Burn Kisses

Zella found it cheeky. It was one thing she never found to be awkward or frustrating. Leo's words flow out of his mouth like it's too natural and nothing of it was a lie. Zella raised her hand, touched his cheeks, and smiled at him. He laughed, adding, "Now, do you want me to answer your questions?"

"No, just hug me." Leo found it suspicious already. The mood changes to tension, but he never showed it through his jaws. Leo never wanted to have it off. Zella smiled, and slid closer, opening her arms.

Leo opened up his arms, waiting for her to sling her hands around his neck. Zella didn't even hesitate, and cling it into his neck, only to slap the burn in his shoulder that made him…

"Ouch!" The wound numbed his shoulder. As soon as Leo reacted to her touch, she went away, as fast as she could. His hand shook, closing his eyes, and looked at his burn. Leo turned to Zella, and her face has gone anxious.

"What happened to you?" She got worried. Zella turned to his shoulder, the part where he couldn't move his joint, and saw a stained circle of blood. Leo tried to hide it from her, but Zella hitched his shirt, tugging it closer to him.

Leo doesn't have time to retaliate. Zella observed the fresh blood oozing out of his shoulder, and pushed him gently away from him. Leo winced in pain, looking at her worriedly. Zella glared at him for a while, stood up from the bed, and changed positions.

This is what Leo's fear all about. That a few traces of him being a spy would get known to the world.

Zella ordered in a menacing voice, "Wear off your shirt."

Leo doesn't have time to retort back to his wife. He's like a kid getting all crumpled up in the corner, waiting for his mother to scold him after he broken off a flower vase. Zella waited for him to do it, and Leo hesitated.

She sighed, asking, "You haven't been honest with me and now you're going to hide your wound? You don't even want me to take a look at it?"

Zella's growing suspicions were true enough to handle, and Leo was just adding every incident to the pile of secrets and lies he had said over the past month. She hated liars, and she doesn't know why, even if they had a reason for it.

Leo breathed, reached at the hem of his shirt, and wore it off. He threw it at the comforter, revealing his deep burn, the blood spilling out. Leo should have been more careful with the fire earlier. Vincent would get a predicament for doing this to him.

Zella gasped. She doesn't want to touch it, but isn't it a bit painful for Leo to handle?

"How can you…"

Leo butted in, "It's fine. It's nothing."

He lied again. It isn't. He might not be able to sleep later with this bleeding burn.

"It's deep, Leo. We need to disinfect it." Zella turned to the drawers, searching for the first-aid kit, and the silence ensued to the both of them. She picked up the kit, sighing, and resisted to ask that question.

"Where on earth did you go that you have to have a burn?" Zella scolded. Leo swallowed. So this was what it felt like to have a wife? Someone who would be worried to you if you have a tiny wound in your fingertip? Leo had never received that kind of care ever since he's a kid.

Zella opened up the kit, retrieved some cotton, and swabbed an antiseptic solution.

"I told you. It's fine."

"Shut up, Leo. It's not fine to have a burn. The superficial nerves can be damaged, so why are you slacking off and not let it treated? You even washed it with water earlier, tsk." Zella dabbed the damp cotton at the wound, and he immediately reacted, hissing. The burn crackled, too. Zella continued to apply it as Leo closed his eyes.

He had a lot of bullet wounds and scars, but a burn in his experience was horrifying.

Leo got skeptical around fires already, but it caught his shoulder.

As Zella calmed the burn down and wiped the remaining blood, she applied some solution before banding it up. Zella retrieved some gauze, and cut the size of the burn. She dressed the wound carefully, and Leo felt care in her hands.

Zella asked, "Tell me. Where did you get this burn?"

Leo sighed. His heart pounded in every beat whenever Zella touched his bare skin.

"An incident happened earlier. I just checked the kitchens if they're ready for the event next month and the fire must have gotten big. It caught my jacket on the way back," Leo lied. He had done a lot of sins for the past few months due to Zella. Leo sacrificed all of his honesty down the drain, and by all means, he still had to kill her.

No matter how many times he tried to get away from that order, it kept on coming back to him. Leo supposed to bring her head. How can he do it when she's taking care of him like this?

"Oh, alright, that explained why you have a cut under your jaw, right?"

Leo lost his wits for a moment. He bit his bottom lip. The cut of the knife came from Jeremy Tyran. Leo shouldn't have gone there, promising to bring Zella Albert's head. Leo nodded, getting along with it.

"Yeah, Laina," Leo assured. Zella patted the wound with soft hands, and retrieved an ointment and bandage. She turned to him, meeting his eyes. Leo waited for her next action, but he couldn't help but to stare at her slender figure in that white dress.

Zella's look too good at everything. Even if it's the first time, Leo was fascinated by her beauty. He may deny it all the way, but he's quite getting attached to her every single moment.

"I'll patch up the wound. Don't move, alright?" Zella squeezed out a small amount of ointment, leaning forward, and spread it all over the wound. It was a little ticklish, but Leo didn't mind it at all, as long as Zella was the one who patched up his wounds.

He looked at her eyelashes, blinking softly, and her innocent, sweet face focused on the wound under his jaw. Leo resisted his hand raising up to hold her waist. Zella might get angry if he did. She, sometimes, gave off mixed signals he didn't want to see.

Zella is done patching up the ointment, but in those fine minutes, he got intoxicated.

She didn't slid far away, retrieving the bandage in her lap, and tilt his head a little to the side.

"I'll fasten it up so that you can sleep early," Zella said.

She did it with intricate hands. Leo was still staring at her, and she doesn't mind. Just as he said, they're a married couple, and there's no issue with having a little quality time together.

As she was about to withdraw back, Leo caught her wrist, pulling her closer to him.

He's shirtless, and it made Zella's mouth parched. He's not just slender and thin, his arms have those toned muscles and brusqueness no one can resist. If Zella were to have an ideal man, his body was the first thing that would come inside her mind.

Zella wouldn't dare to stare at his abdomen and their little, bread-like muscles in column. Leo would know she's attracted to him. As the heat intensified around them, Zella had a good look to his angelic eyes.

Sometimes it's evil, but on the other hand, it was godly.

As he breathed, he felt it close to her face. Her hands were on her lap, but she want to hold onto his toned shoulders and straddle him. Zella was just about to do it if Leo kept on pushing.

"What are you doing?" Zella pretended not to know. Leo's eyes darkened.

This time, he'd not let the odds to take care of his actions.

Leo asked, "Can we sleep together?"

Zella raised her eyebrows. His tone wasn't that as normal as every other day, but it's seductive. It brought attention to her every single huff of his breath. Zella blinked several times, and there's no time to think.

However, when she's forming the words in her lips, Leo pulled her wrist, meeting her lips after a split second. Before she even realize, Leo sealed the gap close, and he's kissing her. This might be the fifth time they kiss, but it still has the same effect on her.

The butterflies in her stomach rumbled as she responded. Leo didn't pull away, releasing her wrist, and traveled his hands down to her waist.

Zella wondered if it was his thank you for mending his burns.

Unconsciously, her hands landed on his chest, and Leo didn't even mind. Zella held on there while Leo was leading the intimate moment.