Illicit Love (BWWM)

Chapter 16

Valentina's POV

              Fredwick had dropped us off a good while now, and I had just exited Aziel's opulent bathroom, awed by its elegance. I sigh satisfactorily at the feeling of the warm water hitting my skin, wishing it could wash away the awful memories of the night. 

The black shorts that he had lent me was oversized, just like the white t-shirt which my dark nipples were printing through. He had told me I could either go to bed after my bath or join him downstairs for a night snack. I chose the latter.

My sock-covered feet padded down the stairs softly as I walked to what I assumed as the kitchen, and I was correct. My hand rested on the door frame as I watched his back muscles move, preparing whatever was before him.

"Valentina," he said, making me jump slightly, "have a seat if you want to. Would you like some chocolate tea?" he said as he whirled around. I stood there still, mesmerized by how the light captured the curve of his jaw. "Yes, how did you know I was here?" I said, taking his offer of both a seat and the chocolatey drink. 

He chuckled softly. "I'm not just a tech nerd, you know. Your father made sure I knew my shit. Marshmallows?" 

"Yes," I replied, and a few moments later a cup of steaming goodness was placed in front of me. I could help but take in the mouth-watering celestial smell being emitted from the mug. My hands wrapped themselves around the hot object, gently bringing it to my mouth. The sapid taste of the substance hugging my excited taste buds made me moan in delight.

I opened my eyes to see his on my face. "What?" I demanded.
He cleared his throat, diverting his eyes to the plain surface of his counter before speaking. "The shirt you're wearing, I can see through it."

My eyes drifted down to my chest where my nut-brown areolas could be seen, and my nipples hardened either from the attention, or the cool air. "So? Nothing's wrong if you look," I shrugged, it's not like I could stop him anyway. 

He simply rose his brow, bemused by my words. "You are not an object on display, Valentina. It is disrespectful for me to look, would you like a change of clothes?"

I never thought about it that way. "No thank you, and I'm used to it. Men do it all the time," I murmured, shrugged nonchalantly again.

"Not because it is what's done, means it's okay or it's what should be done," he concluded, his eyes locked on mine. We sat there for a good moment, just staring at each other. Then I broke out of my stupor, getting up and offering to wash the mugs. He, of course, declined. 

"My mother didn't raise me that way," I argued back playfully, stepping closer to him. I somehow managed to trip over my own two fucking feet,  throwing the remnants of the cup onto his long-sleeved shirt.  I brought my hand to my mouth, an apology spewing from it. "I am so sorry, let me clean that up—"

He caught my fumbling hands in his delicate ones, preventing me from making a further mess. "It's not a big deal," he said, looking down on the spreading stain, "let's just leave them in the sink until tomorrow and do something else, yeah?"

He placed them in the sink, and then he leisurely peeled off his shirt, leaving me utterly astounded. He had tattoos and piercings. His torso was beautifully decorated in a variety of different tattoos, expanding towards his shoulder and ending at his elbow. The pierced area of his pink nipples caught the light as they glistened. "You— you have tattoos," I stated patently, my eyes still fixated on them.

"Yes," he laughed, "I realized that."

"And you have piercings too," I said again, stating the obvious.