Chapter 15: Tempting Offer
Ember Corbin
I was now sitting at one of the chairs inside the restaurant while staring at the bullet that was supposed to pierce my skull. I sighed, realizing what had happened, and tried to touch it when a hand suddenly caught mine.
"Let's talk," Lance said seriously while glancing sideways.
I gave a curt nod and followed him into the corner of the restaurant. With every step, I felt his grip on my hand tightening. He was definitely getting worried about me.
"Don't worry about me. I already told you that I don't fear death. But I must admit it was a bit scary knowing that I could have died a minute ago without me having a chance to say goodbye to anyone. Geez," I tried to lighten up the mood.
But he stopped walking and glared at me this time before speaking out, "Let me talk, okay?" I nodded obediently. "I have been doing some thinking and decided to teach you how to fight. Even though you can't punch a bullet, I'm sure as hell you can punch the asshole who pulled the goddamn trigger."
I was stunned.
He literally cared for me so much that he was willing to take time out of his schedule to teach me how to fight? Lance Storm really went all out when he befriended someone.
"I can't even squash an ant, and you expect me to punch a sniper? Maybe I can, but I'm sure I'm going to be dead before my second punch lands on him," I snickered just to tease him. But when I saw that his glare didn't even change a bit, I pouted and nodded at him innocently.
"So where will you teach me?" I asked, being slightly excited.
I mean, come on, who didn't want to learn self-defense? I could be helpful one day. Or, I could just punch Lance in the face when he was being an annoying asshole.
"Why are you smiling like that?" His voice brought me out of my trance.
I shook my head. "No reason. Anyway, where will you teach me?" I asked curiously.
"My home..." he mumbled and immediately, the excitement faded in me.
"But that's too far," I said while crossing my arms against my chest.
He arched an eyebrow. "How do you know?"
I cleared my throat and said, "Anywhere that's not near my bed is far for me. Plus, I'm too lazy to take a cab every single day. What if one of those cab drivers tried to kill me? I don't want to die inside the cabâ"
"Are you sure that's the only reason?"
I averted my gaze at being called out. "Do you know how expensive it is to pay for a cab? That too, every day? I'm not rich like you, you know," I pointed out to him.
Couldn't he just build a secret base in my neighborhood? He was rich, so money wouldn't be a problem for him.
"I'll send a car," he proudly said like that helped him convince me to go to his house, which I still didn't know how far it was from mine.
"Still, it doesn't motivate me. Riding a car back and forth from your house to mine is equally tiring as me riding a cab."
He rolled his eyes and closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to be patient. Damn, I loved pulling the last string of his patience.
"But you still go jogging every night," he mentioned, and I squinted my eyes, not really getting his logic.
"So? I like jogging. What's the issue here?"
"How about you do not waste your time jogging and come to my place to learn something useful?"
I furrowed my brows and crossed my arms over my chest to show him that he was not convincing even a tiny nerve in my body. I took a step backward when I saw how his eyes got a bit bigger, and there was a smirk emerging on his lips.
"Look at the bright sides. You get to learn to defend yourself, become more independent, and have a delicious dinner. Plus, a handsome teacher," he said and started walking away.
My mind was now frozen at the thought of a free delicious meal.
"Will there be a lot of delicious items?" I asked while trying to keep up with him. He was a mafia leader, and he was loaded, so he must have his personal cook, right?
"I knew you would agree after hearing about food. And yes, you will get a lot of delicious food, trust me. Then, my driver will drop you home," he said and stopped in front of his car.
"Will you trust your driver with me so late at night?" I asked him curiously, and he just gave me a quick nod.
"He will be trustworthy."
I didn't know what demon summoned upon me, but my tongue was so itchy to tease him again. Mom, please guide me on this one.
"You never know what hormones can do to two people alone at night in a car. It's the time for a you-know-what activity. Well, I guess maybeâ" I was cut off when his intense gaze shot me.
I gulped and averted my eyes to Sebastian, who was now smiling while leaning on the other side of the car.
"I'll drop you myself then. I trust myself," he said, and I reached for his hand when he was about to open his car.
"But what if your hormonesâ"
"Oh, trust me, if I can control myself from shooting you every time you open your mouth, I can damn well control my hormones," he retorted.
"Okay then. Pick me up tomorrow," I said, smiling brightly at him. He shoved my hand away and put his hands in his pocket.
"Your tomorrow will never come. I'll send a driver tonight to pick you up, and if you don't want to come, I'll ask him to bring you at gunpoint."
I glared at him for not giving me my one last peaceful night.
He looked so adamant that I knew that there was no way in heaven I could convince him to start tomorrow.
I frowned.
I hoped God would give me the strength to stop myself from punching this guy.
"Fine. Deal," I said, extending my arm to him. I saw his smile of victory as he reached for my hand to shake it.
"Deal," he said, smiling, and here I was feeling like I was going to die later tonight.
###
I was on my way to Lance's place; he really sent me a driver tonight, setting aside the pleading texts that I sent him.
After a few minutes, we arrived in front of a skyscraper.
Sebastian guided me inside, where the lights were dim, and went directly to the elevator. He swiped a card, and the elevator automatically brought us to the top floorâit was Lance's personal penthouse.
"Welcome, Miss. Sir is expecting you. Please go to his room as he instructed me to say," a maid said, opening the door for me.
She pointed to the staircase, and I nodded at her. I walked through the stairs, and I was now standing in front of the black luxury door of Lance's bedroom.
Why did he want me to wait here in his room? Lance was not the rapist type of gang leader, right?
I opened the door and exhaled a sigh when I saw that no one was inside. Quickly, I went inside and scanned the huge room filled with a simple yet classy look.
All of a sudden, my eyes landed on a door with bright light peeking from underneath. I marched into the room thinking it was a thief and was about to open it, but the door opened by itself. I saw Lance standing in front of me.
"Glorious mother of God..." I mumbled when I saw Lance come out with only a towel on the lower part of his body. I quickly turned around to avert my eyes to his well-defined abs. Oh, my God, I saw something that I had only seen on TV dramas. God, his man was built too perfect for my eyesâ
"We're going to start after I finish getting dressed up," he said, seeming absolutely unbothered that I saw him half-naked.
"O-okay." I slapped myself internally, trying to not let my hormones take control of my body. God forbid I become the one who lost control of my hormones tonight.
___
Lance Storm
I saw how shocked Ember was when I got out of the bathroom. Every time that I remembered her flushed face, I couldn't help but smile inside.
I mean, yeah, I would've felt weird, but it was Ember. She was different. I didn't know why I was comfortable with her. More like, she was the only one who I wanted to see me like that. And maybe, I kind of also wanted her to be impressed.
Gosh, what the hell was happening?
I went back to the closet room and changed into sweatpants and a full-sleeved t-shirt.
When I got out, I glanced at Ember, who still had her eyes closed. And I was sure as hell that she was chanting some kind of black magic inside her messed-up brain.
All of a sudden, I got a text from one of my men.
'We found it, boss.'
A smile slowly crept on my lips. Finally.
I replied to him:
'Destroy that asylum. I want every person who laid their hands on Ember alive. Bring them to the base, and I'll deal with them later. Do it quietly.'
I took a glass of water and started to gulp it in one go since I always feel thirsty after a shower.
Ember immediately looked at me with her innocent gray eyes before uttering the words I never expected to hear in this life.
"Are you a virgin, Lance?"
I tried so hard not to spit the water I was drinking. As a result, I choked myself on it.
A/N: If you are enjoying the story so far, please follow me, trimagical_ for regular updates. Thank you and have a great day! Don't forget to keep smiling.