TAINTED HEARTS (ENGLISH)

TAINTED HEARTS 22

Chapter 22

I didn’t sleep in his room, but when I woke up at dawn, I was with him in bed, and he was already hugging me. It's likely that while I was asleep, he entered the room where I was sleeping and lay down next to me.

I was confused about the last thing he said when we talked. What was he guilty about? I asked him, but he didn’t answer anymore. I glanced at his face while that question filled my mind. But in the end, I just went back to sleep since he also looked sound asleep.

“Xena,” someone called me at the same time there was a knock on the door.

I sat up on the bed when I heard the knock. Lennox was no longer beside me, and the sun was already high. I opened the door for Mama. She looked at me and told me to go down so we could all eat together.

I didn’t bathe yet; I just washed my face and brushed my teeth. The scrape on my hand stung when it got wet, and it was only then I noticed it. A small wound, probably from what happened last night.

I stared blankly in front of the mirror for a while and glanced again at the wound on my hand. From stabbing that man, I was sure he now felt a great deal of anger toward me, and who knows what he might do if we ever saw each other again.

I didn’t feel any guilt for hurting him. Maybe because of the anger I kept inside from all the times he hurt Mama, me, and my siblings. I exhaled in worry, wishing the police would catch him soon.

I slowly went down the stairs. Just like at home, my siblings woke up early, and I would often find them already playing with Lennox. The only difference was that here, the living room was large, and I could hear their voices outside, not inside.

“Your siblings already ate. They saw the pool outside and wanted to swim, so your boyfriend fed them first before letting them play in the water.”

I blushed slightly when Mama mentioned it—that he was my boyfriend.

“Go eat outside and join him. I’ll have your food brought out there.”

After saying that, she headed to the kitchen, so I also stepped outside to follow what she said. Mena and Rico were in the shallow part of the pool. Along was being taught to swim by Lennox.

I sat in a chair by the table with a large umbrella. Smiling, I watched what they were doing. Lennox didn’t have a shirt on; he was submerged, so the lower part of his body was covered by the water. His back was the only thing facing me.

His back and shoulders were sexy and attractive. I bit my lower lip when he flexed his strong arms. He let go of Along. He grinned when he saw that Along managed to swim on his own.

“Just stay in this part of the pool. Don’t go further.”

After reminding Along not to go to the deeper part of the pool, he stepped up and climbed the pool ladder. Half of his body emerged when he came out of the water. I gasped and ran a hand through my hair. I turned my gaze away, but I quickly returned it to his body. Goosebumps rose all over me as I bit my lip hard while staring at him.

He was ripped from head to toe. Droplets of water were sexually cascading down to his chiseled jaw, down to his hard and smooth chest, to his toned stomach, and to his sexy v-line. His sexy torso made me salivate instantly. I didn’t have a chance to stare at his body that night inside his car because it was dark and my head was spinning while he was on top of me, so this scene under the sun was so new to me.

I coughed and stood up in shock when I lifted my gaze and found him looking at me. He grinned when I avoided his gaze. I wanted to cover my face in embarrassment because he caught me staring at his body.

I saw Mama coming out of the sliding door to the pool area, so I hurried toward them to avoid further embarrassment. Blushing, I received the food she brought. Behind her were two more house helpers. I couldn’t look back at Lennox while arranging the food on the table.

“Eat with Xena.”

“Okay, Auntie. Thank you.”

I tightened my hold on the tray when I heard his voice behind me. I almost gasped when I felt his wet arm wrap around my waist.

“Are you hungry?” He chuckled, then crouched down his head to kiss my neck.

I looked toward where Mama had gone earlier and saw no one there anymore. I removed his arm from around me and quietly sat down to start eating.

I didn’t glance at him even though he kept trying to get my attention. He remained shirtless and seemed to deliberately flaunt his body in front of me.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked with a grin.

We looked at each other. At first, I didn’t understand his question. But because of his gaze and the way he smirked, my face quickly turned red when I realized what he meant.

He was talking about my private part. My mind flashed right back to his car. I shook my head, then glared at him. I tossed him a towel to cover his body. He placed it on his shoulder, but it didn’t hide the lower part of his body.

He was not erect yet, but he was already bulging. It was almost sticking out of his trunk’s waistband. I wondered now how he fitted himself inside me that night. The more I see him now, the more I understand how painful it was.

“It’s yours, Xena. Don’t just look. Do you want to touch it?” He laughed.

“Stop it already!”

I pouted and hurried to finish my food. My siblings were in the pool. Along had already gotten used to swimming.

I sat at the edge of the pool after eating. Lennox went back to swimming. He splashed me every time he swam close to where I was sitting. I just laughed and squealed whenever a lot of water hit me.

“Let’s go, Xena.”

He held my leg and gently pulled me down into the water.

“Lennox!”

I shut my eyes tight as I fell into the water. My siblings laughed, as did the man holding my small body. The water was deep, and my feet couldn’t touch the bottom anymore. I knew how to swim, but he didn’t let me go.

“Do you really love me?”

I froze from kicking my feet underwater because of his serious question. His eyes were waiting as I looked at him. I smiled and nodded.

“Yes. I already told you. I love you.”

He smiled, and the seriousness in his eyes faded.

“Even if you find out something bad about me, will you still love me?”

I lifted my hands and placed them on his shoulders.

“Like what?”

He went silent. He became serious again. I raised a brow at him while smiling. His gaze lingered on me. In the end, he sighed deeply and shook his head.

“Nothing.”

He pushed me to the side of the pool and trapped me between the tiles and his body. I played with the hair falling over his eyes.

“Why? Do you have a problem? Did something happen?”

His grip tightened, and he pressed me harder against the edge. My hand slid from his eyes down to his wet lips, which I stroked as he spoke.

“Nothing,” he answered. “You already promised that you wouldn’t leave me. That’s enough.”

My hand froze, still touching his wet lips. I blinked and then stared at him. Every time he said I wouldn’t leave him, I felt he meant the opposite. That he knew I would leave him if I ever found something out about him.

“Why are you asking me that? You have more experience than I do. You’ve met more women. Shouldn’t I be the one telling you not to leave me?”

“Because I know that I will not do that. I’ll stay as long as you want me to stay beside you, Xena.”

I smiled. He leaned closer and tilted his head to approach my lips. He gave me shallow kisses.

I gently pushed him when I heard Rico laugh. I forgot that my siblings were with us in the pool. Luckily, they were busy swimming or playing in the water.

“Later!” I held back, stopping him when he tried to kiss me again.

He squeezed the side of my waist and grinned. “Sure. I will crush your lips with a kiss later.”

I pouted. Lennox laughed and let go of me to approach the kids. I stayed at the edge, watching them play around. Mena squealed. Rico laughed loudly. And Along swam away so Lennox wouldn’t catch him.