The spacious room swallows me whole as I shut the door. My heart might burst out of my chest if it keeps pounding this hard, or maybe I'll pass out before that happens. With hesitant steps, I walk to the center of the room. Fear prevents me from working fast.

I close my eyes and inhale deeply. I have to do this. When I reopen my eyes, my determination surpasses the fear of getting caught.

Heading straight to Elio's desk, I scan its surface. A burner has to be here somewhere. I don't bother to turn on his computer, I need to be fast and I'm sure it has a password, it'll only waste my time.

Under the desk, on the left side, a gigantic safe is situated, on the other side, four drawers reach the floor. I hurriedly check the top one but it's locked. The second one is overflowing with documents scripted in Italian, and the third one is locked too.

Wishing and praying, I pull open the last drawer and rummage around until in its far end, in the bottom corner of it I find an old burner.

A breath of relief escapes me as I pull it out and get to my feet. Pacing the room, with trembling fingers I turn on the phone.

I try to recall Dad's phone number or even Ruby's but my mind is like a blank sheet of paper thanks to the anxiety. I curse under my breath, almost tearing up from desperation as my fingers hover over the buttons.

In a sudden spark, Dad's number tumbles back into my memory. Bringing the phone higher up to my face, I begin punching down the buttons, saying them under my breath to ensure my shaking hands don't press the wrong one.

Just as I'm about to hit the button with the green phone sign on it, the door clicks open. With horror, I whirl around.

Elio halts, one hand on the doorknob and the other on the doorway. His brows furrow with confusion as our eyes lock. His gaze drops to my hand, his nostrils flare and his features twist with fury.

A second too late I hide the phone behind my back.

Elio slams the door shut and I flinch from the sound, retreating away from him as he prowls toward me.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he roars.

My back hits the library on the other end of the room. "I-I can explain," I stutter.

He pulls out his gun as he storms to me and my eyes widen. This is it. I'm done.

He's going to kill me.

"You fucking-" he booms but I interrupt him.

"I just wanted to tell my dad he's in danger and to be more careful."

He plants himself in front of me, pressing the cold metallic muzzle to my temple. "You fucking liar," he yells.

"I didn't do anything wrong," I fire back, holding his steely gaze.

In an instant his hand reaches around me, grabbing my wrist, the same one I'm holding the phone with, and pins it to my back. His protruding eyes never leave mine as he holds the gun firmly against my temple. The veins and muscles strain against his skin as his neck becomes corded.

"I just wanted him and my friend to be safe." My voice shakes but I push my shoulders back, gripping the burner tighter in my palm, my fingers begin to ache.

"You fucking backstabbing-"

I cut him off, "I just saw a man I worked with for years dead."

His jaw ticks, his fingers tighten painfully around my wrist. "You're just like your father," he spits, breathing heavily.

The hatred and disgust dripping from his word sting me way deeper than I'd like to admit. For the first time ever, it truly is an insult because in this situation my Dad would've betrayed anyone to save his ass.

"I'm trying to keep the people I care for safe; I wasn't planning on leaving or betraying you."

His lips curl back into a snarl. "You're a vile woman."

"Fine, then pull the trigger and be done with it."

His arm tenses around my body, pulling me closer to him. From the corner of my eye, I catch his index finger dropping to the trigger.

My heart thunders in my chest. I fix my gaze on his face, noting his features, the fury glinting in his dark eyes slowly ebb away, giving place to frustration. His posture grows rigid and his lips pinch together.

As the moment of silence stretches on, I become aware of our position. My body is pressed against his. His feet are planted wide apart, with our height difference, it seems like his body is molding over mine. We're both panting; neither of us looks away.

The warmth radiating off of him sinks into my skin, making my senses buzz with adrenaline and something exhilaratingly addictive.

He moves closer to me. I feel his ragged breathing over my lips and it leaves me breathless.

"I should've killed you when I could've," he breathes out, sliding the muzzle down my templet, past my cheek, and planting it right under my chin, forcing my head up. "I should've gotten rid of you the first night I brought you here," he rasps.

His deep voice turns my inside into mush and hundreds of knots tie and untie in my stomach and my mind slips into a daze. I should be scared out of my mind, but looking into his darkening eyes, I'm unable to think about anything but him.

"Maybe not pulling the trigger was your biggest mistake," I whisper, sounding unsteady even to my own ears.

Elio's lips hover over mine. Despite myself, my eyes flutter shut, my breath hitches, and my heart races. It's a wonder how my knees haven't given out yet. My hold weakens on the burner as my other hand reaches out to the closest rack of the library shelves behind me and I tightly hold on to it.

The tip of the firearm trails down my neck, leaving a stream of goosebumps in its wake until it stops over my heart. His fingers unfurl from around my wrist and latch onto the small of my back, electrifying my senses as he presses our bodies even closer together.

His hot breath fans over my face, tingling my skin, making every inch of me crave him. My lips yearn to feel his in such fervor I've never experienced before.

I sense the ghost of his lips over mine.

The phone slips from my hand and clanks to the floor, and his arm flexes and tightens around my waist.

His lips brush mine in a feather-light touch, snatching my breath away and leaving me aching for more.

"Elio," I moan.

A deep throaty groan escapes from his parted lips and the gun falls away from atop my heart, following a light thud as he throws it onto the nearby armchair. His free hand moves to my neck, and his fingers lightly dig into the nape of my neck tilting my head further back. His lips brush over mine once more and my hand flies up to his shoulder, holding on to him.

"Your presence is a constant torture," he gruffly says.

My eyes fly open a beat before his do and before I have a grip over myself, I'm captured in his heated gaze.

"I hate you, Cerise Campbell. I hate you with all I have. I hate you so fucking much I can't think and see anything but you." His raspy voice shakes from the intensity of his words.

The way he looks deeply into my eyes set my entire being on fire. His hands tighten on me. My fingers fist his shirt.

"I hate you more, Emiliano Mariano."

"Get out."

We stay frozen though, neither of us moving an inch.

In one sudden motion, Elio lets go of me and steps back.

To my utmost mortification, I miss his touch instantaneously. But I don't need to be told twice. Without glancing back, I hurry out of the study and rush to my room.

One thing is for sure, I need a long frigid shower before I begin to analyze my situation in this mess.

❈ ☯︎ ❈

Well... that was fun to write xD

Anyway, I always write slow burn and these things kinda start happening after chapter 40ish for my main characters xD so I'm really unsure about this chapter, do you guys think I'm rushing their relationship, or is the pacing alright?

So yeah, comment your thoughts, I'd love to hear what you guys think about these two =) Vote if you enjoyed ^^

Thank you so much for reading this chapter.

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading ♡♡♡