AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I say nothing more and as he carries me effortlessly down the huge grand staircase, I peer around me with interest. If I thought the room I woke up in was decadent, this place reinforces it. It appears to be lined in gold and polished with silver. There are so many riches, which is sensory overload to a girl who had very little as a child. Possessions were frowned upon, and material things considered the temptation of the Devil.
As I glance up at my ride, I kind of wonder if he knows a lot about what makes the Devil tick. That should scare me senseless, but somehow it makes me even more interested in discovering the man behind the mask of secrets.
We head outside onto a light-filled terrace, and I gasp at the beauty before me. Endless lawns lead down to infinity and a stone terrace sweeps as far as the eye can see along the back of the most colossal mansion.
“Wow.”
I gaze in wonder and long to run through the grass and discover the delights around me and as the warm sun kisses my face, I take a deep breath of delightful, cleansing oxygen.
“You have a beautiful home, Mr. Vieri.”
“Now you know my name.”
He appears amused at that, and I shrug. “The receptionist filled me in. You could have introduced yourself; it was kind of rude.”
He arches his brow and appears a little shocked at my words and I say, “I’m kind of guessing nobody ever calls you out on anything.”
“What makes you say that?” He hovers by a deep cushioned chair, and I wait for him to drop me in it, but if anything, his arms tighten around me as he stares at me deeply. It’s almost intimate and for a girl who has never experienced any of that, it’s confusing.
I must blush because his eyes flash and he whispers, “You are so innocent, Purity, just like your name.”
“I am.”
I state the obvious and sigh. “Not by choice, though.”
I quickly change the subject. “Anyway, you never waited for my answer. That’s neglectful, by the way. Questions should always be answered, otherwise they remain questions and you don’t progress.”
He stares at me as if confused, and I nod toward the chair. “Put me down and tell me why nobody calls you out. Or do they? There must be someone.”
To my surprise, he does as I say and as soon as his arms leave me, I am strangely disappointed about that.
I watch as he pulls out the chair beside me and lifts a carafe of water from the table and pours us both a glass and as he hands it to me, he says nonchalantly, “My family make it a habit of calling me out on everything. They are the only ones who get that privilege.”
“Your family?”
“My grandparents mainly. My siblings try, but they don’t get very far.”
“Tell me about them.”
I am so hungry for information because family wasn’t something that meant a lot in Heaven. There were no siblings because there was a strict one child policy and I wonder what it’s like to have a brother or sister.
He says nothing as a man appears with a tray and I stare in wonder as he sets it down and nods respectfully to Mr. Vieri and smiles at me.
“Good afternoon, Miss. Sanders. It’s good to see you up and around at last.”
“Thank you, um…”
“James, ma’am. If I can assist you in any way, please call.”
“Call?”
He smiles gently. “Every room has a control panel, and you only have to press service.”
I stare at him in astonishment, and he nods respectfully. “It’s my job, ma’am. I like to be kept busy.”
He smiles warmly, which is probably the only sign of any warmth around here, the sun excluded, and I watch in silence as he sets two plates of salad before us with a platter of fish and meat on the table to share.
He fills our glasses with a cool crisp wine and says to Mr. Vieri, “Will that be all, sir?”
