Chapter 6- Hera

It takes me a second to realize that he just rejected me. I think. But as he bounds across the Persian rug, headed for my open door, I snap out of my trance, a little annoyed, very embarrassed. "Where are you going, Blaze?"

"I just need some air. I'll be right back."

What?

My shame only peaks. "Do you want me to come with you?"

His gaze roves my body, from head to toes, lingering on my black lace set. "No!"

The force in the two letters gives me pause. "No?"

"I meant that you would catch a cold. Stay here." And then he disappears.

In the silence that follows, I dive for the queen-sized bed in the center of the room and plop over it. But before I can begin to wallow in my suffering, the phone I had dumped there earlier buzzes beside me. I pick it up, going through the texts Astrid sent in the last two minutes.

Ultra-viole(n)t: "Well go right ahead and penetrate me, sir." In fact, why didn't you ask him to thrust deeply inside your dripping Jade Palace or something?

As for that angry vibration when I asked Blaze to penetrate me:

Ultra-viole(n)t: Hera!

I imagine her yelling it like a war cry. She will be justified to. I just traumatized somebody's son.

And now:

Ultra-viole(n)t: Hera, what's going on there? I need information!

Miss Dangereuse: Well, Blaze just ran from my bedroom like I am the succubus sent from hell after him.

While my description is colourful, it is at its core, true. I am not usually pessimistic- more a realist than anything else- but a part of me knew it would end up like this.

Ultra-viole(n)t: I'm really sorry, Hera. Maybe he felt overwhelmed.

Miss Dangereux: I found his hardness overwhelming. I did not run.

As soon as the text goes from Unread to Read, my phone vibrates with a call. I pick up and Astrid's first words are: "Blaze was hard for you?"

I shake my head even though she cannot see me. I definitely know what she is driving at and I do not like it. "Astrid-"

"Success! This proves that he is attracted to you!" She must have finished her pack of peanuts. Her voice is no longer muffled or interrupted by chewing sounds. "You need to take things to the next level."

"I am doing no such thing."

"Hera…!" She whines.

"Do you have any idea what I went through in the last ten minutes?" At this point, I just want to fall asleep. "I nearly passed out from shame!"

"Still-"

"I am going to get Blaze, apologize, and ask him to leave," I maintain. "He has been through enough already at my hands."

And that is what I do. But after leaving my bedroom in search of him, yelling out his name and dialing his phone number, I am met with heavy silence. Finally, I step out to the porch, circle the property twice and call his line a few more times, with the same result.

As I stand in the biting cold, rubbing my palms over my goosebump-covered arms, I wonder where he could have gone; if he had headed home without telling me- even though that would definitely be rude.

Assuming he headed home… that is.

A creeping feeling descends on me as I rationalize other possibilities. What if he was kidnapped? Or attacked by some wild animal? It is pretty late out and the woods spread around my house, while an easy shortcut to town, do have predators. Like the wolves howling in the distance now. Immediately, I step out of the lit cocoon of my porch and head for the gates, praying under my breath that Blaze does not end up being carnivore feast tonight.

I reach the wrought iron rails and my courage dwindles, because while there are several lamps here, the woods across the asphalt have no source of light. The moon overhead has hidden itself behind a blue-grey cloud... Yet something tells me that even if it hadn't, there is no way its pale brightness is penetrating the dense vegetation.

But I do not let this stop me. I take a few steps forward, feet slapping on the tarred, winding road and cross to the green just beyond. It is silent and dark and feels every bit like a jungle from out of a movie. I turn on the flashlight on my phone as I head deeper inside and see that the dirt is lined with fallen leaves, twigs and odd little items, as well as a few toads, sitting motionlessly, keeping their camouflage. I call out to Blaze a few times as I advance, apologizing, so that when I finally find him, he is well on his way to forgiving me.

"Blaze? Are you in here? I am sorry for making you uncomfortable." Among other things. "Please, come out."

The rustling sound of dried leaves being crushed under a boot has me freezing in place. And while my heart leaps for my throat, all the little hairs on my body are standing on end like a cat reacting to water or a vampire to sunlight.

Because there is someone in the distance watching me. His silhouette almost blends in with the darkness yet he still manages to stand out. And that frame? I recognize it from this morning. This proves two things: I definitely have a stalker on my hands, and it is not Blaze.

As a matter of fact, I do not know where Blaze is.

As for the hooded figure… he does not even need to advance before my feet move back of their own accord, schooled in the art of self-preservation. And as they do, my gaze goes to them, then slowly climbs up my bare calves, thighs, and torso. I realize that I am still wearing my ridiculous, overpriced black lace lingerie. In the woods. With a stalker close by.

I run at once, wiping at leaves and bushes, snapping twigs under my feet. While there is no movement behind me, I do not stop until I reach the familiar stone fence that goes around the house. I breathe a sigh, slip inside the premises and shut the gates.

When I am inside the mansion, I lock all the doors and windows. I then try Blaze's number a few times before collapsing on my bed from exhaustion.