The Story of Blood and Roses

"Tell me you want this."

His lips were right there, not pressing, but barely brushing against mine. His breath against my lips felt divine, the vibration of his words against my skin drove me crazy. I closed my eyes again, inhaling his scent and in that very instant, the decision was made.

"No." I could barely believe myself as the words came out from my lips. I had been 'this' much closer to win him, but I pulled back. I couldn't look into his eyes as I took a few hurried steps backward. My hands trembled as I moved away. My lips felt cold without the warmth of his breath, but that wasn't all.

When I looked up to his eyes, I could see the confusion in them even as the bright lights assaulted my eyes. I shook my head once, just to make sure that my intentions were clear and turned back to leave.

"You can't just leave like that!" His harsh words were low and rushed. I looked over my shoulder at him and just shrugged. I wasn't sure that I could speak.

His hands were on my shoulder in an instant.

"You can't leave like that." He was calmer now; the harshness in his words was gone, but his words now resembled a command.

Just like that, he had snapped the intensity of our exchange. The need for his touch was gone. His words brought back the bitterness that had been hiding behind the curtains and unleashed in full force. I didn't wait for him to speak any further, knowing that he would try his best to lure me back to him. I slapped away the hand he had placed on my shoulder and stomped away from the dance floor.

The seat I was previously occupying was taken up by a middle-aged man with blonde hair. He turned towards me as I ordered the bartender another drink and smiled politely. For some odd reason, he rose from the stool and walked away.

I took the seat anyway and stared around the club once again to see the crowd. The crowd was smaller now. People moved lazily around each other. Most of them were either too drunk or too busy kissing or groping their partners. It was amusing, to say the least until I realized that I was an active member of the latter just moments ago.

'Shame on me!'

My eyes furrowed as I sipped the drink and wondered why exactly I had pulled back.

I admit that the decision was instantaneous, but I must have had some reason to pull back. Now that I thought about it, it must have been Daisy's words that had subconsciously enforced my decision. What had she said again?

'A good mystery never reveals the story in the first few pages... the urge to know keeps us from putting the book down.'

So I'm going to have to keep him on his toes.

I sound like a stalker, I thought to myself with a frown. But Daisy's words were clear in their meaning. Leave them hints of what is to come, but not enough to show them the ending.

I'm pretty sure that Daisy had tried to talk me out of using my body to get through this mission, but I'd only twisted her words... a little.

But was the trick going to work on Anthony? He was notorious and smart. He wouldn't let me win these games. He was an older, confident man who knew what he was doing. He could handle women as artistically as he handled the gun. He knew how to push people's buttons and keep them guessing. He was a sinner with extremely manipulative thoughts that added to his appeal.

Men like him are usually charismatic. That's why women fall in love with the so-called 'bad boys'. The only difference is these mobsters aren't just bad, they are monsters that feed on the pain of others. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to fall in love with him because I knew who he was, but I would lust after him. The connection we shared on the dance floor was just a glimpse of how good we could be together. He knew that the moment he held that gun against my throat the first day.

I didn't know if he had killed my mother or not, but I did know that I had been assigned the task of finding valuable information about his mob family, and I would try my best. The bigger and more important question would be if he knew what I was up to. I wanted to trust Daisy, but Anthony had been in the game for longer than her, and he knew all the dirty tricks and loopholes.

"You are a good dancer," the bartender said. I smiled at him, unsure of what I was supposed to say to that.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was that?" His voice filled with amusement as he spoke the words. I raised an eyebrow at him. "You know... your dance partner and you..." he probed.

"Aren't you a little too nosey to be a bartender?" I smirked, knowing full well that he hated to be called a 'bartender'.

"Call me Rob," he said with a laugh. "I have to admit, everyone had a good time watching you!" He winked.

'He winked!'

I gave out a loud laugh, and he joined me. "It was quite a show, wasn't it?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

"I've never seen the boss dance like that! If he was in a foul mood earlier, he is going to be furious now! You just walked away."

"You're too talkative for your own good." I rolled my eyes at his fascination with his boss dancing with me.

"That's what we do. We talk to our customers and sweet talk them into leaving us handsome tips." His eyes glittered with amusement as I pulled out some cash and bent over the bar to tuck it in his breast pocket.

"There you go," I said, satisfied with myself. "You've accomplished the task of receiving a handsome tip from me." I took a turn to wink at him. It didn't seem to affect him.

'He must have dozens of women asking him out in their drunken glory'.

"Uh..." He seemed nervous all of a sudden. "I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but I don't think that you want to turn around." Curiosity got the better of me and I turned around, ignoring Rob's protests.

There were very few people left on the dance floor. At one corner of it was Anthony dancing his ass off with some red haired chick.

Cienna.

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