22. Chapter 22 #2
In a matter of hours, I've kissed two men, and they couldn't be more different. With Rogelio, I sense how sweet he is and if I was willing to test the waters and see what he could truly offer me and leave this rebellion behind, I'm sure he'd worship the ground I walk on to ensure my happiness.
But then there's Remus. He's all passion and angst, tension and fire.
Kissing him set my soul aflame and for the first time in my entire life, I truly felt alive.
The memory of what his tongue felt like sweeping inside my mouth sends a whisper of flutters to my lower belly.
A future with Remus is uncertain but the danger proves stimulating.
"You are extraordinary, do you know that?" Rogelio's voice rudely pries me from reliving my kiss with Remus. "Truly. How did I get so lucky in finding you?"
I chuckle nervously. Luck played no part. It was painstakingly crafted plotting that sealed the Murietta's fate.
"It is I who am the lucky one," I say sweetly and want to wash my mouth out for the distasteful lie. That was a stretch even for me. "Will I see you again soon?" I ask as the carriage pulls up to Otero's circular driveway and comes to a halt.
He smiles brightly and an odd twisting of my gut has me feeling a twinge of guilt for toying with his emotions.
I know what it's like to have someone say all the right things and convince you you're loved only to have them rip the rug out from under you and laugh as you fall flat on your ass like a fool.
To be firmly put into your place as a lesser and not an equal.
Shit.
Being in the Otero house has made me soft.
And if there's one thing I know from living on the streets as long as I have, is the second you show weakness, you end up hurt.
I won't be the one bleeding in the street wondering how I got to this dark and lowly point.
If that means I have to toughen up and swallow the prickles of guilt over snapping Rogelio's heart in two, so be it.
Once the truth is revealed, he won't be offering me forgiveness.
No, he'll seek my head. Such is the way of trifling with the rich and powerful.
Rogelio climbs out of the carriage and extends his hand to help me out. As I descend from the horse-drawn buggy, he presses a gentle kiss against my gloved knuckles. "I will be seeing you sooner than socially appropriate. Consider me yours, Elena."
I smile up at him and allow him to kiss me once more before he slips back into his carriage and takes off into the night. I tug my fur stole tighter around my shoulders as I walk through the front door, held open by the butler.
Since the house is quiet, I assume most of the servants are asleep and with any luck, Dona Otero is also slumbering and will interrogate me over tonight's outing in the morning.
Not wishing to tempt her popping up unannounced, I rush upstairs to my bedroom and wrench the door open.
Hopefully Lupe will be quick to help me undress so I can soak in a scorching hot bath and contemplate my murderous thoughts and plans for Senor Montenegro.
A scheme which Remus Kane won't muck up this time.
As if just thinking his name summons him, the moment I close my bedroom door, he steps into view startling me.
"Damnit, how the hell did you get here before me?" I hiss. The knife hidden up my sleeve already in my hand, ready to strike.
"Your reflexes are quite impressive," he says, unmoved by the threat of my weapon.
"You didn't answer my question." I press, brows furrowed.
"It seems Rogelio took the long way, while I made my way here via shortcuts."
A vague answer, but at the end of the day, it's not a battle worth fighting. I set my dagger on the nightstand and pry off my earrings. "What are you doing here, Remus?"
"Waiting for you."
I unclasp the necklace Dona Otero lent me and place it neatly beside my weapon. "Where's your lady friend?"
He shrugs and leans against my dresser, hands buried deep in his pockets. "Not sure. And I really don't care."
"Is there a reason for you being here this late?" I hate to admit I am hoping he's here to revisit our kiss, but then he says, "We're meeting with the others. I've come to escort you." And the flame of desire flickering in my heart is doused, bringing me back to reality.
I slip the headpiece off and add it to my growing pile of jewelry and brush off his comment. "Well, that's unfortunate, because I don't intend to go anywhere with you tonight. I'm going to get out of this dress and sit in a nice warm bath."
"As tantalizing a visual as that is, I'm afraid it will have to wait. We have business tonight."
I perch my ass against the lip of the nightstand, folding my arms across my chest. "Contrary to what you might believe, Remus Kane, I don't work for you, so you can't boss me around."
As if I've thrown a gauntlet at his feet, his steely brown eyes narrow and he accepts the challenge. "Seeing as I'm the one who persuaded Otero to hire you, I think I have some say in your comings and goings."
"What an adorable thought. Wrong, but adorable none-the-less.
" I stand and twist, so my back is facing him.
I pull my hair around to my chest, leaving my back completely exposed.
"Now, if you insist on being here, make yourself useful.
I have no idea where Lupe is, and I want to get out of this dress. "
"Otero gave Lupe the night off."
How odd he would know Lupe had the night off when I'm the one who lives here. She didn't say anything when she dressed me this afternoon of being absent tonight.
"And you know this how?" I peek at him over my shoulder. A frown mars my face as I study his body language, searching for any clear signs of deception, but come up empty. He's relaxed, amused even, which doesn't bode well for me getting out of this dress with proper aid.
Remus shrugs lazily, though I am positive there's mischief afoot. "About the same time Otero informed me I'd be playing watchdog at the opera, I purchased Lupe tickets to a play she's been wanting to see in the Night District. It just so happens the last performance was tonight."
"And you purchased these tickets for her because…?"
He pushes up from his relaxed position and stalks toward me until he's standing directly behind me.
My breath hitches when he begins to unfasten the back of my dress one button at a time.
I don't dare glance back at him, keeping my sights pinned on the ugly painting of a vase filled with roses on the wall in front of me.
"In anticipation of a moment like this, Vibora." He slides his hand around the front of my neck and tilts my chin up so I will meet his hazy and fiery gaze. "And it seems my intuition was right," he whispers, and I practically melt into a puddle on the floor.
I swallow hard and I know he feels the motion beneath his fingertips. "What do you want from me, Remus?"
Remus is silent a moment, but cautiously, reverentially, he slowly leans down to kiss me and even though I want to feel his lips crash against mine, to see how far the boundary between us can be stretched before it snaps, I turn my face away and clear my throat.
In a perfect world, we still wouldn't be together.
Happenstance has brought us together now and, in the end, if we both survive, we'll go our separate ways.
He will be Cassius' right-hand man, and I will be…
what will I be? Still a criminal, albeit a criminal living in an expensive house in the Golden District with no one to share it with.
Perhaps I could convince Lupe to move in with me.
I've grown quite fond of the old woman's nagging.
"Ines?"
I sigh. "This can't happen, Remus."
"What can't happen, exactly?" His fingers skim my shoulders and my resolve to keep him at arm's length wavers.
"Kissing in the theatre was a mistake." I say and his hands freeze. "It can't happen again."
"I don't think it was a mistake."
"Well, I do." I wiggle free from his grasp and march a few steps away from him, prepared to put a stop to this potential romance before it has a chance to truly begin.
In the end, I'm the one who will be hurt.
He's the one with friends, family, power and money.
All I have is myself. I won't allow myself to go back to being the hollow and broken shell I was when Marco deserted me.
"Ines?"
I whip around to face him and a piece of my heart aches when I look at his somber face. "Let me change and I'll meet you in the hall."
He opens his mouth but whether he was going to try to convince me our kiss actually meant something or not dies on the tip of his tongue. He rakes a hand through his hair before nodding in reluctant compliance and giving me the privacy to ready myself for yet another long evening.
It doesn't take me long to rid myself of the dress, since Remus unfastened the buttons, and slip into my black leathers.
I'm not sure where we're headed, so I bring my pistols and knives just in case I need them.
I strap on my boots, purging all thoughts of Remus' touch from my mind.
When I step out into the hallway, I find Remus has also changed from his fancy clothing to his black leathers.
I don't see weapons strapped to his person, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.
I clear my throat, and his eyes shoot up from the floor to meet my gaze. He's once again wearing his mask which makes me pause. "Where are we going?"
He ignores my question and pulls out a matching black mask and extends it to me. "Put this on and then we'll go."
I'm far too tired to argue and obediently, although reluctantly, snatch the small black fabric from him and tie it around my head. "Are we walking?"
"Not exactly." He smiles and I can't help but sense a wickedness at play when he stands to his full height. "When is the last time you've been to confession?"