The Devil's Guardian Angel.

Chapter 9: An Ounce of hope

Chapter 9: An ounce of hope.

" I've handed out a lot of contracts in my life and no one and I mean, no one... Has ever gotten out of it so easily, so don't start hoping you'd be the first " She sneered." Not until you give me what I want that is" She said, her voice dripping with seduction, her body pressed against his, her heat and scent enveloping him, making his head spin. He felt a jolt of desire, his body responding to her proximity, but honestly his heart racing not from desire but actual nervousness.

If people where to know that the once unbeatable Angel of fortune was now no different than a nervous fawn facing a hungry wolf, one could only imagine the amount of shock and disbelief they'd feel.

Just when Antonio was thinking that things were about to get worse, To his relief, Natasha pulled back, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "I hope you enjoyed your little illusion of freedom," she said, her voice husky and seductive. "Because that's all it was, an illusion."

As she turned and walked away, To his surprise, Antonio suddenly felt a pang of disappointment, his body still reeling from the intensity of their encounter. He propped his upper body up while he sat on the floor as he watched her go, his eyes fixed on her retreating back, His racing heart slowly calmed down.

_This..._ He felt like saying something yet no words came out, instead he remained silent instead. That brief encounter with Natasha seemed to have left a vague shadow in his mind, Although he hated to admit it, he found himself actually wishing she had gone ahead instead of stopping out of the blue.

_What am I thinking‽, Could it be that I've actually forgotten the taste of a woman due to several months of isolation?_

He clenched his fists as he stood there absorbed in the silence of the vast hall yet he still couldn't shake the feeling that Natasha was hiding something from him, that there was more to her than met the eye. And as he recalled their entanglement, he saw a glimmer of something in her eyes, something that looked almost like... desire with a hint of...

Obsession?...

_Wait, that can't be right, We just meet this evening?_

_Maybe I was just imagining it..._ He shook his head, dismissing the thought the next moment.

---

Meanwhile....

As Natasha walked away down a hallway, she felt a rush of excitement, her body still reeling from the intensity of their encounter. She couldn't believe how close they had come, how much she had wanted to kiss him, to touch him, to claim him as her own.

She felt a flush rise to her cheeks as she thought about it, her body still humming with desire. She couldn't let him see this side of her, she couldn't let him know how much she wanted him. She had to keep her cool, Natasha decided to keep him at arm's length for now at least.

_Fortunately I was able to hold back..., if I had done anything, I'm sure darling would've been mad.._ She let out a deep breath which was a testament to how exhausted she felt at the moment, Just standing so close to him was enough torment for her already, not to mention when she was actually pinning him down beneath her.

Just the thought of it caused her face to redden like a bright tomato, her cheeks blushing profusely like a love struck damsel.

_I just can't let him see this side of me...., I can't afford to scare him off again like last time..._ She placed her left hand atop her chest with a pained look on her face as if recalling a hurtful memory.

_I just can't..._ She said firmly to herself as she walked away yet she still couldn't shake off the feeling that she might have revealed far more to him than she'd hoped, that she had just shown him the part of herself that she was so desperate to hide.

In the end, Her mind was so preoccupied that she completely forgot that she was actually supposed to escort him to his assigned quarters for the night.

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Meanwhile, Antonio stood in the opulent hall, glaring at the marble floors, his thoughts a mess.

It was only awhile after Natasha was gone that he realized that he was now stranded in the vast manor, with the room he was assigned to seemingly a world away, hidden by a labyrinth of twisting hallways.

He shifted impatiently, pacing about after realizing he had no clue where to go.

"Great," he muttered to himself. "First, she pins me to the floor, and now she abandons me." He smiled warily after he recalled how she had him in the palm of her hand earlier with no means to resist in the slightest.

He considered waiting, maybe she would eventually come back, but on a second thought, his pride wouldn’t let him stand idle and wait for her after what she'd just done to him, if he were to wait patiently for her, wouldn't that just give her more leverage over him, placing him in the place of her personal lap dog?.

_Thats definitely not happening..._ Antonio shook his head forcefully before falling back into thought.

After a few moments, a lightbulb seemed to flicker in his mind.

" Of course, Why didn't I think of this sooner—" He came to a realization, His handsome features beaming with satisfaction.

" I could just ask one of the staff for directions..." Antonio shook his head, laughing at his momentary lapse of common sense.

Steeling himself, he exited the hall and began walking through the manor’s corridors, his eyes scanning for any sign of life.

Having walked for a few minutes, he discovered that the place was immaculate, filled with priceless paintings which adorned the walls, and the smell of fresh lilies wafted through the air.

From his stand point, It no doubt reeked of wealth, even more than his family’s estate back when he was still in his prime. But when he accidentally recalled about how he had lost all that he had once possessed, the grandeur did nothing to improve his mood.

After several wrong turns and frustrated mutterings, Antonio finally stumbled upon someone.