BEAUTIFUL MONSTER

33 : Jealousy

The first thing that registered in my mind was the sharply pressed black suit. The second thing was his height. I felt my jaw slacken as my eyes slowly travelled up, and up, to his face. His hair was dark and very, very short; to the point of being small bristles. He had sly, narrowed black eyes with gold swirls that made his gaze seem sultry, and his eyes exotic. His sharp jawline was messy with facial hair and when he smiled, I was almost blinded by his shining, white teeth. The suit hugged his large figure, he was by no means fat, but large muscle-wise. His shoulders and back were broad and he naturally leaned forward slightly as if he was going to pounce at any given moment.

Lean, swift and agile; like a panther. I thought silently in my head.

He commanded attention, authority blew off him but I mostly felt intimidated. I felt myself take a sharp intake of breath as I stared at him.

"I feel an introduction is in order," Maximal spoke after a long, tense silence. He walked forward, holding each of our gazes' with confidence. "Which one of you is Orion?"

Almost automatically, everyone looked at Orion who stepped forward.

"I must remind you that you have two nights left to give me what I want." Maximal's hidden warning was very clear, and his eyes were slanted, carefully analysing Orion from head to toe.

"I don't have what you want." Orion defended himself, glaring.

"Oh?" Maximal plucked the notebook from Orion, flipping through it with an uninterested expression before flinging it away with anger. What happened next only took a few seconds and if I had blinked I would've missed it. With a loud thump, Maximal had Orion on the floor with his hand digging into his throat. Maximal hissed menacingly, his fingers drawing blood. "Don't play games with me, you'll never win. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes," Orion spat with difficulty, his face portraying a look of hatred and rage. Maximal released him, standing up quickly.

I faintly heard Orion mutter. "Bastard,"

Maximal looked at us calmly, brushing himself off. "Don't tempt me to use violence and I will never hurt you."

I felt my hands go slick with sweat and my heart beat faster, especially when Maximal locked gazes with me. His eyes were cunning and sinister with an edge that showed me he was in control. "Who are you?" He demanded, and my words tripped on my tongue as I answered.

"Um," I swallowed, feeling the waves of powerful aura billow off him and hit me. "Beatrice,"

He walked forward and Ajax and Orion moved to stand in front of me. Maximal raised an eyebrow, a sneer coating his lips. "Oh? You do realise I can kill the two of you right now, don't you?"

"Yeah," Orion shrugged, looking at Ajax. "But we'll give you a heck of a fight."

"Is that so?"

Ajax nodded, flipping his sword with speed. "That's right, Maximal. And you do realise as we speak reinforcement are coming? Hundreds of them."

"Not to mention my suckers, they're pesky little things but they pretty much do whatever the hell I ask them to. I'm sure they won't be pleased once they see what you've done to my neck."

Maximal paused, and then he had vanished.

"Where the hell did he go?" I blurted out.

"I guess he chickened -" Orion turned to me, a disbelieving half-smile on his lips before his eyes widened with horror and he shouted. "Behind you!"

It was too late for me to react. I felt intense heat on my back, and I soon realised it was Maximal's chest as he placed a rough hand on my neck. His deep voice vibrated through his hard chest and I froze as raw terror streaked through me. "Threatening me isn't a wise move."