Page 5 of Scent of Desire
I dropped the broken handle to the floor. “We need a new handle.”
She nodded, her hands gripping the wall behind her as if afraid of being embroiled in a frightening tornado or falling into a precipice. She would have more chances of survival with those fates compared to the irritation she was causing me right now.
Her eyes, obviously ignoring the sight of me, traveled and locked on the sheets on the floor. Sheets with traces of red blood. She swallowed, her face whitening like a ghost.Great.It was easy to see where her mind went.
“I didn’t kill her.” I didn’t know why I justified myself. She would have known the moment Lily came back, pouring dirt everywhere with Cerba, laughing around the manor. Plus, I had many wicked things I craved to do to that witch, but death wasn’t an outcome I’d allow her to have.
Mrs. Walton squinted her eyes in mistrust and carefully entered the “crime scene.” For a moment, I thought of firing her. But then, I’d have to find a replacement. Someone neither judgmental nor talkative—a rather impossible mission. At least she already ticked a box on the talkative part.
The old shrew roamed the bedroom. It amused me for a beat, scrutinizing her on a quest for clues. She looked like a clairvoyant, searching for a sign of a spirit to whisper her tales of the past. She picked up the sheet, and her lips curled into a smile that quickly faded when she felt the weight of my stare upon her.
That morning was definitely not normal.
I sauntered to my balcony, wishing for the icy air to cool me down. It didn’t work. The ruthless winter was pulling away to let the annoying blossoming spring rise. Birds sang, and the ghostly forest didn’t seem so hostile.
In the midst of all those changes, the biggest of them all appeared across my garden. Near the cliff, that flower goddess was playing in the green field with that traitor Cerba.
Her laughter mingled with the singing of the birds. Cerba jumped around her, ignoring the fact that dogs can’t fly. Lily wore some kind of dusty rose/camel corset dress with pleats all over. Her tousled hair, worn in long, messy curls, was tempted to be hung up by the brooch I offered her. She looked like madness in its beauty. A radiating heat traveled to the pulse between my legs.
It didn’t help when she spun in circles, her dress swaying with the wind. I had a view of her white lace panties from all angles. It needed to be ripped apart. I would fuck her on that field she loved, slamming deep inside her as she dug out the flower roots, trying to hold on. It’d be a merciless mess. I’d even consider tying her against a tree, naked and at my mercy. The cold air would harden her nipples, and I’d shut her up with those panties of hers.
I was hard and frustrated.
I tried to regain some semblance of control when Lily lay in the middle of the daisies like an angel. She savored the sun warming her skin. She was where she belonged. Truth was, I had never noticed the grass on my property could grow flowers—apart from the greenhouse. Only weeds were growing, but Mr. Walton tore them off immediately. It was always dry and dead. Until her.
My thumb traced my mouth as I leaned on the railing. I zoomed my stare to her, heartbeat rising. Her cheeks were getting pink under the sun, her lips curving upward. My Adam’s apple bobbed at the realization, acid irritating my throat.
I’d never let her go.
Not even after the first day of spring.
I’d make another contract if I had to.
The word “mine” appeared in the form of a lullaby haunting my mind. The Devil inside of me was laughing abundantly. I was his puppet.
I brought a cigar between my lips and lit it up. The greasy off-white smoke undulated across the air, tarnishing the colorful scenery. I disliked smoking. I only indulged in it to have more patience during social events. The pungent coal was a way to calm my nerves—or today, my frustration.
I took out my phone, calling Hugo. Yesterday, I had made a decision I was firmly set on. It wasn’t rational, but chaos was calling me on.
“Rad, what’s up?” Hugo was out of breath. This fucker was either fucking or running his lungs out.
I exhaled the acrid black smoke, a sardonic hint of a smile on my face. “I have a surprise for a special someone I want you to deliver.”
“The tone of your voice tells me otherwise.” I had to admit, Hugo had learned to get to know me over the years. “Not that I’m not liking the sound of that. Who’s the lucky person?”
I scratched the cigar inside my palm, breaking it down into ashes. “Carmin. He touched Lily at the club.”
If you crossed the Devil, you’d have to pay the price. Every action has consequences. Especially the ones including what belonged to me. I wasn’t one to share, and I certainly wasn’t clement with people thinking they could break my rules.
“That’s what it’s all about.” He paused. “I thought you didn’t do personal revenge.”
“It’s not. Just a message.” A kind reminder of what my wrath could be. “Plan a meeting with his investors. I’m sure there are some parts of Carmin’s on the buyout,” I implied.
Hugo chortled. “Anything else?”
“Never do something behind my back ever again.”
I hung up. I knew he was the one who’d brought her to the club that night. The memory of her dancing in front of all those bastards and their perverted thoughts made me want to squash their pitiful skulls.
