Chapter 31: Attention on her face

"I’ll leave you two alone. I have an important meeting in an hour," Angelo said, glancing at his watch.

Before leaving, he exchanged a brief look with Santino. The two men communicated through a few subtle gestures, as though they had something to discuss without Soraya knowing about it.

"I’m going to meet my friend this evening," Soraya informed him.

"Who?" Santino asked, frowning slightly.

"Claire. She runs a bakery," Soraya replied. "And you’re not going to stop me from going there."

"I won’t," Santino assured her. He studied her face for a moment before continuing, "Why do you distrust me so much? I thought we were finally getting closer." His expression grew more serious as he recalled how happily she had embraced Angelo.

"You hug Angelo as though you trust him completely. He met you after I did, yet you aren’t afraid of him. That night, anything could have happened if I hadn’t saved you."

Soraya folded her arms across her chest, unimpressed by his argument. "Angelo is my older brother. From the very beginning, he made me feel safe," she explained firmly.

"I know your first night here made you feel unsafe, but you can trust me too," Santino assured her. He looked almost like a desperate puppy, eager for his owner to acknowledge his efforts and give him a little affection in return.

For a man who commanded fear and obedience from others, he seemed surprisingly eager to earn Soraya’s trust.

"If I didn’t trust you at all, I wouldn’t have told you about Claire," Soraya replied. "Well, I’m going to freshen up. Then we can have lunch together," she added before turning to leave.

Santino took off his leather jacket and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt before settling into the recliner.

He rolled up his sleeves and glanced towards the washroom when he heard the sound of running water. Soraya was freshening up, which gave him a few minutes to himself.

"Who is Claire? How come I don’t know about her? I know everything related to Soraya," he muttered, frowning as he took out his phone.

He typed a brief message to someone, then set the phone aside and leaned back in the recliner. He closed his eyes, intending to rest for a while, but he had no intention of falling asleep. He was simply waiting for Soraya to come out.

After some time, Soraya emerged from the washroom wearing a bathrobe. When she noticed Santino lying motionless in the recliner with his eyes closed, she assumed he had fallen asleep.

’He looks so calm when he’s asleep,’ she thought, studying his face.

A mischievous idea suddenly came to her, and a playful smile appeared on her lips. She hurried towards the bedside table and carefully opened the drawer, making sure not to disturb him. After finding a marker, she quietly returned to his side and knelt beside the recliner.

Unscrewing the cap, she leaned closer and carefully positioned the marker just above his upper lip. She was about to draw a moustache on his face when Santino suddenly spoke.

"What are you doing?"

Soraya jolted in surprise, her hand slipping as the marker dragged across his cheek instead of forming the moustache she had intended. She lost her balance and fell backwards, staring at him in alarm.

"Nothing," she replied quickly, clutching the marker behind her as her heart pounded against her chest.

Santino sat up and ran his fingers over his upper lip, trying to figure out what Soraya had been doing so close to his face.

Meanwhile, she quickly got to her feet and tucked the marker behind her back, hoping he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

"I thought you had fallen asleep," she said, trying to sound casual. "You can take a shower too. The water is hot."

Instead of heading towards the washroom, Santino got up and walked towards the mirror. Soraya immediately hurried to the dressing table and stood in front of it, blocking his view before he could see his reflection.

"Go," she urged, gesturing towards the washroom.

Santino narrowed his eyes at her suspicious behaviour. "You did something to my face, didn’t you?"

Before Soraya could come up with an excuse, he caught her by the arm. In the next moment, he turned her around and drew her closer, placing one hand on her waist while bracing the other against the dressing table. He positioned himself behind her, leaving her back pressed against his chest as he looked down at her with suspicion.

Santino finally managed to get a clear view of his face in the mirror. The black mark smeared across his cheek was impossible to miss, and he immediately understood what Soraya had been trying to do.

"That was a mistake. I—I simply wanted to draw a moustache on you," Soraya admitted in a low voice, avoiding his gaze. Her earlier confidence had disappeared, and she looked almost embarrassed to have been caught playing such a childish prank.

"Clean this," Santino instructed, pointing at the mark on his face. "I won’t do the same to you."

"What?" Soraya stared at him through the mirror, surprised by his response. She had expected him to scold her or, worse, threaten to get even with her.

"You can wash your face in the washroom," Santino said, glancing at the black mark on his cheek.

Before Soraya could respond, he leaned closer and nipped her earlobe.

"Ah!" she yelped, turning her head away. "What was that for?"

"I’ll punish you if you don’t clean this," he whispered, brushing his lips along the side of her neck.

Soraya stiffened when she felt his hand settle on her thigh, just above the edge of her bathrobe. Her face warmed, and she immediately grabbed his wrist.

"Fine, I’ll clean it. Now let me go," she insisted, trying to sound firm despite her embarrassment.

Santino released her at once and stepped back with a satisfied smirk. He gestured towards the washroom, silently asking her to lead the way. Soraya shot him an annoyed look before walking inside, determined not to let him see how flustered he had made her.

Santino followed her into the washroom and locked the door behind them. Soraya had already taken a face towel and soaked it with water. After wringing out the excess, she turned towards him.

"Come closer," she instructed.

Santino approached her, placing both hands on the counter on either side of her and effectively trapping her between his arms.

Soraya glanced at him briefly but said nothing. She was determined to finish cleaning his face without getting distracted by his teasing.

She carefully wiped the black mark from his cheek. However, she was unaware that the slit in her bathrobe had shifted, leaving part of her thigh exposed.

Santino’s gaze drifted towards it, and he swallowed hard. He knew he should keep his attention on her face, but the sight of her bare skin made it difficult to do so. The urge to reach out and touch her thigh crossed his mind, yet he held himself back, knowing she hadn’t allowed for it.