Asteria Scarlett Geoffrey
Selene is the most overachieving and competitive person I've met. To say that she was worse that me in that aspect, would really show how bad it is.
She never understands when she's just flat-out exhausted. She pushes and pushes until she gets what she wants, but at what cost?
"How long does the satisfaction of having it last? Do you get bored?" I asked her. Her charcoal black eyes brightened at my asking about her satisfaction. But then they dimmed and narrowed. I watched as she opened her mouth before closing it. Selene is never left speechless.
Not even here.
"I will never be satisfied. I cannot be satisfied." She ran a hand through her pale white hair before continuing. "The satisfaction of short term goals is like a plain granola bar, but when that long term goal is met I feel like I've eaten a seven course meal. It's better than an orgasm. They're temporarily satisfactory, you'll always want another one from someone else," She said it so simply.
"And what if you found one person who could meet all those satisfactory needs. Someone you loved so much and made you feel so good, you think about the next time they'll give you an orgasm instead of just any other orgasm." I no longer had sex outside relationships. Partly because I was scared of a scandal, but also because I can't do it without catches strong feelings for her.
"I don't necessarily like sleeping around. I've done it for the job or for the feeling. It's how I feel about killing people. I do it for the job. I do it for the high. I'm not some whore, you know," She replied bitterly. She killed people for the high? I wasn't going to stray from the conversation, but I made a mental note of it to address it in the future.
"I never said you were a whore. Your sex life is for you. Not for other people to label." I watched her relax, her shoulders slumped at her rise and her chest fall as she let out a breath. There was no denying Selene was beautiful. She played her part and she tried to be beautiful, but even when she's not playing it she's gorgeous.
She looks most beautiful at ease: when she's relaxed. It's a rare sight, of course, but that just makes it more special.
I brought her here to kill Sorin and then turn her in. I brought her here to use, to manipulate. Obviously, I've failed.
I'm not even sure I want to succeed.
I watched her give me a small smile. One that wasn't sarcastic, or annoyed, or scheming, or angry. It was just a smile, and I felt my insides turn.
I didn't show it. She would stop smiling, and I didn't want that.
"Don't tell me that like I already don't know it. There are others out there who would benefit greatly from it though." She slumped back in her seat. The steam from her coffee was starting to slow, showing it was getting cooler and I watched as Selene took a sip. "It tastes better after its cooled down a bit. It has more flavor."
"The time it sat in that cup allowed it to marinate," I agreed as if it were factual instead of just a mere opinion.
"What's on the agenda for today?" She asked.
"Planning and outlining the path we take to Sorin. Because if we're going to kill him, we have to do it without getting caught or allowing it traced back to us. That is where you come in. I just have easy access to everything." I explained. She nodded as I spoke, her eyes glued to the edge of the table, as she looked deep in thought.
"Nasir owes me a favor," She whispered as she looked up. "We could use him to get into his manor. Get me an outline and I'll get you his number. He'll help us figure it out."
"And if Sorin gets a hold of him in any way?" I ask her. Avoiding bloodshed is at the top of my list.
"Nasir just got promoted. He is the least of Sorin's worries. And it was me who got him that promotion," She states simply. I wonder if she truly believed that.
"If Nasir is more attached to you than him, as you say, then wouldn't Sorin be watching him closely too?" I asked her.
"No. Sorin doesn't expect me to reach out to anyone under him. He honestly underestimates me. It's annoying," She lets out a breath and rolls her eyes at rhe thought.
"Did you like him while you were fake dating?" I ask exasperated. "Like was it some kind of Stockholm syndrome kind of thing?" I cover my mouth with my hand to stifle my inappropriate giggle. Selene has her mouth half open, looking as if she's trying to hold back a fit of laughter.
"No, I didn't. I swear. I don't think I did. He was hot, yea he was really hot, but every time I moved my body reminded me of what he's capable of. He wants to control me. I can never tell if he's one step ahead or if I am. I try to plan for both."
"Sorin Giovanni cares about no one but himself."
We spoke at the same time.
"I think he played a role in his family's death."
Oh. What?
"But I can't find any proof of it, so I left it alone. I've spent so much time looking into it in your lab, but I think he just played on a health issue. Mr. Giovanni was a terribly stressed man with hypertension. It wouldn't be hard for Sorin to do something about it," She explained.
"And because it's like that the only thing you could possible get this stretch from is the medical documents you have that prove nothing," I half whispered it to my plate of food. "We shouldn't spend too much time on it then. It's a lost cause."
"Yea, so I've just been going through everything else. Trying to stay updated and find new information. Things have been slow lately. I think it's because they're too busy looking for me." I can't tell if she's nodding to herself or to me.
Half the time she speaks I can't tell if it's to herself or to me.
We finish our breakfast, and knowing we'll be spending the day together in the lab is making me a bit anxious. I don't know what it's like to work with her, but I'm sure we'll figure it out somehow.
Selene doesn't make me nervous, even with her intimidating-ness. She might be much taller than me and carry herself with a sexily scary demeanor, but the most intimidating part of her is that she's quiet. A raise of a brow and I'm anticipating everything that could be going on in her mind.
"I love your lab," She says to me at the bottom of the stairs. She stands up straighter before turning to me and speaking in a more professional tone,"It's beautiful and high functioning."
"Is that a compliment?" I tease. Her shoulders stiffen and she looks over at me.
"No. An observation."
"Selene?" I take a step closer to her. "I was joking, you know? Thank you. It took a while to set this up so that it couldn't be tracked from outside the walls of this house."
"How did you do that?" She asked me, the tension melting away. She tilted her head to show curiosity.
"God, it's complicated. It's a story for another day," I laughed out. To my surprise she laughed back. I tried hard not to think about her laugh, but women with pretty laughs were my weakness.
"Okay then, you ready?" She asked and I just nodded.
My eyes burned by the time we got done, skipping lunch and any snacks. We worked till late in the day.
"Wait, how do I exit out of this one?" She asked me as we were turning off the computers for the day. She was sitting at a newer unreleased model.
"Here," I said. I walked over to her. I grabbed the mouse, with her hand still on it. I showed her the specific way of turning the computer off while saving everything to files but also exiting out of it. It saved storage and time.
Her hand was cold under mine. I stood close behind her, my chest close inches away from her back. And as I bent down to view the monitor, my face was half an inch from hers.
This could not be happening, but I was letting myself feel it anyways as her face turned to look at mine, her eyes hovering over my features for a second before spending an extra second staring at my lips.
"Sorry," She whispered before turning away from me to stare at the screen. I pulled away from her standing up straight.
Sorry.
Was she sorry for staring at me or for wanting to kiss me? I shouldn't be okay with both because I should know by now that I only get hurt in relationships, but I wanted it anyways.
"Don't worry," I laughed it off. I could feel my throat beating with my heart as I struggled to breathe around Selene.
When she turned my way in her bed last night, it was an act of confidence as she looked into my face without a shirt on. I wasn't sure if she found the situation funny or my reaction. Regardless, I wasn't going to give her whatever temporary satisfaction she was looking for. My eyes never drifted from her face even through all my mind could think about was making a move.
Could she actually develop feelings for me or would this be another case of hump and dump for her?
"I'll give you a back massage later?" I asked and she nodded eagerly.
"Yes," Her response was quick and desperate. "Please." Please. If I was obsessing over her usage of simple manners I truly had something wrong with me.