Chapter 10

Cyrus

She rolled her eyes at me in exasperation but surprisingly didn't protest. The truth was, after spending most of the day with her, when I got to my bedroom, it felt—empty. I watched her rub something into her hands before she tied her long, dark hair into a knot at the top of her head. She took her robe off and laid it on the chair beside the bed. She wore silky red sleep shorts with a matching top. It was edged with black lace, but before I could ogle her a little longer, she was under the covers with the lamp turned off.

"Are you tired?" I asked.

"Yes, being drugged and tied up seems to have had that effect on me," she said dryly.

"It's probably best I hold onto you in case you try to sneak out of bed," I said.

"If you want to cuddle, Cyrus, just ask," she said with a snicker as she shifted on the bed.

Before I knew it, she had turned around and put her hand on my cheek. Whatever she had put on her hands had a soft floral scent that reminded me of roses. I wrapped my arm around her waist before I cupped her ass cheek and dragged her body close to mine.

"You won't slip anything else inside me while I sleep, will you?" she murmured against my neck.

I squeezed a handful of her soft ass and silky shorts.

"When I fuck you, Emilia, it's going to be on my table, with you fully conscious," I whispered as I pulled her leg over mine so I could feel the warmth from her hot little pussy.

"Oh," she said breathlessly, and I relaxed as I felt her hot breath against my neck.

"Get some rest," I said as I ignored my hard dick between us.

It took her a few moments before the tension left her body, but within minutes, her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. The girl had zero self-preservation when it came to me, or she trusted me, which was just as fucked up because I didn't trust myself around her. I held her small hand and inhaled the floral scent with a sigh. I would need to rearrange a few things at work to spend time with Emilia. Two weeks weren't going to be long enough for what I wanted to do to her.

I thought of the improvements she had suggested, and each one had its merit. She had spoken logically with little emotion regarding my future endeavours in killing people. I had my own vetting process to ensure I picked up the right person. Eventually, as I grew tired I snuck my other arm around Emilia and gently kissed her cheek before I relaxed my head on the pillow to fall asleep.

**

Holy fucking shit.

No wonder she had hidden her dress away when it was delivered. I stared at her strapless blood, blood-red ball gown. She'd told me she was going to ‘bump' into me at this charity event, but I was glad I picked her up at the airport because I absolutely would have fucked her the first night I met her if she was dressed like this.

"Can you breathe in that dress?" I asked with a frown as I noticed how it clung to her waist, ribs and breasts.

"It's got a corset built into it, so this is the way it's supposed to fit," she said, fixing the top of it.

I rubbed my right eye as it began to twitch. The damn contraption seemed to push her tits to her chin. She wouldn't be leaving my side tonight. She had a matching black masquerade mask with hits of red on it. Her long hair was styled in soft curls.

"You don't like it," she said with her lips pouting outwards like a sulking child would.

If this were any other woman I wouldn't care about her comments or her feelings, but Emilia was dragging me to an uncomfortable place in which I was feeling things that I shouldn't.

I closed the space between us and lifted her chin.

"I don't like it. I love it, which is part of the problem because I may need to gouge out men's eyes for looking at you tonight," I murmured as I rubbed my thumb over her alluring red lips. "You look fucking sensational."

Her eyes sparkled in happiness even though her cheeks were are bright as her outfit. It was strange because seeing her happy gave me a soft, warm glow in my chest, but I shook it off to take her hand.

"Your carriage awaits," I said, leading her outside into the warm evening.

On the way to the event, Emilia had a few questions about the event and the charity it was linked to, but most of the journey was in a comfortable silence. I'd had plenty of companions by my side at similar events but never anyone like Emilia. She made me want to impress her, to strut around like a damn peacock. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Are you alright?" she asked from beside me.

I grabbed her hand and held it but didn't say anything. She turned her hand around beneath mine and linked her fingers through mine. The same hand that had murdered countless people.

**

We walked through the throngs of people until I ushered her onto the red carpet. She looked relaxed and happy as she smiled at people.

"Mr Wicke, who is your latest girlfriend?" a reporter shouted out as there were rapid flashes of lights from the cameras.

I'd donned my mask before leaving the car but the bloodsuckers had caught wind of me. I ignored them and led Emilia inside.

"Quite the celebrity," she whispered. "But I can see the need for your work mask."

I was young, successful, and extremely wealthy, which made me a target for the media and many others. I kept my arm around her waist as we went inside. Once we reached the stairs I paused for a moment to take in my surroundings and the fire exits.

Why did there seem to be more men at this event?

Thankfully, Emilia was too busy looking around her surroundings to notice my glowering.