“I can’t believe you’re enjoying this,” Radcliff grunted to Cerba while cleaning her up with the hose and soap.
Soulless, terrifying, insensitive Radcliff—or so he pretended to be—was taking care of little and adorable Cerba. My heart thundered. Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined that. I witnessed him roaming his masculine hands over Cerba’s hair, taking care of her like a precious child.
“I didn’t teach you to behave like that.” Obviously, he still had a way with words. “You better stop smiling. It won’t happen twice.”
I inched silently to the right with the desire to have a better view without either of them noticing me. I couldn’t help the huge beaming smile on my face, knowing this was a moment he’d want to keep secret. With Radcliff’s profile finally visible, I had found the perfect angle until silly me had to step on a branch, attracting their attention.
I felt like the earth had crumbled at my feet when Radcliff turned around for our stare to join. My heartbeat stopped. Time slowed. Danger flickered in each part of him. His eyes, marbled with chaos, transported me into his dark realm. His thick eyebrows dipped dangerously. A strand of his wet raven hair dropped bad-boyishly on his forehead.
I drilled my gaze to his wet, half-opened pitch-black dress shirt. The fabric clung tight to his well-defined muscles. The drops of water flowed down his strong chest. He had the body of an Olympic god, proudly wearing the scars of his past.
I was attracted to Radcliff in a messy, incomprehensible kind of way.
Behind the ugly and cold mask he wore, I discovered his rare beauty. It wasn’t in a conventional way. No. It was the powerful charisma that inhabited him.
The way my soul unquestionably craved his scent, an aroma of sandalwood and vanilla—my fear for him felt like a dangerous aphrodisiac. A growing fascination inhabited me. An admiration even. The feeling that I could be more than sweet Lily.
It was chemical.
“Lily.”
At the sound of his voice, I remembered the way his fingertips caressed my skin. The way he possessed my soul and body in my dreams. I swallowed my thoughts, the burning heat inflaming me once more.
“You look flushed,” he added, a sly grin hinting he could read my thoughts.
But that was impossible—or maybe not. After all, he was Radcliff: the word “impossible” didn’t seem to exist for him.
Just when I wondered if we had shared the same dream, his eyes scooped down my body and lingered, making me feel like an open book to him. More than reading through me, he had the power to write the following pages.
“No, I… Um…”Way to go, Lily.
My skin flushed with embarrassment. Luckily, Cerba came to my distress, shaking the water off her and splashing Radcliff with drops. I scooped down to pet her, taking this opportunity to change the subject. “What did you do, cutie, huh?”
“She thought she could befriend a rabbit. Moral of the story, she scared him to death, dirtying herself,” Radcliff stated coldly.
“She’s lonely. She just wanted to play,” I defended her, her puppy eyes piercing my soul. My heart melted for the rabbit; he didn’t deserve to have his life taken away, but I understood Cerba. Loneliness can be tough.
“And she did, at the price of the rabbit’s life. There’s always a price to pay. That’s why some beings are better off alone.”
Now I was convinced we weren’t talking about Cerba anymore.
“I disagree. No one should be alone.”
His eyes sliced straight to mine.
“I mean, I’ve always been apart. Solitary. I haven’t experienced many things. My life has been pretty boring and plain, just like me.” I overshared with Radcliff, who had a perplexed expression on his face.
“You’re far from it,” he deadpanned.
My heart skipped a beat, locking my eyes with his. “What do you know?”
A growing silence settled between us. A pulsation in me was yearning to be held by Radcliff, but I refrained. The wind suddenly rose, coming out of its silence. A breeze pulled me toward him, and almost instinctively, we inched forward. The dead leaves circled us, swirling around in a tango.
Nature had awoken for me what I tried to bury underneath myself.
Our breaths connected in symbiosis. The few inches separating us were fatal. I bit my lower lip in apprehension of the kiss to come. I saw in his eyes the craving he had, his dilated pupils prompting me to surrender to chaos. Radcliff was a silent volcano at the verge of explosion, and when it did, it’d be destructive.
He then pulled away, stood up, and clenched his hand. Radcliff regained his icy expression, shooting me a last glance. “You’ll see tonight. Be ready at eight. We’re going to the opera.”
