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My hand freezes. Is it him again? Excitement and disgust are at war within me. I stare at the door defiantly.
“Olivia, is everything okay in there?” I release a sigh of relief, and I think… disappointment.
Clearing my throat, I hurry to the door, opening it slightly. Gloria looks at me as if she’s horrified. “Oh dear, are you okay?” She pushes the door wider and comes into the room, pressing the back of her hand against my forehead. “You’re absolutely flushed, damp and cold to the touch. Sit down, my dear. Was it something you ate?” she asks. “Was it because you bathed in the cold water? I told you that you shouldn’t. Stay right there. I’ll warm a cloth and…”
“I’m okay, Gloria,” I speak aloud. She turns to look at me. Her eyes travel over the rest of my body, and she smiles.
“Oh.” She blushes. “Did you and the boss…” She raises her brows.
“Oh, heavens no.” I swallow, turning away from her.
“Well, it sure looks like you wanted to. There’s only one other explanation for that look. I get it with my Luci,” she says.
“Your Luci? You’re married?” I ask.
“No.” She shakes her head before sitting on the trunk before the bed. “We aren’t too fussed about that.”
“You’re not married, and you engage in…” I clear my throat. “Untoward things?”
“You know, you didn’t strike me as a prissy lady.” She drops her brows and curls her lips.
“I’m not,” I stutter. “But it must be hard for you, facing judgment.”
“Oh, please.” She fans me off. “No one cares about what I’m doing. Besides, I’m not ashamed of it. The sex is great.” She giggles. “And I guess I love the poor bugger, myself.” Her eyes gleam.
I can’t help but smile at her display. “That must be nice. What’s your Luci like?”
She grins before looking at me curiously. “I think you met him earlier. He’s the one who brought you in. Sorry about that. He’s just doing his job.” She gives a small smile.
“The man with the scar?” I ask.
“Yes. He’s delicious, isn’t he?” She pats my leg, and I cock my head.
“I guess. If cold, hard, and downright terrifying is your type. Did the beast do that to him?”
“Mr. Molotov? Oh no. He got it the night he saved Mr. Molotov’s life. So selfless, my Lucian. Yet, the boss still treats him like garbage sometimes.” She grimaces. “He lost all his softness.” She lowers her head, shaking it.
“Who?” I scoff and grin.
“Mr. Molotov,” she says.
That makes me laugh even harder. I can’t imagine either Lucian or that prick being soft.
She looks at me with wide eyes before grinning as well. “It’s hard to believe, but I promise you, he was.”
Humouring her, I ask, “What happened?”
She sighs. “Ten years ago, he killed someone.”
Well, at this point, that isn’t surprising. I don’t react, and she continues, “Look, I’ll tell you the story, but you can’t bring it up to him. If you do, there’s no telling what he would do. And you can’t tell him I’m the one who told you the story. The staff all talk about it in our quarters but never outside of that. Promise you won’t tell him I’m the one who told you,” she says, gripping my hand.
I swallow. “I promise. Although you don’t have to…”
She interrupts me, “He was in love with this woman. Thought he knew her all his life. But.” She nods. “It turns out she was hiding a huge secret. With her, he was a proper gentleman. He didn’t want to defile her, even though he’d been with his fair share of women. But for him, she was this perfect, pure thing that he wanted to honour.”
I try to imagine it. It’s hard, but I find myself buying into the fantasy of this story. Smiling at the thought of him being the opposite of what he is now.
“But on the day of his wedding, the poor sap got a rude awakening,” she says it all dramatically, and I find my lips parting and my body leaning forward in anticipation for the rest of the story.
