Page 26 of Scent of Desire
No, that’s why you’ll be perfect.
She pointed a shaking finger in the direction of the ceiling, her tongue rolling inside her mouth.
“You need me here—you can’t do this. You won’t find anyone else who presents like me,” she said, trying to convince herself before gesturing hysterically over her body. “This body doesn’t scream toilet cleaner!”
I towered over her threateningly, already bored of this short amusement. “Either you take my offer to work as the cleaning lady of my clubforever, or you leave. And let me tell you, no one will employ you. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Why are you doing this?” she whined.
She would cry if she wasn’t so proud. If there was one thing Melissa hated the most in the universe, it was to be hidden from the spotlight. That was the most torturous price to pay for her. It was a public humiliation. That was the best punishment. Contrary to what people thought, death wasn’t the ultimate price to pay; it was too easy.
“I warned you that if you ever talked to Lily or hurt her ever again that you’d pay the price.”
“But I—”
“You’ll like the uniforms.” I pulled away from her. “They’re orange, exactly like the ones in prison.”
The middle of the night was an exquisite symphony.
For some people, it was a gloomy silence, an empty place of nightmares. For me, it was the liberation of darkness, a peaceful melody of chaos, where the ugliness would rise freely. The masks people wore during the day disappeared to expose their true monstrous faces. There was no more pretending. No more semblance of humanity.
I arrived at the manor, cloaked with its obscurity despite the moonlight shimmering. Wrenching the front door of my sanctuary open, I didn’t meet my welcoming darkness nor the icy draft of the phantoms trying to escape this cursed place. Instead, a path of light lit up the hallway.
I took in the visible trail Lily had left displaying each of the activities she did before. Leaves were on the stairs—she had been by the greenhouse. I inched closer, following the path of light which led to the living room. The fire in the chimney was dying, but I could still hear its crackle. She had spent the night here.
And inside my living room was exactly where I found that flower goddess, asleep on my leather couch, wrapped around a blanket. There was a torn flower inside her hand. I observed every inch of her, from her peaceful breathing to her angelic features.
Her phone was unlocked on the table, still on the last page she was consulting on the web. Scientific reports about scents and perfume. A snarl twisted my face. She truly was her own kind of crazy.
I sat in front of her on my armchair and contemplated the warmth of the fire illuminating her face in an orange-and-sapphire color. Her lips parted, and that gesture alone made me jealous of the air she was sucking in and out. Even in the dark, she shone, reflecting her golden soul in this wretched world.
I was the monster watching the beautiful creature.
The beast taking in the beauty.
Evilness corrupting her dreams.
I didn’t know for how long, perhaps minutes, perhaps hours, I stayed seated, unable to take my eyes off her nor move.
It was peaceful.
Satisfying even.
Lily slowly awoke, her nostrils flaring as if she could smell me in her dreams. She peeled her eyelids open and searched around her, probably wondering where the hell she was. When her tired eyes settled on mine, she adjusted herself, sitting up on the sofa.
“What time is it?” she asked with a shy smile.
“Five a.m.”
A lucky guess, since my eyes refused to let go of her for a split second.
“I couldn’t sleep.” She pulled the blanket away from her, displaying her naked legs. “The manor is too big.”
A jolt of garnet-red lust made my dick pulse greedily behind my zipper. My eyes captured her legs, most especially her thighs, before it traveled to her pointed nipples under her pink nightgown. It sent a fatal lick of poison to my dick, and a frustrated knot settled in my throat.
It was a miracle I somehow managed to reply, “Big?”
Like the fucking bulge you’re making inside my pants.
