CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A hand startles me while I am lying in the bathtub. I look down at myself. Thank god for the foam covering every inch of the bathtub.

Arcadio stood unblinking, wearing a tight T-Shirt that you could see his chest rising and falling with harsh, controlled breaths. He looks at me with a want blazing in his eyes.

Goosebumps spread through my body like fire under his gaze. His eyes told me that he wanted me.

I tried to quench the ache between my legs. Desire and fury galloped in my stomach. Even though our marriage is a scam, the thought of him close to me enticed me, which was deadly and dangerous. I felt a flush rise to my skin, and the ache tightens between my legs again. I had to stop before I do something unforgivable to myself. Damn him!

Mother always had taught me never to shout because a sophisticated girl never yells at someone. Even when she is angry, she never talks back. Well, too bad I missed her lesson on manners when I was young and she is not even here right now. Also, why do I feel sorry for being angry? He was here dressed while I am covered barely with the foam surrounding me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The question echoed in the bathroom.

His expression doesn't twitch. Instead, he moves a step forward, kneeling beside the bathtub. "Wh...What are..."

The whole question stays on my lips as his scent encircles me. "Tell me, Tesoro. Do you honestly want me to go?"

WARNING: Mature Content Ahead.

I open my mouth to answer him, yet he cuts me off, "if you do then, why does your skin looks flushed? Why the heartbeat accelerated, and your breath gets hitched every time I move closer?

He hovered behind, his breath scorching the back of my neck. His fingertips begin the familiar rhythm again. From touching my collarbones, he trails down to my breast. "Why do your nipples have hardened? I can smell your arousal, Tesoro."

Shock punches my gut. I have always complained about being transparent, but this was so much worse. I close my eyes, drawing off my breath slowly while shutting my eyes tightly. I can't let him see through me.

Then electric pleasure surges through my spine as he swiped a thumb over the tip.

Unable to resist anymore, I gave in to his touch. I arch, pushing my breast in his hand.

"God, you smell so sweet, Tesoro." He muttered, then kissed the curve of my neck with his lips.

Arousal pulsed low and hard. My heart pounded in my chest. I squeezed my thighs together.

His right hand joined his left, holding my other breast. I squirmed further as my body roared with pleasure. He pinched both my nipples between his fingers, spiking need in my belly.

Suddenly, he ceased everything. I gasped at the loss. "Next time, lock the door, Tesoro." Then with a parting kiss on my neck, he left.

The fury returned, "that arrogant bastard!"

He played me, teased me, and I let him. It was the second time he did this, and like an idiot, I let him touch me. Frustrated and cursing, I stood up. I fasten the towel around me, then get out.

Only to meet Arcadio casually sprawled on the bed. I huff, "I thought you'd already left."

"I did." He answers while crossing his legs and making himself more comfortable. I tighten the towel because of his eyes on me, gazing over my wet skin.

Ignoring the thoughts racing in my mind and heart hammering, I snapped, "then get out."

Arcadio didn't reply, only watching. I could see why people were so afraid of him. Dark, dangerous, arrogant, and the way his eyes watch you, it's as if he is peeking inside your soul. I've never met a man like him in my entire life, who is so ruthless, but at the same time will surprise you.

He gets up from the bed and slowly paces towards me with his hands in his pockets. Why did it make him look so hot?

"Are you angry that I stayed or that I didn't finish what I started before?" He said softly.

Swallowing, I tried to shift my gaze from him while inching back. "I am not playing your games again, Arcadio."

Yet he didn't stop, only became more determined. Panic flared inside me as I tried to think of my escape plan when my back hits the bathroom door.

The familiar scent hit my nostrils, and I lunged to my right to escape. Suddenly, Arcadio blocks my way with his hands on the door next to my head.

He leans in. "Look at me."

The words made me raise my head only to clash my gaze with his. "What the hell do you want now? Haven't you played enough games?"

A smirk tugs on his lips as his body brushes mine. Exploding sparks of desire all across my body once again. I bite my lip to control myself from giving in to his touch.

I feel so tiny in front of his Neanderthal frame.

"I love the way your body reacts to me, Piccolo Ragazza."

Conscious, I tightly grab the end of the towel. I am not going to be naked in front of Arcadio. Never have. Never will. I know he has seen my breast, but I can't allow him to see my body in a lit room. The desire is there, but thinking about him, seeing me naked in daylight is something I will never allow him or anyone.

He brushes his body against mine again, the hint of smirk gone. His eyes pierced through me, "what are you scared of, Tesoro?"

"I'm fine," the sentence has been engraved in my mind for so long that it became an automated reply.

The soft, sensual voice became a command, "don't give me that bullshit, Tesoro. I may be unable to read your mind, but I read your body."

"I...don't..."

"Be careful, Piccolo Ragazza. I hate people who lie to me."

Swallowing, I opened my mouth to speak. How should I even begin? What do I even tell him without opening a barricade of cluttered emotions? It took me years to push those insecurities behind me, yet, it took only days for them to come back in front of Arcadio.

It was the other reason I have to get away from him. I can't be that girl again.

Instead of answering him anything, I push him away. He doesn't budge. "Move away, Arcadio."

"Stop it," he takes both my hand in one grasp and abruptly puts them above my head, loosening the towel. Even across the towel, the action sent a hot tingle to my toes. "You're not going anywhere until you answer me."

An urge to cry bubbles inside me, which frustrates me even more. "Don't you have a mistress waiting for you somewhere?"

His eyes turn deadly, black, cold. "Mistress?"

I feel as if I may have crossed a line. However, I do not regret what I did. It was eventually going to come out. The thought still hurts, but if this charade kept going any further, it would destroy what I've worked so hard to build.

After a long pregnant pause, Arcadio states, "Is that what this is? You anticipated that I would keep a mistress even after I got married."

"I...I mean...wouldn't you?" The question sounded harsher than I assumed.

I have to stop. The man has me by his hands and could do anything he wants. Yet, I continue, "You were involved with Layla when we met. It is hard to believe that you would stop seeing her after getting married to me and that too in an unreal marriage."

He grits his teeth, "You don't think our marriage is real?"

"Is it?"

"Listen, Piccolo Ragazza. I am not my father. This marriage may not mean anything to you, but it does to me. I am going to stay faithful in this marriage. So will you, don't even think so much so about having an affair. Otherwise, I will not just kill you, but him as well with my bare hands." I gulped at the threat.

He retreated and walked out of the room, fuming with anger.