Slave's Love (Pirate!Spamano)

Capítulo 24 (veinticuatro)

Romano

The soft paper brushed against my skin like lace, caressing my fingers gently. The black ink was still rich but the smell darting from the book in my hands had changed over the past few decades. And despite the old age of it, the story was still so fascinating and pulled me right into a different world.

I flipped to another page, my eyes setting themselves on the first few lines. My reading skills have improved thanks to my illness; I haven't been able to move around much and thus I was chained to the bed by invincible straps of a sickness, being able to do as much as read. Normally, if I was back on the ship, I wouldn't have gotten the time nor opportunity to read, not to mention Antonio's book collection wasn't as great as this Austrian asshole's is.

Reading also took my mind off the troubles I was going through, all the pain I was experiencing in recent weeks. After finishing reading a book, I would feel way better both mentally and physically than on regular basis. So, yes; I could say it was actually reading that got to make me healthy again.

I clicked my tongue and took my eyes off Shakespeare's Othello for the first time in quiet the time. I was in the middle of Desdemona's love confession to her husband when I looked away, annoyance clouding my brain. I glared at the Spaniard sitting across my room nonchalantly, staring right back at me. Or rather, this time, I was the one staring back for he has been looking at me for so long it made me grow very annoyed and irritated.

"Could you stop staring at me? You're freaking annoying." I made an irritated sound before turning back to my book, trying to start from where I left off.

"I'm not staring; I'm...admiring." Antonio said, playfulness visible in his voice as he wiggled around in his seat and oh my God, could I just bite his head off? I could see a small grin quirking his lips up and I honestly just wanted to kick his annoying ass out of my room.

"Well, go and admire something else; you're bothering me," I said and despite trying my very best, I still failed at paying attention at what was going on in the book. If only he stopped staring at me! Even if he was still here, I wouldn't mind his presence but him staring at me drove me mad. At last, I closed the book, making sure to remember the page where I had to stop reading, put it down into my lap and glared at the emerald eyed man. "Do you really have nothing better to do?"

His grin turned into a smirk as he shuffled upright on the chair, shrugging his shoulders. "I could do something better but I'd rather spend the time with you." I bit my bottom lip, feeling my cheeks heat up at the statement but I decided not to it show on the surface. That was until he took off from where he was seated and came to me, and just his scent made my heart race faster. He leaned against the nearby standing table, crossing his arms on his chest and letting his head loll to the side with a smile flashing through his face, all in a friendly manner.

"What's the book about if you want me out so desperately?" I could hear joke in the soft tone of his voice and I was contemplating if either I should fire back a bittersweet remark or just tell him what Othello was really about. I decided for the second option and while thinking at how to put it into words, I took the book and stared down at it.

After few moments of silence, I sighed. "The content of this book does not really matter; the place where it is all set matters to me mainly." After Antonio not saying anything in return, I tossed the book on my bed carefully, sighing some more. "It's set in Venice; I'd like to go there someday. Go to my home country in general and it doesn't really matter where."

His hand suddenly rested on my shoulder, rubbing it while his thumb brushed up and down across it. I turned to him, the emotion of anger from him not getting my permission to touch me arising in me but his soft, somehow sad features stopped my outburst. He wetted his lips, his hand retiring to his side but he didn't look at me. "You'll be able to see Italia one day, I'm sure about that."