GIFTED HAND

Luciana walked into the room she had left Angel, and discovered she had fallen asleep on the machine.

Her heart instantly sank. It could only mean that she wasn't able to complete the clothes, probably because she was too tired.

She checked her wrist, and it showed they had just two hours left until the club opened.

Standing in the center of the room, she contemplated what to do.

As much as she didn't want to wake up the girl, she had an obligation to fulfill.

She was still in her thoughts, when Ivar walked into the room.

"What's up?" He called her attention.

She turned around, and breathed out a sigh of relief.

According to Sullivan, Ivar was moist. But he was the moist that could bail one out of a difficult situation.

"Hey, Ivar, I need your help," she said.

"No Lucy. I'm not going to spy on the princess of Prague and Xander. The boss would kill me if he finds out. You know you really need to stop ask—"

"Ivar!" She called in disbelief.

"What?!"

"I haven't told you what I want."

"Yet," he helped her complete her words, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Anyway, I don't give a shit about the princess of Prague. There's another princess I need you to wake," she said, and to sweeten the request, smiled.

"You don't care about Xander? Does this mean you two are done?" He lifted a fine brow, and her heart skipped a beat.

Being surrounded by fine dangerous men had her walking with moist thighs all day long.

If she were to share her fantasy, they'd probably kick her out for being a freak.

"I don't want to wake her up, so the rich girl doesn't hate me. You have nothing to lose. Besides, this isn't about Xander so just stop mentioning him okay?"

"Bet." He shrugged, and walked up to Angel.

Bending a little, he brought his lips to her ears, and whispered.

"Hey, you've been requested for," he said.

"Wait, what? So the boss asked you to bring her, and you made me go through all that bullshit trying to placate you?" Luciana pointed an accusatory finger at him.

He turned his head around, and threw her a wink.

She felt her anger slowly melt away.

"Damn it!" She stomped her foot. "You're lucky you're cute."

He smiled, and returned his attention back to Angel.

She was sleeping peacefully. He studied her face for a brief second.

The kind of beauty she possessed intrigued him.

It was one that was sure to cause problems at Ragazza.

"Hey," he touched her arms. "Wake up." He tugged gently.

Angel moaned in protest, but slowly opened her eyes.

She blinked when she saw a pair of eyes staring down at her.

"Am I in heaven?" She asked.

"No princess. This is hell," Ivar replied.

She blinked again, before suddenly jerking up.

The abrupt movement of her head almost hit Ivar's face. But reflexively, he straightened up before it could.

"I'm so sorry, I fell asleep. I was trying to make– I think they need— I didn't know–" she sighed, and gave up trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.

"It's okay, Angel. You tried your best anyway. I'll just deal with whatever the boss throws my way," Luciana said from behind.

Angel's gaze went to her, and she frowned in curiosity.

"What are you—" halfway into her question, she remembered where she was, and what she was doing. "Oh no, I'm actually done. I finished up, and fell asleep," she said.

"What?! No way in hell you finished sewing all of those dresses in what? Six hours?" She asked, checking her time again.

"But I really did. It was fun to create. Besides, I didn't need to make use of much fabric, so everything went on smoothly. Look for yourself if you doubt me," she said, and lifted up a bag.

"Look for yourself?" Luciana muttered under her breath. "Damn you're so proper," she said out loud, as she walked up to her, and collected the bag.

She emptied its contents on a table, and began to pick them up one after the other.

"Fuck! This is so so good? I didn't know you were this good!" She cried excitedly.

"It's okay, I guess," Angel replied awkwardly.

"Nah, none of that modest crap flies around here. Own your shit, okay? You're the shit!" She said.

Angel smiled, and nodded, because she didn't know what else to say.

"Alright girls, funs over. The boss wants you," Ivar said.

"Me?" Angel touched her chest.

"Yes you. Common, let's go," he said, already turning around.

Angel felt her chest instantly tighten. She was so exhausted she felt she could for real pass out any second now.

It was too bad she couldn't make any complaints.

"Hey, thanks for this. You saved my ass, and now we're really cool," Luciana said, as she made to leave.

"You're welcome," she replied.

"Princess, we need to go. Now!"

"It's Angel," she muttered under her breath, following him, as Luciana waved her goodbye.

"Why does your boss suddenly want to see me? Didn't he say I'd be staying with Luciana for the night?" Angel asked as she tried to catch up with Ivar.

"I guess he changed his mind," he replied, stopping before a door.

"Wait, we're not going to go through the big room? I really wanted to see how it turns o a nightclub," she whined.

"Ask the boss. Perhaps, he'd let you."

The door opened, and darkness became visible.

"Why's it always so da—" she was asking, when a cover was thrown over her head.

She screamed and kicked until she was suddenly dropped on the ground.

Holding her breath, she waited for a movement.

She didn't feel any, and slowly opened her eyes.

Bright light streamed into it, as she slowly rose to her feet.

She fixed her gaze forward, and standing in front of her, was a shirtless Ares, holding on to snuggles.