James & Alessandro Part 11

The next day, it didn't have to be told that after the fight between me and Lucas that I was treated with utmost respect by the workers and Alessandro's men. Though that the fear factor that the people held towards me before had also increased, leaving me even more isolated.

Alessandro came to the training room after hearing from some servants that I was there. He came looking for me as he wanted to tell me we would go out on a date this evening, not expecting to see me whooping one of his men. The stern look that he gave me as he berated me held proudness in them, turning his scolding into theatrics as they held no meaning and were only meant to appease his men, who got their ego broken by me. The look in eyes his left a tingling sensation in my chest that almost affected my stoic expression as a smile wanted to break through it.

Confused by the foreign feeling grappling my chest, I made it my mission to avoid Alessandro, the cause of the warm feeling that kept embalming my cheeks until we had to leave for our 'date'. And what was afternoon rapidly became the evening. The blue sky melting to purple and orange; the amount of people on the street decreasing by time for only the night dwellers to be left behind- hopping from bar to bar.

Sitting on the windowsill to gaze out the windowpane, I watched how one by one streetlamps turned on to illuminate the streets. Three knocks sounded from the closed door, followed by silence as the person on the other side waited for my reply.

So they respect my privacy, but not my freedom. I thought as I snorted indignantly and spoke, "Come in." The door opened ajar for a maid's head to poke out before they pushed it open wide, showing her hands that carried fancy folded clothes.

"I brought you some clothes, Comare, and the Don said to be ready in half an hour." The young maid said with a polite smile. Tired to correct these people to stop referring me as their Comare I let out a heavy sigh; waving my hand dismissively at her as I turned my gaze back to the world beyond the window.

The maid bowed her head and left the clothes on the bed before leaving and closing the door behind her. Hearing the clicking sound of the closing door, I looked back at the clothes that were laid on the neatly made bed.

Pushing myself off the windowsill, I trudged to the bed and picked up the clothes in my hands to have it unfold in front of me, revealing a tuxedo with a green ribbon. Doing so, something fell to the ground. My eyes darted to the thing on the ground to see that it was a letter. I grimaced as I bended to pick the small letter up. I folded the clothes over my forearm while I opened the letter that was folded four times. My eyes swept over the handwritten words, deepening the creases on my forehead.

"I will wait for you downstairs. Don't try to resist and play one of your tricks, as you don't want to see me angry unless you want to receive a punishment that will be far worse than a swat on your delicate peach. Let's turn this night enjoyable.

Love, your mafia boy."

"Enjoyable my ass." I grumbled under my breath as I crumbled the piece of paper between my hands before throwing it on the ground and trudging to the bathroom with the tuxedo in my hand. The man who is the Don of this place had the ability to put my body in sudden combustion with only the whisper of his deep voice. Reeling my body with sensations that were never explored before and my heart with feelings that previously laid dormant, but whenever he exuded his controlling behavior on me, the want to defy his commands only grew stronger. If it wasn't for the torment that he had exposed me to, I would have given him something to run for.

Inside the bathroom with my back turned to the mirror, I shed myself of the clothes until I was in my underwear. The moment the cold air of the bathroom glazed my back, I placed my left hand on my right shoulder, tightening my grip on it. Suddenly feeling conscious of the back that had faded scars, slashed by a whip that left a burning memory that refused to heal back to its original state. It was as if a tiger chiseled his claws multiple times on it as I tried my best to escape its rage. A story that I would sometimes use jokingly when someone quires me about it, but the real reason behind those scars only made me want to laugh in self-deprecation whenever I laid my sight on them, as it was a reminder of my weak self.

I let out a shuddering breath, screwing my eyes shut as I deliberately turned around to face the mirror before opening my eyes and staring at my reflection. Placing my hands against the mirror I brought my face closer, peering into my own eyes that reminded me of the green forest where I would go as a child to scavenge for some food because the caretakers didn't give a damn about the children that were left under their care.

"You're the great Oiran, don't let your thoughts consume you. You're the greatest assassin out there and that's why you will get out of here" Reminding myself of who I was made it possible for me to push away the dark thoughts that wanted to penetrate through and take over. Thoughts that I didn't want to face; something that I wish could be curbed down with pleasure, like how I normally would do.

I dressed myself up as time was still ticking by. Making haste, as I didn't want to go through another punishment. My skin that had some melanin clad and my curly sandy hair brushed. Two attributes that didn't make it clear what my ethnicity was as the memories that contained my parents were hazy, but it made me desired by men and women alike. A rare gemstone that was hard to find a specimen that they wanted to lay their hands on.

And I'm sure that it was the same case for Alessandro when he approached me. He most likely wants to keep an exotic pet next to him. The collar around my neck only asserts my thoughts.

Leaving the bedroom after wearing the clothes that were given to me, I descended the stairs. Each of my steps on the stairs were meander, as I still felt apprehensive about this date. The cadence of my heart was out of its loop the closer that I got to meeting the man that I tried to avoid today and when the free dark locks came into view, my heart stutter and my cheeks glowed hot.

On the reluctant sound of my padding feet against the creaking stairs, Alessandro turned his head to look at me. His hair was gelled back, and he wore a suit that snuggled his body neatly, adorned with a blue necktie.

"You look great." Alessandro complimented me as he assessed my attire that he had handpicked, giving it an approving nod. I stood still on the stairs where I could see the top of his head and said with a grin on my face,

"You look decent yourself."

Alessandro's lips twisted in a smile, and he stretched his hand out for me to take. My eyes found themselves staring at the hand that was waiting patiently midair. Unknowingly, my hands that were clasped tight the whole time I descended the stairs as my body got wrecked with constant nerves had a horrible sweat situation going on. I unclasped them, stretching my fingers before wiping the perspiration off against my trousers.

With a bated breath, I placed my hand in his to feel his fingers wrap around mine firmly, giving it a small tug so that I would get off the stairs and stand in front of him.

Compared to when I looked down on him from the stairs, it felt more daunting to look up at him with his body looming over mine. Why does he have to be so freaking huge!? I prayed he won't feel the vibration of my heart through our connected hands.

"Shall we?" He asked as he guided me to the door.

"Do I even have a choice at this point?" I grumbled under my breath to receive a low chuckle from him.

He opened the door to the outside world. Placing his foot over the threshold, he was about to pull me out with him, but I went rigid, refusing to take another step.

"Wow, there mafia boy. Did you perhaps forget about this?" I pointed at the collar that was hidden under the green ribbon so that no one from the outside would pay attention to it.

"Do you trust me?" Alessandro queried, and I stared at him as if the bullshit-meter was ticking in the red zone.

"Am I a straight man?" I answered him back with a question of my own. My skin tingled at the memory where they almost turned to ashes by the crackling energy emitted by the collar. I have already experienced being electrocuted once, no need to relive it.

The pair of globes with different hues rolled at my answer as Alessandro exasperated, "Bambino."

"You see how ridiculous that sounds! You, the person who has placed this thing around my neck, expect me to trust you and follow you blindly to my death with no explanation?" I scoffed indignantly, trying to tug my hand out of his stronghold, but with one big pull from his side, I got propelled forward. Both my feet made it over the threshold, eliciting a squeaky yelp from my lips. My eyes screwed themself shut as I waited for my brains to get fried again, but nothing of a prickle crawled my skin and squinted my eyes open to see that nothing had happened.

"See? You're fine." Alessandro said with a faint smile on his face watching confusion contouring my face.

I'm really fine? I questioned myself doubtfully as I spun in place to check on myself, but I was clearly still fine with no spark to be found in the air. My watchful gaze shifted to Alessandro, who wore an amused expression on his face. Then suddenly something clicked in my mind and I began the sprint in a random direction without exchanging a word with Alessandro. My face lit up ecstatically as I was grinning from ear to ear. If I am not getting shocked anymore, even if after I step out of the house, doesn't that mean that I can finally run away? I thought before throwing a glance over my shoulder to see if Alessandro was following me, only to see him still standing at the place where I had left him. He still had a relaxed smile as he put his hand in his pocket, shifting his weight on one foot. Vertical lines appeared on my forehead and my lips set themselves in a thin line.

Why is he still standing there? I mused to myself, but that thought got answered as sparks abruptly combusted around me after getting as far as twenty steps.

"Augh!" I groaned, feeling my nerves sizzling once again, forcing me to take a step back, and once I did that, the light that came from my collar disappeared.

In a state of shock, I felt my heart hammer against my chest. My chest heaved up and down while a sheen of sweat coated my face.

"I never said that you were free, did I?" A low voice whispered in my ear in a low tone, causing me to snap my head around to look at Alessandro. Mirth twinkled in his eyes and he asked, "Did you enjoy your few seconds of freedom?"

Still breathing heavy from my quick sprint, I glowered at him, turning my body around to face him. "What was that?"

Alessandro tilted his head to the side, feigning an obtuse expression that irked me. "Didn't I tell you? You can't be over two meters away from me, otherwise something like that will happen. Now shall we go for real now or do you want to try your escape again?" He reached his hand out for me to take.

Red blossomed across my face and my body shuddered uncontrollably from the anger coursing through my veins, hearing the deriding words leaving Alessandro's mouth. I had to bite on my bottom lip so that the ticking veins on my temple wouldn't pop and stomped off to the limousine that was waiting for us in front of the house, ignoring the hand that was offered to me along with the hearty chuckles that came from Alessandro.