The Inferno's Indulgence

Chapt 11

Celeste

My scalp prickles with apprehension as I come to a realization that the tall and brooding man standing beside my Audi car- actually, leant against it, is someone that I know.

Draped in a large gray shirt that tightens around his biceps and dark black jeans, the man's curly hair topples over his head as his face is nearly engraved into his phone screen. His thumbs fiddle with the device for a few seconds before he presses the button on the side, locking it. He stuffs it into his dark pants.

There's a building flame inside of my core. It inflames my skin, sending full sickness over me entirely.

The exiting of the building I was in had come to an abrupt stop due to the sight of him, but at a leisured pace, I begin to find my rhythm again. The click click of my heels can be heard chipping against the dark pavement as the distance between us is lessened. My head tilts upwards in confidence as I meet him, and his look assures me that he sees no doubt.

His lips part. He runs his tongue between them gently and gives them a short coat of wetness. The very crease of his mouth catches his tongue, his teeth pressing down a bit to stop its movement. His eyes run down my attire before he meets my eyes again, sucking his tongue back in and pulling his lower half from my car. Great. Now I'll have to wash it.

"Is there any reason why you know of my whereabouts, Mr. Huxley?" I ask him.

His chest rises a bit as he inhales, gathering a breath before speaking. "I have a tracker on your car" he says nonchalantly.

I suck in a breath, my eyes widening at what he's said. Is he actually insane or is this a facade? Why the hell would he put a tracker on my car?

"I'm kidding. You can thank your friend Dacre for posting that he would have an event here for his photography" he says, but suspicious raises.

"Where did you see him post that?" I ask.

"It doesn't really matter, Celeste. I saw it, and I'm here" he dismisses me, leaving me to roll my eyes at him. Why does he never answer my questions? Where did he see Dacre post anything. Why the hell did he show up here after going mia?

My subconscious screams at me to interrogate him further but with the way he looks so bored with the conversation at its entirety, I decide to just move on to why he's here.

"Why?" I ask. Jeez. Too rude, Celeste. I clear my throat to lessen the blow that I'm sure is already there.

He frowns at my tone but nonetheless answers me. "I'm here for you. You said that you wanted to do body painting and I'm here to be your canvas. I was a few seconds away from going inside to get you, I had no idea what time you'd come out".

I nod, sucking in a good breath. I had forgotten about my lie for needing a body canvas. I just needed to come up with something to say, but I guess it'd be a few pros to the cons. I'd get to see him shirtless, we'd probably have wine again, and he may feed me. Sounds all good to me.

A small smile rises on my face. "I was waiting for you to come from hiding in your lair to finally do what I so politely requested" I tease.

He puts on a sarcastic laugh as he steps closer to me. He dips his head down towards me, but is still no match due to our height difference. "I'd like to show you around if you'd like". His smile is sinister, making me hope to never be invited to such a dark place with him. Who knows how many souls he's reaped upon.

Words fail me for a moment. "Home, please" I stammer lightly before brushing past him, taking the keys that were present in my hand the entire time and hitting the unlock button. The sound chirps and I hurry to pull my door open before he can even process or try to fill in the blanks from my sentence.