SURPRISE

Later that evening, a knock came at the door and Apollo answered it. Lucia stood there with a folded dress on her arm. Apollo glared at her, and she stared back at him.

  "What do you want? he asked.

  "Master has requested her presence."

Cassandra who was trying to catch some sleep jumped up from the bed when she heard Lucia's voice. "Lucia!" she called.

  Lucia ran past Apollo who was still standing there confused and ran into Cassandra's open arms. "Oh, my God, I have been looking out for you," Lucia said.

  They hugged each other for a while before they pulled away. Apollo ignored them and went to the window, looking at the people that were playing games. Cassandra dragged Lucia to the bed.

  "We have a lot to talk about."

  "Yes, because I am curious about why master Eros is sending you this dress and requesting the chief to make you up. It looks like you both have a date tonight," Lucia said, shoving the dress to Cassandra.

  Cassandra looked at Apollo, he seemed uninterested in their conversation, Lucia followed her gaze, looked at Apollo, and turned back to her.

  "I wish to be you right now. Getting noticed by the master and being looked after by this hot hunk,"

  "Lucia, the master only wants my body, he wants to sleep with me."

  "Who cares? I have been dreaming of the day master Eros would have his weapon in me. You are being offered this in a platter of gold, girl." Lucia pulled closer and had a mischievous look on her face. "Tell me, have you guys...?" She demonstrated by folding one of her hands and hitting it with the other hand. "I mean you and..." she gestured towards Apollo with her head.

  Cassandra's eyes widened and she gave Lucia a soft spank on the shoulder. "Get that out of your perverted mind, you horny girl."

  "Will you blame me? A mansion surrounded by hot males ready to take you up on an offer. I can't believe I was missing all these when I was locked up in that dungeon. Thank you for making me leave there. How can you not notice all these hunky men around you?"

  "Lucia, I have bigger problems than sex."

  "Virgin Cassie... I will seduce this man here, just watch me, and one day, I will tell you the story."

  "Back off!" Cassandra snapped but recovered immediately. She couldn't tell Lucia that it was her fiancé they were talking about because Apollo had asked that they keep the secret between them. "He is off-limit."

  " I see someone has already marked their territory and you pretend like he does not affect you?"

  "What if he has? I can't even try because..."

   "You are a virgin, I get it, but people like me who are not virgins will push our luck around these men. I have a juicy gist for you, though." Lucia leaned closer.

  "What is that?"

  "I am f*cking one of master Eros' friends, his name is Carlos, and he is a sex god. If his friend is like this, I wonder how master Eros will be." Lucia looked up and a dreamy look settled on her face. "I wonder how that day will be. I will scream so loud that you will hear it from wherever you are."

  "I think you are obsessed with this man, but how many of them do you want to be intimate with?"

Lucia looked at her and scowled. "Who says intimate these days? I want to f*ck every damn man in this mansion."

  "Whatever, don't just f*ck my bodyguard, he is off-limits."

  "If you sleep over him, I will take him up, besides, don't go all overprotective on me. Nobody owns any man in this mansion and no man owns nobody. Let's get you going to see the master. Make sure you give me all the juicy details of tonight's episode."

  "Lucia, nothing is going to happen, I have a fiancé remember?"

Lucia twitched up her face. "Whatever."

                    ~~~~

  Eros was standing by the window in the living room, his hands in his pockets, when a maid led Cassandra down the stairs. He turned when he heard their footsteps and his jaw almost dropped. Cassandra's heart was beating fast for no reason, it happens like that anytime she was close to him, either out of fear or something she didn't know.

  The maid bowed and left them alone. Eros smiled and removed one hand from his pocket and stretched it out towards her. He couldn't believe seeing her made his heart leap for joy. He had been pondering about what was happening to him since he met this girl. He didn't recognize the person he had become. Always itching to see her, got very enraged by her rejection of him and decided to bend her to his will, but yet couldn't, fascinated by her adamance and now he couldn't even control himself around her. He felt like what he felt for her was going beyond lust and he couldn't even stop himself. He was the one who has promised to get her to her hands and knees, yet he was the one crumpling on his hands and knees. She made him crawl without doing anything.

  He wasn't used to having long discussions with women, with them, it was either commands or a few monologues, but he had wanted to speak with her, he wanted to stay beside her, he wanted to see her face. It has frustrated him to a point of yielding, he didn't fight his urge anymore, the urge to be with her, the urge to have her as his, the urge to explore her body if she permits him. In the morning, when she had said she wanted to be free and work, something in him had wanted that too, but what work was he going to give to her? When she begged him to let her leave the mansion and work, he would have if he wasn't scared of not seeing her whenever he wanted. He was selfish, he knew it, but he has always been a selfish man.

  "Uhm..." Cassandra started uncertainly she wanted to take his hand.

He didn't wait. If she couldn't come, he would go to her. He strode across the room and grabbed her arm and felt her cringe beside him as he leaned closer to her ear.

  "Since you want to work, consider this your first job. We are going to meet with some clients tonight for a couple-themed project. You will just have to act as my woman."

  "Will that..."

  "That is going to reduce the amount your dad is owing me by ten per cent, and you can gain your freedom faster if you obey me."

  "I am still not going to have sex with you," she said tentatively.

   "We will see about that, Tesoro. I will take nothing you are not prepared to give."

He led her to the entrance and opened the door. He has never seen himself as a gentleman, but since he let his feelings and not his head lead, some things came naturally with her, things as holding the door for her to walk through. He has never done that for anyone before, not even his father, as formidable as he was. He was the one people held doors for. He led her to the car, held the door open for her and she went in.

  She was commanding him with her body and her mystique, and he was obeying. Obedience was something he consigned to women. He still lusted after her and it was that curiosity of knowing what she felt like, what she tasted like that had him falling to his knees, his feelings were a whirlwind, but he still convinced himself it was lust and that he was still playing games with her, since he couldn't get her by force, he will get her by deceit and once he had her body, he would discard her, yet something inside him told him it wasn't true.

After a few minutes, the car pulled up in front of a towering eight-five-floor building and he went out of the car, circled it, and opened the door for her, beating the chauffeur to it. Cassandra had a surprised look on her face, and he smiled inwardly knowing that he was making progress. Surprise was the first step to surrendering. When she stepped out, he put his hand on the small of her back, leading her to the entrance of the building. She remained quiet as they went into the reception and the elevator with the staff at the hotel bowing their heads as they walk past them.

  Silence still loomed above them as the elevator went up to the roof, and then he broke the silence just as the metal door opened up.

  "You know they will see through our facade if you keep looking so stiff like this? You should stop tensing up when I touch you and stop looking like you are scared of me, think of me as your fiancé tonight." He saw her eyes widen and she looked at him.

  "My fiancé?"

  "I know you have one in the marine, see his face on mine tonight and relax."

  "I will like us to have this in a contract..." Her words trailed off when his lips met hers.