Owned by Him (rewrite)

24. What Lies Underneath

A pleasant musky scent swarming around the bathroom was from the body soap, evaporating among the steamy air. The enticing smell enhanced the senses of a strong passion as it was being inhaled, seducing the nose.

With a moderate portion of hesitation, I placed my trembling hands on Marvel's cheeks, soft to the touch like foam. As I held his face, I leaned in and tiptoed, lifting my face to meet his lips and gently kiss him. Surely enough, he didn't let the moment slip.

Marvel slanted toward me as close as two people could be, his intimidating feature pinning me against the glass wall. He moved my arms, leading them to linger around his neck so our bodies were engaged in a tighter embrace, filling every curve.

The quiet night that neither the stars nor the moon was peeking, inside the damp bathroom I was latching on Marvel, drowning in his deep kiss. As his lips pressed against mine, the back of my head scratched against the wall, but I didn't mind at all.

At this point, the only thing I minded was my mind that no longer functioned properly.

Every provocation had brought me to the edge of my limit. I opened my eyes for a distraction, watching Marvel's face; a simple activity but always required lifting my head. At this distance, I could tell how he was so tall, and all this time, merely from the touch and the way he held me, I bet his body must be strong and sturdy. I was true.

But, it's not just that.

After being shown his true color, not only that I imagined the pain in the whole lengthy process, but I found myself searching for the meaning behind it. It felt as if what I saw on him all this time was just his outer layer.

Some people see the Mafia as a necessary evil. Other people see them as just "they should disappear".

They grow from the underground movement and are involved in criminal activities; not everything, since there are activities they really go against, and they always have their reasons for doing things a certain way or not doing things a certain way.

But, judging the Mafia isn't as black and white as it might seem. Rather, grey; the murky area where they do good things, and at the same time engage in bad things.

The tattoos are crucial to the Mafia. They can cover almost the entire body, but they're not used as markers to signify someone is part of a gang, instead, it's a "very personal depiction" of a scene from the Mafia member's life, or something symbolically important to them, which is meant to show people the attributes that person is known for.

Certain tattoo designs have developed a recognized coded meaning. The code systems can be quite complex, and because of the nature of what they encode, the designs are not widely recognized by outsiders.

In the past, the Mafia members used to meet in communal bathhouses, mainly because the lack of clothing means rival gangs meeting each other can figure out who they are dealing with by the artwork on their bodies. The other reason; the most important one, meeting up in such a place is for nobody has a concealed weapon, because everyone is all naked.

I flinched, surprised by my own thoughts. I grasped my focus back and the recalled display was still so clear. An uncomfortable sensation began to creep in and I realized something.

Is this Marvel trying to tell me who he really is, and who exactly I'm facing right now?

I was feeling insecure about what happened in the last thirty days, but my regret invited me to view the past events through different perspectives than the ones I had at the time in that actual moment, hoping for the reality to change itself.

I should have gained greater perception to take a step back and see the wider angle. There was a lot more to see, little wonder I couldn't figure things out earlier.