OFF-LIMITS

13.

Chapter thirteen | Layla
"Nash! Hi...yes yes I'm totally fine..No I didn't get kidnapped....okay okay..I'll try." I babble on the phone with my brother trying to reassure him since he hasn't stopped calling for the last hour.

Adrian stares at me from across the window as he walks towards the pool, and it seems like whatever I was going to say gets caught in my throat, because holy...fuck, I mean yes, I saw his body before, but...he's just so gorgeous, I can't help shivering at the view of his half-nakedness, the bulging muscles, and the tattoos, those damn tattoos, The shorts hang low on his hips over a defined V-line that leaves nothing to the imagination.

A smirk pulls at the corner of his lips as heat rises across my cheeks and neck, I turn away just as I hear the sound of heels approaching me, "miss." a woman startles me, literally, "you scared me." I say my eyes bulging, she smiles tightly, it's the first time I've seen her, well considering that I've been here for just twenty-four hours or even less, I'm sure there are lots of surprises here, it's Adrian's house after all.

She's beautiful, her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders in waves, and her features shining under the sunlight, "I'm Reina, and Mr. Adrian ordered me to look after you all the time." She says softly but her expression is sharp, a wave of confusion hits me before she speaks again, explaining further.

"Look after me? How?" I ask my brows furrowing, I'm not a fucking kid, "get you anything you need when he's not here, that sort of stuff" she says sweetly and I smile at her, putting in my mind that I'll ask Adrian about that later, I'm not staying with him, I'm leaving today.

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"No Layla." He says staring hard at me, glaring even, "I need to do this, you can't just lock me here." I say frustration clear in my voice, he runs a hand through his hair, "Jesus, I'm not locking you, but what you want to do is fucking stupid." He says, his cheeks sharpening and jaw clenching, "I need to talk to him...I'm not taking him back Adrian." I say and he looks up at me, his expression softening, "he'll hurt you." He says quietly, "he won't, he's not stupid." I say.

"I'm coming with you," he says, as a matter of fact, not even giving me space to argue, "okay fine." I hiss under my breath and he raises a brow, "and after you're done with him, we have somewhere to go to." He says and my brows shoot up, "what? Where?" I ask confused, "uh...just the same you know gathering?" He says but it comes out as a question for some reason, "with Nash and Octavia you mean?" I ask raising a brow.

He nods, "yeah, Victoria and Nikolai will be there too." He says and a smile spreads on my face, but then it falls remembering that the whole conversation will probably be about me, considering that Damien snitched on me and told Nash that I was with Adrian, well if he thought that would piss my brother off, then he definitely didn't know him.

I know for sure that Nash trusts Adrian hundred times more than Damien, "what time will it be?" I ask, "it's around eight, so we still have ten hours." He says checking his phone, it's 11:06, I want to sleep, "Layla?" He asks pulling me back to reality, "yeah?" I reply.

"Come on let's eat." He says and panic immediately rushed through my veins, my stomach growls in response and I cover my face, embarrassment washing over me, he smiles and my heartbeats pick up like they always do, "I think I got the answer I need." He says as he raises a brow motioning for me to stand up but I stay still, not moving an inch.

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"So? What do you want to eat?" Adrian asks as he searches for something in the kitchen's drawer, I think his kitchen is the same size as two rooms in my house, yes my family is rich, but Adrian is a fucking millionaire, after a couple of persuading I finally got up and walked with him, thinking about eating itself makes me want to cry, so I just shrug my shoulder "anything, I don't mind." I say then my brows furrow.

"Wait, are you going to cook?" I ask my eyes widening, a smirk pulls on his lips, as he grabs the pan and cocks his head a little, "yes, darling." He says, "you know how to cook?" I ask surprised and impressed at the same time, "yes but that's just breakfast, darling it won't take any effort." He replies, "since when??" I ask, excitement rushing to my veins, "since I was a kid, I used to cook for my family." He says turning away from me as he lights up the oven.

My brows shoot up, "wow, um I...I kind of suck at cooking." I say honestly, grimacing, he throws his head back and chuckles, the sound deep and mesmerizing, "yeah I know, Nash informed me of this." He says and I twitch my lips, "well I'm not that bad, he's just overreacting." I say, heat rising to my cheeks, "no need to be embarrassed, sweetheart." He says still smiling.

I roll my eyes in an attempt to make myself seem confident, his smile just widens as he opens the fridge, "well? Pancakes or eggs?" He asks raising a brow, "anything." I say swallowing the knot forming in my throat, his expression falls a little, "Layla." He says, "it's okay, pancakes it's." I say not wanting to shift the air between us.

He stares at me for a second before nodding, "I want to ask you something." He says suddenly, I clear my throat not sure if I want to know what is about to be said, so I just nod not trusting myself to talk, "the night you were kidnapped, I know you told me some of it but—I need details, remember anything?" He says and I nod, trying to recall anything that happened.

By the time I tell him everything that happened, the pancakes are already done, he places three of them on my plate and one on his, "Woah, I think you should take one from here, I'm not that hungry." I say trying to sound convincing, he raises a bro, "eat." He says while dropping the pan in the sink.

I grab the fork, digging it into the pancakes, I stare at it for a beat before taking a bite, the sugary taste hitting the back of my throat, it tastes so fucking good, it's been a while since I ate pancakes—or anything of that matter, I sigh and look up at him, anxiety and panic rushing through my veins "it's okay." He says softly and my lips part a little, sucking in a breath.

I drop the fork, regret washing over me for a second, I try to think of anything else to talk about, distracting myself, "you know my birthday is coming up." I suddenly say he smiles a little, "yeah darling I know." He says so confidently I can't help but ask "when is it then?" I raise a brow, "22/4, next week Layla, Wednesday." He says and my lips part, I thought he was just messing around, Jesus.

Then slowly a smile spreads on my face, Adrian stands up and sits down beside me, "what are you doing?" I ask when he pulls my plate closer to him, he doesn't answer me as he grabs the fork and looks at me for a moment, "open your mouth for me, darling." He says and I swallow, my lips parting automatically, he guides the fork inside my mouth and some syrup drips down my lips.

I chew on it, as his thumb comes up brushing the syrup away, then he slowly licks it and the movement itself causes shivers to cascade down my body as heat rises to my cheeks, I'm totally fucked, totally.

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