[Refer to the previous chapter to pick up where you left! :D]
Sara shrugged haughtily and grabbed the blue helmet from underneath. She tossed it at Riley. He caught it with one swift movement. Sara, then proceeded to put on her black helmet, but Riley stopped her.
"I should be the one saving my lady's grace. But it happened otherwise. So…" Riley trailed off with a smirk.
Sara arched her brows to a perfect angle, at his words.
…
And so it happened that, Riley ended up being the one in charge of the gear and the one under the black helmet while Sara became the one under the blue helmet. Like any other romantic movie, the hero was riding with ladylove behind his back under the night sky through the jungle where the moon was high and bright. But, unlike the movies, the heroine was not sitting with her chest pressed against the hero's back or her chin propped up on the hero's shoulder. Instead, the heroine was sitting in a reverse position. In short, Sara was sitting with her back pressed against Riley's.
"What do you think you are doing?" Riley asked with extreme disappointment.
"Keeping guard", Sara answered without batting an eye, her face neutral and bare of any emotions.
"And you think what you are doing is great? Why do you think they would be looking for us? Again? To look for trouble?"
"Shouldn't you be focusing on saving my grace? What do you think?"
"Hmm. Where do I take you? Where do you live?" Riley asked in an earnest manner.
"Take right. I live in the jungle."
"What!?" Riley felt the invisible warning bells ringing above his head. His ladylove was surely not that simple!
"Why? Where do you think a scientists' daughter should be living?"
Fifteen minutes later
Outer Gate, Blue Bells Villa
Riley stopped the bike outside the gates of the villa. It looked vibrant and lively in the middle of the woods, against the backdrop of the dark night sky.
"Woah! That's a fancy one!" he said, leaning against Sara's back.
"Welcome to my world", Sara said, jumping off the bike, which almost made Riley fall back. He managed to grab the handles just in time to avoid falling. He scowled.
"Move back", Sara ordered in a self-aggrandizing way, with her arms crossed over her chest. Riley had no other choice than to move back with a defeated sigh. Meanwhile, Sara spoke up again, "And don't remove your helmet yet."
"Fine", Riley nodded with annoyance and crossed his arms over his chest.
The bike roared back to life as the gates were opened. Sara rode off with Riley in tow, with much-needed speed and sophistication. Her dashing entry and that too with a man in tow at the dark hours of night made many heads turn and sent many tongues wagging. But the wagging was only inside their minds. Nothing could cross the boundaries of their tightly sealed lips. After all, she was the Empress! Whether she brought a man or woman or even a child was her choice, not their problem.
Sara let Riley in after they left the bike in the sophisticated garage. Once Riley entered, he looked around with interest. Sara noticed that the living room had been tidied and she heaved a sigh of relief.
"Mm…" Riley nodded his head in an understanding manner, "This quite looks like a real home. A comfy one, too!"
Sara frowned at his statement and shot him a look of disbelief, "What?"
"It's just that…" he turned his head to look at her, "I thought that when I would enter your villa, I would be greeted by chemicals splattered here and there and test tubes rolling on the floor."
Sara squinted before rolling her eyes at him. Then, she proceeded to get rid of the metal strap and the gun. Also, to prepare a room for him.
"Where are you going?" Riley was about to chase after her when he was met with her chilly glare. He stopped dead in his tracks.
"Stay where you are. Don't move about recklessly. If you get lost in here, even the Gods won't descend from the Heavens to save you!"
"What the hell was that supposed to mean?", Riley pouted while Sara disappeared behind the kitchen.
Then, he walked up to the single chaise longue and plonked down heavily on it, babbling to himself, "What is she? How can a human being act hot and cold at the same time?"
When Sara came back, she saw him sitting on the chaise longue. As a result, he had his back to her. She spotted some scrapes and bashes on the nape of his neck. She huffed and went on to fetch the first aid box from her room upstairs.
Riley became aware of her being there and turned his head to look. Just then, he winced in pain, "Ouch! Where are you…"
"Stay where you are!", Sara warned from halfway up the stairs, gesturing him to sit down.
Riley snorted, and turned his head away. Sara could only shake her head as she made her way upstairs. On the other hand, Riley made an angry face. He behaved like a spoiled kid who had been deprived of his much-loved bonbons.
Sara came back in a jiffy and noticed his sulky appearance. He refused to look at her when she approached him. She crouched down in front of him and placed her hand on his, "Here, let me apply the ointments, okay?"
Riley still did not budge. Sara shook her head and said, "I am trying to coax you. Will you help me?"
Saying so, she sighed and shifted her position to move closer to him. Riley raised his brows in surprise. She leaned in near his neck and started applying the ointment diligently after cleaning the bruised area. At last, she put two Band-Aids to cover up the bruises.
Riley could feel her warm breath on his neck and he looked at her in askance. She was attractive and pleasing to the eye. She always carried a sophisticated aura around her. A smile bloomed on his attractive face. Sara moved away and he switched back to his livid state.
Seeing that Sara did not try to coax him any further and was about to leave with the first aid box, he added in a sullen manner, "Thank you."
"No problem", Sara gave a nod.
"So? You are not going to push me away again, right?"
Sara stopped in her tracks when she heard his words and turned to look, "I don't know. I need some time. To think."
"You still need to think?" Riley widened his eyes and quirked his brows in a melodramatic fashion, "After you did all that?"
"Did what?" Sara squinted, "You forced yourself on me! Not the other way round!"
"But you didn't push me away either, did you?" he replied angrily.
"…"
"Speechless?" he flashed a triumphant grin.