Raphael escorted her to her room, and before he could follow her in, Elena shut the door behind her. One more look at the arrogant smile on his face and she would have lost it. She hated his arrogance, his pride, and the air of self-importance he carried around.
Why was he so in love with himself? She turned her attention to the piece of paper the FBI agent had slipped her. She took it out of her pocket, and there were the words, scribbled hurriedly on it, in neat handwriting on the paper. THE CAVEMEN's CAFÉ, two days, three pm.
Barry Moore, the FBI agent, wanted her to meet with him in two days. Was it possible? She doubted Raphael would let her leave the estate easily, but she knew that if she ever wanted to leave this forsaken estate alive, with her father, she needed every help she could get, and Barry Moore was the best and only option she had right now. She had to find a way to meet with him.
Every thing she needed was provided for in the room, but not her personal items, which were still in the school dormitory. Sooner or later she would have to go get them. She had important files, documents, research papers, pictures, and other important things she couldn't afford to lose. She could go get them in two days. That was enough excuse for her to leave the estate.
She was tempted to inform Raphael about her returning to her dorm, but she resolved for the next morning. She couldn't risk him being suspicious of her plans. She fell onto the bed, dragged the duvets over her, and succumbed to the gentle hands of sleep. She was woken the next morning, not only by the flush of sunlight through the window blinds but also by the strange sense of someone being in the room with her. She started awake instantly, instinctively wrapping the duvet around every inch of her hurriedly. Trembling from apprehension, her gaze fell on Raphael Mancini, seated to her extreme right, in an armchair. A wine glass was trapped within his elegant fingers, and he flexed his arms over the sofa.
"Do you usually wake this late, Signora" he asked, turning his eyes from the window, and towards her, his emerald green eyes could as well dig a hole through her, as he took a leisured sip of his wine.
"Are you so demented and arrogant that you can't knock and wait for me to ask you into the room and not ask yourself in", Elena yelled at him. She hated to have to wake up to such a drama, but it was her reality now. Was this man so utterly in-love with himself that he believed she would be so smitten by his unwarranted appearance in her room?
Raphael snickered, revealing perfectly white teeth. "But I did knock, Signora. You just didn't answer."
"How could I have answered, I was asleep dimwit" she yelled, becoming more furious. She had a vague recollection of someone knocking while she was asleep, but even that wasn't an excuse enough for him to slip into the room without her permission.
"Exactly my point, Signora. You couldn't ask me in because you were deep in your sleep, hence, I had to ask myself in, as you put it" he said. He seemed to believe he had just said something revolutionary, and his face lit up in jubilation of triumph. Elena jammed her teeth together, hearing them rattle.
"So what do you want with me so early in the morning" she hissed almost between clenched teeth. She released her hold of the duvet, kicking it away a little, exposing her legs. She spied his sudden interest in her legs as his eyes momentarily jumped to them. By reflex, she shook her night gown to cover the exposed area of her legs, then, as an afterthought, she shook the gown away, bringing much of her thigh to view. She planned to seduce him anyway to get him to love her and then cancel the contract. She might as well begin on the job.
She noticed his continued interest in her exposed thigh, though he pretended to be fixated on the rim of his wine glass. "Raphael" she called, her voice tuned low and soft, trying to sound endearing, but even to her own ears, it came off wrong. "It might not align with our contract, but I would like to visit my dormitory in school to fetch my things" she said, dropping to the tiled floor, still exposing much of her thighs to his lusting eyes.
She watched him down much of his wine with slightly unsteady fingers. Realizing her sexuality was putting him off, she ambled carefully towards him, aware of his eyes following her every step. She dropped slowly to sit on the extended arm of the armchair, putting a lot of sensuality into every movement she made. He removed his arm to let her have the sofa's arm to herself.
"I understand you would want your things, so I have contacted Asher to help set up for my men to pick your things up this afternoon" Raphael said, steeling his eyes completely away from her, and bringing them to the expanse of blank space before him.
Elena's heart sank at his words. He was about to dash her only hope of leaving the estate to meet with Barry Moore. She had to do something. She stood up from the armchair, ambling carefully to his front. "Asher doesn't have the keys to my room, I do. And I can get my things without your men. I don't want other students finding out that I am involved with some Mafia gang" she said, trying to sound as sensual as she could manage.
"I seem to recollect Asher mentioning something about getting the spare keys from the porter" Raphael said, taking a careful sip of his wine. He stared at her face just above the rim of the wine glass. His eyes refused to drop lower to her exposed thighs.
Elena realized the flaw in her plan immediately. He wasn't wrong. With the right words and enough cash for a bribe, the porter could probably get Asher the spare keys to her room. But she had a card to play. A bluff.
"I changed my keys some months ago after a little experience with a burglar, and I am pretty sure the porter doesn't have the spare keys to the room, unless, perhaps, he was the burglar" she said.
Raphael reclined into the armchair, his brows dragged up, as he considered her words. "Okay then" he said after, "But at least two of my men will go with you to make sure things go well. They can wait outside the college grounds if you want them to, but they must go with you. It is either that or you don't leave this estate", Raphael said, a note of finality in his voice.
Elena was wise to know that was the best she could get. She was confident she could ditch his men once she reached her school, and she mouthed an "Okay"
Raphael's eyes fell on her exposed thighs again, and suddenly, he lost it. He threw his wine glass to the floor, unconcerned as it shattered to pieces with a sharp cry on the tiles. He jerked up from the armchair, grabbing her thigh with one hand and her waist with the other. He reeled her fast to the nearest wall. His palm was warm on her thighs, stirring in her, a mixed feeling of pleasure and pain.
"I see you are trying to seduce me, signora, but I can assure you it isn't working. You are only making sex-crazed for you and not falling in love with you. I desire you right now, as I would desire a very beautiful prostitute that happened to catch my fancy. Seduction doesn't have to do with exposing your thighs, it is far more than that. I don't believe in love, but I am a devout of seduction. I love and practice the art, Signora, and you, my dear, are making a mockery of the art. The only thing you are making me infatuated with is your body, not you" he said, then he dropped her thigh abruptly, turning for the door.
Elena was lost for words, her eyes shaking with confusion, as she watched him go.