CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Lyla

The sun woke me up, almost blinding me as I tried to adjust to it. I had overslept again. Did Emilio drug me? Was I just tired?

I spent all evening alone. They didn't return and whoever was guarding me this time was so good, I couldn't even tell they existed.

I wondered how many guards they kept around the house. Knowing the men, if they were as arrogant as my father was ,then it would bring the number to one. Which I suspect is largely because of my presence here.

I stayed in the library all day before I took the book I was reading to bed. As the words of Gabe Hansel put me to sleep, I dreamed of a work where I could be free to go outside without a man dictating my movements.

A loud yawn racked my body, breaking off my fairytale reverie. I was kidding myself. Women like me were never alone. Mafia men somehow thought we were so fragile, we needed to be under their thumb at all times. At least my papa had let me get educated enough to read, I shudder thinking about some of my peers.

After brushing my teeth, making sure to utilize the floss and all the amenities provided, I decide to sneak down to the kitchen and grab a little snack. Today, I would stay in my room. Largely because I was avoiding running into any of them ans Katarina too.

My steps are quiet and I glide down the hallway, humming a Taylor Swift song underneath my breath. There was no way anyone would be up, or so I thought as I turned towards the open kitchen door.

Achilles stood with his back to me. His large shoulders stretched the navy suit he wore, dark hair geles down towards the nape of his neck. He lifted the cup of coffee that was placed beside him, the muscles straining beneath the cloth and I wondered if he moves a certain way, they would tear open like the Hulk.

“Fucking stop staring at me” He grunts without looking back. I thought I had been silent.

“Well, hello to you too.”

I don't know why I am this way with him. He pushes buttons I didn't even know I had. On and off. I wanted to scatter his hair.

“Whatever.”

I walk to the coffee pot, my nose leading me to satisfy this quench. I am a coffee addict and I would not bother denying it. He stands directly in front of it, making me wonder if I should ask him to move or not.

“I need to get a cup,” I gesture to the cabinet above me.

Achilles looks at me from beneath his lashes, lashes I have suddenly noticed are even longer than mine. Fucking perfect swine. “Then get a cup,” he taunts, not budging.

I know if I stand before him and try to reach for the cup, my booty will fall out. The little pajamas shorts I had on barely passed for an underwear and I actually seethed when I saw that was all Katarina had gotten for me to sleep in. Identical, pink silky shorts and tops. I stubbornly wore a T- shirt instead of the seductive top but the shorts were too soft on my skin for me to resist.

I reach up, stretching to the top of my feet trying to get the cups. It was useless. Why did they place them so high? A hand comes next to mine and I feel his warm body pressed next to me. His clothes rub against my exposed thighs, causing friction.

Achilles grabbed the cup for me. “Thank you,” I say. Maybe this was his idea of a truce.

“Save it.”

Well, I had guessed wrong again. I poured myself a cup and grabbed a bagel I saw in the toaster. He probably did that for himself but I was starving.

“Where's the milk?” I ask, batting my lashes hoping to appeal to the soft side. I really needed coffee in my system and as long as I was here, I wouldn't let his dark stare chase me out the kitchen when I haven't had a sip of my morning dopamine.

“Check the fridge.”

I can feel his eyes on me. He acts like I bother him, yet he watches my movements like he's hunting me all the time. After pouring a generous amount of milk and sipping the goodness I had made, I stared back at him.

“The fuck you looking at me for?”

I tilt my head to the side. “You always curse that much?”

Mama has hated that I cursed. She told me multiple times she would wash my mouth out with soap. I cursed only when angry though but she didn't seem to get that.

“You don't scare me much,” I say, taking another sip. I watch from the rim of my cup, how his hands tighten in the cup he has and he finally turns to face me.

Achilles Draghi is a beautiful man.

I could deny the attraction I felt for him. I wouldn't do myself that disservice. Ever since I saw him that night six years ago, he and his brothers were the most beautiful men I had ever seen.

“Watch your mouth brat.”

“Or what? You'll spank me like how your brother did?”

“Well, it must not have worked because you are still talking.” I grin at him, biting into the bagel. Salt bursts all over my tongue and I blanche from the taste. “What is this horror?” I ask, jugging down my coffee.

Achilles laughs. “That's what you get for not making your own meal,” His eyes look brighter.

I grin. “I made you laugh.”

He frowns immediately, like he hates the vulnerability he just showed. “Fuck No.”

I grin harder. “I made you laugh.”

“You couldn't.” He drops the coffee and stalks out of the kitchen, muttering words in Italian. I just grin harder.

Fucker has a soft side after all.