Taken by the Heartless (HEARTLESS, Book 1) (NOW EDITING)

SOMETHING SPECIAL

    Lucia sprouted from her seat as Eros' solid structure stood by the door. He was dressed in a vintage shirt and plain black pants; his hands were leisurely shoved into his pockets. He was always dressed in vintage shirts with the few first buttons left open, giving a peek at his chiseled chest.

His eyes were on her, and they burned her soul. It was high time she stopped acknowledging how good-looking he was and focus on the resentment she felt for him. Then he started walking into the room, his shoes hitting the hard floor. Lucia was already shaking like a leaf in winter and Bully stood with his hand clutched behind him.

Cassandra could feel the heat of his presence. She slowly stood up as he moved closer to her, his eyes never leaving her. She lowered her gaze, unable to keep up with the sharpness of his eyes. He reached out to her, held her chin with his fingers, and raised her face so that her eyes could meets his. She felt her knees melting as their eyes locked. She quickly grabbed the table for support. A strange surge shot through her and it was almost painful. Why was this happening to her? Why does a man she hates so much have this effect on her? It wasn't only about his looks.

"Bring her over to the dark room, I need her now," Eros said in a deep raspy voice.

His voice was always low and raspy and so cold as steel, but for some bizarre reason, she loved it. Take a grip, Cassie, you have a better man in Apollo, she cautioned herself, but she knew she was never this attracted to Apollo. His eyes left hers and fell on her lips, then his thumb wiped over her parted lips.

It sent currents through her veins and made her have wild thoughts that she was not supposed to have. She thought of how it would feel if he kissed her lips, she thought of how his lips would feel on hers, she imagined what it felt like if his strong arm run through her body, cupping her breast, she thought about what it would feel like if he was to be inside her.

There was a heat radiating between them. An undeniable heat. She almost felt he was feeling it too. But she couldn't tell with her mind being so distracted. The way he looked at her and the way he touched her, gave it off that he felt it too. But he wanted her to submit, he wanted her to beg him and she wasn't going to let him win. He could do whatever he wanted to her, but he would be the one submitting to her.

"Sì, jefe,"(Yes, boss) Bully said.

Just like his voice broke the spell between them, he let go of her chin and stepped back, turned and sauntered toward the door with such elegance of movement that any man of his size had the right to. She stood there watching him as he left, her heart still hammering against her ribcage.

It took a gasp from Lucia to make her remember Lucia was still there. Her eyes swept over Lucia who looked as white as a sheet. The whole blood had drained out of her face and she was gasping in deep breaths as she walked back to the table, her hand latched on her chest.

"I was almost out of breath," Lucia said breathlessly.

Cassandra didn't know why Eros didn't have these dread effects on her, rather he had other effects on her. The ones she hated so much. Everyone was so scared of him, and she was too, but today, she had felt something more along the line of attraction. She was scared of him from the stories she heard before meeting him, she hated him when she met him and that hate had somehow overshadowed the fear and now, she was feeling attracted to him. She had felt that way the first time she met him though, but it was different now. It felt almost mutual.

"What was that?" Lucia asked, waving towards the door. "I mean he would have talked to him through the phone. Did he have to come up here?"

"Vamos,"[Let's go] Bully's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Why was he looking at you like that though?" Lucia asked.

"How?" There was no denying something happened between her and Eros just now and both of them were caught up in that moment. She tried to shove the feeling his thumb on her lips had given her at the back of her mind, but it kept presenting itself. "I don't know w...what you are talking about." Her voice was barely firm.

Lucia stared at her like she was hiding something from her. She swore she saw a look of betrayal in Lucia's eyes before Bully's voice cut them short.

"Si, jefe. Voy a hacer eso de inmediato." (I will do that right away) Bully spoke into the earbuds, moving toward the door and the girls stared at him. But he turned to both of them before he left. "Tú,"(You) he referred to Lucia, who pointed to her chest and stared quizzically at him. "Ven conmigo." (Come with me).

Lucia started to go toward the door too. Cassandra suddenly felt alone watching her go. Lucia stood and turned back to look at her, then went back and hugged her.

"I hope to see you again."

"Same here." They hugged a little longer and Bully made a low growl that had them parting. Cassandra felt like she was saying the last goodbye to a friend. Lucia was the only person around her age she was cool with.

                                ~~~

Eros Castillo has never been frustrated like he was at that moment, all his life. He was even more confused. All he had been thinking about was Cassandra in that room. At first, he had thought it was the humiliation she gave him that still ranked him, but he was beginning to see her everywhere, she was always finding a way to be in his thoughts even when he was not thinking about her. He opened the door to his room and went in, pacing about.

Something tells him it was more than an urge to pay her back for putting her hands on him, it was more than wanting her to submit to him, it was more than wanting to punish her in bed for rejecting him at first. She challenged him, she was the first woman to challenge him.

Every time she looked at him, she was challenging him. She has no idea who he was or she just chose to ignore all the details about him. She had no idea of what he was capable of and maybe that was why she felt she could do whatever she pleased. He had killed men for looking him in the eyes when he spoke to them. But with Cassandra, it was different. Her defiance drew him in more than he imagined, she interested him and made him eager to see how it all ends and it was frustrating him the more.

He ran his fingers through his hair. He was not used to being patient. He wasted no time in ending a life that proves to be a torn on his flesh. Why was he still keeping Cassandra alive? That question was one he found difficult to answer. Sometimes, he convinced himself that he was keeping her alive just to teach her that he was the boss around there and he was still the most formidable man in the whole of Spain.

He flopped down on his bed. He wasn't going to let her get away again. He was going to carry out that reason he had kept her alive. He was going to bend her until she was broken, he won't let whatever was pathetically going on with him make him less of the person he was. He was Eros Castillo, leader of the El dragon gang, Lucifer reincarnated and he was going to live up to those names.

He stood from the bed and walked out of his room. He had worked so hard to become the man he was, to become this feared and respected amongst all and sundry. He wasn't going to lose all of that because of a woman. One of those he hated, his father would not hear of it, even in his grave. He went down the stairs and toward the darkroom.

He had instructed Bully to take her over to Grandma Adella's apartment to get her dressed up by the chief. For some reason he couldn't even explain to himself, he wanted her to look nice when he meets her again, he wanted that sexy aura radiating off of her, just like the first night he has seen her at the seduce me, night. She had attracted him that night and that attraction still lingered. He had wanted her that night, and as if luck had been on his side, she had been listed exclusively for him and he had wasted no time in picking her. But he had been disappointed when she didn't want him back. It was as if he repulsed her, she couldn't even fuck with him to save her life. It was that rejection that made him want her the more.