Forty Seven

***Ruby***

“So, did your Dad say anything more?” Adonis asked as he entered the driver’s seat of his car after he had ensured I was wearing my seat belt. Apparently, he wouldn’t start driving unless my safety is ensured.

“He asked for the truth and I almost told him. Honestly…” The car engine started. “… I would prefer if he found out from someone else. That’s better than me telling him. I don’t think I would be able to withstand the look on his face if I tell him the truth.”

“But he will still find out regardless. What will happen when he does?”

I shrugged, my mind ready to move on to another topic. “Let’s wait till then. For now, let’s live like gangsters aren’t after you and I, let’s live like my father isn’t about to nab us.”

Adonis chuckled. “I think you are the one that has a way with words. You just made me forget my past life is haunting me for a moment.”

The atmosphere became tense- well for me- as I read something heavy in between his statement. “Adonis, what kind of situation made you leave the gang?”

“Oh, you know…” The car started moving. “Things didn’t work out after a mission went wrong. I got tired of the drama and just left it all behind.”

“Those missions…” He glanced in my direction for a second. “… what kind of missions?”

“Don’t worry, we didn’t kill people. Not innocent people by the way.”

I swear, I felt a small shiver as I imagined Adonis holding a gun with bloodied hands while walking out of a warehouse shirtless, a man on the ground behind him begging for mercy. “So…” I gulped. “… you did kill people.”

“People that deserved it. Ruby, are you trying to scare yourself? My past is not exactly rose and sunshine.”

“Well, your past is the reason I got to be with you in the first place. I believe it would be reasonable to know a little about that world in order to know what to expect in case things go wrong.”

He sighed hard before reaching for my hand, his fingers grazing my skin gently before his grip surrounded my hand. “Ruby, trust me, you don’t want to know anything about my life as a gangster, it is a ugly world over there. That is why I am trying all my best to make sure they don’t get to you.”

I nodded my head, ready to drop the topic when I recalled something. “That man we saw at the restaurant, is he also part of the gang?”

“Funny enough, no. I wonder who he is.”

“Hmm.” I sat back and watched the road ahead. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere nice.”

“That is not enough information but okay.”

Adonis chuckled and stepped on the gas and soon, I was enjoying the feel of evening air against my face and upon my fairly wet hair.

In fact, at a point, I felt sleepy and I think I gave in eventually.

~

Stirring in my relaxed position as I felt a soft caress upon my cheek, I found myself curling my lips delightfully as the touch made me feel so nice.

“Ruby…” His voice came as a whisper and my body responded in a bizarre manner. My right arm slung over his shoulder and as I pulled him closer, I opened my eyes, my mind already approaching a chaotic state as his breath gently tickled me.

“Hi,” I croaked as his eyes stared blankly into mine.

“We have arrived at our destination,” was all he said and I barely heard him as his intoxicating eyes were all I could sense.

“Oh.”

“What are you doing?” He asked after adjusting himself such that his chest pressed into mine a little.

“Provoking myself. Provoking you. I think.” I have no idea where my shyness went, but I could not sense it around and I consider that a good thing. I might be able to make good use of us being alone.

Adonis smiled and as he did, his hand cupped the side of my face. “You always provoke me Ruby and you have no idea how much of a torture that is.”

“I- I do?” His response was not expected at all.

“Even right now, the scent of your hair makes me want to hug you to my chest all day, relishing how you feel against my body.”

“Oh,” was all I could bring myself to say.

His hand left my cheek and I felt an electrifying trace down my arm and that was enough to make my breath hitch. “Whenever I feel the softness of your skin, I dream about tracing every inch of your skin, I imagine my lips all over you, feeling and tasting you, making you feel pleasured. Whenever I think about how amazing that would make you feel, I always feel a strange flutter.”

“Adonis…” To make things worse for me, his voice became huskier by the minute and that tone messed with my head a lot.

“Sometimes, when I am teaching your class and my eyes happen on land on you, I wish we were the only one in the room because I would give anything to have you on any desk and caged between my legs.”

“Adonis…” My breath shook again as his words messed with my entire body.

“Yes?”

“You- you are torturing me.”

“Am I?” I nodded and he smiled. “We should go inside,” he said after drawing back to pull on the handle of the door on his side.

“Yes…” I was still a mess. “Yes, we should.”

As I got down, my sight landed on a white coloured building which had signs of abandonment written all over it. With grasses surrounding it already extending their thin branches onto the walls of the building which appeared to be a mansion, it was obvious no one would be residing in such a place.

Adonis stood beside me, interrupting my assessment of the view in front of me.
“Where is this?” I asked him.

“My former house.”

“Oh.” I looked round and I noticed a couple more houses like that, some uncompleted, some looking fine yet lonely.

“Let’s go in,” he said as he grabbed my hand and he walked us towards the double door entrance.

Once inside. I was met with a surprise. The outward appearance of the house made me think all would be terrible inside. In fact, I had already imagined seeing a rotten chair or a dead rat but the fine arrangement in front of me proved my imagination wrong.

We were obviously in the living room whose walls possessed beauty and whose tiled floors screamed good money. Though not so visible through the nylon covers, the couches in the room also looked fine and devoid of rat bites or raccoon attacks.

I left it to my imagination, what other rooms in the house would look like.

“Would you like anything to eat or drink?” Adonis asked as he walked towards the covered couches and pulled the nylon off it. “You can have your seat.”

“You have food here?”

He nodded. “I haven’t had the time to get rid of some things here and they are still good, so I left them here for the time being.”

“So, you have power supply?” He nodded. “And water too?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you abandon this place then?”

“Because there are too many bad memories here.”

“Oh,” I simply said as I had my seat on one of the couches which was a shade of purple. “It is a nice place.”

“Thanks. So, what would you like?”

I smiled grandly as I faced him. “Do you have chocolate cake?”

“No.” I scrunched my lips in disappointment. “But I have chocolates, if you want.”

“Of course I do.”

“I’ll be right back then?” The sound of his footsteps filled my ear as I looked elsewhere to further appreciate how amazing the house looked. While I wondered why he kept the insides so neat and not the outside, my eyes captured a small box tucked into a side just by the window side.

It had no labels but something told me to check its contents regardless. As I flapped it open, I felt a tough grip on my left arm which scared me. I was about to turn and apologize to Adonis for going through his stuff when a strange voice commanded me to utter no word.

As I turned to face this strange person, a strong smell of disinfectant attacked my olfactory organ. “Who-”

He placed his rough hands over my mouth before I could even raise my head to see his face. “Do not speak. I am here to rescue you from that man.”

I frowned. “What?” I muffled through his grip. “What are you talking about?”

“Look at me,” he said with his commanding tone.

“You!” My frown deepened as I recalled clearly that he was the bald man watching Adonis and I in the restaurant.

“Do you know who I am? Do you recognize me?” he asked eagerly and in the process, his hand fell off my mouth.

“I don’t know you but I know you are either a gang member or a stalker.”

“No, no. I am not that kind of person. That man you are with is the gangster and I have seen him stalking you sometimes.”

“Yeah, while you were stalking me.” I scoffed.

“I really wasn’t.”

“Who on earth are you?” I asked sternly as I was not buying his sudden presence.

“I am-”

“You!” Adonis’s thick voice shook the room, surprising both I and the man. “What did I tell you about coming close to her?”

“I-” Adonis charged at the man who seemed to cower in fear as he moved closer.

“I told you… I won’t let you go easily if I see you near her. I told you I would haunt your dreams with just my name. Did none of that make sense to you?”

The man slowly got up, his knees proving to be weak as he struggled a few times. But as he stood upright, he brought out a gun which he pointed at Adonis who still moved closer regardless.

“Stop!” Adonis didn’t listen to him. “I said stop!”

“Get out of here,” Adonis replied him with a grunt.

“Is that how you want to play it? Alright…” The man then began to whistle. And as he did, hefty men came from nowhere and approached a startled Adonis.

But that was not all.

As the men encircled Adonis, the entrance door flew open and someone walked in. The person was obviously a person of might and probably a leader of some gang.

I gasped as it occurred to me and it made more sense as Adonis locked eyes with this mighty prescence, frowned and said, “What are you doing here Maximus Xylem?”

“Why?” The tall man moved even closer, a smirk planted on his face. “Are you telling me you don’t know why I am here?”

“I won’t let you do whatever you want to do.”

“We’ll see about that.” The so called Maximus sat on the couch I was seated on earlier and wore a bigger smile as he locked eyes his deadly eyes with mine. “We will see if you as strong as you say. All I know is, I am not leaving this place until what I came from sits comfortably in my hands.”