It was true to James' words, it was really Zeronis on the wheeled chair by the entrance of the man-made garden.
"Just tell him I was asking for your number and was trying to flirt with you."
"You're disgusting." Maria's face contorted before she can school her expression that made him snickered.
"I'm leaving, babe." James turned away with a smug face, whistling casually as he passed by Zeronis. "Good day to be alive, isn't it?"
Zeronis looked at the man briefly and being polite as he was, he only nodded to him. He then maneuvered his wheelchair towards Maria's direction with an inquiring look on his face.
"You make acquaintances fast." He remarked. "And you both look quite close that he can tie your hair. Who is he?"
"Well, I got bored and made friends. He offered to fix my hair and I accepted the kind gesture. What's the big deal?" Maria said, not really wanting to tell him about James.
Zeronis kept his silence and just stared at her without saying anything for a few seconds.
"Why are you out of bed? The doctor said you're still not allowed."
Zeronis didn't look like he wanted to drop the matter about the man earlier but he only heaved a deep sigh. "I woke up in my room and I wanted to see you so I came here after the nurse told me you're here. Looks like you're having fun without me."
"We were just talking, Villan. Stop acting like my boyfriend." Maria chuckled while he kept his silence again. "I'm sure your doctor is looking for you."
"Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me?"
"I don't know. It might be the smoke fumes still in your head." Maria chuckled seeing him sulking. She pushed his wheelchair back inside the building then.
"How many times should I tell you people that I'm already okay?" Zeronis complained.
"Says someone in a bloody wheelchair and bandaged shoulder. Yeah, you're already alright." she agreed sarcastically.
"I feel like a princess being pampered here."
"Let this knight in shining armor of yours spoil you rotten then," she said.
"I kinda like that though I feel utterly guilty for what happened. I've been a very awful host." He sighed. " Please tell me I didn't fallout from the scale of five."
Maria continued pushing the wheelchair towards the elevator. "You did. I'm open for negotiation."
"I'm a good businessman, so, no worries then," Zeronis said, letting Maria press the button in the elevator.
"Anyway, do you hear anything from the vineyard? Was it confirmed about the bomb?"
Maria saw how his expression changed into something she haven't seen before and his hand clenched over his lap.
Her hand placed over his right arm, trying to comfort him or something. It depends on how such gesture would come off to him. Fortunately, it made him meet her eyes on the mirror inside that lift.
"There were four time-bombs scattered in the area." He said.
They reached their floor and Maria got them out towards the direction of his room. "Were they able to disarm those?"
"Yeah. They sent crude robots to do the job."
Maria knew about the robots sent to disarm bombs since she had worked as controller of those bots on her operation in Iran. She'd worked in a Tank Shell Squad, mostly in-charge of detecting roadside bombs for the improvised explosive device buried on the roadway for the soldier's vehicles. Then she'd remotely control a crude bot to disarm the detected bombs.
"Why would someone threaten you? Is it because you're a businessman?"
"Probably. It's nothing new anymore. But it pisses me off whenever they go large scale like this." His eyes followed her when she positioned him in front of the single-seater settee in the room.
"Lots of sick bastards out there," Maria said, knowing full well the underground world more than anyone. "So, any suspicion who's the culprit?"
Zeronis only shook his head. "The police are working on it."
Maria only nodded at that and didn't voice out her doubts over his decision. If the culprit turned out to be involved in a syndicate, the police forces aren't enough. She wanted to help him find whoever bastard dare to bomb the vineyard along with unsuspecting people in there. But she was currently an ordinary tourist under Arya Montes' name.
Barely noticing that she'd been in a trance, the sudden contact of his hand on her cheek made her startled a little.
"Share some piece of your thought."
"Sorry. Just a little concern-don't smile like it's nothing. The bastard almost killed you and your people."
"Don't worry about it. I'll make sure to see through the end of this."
"Zeronis, you don't understand-"
"Trust me. I'll bring down whoever did this." He cut her off. "But there's one thing I remember saying."
"What?" she gasped when he pulled her towards him, unintentionally falling to his lap. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know. I'm afraid I'm still out of my mind."
Maria cast him a disbelieving look and yelped when he enclosed her into a tight hug. "H-hey..."
"In my head, you're still in the middle of the fire." He said and breathed heavily.
She could feel his hot breath at the crook of her neck that made her heart somersaulted crazily. His arms around her waist, locked, and secured her as if preventing her from escaping.
"Villan, the doctors might find us in this compromising position when they get in." she was thankful that her voice didn't shake out of nervousness.
"I don't care." He said.
"What got into you? You know you're crossing boundaries." She said, not fighting to get out from his embrace anymore.
"If this is crossing boundary, then explain yourself why did you jump on that bloody fire."
"I was saving you."
"Which wasn't your duty to do."
"I can't let you die if I can do something about it."
"You endangered yourself for someone you barely know. If that's not insanity then I don't know."
"Villan, I'm sure you'll do the same for anyone. I heard that you were attempting to extract your men out the cellar."
"I failed to do so and got you involved instead." he snarled mostly to himself. "It makes me mad. It's driving me insane just the mere thought of you...in that hell with me."
Maria looked down at her shirt when he crumpled it hard with his hand. In the hope to calm him down, she turned her head to the side where he leaned her head on her shoulder. One hand lifted to caress the side of his.
"We're both safe now." She smiled when he met her eyes. She was shaken to see him almost on the verge of crying. What followed after wasn't part of her plan. But she had the strong urge to reach for his lips with her own.
His scent filled her nostril with just a quick peck. Then she found herself freed from his arms on her waist only to cradle her cheek with his left hand while the other on her hip, turning her body slightly towards him.
It didn't take long before her lips were imprisoned with his needing mouth. His kisses were careful and studying, allowing her to get a grip on their situation. When Maria was over of her astonishment and began relaxing at his hold, it was all he needed when he gave her a full-blown kiss.
She didn't really need to keep up pace with him when he was leading her, making her taste the soft and subtle hint of sweetness of their shared saliva. His tongue mingled with hers, playing, caressing, and teaching. She felt like she'll be out of breath anytime soon but she didn't want it to end.
Zeronis stopped and put a small gap between their mouths. "Don't hold your breath, sweetheart," he whispered in a raspy voice, licked her lower lip, wetting her lips again and it only made her feeling warm all over her body. "Breathe. Relax." he coached while she obediently nodded. And then, they kissed again.
His kisses became sensual as he sucked for her tongue, drinking from her sweet mouth, and groaned when she moved closer towards him. He abruptly stopped and his face contorted.
"Shit," he growled.
"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" she asked and acted to get off away from him when he gripped tighter around her thigh and hips, stopping her in place.
"No...just..."
"Let go. It's obvious that you're hurting."
Zeronis was frustrated that she had no idea that he was fine even on the wounded part of his body. But it was something else that he was a little distracted. Without meaning to, he pulled her into a hug, placed his head on the crook of her neck, and breathed in there.
"Zeronis-"
"Shhh. Let me calm down."
"Calm down to what? Are you really still anxious about what happened?"
Zeronis chuckled helplessly at her cluelessness sometimes. If it was another woman on his lap right now, he won't be this frustrated.
"Tell me, what's wrong? You might need a doctor. I must fetch them-" Maria's eyes widened when he grind her bum on his member. She looked at him in gaped mouth, went down to check if her suspicion was right. Her throat suddenly felt dry when her thought was confirmed.
"I'm hard right now." He said and gave her feathery kisses on her shoulder blades. "Damn it."