Playing With Water

Leona quickly stood where she was silently commanded to wait without questions. It’s always best to obey the most powerful person if she wanted to live.

One of the men behind her told her to be on standby and serve water when needed. Feeling light-headed, she tried to suppress her hunger. However, self-discipline became a thing of the past, seeing and smelling the newly-cooked roasted chicken and savory soft tofu on the table.

Drifting to a different dimension full of cookie mountains and milk rivers, Leona inhaled deeply to enjoy the smell of marinated chicken. The blend of spices seduced her taste buds and aroused her saliva glands as Leona longingly swallowed when Ignatius tore through the tender flesh of the roasted herb chicken.

The knife dug in so easily like a heated blade against butter. As Ignatius pulled the skin and meat apart, a faint trail of steam rose, making Leona’s stomach grumble further. She imagined sinking her teeth into the juicy thigh and how delicious it would taste after dipping it into some sweet and spicy sauce!

As Ignatius cut the soft wobbly tofu with a spoon and shovelled the cut into his mouth, Leona followed his actions and bit on her tongue. Tears sprang to her eyes at the taste of blood instead of slightly salty soy sauce among the soft texture of finely pressed soy. She sniffed at the horrible form of torture her kidnapper was putting her through. She could tolerate cleaning the toilet and freezing under the air-conditioning without a change of clothes. However, how could anyone be so cruel as to let a starving person watch them eat without offering them even one tiny nibble?!

Ignatius noticed Leona staring at his food. He knew that she was hungry. Although he planned to let her eat after his meal, he wanted to see the limits of her patience.

"Water," he called for Leona and motioned to his empty glass.

Begrudgingly, the ginger head approached the table. In her peripheral vision, she could see the mafia boss' shark tattoo staring at her as if watching her every move. Then, Leona realized that it was not only the shark who was staring at her but also its owner!

Ignatius never took his eyes off her. Although she was only asked to pour the water into his glass, her slow movements made him wonder. Was she nervous?

She gripped the handle of the glass pitcher and lifted it up. When she was about to refill the empty glass, she felt a bolt of sharp pain shooting from her ankle and quickly lost her balance. In the process of the tumble, Leona lost grip of the object in her hand, and time seemed to slow as Leona watched the disaster unfold in slow motion.

At that very moment, Leona wished to obtain the time-reversing machine. Perhaps being a Water Bender like Catara from the famous cartoon series could save her face! Why in the world was she born as a weak and penniless mortal?

The unlucky author started questioning the heavens, but the big splash could not be prevented. She could start swearing at the angels, but nothing would change reality. The man's pants were already soaked, possibly all the way down to his underwear.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, grabbing the nearest dry cloth from the table. The panicking writer roughly rubbed the table napkin, trying to soak up all the water she could see, disregarding its location.

Ignatius couldn’t react in time as the thoughtless lass started to clean vigorously. His eyes widened when he felt her hands getting nearer and nearer his crotch. For the first time ever, a captive had the guts to touch him in that manner. How bold! Did she not want to live tomorrow anymore?

The ginger head looked like she wasn't bothered by their overly intimate position. She was not herself and could only focus on how to stop the water from spreading. As she worked quickly on autopilot, driven by fear, Leona failed to realise what she was wiping until she heard a strangled cough from above.

Leona's celadon green irises gazed at her handsome kidnapper's gunmetal gray ones. She couldn't help but stare at those beautiful eyes. She felt that he was not as scary as she thought he would be for some odd reason. Next, Leona lowered her gaze to his lips. They seemed so soft, but wait! Why the heck was she checking him out in a time like this? Has she lost her mind?! How embarrassing!

Growing beet-red, Leona dropped the cloth and knelt in front of him. Fear finally sank in as she grovelled by his feet.

Ignatius remained silent as he looked at the ridiculous ginger head. In reality, he was just as embarrassed, with his ears turning quite red. He could still feel the warmth of her hands and the cloth on him and it burned where she touched. It shouldn't happen, but he wanted more of her. He wanted to see more of her expressions, curious to know how she would look in other situations...

When the mafia boss caught himself thinking too much about her, he quickly theorised that it could be a ploy by the clever woman. Leona was highly unpredictable. Perhaps splashing water on him was on purpose? It made him rethink her actions. Judging from her previous reactions, there was no way she'd do such a bold thing in front of his armed men. He knew she valued her life.

Maybe she was just clumsy or unlucky?

From behind, Leona could feel the pinpricks of stares while listening to gossip flying all over. Ignatius was strangely still, and it only heightened the dreadful feeling in her stomach. Those gunmetal gray eyes bore into hers, and his earlier crack in stoic expression vanished. If anything, he looked thrice as deadly as he did when she first saw him.

“I heard that the boss once deported a foreign model who clung onto him while on the streets!”

“That’s not the worst,” another guard whispered. “I heard that when a woman tried to flirt with him in the parking lot, she was hit by a truck the next day!”

Another gossipy guard tutted as if his colleagues talked about minor issues and lowered his voice. He landed the final blow that convinced Leona how Ignatius was truly a devil in human’s skin in a serious tone.

“Those were nothing! I heard that the boss once peeled the skin off a stripper’s face because she left a lipstick stain on his collar!”

Leona gulped after hearing the fates of those unfortunate women. However, she was different from them! Those women intentionally wanted to get close to the kidnapper, while she did not touch him with any ill intentions.

Feeling nervous, the writer gazed at his gunmetal gray irises and stared at him like a puppy.

"You did it on purpose, didn’t you?" Ignatius asked her in a serious tone, trying to frighten her.

Seeing his frown, Leona defended her innocent self hotly. "No! I swear it wasn't intentional!"

"You say it wasn't intentional, but you were rubbing my thighs so passionately earlier," he stood up from his seat, then crouched in front of Leona, who shuddered at the tone.

He cupped her chin, forcing her celadon green eyes on him.

"Since you like cleaning that much, you will sleep in the janitorial supplies room from today onwards."