Chapter 258: Welcome Home
Chapter 258: Welcome Home
Camilla
"You are not going to miss me, are you Jacob?" I grin, nudging his shoulder with mine in a playful manner that earned me a small smile and a shake of his head.
"No," he said, nudging me back in a gentle brush.
"I just don't really trust their influence at all. They said some weird things to me earlier that kind of fucked with my mind a bit."
"Like what?" I questioned with a tilt of my head knowing that it couldn't be worse than what I have heard already today.
His eyebrows furrowed slightly before his thumb pressed against his temple, massaging the spot like he had a headache coming on.
"They said some sort of bullshit about you being promised to me by our fathers." He scoffed, confusion hitting me instantly.
"Promise to you?" I repeat baffled, having heard plenty of things recently and this being the dumbest of all.
"What? Like marriage? My father wouldn't do that."
He really truly wouldn't, he may be controlling and think he knows what is best for me but he is not the kind of person to set me up for marriage to straighten an alliance.
"That is what I mean…mindfuck."
It is mindfuck indeed.
******
Putting my conversation with Jacob aside, I still ended up packing my things for the night, a driver appearing at the doors down to the exact second the man promised he would. Along with the five guards at my side, I was on my way back to the mansion, back to them and by the time the sun had begun to set, the moon came up in place of the unbelievable day I had.
I didn't have to ask to know every window and services on this car was bullet proof from the surrounding forces outside but I wasn't given many chances to think about why I needed to with the company in the back with me. The five other women in the car were as chatty as they were alert, making the ride feel like it went by in no time at all before the car was rolling to a stop.
With my fingers cinched tight around the handle of my duffel bag, I listened as my bodyguard got out first one by one, waiting until I got the clear to step into the night.
"This is where we leave you, Miss." The one with straight blond hair said, smiling when I thanked all of them again for keeping an eye out during my journey here.
The fact that all of them were women hadn't slipped my mind and I respected that as I gave a final wave in goodbye before walking up to the gate of the largest property I have ever seen. It was completely dark by the time I made it to the door but I had been right this morning when I thought the security had doubled. They let me in without question, however I could tell that all of them were more tense than usual. It was a sense of alertness that didn't seem to go away even when I was standing on the front porch and opening the heavy front door to go inside.
Just like that, I was back, encased in warmth and a kind of aroma that was entirely them, rich, powerful and undeniably addictive. The undertone of an accent curled over my ears as my head snapped over to the staircase, my gaze inclining upward until I found the person responsible for the low greeting. There, at the very top of the stair were three men, all of them leaning against the railing and all of their eyes on me.
It was excitement I saw as I resisted the urge to shift under their gaze and I knew I had just signed up for something so much more than sleeping here as Gregorio's lips curled into a devilish smile.
"Welcome home, Sweetheart." He said.
Oh my goodness, what did I just get myself into?
I stood still at the door with my bag resting against my thigh, realizing just how real this agreement was between us at Gregorio's words of welcome. I was here to live with them now, something we didn't even do when we were together. A week would be the longest time I have ever been in their company and I could tell they were a hell of a lot more excited about it than me.
"Well, are you three going to come down here or continue to stare like I am some sort of commodity?" I raise my eyebrows with a bit of a teasing intent, watching as they turn to come down the stairs so incredibly in sync you would think they planned it.
It was then I realized all of them were dressed up entirely in black form-fitting clothing, a kind that made them look lethal yet didn't restrict their mobility in the least. The cloth seemed to hug their muscles all the way down to the V of their waists, their black belts securing the materials of their cargo pants as they fit slightly looser than the tops.
"Did you enjoy making us wait, darling?" Domenico smirks as he walks over and takes my bag from me, his mouth brushing gently against my cheek as he does so.
Fuck, it was a bad idea coming here and thinking I could keep my sanity in the process.
"I am what?" I questioned, making a point of looking at the clock and taking my time to ponder.
"Ten minutes late or something like that?"
It hadn't necessarily been intentional but after my conversation with Jacob, l had managed to speak to my father a couple minutes about by temporary move. I didn't want to be secretive so I just went out and said it and you can imagine my surprise when I found he had none.
'I think that is really good, child. We will call off your assignment and focus on keeping up safe.'
I pretty much spent the ten minutes responsible for being late convincing him I was fine and that watching the old man would be nothing more than a cakewalk. The throb of my stomach seemed to disagree particularly at this moment, reminding me that I needed to take another painkiller before heading to bed.
The three men in front of me, however, didn't look like they would be doing the same thing any time soon.
"Well, you are here now but we don't have time to speak to you about what we needed to know." Domenico sighed absently, walking over to Adriano and pushing the handle of my bag into his hands.
"Why don't you get her settled upstairs and we will make sure everything is in place outside."
I realized what they were doing the second Adriano nodded, Gregorio and Domenico moving over to the front door and making me notice the fact that every single pocket on their pants was filled with something, things I probably didn't want to know about.
"Are you going out for Ofomata now?" I asked, almost shocked as Gregorio came up to my side, encouraging my heavy winter coat from my body.
He seemed like he was getting in the zone as my arms slid out of the warm sleeve, his knuckles brushing against my bare skin before hanging the jacket up on the hook for me.
"They don't call us the Night Reapers for nothing, sweetheart." He purrs against my ear as goosebumps threaten to skate all the way up my back but his touch seemed focused and intentional. A serious kind of side of him I have never seen in this context.
The reminder of what they were capable of really did make me shiver as memories of what Edet, the owner of the bar at my village told me about them, I have never bore direct witness to.
"I know you are probably tired, Camilla." He continues, his hands smoothing down my arms once as Domenico moves to lean against the front door, waiting for his brother to join him.
"Sleep and if you need anything while we are gone, call, we will always answer."
All I managed to do was nod before he and Domenico slipped out into the night, Adriano and I alone in the wide open expanse of their home. The chill of the air coming in from outside had made me shiver as I stood there silently but not as much as the intensity of the eyes watching me from only a few feet away.
My snow-tracked shoes were the only thing keeping me warm right now but even those eventually came off too as I took a step in Adriano's direction, trying not to reveal the fact that my stomach had started to feel so much worse in these last few minutes. The bruise was on the lower region of my front and was starting to feel like a constant, steady pain, feeling like with every second that I was standing here, Adriano was delving into yet another secret he couldn't know.
Being alone with him in a space I was once considering to be my home, it felt too surreal to remain standing here.
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