Bound to You

Chapter 15: Breakfast

Saturday

As she was showering, she could see his classy accessories. She just realized that she slept in his room and God, what a good sleep she had had. She held his cologne, looked at the ridiculous waterproof price tag on it and put it back on the shelf. No wonder he always smelt divine with a price like that. 

She turned off the shower after twenty minutes and stepped out. She looked at the bathrobe that was hanging on a hook, thought about his naked state that had been in there and then decided it was probably not a good idea using that. She searched for a towel in the cupboard, wrapped herself in it and made her way to the bedroom. 

The door knocked once and Ileana peeped inside, "Sierra? I'm coming in. You feeling better?" 

"Amazing even. The bed is so comfy. It's memory foam!" 

She walked inside and placed a few clothes on the bed, "I know right? I could stay here forever! Here's your clothes. Brought them last night." 

Sierra stared at the short dress in surprise and cleared her voice, "Ahem, can't I have my jeans instead?" 

Ileana smiled apologetically, "Haha, sorry. Didn't take em. They're so heavy and I was so worried last night, I grabbed the first thing I saw. Guess you'll have to make do with this one." 

"Okay...it's not that bad."

Ileana walked out, giggling as she recalled Sierra's face expression. Really. How could she not? That dress was really something... She spotted Jace talking over the phone on the balcony and she went to him. She never really thanked him for showing her that magical fountain last night...even though she hated that it was in a maze. 

As she trespassed the balcony, he turned a little, acknowledging her presence and resumed talking, "—Sounds lit... Haha, you'll hook up with the chicks? You? I want to see that. Oh, you don't want to challenge me, dumbass. Nah, not her... She's the shy type. Tsk, so this is another bet? What do you even see in her? You're boring the hell out of me. Fine. See you tonight then. Yeps." 

He ended the call, smiling as he realized what a crazy mess he was. Ileana asked, taking a look at the view, "You planning to go somewhere?" "Am I?" "Seems you are. Um, your dad says nothing about it? How can he just let you go anywhere you want?" 

He laughed as he found her pensive, "Oh my dad was probably far worse than I am." He shifted, "I'll ask the gentle way. How about you come with me?" 

"Where to? You're probably up to no good." She was so frank. He approached her, "How can you tell? You're quick at judging, hm?" He abruptly pressed his hands at her side, trapping her against his body and the railing. 

She gulped, a little fazed, feeling his hot breath brushing  her forehead, "No, I'm not!" She felt hot suddenly, felt invaded. It was as if she was held captive by his tall figure. She tentatively pressed her hands against his chest to push him but he was surprisingly unmoving. 

He chuckled at her helplessness, "Just look at you." 

She defiantly looked into his mocking blue eyes and said, "No, look at you! I thought you were better than this."

He feigned being hurt, "Ouch. Very mean of you to judge me again, princess." He raised his hand, snatching the crystal necklace from her neck in a quick tug and he haughtily said, "You won't get it till you don't wear a sexy dress for me tonight. We're going somewhere." 

"Hey, give it back! You're mad!" She jumped to retrieve it but in vain. Why was he so tall? He laughed, tossing it in the air and catching it again, "You heard me." He kept it in his jeans pocket and smiled, "Shall we go and have breakfast?" 

"You're despicable! Give it back, i***t! It's mine!" He kept laughing to himself as he casually walked back inside. It was so much fun teasing her. She grumbled, "Duh, fine. You keep it. It holds no value to me anyway." 

"How I believe you..." There was sarcasm at the pinnacle in his voice and he was probably right. She did love that little red crystal. She worked so hard at the arcade to win all those tickets after all! He was mad to think that she'd just go anywhere with him just to get it back.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sierra walked outside only to hear Jace grumbling, "If you're going to take so much time, I'll just go to a coffee shop." 

James responded from the kitchen, even more annoyed, "I'm not used to cook for more than two people, you little pest!" 

Jace noticed Sierra and he instantly whispered to Ileana in a chuckle, "Darn, this sure hell is going to make fireworks. My dad won't resist that!" Ileana gritted. Maybe that dress was a little bit too sexy.

Sierra leaned against the wall, her arms crossed as she watched him, "It's alright, Mr Torres. Ileana and I were heading to the coffee shop anyway." 

"Enough with your coffee shop." James grumbled as he was making pancakes with one hand and frying eggs with the other. Did he also work on Saturdays? Sierra thought she'd get to see him in casual clothes but he was wearing a suit. 

With a heavy sigh, she gently held his wrist, took the ladle from him and said, "I'll make the pancakes." 

He arrogantly said, "I'm doing well on my own." "And that's why half of them are burnt?" "That's... a special recipe, you uncultured woman." "I assure you they're burnt!" 

Jace and Ileana laughed as they peeped to watch these two. He took out his iPhone to shoot the moment. Women would hate to see that on social media.  They sneaked away towards the living room.

For a few minutes, they spoke of nothing. Standing side by side before the gas oven, they focused on their respective pans. Her shoulder brushed against his arm as she moved and he slowly glanced at her. 

He stared. What kind of provocative dress that was? Black. Short. Tight-fitting, emphasizing her curves. And yet elegant. He held his breath. 

She raised her hand to push back a few strands of her hair and frowned as she stared at the little that remained of the pancake batter, "Did you put enough sugar?" 

"Just taste it." 

She gave him a disapproving look and he just shrugged, switching the oven off. She ran her finger into the cream and he suddenly approached her, leaving everything to hold her wrist and bring her hand towards his mouth. 

She inhaled sharply as he slowly licked the cream off her finger, "What are you..." "Delicious." 

She bit her lips, confused. His mouth was so hot. Her hand if not her whole body actually trembled. Again this sensation she couldn't ignore. She knew what was coming and in all the things that could be done, she froze.

He pulled back slowly, leaving her wanting more, letting her linger on the wild thoughts that just rushed through her mind. He eyed her, "Fancy wearing indecent dresses like this. I thought you knew better than to seduce me, Ms Danvers." 

"What?" 

He snapped his fingers before her face, breaking her trance, "You might not be so different from certain annoying women after all. Dressing up to seduce and please." 

She scowled as he just ruined her secret internal excitement, "Do you think I want to do that? No wait, I honestly don't care about your thoughts, Torres." 

She raised her chin defiantly, ignoring his inquisitive look and stormed out of the kitchen.

After a few minutes, James carried the plates to the table where the teenagers were already seated and Jace stretched himself, "Finally, I'm starving!" Scrambled eggs, pancakes, coffee and watermelon. He poured maple syrup over his pancake and devoured it. 

Ileana commented appreciatively, "Looks good, sir. Thank you." He smiled, "You're welcome."

James could see Sierra speaking over the phone, giving a disinterested look towards him. He ate the whole of a slice of watermelon before her and she rolled her eyes, before turning her back to him. She looked like she couldn't wait to get out of here. And here he was, putting up a good attitude.

She could still feel the heat on her finger. That i***t. She called up her usual taxi driver. There was somewhere she and Ileana really needed to go. When she ended the call, she noticed the red bar in the battery icon of her phone. Almost dead. 

James walked up to her, handling her a cup of coffee and questioned, "Where are you going?" 

She gladly took the cup from him and lied, "Home. Where else?" He looked serious right now. His appeal demanded complete attention and she took a sip, waiting for him to say something. "I need a minute with you, Sierra." "Um..." 

She began and he interrupted, raising his hand to silence her, "One minute is all I ask." She followed him outside and took a seat opposite him on one of the seats found on the porch's deck. 

"We need to—" 

"Set the timer." 

He found a private smile forming on the corner of her lips as she lifted the cup of coffee to take a sip. He was annoyed. He quickly took out his phone, set the timer to one minute and she watched him so that he couldn't trick anything. "One minute. Here we go. Okay...we need to finalize the details about our engagement." 

She calmly responded, directing her gaze to the skyscrapers instead, "For the very last time, I do not consent to this." 

"Doesn't money motivate you, Danvers?" 

She eyed him, not finding the point there, "Like everyone else, to some extent, yes." 

He shifted, "Nice... Get engage to me. What's your quotation?" 

She stared at him in disgust, slamming her cup of coffee on the low table before them, "I'm not that kind of person, Mr Torres. It's a no and nothing will change my mind." 

He chuckled, leaning back and raising his right foot to rest it on his left knee, "Think about a six figure number and tell yourself what you can do with all that cash. You're a maths teacher. You know it's worth it." 

"With all due respect, you don't know what's worth for me and what's not." 

"I'll give you time to think about it. I want an answer by 7 p.m." 

"You won't get it..." 

"We never know." 

She stood, irritated, "I don't want to be involved with you in any way." "You'll have to." 

"You...ugh, forget it. I've had enough of this senseless masquerade." 

"It's about to get crazy, Sierra..." She was surprised to see that devious look on his face. It made her think of things she shouldn't and before she could let him see the blush that crept on her cheeks, she stood, excused herself and the timer went off in an alarming tone. 

James sighed as he enjoyed the fresh air of the morning for a moment. She was really stubborn. Had there been someone else in her place, they'd have instantly accepted his offer.

Sierra waved her hand dismissively at James and walked back inside, "Shall we, Ileana?" 

Ileana was puzzled for a second, sensing Sierra's urging tone and she stood, "Er, yes! Let's go. See you, Jace." 

He quickly held her wrist and whispered as he pulled her slightly to him, "Tonight. 8 p.m." He showed her the red crystal and she leaned over him to snatch it but he was faster than her. 

She clenched her teeth, "You'll pay for that! I won't come." "And I'll come to fetch you." She shook her head, "Don't bother." 

He waved at her as she hurried off to Sierra who then nodded towards him. Geez... she looked bothered and furious. Things seemed to have heated up outside.

And once the girls were gone, Jace exasperatedly said, "Can you not ruin anything for once?! She's worth keeping." 

James looked at him as if he was mad and then slammed his fists on the table, "Who the hell wants to keep someone like Sierra Danvers?" He found irony in his own words. He needed her to save his business and that was all. Not more. 

Jace chuckled, "Tell me the last time a woman got you on your nerves." 

He sighed hysterically, lowered his head, thinking deeply. Jace stood and ruffled his father's hair out of pity, "Even my mother never brought the beast out of you." 

James coldly asked, pushing his hand away as the boy messed with his hairstyle, "What does a ruthless eighteen-year-old know?" 

"I might be the only person who knows you that well, dad...and soon when I'll leave, I need to ensure myself someone will know you even more than I do." 

He stared at Jace, realizing that this was the most sensible thing he ever said. He then laughed heartily, "God, you have grown mature I see." 

He was annoyed he wasn't taking him seriously, "You think it's funny, eh?" 

"I think my case is closed and hopeless and it's better this way. I don't need any sort of distraction. It's important I keep my focus on work." 

Jace grimaced. Why the hell did he not understand that there were other things in life other than his stupid office?! His father held his shoulder firmly before heading to his study. 

He would never cease to admire this man. Damn, he was basically one of the most powerful guys in this city with the empire he had built and yet he was just lonely. Darn it. He had hoped that Sierra could...make things interesting but it seemed he was all wrong. 

He knew his father might be faintly interested in her. He saw the obvious sparks between them during the school visit and yet...he thought, he might be dreaming. He cared too much for his father when the latter didn't even give a damn about himself. 

The problem was that his father's top priority was work and he never allowed time for himself. No wonder his mother couldn't keep up with him. His phone vibrated in his pocket and took it out to find he just got a message from the woman herself.