Chapter 7: Rose Petals

~ADELE~

The following day, I woke up finding myself under the silk sheets. I could feel the path of the dry tear on my face. I must have been crying for a long time at night.

Standing in front of the mirror, I could see the bite marks on my collarbone and neck. He was not a human. His clutch’s blue to black imprints on my hand and waist left me in pain.

How long am I going to protect myself from him?

I slid into the water tub and stayed there longer than expected.

After wrapping my little frame in the bathrobe, I checked those marks, which turned a shade lighter. But what’s the use when he will present me the same tonight?

I didn’t have a choice but to hide them. I am sure nobody would like to see his painting over my body and consider its love bite, but in reality, it was something else. I wore a high neck and jeans to cover my body and stood next to the window.

I was lost in my thoughts when my eyes caught a waving hand from the garden. I waved back towards Angelo with a thin smile.

He signaled me to come down and meet him.

But I ignored it because the devil’s words echoed in my head.

The night was blurry in vision but fresh in mind as the darkness engulfed us. The last thing I remember, he was talking about Angelo, and when I tried to deny it, he punished me.

“There is nothing between him and me. He was the first person I met in this mansion.” I begged while he was pressing me harder against the wall. Tears kept coming into my eyes.

“I want to punish you for what you did today,” he uttered in his thick voice.

“Are you going to hurt me?” I sobbed.

I knew I had broken a rule, and there was no way he would forgive me. I am sure that was the reason Mr. Vincent warned me.

“Yes,” He hoarse in his unique voice.

He dragged me towards the canopy frame with a single pull on my wrist. I couldn’t match his strength; my wrists were cuffed on either side of the canopy bed.

“Please, what are you doing?”

I was hanging in between the frames, fearing how he would punish me. I could only hear the metallic cuffs making a noise against the rods, as the room was unclear, and I could only hear his breath.

He took off every belonging from my body.

“Please, I am begging you. I wanted to save my friend.” I cried.

I could feel his wet lips over my body. He was exploring, tasting every inch of my frame without my permission. His touch was rough, as he was not in a way to please me but to punish it.

He was biting me, yanking me, feeding on my pain, and didn’t bother to hear my sobs.

“Have you ever touched a rose?” He questioned.

“Yes,” I answered as he pinched my flower bud.

“Every petal is unique. Every petal has different shades, and it feels magnificent when you rub it on your lips.” He husked.

He rubbed his lips over my neck, sucking it deeply.

“You are like a rose, Adele. And every inch of your body is like a petal that tastes differently, and today I am going to taste the juice of this rose,”

“I want this rose to crush under my body,” he trailed his fingers to the sensitive part, making me moan harder.

“How long are you going to beg me? One or another day, you have to submit yourself.” He pulled my hair as he licked my neck.

I was hypnotized by his voice before, and I felt the same again. Unintentionally, I gave myself to him because I didn’t have the energy to sustain myself in front of his words.

Despite that, I wanted to fight with my leftover vehemence.

“I fear you.”

“Why? Am I going to kill you?”

“I am not here to scare you, my flower. I am here to taste every petal of yours.” He bit me on my collarbone.

He kissed me, and this time, it was rougher than before.

“Please, Mr. Costello,” I wiggled as the metal made a heavy sound.

He stopped for a second.

“So, she knows her husband’s name?”

“No, I don’t know your name. But..., if you want to take away my virginity, I have the right to ask your name.” I wailed.

He caressed my tears and rubbed my lips with his thumb pad.

“You wanted to know my name.”

“Yes,”

“What will you give me in return?”

I could feel his hardness over my body.

“There is nothing I can give you. You already have everything.” I blurted out. He grinned.

“I want your submission.”

“Whether I willingly give it or not, you will take it from me. So take it, but just one request. Any other man has not touched me, so if you want to make your mark on my body, be gentle,” I hissed as I gave up.

I rested my head over his chest as I submitted myself.

“Decker,” he whispered, grabbing my neck and rubbing his chin over my head.

His warm air entered my ears, and it ignited something inside me. I will be lying if I say it did not attract me to his way.

He unbuckled my hand and threw me onto the bed.

“I wanted your submission with all your heart. I am dominant, but not a rapist.”

“But that doesn’t mean I will not touch you again. You belong to me; remember that.” He smoked as he hovered himself over my body.

“I want you, Adele. I want you to make me free from my mistakes.” He tried to get up, but I grabbed his hand.

“I don’t know why you don’t want me to see you. But how can I submit myself when I don’t know you?”

There was an awkward silence in the room, waiting for me to make another move.

“Decker Costello, my name is enough for you to know. Other than that, my touch will make you feel whatever you want to know.”

He smirked over my face.

“Let me touch you,”

I raised my hand, but he clasped it.

“Please, Decker, let me know who my husband is,” I uttered.

He gently rested my finger pads on his eyes. I trailed my shivering fingers over his eyes, his perfect jaw, and then his lips. He planted a kiss on my fingers, sending me another shiver.I trailed my finger to his chest with closed eyes, and I must say the gods sculpted every muscle of his body.

As we know, the devil was one of the beautiful angels created by the creator. I didn’t need to see it because I could feel every curve of his chest and broad shoulder.

“How do you feel about me?” He asked a hard question.

I stopped for a second and shifted near him. Holding my silk sheet to cover my body, I muttered.

“Like a thorn with the rose,” I knew he felt surprised by my answer.

“You know how to play with words,” he smoked.

I raised my hand to touch his hair; they are long thick curls. But he grabbed my hand again.

“What?”

“Don’t touch me like this; you don’t know to whom you are dealing.”

“I know I am dealing with the devil who is looking for his redemption,”

He pushed me onto the bed.

“You are going to hate me for what I did. There is no way you could redeem me.” He turned and walked towards the door.

“Let me decide if I could redeem you or not. I wanted to know the devil who wants love.” I answered, as he stopped.

“You will never love me once you know the fact.” He answered.

“Or I could love you, looking beyond your sins,” I replied.

“Sleep, my flower. Tomorrow I am going to sin with you, and there is no way I would be gentle with you,”

His words were more like a threat to me.

Suddenly, his voice changed as he left the room.

I thought of running after him, but it could be dangerous for me.

As he left, I came to my senses. It felt like I was saying whatever he wanted me to tell him.

I heard a knock at my door.

I came out of my trance and heard a knock on my door.

“Come in.” It’s Maria.

“Mam, are you ok? You didn’t come for breakfast. Senor was asking about you,” she added.

“Decker, right?” I replied, as she gave me a startled look.

“Yes, mam. Sorry, but Senor told us not to tell you anything.” She avoided my stare.

“It’s ok.” I finished my breakfast and went down.

I thought about going out, but Decker’s words came to mind. He was not happy with me talking to Angelo.

How did he know I was feeling attracted to him? Angelo is a genuine guy and has all the things a girl needs.

I composed my feelings and walked into the front yard, looking for the fountain. I felt so connected with this statue. “Hey,” 

My focus shifted when a familiar voice brushed my ears. Unintentionally my eyes shifted back to the mansion, looking for the clue. There might be chances, Decker, looking for me.

“I called you. How’s your leg?” He smiled and extended a flower towards me.

“Thanks, but I don’t need it,” I claimed without looking at him.

“Ok, is everything alright, Adele? Did Senor tell you something?” He questioned.

Nothing was right about my husband, who liked to play hide and seek with me. And yes, he warned me about you. Even though I was dying to tell him everything. I couldn’t put his life in danger. I turned and looked at him for a moment, knowing this would hurt him, and entered the mansion. He stood there waiting for me to explain my strange behavior.

******

It’s evening Mr. Vincent told me about my shop and farm. He gave Blaise full rights to handle it after I requested him. “It’s done. As you said, Blaise will handle all the things,”

“And what about my brother?” I asked.

“We hired him as our driver in one of our transportation centers,” I thanked him. At least now he could fix his life, not run after drugs. Mr. Vincent left, and I stood alone near the fountain, appreciating its beauty with the evening bliss. Suddenly somebody grabbed my hand and pulled me near the walls.

“What the heck?” I tried to scream.

“Why are you ignoring me?” Angelo ruffed.

My mind alerted me to the danger. I jerked my body away from Angelo, and without uttering a word, I ran inside. “Adele, why?” 

I could hear his voice, but I ignored it because I knew this was the right thing to do. I ran to my room as my heart was pounding heavily with an unexpected encounter with Angelo. Why did he behave like that? Didn’t he know about his master? How could I tell him his master is a devil who knew every breath I used to take?

My life had changed upside down. I hate ignoring Angelo and fear the nights. For the entire day, I was thinking about Decker. His touch was fresh on my fingertips. I closed my eyes as I tried to remember his sculpted body, but his words were buzzing in my ears. His touch, his warmth, alerted me he would come soon. My heart beat fast again, as I could feel strange knots in my stomach. These knots were not the excitement, but the fear he created in my mind. It felt like you were trying hard to see in the darkroom, but you could only feel his presence, unable to figure out who he was. I was not tired, but I wanted to push this sinful night where he could push himself on me.

 I remembered the trick my sister once told me. “Think of something undesirable. A sin you wanted to commit badly, and try to live that moment. It will help you sleep.”

I never understood these words of hers, but it was time to follow it. I closed my eyes as my mind took me to my farm and my shop. “Shut your mind, think of something you wanted to have badly, which seems impossible,” the devil in my mind snuggles the thought of thinking something sinister.

“What should I think I shouldn’t ask for?” I tried to think.

Suddenly, the image of Angelo came to my mind. The second moment, my eyes were wide open.

The devil inside me smirked, “Something sinister, huh?”

I fluttered my eyes to make them heavy as I converged to think about him. His sculpted body as my eyes trailed through every part of his body. I wanted to touch him badly, and kissed me. I didn’t know if the next thing happened between us or not, but I didn’t feel Decker’s presence beside me.

******

The following day, I woke up with a smile. The first thought that came to mind was my sinister thought about Angelo. I knew it was not good to think about another man, but it helped me sleep instantly. I looked around as I found nothing that shows Decker’s presence last night in this room.

Didn’t he come last night? It could be possible he came, but I fell asleep. At least he didn’t wake me up. I was about to jump from my bed, but I felt sudden chills on my body. I looked down and saw I was not wearing any clothes.

“What the heck?” I stuttered, looking at myself.

I knew I wore a nightie last night. I didn’t need to think twice when I saw red marks on my cleavage.

“He was here,” I pressed my lips together, with an awkward feeling crawling under my body. I ran towards the bathroom to finish my morning business and came down for breakfast, informed Maria I wanted to roam around the mansion.

Lost in my sinister thoughts, I saw a stable. There were lots of horses, but no men. Now that was strange to me. Why was nobody there to take care of these beautiful animals?

Suddenly, I heard someone screaming. It caught my attention immediately. Why would anybody call like this? With a caring walk, I tried to see through the cracks of the window.

“Boss, give me one more chance,” the man chained from the ceiling screamed. I could see Mr. Vincent’s face, but there was one more image facing his back towards me.

“You cheated on me. And you know I would never tolerate that,” as the sound came from his mouth, my ears got alerted to his thick voice. Decker, the first thought pumped from my mind.

Is he Decker? My mind gathered all the information I had about him. He was tall, with a broad shoulder. I could not process further when I heard a gunshot. The blood dripped in between his head. I didn’t know when the scream of fear came out of my mouth.

I was shaking badly, looking through the crack as the man hanging from the shackles was alive a few moments ago, but now his mind blew on the back wall. A sensation of puke crawled the next moment when I saw the lump of his brain stuck on the wall. I wanted to see the man who shot him. I knew he was Decker.

“What are you doing here?” 

I heard a strange noise that captured my presence.