The Story of Blood and Roses 87 Wandering Hands

"Go to sleep, Mia. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," was all he said as he finished the dishes and guided me out of the kitchen and into one of the rooms which was close to where Cienna was sleeping in.

"Wake me up if Cienna gets worse," he told me as he opened the door to the room for me. He switched on the lights and looked around the room. Seeming satisfied with what he saw, he turned to leave. "Do you want me to tuck you in, or something?" he teased as he shoved his hands down his pockets.

"If you want to then you could, but I think that would be highly inappropriate, and I do know that you have wandering hands, so I think that I'll take a rain check." I gave him a wink and reached out to close the door.

"Don't be rude, Mia. I don't have wandering hands. I do nothing that you don't want me to do."

"Suddenly, you sound like a rapist. Until I explicitly tell you that I want your hands to wander, your hands don't wander. Don't be a dick and assume things, boss," I smirked, knowing that he knew what I meant.

"Don't worry, my kitten... I'll not lay a finger on you unless you 'explicitly' ask me to touch you," he leaned forward, placing his lips right beside my ears and then whispered in a husky voice. I might have gulped at the proximity, but I knew that he didn't notice because he turned his face and placed a sweet, innocent kiss on my cheeks. Stunned, I stared at him.

"Good night, Anthony," I mumbled. I had no clue as to how I was supposed to react to that gesture. It had been innocent enough to leave me no choice but to remain silent and not protest about it.

"Good night, Mia. I hope you have sweet dreams," he wished and then with his hands still in his pockets turned, and left.

I stood there for a few minutes waiting for something else to happen, for him to return, possibly, but nothing of the sort happened. Eventually, I closed the door and took in a deep breath to cleanse my mind of whatever jumbled thoughts that were racing in it. Of course, it was of no use, but it didn't hurt to try. I slid into the covers and closed my eyes. With a content sigh, for the first time in days, I fell asleep.

.

Even in the darkness, I felt my body freely falling. Where I didn't know. I tried to regain balance or hold on to something, but right there in the darkness, I could see nothing. Flashes of purple and green lighting pashed in front of my eyes but did nothing to electrocute me. My limbs didn't even budge, and I couldn't find my voice. I felt myself being shaken by something but didn't know if I imagined it or not.

Suddenly, my mouth opened, and I gasped for breath. My eyes flew open and squeezed together immediately as the light reached my retina. My eyes burned like my lungs. I took calming breaths realising that I had felt a sudden moment of sleep paralysis. I opened my eyes slowly and saw the blurred image of Anthony leaning over me. My eyes widened, and my mouth opened to a gasp. He looked a bit worried.

"You were suffocating under the pillow, I think," he told me sheepishly, but his face showed that he had been a bit worried about what he had seen. "Welcome to the world of reality. We have to work."

"I know. I'm surprised Cienna didn't act up at night." He shook his head, smiling a bit.

"I checked on her before I came in to wake you up. She's sound asleep and probably has been since you left her room last night."

"That's an improvement if you ask me," I admitted. He nodded his head and then scrutinised me for a few seconds.

"You should get dressed. We'll leave in twenty minutes, okay?" I nodded and then slowly got into a sitting position. How I'd managed to carry on a conversation with Anthony while I was sleeping and he was hovering over me was beyond my imaginations and ideas of reality.

While I was worked up with my thoughts, Anthony had already left, and I had gotten up and mechanically put my clothes on. I checked to see if I had worn all the right garments and then jogged down the stairs to see that Anthony was sitting in the great hall with a remote in his hand and the news channel on.

He didn't look away as I passed him and went to the kitchen. I got myself a big bowl of cereal and then plopped down beside him to watch the news flicker by. He gave me a passing glance and then reached for the spoon in my hands. I tried to keep it away from him, but he took it anyways. Next, he reached for the bowl and took a spoonful of cereal and shoved it into his mouth.

"Thank you," he mumbled and went back to watching the television. I rolled my eyes, shoved the bowl into his hands, and then got myself another bowl. He seemed satisfied with how the whole thing had gone about. While we ate, I fussed over how we seemed to be playing some twisted game of house. He just shrugged and told me that as long as he got food and sleep, he didn't care. I, too, shrugged and accepted his explanation. As long as it didn't turn uncomfortable or into a compulsion, I was alright with it.

Just like that, we got into the car; Anthony drove, and I found myself in the red district area where Cienna had hailed the cab from.

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Chapter end