stay in Mediterranean regions; like in this villa in Greece, which he casually called a dacha.

"Miss Nina!" The staffer was shaking under the large garment bag he was carrying. "The boss send me with this for you-"

"Great," she said, less enthusiastically then she would have liked. "Right this way."

She lead him to her room, which was already busting with shirts, shoes, and dresses just like the one she had undoubtedly now received. If there was a good thing about David, it was that he was not stingy. He would have bought her anything - sometimes he disliked her asking, but usually, that was the least of his problems.

She sharply closed a drawer full of letters, all addressed in her older sister's neat handwriting to Miss Elena Morris - she had not read even one of them.

The staffer laid the garment bag carefully out on her queen-size bed. He turned again, clasping his hands behind his back. Nina dreaded that he might bow to her; who knew what David made them do.

"Thanks," she said. "That'll be all."

He inclined his head and scurried out of the room. Nina did not turn until the door fell shut behind her; then she hurried to lock the door. David would throw a fit if he found out she locked the door, but she could not help herself.

The dress he had sent her was beautiful - another Chanel piece if she judged correctly - with a black ground and a colourful flower pattern atop. She had no doubt it would fit like a glove; David knew her measures better than she did herself.

Her eyes fell on the drawer again and she wondered what Maria would say if she could see her now; her sister would definitely disapprove, but she would disapprove no matter what Nina did. It was one of the reasons that she had not spoken to her sister for at least five years.
Back then, she had not been with David, but with someone just like him - she had the vague suspicion that David had robbed that first man of all his money and maybe even of his life; she never asked what David meant when he said he would take care of things.

She suspected, though, and it was because of it that Nina did her best to please David in whichever way he deemed fit. Even when he needed her as arm candy and more at a party that she did not want to go to. In comparison, that was the least of things.

The dress was even more beautiful when she wore it. She had been right before, it fit perfectly - as she turned in front of the mirror, Nina had the vague thought that she would not have fit into it two years ago.

David only threw lavish parties, where the alcohol flowed like the metaphorical milk and honey and music was played by orchestras. The men wore Gucci suits and the women either flowing robes or too-short cocktail dresses. Surprisingly, she was somewhere in between that day.

"Ah!" David found her as she walked into the ballroom and stopped at the balustrade above. "My beautiful flower."

"What a party," she said carefully.

He did not answer her. Instead, his hand found the small of her back and he lead her forward; he was not gentle about it and she quickened her step. One of his goons whistled as they reached the steps.
David was careful enough not to push anymore; it was a challenge as such to walk down the steps in those heels even without him hassling her.

"The dress suits you," he said.

"Your taste is impeccable," Nina said. "As usual."

He smiled and when they reached the bottom of the stairs, his arm wrapped around her waist instead of pushing her. "Langbourne's already asked about you," he said.

Langbourne was another man's lawyer and regularly attended parties like this in his boss's name. The man he worked for was a bit of a legend - and one who David constantly tried to one-up. He never succeeded.

"He's creepy," she said.

"Ah, come now," he said. His hand strayed down and he squeezed her arse. "Don't be a prude."

Nina did not consider herself a prude, but ducked her head anyway and nodded quickly. He was satisfied with that and handed her a glass of champagne that he had plucked from a waiter's tray as they passed.

"Hibic!" One of David's goons approached, hastily looking over his shoulder. "I'm worried about Langbourne."

David drank his own glass dry. "Why?"

"He's in unusually good spirits," the goon said. "And he's been hinting all night that Roper's got some big deal ahead..."

"We don't need to worry about that," David said sharply. "Negotiations with his partners are going well. They'd be stupid to stick with him"

His man scratched his head. "What if Roper knows?"

Fear shook his voice, but David knew no such thing. Nina had never seen him afraid, or even worried, though she had experienced all other facets of his emotions, from devastating anger to jubilant happiness.

"He doesn't know," David said. "Don't piss yourself."

Nina pulled a face at his language and he luckily did not notice. Instead, he patted her arse once more and left with his goon, who was clearly not convinced.T he crowd parted for the two of them, like the sea did for Moses. As soon as they walked away, he started talking again, this time gesticulating wildly.

She had only ever heard the name 'Roper' spoken with a mixture of fear and awe, but she had never met him. Surely David had met him in business meetings, but 'Roper' could not be bothered to attend any parties or social gatherings here.
She had asked Langbourne about it once, out of sheer boredom, and he had smiled indulgently. "The chief prefers his parties with less... pomp and circumstance."
Nina sometimes thought that she would have liked to meet that Roper.

It was not as easy for, but she pushed her way through towards the buffet. While David was not watching and voicing his disapproval, she would use the chance to get some food into her. Now that she thought about it, her stomach had been growling all day; she was not entirely sure when she had last eaten.

Once she stood in front of the food, the whole thing did not seem as easy any more. Nina was not sure what to eat - was grilled cheese just right or was it too much for her empty stomach?

Helpless, she let her gaze drift once more and hoped that her hunger would settle the matter fo her. There were more men moving through the crowd now; not mingling, but as if they had a goal. First she thought that they might have been David's cronies, but on further inspection, she did not recognize any of them.

An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Had David's man been right in the end? Was something fishy going on? Her fingers curled around the edge of the buffet table and she looked around for Langbourne. She could not spot him anywhere.
Her heart rate sped up. This honestly did not look too good. She should hide. Once, just once, had she been there when things had escalated around David and the gunshots were still echoing in her dreams.

There was a tall, broad man coming her way whose face seemed like it had been formed by throwing features vaguely at a canvas. She had the childish notion of climbing under the table. She shifted sideways instead, hoping not to draw any attention to herself.

People around her had started to notice, too. They were turning around to watch the men, pointing, calling for David. She wondered if she should have done that, too, but then they would definitely notice her.

Nina was walking backwards now. It was probably dangerous, but she needed to keep her eyes on them, especially the men with the butchered face. If only she could get to David, he would be able to keep her safe.

Someone grabbed her from behind. Gloved fingers dug painfully into her skin and a scream was torn from her throat. One hand left her arm and instead was slapped on her mouth. She bit down as hard as she could and the man that had grabbed her cursed.

"Bitch!" he hissed.

The butchered man was in front of her now, his jaw set. People were screaming around her and Nina was trying to kick, kick the man the behind her, or the one in front of her, no matter, she just wanted to hurt. She tried to twist her arm out of the grip, but only managed to hurt herself.

Suddenly, something was pulled over her face. The world went dark around her, although the shouting did not cease. Nina fought as hard as she could when they tried to drag her away, but she did not have the weight or strength to set against them. She thought she might have kicked one of them in the stomach, because her feet hit something softer than table or wall and she heard one of them groan.

"Hey!" David was calling after her. Shots were fired. Wild hope soared inside her. David was here, David would come to her rescue. "Hey, bring her back!"

They would not bring her back, Nina knew, but maybe, possibly, they would manage to shoot them before they could take her away... what if they shot her?
Cool air hit her skin and the heel of her shoe caught in the cobblestone pavement. David's voice sounded again, shouting insults and threats.

The man dragging her let out an exaggerated laugh that made her stomach turn. "The chief will be in touch!"

So, I'm not entirely sure what I expect of this story, because I honestly don't know if anyone's interested in reading, but it needed to get out of my brain and here it is.
If you do read and like it, then please feel free to leave me a review - it would make me very happy :)