Chapter 110
Rise of the Crusader
110 Bond
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The heavy panting followed by a cold and decisive voice rang out inside Raphaelâs room.
Raphael was on the floor with his hand stretched apart and legs also spread wide. He lowered his chest, almost touching the floor, and with his hands, he lifted his body back up.
The sequence had started for quite some time and Raphael didnât stop nor did he consider stopping until he reached the required amount. The target was a thousand push up and once those figures were attained, Raphael stood and picked up the battle ropes that were beside him.
Heaving a deep breath and then gathering enough strength in both of his hands, Raphael swung the ropes continuously. His mouth opened slightly as he worked on the training, and he was soaked in his sweats.
Inside the room wasnât just Raphael, but there was also a woman. She was wearing orange blue and blue ripped jeans. Her black hair was packed to the front, and she had a book in her hand.
The woman was none other than Elisa, and even though Elisa had a book in her hand, her attention was somewhere else.
.....
Elisa bit her lips hard as she stared at Raphael, while she moved her gaze between the book in her hand and Raphael. Her gaze was however mostly on Raphaelâs body.
âAh-Ahem...â Elisa shook her head as she saw Gus staring at her.
Gus bent its head slightly, but the instant the both of their eyes come in contact, Elisa flashed a rough smile at it, before then moving her gaze back to the book.
However, it wasnât even up to a minute after she turned toward the book that she raised her head back. She stared at the owl that was on the perch, seeing it focus elsewhere, she turned towards Raphael.
Despite his body drenched in sweat, Raphael didnât take a break, and he continued to work on the battle rope. And seeing those muscles along his upper body, Elisaâs eyes twitched.
âDo you need something?â
Elisa was in her trance state when the voice rang out. She was, however, pulled out of the state, and as she stared at the owner of the voice, she gulped.
Raphael was already attractive as it is then adding to that perfect build that he possesses, he looked like some god.
Elisa stared at Raphael, who was topless and only had his training short on, and after a few seconds, she shook her head.
âNo, I donât need anything.â She responded.
A second after she spoke, she stood from the bed and grabbed the bottle of water that was on the desk, along with the cup. She then walked in front of Raphael, and after pouring the water into the cup, she passed it to him.
With a neutral expression on his face, Raphael took the cup from her hand and gulped it greedily.
After he swallowed every bit of content that was in the cup, Elisa took the cup from his hand and poured in more water. She passed it over to Raphael, who drank the water a second after.
âYou still have thirty more minutes,â Elisa said as she stared at the clock in the room. And with a slight nod from Raphael, she said.
âI thought you only work out in the morning, so why is it that youâre training around this time?â Elisa couldnât help but ask.
âNothing,â Raphael replied.
Elisa was clearly not buying the word that Raphael had just spoken, she peered deep into his eyes and said, âDid you perhaps have a bad day?â
As there was no response from Raphael, Elisa took a step closer to Raphael.
âWould you like to tell me about it?â
âI rather not,â Raphael replied.
Elisa wanted to retort to him, but when she saw the look on his face, she decided to keep quiet. She stared at him, and after a brief, she did something that Raphael didnât expect.
As Elisa pulled his nose gently, Raphaelâs eyes twitched, he raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when she pulled his nose again.
Raphael knitted his brows, and as if the nose pulling werenât enough, Elisa went ahead and patted his head.
âAnytime you want to talk to someone, Iâm here,â Elisa said with a smile on her face.
For some reason, Raphaelâs lips curved into a smile. He seized Elisa from head to toe, and a second after, he moved close to her.
Elisa wasnât expecting Raphael to make a move and when he stood very close to her, she moved a past backward. As she moved backward, Raphael took a step closer to her.
Elisa took another step backward, and with every step that she took back, Raphael took one forward. This went on until she hit a wall and was unable to retreat.
âY-You...â Elisa stuttered. âWhat are you doing?â
After saying those words, Elisaâs heart skipped a beat as she saw Raphael getting closer to her, or to be more specific, his lips getting closer. Her whole body tingled, the smell of him hypnotic beyond reason.
While Raphael was still soaked in sweat from his training, to Elisa it only made him even more attractive.
She curled her toes, and as he gently placed his hand on the wall, she gasped heavily. The feeling of his frame leaning close to her unfurled all her senses, and as Elisa peered deep into those pair of blues, she parted her lips.
Beep!
Beep!
A sound rang out from Raphaelâs wristwatch that was on the desk, and the watch Elisa was wearing. And while Raphael had no intention of checking the watch, the same couldnât be said about Elisa.
Elisa flashed a light smile at Raphael who was in front of her, she was about to raise her hand, when Raphael leaned in further and claimed her mouth.
The kiss wasnât a hungry or intense kiss, instead, it was a slow yet passionate kiss.
Raphael savored the taste of Elisaâs lips, their bodies were pressed heatedly against the wall, and the both of them gasped heavily as their lips were pressed together.
After a few seconds, Elisa pulled away from the kiss, she placed her hand on Raphaelâs chest as she brought her breath under control.
âI know youâre trying to use this to get over what bothering you,â Elisa said.
And seeing the look that was on Raphaelâs face when she spoke, Elisa placed her hand gently on his face, âItâs fine.â Elisa paused, âAnytime you want to talk, Iâm always going to be here to listen.â
Raphael didnât say a word, nor did he react when he heard Elisa. He stared at her for a while before moving backward.
He had only just taken a few steps backward when he felt someoneâs hand on his. Raphael turned towards Elisa, staring at her hand and then her face, with a questioning look on his face.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âWhat are you going to eat, Should I order or do you want homemade?â Elisa asked.
Certainly, the mention of food picked Gusâs ear, and it immediately flew toward Raphael and Elisa.
âBuffalo wings for you isnât it,â With a smile on her face, Elisa turned towards the owl beside her. And when Gus heard her mention those two words, it flapped its wing and nodded its head at her.
Meanwhile, Raphaelâs eyebrows furrowed, and he stared at Gus and Elisa, who was smiling at one another, before shaking his head.
âGus will eat something else, enough of buffalo wings for today.â Raphael blurted.
Whether it was Elisa or Gus, both of them didnât seem excited by Raphaelâs words, most especially Gus. Gus stared at Raphael, almost as though it was going to launch at him anytime soon.
âWhy donât you want it to have buffalo wings?â Elisa inquired.
Elisa had just spoken when a loud hiss and then a snort came out from Gus.
Raphael ignored the insult that Gus had just thrown at him and said. âIt would create a mess of this place. If youâre able to take care of the mess, then I wonât have any problem, but you canât.â
âAnd I would rather not deal with the chaos it would create,â Raphael stated.
Followed by Raphaelâs words was a hiss from Gus. And as it receive an intense glare from Raphael, Gus flew back to its perch and shut its eyes closed.
Meanwhile, a light smile hung on Elisaâs face. After her discussion with Serena, she had learned to take Gus very seriously and had been pondering ways to have Gus by her side.
So, when a chance to please the owl came up, Elisa wasnât going to let it slip past her.