BONUS STORY: TANYA & ENZO.

FOUR: 

Tanya's POV: 

I did my workout for the day with a massive smile on my face.

Finally! 

It made me so happy seeing the look on that handsome face! Yeah, he had that tall, dark, and handsome thing going on—and maybe throw in a little rugged, and you've pictured him to a T.

I relished the way that perfectly sculpted, clean-shaven jaw clenched when I called him out on his shit. And those eyes—icy blue, almost transparent—burned right through me…

At first, I'd been relieved because he was driving me crazy. Every day I thought long and hard as to how he knew me. I thought maybe we’d met before but I couldn't remember and so I was stuck in an endless battle of searching my brain. You know that feeling where you think you're forgetting something but don't know what that is? Exactly.

After I got over the shock of finding those pictures in his closet, it truly dawned on me then—this man was obsessed with me. That should have had me fleeing out the door but nope, it made my attention-starved heart flutter.

I'm not a kid, I'm nineteen, and I know how much I crave attention. Some may call it ‘anxious attachment issues’ or whatever.

With my father dying in an accident the day I was born and my mother juggling jobs for as long as I can remember, I was mostly left to fend for myself.

Natalia was there most of the time, but there’s only so much you can do for a neglected, emotionally deprived girl when you're barely holding it together yourself. 

Her father? He was an absolute bastard. I, for one, am glad he’s dead. He put my girl through hell and back. 

Anyway, that's all in the past, don't think too hard of the future, we must focus on the ‘now’—a silly little mantra of mine.

And my ‘now’ was Enzo. 

I wanted to know EVERYTHING about him. Wanted to know what made him tick. Wanted to get under his skin so bad to the extent his every waking thought starred me…

~  ~  ~

By the third day since our interaction at the gym, I knew he was avoiding me. I noticed he stopped frequenting the places I usually saw him. Before now, he always came to the kitchen to grab breakfast. Mingled with the guards—well, I think he just checked their attendance and made sure they were all at their duty post. To crown it all, he hasn't been at the gym since.

It made me uncomfortably restless. I don't know how to explain it but when I kind of fixate on or look forward to something, I don't let go easily. I know, it can be bad, my ex-boyfriend in high school hated that about me but I truly can't help myself. Sometimes, it felt like an itch in my brain that I couldn't scratch or a pressure weighing down on my chest making it impossibly tight.

Yeah, I had issues but let's be real, who doesn't?

By day four, I'd had enough. 

Enough of what? I couldn't explain it to you if you asked me.

What do I want from him? You might ask but that answer was complicated. He was like a good TV show you've just binged and can't get enough of it. You go as far as looking up the actors, wanting to know about their lives, watching more of their movies because you just want to chase that high they'd given you for the first time.

Yeah, Enzo awoke an insatiable attention-seeking beast in me and I fear only he could tame it, or worse, he can't and it spirals out of control.

God help me.

~   ~  ~ 

11:32 PM

Carlo's mansion was so big, where Enzo stayed, looked like another house in a house… 

Yes, I'd sneaked into Enzo's place again, and yes, I picked his lock—I'm not going into details on how or where I learned to do that. Do not judge me.

My bare feet padded across his room, looking for the best spot to hide until he was ready to retire for the night. 

If Natalia found out what I was up to these days, she'd probably lose her shit but hey, who's gonna tell her? Not me though. She really didn't have to know and everyone will be happy.

Just then, I heard the sound of a running shower, and my movement stalled.

He was in? 

My pulse raced.

I turned, following the sound. I tried to talk myself out of it but it was pointless. I knew I shouldn't but I couldn't not take a look.

The door was wide open, and the running water was louder now, echoing in my ears, the smell of his body wash filling my nostrils.

But it was the sight before me that made my mouth water and my belly flipped. I had no control of my feet as they led me closer to him. I could see him through the glass shower stalls, head thrown back as the water from the shower head flowed through it. When he lifted his hands to stroke his hair, the muscles on his back contracted and moved deliciously.

My belly flipped again. Harder this time.

Lord, those workouts were paying off for him. Strong, broad back, perfect ass, powerful hairy legs. I kept moving until I was in the stall.

There was no talking sense into me.

No going back now.