Chapter Two

Vanessa gasped and rushed forward, but Elio was faster. He scooted it off the floor and inspected it with an expressionless face. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her. Without a word, he handed it over to her.

She took it from him shamefully and tucked it into her purse.

“That…”

“Keep your things safely,” he said. “Especially if it’s personal.”

She bobbed her head up and down, trying to keep calm. “T… thanks.”

He walked further into the room, stroking his chin. “I think I have the first rule in mind, but we need the last person to be present before I talk about it.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Was he going to stand all high and mighty and say: “No sex toys are allowed in my house.”?

“I understand,” she said.

“I’ll leave you to unpack.”

With that, he left and she rubbed her arms.

“Damn it, Van. You really need to get yourself together.”

So, for the next two hours, she did just that. She arranged the room to her taste and made sure to feel at home. After that, she walked into the bathroom and turned on the heater before using the shower. As soon the water hit her body, she let out an ear-splitting scream and ran out of the shower.

It was hot!

Luckily, it didn't scald her skin. She hurriedly dipped herself in cold water in the bathtub as she soothed her red skin. She heard a knock on the bathroom door and jolted upright.

“Are you alright?” she heard Elio's voice.

She froze, hoping that he would just go away. But that did not happen. He repeatedly banged the door.

“That's it,” he said. “I'm coming in.”

Her mouth snapped open to speak, but it was too late. Elio barged in, and she instinctively sank deeper into the water in an attempt to cover her nudity. But he wasn't even looking at her. He rushed to the heater and inspected it before turning his attention to her.

“Are you okay?”

She didn’t react.

He continued. “I told you to be careful with the heater. I’m sorry this happened, I’ll get it fixed tomorrow.”

She nodded, hugging herself in the tub. She watched as the worry in his eyes turned into something unfathomable when his gaze dipped lower to her body. She wanted to scream for him to get out, and hide from him, but her treacherous body did otherwise.

Her nipples hardened beneath his gaze as her chest heaved up and down with need. Her mouth opened involuntarily as she drooled. There was something about this man’s gaze. Something so… dark, yet sensual; so cold, yet heated; so…

His voice pulled her out of her carnal thoughts. “You're freezing.”

He draped a towel atop her head and put his hands in his pockets. “Use that before you catch a cold.”

She shoved the cloth out of her face and bit her lip. He nodded and walked out, leaving her. She stared at the spot he just left as if he were still there. What the hell was she thinking letting him see her so vulnerable? There was something quite familiar about his voice.

She had never met him, so she couldn’t place a finger on it. She got out of the tub and wrapped herself in the towel which smelled just like him. Could it be because he touched it? She wore her clothes and laid in bed. She planned to hide in here till she wasn’t embarrassed anymore.

However, three hours later, a knock jolted her from sleep. She got up sluggishly and opened the door. She was met with a sleepy-eyed blonde with cute, full lips. Vanessa raised a brow and the girl immediately squealed and enveloped her in a bear hug.

“You’re so adorable!” She squeaked. “We’re going to be best friends!”

When she saw the confused expression on Vanessa’s face, she released her immediately.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Charlotte Bailey, the last tenant in this house.”

“Oh,” Vanessa smiled. “It’s good to have you here at last.”

Elio must have almost gone crazy when he found out that the last tenant was also female. She wished she had been there to see the frustration on his face.

“I just met with Elio,” Charlotte said. “He told me where to find you. Man’s not a man of many words. Is he always like that?”

“I wouldn’t know, I just met him today.”

“Oh, I didn’t know. It’s nice to meet you…”

“Vanessa Rhodes.”

“Okay, Vanessa. I’ll catch up with you later. I have to unpack now.”

“Do you need help with that?”

“How sweet! But don’t worry about that. I got this.”

Then she left, leaving Vanessa alone in the room again. She wasn’t sleepy anymore, so she went out to find dinner. The streets were bustling with activities as she wandered around. After an hour of wandering, she decided to settle for a small taco truck.

As she took her food home, she thought about Elio and where she had met him before. When she couldn’t find the right answer, she concluded that it must be her imagination playing tricks on her.

Meanwhile, back in the house, Elio was fuming. He didn’t understand what was going on. When he decided to let out two rooms in his house, he intended on having only boys over. But now, two young women were in his house, all alone with him.

He was horrified!

He had called the agent earlier, and they had informed him that the two boys who were to have taken the rooms decided to forfeit at the last minute after finding out that they would all share a kitchen. He scoffed. They should have counted themselves lucky that he wanted to let out this luxurious apartment to them.

Unaware that Vanessa wasn’t in the house, he went up to the girls’ wing to introduce himself properly and lay down rules. He got to Charlotte’s door first. He wanted to knock when he heard a squeak followed by an intense vibration. Now, Charlotte was moaning loudly, and he facepalmed himself.

Why were the women in his home so sexually compromised? First, it was Vanessa’s rose toy. Now, he was sure that Charlotte was in there electrocuting her pussy with a vibrator. He knocked and the vibration stopped instantly.

“Go away, dammit,” came her frustrated voice.

He chuckled in amusement at how aggressive she was. “Come out, we have a meeting now.”

Almost immediately, she opened the door, beads of sweat on her forehead.

“Elio! I didn’t know it was you.”

“Come downstairs for the meeting. I’ll get Vanessa.”

Just then, Vanessa walked down with a bag in hand.

“I hope I’m not late,” she said.

“Oh,” Elio said. “I didn’t know you went out.”

“I went to buy dinner.”

“Come downstairs.”

When they got to the living room, Elio began,

“Now that we all know one another, I have just one important rule. But seeing some kinds of activities, I would like to add one more. One: Stay away from my side of the house. Two: Keep your personal life private. Especially your sexual life, I don't want to see or hear anything about it.”

Vanessa turned red, while Charlotte bit her lip with a grin.

“We will abide by your rule and give you as much privacy as possible. Won't we, Van?”

“Yeah,” Vanessa said.

“Then, that's all,” Elio said. “Have a good night.”

**** **** ****

Vanessa walked into her class anxiously, eager to start the day. She had rushed out of the house without having breakfast in an effort to avoid Elio. During the meeting yesterday, when he spoke about their sexual life, she assumed that he was talking about her toy.

But he seemed to be speaking to them both. Maybe he didn't want her to feel terrible. The students began settling in their seats, and she knew that the professor was here. Modern literature was her favorite subject, so this could be her therapy. However, it turned out to be her trauma because the professor who walked into the class was none other than Elio!