Enzo
I woke up to my phone ringing on the nightstand. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Sera's pink hair. Her head was on my chest and one smooth, curvy leg was thrown over mine beneath the sheet that had ridden down to my waist.
I tightened my arm around her and pulled her closer, enjoying the feel of her bare skin warming mine for a moment before reality intruded on us. She'd been restless much of the night, and I knew it was because she felt strange having another person in her bed, not to mention what happened before we'd gotten there. But she would grow used to me soon enough. And then she would grow to depend on me. And perhaps she would even start to care about me.
Another ring pierced the air. Trying not to move too much, I grabbed my phone off my nightstand with my free hand and looked at the caller ID. It was Luca. I answered the call. "Yes."
"My apologies, Enz. I know it's supposed to be your day off, but I need you to come to the house."
"Do I have time to shower?"
"Yeah. If you could be here by one." It wasn't a question.
I pulled my phone away from my ear and checked the time. I had three hours. "Of course." Sera stirred beside me, and I looked down to see her eyes fluttering open. I put my hand over her mouth and shook my head in warning.
She froze beside me, her eyes wide on my face.
"I'll be there," I told him. I didn't ask him what it was about. It didn't matter. If Luca needed me, I would come. Not only was it my job, but he was one of only two people-now three-that I gave a shit about.
I left my hand over Sera's mouth until I ended the call and set the phone back on the nightstand. Then I removed it and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I have to go into work," I told her. "I'm sorry. I was hoping we'd have the day together."
"That's okay," she said, her voice carefully neutral, as though she were afraid to upset me. "I need to run some errands anyway. What time is it?"
Rolling over onto my side so I was facing her, I studied her face. "It's early. You have plenty of time. How are you today?"
"I'm fine." She tried for a smile.
"Be honest with me, Sera."
She stared at me a moment, and then she blurted, "I'm sore. And nervous. And scared. And I'm feeling a little bit... overwhelmed. And I'd really like to go home so I can process all of this. Perhaps with a bottle of some kind of strong alcohol."
Frowning, I latched onto the one part that didn't make any sense. "Why are you scared?"
This time, there was no hesitation when she answered me. "Because I feel like I made a deal with the devil, and you're pulling me down into your hell, and a part of me likes it here. And that's what scares me."
Was that what I was doing? She gave me honesty. The least I could do was give her the same. "I'm hoping that, in time, being with me will be a refuge for you, and not something you dread."
Propping herself up on one elbow, she looked down at me. "I never dreaded being here. Not exactly. I was just... nervous. I wasn't sure what to expect." At my disbelieving look, she said, "Well, I knew the mechanics of it, but that was all."
I rolled over onto my back so I could see her face more clearly. "You can't tell me that a woman who looks like you do has never had any kind of sexual encounter, even if you didn't actually fuck."
"How could I?"
"You went to school. That had to afford you some freedom."
"I still lived at home. I was allowed to go to classes, with a bodyguard, of course, and then I was to come directly home. I wasn't allowed to make friends, or hang out after class." A wistful expression crossed her beautiful face. In the harsh light of morning, she was still ethereal. I couldn't stop looking at her. "Although there was one girl who was my lab partner one semester who I talked to a lot. But I was never allowed to see her outside of class."
Her chest and face flushed as she told me about that girl. "Did you want to fuck her?"
"What? No. Not at all." She appeared genuinely shocked. "I'm not attracted to women that way. Not that there's anything with wrong with that," she was quick to add. Then she eyed me with curiosity. "Are you attracted to men?"
"No. Then why the embarrassment when you talk about her?"
She stared down at my chest and shrugged one shoulder. I got the impression she wanted to touch me, but she didn't. "I don't know." Her eyes flicked up to mine. "We would just talk about a lot of stuff."
"Like sex?"
"Mmm hmm." She nodded. "And she was very graphic in her explanations, that's all."
There was something else about this girl that she wasn't telling me about, but I decided not to press her. We had plenty of time for that. Right now, I wanted to fuck her again. "How sore are you?"
Something in my voice made her eyes fly to mine and grow wide. "Again? Now?"
I pulled the sheet down past my hips, enjoying the way the blood rushed to her face when she glanced down and saw my erection.
"Sera."
Her eyes met mine.
"Do you like the way it feels when I touch you?"
She hesitated only slightly. "Yes."
I nearly moaned with the way she said it. "Do you like it when I kiss you?"
"Yes."
"Do you trust me when I say it won't always hurt like it did last night when I fuck you? That the pain will go away?"
"I know," she said. "It wasn't as bad the second time in the tub." Her gorgeous eyes traveled down to my chest again.
"Do you want to touch me?"
"Yes," she breathed.