19. You interest me...

After dropping off Zeno at the mansion, Marco headed straight for his own home too. He never really went to his own home, he never had anything to do there all alone_, but tonight, tonight was different, there was something waiting for him there. I hope…

" Why am I being nervous?" he wondered out loud as he stood in front of his apartment. "Get a grip Marco!" he tells himself, and with a deep breath, he puts the key into the keyhole and turns it open.

Cautiously, he strides inside, locking the door behind him, she'd tried to run before, so he'd locked her in and gone out to meet Zeno, the windows were all locked too, so there was no way she could get out, but now he was moving deeper and deeper into the house and she was nowhere to be seen.

He stopped in the middle of the living room, slowly looking around. "seems she got really busy." He smirks as all the drawers were open, some papers were scattered all over the place, the chair pillows had turned to floor pillows, it was obvious she'd tried looking for a key.

But she had failed, she was still inside, he knew it. He could smell her scent, it was strong and rather close, it was getting even closer. The corners of his lips curled up in a smirk as he saw her reflection in the huge television, tiptoeing her way from behind him. What the hell is she holding? He wondered, was she thinking of striking him with…

"Ahhh!!!" she charged at him with rage, and he carefully spins around, managing to dodge her attack, grabbing onto her wrists with one hand, and her waist with the other, pushing her down to the closest couch, his entire weight resting on her, her hazel brown eyes filled with fear and rage all together. "I'll take that." He yanks the flower vase from her tight grip.

"Do you even know how much that costs?" he says, obviously not in a hurry to change their awkward positions, he just laid atop her, pinning her down on the couch, both her hands in one of his, their face only a few inches apart, he could feel her hard breath fanning his face, could see her chest rise and fall in exhaustion.

"Next time you want to kill me, go into the room two bedrooms to your right, inside the closet, there's a little button there, push it and a door would open, behind that door, you'll find varieties of weapons, from the smallest of pistols to the biggest of guns, from the tiniest of knives to the longest machetes, and lots and lots more. Just don't go around picking up vases that are worth more than I paid for you. Understand?" he was being cool and calm, like being in this kind of position, this kind of situation was a perfectly normal thing.

" W_What do you want with me? Why did you pay my debts and bring me here? What do you want from me?" she finally speaks.

"isn't it obvious? You interest me. Don't you think it's better to serve one master than to go around whoring yourself to a dozen men a night just to pay off your debt?"... *PAW* somehow he had freed one of her hands, and her full palm landed on his left cheek with much hate and disgust.

Her eyes burned with anger, but the instant she saw the look on his face, the anger in her eyes faded and was clouded by fear, she trembled beneath him.

She'd seen this look a lot, and she knew exactly what followed, she'd get the beating of her life for her insolence, then her clothes would be viciously ripped apart, and then forcefully, and violently they'd take her, slapping and sexing her at the same time. This was how it always went, and now she shivered in fright, her eyes closed tight, waiting for that harsh slap, waiting for that hard blow to the stomach, waiting for her clothes to be ripped in shreds,...

But it never came.

"I don't come here all the time, but I'm sure there's food inside the fridge, so why is your stomach growling?" she heard his voice from a distance. He wasn't even close to her again, he had gotten to the kitchen. "You ransacked the whole place but left out the fridge. Shouldn't that be the first place you search, shouldn't you fill up your stomach first before you can get the strength to fight for your life? Tsk" he clicks his tongue annoyingly.

Slowly she flips her eyelids open, her hands fondling for the edge of her dress, trying to drag it down when it didn't even reach her thighs, biting down on her lips, wondering if he planned on killing her instead of beating her up, he was holding a knife.

"I'm not going to kill you." It was like he read her mind. "I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you're thinking, so come here and sit down." He points to a stool that was close to the kitchen counter, but she vigorously nods a NO, curling up on the couch like a Roly Poly bug.

He wasn't even next to her, and he could still see her trembling and shaking in fear. He could only imagine what she'd been through all her life. "Fine, just stay there, I'll cook up something." He simply says.

All the while he cooked, she didn't say a single word. She was talking super freely in the bar that night, but now she was super silent. Time to time, he'd catch her dozing off, but she'd instantly shake herself up again, as if telling herself not to fall asleep in the lion's den. And if she wasn't dozing off, he would catch her drooling and licking her lips, obviously in anticipation of the food. "cute" he said in his head.