Chapter 7

Marissa

Back at the mansion Luca takes me back to my room, while Antonio leaves again with the car. “If you want you can use the gym? Or you can use the indoor pool if you want to swim?” Luca says as he stops outside of my room. Even if Luca only says a few short words and he mostly wears an indifferent expression on his handsome face, there is some sort of warmth coming from him.

I give him a small smile. “The pool would be nice.”

“If you collect your bathing suit I can take you there. There is a changing room there.” He smiles back at me.

“Okay.” I open the door to my room but stop in my tracks from the shock of what I see. Luca is as fast as lightning as he jerks me back and takes my place in the doorway to assess any danger that could be there. His hand is circled around the gun in his holster and his body rigid and ready for combat. When he sees the situation in my room, he relaxes and steps away from the door. I peek inside again to see two young maids staring at the door with a fear in their eyes.

“We are sorry, Miss Mason. We thought that we would have enough time to unpack before you arrived back home. We can continue later if we are an inconvenience.” One of the maids says as her eyes flicker back and forth between me and Luca.

“No. That’s okay. I didn’t know that there was anyone in the room.” I look at Luca, who looks back at me and I give him a reassuring smile. He steps further back and I make my way into my room and close the door behind me.

The maid that spoke hurries over to me with the other maid dragging behind. “I am Alessia and this is my sister, Nicola.” She gives me a warm smile. “We mostly do the cleaning and making sure that your room is spotless. If there is anything that you need help with you can always call us on number six. There is always a servant that answers and you can ask for the one you need. Since Nicola and I are the maids appointed to you I am sure we will see each other a lot.” Alessia is bubbling with excitement. Nicola gives me a shy smile behind Alessia’s back.

“It is nice to meet you.” I say and try to give Alessia and Nicola a smile that doesn’t show my pain. But obviously I fail as Alessia’s face falls.

“We do not know of your situation except that you might have a hard time. Mrs. Costas says that it is not our place to know more. But please know this, Miss Mason. Me and Nicola will always be glad to be of service to you, whatever you need.” She takes my hand and gives me a squeeze and my eyes fill up with tears. I only nod in reply. “Is there something that we can help you with right now?” Alessia says and changes her tone to light and happy again.

I take a deep breath to regain control over my emotions and give her a sad smile. “Yeah. Luca is taking me to the pool so I need a bathing suit.”

Alessia gives me a smile and hurries into the walk-in-closet to retrieve the bathing suits that I bought today. She comes out and holds up a one-piece and a very revealing two piece. I blush at the thought to wear that one. It was Antonio that chose the two piece bikini, if you can even call it a bikini. It is so little fabric I will be almost naked if I wear it. I point at the one piece instead.

Alessia grins at me. “Yeah. That might be a better option. I don’t think Mr. Falaguerra would be happy if you wore the other one without him present.” My blush deepens as I accept the one piece. “Have a nice time at the pool.” Alessia says and then returns to unpacking my things.

Luca leads me to a small elevator next to the stairs and we ride it down to the pool area. The pool is large and there are lounge chairs placed around the room. One of the walls is all windows that can open out to a patio and the outdoor pool in the backyard.

“The changing rooms are this way.” Luca says and gestures to my right. I follow him to the door and he waits outside while I change into my bathing suit. The changing room is as beautiful as the rest of the house with its white tiles on the walls and shiny appliances. The floor is not marble like my bathroom but dark gray tiles. Even without the marble the room feels fresh and luxurious. There is a large shower and a separate door for a toilet. When I exit the room Luca is lounging in a chair with a magazine in his hands. He looks up at me when I exit but then quickly returns his gaze to the magazine.

I dip my toes into the water to feel the temperature. It is cool but not too cold. “There is a thermometer in the corner.” I look at Luca and he points at the far right corner. Going over there I see that the temperature is seventy one fahrenheit. “He keeps it pretty low because he likes to swim and doesn't want to get too warm. The outside pool is usually warmer, but it is only used in the summer.”

“Okay.” I say and then make my way to the poolside. Seven feet, six inches. The depth is written on the side. I dive in and start to swim up and down the pool. I reveil in the feeling of the cool water flowing along my body as I slice through it. When I feel too tired to swim more I start to play on the more shallow part of the pool. I stand on my hands, do somersaults and hold my breath for as long as I can. Just enjoying the stillness and silence of the water. When I get tired of that, I float.

I don’t know how long I have been floating when suddenly something touches my back. I scream out in panic and try to launch myself away from the foregin object, but a hand clasps around my arm and a deep chuckle reaches my ears.

With wide eyes my gaze lands on Mr. Falaguerra. He pulls me closer and wraps his arms around my waist. “Did I scare you?” He chuckles and leans in to gently brush his lips against mine. I don’t resist him but my stomach is churning with uncomfort. But at the same time there is a tingling in my core from his close proximity. I feel frustrated about my mixed emotions of disgust and lust. He leans back and looks down at me with a pleased smile on his lips. “Do you like to swim?”

“Yes.” I answer with a low murmur and he chuckles. I look up at him through my lashes. The easy smile on his lips relaxes his face and his dark eyes are shining with happiness and contentment. Like this you can imagine that he is a normal and kind man.

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