DON'T YOU WANT ME TO TOUCH YOU?

BRIA

The next morning, we reached this Paulo guy at about eleven in the morning. I was not in the mood to deal with the devil as my heart felt heavy the moment I opened my eyes in the morning.

The place was deserted, with only a small house in the middle of nowhere surrounded by many old crappy cars and trucks. The devil told me that Paulo disguised himself as a scrap dealer and preferred to live alone without any family and friends.

All he had in this world in the name of friends was only the devil.

Paulo's first impression of me was not very impressive, given his appearance.

He was a bearded man with a ponytail who carried a strong smell of tobacco with him. He was a skinny guy in his late forties with a dragon tattoo on his right arm. He had piercings in his ears as well as on the left brow. What piqued my curiosity were the dark pink patches covering his body in places.

He informed us that his man found Cameron, and he was already on his way. And Gabriel was also coming to get us by himself in the evening. I forgot about all the gloominess after hearing that news.

Finally, I would be reunited with my best friends!

Paulo arranged food for us, and after eating, the devil retired to the only room in the small house. That left Paulo and me together.

After cleaning his house a little to make it look presentable, he offered me to have a drink with him outside. And I agreed as it was more interesting than spending another minute in a deadly silence with the devil.

We sat in the chairs outside, hearing the only sound of blowing wind. He gave me a citrusy non-alcoholic drink and got a beer for himself.

Paulo was an easygoing person, which was a total contrast to his appearance. I finally started warming up towards him.

"Hey... can I ask you something if you don't mind?" I asked.

"Shoot"

"um, what are these pink patches on your body? They look like-"

He cut me in the middle. "Burning marks." his face became serious, and I regretted bringing up the topic.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. It was a long time ago. I was working for King's father at that time. A new but trusted recruit. But then an accident happened and I got burned in the fire. When I recovered, I left and came to settle down in my home country." A lost look passed on his face, but I also noticed something in his eyes. Regret?

"But why did you leave? I mean you could have stay there and continue to work for the dickhead's father." I sipped the drink.

Paulo spat the beer while coughing and put the beer can on the table to his side. He wiped his mouth with wide eyes. "What did you call King just now?"

I smiled sheepishly when I realised it. "Ohh... um. Yeah. I have a list of some interesting names for him. But that one is my favourite."

Paulo's face was full of worry. "Bria, you can't say such things about him. He is-"

I rolled my eyes at his concern. "King of the mafia, world's dangerous man, blah, blah...blah. I know. But what can I do? Since he has came crashing into my life, he changed me into a whole new person who is bad, very bad, in fact, the worst version of me. I can't help but calling him such names when I see his face and think about what he has done to me." I grumbled.

"And he is ok with you calling him by such interesting names?"

"He always complains about it. He even threatened me many times for disrespecting him. But I never listened. And now I guess he is getting used to it" I winked with a grin.

He gave me an amused look. "hmm.. Interesting. So tell me about you, Bria. About your family and how you met King." he leaned back in his seat, taking a sip from the can.

I told Paulo about my family- the kids and Benji and how the devil destroyed my happy world for his selfish motives. He listened to everything carefully without interjecting in between.

"Woah! That's intense!" he whistled.

"Totally!" I agreed.

"So what after the three months' timeline?" Paulo asked.

A dry laugh left my lips. "He will kill me. Because I know his identity, how he looks and much more than that. I am a threat to him and his empire. You must be aware that he won't let anyone come between him and his power. Besides, I am not someone who he wants in his life." I said the last sentence in a low voice.

Paulo understood well what I was trying to say. "Ohh... and when is the last day?"

I gulped. "Today! Today is my last day. The day when I have to sign the property papers along with my death."

We were having a conversation when I noticed a red car approaching our way. I was instantly ready with a knife, and Paulo had two guns ready. The devil must have heard the car's sound as he came rushing out too.

But the person who stepped out of the car was not the enemy.

I threw the knife and bolted straight to the injured Cameron, who looked in very bad shape than we left him.

I jumped on him, and he held me with his good hand, staggering back only to hit the car's front.

"CAMERAAA... oh my god, oh my god... you are alive...

I was soo scared. I thought I would never see you again. I am sorry for leaving you. I am sorry for not looking for you. I am sorry that I was not there for you. I am sorry-"

"That you are choking me, damaging my already broken hand and hurting my bruised body? Yeah, I am not gonna forgive you for that easily." Cameron choked while coughing.

Paulo rushed and pulled me away from Cameron. "What? No. Let me go... my heart is not satisfied with that simple hug." I complained.

"Bria, you can hug him the whole time but let him first get some rest and let me treat his wounds." Paulo tried to convince me.

"No ways I am going to let that chimpanzee cling to me like this again. If you pull this stunt again then I swear I will go and surrender to Mancini myself." Cameron threatened while caressing his broken arm, which I managed to hurt more.

While I and Paulo greeted Cameron with happy faces, the devil only barked orders at him to get cleaned up with a rotten look on his face before he marched inside the house again.

"Once an asshole, always an asshole!" I muttered.

Cameron laughed at this. "I wonder how you are still alive."

I made him sit on the old couch after he freshened up. Paulo came with the first aid kit and took a seat beside us.

I began treating Cameron's wounds and kept cringing in pain at the sight of every injury.

I shouldn't have left him alone!

"So, where is your shitface Boss? I swear I will go batshit crazy if I have to spend another day with him. I can't wait to meet Mumma bear."

"Mumma what?" Paulo asked in confusion.

Cameron sighed, rubbing his temple "She is referring to Gabriel."

"Is there only me who haven't been honoured with such cool nicknames? Even King has got some fancy names!" Paulo feigned hurt, placing his hand on his chest.

We all burst out laughing. It felt nice to laugh like this. It made me forget about everything ... it made me forget that it was the last day of my life.

Our happy moment was ruined by the devil when he called Paulo into the bedroom. Five minutes later, the tattooed man rushed out of the house without a word.

I spend the rest of the time speaking with Cameron, and that was the best conversation we had so far. After that, I made him sleep on the couch and made sure that he was comfortable before he drifted to sleep.

There was no sign of Paulo coming back soon, and I had nothing else to do. My mind drifted to the bedroom, and I knocked on it but received no answer. I pushed it open before stepping in to see the devil sitting on the bed staring... correction glaring at the ground.

I cautiously approached him and touched his shoulder, but my heart fluttered in shock when he pulled me onto his lap with a swift motion and caged me there.

I tried to wiggle out of his hold, but it was impossible.

I watched his face as his enchanting eyes captured mine.

Forest and Ocean.

My anger thinned in the air as I matched his heated gaze. "What's wrong?" I asked gently, but he didn't answer. His vein popped up on the forehead, and his body was tensed too.

I dared to touch his face gently. "Hayden? Why are you angry? Please, tell me."

I saw something change in his eyes as they soften a bit. I gulped down my saliva as my mouth went dry when he began closing the short distance between our faces. I could feel my heart beating at a fast pace as only an inch of space was left between us, and his gaze subtly shifted to my lips. My lips parted a little on instinct, and I held my breath in anticipation.

I almost jumped in another shock when the bedroom door burst open by Paulo.

I could feel his surprised gaze on me, but I couldn't meet his eyes due to embarrassment.

"You stupid frog. Let me go" I hissed, trying to lose his grip, but he didn't.

"Paulo, have you get it?" he removed his eyes from me lazily to look at him.

"Yes, King." Paulo pulled out a small white box from the bag and handed it to him.

"Miss Maxwell, don't you dare to move from here. That's an order!" I was too stunned to react.

The devil lifted me and placed me on the bed gently. He then opened the box to reveal the plastic case of eye lenses. He put them on to cover his natural eyes to make them look that plain brown that I could never approve of him.

Wait!

"So she knows."

"So he knows,"

I and Paulo exclaimed at the same time.

"To both of you, yes!" devil turned to face us.

"But- but you said that no one knows about your condition and all those who knew they are all dead," I said in confusion.

"You told her everything?" Paulo stared at the devil in surprise.

"Yes. But only what she needs to know. Now if you will excuse us, we have some unfinished business here." Devil glanced at me, making my heart beat faster.

I looked at Paulo for help, but he nodded his head after saying "I hope you are sure about what you are doing." He left without looking back and closed the door behind him.

What did he mean by that?

"Miss Maxwell"

"huh?" I jumped out of my skin to find his face close to mine. A way too close.

"Don't come near me. I swear I will fucking stab your eyes and make you blind for rest of your life if you come near me." I backed away from him as he took steady steps toward me like a predator on the hunt.

My heart was about to leap out of my chest as the strange sensation ran down to the south of my body, making me curl my toes. His face was a few inches away from me and his hot breath fanned my face. I shut my eyes close to avoid looking at his handsome face.

"Open your eyes, Fire. Look at me." His authoritative voice made me compelled to his words.

I opened my eyes as my breaths became shallow with his body so close to me. "H-Hayden. Stop." I breathed out.

"Don't you want me to touch you?" He taunted with his raspy voice.

"I-I..." I fumbled with the words as my mind became foggy with the desire rising inside me.

The devil tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as his thumb grazed my face, leaving a hot sensation behind. His eyes never left mine. His hands slipped around my body as he pressed our bodies together, not leaving any space for the air to pass. He inhaled deeply while grazing the delicate skin of my neck with the tip of his nose.

Goosebumps erupted all over my body as I threw my head back to offer him more of me. A soft moan betrayed my control and left out of my parted lips.

"You are mine, Fire! Say that you are mine, only mine!" His words vibrated my insides with ecstasy as his lips touched my skin with every movement.

I clutched his shirt in fists. "Say it." He demanded.

Before I could utter a word, we heard a sound... a sound of a helicopter. It became clearer and louder as it neared us. I saw out of the window to see it ready to land.

"King, Gabriel is here!" Cameron called from outside.

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