Daemon imagined the scene of Cynthia wearing what she described, his eyes going over her body and lingering on the places she emphasized.
With a subdued voice, he commented:
"Quite a bold surprise."
"Right?" Cynthia took back her hands and retreated with a victorious smile. "I hope I won't feel too shy."
Daemon didn't let her feel satisfaction at the successful teasing. He instead closed the distance she put between them, and leaned forward with his eyes on her red lips:
"Then let's train your boldness."
He gently cupped her chin with his finger, and closed the rest of the distance slowly. The contact between their lips brought Cynthia out of her frozen state. From the initial hesitation, she soon invested herself into the exchange, getting lost in the process. The other hand she felt on her body made her temperature climb. She followed Daemon's lead and retreated till she had her back against the door of her apartment.
While keeping the connection, she started searching for the lock of the door with her hand. Only inside could they lose all inhibitions and see things through to the end.
_ _ _
_ _ _
Daemon left Cynthia's apartment building. As he walked, only ninety percent of his mind was on the surroundings, the remaining ten percent lost in reminiscence about the aftertaste of what just transpired.
A dress hiding the superfluous but exposing the essential. Just the thought of it made his imagination turn active. Adding all of Cynthia's previous provocations, she had managed to earn a reaction from him.
He couldn't regain what he had lost, and he was coming to terms with that. Evelyn had moved on, and that was good. Now the least he could do was to not be half-hearted in his present commitment. Cynthia deserved better.
He had not been oblivious to her efforts during the time they had known each other. She had managed to pull him toward her, and he didn't need to think deeper. And from what happened today, he had to acknowledge that Cynthia knew how to use her advantages. The scenes of the show she put on for him earlier flitted through his mind.
He responded to her actions with his own, kissing her and bringing a closure to what had been interrupted in the nightclub the previous time.
If not for the door to the apartment having not been unlocked yet at that time, the kiss might have evolved into something further. He was sure she had let her frustration explode after he had left her wanting for more. He didn't know what to feel about it, but he was sure Cynthia felt some regret about the broken spell.
It could be said that their relationship had now really solidified itself. But that thought couldn't bring a smile to his lips.
With his finger, he traced his lips that still had traces of the previous exchange. It had been a while since he had used them for that kind of activity.
With an exhale, he took a cab and returned to his hotel. It was still the afternoon, with a few hours before the sun went down, but he didn't think about going to the rented apartment. He wanted some lull.
After getting back to his hotel room, he took a shower and freshened up. The warm water on his skin made his mind relax. He didn't focus on anything, but he noticed the fading scars on his body were almost not there anymore. After some time, only his mind would keep proof of what happened that day.
He left the shower, and used a towel to wipe the water along the lines of his muscles that were coming back in full glory.
He wore something casual and sat on the edge of the bed, taking in his hands the wallet he had placed there. His fingers went over the texture smoothened even more by the years. He seemed to have overcome what had been holding him back, but was he being truthful with himself?
He opened the wallet and brought out the only photo inside. His attention went from one face in the picture to another. It was not only him who had been a legend. Outside, he might have overshadowed them, but internally, it was no less legendary to have had no causality all the years they had been together. Tier zero, the level of a team at the summit in terms of modern warfare.
Others had come and gone, whether younger or older than them, but they had remained, alive and well. Until they almost all died, and only he returned.
The afternoon sun kept kissing him with its rays that went from yellow to orangish, then reddish, before finally fading away for the day. Its movement contrasted with the stillness of the room that didn't turn dark only because of the lights of the city that were coming in through the windows.
When Daemon finally moved, it was to raise his head to look at the night through the window. He felt tired, but not in body.
Without bothering to get something to eat, he laid down in the semidarkness.
_ _ _
_ _ _
The next morning, Daemon woke up with everything looking normal. At least that was what could be gleaned from his expression.
After getting himself ready, he left the hotel. He ate on the way, and when he arrived at the rented apartment, he was ready to start another day of work.
Opening the door, the big box in the room that had been absent two days ago brought him a slight smile, along with a bit of anticipation.
From the image and the words, one could see that it was a treadmill inside. It was what he had been waiting for, and that had been delivered the previous day.
He had placed a special command, and that had taken some time. It was because he wanted it to be wider than normal, more robust, and also with a console a little to the side that worked on voice commands too. All of that was necessary for the way he was planning to use it. A normal one would have made it difficult to use the installation in the bedroom at the same time.
After all, running was the simplest activity that activated the most muscles in the body. The treadmill would allow him to simplify his workout even more, while getting maybe better results.
His happiness that Cynthia noticed yesterday was not feigned, and this was the cause.