The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Tᴡᴇɴᴛʏ﹣Eɪɢʜᴛ ❊

When Enzo's family left, I went straight to my room and changed into my maid's uniform. I needed to get my mind off of Maverick and the auction. I needed to do something with my hands, other than wringing them together to keep them from visibly shaking. Something was wrong. Something was so incredibly wrong but I had no idea what it was. I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on with Nico.

When I exited my room, I ran straight into Enzo. His arms wrapped around my waist to keep me from falling.

I looked up into his big brown eyes, which were looking right back at me. "I'm sorry."

One of his large hands slid up my arm, creating goosebumps in its wake, and cupped my chin. He leaned down and slanted his lips over mine, cutting off another apology. My hands continued to shake at my sides until he grasped both of them in his.

When he pulled away, I blinked blearily up at him.

"Tell me something," he whispered against my lips. "Did you say you had feelings for me to piss off my father, or do you really have feelings for me?"

I smirked. "Well, I do feel something."

He cocked an eyebrow at his words being thrown back at him. When I chuckled, he moved me to the side and pushed my body against the wall, pinning my hands above my head as he pushed his body against mine. His warmth seeped through his clothes and mine, touching my already heated skin. When he moved his hips, I stifled a gasp.

"You feel something, huh," he murmured.

"Sorry to interrupt, boss."

Enzo closed his eyes and breathed a long, steady, breath before looking over at Thomas. I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing, to which he pursed his lips in feigned annoyance.

Thomas gave me a wink before motioning for Enzo to follow him upstairs.

Enzo put his lips by my ear. "I'd like to continue this conversation later."

I didn't answer, but then again I didn't have to. My breath catching, as well as the heat that flooded my face, was probably answer enough for him. He winked and turned away from me to follow after his guard. I watched, my breath still held in my chest long after he disappeared up the stairs and Sophia appeared in his place.

She tilted her head.

I expelled the breath that I had been holding and looked at her, wanting to tell her what just happened, but not doing so. She'd probably grin like she was planning it all along. And she probably had been. When he and I held hands, she reacted like it was the most exciting thing she's ever seen. Learning that we may or may not have made an agreement to "meet up" later would probably make her explode.

There was still a part of me that was relatively concerned. Those soft hands of his had killed people. They continued to torture and manipulate people. His voice caused people to go mad and do as he wished within twenty-four hours. He was still a monster, but I hoped he never showed me that part of him.

To me, he was just Enzo. A hardworking and serious man whose smile could make my heart stutter in my chest. Who didn't think twice about giving me expensive dresses and jewelry because he had the money for it. Someone who worked so hard for his family's approval that the weight on his shoulders seemed to double when he saw them. A man who could pull off sweatpants just as well as he did a suit. Someone who saved me from people like Maverick.

But then to his enemies, he was an executioner. A man who should be feared and never messed with. A torturer. A mind manipulator. The boss of many other executioners who look up to him as their leader. He had blood on his hands from past kills. And whether that be from the government's order or not, it didn't matter. If someone sees Enzo, it was probably their last moments as a sane human being.

I smiled at Sophia as I shut my door. "Ready to start cleaning?"

There was confusion in her eyes, but she didn't voice her question. I must have had a ton of expressions ghosting across my face and I was glad that she didn't comment. I knew I wasn't allowed to tell her what Enzo did. I probably wasn't even allowed to let on that I knew. So telling her that I was afraid of getting too close to him was out of the question because it would raise questions. I loved the girl. She had grown to be like a sister to me in the short time that I had spent in the mansion. But I couldn't tell her.

I headed up to the second floor to begin on bathrooms as she worked on the guest rooms. We didn't speak much, even when we were in the same room. But that was fine. With my hands being kept busy as well as my mind, it went by quicker than I thought possible. By the time I was done with the bathrooms on that floor, it was time to go wash up and serve dinner.

I was surprised to see two people in the dining room when we went out. I half expected no one to be in the house, since his family just left. But they all looked engrossed in work - their heads bowed over a stack of papers that I glanced at only briefly. There were pages upon pages of type. There was a corner of a photo peeking out from the bottom corner of the stack, but I didn't dare move it.

Enzo looked up when I sat his cup of water down. "Thank you."

My eyes slid from the papers to him. "Work?"

One of the men glanced up to look at me, his brown eyes calculating and cool. I could tell, even without looking directly at him, that he was sizing me up to see if I was a threat. I guess he decided that I wasn't, because he looked back down.

Enzo nodded with a small smile. "Never ends. Are you still okay with that talk later?"

Sophia perked up.

I knelt down so that my face was level with his. "Are we going to be doing much talking?"

The man closest to me seemed to choke on his water.

"If I say yes?" Enzo took a sip of his water and watched me over the rim of the glass.

I straightened. "Then sure."

He set down his cup, never once breaking eye contact with me. "And if I say no?"

Sophia covered her mouth with her hand as the man beside me coughed again. He excused himself from the room, but it didn't seem to bother Enzo at all. He only glanced at the closing door for a split second before returning his attention to me.

I shrugged one shoulder half-heartedly, but smirked. "Hmm. Maybe. But this isn't an appropriate conversation to be having in front of guests. Am I wrong?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "I have no qualms against talking about what I want to do with you, Eva."

Sophia began fanning her reddening face. Her eyes were about as wide as her grin. I knew that'd be her reaction. See? No help at all.

The man that still remained in the room looked up again to glance between me and Enzo before sighing. "With all due respect, sir. Why don't you just fuck her and get it over with?"

Enzo laughed, which seemed to startle the man into sitting straight. His laughs and smiles were both so rare, I doubted he ever showed either to his employees. The man stared wide-eyed at his boss, then to me. He was wondering if he said something wrong and why the hell it was so funny.

Sophia was gripping my arm before I had time to answer the poor guy. "We need to...uhm...you know. Go get their food."

I glanced back helplessly at Enzo as she pulled me into the kitchen. He was trying to conceal a grin while his eyes sparkled in amusement. He knew damn well what was going to go on in the kitchen and it wasn't just getting his food.