Lust in the Moonlight

Chapter 10

                                                                          Seraphina Farris

            My body was filled with exhaustion. I dropped like a stone in water in my reserved seat. Lazily, I tossed my clutch onto the table and leaned back in my chair. We were only two and half hours into the evening and my feet were on fire. 

            “Did I ever tell you how much I love you??” Renya exclaimed, from behind me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she placed a kiss onto my temple before pulling away from me and sitting in the seat next to mine.

            “You absolutely killed it. People don’t think you’re my assistant, they think that you’re the head of the department. You closed on many deals today, and you had my back. Thank you so much, you proved so many people wrong..” Renya reached out and grabbed my hands and squeezed them. All the interactions I made in such a small time window, was impressive but overwhelming. It all went by in a blur.

            “Thank you for believing in me, really, I couldn’t ask for a better boss” I responded, Renya was the only person who didn’t undermine me or my abilities at work, she constantly put her neck out on the line for me, in ways I didn’t just see her as my boss but as my best friend, but I wouldn’t dare tell her that.

            “Alright before you have me crying like an imbecile, I’m going to go shake my ass to some violin. You’re done playing Renya Jr for the night. drink , dance, have fun your boyfriend” Renya gave me a hug before parting ways with me. I sat there searching the crowd for my boyfriend whom I was eager to spend time with. Isaiah was laughing hysterically with another drink in his hand, he was surrounded by people I didn’t know personally but all worked on the same floor as him. He seemed to be having fun, my absence didn’t seem to bother him, so I decided to just sit there. I hadn’t seen Kennedy the entirety of the banquet but I did hear her name being praised throughout the crowd. I was so proud of her, I hoped to see her tonight to congratulate her and also apologize. Sitting there alone taking in the lively crowd without being able to take part in it made me miserable and more inclined to leave. I was done working but I couldn’t seem to enjoy myself. I grabbed a hold of my clutch on the table but before I could stand up and make my exit, a gentle tap made itself known on my shoulder.

            “Hello Ms. Farris, I was instructed to give this to you..” A waiter stood behind me motioning over a small piece of paper, I uttered a confused thank you before the waiter turned his heels and merged with the crowd. At first my eyes scanned the crowd looking for any hints on who would have sent this, immediately I ruled out Isaiah who was becoming drunker by the second. Without wasting another second I opened up the small piece of paper and read its contents.

            ‘Meet me at the bottom of the grand staircase’ 

            As if getting caught in the act, I quickly crumbled up the note and shoved it into my clutch. Who was this mystery person and why did they want to meet so far away from the party scene? Unfortunately, the note caught my attention and I was intrigued. I wouldn’t let this night go to waste nor was I going to let boredom poison it.

            Being able to slip out of the ballroom discreetly was not an easy task but I managed to do so without looking back. My nerves were getting to me but my excitement conquered it as I walked down the hall I came in from. The atmosphere was so different, the small faint sounds of violin traveled through the desolate hallway, there wasn’t a single soul in sight, at least until I found my way back to the entry hall. The same guards stood there like statues, not moving a single inch since I last saw them, the only difference in the room was a particular male standing at the bottom of the stairs with his hands tucked into his pockets pacing slowly back and forth. Once he was in my sights, my pace slowed, my clicking heels against the laminate alerted him of my presence and he turned to meet my eyes. Mr. Lennox, of course. My eyes darted around the vast area to see if anyone else was in the vicinity that could’ve sent the note but it was only Mr. Lennox.

            “I thought this was a good time for us to talk” Mr. Lennox said approaching me but keeping a safe distance between us. My arms crossed over my chest and I looked down at the ground knowing if I were to stare directly into his eyes, I would’ve lost my composure. 

            “We could’ve talked in the ballroom Mr. Lennox..” I said in a deep sigh, not knowing why he decided to lure me out here.

            “The place is too chaotic, I wanted to be in a quiet setting so I would only have to focus on you” The softness in his voice shocked me, I brought my eyes to meet him. Why was he acting so strange? This wasn’t the man I met all those months ago, or maybe it was and he truly is different away from a working setting.

            “Alright Mr. Lennox, what did you want to talk about?” I wanted to get straight to the point and be done with conversation, but the minute he stepped closer to me, I immediately felt a pull. Like my body was desperate for him to be in my airspace once more. The feeling was exhilarating but I couldn’t stop thinking about Isaiah. Mr. Lennox turned away from me and took a few steps up onto the staircase, I looked at the two guards who stood there then over my shoulder in the direction of the ballroom.

            “Come with me..” Mr. Lennox turned on the step and reached his hand out to me, the invitation was daring but wrong. Leaving the party to wander about a place I’ve never been in, with a man I didn’t know where I stood with. There was something wrong with me and I couldn’t deny him, even if I did with my words my body would do the exact opposite. The thought of Isaiah disappeared in a second as I walked towards the stairs and reached my hand out to his.

            The touch of his skin was like overdosing, I got too much too fast. I felt it when I placed my fingers in his, when he secured his grip. His skin felt like a never ending scorching heat that warmed up the coldness in my body. It must’ve been the alcohol, my head tightened and felt light, my foot got caught on the fabric of my dress causing me to miss a step.

            “Seraphina, you alright?” He asked with a worried tone, the lightness in my head disappeared and reality came rushing back in. I held up my dress, freeing my heels from getting caught in it and regained my balance.

            “Yeah, Yeah, I’m okay..” I said looking back up into his eyes. He looked at me with confusion and I nodded with reassurance that I was okay, and with that Mr. Lennox led me up the stairs, our presence becoming nonexistent to the ball and alive to each other.

                                                                            Kai

“Did you feel that?”

“Yeah…”

“You think she’s the one?”

“Impossible, the elders said that I was never going to be compatible with anyone..”

“They could’ve been wrong. There is no other explanation Malachai, you saw how she reacted”

“After all this time searching, why now? It doesn’t make any sense after all this time alone, suddenly she just shows up?”

“Stop with the questions, Seraphina is our mate, there is no doubt in my mind..”

“Kai, be realistic! She is with another man-”

“Not for long”

            Immediately, I blocked out Malachai’s voice after the annoyance he embedded within me after our internal conversation. There was no mistaking it, the tingling sensation when our hands first met, I was struck with a euphoric feeling that made my blood rush, at that very moment, I could feel everything she was feeling, confusion, fear, anger, curiosity. Her beating heart made itself known to me, all of her thoughts, desires, fears, scattered throughout my being. 

            “This place is neverending..” Seraphina breathed with amazement. It was after we had ventured up the stairs, when her hand had pulled away, I longed for her touch once more. The halls I had roved through a million times caught her eyes, she eyed every detail although unimportant, she took in every single feature of the dark, dimly lit halls. The family manor was a place I dreaded the most, every daunting nightmare I experienced in my lifetime was conjured up from this hell. Seraphina had fallen behind behind taking slow steps adoring every inch her eyes laid on. I found her puerile curiosity to be enchanting, her wide blue eyes dancing along the halls. I took a few steps back, daringly my hand slipped onto her lower back which immediately caught her attention. The warmness of her skin burned through the dress begging to be touched.

            “I want to show you something” I said, looking down at her, she was hesitant, weary about me, and still felt anger. Unfortunately, I would have to clean up the monstrous impression Malachai left on this girl. Faintly, she nodded her head and I smiled down at her and guided her in a direction to a room I knew she would enjoy.

                                                                 Seraphina Farris

            It felt wrong to admit, but I enjoyed this side of Mr. Lennox. Walking through the manor felt like I was taking a journey through time, back to where kings and queens ruled the lands, maybe it was the liquor but my imagination was running wild. You would think with the halls barely being lit, it would be intimidating and frightening, but no the darkness was calling to me as if it was a mystery waiting to be solved. Mr. Lennox didn’t say much while guiding me through peculiar manor, his hand had been sitting comfortably on my lower back, I didn’t protest against it, all I had hoped was that he wasn’t leading me to my doom.

            Mr. Lennox brought me to the end of a hall, where two tall golden brass double doors stood in pride. The protective hand removed itself from my back, and moved onto the golden door handle. Mr. Lennox looked at me with a growing smile on his face, it was as if he was a child waiting to reveal his sixth grade science project to the audience. His eyes glistened with exhilaration. My eyes rolled partially looking off to the side, it was humorous seeing this side of him, I thought he would be everything but childish.

            “Wow, double doors, how fascinating” I gasped looking back at him. I stuck my clutch underneath my arm and brought my hands together, clapping, making sure he picked up on the space between the claps to acknowledge my sarcasm.

            “Round of applause..” My eyes narrowed, my reaction only caused the grin on his lips to grow wider. He seemed to be enjoying my impatience, he slowly tilted his head to the side,  with amusement all over his face.

            “Belligerent sarcasm isn’t tolerated in the workplace Ms. Farris..” He spat trying to clench a serious tone onto his face. My eyebrows bounced up with disbelief, although I fought hard against it a smirk crept onto my face. Crossing my arms over my chest, I shook my head looking away from him.

            “We aren’t in the workplace Kai” I retorted slowly, bringing my eyes back to him, the gaze we held broke and his eyes fell upon my lips as I said his name. The name on my tongue rolled so easily, I enjoyed being able to address him in a non formal way. For a few moments, Kai just stared at my lips, the smirk on his disappeared as his jaw clenched firmly. It seemed he was lost in thought, or so deep in that he lost a sense of reality.

            “Ahem-” My forced fake cough alerted him and he regained his sense of reality. Focusing on the golden brass doors in front of him, Malachai pushed open the doors finally revealing the contents inside. 

            The smell of books has a very distinctive smell, only true book lovers would know. The compressed ink filled pages between the back and front cover, the breaking of a spine when opening a fresh new book, the smoothness of a hard cover, the flimsy feel of a paperback, varying from all sorts of colors, genres, authors, themes, endless possibilities. Once Malachai opened the doors, he grabbed my hand and tugged me inside. There isn’t a set description on what heaven looks like, but this was mine. The room had high infinity ceilings, the room was divided into two levels, the second level had a set of stairs leading up to it, and an iron raining securing the particular level, all visible from when you first walked into the room. The walls were completely made up of bookshelves, filled with pieces of literature. The earthy fresh smell of the room attacked my nostrils. There was a seating area, two loveseats facing each other separated by a glass coffee table, an unlit fireplace stood at the far end into the room with a brick mantle surrounding it, and two armchairs were seated in front of it. There wasn’t much thought in interior decoration, or I could say the books were the interior decoration. Books littered the entirety of the room, more books were out of place than on shelves, in small piles, open and turned over on a specific page, the messiness of the room brought a sense of comfort. 

            “This is my reading room, I come here for peace and quiet, excuse the mess” Malachai said, closing the doors after we had both entered. I disregarded his last statement and walked across the dark laminate floors. Fully taking in the essence of the room, this made my reading wall in my bedroom a complete joke.

            “No, it’s fine. It’s honestly perfect..” I breathed walking up to the case of books that was closest to me. My fingers skimmed across the spines, I looked over my shoulder to Malachai who was just standing by the door watching me.

            “How are you able to choose what to read?” I asked, Malachai scratched the back of his neck and proceeded further into the room.

            “I really don’t have a alphabetical system, whenever I’m done reading a book, I put it on the shelf” He responded walking up to me with his hands shoved into his pockets, my eyes focused on the books that were on the floor, on the couches, before looking back up at him.

            “So, all the books on the floor and what not, are books you haven’t read?” Malachai nodded at my question. There were a lot of books scattered on the floor but the amount of books on the shelves was an impressive amount as well. I pulled my grasp off of the books and inched closer to him with a serious inquiry.

            “What book would you recommend to me?” I remarked lifting a single eyebrow, Malachai was taken aback by the question, he narrowed his eyes at me before darting his eyes around the room. Up for the challenge, Malachai scanned the room of its contents, I watched him pleasantly fighting off a smirk. For a second he seemed lost up until he walked in a certain direction, I trailed behind him. He seemed to know where the books were even though they were scattered with no system. Tired of standing, my eyes gleamed when I saw a nearby narrow steep step ladder extending up to reach its highest shelves. It was right beside Malachai, while he concentrated on the book search, I climbed a few pegs up before claiming my seat. At that moment, Malachai’s finger landed on the spine of a book, and I watched his hands delicately pull the book from its resting place. Shamefully, my eyes focused on his hands, firm, rough with traces of softness, electrifying. My mind has been contaminated by his touch and there was no cure. Malachai stepped in front of me motioning out a book, which I eagerly took from his grasp. My palm caressed the front cover, as if to dust it off to bring it to life. The book was a dark scarlet red, with a single golden letter imprinted on the front. I turned the book to look at the spine.

            “The Scarlet Letter..” I read, my eyes made their way back up to Malachai who was notically standing a lot closer, he leaned into me, resting his arm on the ladder railing for support. The book was foreign to me, although throughout my years I did hear the book title being thrown around but my eyes never seemed to fall upon the story inside.

            “I think you’ll enjoy this one..” He grinned, I leaned back taking him fully in my sights and scoffed gently. It was hard to believe that underneath the unbearable heartless man was a decent human being, whom I enjoyed being around.

            “I didn’t take you as a book lover, or an actual decent person” I laughed gently, Mr. Lennox nodded his head and bit his bottom lip trying to rid himself of a smile that was easing onto his lips.

            “That’s because I didn’t give you the opportunity to get to know the real me..” He husked in a low voice shifting his demeanor into a more serious one. I knew that I should’ve left, but I was trapped in the moment.

            “Can I be honest with you Seraphina?” He whispered leaning in close to me, like he was getting ready to spill a confidential secret. Nervously, my fingers clutched tightly around the hardcover of the book, holding my gaze with his made my entire body tingle with anticipation, I sucked in tiny breath and held it.

            “A part of me has been intrigued with you, since the first moment you walked into my office..” Carefully I watched his lips move, the breath I was holding in, escaped. Looking for deception, my eyes darted in between his, I wanted to be sure that he was fooling me, that he wasn’t unapologetically crossing a strict boundary. His eyes were stern, dead set on me, he took his time eyeing every single detail about me. The intensity between us was increasing at a dangerous speed, he had a look in his eyes that I couldn’t distinguish. My body couldn’t handle the extremity in his eyes, breaking our gaze. I focused on the book sitting in my lap catching my breath, hoping I wasn’t making a fool out of myself.

            After a few moments of silence, Malachai sucked in a sharp breath. I couldn’t look him in the eyes again, those deep pools of brown made me want to drown for eternity. There was a lingering sense of heat near my face, I thought I was imagining it, or that the alcohol I consumed was finally running its course but no. It was the same electrifying touch I felt when Malachai and I touched for the very first time. It was him, his fingertips just barely grazing my cheek, to comb the loose strand of hair that dangled in front of my face. My clutch tightened around the book feeling as though I could completely crush this book into smithereens. My heart violently beat in my chest colliding with the ribs that surrounded it. The anticipation of what he was going to do next was killing me.