Kiss of War

Chapter - 14

ELIANA

A honk went off outside my front door. Both his actions and personality were loud. Apparently, averse to technological communication, that was all the warning I got that he was here.
I hated myself for what happened yesterday with Leonardo. And for how my hand rushed to my hair, fixing up the flyaways in my peripheral vision.
God, I was done for.
I even wanted to mess with his emotions, bless my heart. But the only one that would end up getting strung along here would be me. My body was still trying to recover after yesterday. I was teetering the edge between what the fuck did I do, and I want to do it again. I want him to pound me against the wall until I can't feel my toes.
Not even the dirty look Saint graced us with when we exited his room could stop my libido from running. I should be mortified that probably half of the people at the party knew something was going on. If the fight didn't clue them in, then me leaving in Leo's shirt most certainly did.
The killer's daughter and the victim's brother.
We would make for such cute headlines.
It was scary how he got me to spell out things I've been denying to even myself for years. He was
such a skilled manipulator. Cold-blooded and silver-tongued, Leo trapped you in his snare, uncaring of how much you bled as long as it was for him.
I was betraying myself by caving into his touch, craving his tongue and sinister mind. My moral compass pointed in all different directions when he was around. Leo turned off my ability to feel anything but him, and that wasn't safe. He had the power to be catastrophic.
Barren trees laced my driveway, the kiss of winter was eminent in the air, yet my jean jumpsuit still clung to my body weirdly. A thin sheet of sweat blanketed my skin, and nervous flutters wrecked my belly as I stepped out.
I was no psychic, but the prospect of today turning out good was slim to none. It was a cliff in front and current in the back type of situation. No matter what the P.I. told us, no fall would be less painful.
I tried to muffle the shake of my hands as I reached for the handle.
"Should I be flattered by your imitation, Narcissus?" he greeted.
My brows pulled together, and I buckled my seatbelt before turning to look at him. He was
wearing a jean jacket and a black pair of Diesel pants. Our looks were hardly similar but probably still an eyesore for any onlookers.
"I couldn't help it. I wanted us to have our own little double denim moment," I teased.
Spearing me with a thousand-watt smile, he put the shift in drive, reveling in the engine's loud purr by speeding down the driveway. The awkwardness after I left with Maddy and not him yesterday didn't seem to linger on to today. I wasn't ready for the aftermath, but it needed to be addressed for both of our mental sanity.
"So..." I started. "About last night."
"What about it?" he asked because a world where Leo wasn't difficult was pretty much non- existent.
"Do you think it's wise for us to..." I toyed with a few stray strings from my jumpsuit, confused about our label.
"To fuck?" he deadpanned.
"To get involved," I inwardly winced. "We're still looking into your sister's murder, and my father could very well still be the main suspect."
His grip turned white around the steering wheel, but I didn't regret asking it. Feelings were an innate part of the process, much to his disbelief. Involving any sexual activities would give him that extra edge to plunge my world into destruction more easily.
"Don't think too much about it. We're just having some fun, Eliana." He took a sharp left I felt down to my stomach.
Right, fun.
Fun that apparently makes me only his. Fun that had need swishing at my insides every time I saw him. Fun that had him beating random ass dudes because they touched me.
Maybe I was looking at this wrong. He didn't want me. He just wanted to own me. But I wasn't about to sit back while he was free to do anything and anyone he pleased.
"I'm assuming we're free to date other people then. This is just some harmless fun after all." I detested the words as soon as they left my mouth.
Another sharp turn, and I held on to the oh shit bar, glaring at him for wanting to put me in an early grave.
"It will be a cold day in hell if that ever happens. I don't share. If I did, the fun would be more deadly than harmless for all parties involved."
His green eyes sought mine, and even though he stepped on the accelerator, the thought of a crash wasn't the reason I wanted him to stop looking at me. I needed a barrier between us, a veil, separating his magnetizing hold from influencing my thoughts and decisions.
"Eyes on the road, Bianchi." I cleared my throat. He smirked at the catch in my voice but did turn
back to cruising the road safely. Well... as much as going a hundred miles per hour could be considered safe. "So I'm supposed to stay celibate while you get it on with everything that moves? Because if that's your thought process, you're delusional."
"I am capable of monogamy, you know."
I couldn't help but scoff at that, my eyes rolling to the back of my head.
There was a rumor about why his parents named him Leonardo, and it involved his and
DiCaprio's innate ability at driving girls mad. I could see it. My Leo, hanging out in Saint Tropez, on a yacht full of supermodels. It wouldn't surprise me. Him at an altar, however, pledging his life to another person forever... now that was laughable.
"What's so funny, Narcissus?"
"The only thing you've ever been monogamous toward is your hand, and that was when you were thirteen. I don't know where you find the confidence that you'll keep it in your pants from."
"But I won't." I whipped my head toward him, not expecting that bold of an answer. "I'll keep it in yours." He graced me with a smile, soft and seductive—and just a bit wicked.
I couldn't help but feel the stubborn tug of my lips when he reached over, grasping my thigh with his corded hand. His fingers grazed my sensitive inside, and heat spread along his lethal touch.
"Whatever." My gaze fled to the sky, enamored with making shapes out of clouds, so I wouldn't linger on his taunting exploration up my leg. "We'll see if you'll still be all in after today."
Part of my reluctance to accept that my dad had nothing to do with this was because I didn't want to hold on to false hope. I didn't believe in the law of attraction. Out of experience, I knew that a positive mindset only led to life kicking you down harder than before.
His fingers squeezed my skin tightly before releasing their hold on me, and going back to strangling the hell out of the steering wheel instead. I was reluctant to give him too much power because he wasn't a benevolent god. He'd take any leeway I provided him with and abuse it when things went south.
"What difference does it even make if it's my mother that's involved in your sister's case rather than my father? How does that make me any less of a monster in your eyes?" I continued, unable to stop myself.
They were both my parents as much as I wished otherwise sometimes.
He shook his head, frustrated that he couldn't turn to look at me. "It's different because you're more loyal to Serena than you are to your mother. I never saw you as a monster by association. I just hated that part of you still loved your father despite knowing what he did. Or at least what we thought he did."
My throat constricted, and I didn't reply.
It was true, and the hateful smile that greeted me every day in the mirror knew it. I loved my dad despite knowing the extent of his madness and supposed disturbed morality.