His anxiety

Eleonora sat quietly on the bed, her eyes glued on Leonardo who was helping her apply ointment to her bruised skin. She knew what would come as soon as he was done treating her and she dreaded it. Despite that, she found herself taking in how truly handsome he was.

“All done,” Leonardo grinned, putting the box away. 

Eleonora gulped but remained in her position, knowing that there was no way she could get out of it. She mentally prepared herself for the pain she was about to feel.

Leonardo did not waste a second before grabbing her waist and pulling her closer to himself. She let out a gasp but quickly shut her mouth, trying not to get on his nerves. After all, if Anna-Marie was able to punish her so severely, how much more, him?

“Don't be so flustered, I'm not a beast.” He chuckled, taking in her scent as he had his face buried in her neck. Eleonora slightly cocked her head to the side, giving him the space to explore her neck and shoulders, covering them with kisses.

“You smell like vanilla, one of my favorites.” He confessed and stopped kissing her. His eyes bore into hers like he was trying to search the deepest part of her soul, while his hand slowly went up to the flimsy rope that was holding her dress up. He pulled it down, leaving her in just her underwear.

“You don't wear underwear, do you understand?” He sounded pissed off and she immediately nodded, keeping her gaze low and her heart almost beating out of her chest.

With a single swipe of his hand, her bra dropped to her wrists, allowing the handsome devil to feed his eyes. He desperately claimed her erect nipples, groaning from pleasure as he rolled his tongue around them. 

Eleonora found herself getting drawn into his world of pleasure, enjoying every touch and every sensation. It seemed like she would never learn. She knew he was going to turn violent in a couple of minutes, but she didn't care, she just loved to watch him ravage her like she was the last thing on earth.

“Oh.. God!” She moaned, taking in her lower lip and giving it a slight bite. She had no idea when her hands moved to his head, pulling him in even more. 

Leonardo slowly started to sneak his hand up her thighs, but the sudden falling of knocks on his door held him back, causing him to retreat from the delicious meal he was having. 

“Who!?” He questioned, rather upset. 

“Leo, I need to talk to you, it's urgent.” Nicholas replied from outside and Leonardo sighed. 

He moved from his position, grabbing his coat from the chair where he had kept it. He put it on and walked towards the door. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Eleonora who was struggling to get her clothes on. She was naked, her boobs dangling around as she moved. 

Leonardo rolled his eyes and continued to the door. Nicholas tried to enter but he stopped him and went outside to meet him instead. 

“Let's go to my study.” He walked ahead immediately and Nicholas followed, wondering why he didn't want to let him in the room as usual.

Eleonora left Leo's room after dressing up and went back to the maid's quarters. As soon as she got there, madam Gigi informed her that Anna-Marie wanted her to clean her quarters. 

Eleonora couldn't help but wonder why Anna-Marie had picked a sudden interest in her, but there was nothing she could do in this case because she was just a maid. She took her cleaning equipment and made her way to Anna-Marie's quarters.

“Who's there?” Anna-Marie's shrewd voice came after she placed a knock on the door.

“Eleonora, my lady.” 

“Come in.” 

Eleonora made her way inside, pushing in her bucket and mop. She was greeted by the scent of lilac which hung heavily in the air, causing her to let out a cough. Looking around, she found the room to be quite luxurious, and mostly covered in purple furniture. 

Anna-Marie was sitting on the couch, getting her nails trimmed by another maid. She scoffed at Eleonora before opening her mouth to speak.

“What are you waiting for? Clean.” She ordered and Eleonora nodded. She got to work instantly, making sure that every corner of the room was spotless, but Anna-Marie was not impressed or satisfied.

“Oops!” She grinned, kicking down a vase that was next to her, spilling the dirt and plants on the floor. Eleonora gasped, her blood beginning to boil in anger. 

“Clean that up, would you?” Anna-Marie continued to grin. 

Eleonora glared at her before moving to sweep up the scattered pieces of the vase. As soon as she bent over to pick the pieces, Anna-Marie kicked her in the side, causing her to fall over and one of the pieces pierced through her palm. She yelped out in pain, blood oozing out of her palm and dropping on the floors she had just mopped.

“Don't let your fucking blood get all over my floors!” Anna-Marie fired, dismissing the maid that was doing her nails.

“Why did you do that?” Eleonora sniffed, clutching her wrist and trying to tend to her wound. Anna-Marie walked right over and pulled her up by her hair.

“You're hurting me!” Eleonora screamed, tears gushing out of her eyes. 

Anna-Marie pulled her closer by her hair, and lowered her head to whisper something to her. 

“This is just a tip of the iceberg compared to what I have in store for you.” 

“The boss will definitely punish you for this.” Eleonora whimpered, getting on Anna-Marie's nerves. She was released but a deafening slap landed on her cheek, causing her to fall to the cold floor instantly. 

“Do you think that the boss cares about you!? He doesn't give a shit about you! He doesn't care if you live or die! If you're seriously judging his whole character because he saved you earlier today, then you don't know what's in store for you!” Anna-Marie raged, her eyes red with fury. 

“Trust me, I can kill you right here and he won't give a shit! So you better learn to watch your mouth, because I will make your life miserable.” She added and started walking towards the bathroom.

“Clean that up and get your dirty self out of my room!” She banged the door shut and Eleonora ended up weeping. Despite the pain she was feeling, she went ahead to clean the room and then rushed back to the maids quarters to get her wound treated.

~~~~~

“This better be important.” Leonardo sat in his chair, staring at Nicholas who settled in a seat opposite him. They were in his study and Nicholas seemed to be disturbed about something.

“I got off the phone with Sly a couple of minutes ago and he confirmed that Carlos is in Italy as we speak.” Nicholas explained and Leo's eyes widened. 

He tried very hard to keep calm, but his feet started to tap on the floor all of a sudden, a wave of anxiety hitting him from nowhere..

He did not like that name, not at all. If anything, he dreaded the name- Carlos Martinez.

“Are you sure?” 

“Certain boss. You know Sly would never give me wrong information,” Nicholas picked up the trinket on the desk, twirling it in his hand as he spoke.

“According to him, he was spotted in the late hours of last night, probably a few minutes before midnight, coming out of some warehouse. The rumor going round is that he's secretly plotting to ship some goods to the south tomorrow.” 

After some moments of silence, Leo finally spoke again. “Make arrangements to intercept him, I want him gone.” 

“Alright boss.” 

“Are you okay?” Nicholas noticed his heavy breathing and dilating pupils. He immediately understood and pulled a container out of the top cabinet beside him.

“Here..” he handed Leo the pills.

Leonardo swallowed two of the pills and tried to pull himself together.

“How long are you going to keep taking pills, Leo?” 

“Until it stops.” He answered.

“And if it never stops?” Nicholas raised his brow in concern. Leo remained quiet, words eluding him.