Zemira
I didn't feel the warmth of his body next to me. My eyes fluttered open, greeting the bleak rays of sunlight peeking from the blinds.
It was yesterday night that replayed in my mind, rocking me out of my state of slumber. Walking on tiptoes, I scanned the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of him standing inside the walk-in closet, dressing up for the office or even in the shower. When I couldn't register any presence, my heart fell to my toes, my body back on the bed.
All it took was one heartbreaking look, one truthful confession for me to fall into the arms of the man, I swore never to venture back into. With the weight of my thoughts tugging me from behind, my head felt heavy.
Eying the ceiling, its decorative crown moldings gave no respite to the ache surmounting in my chest.
I felt dirtier with every lone passing second. Guilty, for falling into the arms of the first man that appeared before me.
"Good morning." A voice emerged from the bedroom entrance.
I titled my head inches per second toward the man who, in all his glorious form, stood shirtless. His gray tracks hugged the lowermost strata of his pelvic bones revealing his abs set, none of which helped me.
"Eyes up here, missy." He snapped his fingers, pulling my sight up from what I assumed to be a zero fat torso. "And they say woman don't leer."
I turned completely to my side, clutching a pillow beneath my head. Leonardo's lips curled upwards as he walked into the room, kneeling beside me.
"Slept well?" Clearing the strands of hair that covered my forehead, he leaned over and placed gentle kisses over my arm.
"I thought you left." The confession of assuming it was a one-night stand was a difficult one. Burdened by the worst of assumptions, I let them control me without giving any benefit of the doubt to Leo.
"Gorgeous, I don't sleep with people and leave in the middle of the night. That's all you."
He ran his fingers over the side of my cheek, playfully twisting strands of hair while his eyes remained locked with me.
"I had a good reason to leave, Leo. I don't sleep with a stranger, twice." I said, grinning at my comeback.
Before the last of my words fell out, Leo pulled me up, tossing away the blanket that wrapped my naked body. His calloused fingers ran behind my back. In a sudden jerked moment, he pulled me up from the bed and into the shower.
"I want to sleep more," I protested, but he didn't pay heed to it.
Leo placed me beneath the shower, displaying his victorious crooked smile. "You should've thought about it before tempting me."
He pressed the shower tabs on the wall. The device beeped and warm raindrops like patterns poured over us.
Leo bent on his knees, pushing me against the wall. In one swift action, he placed my leg over his shoulder. His tongue played me like a wild animal devouring its dead prey. My fingers ran into the wet mess that was his raven hair, bunching those soft strands. My legs trembled to the moans he hummed, the kisses he placed.
I felt the blackout behind my eyes and in my mind. Although anchored, I still levitated, drifting away from my physical form only to watch my body tremble with pleasure.
"You don't know your hold over me?" Leo whispered, nipping at the water-dripping portion of my neck. "Do you, Miss. Ford."
He turned me towards the mirror just outside the shower. His hands roamed over my back, eyes fixated on me. His rough fingers ran over every inch of my skin, lips whispering how he felt, how ready he was to take me again.
"Remember the time I watched you play with yourself?" He said, coiling his arm around me. I nodded. The hotel, the washroom, the table, muffled moans, everything replayed in my ears. "Say it, gorgeous?"
"Yes, I remember."
He played me from behind. Hovering, tempting and teasing.
My legs parted, hands arrested over the marble slab, depicting my need. I had fallen victim to Leo's magical hold.
He played me like a piper and I was the trance-induced rat, dancing to his tunes and walking to the river bank. I knew Leo wouldn't drown me. I knew he would baptize me, drench me with care and devotion and pull me back.
"How can I resist you?" His growling voice vibrated near my ears. "You'll be my end, woman."
If there was any residual inhibition left in me, anything which might have stopped me from wanting to have him again, melted hearing his words. I was unravelling under his tender touches, warm whispers and longing look.
"Stop teasing me." But that was only a hope I held. Leonardo Brenton knew my weakness and wanted to exploit it. In a torturous form of play, he wanted me to beg. So I did. "Please, Leo"
My back straightened when his hand coursed lower, travelling down my torso and disappearing between my legs. My head fell back into his shoulder, resting as the symphony of blood rush played in my mind, oozing from my trembling lips before dissolving near his ear.
The funny thing about inhibition was their breaking point. Unlike all other emotions, the bond of restraint was stronger than the toughest metal. Yet as tough as they appeared, it only took a heavy blow of temptation to sever it.
In that washroom, naked in both body and soul, I felt the last of my restraints break away. I heard its shackles fall, the metal clang against the floor of my body before turning to smithereens.
Leo's vision lingered over my writhing body. He was tempting, teasing, yet not executing his final blow. When he looked down, running his hand over my wet tresses, clearing away the residual stands stuck to my face, I felt something. Deep dark stirrings in the uninhabited corners of his eyes.
"Tell me, what is it?" I held his hand, turning my body to press up against him.
"There's a lot I've to tell you. Mostly, I want to confess something. But if I do-"
"Then don't. Don't think about what will happen or where we are. Just..." Placing a hand over his tightened chest, I looked up at those greenish-tinted eyes. "Just be free, Leo."
At that moment, I heard something else – like mine, his shackles too fell apart, one loop at a time.
I was pulled up from where I stood and rooted over the cold marble slab, all in a matter of seconds. I could feel his liberated heartbeats, thumping intensely. The dilated ocean behind his eyes threatened to overspill, to engulf us whole. Boundless, Leo soared, then dived like a bird, unaware of its surroundings, embracing and making love to nature.
The shower drained our sorrows. Intertwined, we ascended through the misty cool skies and dived into the trepid waters of emotions. Curtained with warmth from each other's bodies, we chanted our prayers, moaned our pain and put on display, our most vulnerable selves.
My visibility seemed to be compromised as I saw black dots in my vision. I heaved for air but instead found it in his exhales, devouring his lips.
An addict, my body needed its fix faster than any rogue. I needed Leo quicker before the euphoria of our actions melted. I needed Leo more than I wanted to admit.
Faster, harder and more intense than ever. And he delivered just that.
"That was..." I couldn't speak, panting for words that only escaped as air.
"Mind-blowing... world-rocking?" He kissed the side of my face, drenching us with shower gel.
"World-rocking is too much. It felt more like a leaf-trembling experience," I said and rightfully deserved tickling for it. "Fine. It was good."
"Let's get you to grade me better than."
With water running over us, he washed me, kissing every part of my body his gaze fell upon before I played the spoilsport, pushing him away to get cleaned. When I re-emerged, Leo was already dressed in his work attire, a powder blue suit I couldn't peel my eyes off.
"That was fast." I pointed at his attire.
Pulling me closer, he dipped me parallel to the floor, cradling me in his arms. Blood rushed into my head, my senses trembled at the pose. Reeling up, he kissed my trembling lips. More than the head rush, more than gravity cementing me, I was rooted by his taste, melted by his scent.
"I've got a few things pending at the office," he said, warm breath hitting the crook of my neck. "But I'm coming back soon."
"So Leonardo Brenton is ditching work for me?"
He nodded, a crooked smile reciprocating his admission. Walking me near the enormous mirror near his closet, he dipped his chin over my shoulder, watching our reflection. It took everything in me, not to pull him back to bed and sleep off for all eternity.
"He regrets leaving but he'll make up for it, Miss Ford." He slid the closet panel open. "Find something that suits you. When I come back, I want to see you in my clothes."
"Why?" I tilted my head, scanning his wardrobe.
"It's a fetish." He winked. My breath hitched.
"What else are your fetishes, do tell."
Combing his fingers through my wet strands, he held them back, kissing my forehead. Trapping me in a state of bliss, Leo smiled.
"You'll find out soon enough."
With that, he exhaled deeper as if composing himself for work before walking away.
With the bedroom door sliding close, I stood near racks of neatly hung shirts, running my fingers over each of them.
A worn-off gray hoodie caught my attention. It smelled like Leo; musky cologne and soap. Tossing it over me, I pulled back the mirrored panel.
A black cardboard box jutting from beneath halted its closing. I pushed it in harder but something restricted its move from behind. Pulling it out, I bent over. Old magazines and small carton boxes bunched up in a corner. I moved them out, clearing the space for the box to fit.
My curiosity peaked as I tried placing the box in its previous position. Without any further deliberations, I tossed open its cover. My heart skipped a beat.
Neatly packed army uniform with Leo's last name, his designation embroidered on it looked up at me. My mouth dried up as I heard the tempting call of the dual-toned uniform, asking me to pick it up.
Slowly and with great care to not ruin the folds, I picked it up. This was my first time handling a uniform and I wasn't aware if there were protocols in place.
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to snoop around Leo's closet. What if he didn't appreciate it? That thought pricked at my arms.
I placed the uniform back inside the box, ensuring it looked undisturbed. I picked up the covering but froze in my actions. Taped on its inner side were Polaroid prints of Leo and his team.
Smiling, with shoulders intertwined, some officers sat with their caps off while others stood, laughing with closed eyes when the photo was clicked. The background looked familiar, like the outside of a bunker.
And then, like a grain of sand that irritated my eye, I blinked constantly, watching the print of a man whose face I couldn't forget in a million years.
SPC T. Novak, the embroidered name and insignia on his uniform called out to me. Leo had his arm curled around Tag's back, shoulder to shoulder they stood, smiling.
My hands trembled. The cover slid off my hold.
Just when I thought I could move on, the past came crawling back to haunt me. I was fate's favorite puppet; it strung up my life and watched me twitch for its entertainment.
~
What do you think will happen next?
Would Zemira be able to figure out who killed Tag?
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