CHAPTER FIVE #3
“I don’t sleep much,” he says with a shrug.
“I see,” I mutter, pulling the covers up to my chest a little bit more.
I’m on edge. Last night was amazing but in the light of day, I’m more attuned to the menacing aura wafting off him. I’m not scared of him, a part of me believes he wouldn’t hurt me. It’s more caution sliding through my chest.
“When do you plan to leave?” He asks after a few seconds have passed.
He’s acting different. I hate it.
“As soon as I take a shower and put on my clothes.”
Dry amusement flashes in his eyes, “Go ahead,” he says inclining his head towards a door I’m guessing leads to the bathroom.
I chew on my bottom lip, waiting for him to leave.
When he doesn’t move, I arch an eyebrow, “I’d like some privacy.”
I even make a shooing motion with my hands. That only serves to amuse him more.
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, siren.”
Right….
When it becomes clear to me he isn’t going anywhere, I huff out a breath before letting the blanket drop and revealing my tits. In the next breath, I’m climbing out of the bed and rising to my feet in all my naked glory.
The air in the room heats slightly as his eyes land on me, sliding over every inch.
His gaze burns and I swallow, trying to hide my nerves.
I have no clue what he’ll do next. He simply smirks before gesturing for me to go on.
I try and hide my slight disappointment.
It’s becoming pretty clear he has no interest in fucking me this morning.
Shame, I thought I’d get an orgasm to go.
Although considering the ache between my legs, it’s probably better we don’t have sex.
With as much dignity as I can muster, I head to the bathroom door and after one last look at the man languishing in the chair, I shut the door behind me.
The bathroom is just as lavish as the rest of his house.
I take a quick shower. Ten minutes later when I step out of the bathroom after a quick. He isn’t there when I reappear.
I put on my clothes, wondering if it’s all in my head and I’m imagining the chill in his gaze. Last night, he looked at me like I meant something. This morning I’m not so sure.
Do I even want to mean something to him?
This was simply a one night stand. Meaningless. After today, we can both go back to our lives. Forget last night ever happened.
Although I know without a doubt I’ll never be able to forget it. Not him. Not the feeling of him inside of me, his blank canvas. And especially not the way he’d looked at me last night.
When I step out of the room, I have no clue where to go. Standing in the large expansive hallway, I decide my best option would be to head downstairs. Once I’m there, it’s easy enough to follow the smell of food.
I find Rafaelle in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. My head swims at the sight. He really isn’t predictable at all. He has to be the most interesting person I’ve ever met. The best looking too because no one I know looks that sexy while cracking eggs and whipping them in a bowl.
He lifts his eyes to find me in the hallway of the kitchen and offers me a short nod.
“You’re dressed. Good, take a seat.”
I roll my eyes. Almost every word out of his mouth is an order or command. It’s so annoying. Still, I do as he says, a little hungry from last night’s activities.
“Do you always prepare breakfast for all your one-night stands?” I question, sliding into a chair.
“If I’m going to fuck your brains out, I might as well feed you before you leave. Plus, I wouldn’t want you to die of malnutrition. Who knows when next you’ll remember to eat,” he states.
“How gentlemanly of you.”
He scowls like the word personally offends him.
I reach for the French toast, it looks and tastes almost as amazing as the man in front of me.
He’s focused on preparing the rest of breakfast, eyes far off and deep in thought.
I watch him as he works, the muscles in his arm contorting in a captivating manner.
He really should have put on a shirt. When he’s done, he turns off the stove and starts to eat from his plate as well, not paying me any attention. It’s a little annoying.
“So... that’s it? You don’t have anything to say to me.”
“My mind is currently occupied, Liliana.”
“With what?” I ask curiously
Something flashes in his eyes, “Ever heard of the saying curiosity killed the cat?”
“One of your favorites, I’m guessing.”
“Yes, many cats have ended up dead in this house for asking too many questions,” he says, and I know without a doubt he means that.
For a man with a moral code that stops him from hurting women, he sure does threaten them a lot.
A shiver runs through me, “Anyone ever tell you, you’re kind of an asshole?”
“I’ve been called worse. Now eat your food,” he orders.
I huff out a breath before doing as he said. We both finish our breakfast in silence. Once we’re done, I look up at him, wondering what will happen next. He places the plate on the sink before grabbing his phone to text someone.
A minute later, one of his guards appears in the kitchen.
“Give him your address and he’ll take you home, Liliana.”
I realize that’s his way of saying good bye. Something sharp pierces my chest at his words. I could ask him what’s going on. Push for him to open up, to at least acknowledge last night and how it felt. I can’t be the only one that felt it.
But his eyes stop me. So far I haven’t been made privy to the reason behind their darkness. A apart of me wanted to find out, to know why, to make it better. But now I think it’ll be better if I walk away. Back off and leave him to the abyss.
He’s not my problem to fix. Not my puzzle to solve.
So I exhale softly before forcing a smile on to my lips as I stare at him.
“Good bye, Rafaelle.”
He nods once in reply. I grab my things and follow the guard out the door and into a car, different from the one last night. In the backseat, I stare at the house until it disappears, at the expanse of land I’m sure belongs to him. I stare at the trees rolling past as I’m driven away.
I wonder why it all had to happen in the first place. If the ending would have left me with nothing but pain and misery.
I call in sick at work. I arrive at home and lock myself in, lying in bed trying to ignore the ache in my chest. My raw emotional state turns out to be great inspiration though.
I end up writing two songs, I even manage to add in some melodies I think will fit.
They’re far from completed but they’re mine.
A part of me feels ridiculous. Rafaelle was nothing but a man that stumbled into a bar, said all the right things, got me interested in me only to pull the carpet out from under me. He’s inconsequential and I’m going to do whatever it takes to make it so.
When I arrive at the bar later the next day, Carlos is waiting for me. Hand on his hips and anger in his expression.
“I know, I know. I shouldn’t have skipped work yesterday,” I say bored.
“No, Lily,” he says coldly. “This isn’t about work. Bryan told me who you went home with.”
“What? Why would that make you angry?”
I know he tends to be overprotective at times but he’s never tried to be my father and has certainly never cared about any extracurricular activities.
“Do you even know who that man was?!” he spits.
“Do you?” I retort, because I have no interest in confessing I slept with him and all I had was the name he gave me.
Carlos lets out a huge breath, pity swirls in the depths of his eyes. I don’t like it. Not at all. I grow a little scared, wondering what could be so bad and why he’s looking at me like I’m a child way in over her head.
“That was Rafaelle Vitale! His family runs the biggest mafia organization in this city. And Rafaelle is the worst of them all! You have no idea who you’ve involved yourself with.”
My heart stops for a minute, “He’s in the mafia?” I whisper.
Carlos nods, “Bryan recognized him that night. Most people do. I can’t believe you left with him, Lily. What were you thinking? What happened?”
He definitely doesn’t want to know the answer to that.
“Nothing. It’s over now so don’t worry,” I tell him, trying to ignore the clenching and unclenching going on in my chest.
I can’t believe I was stupid enough not to realize it.
The bodyguards, the darkness that clung to him, the tattoos.
He had mafia written all over him and I ignored it.
I allowed myself to be fooled. But really he didn’t do anything.
He told me exactly who he was but I brushed it away.
Pretended I could see some light in those eyes.
If he’s really who Carlos says he is, then there’s no saving him.
“Are you sure it’s over?” my boss questions.
I swallow gently, nodding my head, After the way I left his house, I don’t think he’ll come looking for me again. He dismissed me pretty definitively.
“This man is dangerous, Lily,” Carlos presses.
His words land icily in my veins. A shiver rolls through me and then I remember what my mother said to me the day I left home for college.
She had looked more serious than I’ve ever seen her and she’d made me promise.
Looked me right in the eye and told me that there were two types of men I had to make sure I never got involved with.
Men in the cartel and men in the mafia.
Those men ruin you, mi amor. You will become nothing but a husk of yourself if you stay around a made man or a drug lord. No matter what happens, when you come across them, you run and you don’t look back. Promise me, mi nina.
Stunned by her ferocity, I’d made the promise. And now I’d unwittingly broken it. But there was still time. Time to undo what I’m starting to realize was a big mistake.
Time to unlatch myself from Rafaelle Vitale’s darkness.