BURN THE TRUTH

Episode Twenty-four

Devyn gently took a step back after he had rung the bell in Velda's house. Devyn was painfully gorgeous, that part was quite clear to Velda the first time she had stumbled upon him. But this Devyn by her doorstep, his masculine face seemed too stunning to be true. His features were utterly gorgeous, not even the slightest mistake to even his attire. Does it exist to be this beautiful? Perhaps it is when it comes to Devyn. That face was the owner of a body of exquisite height. His body was well-built and imposing, his lips were red, and his hair dark and shiny. The majestic body was wearing an elegant black suit with no tie.

It wasn't long before the door was answered by an elegant Velda. Devyn couldn't say if he was dreaming or not, considering the goddess who was presently standing in front of him. Devyn was completely stunned by Velda's beauty and it was only a faint "Hi" from her rose lips that brought Devyn back to Earth.

Devyn quietly breathed out. He was mesmerized.

"Could you be any more surprising, detective?" Said the distinguished face. And then his voice mellowed, in a low breathy tone "You look graceful in that dress"

A flush took over Velda's face as those words left the young man's lips. A set of luminous, heavenly-white teeth gleamed as a decent smile was bestowed on her lips. It was a pleasure to see her glowing, her enticing, constellation hazel eyes gazing at Devyn over her delicate, oxbow lips positively drooled with goodness. Her presence held captive an aroma redolent of cinnamon and meadow-fresh mint.

"Same goes for you" She whispered to Devyn in a dulcet voice as sweet as any songbird.

Devyn smiled at her words and then stepped away, granting her access to the twilight. Velda modelled past her car and Devyn swiftly moved and opened the passenger's door of his Maybach Exelero for her. Velda murmured a thank you as she gracefully slumped onto the seat.

Velda couldn't vow that she wasn't also taken by surprise to see the young man's features gorgeously portrayed beyond any image of him along the past few encounters. How rich is this man? That question unexpectedly crashed her mind the second she laid eyes on the jet-black 2-door coupe luxury car.

"And where are we heading to, Mr Devyn?" She said more of a flirt when the grey-eyed man settled behind the wheel.

"You will see, soon"

This little light comment should have more or less alleviated the curiosity in Velda, but it didn't do any of that. Velda smiled faintly, this curiosity was going to wait until a few more minutes, Velda knew it. And in all these, Devyn's overwhelming presence in the car compelled her body to desire things she felt were wrong to have thought about at the moment, but she knew it was only a matter of time.

After a couple of minutes and Velda found herself gazing at the end of a driveway a few distances away from the city. Although it was already dark, Velda wasn't that terrible to not comprehend that the road had ended in their path. She had only turned to Devyn when a robotic scanner scanned Devyn's face and before its ray turned green. It was only a matter of seconds before the supposed end in front of them came off to be a gate which unhurriedly pulled open by itself.

Velda was utterly astonished, though her face emitted no evidence of such. She lay low, watching as Devyn drove her into a long drive-through, the gate robotically closed behind them. Devyn finally stopped in front of a mansion's entrance and then stepped out of the car, before pulling the passenger's seat open.

Velda's hazel eyes ran up to his. Devyn offered his hand and she took it, bringing herself out of the car.

"Welcome to my house, Ms Velda" His voice boarded on satisfaction.

It was the first time that the intubation in Devyn's hoarse voice had betrayed his emotion when his face tells otherwise. And that's only increased Velda's curiosity, but strangely it also stimulated her pride as being the sole real those emotions manifested.

"My pleasure" Velda returned with a lingering smile.

"Shall we?"

The look that Devyn gave Velda with the intonation of his unfamiliar hoarse voice caused Velda's heart to flatter. She had the impression that the rich man's overwhelmingly dominating aura was taking the entire hold of her detective skills. She realized that no matter how many skills she got, she would never be qualified to compete with Devyn's blatant dominance. Which was a thing he possessed.

"Welcome, Master Bruce" An elderly woman's voice came off from behind Devyn.

The gleam in Velda's eyes seemed confused. To Velda, the woman was in her middle fifties, though that wasn't the sole reason for her sudden confusion. It was the way she had addressed him. Her eyes later soften, but the intensity remained.

"And welcome you too, Ms Velda"

For the first time in her life, she felt welcomed in such an adequate manner. It gave this aura of being longed for and appropriated. Even so, the faint reminder of how the elder had reached to learn her name still wavered.

"Thank you, ma'am"

With his eyes, Devyn smiled at Velda and took two steps closer to her. Their bodies were a few millimetres away. Velda didn't break the gaze they hold, her eyes focused on his. Devyn was silent for a moment and then. "You asked to know me more, now you will," He told her faintly gracing her temple with his fingers. A passion Velda couldn't define was displayed in those mystic grey eyes of his.

Devyn skinned away slightly. "Come with me" He offered his left palm and at that time, nothing else mattered to Velda, she was certain that this was what she wanted. He was the man she want.

Devyn ushered her to the back patio, it was large, and a few flames set up on either junction of the outside space which invoked a warm atmosphere. At the centre, a dinner was set up with only two seats.

As a mannered man, Devyn helped pull out her seat to create space for her to settle and then he gently massaged her shoulders which were covered up in a white winter fur jacket. Although the touch was slight and tender, Velda could admit she felt a spark ignited from them.

"I'm happy I got to do this," Devyn said, his voice strong and deep.

Velda smiled at his remark. She was too, he could tell by the way she looked at him.

"I like the way you've been watching me since tonight," He said with genuine admiration and just like the rest of the night, Velda couldn't help but return the smile. The two scrupulously observed each other in breathless serenity as the vivacious expression on their faces slowly dispersed and a slight tension surfaced.

"These are my favourites"

Devyn's unmistakable voice was cheerful, and again Velda smiled as she glanced through the overly appetizing meals.

"All these?"

"All these" Devyn responded.

"Devyn" She chuckled slightly.

"Bruce" Devyn hesitated for a moment "Bruce Sanford. That's my name, Velda" He told her.

Velda raised her head and saw Devyn's neutral face reappear. "I'm Bruce Sanford" He reiterated with much solemnity.

Devyn had confirmed her curiosity. He wasn't the man she may have thought, she may have sensed that there was something Devyn was hiding but she never imagined his name to be included. Velda had no clue what to say. Who this man was. If Bruce Sanford was his name, what about Devyn? Perhaps a middle name or so.

"Devyn isn't my name, it was given to me by the son of the woman you had met earlier," Devyn said, answering the very question in her mind. "My name is a secret, Velda. Know that"

Devyn had brought her to his home which appeared secured and sealed away from the external world and now he had revealed his identity to her. Does she mean that much to him? In a split second, all her curiosity vanished and she was immersed in the reality that the man before her had just unveiled what could be a top enigma to her. It took some time, but Velda finally responded.

"Thank you for telling me, Bruce"

Devyn flashed her a grin. "Bruce, only when we're together, alone" He went silent for a second "Thank you" An appreciative smile tugged on his lips. Velda smiled back.

"Damn, your smile. It is so pretty" Devyn said, smirking.

Velda's smile immediately grew for she couldn't hold back the flush that ran through her as those words came off Devyn's mouth.

"I know some excellent lawyers who could build a good case for being overly gorgeous against you. And if you could also refer me to some layers you know, that'd be great too"

The two looked at each other with amusement and Velda refrained from not laughing. Who could have thought that he had such a sense of humour?

"Which do you want to try first? I'm certain you won't go more than two different meals" Devyn said confidently.

They were all Devyn's favourite dishes. Only two out of the many dishes were quite familiar to her, the rest looked like to be meals from other homelands. He must have tried so many country dishes to have these favourites. Velda carefully watched the meal before she gave up, her eyes returning to Devyn.

"Difficult choice?"

"Too many choices," Velda replied with a chuckle.

Indisputably, there were too many excellent choices and Velda wanted to go for the best of his best. Which was his most favourite of all available? This question threatened to come off her lips. After a few seconds of Velda looking back at the dishes, Devyn rose to grab a dish.

"Here" He offered it to Velda "That's the overall" He settled back. "I only have it once every year on a specific day and I already had this year"

Velda swallowed the urge to ask him the reason.