CHAPTER 14: HIS LITTLE PREY

The way his fingers moved so smoothly and expertly across the keys to produce such captivating sounds made it hard for me to believe that he hadn’t played for a while. I couldn’t help but stare at his face as he concentrated on playing the piano. Suddenly, he lifted his eyes unexpectedly, and our eyes met. While I didn’t know how to react or what kind of face I was making, he smiled a little at me before redirecting his attention back to the piano.

"Hopefully it wasn’t that bad," he said when the piece came to an end.

"Not at all. That was amazing," I complimented him naturally before I even knew what I was saying.

Raphael proceeded to show me a few more instruments in the room, and I found out that he could play quite a few instruments and that he had taken many lessons when he was younger.

It wasn’t like I was interested in music, but I felt really engaged and sucked into his conversation, and that was probably because I was interested in learning more about him, although I didn’t want to admit it to myself. To my own surprise, I found myself relaxing in his presence, and I even began to clearly enjoy myself.

"There’s one more place that I want to show you, and then I guess we can call it a day," he said as he closed the door to the music room behind us.

I followed after him silently as I kept my eyes glued to his broad back. Now that we were not talking, my mind began dissecting my own emotions. I was torn between the relief that he could not remember me and the utter disappointment that I seem to be the only one who remembered what happened last night. He led me down a long hallway before turning around once to check that I was following him. After a while, he came to a stop in front of a large double door. I wondered what other amazing facilities of this mansion that he wanted to show to me.

"This is it. Come in," he announced as his hands pushed open the doors. Unlike the other rooms that we visited before, the inside of this room was dark, and I couldn’t clearly see what was inside. I followed him inside without hesitating because I thought that soon enough the lights would be switched on. I heard the clicking sound of the light switch being switched on, and then light flooded the room.

"Umm...this..." I murmured as my eyes widened slightly in surprise.

I stood glued to the spot as I heard the doors being closed behind me. I stared at the luxurious set of sofas for a moment before my gaze traveled to the large king-size bed. Although the bedroom was luxurious, the room was nothing more than a bedroom, so I couldn’t immediately understand why Raphael wanted to show this room to me. The distinct sound of a lock clicking made me turn around towards the door.

"What is...?" I began asking before trailing off.

"This...is my bedroom," Raphael said before he grinned mischievously at me.

I felt like a cornered prey under his intense gray stare. The look of kindness had completely evaporated from his eyes as he stared at me like a large beast about to pounce. I raised a hand to cover my mouth in shock as I instinctively took a few steps backwards to get away from him. Raphael’s lips curved into a mocking smile as he slowly took a few steps towards me to close the distance between us. That was when I realized that I might have gotten everything wrong between us. I backed away from him until I felt the softness of the leather sofa against the back of my knees, and that was when I realized that I had nowhere else to run. I felt my lower lip quiver as he came to stand right in front of me.

I can’t believe things turned out this way...

It felt like he had been treating me as a fool all along. He leaned over me, and my legs felt weak. I plopped down onto the sofa, and that gave him the opportunity to lean down even closer until his face was right in front of mine. The smile he showed me felt so chilling and cold. I froze up in fear under his intense glare, although he had not made a move to touch me. His face approached mine, and for a moment, I thought that he was going to kiss me.

"It’s good to see you again. Hopefully, you haven’t forgotten all about me," he whispered directly into my ear.

The way his warm breath stirred the small hairs close to my ear, as the scent of his perfume overwhelmed my senses, reminded me of the passionate night that we shared together. The scene of him caressing every curve of my body as I begged heatedly for more flooded my mind.

I was wrong to think that he had forgotten me and what happened last night. It was my mistake and misunderstanding because Raphael clearly remembers everything. All along, ever since the first second that he entered the dining room and his eyes landed on my face, he knew exactly who I was.

"Why do you look so surprised? Did you honestly think that I would forget you? Or were you hoping that I would forget you?" he asked teasingly as his hand approached the side of my face.

My lower lip quivered, and I was stunned speechless as I felt the familiar heat of his fingertips running slowly down the side of my face. His eyes stared deeply into mine, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away, even when my heart clenched painfully in my chest. The look in his eyes made me feel like he was ready to devour me.

"The softness of your lips and their sweetness," he murmured as the pad of his thumb caressed my lower lip softly. I knew that I had to get away from him, but my body wouldn’t move as if I was already under his spell.

–To be continued...