Dead Flower

Chapter 23

I usually showered once a day in the mornings so that I can be feeling fresh and smelling fresh for the day. I don’t usually need a second shower before I go to bed because I’m not a sweaty or dirty person and if I do shower before bed, I find it difficult to fall asleep because my body feels renewed and fresh. I had to take a shower today because while I had been slowly eating my dinner to prolong time and wait for Gregorio to join me, I spilled my bowl of soup all over my front and my lap. 

I haven’t seen Gregorio in a long time and while that is really a blessing, it gets very lonely in the Black House. His home must be over 50,000 square foot or even double that number and yes, I do have some entertainment like the cinema where I can watch movies or the bowling alley where I can bowl or the indoor pool and indoor tennis court but I can’t use any of that by myself. Do you have any idea how creepy it is to sit in a cinema that can fit 100 people and be the only one there? It feels very haunted the moment the lights turn off and the screen goes black for a second. 

I was lonely and nobody really wanted to hang out with me because Giustina wasn’t available (I was really that desperate). That’s not to say that she’s not a wonderful person but she wouldn’t be my favourite person to hang out with. The guards would only be available if I was leaving the home and even then they weren’t great conversationists. 

Gregorio told me that he would be back in time for dinner today and I know that he’s a man of his word despite having known him for a little time so I was very surprised and concerned when he didn’t make it for dinner. I stepped out of the shower and the faucet automatically turned off. I grabbed a warm and fresh towel and began to wipe myself down before I let out a sigh at the realisation that I wasn’t going to fall asleep easily tonight. 

Gregorio’s bathroom was as grand and dark as the rest of the home but I still marvelled at the amazing designs throughout the house that made the home feel lighter and even far larger than it already is. I walked to the double automatic doors that led out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, and they slid open. I stepped into the bedroom and gasped, almost falling to the floor at the sight of Gregorio casually standing near the bed and taking off his wristwatch. 

He looked up at me and his black eyes met my own and I felt like I was on fire. Gregorio had an effect on me that I couldn’t explain, he made me feel small and his to abuse and a part of me knew that it was true and I was indeed a puppet. I couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered around in my stomach and I couldn’t help the wide and bashful smile that spread across my face as I remembered our kiss and I was glad that he was finally back home, “hey…” I said in a bashful voice as I struggled to make my smile smaller. 

He looked me up and down but the towel that I was wearing covered me whole. The towel was long and reached till my ankles and it was one of Gregorio’s. He would wrap his towels around his midsection and the towel would reach till his knees but when I put the towel on, it covered my body. It only emphasized the size difference between us. It’s not like I didn’t have my own towels that were more fitted for my body but they were way too short and only reached till mid-thigh and even though they were just towels, I was staying with a man and I tried to block any type of temptation that might come through. 

“I heard about the soup,” he paused as he began to undo the buttons of his sleeve of his black silk shirt that looked like pure sin on his body, “are you hurt?” it didn’t hurt as much now and it only felt weird but it wasn’t a serious burn and I was glad. 

I shook my head, “no, it wasn’t so bad, it just kind of feels like tingles…” I trailed off at the sight of blood, I hadn’t noticed it before because whenever Gregorio kept his eyes on mine, I could never pay attention to anything else other than those black and intense orbs that made me feel…feelings. My eyes trailed from his shirt to his bloody hands that I only now noticed were covered in dried blood then my eyes went to the floor and even though the floors were dark I could see that they were wet and it must only be blood, “blood…” I croaked out in a surprised tone because even as I looked at Gregorio, he didn’t look hurt. 

I was deathly afraid of blood and the sight of blood made me real queasy and uneasy. I can’t handle the sight of it, the smell of it, the touch of the wet yet thick substance and it’s strong metallic taste. I associated blood with death and death wasn’t exactly something very ideal to me or anyone, of course. I felt my body freeze as my eyes made their way to Gregorio’s that were silently watching me, “are you hurt?” I managed to let out in a shaky breath, trying to not look at his hands that were covered in dried blood. 

He cracked his neck with his hands, “I thought I would find you fast asleep,” he was right, this was my usual bed time and I would have probably been lost in my dream world at this moment had I not sat up waiting for Gregorio during dinner. “No,” he continued, “this is not my blood. It usually never is.”

“Then whose is it? What happened?” I asked in a hurry. Did someone die? What was happening? Is he in danger? A million questions flew through my mind and I began to panic even more. 

I watched as Gregorio untucked his silk shirt from the waistband in his pants as he walked around the bed and in my direction. I craned my neck to look up at him and took a hesitant step back because I didn’t want him close to me. I didn’t want to pick up the smell of the blood. He stopped in front of me and towered over me and it didn’t matter that I wanted to move away from him because his eyes were keeping me in place and my body always obeyed what his eyes ordered me to do. 

His large hand gently cradled my left cheek and I closed my eyes sharply at the realisation that someone’s blood was now on my face. I sucked in a breath as my heart picked up speed and I wanted to jump back and scream but I was paralysed, “business happened, il mio fiore,” he replied and I opened my eyes, eager to look back into his black soulless eyes. “And sometimes with business, deals get a little messy,” he added and I nervously swallowed because I felt hot all of a sudden. My body was in overdrive and I couldn’t stand having blood on or near me. 

I struggled to speak because my throat had tightened up, “please…move your hand…” I whispered to him pleadingly as I looked into his eyes, hoping that he would listen and remove it. I could pick up the stench of the blood and I couldn’t help it as my eyesight got blurry and I knew that I was seconds from crying. 

A part of me was sure that he wouldn’t listen and would just do whatever he wanted because he could and that’s the kind of person that Gregorio is. He didn’t remove his hand, instead he brought the other to cradle my other cheek, “you would be very easy to torture, il mio fiore,” he drawled in his Italian voice and I felt a tear escape my left eye and my bottom lip quivered. 

A part of me knew that it was human blood that was on my face because I remembered what my father has been through because of the Bianchi’s and I knew that they were trouble, “is it animal blood?” but a part of me really thought that there was no way that Gregorio could hurt or kill someone. So maybe there had been a wounded animal that he had taken care of and rushed to the vet. 

“Are humans not animals?” he countered and my breath hitched. Gregorio lifted my head up to look at him some more and my neck hurt because he is a giant compared to me. I didn’t want to look at him but he made me and when I did look into his black and evil eyes, I was drawn in like I always am. Even when I’m deathly afraid of the man, I can’t help but do as he makes me do. He took a step closer towards me before he easily leaned down towards my face with his, “I haven’t seen you in days and I would like a warm welcome home present,” he muttered just as his lips were a breath away from mine. 

This time, I wasn’t being driven by excitement and the need to mend a broken soul but I was led by a fury of emotions. My fear had me paralysed, my desire for the man had been sparked and my submission to his dominance led me to accept and embrace the feel of his warm yet commanding lips on my own. This time, he wasn’t as gentle as he had been with my first kiss and his lips moved with power and dominance against my own. I felt like a slave to my emotions and to Gregorio because no matter how he pushed my boundaries and gave me hell, I seemed to be under his command.