Donatella

A decade younger than her eldest sister Raphaella Wentworth, Donatella da la Riva stood completely nude in front of the wide mirror in her vanity over the bathroom sink and examined her lovely features. Spreading her arms apart, she smiled appreciatively at her gorgeous reflection looking back at her while she waited for the water coming out of the chrome shower head to warm up to a suitable temperature. Not yet thirty, she had been officially ‘retired’ from the modelling/entertainment industry for a couple of years, though on occasion she would make a public appearance at some event or other.

Above the din of the water, she thought she heard something from the other room. Pulling open the door, she listened. Her cell phone rang again.

“Merda,” she said, she said, slipping through the door and gliding over the carpet toward the dresser where her phone made another noise.

Picking up the latest offering from Samsung, she swiped the screen and brought the device to her head, “Hello?”

“Donatella?”

“Yes,” she replied, putting an arm under her breasts and propping the phone up next to her ear.

“It’s Lina Lindholm,” stated the voice on the other end.

“Lina!” Donatella exclaimed, face brightening, “I have not heard from you in what, like almost a year.”

Lina chuckled, “I know, right? I swear the older I get, the faster time seems to blur passed,” she commented.

“Please tell me you’re phoning because Janine is ready to resume her throne as the hottest model in the world and you want me to manage her?” she asked, chuckling.

Lina chuckled back, “That would be up to Janine, she’ll be done at the end of this school year and I’m not sure what she intends to do yet, I honestly don’t think she knows,” she replied.

“Two phone calls is all that it would take and the world would be hers,” Donatella said.

“I’ll let her know. How have you been?”

“Bene. And you?”

“Good, thank you, the reason I’m calling is I need a little favor,” Lina said.

“Of course. What is it I can do for you?”

“I’m looking for a number to contact your sister Elle,” she answered.

“Of course, do you have a pen<” Donatella asked, providing the number once Lina confirmed she had a writing utensil. Exchanging parting pleasantries, she disconnected the call. As she was about to put down the phone, there was an odd icon across the notification bar along the top of the screen. Pulling it down, she read the little message, ‘Saved in Drafts.’ Tapping the panel, it opened up a half written email message.

“Tessie, I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get back to you sooner, have you had an,” the message read, obviously unfinished and it was in an account that was not hers.

Thumbing down the screen, a slow knowing smile crossed Donatella’s pretty face as she looked over at the smallish fine barred gilt birdcage sitting at the other end of the dresser.

Still holding the phone, she moved in front of the cage, looking inside at the habitat there. “Are you in there Thomas?” she asked.

Not quite three inches tall and beginning to show the effects of age, Thomas Wentworth Sr. still possessed a debonair presence about him as he stepped out of the little construction she had made for him. Running a hand through the side of his silver hair, he flashed her a broad smile, “Of course my dear,” he replied, smile fading when he saw the phone in her hand. He had collapsed the email properly hadn’t he? Bloody new phones.

“I think someone knows how to get in and out of his cage when I am not around,” she said, corner of her mouth pulled up into a smile as she tipped the phone in his direction.

Grinning, he spread his hands and shrugged. There was no point denying it. He only hoped if there was something wrong, Tessie had been able to connect with Harrison and pieces were now in motion that might lead to a possible restoration.

“You’re not trying to find a way to leave me are you?” she asked, bottom lip extended in an exaggerated pout.

He chuckled and shook his head. She was so goddamn sexy.

She smiled. She had always found herself attracted to older men, more mature, sophisticated than younger males. Tom Sr. was a cut above the others, extremely handsome, self-assured confidence without being arrogant, and armed with the most devilish smile. He certainly appealed to her. Her mind flicked back to the day she caught her little treasure.

With Elle’s husband and children away, Donatella had been invited to come out and visit at the Wentworth home so she did. In the mid-afternoon of her fifth day there, the sisters had just finished off a particularly nice red when Elle asked her to fetch another from the wine cellar. Going down into the basement, she found another bottle and paused looking at the door to the workshop. She knew Elle’s father-in-law was home, though she had yet to see him. Grinning to herself, she decided to check on him, perhaps flirt a little, he had been widowed for some time. Who knows she thought. Checking the door, it was open, the interior brightly lit.

“Hello?” she said stepping into the room. There was a flash of green colored light across her big emerald eyes drawing her attention down. That’s when she saw him, the tiny naked figure holding a small light emitting diode connected to a small battery.

When Tom Sr. saw the door open, he completed the circuit, doing his best to draw the attention of the stunningly beautiful woman standing there. When he realized she had seen him, he let out an exuberant holler thinking he had been saved.

Instead she kept him.

Tapping the phone, “What are these messages to Tess about?” she inquired, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Grinning, he made a sealing motion across his lips.

She nodded slowly, smile parting her full lips.

If his time in her captivity had taught him anything, she was an enthusiastic sybarite with strong appetites, and there would be some hell to pay for his silence and clandestine activities.