Chapter Nine- The Morning After
When I woke up the next morning Isaiah was next to me. Memories came flooding back. His hands setting me on fire, his voice saying my name. How he had so much self-control, I couldn't fathom, but he kept his word and satisfied me without being in me, no man had ever done that or brought me so much pleasure as he had.
As I looked at his sleeping figure I had a feeling course through me. I felt like comforting him, I felt the need to look after him. I found myself wanting to help him with whatever he needed. I knew there was a word for it, and it took me a minute to realize that it was compassion. I mentally shook it away. I really needed to get this mission done. He was making me feel things I didn't want to feel, things I never thought possible for me to feel. He was messing with my head without even trying.
I traced the lines of his face with my fingers. What had really made him so hard? Maybe he was telling the truth about his past, but it was doubtful. And if he was, he was leaving out a lot because nothing he told me would be harmful to the Boss. My fingers found their way to his lips. My goodness, his lips should not be so appealing or so talented. I found myself almost murderous towards the women before me who got to have these lips worshiping their bodies like they had done to me last night.
I started when I felt him kiss my fingers. "What are you thinking so hard about?" His voice was coated with sleep. I decided to be honest with him.
"I was thinking I pretty much want to kill anyone who has been with you before," he opened his eyes when I said this.
"Are you jealous?" He sounded both shocked and amused.
"Probably, but I've never felt this before, so I don't know how to accurately name it," he scooted closer to me.
"There haven't been many, if that makes you feel any better," one of his arms wrapped around my bare body as he spoke.
"From what you do and how you've talked. I find that hard to believe," although I realized it did lessen the feeling inside.
"Three or four girls, I don't remember. Occasionally someone peaks my interest, but none like you. I could tell you were different from the beginning, hence why I didn't want to jump right into bed with you."
"I have to be honest; I've been with more men than I can remember. But, I always use protection and I get checkups regularly. Does that bother you? I mean, how many people I've been with?" He rubbed his face, trying to get the sleep out of it I'm guessing.
"In a way it does. But that's in the past Delilah, and as long as you're not messing around with anyone while we have this, whatever we have going, I don't mind. Just don't tell me names or I might find them," I laughed, he wouldn't have any luck considering they were more than likely dead.
"I don't remember names. None of them were important really."
"Am I going to be just another guy whose name you forget?" He sounded uncertain and again that need to comfort came back.
"As of right now, I don't know how I could forget you, but things happen to change people and situations and it's not always pretty."
"I will do everything in my power to have that not happen," he said it with such sincerity that I honestly believed it. It frustrated and relieved me. First, guys never truly cared about me. I was a toy, something they could play with, they didn't really care about me, even if they said so. Of course one of my missions is going to be a guy, probably one of the few out there, that actually cares about women and wants an actual relationship, and I'm here to tear his heart out before one of Derek's minions offs him. But it was relieving, because maybe I could get him to fall harder for me without me doing the same in return.
So really, it was a good thing. But that didn't stop me from getting this annoying pain in my stomach when I thought about it.
Chapter Ten- Phone Calls
As much as I would have loved to lay around in bed, doing nothing all day with Isaiah's tasty torso uncovered, we had school to go to. So we got dressed and went. We decided just to take his car mostly because I didn't want to drive, which was odd for me. We had the radio on and we agreed that the radio played nothing worth listening to and so had fun bashing all the lame songs that came on.
When we got to school he was out of the car before I had even gotten unbuckled and he opened my door for me. I raised an eyebrow in question and he just grinned at me. We got many looks from the kids at school when he put his arm around my waist as we walked. I could practically feel all the little girls' hearts breaking around me. I smiled at the thought.
Throughout the day I could feel Isaiah's stare on me more frequently than it had been before. I returned his gaze sometimes, winking or smiling. The other students were dumbfounded. He sat by me in two of the classes, as I mentioned before. Those classes were the best. His hand would slip up to my thigh underneath the desk and his fingers would move in a rhythmic motion. My body heated up and I could tell he was enjoying making me all hot and bothered in school, the jerk. Well, two can play that game and so I did the same thing to him. It was a nice way to get through some boring classes.
The day went by quickly and when Isaiah and I got to the library we were greeted rather enthusiastically by Emily. Her eyes got wide behind her glasses and she jumped up and down and ran over to me. She started chattering at me and I only caught phrases like "I knew you wouldn't let me down," and "if I were only twenty years younger," and I had to laugh as she gazed dreamily at Isaiah. "I am the perfect match maker," she bragged.
"Sure Em," I said as I sorted through books.
"If I hadn't have given you that push, this would never have happened and you know it!" She stomped her foot like a toddler.
"You're right. But I'm sure you have nothing to do with him returning my interests," she sighed.
"But if you hadn't put the moves on him, he may not have ever realized he had interest in you," I decided to drop it and let her believe what she wanted. She was the only one who was thrilled about Isaiah and I together. I realized that I had quite a hate club going on. Girls threw daggers at me with their eyes and when I walked by I heard whispers like 'slut' and 'tramp'. They didn't phase me though, because I had no care of what they thought. I found it amusing actually.
The downfall to all of this was that the boys thought I was now 'touchable' or something. I got cat calls and only once did a boy reach out his hand to grab me. And the only reason more didn't follow his example is because I grabbed his arm and found the pressure points and proceeded to give him the worst tongue lashing of his life. That still didn't stop the guys from calling at me and making rude comments. Got to love high school.
I think the highlight of my day though was when Isaiah was walking with me and one of those poor suckers said a comment. Isaiah moved so fast that I barely saw him. He pinned the guy up against the locker by his neck and whispered something to him that I didn't catch. The guys eyes were so big and he nodded with exaggerated movements that I knew he was scared shitless. He got his head knocked up against the locker a few times before Isaiah let go and came back to me. I smirked at the guy who was now holding his neck. Even if Isaiah couldn't kick his ass, I could.
Isaiah took me home afterwards and came up to my apartment. He was going to stay for awhile but he got a phone call. He excused himself and went into the living room. I could here his voice still and it went something like this, "Hello? Yes. Right now? No, that's not a problem. Okay boss, it'll be done," I figured he had to do something for his gang or mob or whatever the hell you want to call it. I just hoped it didn't interfere with my mission. He came back into the kitchen where I was leaning on the counter, drinking some water. He sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist, putting his forehead against mine.
"Are you okay?" I quickly put on the façade of a completely innocent woman who knew absolutely nothing. Really it wasn't that hard.
"I have to leave for awhile. Can I come back later?" I set my glass of water down and hung my arms loosely on his shoulders and nodded. He squeezed me and went to kiss me but stopped. "Wait, you aren't even going
to ask me where I'm going?" He raised an eyebrow.
"It's your choice if you want to tell me or not. Remember, no prying," he smiled at me and kissed my head.
"You're a God send, you know that?" I quirked one side of my mouth up.
"I've heard it before," he laughed and kissed me quickly.
"I'll call you tonight," he said before leaving. I went over to my window and watched him get into his car, he was on the phone again. He sped off, burning rubber as he did. I was actually glad he got the call. It gave me time to clear my head and take a bath like I had missed last night.
I was watching a movie when I got his call. "Hey there," I answered.
"Hey, can I come over?" His voice was shaky and tired. I wondered briefly what exactly his job was and why it made him sound so torn apart. I guess that's the benefit of having little to no feelings for other people, I didn't get worked up over murdering them emotionally and leaving it up to others, or sometimes, killing them myself.
"Sure, are you okay?" I asked, sounding genuinely concerned. I faked it well, but a part of me was telling myself that it wasn't all fake. Did I actually give a damn if he was okay? I pushed the thought away.
"I will be once I see you. I'll be there in a minute," he said softly.
"The door's unlocked, just come inside," I wasn't expecting his reaction to those simple words.
"Don't leave your door unlocked. It's not safe Delilah, anyone could come in. You're going to need to be more careful especially if you're involved with me," his voice had lost the shakiness and was firm and demanding. I rolled my eyes.
"Isaiah, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," he sighed.
"I know, but I just want to keep you safe. I'll see you in a minute," he said before hanging up. It's a pet peeve of mine when people hang up on me without saying goodbye. I let it slide because he didn't know that about me yet, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated.
I went back to watching my movie and not five minutes later he was coming through my door. I lifted my head and smiled at him. He locked the door behind him. He shook off his coat and came over to me. He had changed his clothes and his hair was wet from what I'm assuming was a shower. It smelled fantastic. He crawled behind me on the couch and put his arm around my waist. He kissed my head and squeezed me. I turned my head so I could kiss his mouth. His body was shaking, but as soon as our mouths met I felt his body relax.
It was an odd angle and hurt my head to be turned so far around so I flipped my body over so we were stomach to stomach. I brought my hand up to his wet hair and ran my fingers through it, pulling away. "Are you okay?" I asked again. I hated how I actually cared if he was alright. I needed to know he was fine and it scared and irritated me. He sighed.
"I'm better now. It's really not fair, this sort of power you have over me. But at least I have some sort of relief. It's never happened before, and it feels kind of nice. No, fuck it, it feels great," he sighed and kissed me again, his mouth hot and probing. "I won't screw this up, not this time," he whispered to himself more than me. I just stayed silent. I knew the effects a mission could have on a person. Doing something so intense can really screw with a person's mind. It can cause them to be sentimental and holding on to all they have very tightly. It can cause them to push away, it can cause a mental break down. It can do many things to a person. I understood though I hadn't really experienced it. I could understand where he was coming from, living this life wasn't easy. Maybe it was a good thing that he would be dead soon anyway. I ran my hand down his face and smiled slightly at him.
"You should probably sleep, you look beat," I said quietly. He nodded.
"I just needed to see you, to be close to you," he said and yawned. I sat up and took his hand, he followed me up to my bedroom. I took his shirt off for him and pulled the blankets on my bed down. He collapsed into my bed and I covered him up. I kissed his head and felt oddly maternal. I went to walk away but he grabbed my wrist. "Where are you going?" He asked.
"I need to finish my movie."
"Stay with me, please?" He pleaded. I laid down next to him. I really needed to call Derek, but I would stay for Isaiah, at least until he fell asleep. He wrapped his arm around me and sighed contentedly. He was asleep in less than two minutes. When I felt sure he was asleep I went downstairs and grabbed my phone just as it rang.
"Hey Boss," I said in a bored tone.
"They killed Freddie," were the first words from his mouth. He didn't sound upset, just telling me a fact.
"Good riddance," I was glad to be free of the creepy letter deliverer. Derek sighed, annoyed.
"Now I have to find someone who will deliver packages without snooping," he whined. I rolled my eyes.
"Not that big of a problem, just offer to pay them a lot. You'll find a lot of willing candidates," especially in the failing economy.
"Yeah, anyway. How are you coming along with that boy?" I could practically smell his jealousy through the phone.
"It's not even been two weeks. This one's going to take longer okay? I'm feeling extra vicious and so need more time," he groaned.
"I'm not a patient person," he said roughly.
"Hey, don't even go there Derek," I spat. "I'm taking my precious time with this one, going to do a thorough job and you should be thankful. I'm holding off on Ireland so you know it's going to be good."
"Yeah, whatever. Just update me when you get the chance. I lo-" I hung up the phone before he could finish that sentence. I turned off my movie and crawled back into bed with Isaiah. At least I knew what his job was. He was probably just a mindless puppet, offing whoever they told him to. For someone like me that'd be no big deal. But I had a feeling that it meant a lot more to him, and it bothered me to no end that I didn't like him suffering.
Chapter Eleven- Talk of Christmas
Fall turned into winter and my feelings for Isaiah grew which caused me to panic slightly. He never revealed what would be useful to the Boss. I was upset at myself when I realized that I was glad about that. Derek was getting impatient, he just didn't understand that some things took longer than others. I recalled my last conversation with him.
"Delilah it's been four fucking months. What the hell is taking so long?" He said irritably and I sighed.
"He's not your average mob guy Derek. Nothing has happened. He hasn't said anything to be of use, or shown any sign besides mysterious phone calls to be involved with anything unusual. Hell, he won't even sleep with me yet, so I haven't broken him enough anyway," I didn't need to add that he continued to satisfy me in other ways, but that's probably what lead him to his next conclusion.
"Is he gay?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.
"No Derek, some men just have morals," I said dryly. He was silent momentarily.
"He doesn't expect you to marry him, does he?" The jealousy was evident in his voice.
"No, and even if he did, I'm not one to settle down. You will be wise to remember that."
"Do you really want to do this for the rest of your life Delilah?"
"Oh no, I plan to retire eventually. Does this job come with a pension plan?" Needless to say, he didn't appreciate my amazing sense of humor.
"Don't be a smart ass. I will provide for you as long as you continue to work for me."
"Then you'll throw me out on my ass? You'll get rid of me just like that?" I snapped. He sighed.
"Do we have to have this discussion right now? I have things to do."
"No, and I don't plan to have any discussions with you until the mission is complete. I'll call you," with that I hung up the phone. That stupid man infuriated me. He knew better then to call me back, so I hadn't talked to him since then.
* * *
I sat with Isaiah watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith, laughing to myself about the irony of it. A married couple working for opposite teams, not knowing about it. Except Isaiah and I weren't married, and I knew that we were on different teams. It still was funny how it related to our situation.
I was curled up
beside him and quite content when he spoke, "Christmas is coming soon, only two weeks away," it was completely random and I looked up and raised an eyebrow at him.
"It is," I said slowly. I had a feeling that he wasn't finished.
"I think a tree would look really good in the corner by the TV," he said, looking over in at the area he was talking about.
"I don't have any ornaments or lights. Trees are too much work," I said and turned my attention back to the movie. But the more I thought about that blank corner, the nicer a tree sounded.
"We could get some ornaments, and I'll do most of the work. It's better than sitting here watching a stupid movie," he had a point. I sighed.
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