Repeat It

STELLA didn't answer. Valeric had no other choice but to set his suitcase aside on the white marble floor and approach her. His scent hit her nose, and her thin fingers fled the keys immediately. 

Her blue eyes met his, and she was quick to get up from the stool, putting distance between the two of them. "I didn't know that you were here." 

He peered at her for a fleeting moment, his eyes running her over as a whole. "You like playing the piano?"  

Stella looked at him and parted her lips. She wasn't sure whether to speak or not, but seeing him tilt his head in anticipation of her response, she nodded her head. "A little." 

"A little?" Valeric lifted a brow and sat down on the stool. "It didn't seem like it." 

"Sit." 

"Huh?" She was perplexed. "Sit…where?" 

"On my lap." The man's voice rippled through the space like ox music. 

Stella was at a loss for words. She stood staring at him, suddenly wondering if she was having hearing issues. 

"Didn't you hear me?" 

She glanced around awkwardly and nervously waved her hands. "I can't do that. I'm not interested in playing anymore, and I would like to go-"  

"Stella, sit," Valeric ordered, his eyes finally rising to meet her nervous ones. "When will you ever listen to me?" 

Her pupils spun wildly across the space, and she anxiously walked over, stepping in and slowly taking a seat on his lap, her back pressed against his chest.  

"Shall I teach you a piece?" The man rested his palms above the back of her hand and interlocked their fingers. 

A quiet gasp ripped from her mouth, and she drank the cold air down, each breath searing the inside of her chest like a brand. His hot breath splashed onto the skin of her neck. Just one inch closer, and his lips would touch her mating gland.

She swallowed, blinking shakily.

His long fingers weaved with hers as they moved against the keys of the piano, creating a melody that didn't sound familiar but was still pleasant either way. 

"Would you be able to play what I just showed you?" the man asked. 

"No." She shook her head while trying to politely separate their hands. 

Valeric instead grabbed tighter, unwilling to let go. "You know, you might have the brain of a goldfish." 

"A-a goldfish?" Stella twisted her neck and shot him an offended look. "Me?" 

"Yes." 

She fluttered her lashes in speechlessness and looked away with furrowed brows. "You…" A soft breath. "Well, if I'm a goldfish, then you're a chicken. They are not any better." 

"What?" Valeric paused their movement on the keyboard.  

Stella wouldn't meet his stare. "Nothing." 

"No, you said something. What did you call me?" 

"Nothing."  

"I heard you. Repeat it." 

She shot up from his lap and snatched her hands back. "I said it's nothing."  

"But I heard you." Valeric's blank gaze lifted towards her. 

Stella avoided eye contact. "So?" 

"You little-" 

"Why would you call me a goldfish?" she asked. 

"Well…" The man paused for a second and looked down at the piano as if he wasn't sure how to form his words. "Goldfish are the only animals I adore. They are sort of cute. So…I guess you remind me of it, and it reminds me of you." 

Stella appeared quiet for a moment.

"But you didn't say I was...cute like a goldfish," she muttered. "You said I have a goldfish brain."  

"Oh." The man thoughtfully looked at her and stood up from the stool. "Right." His eyes met hers, and he reached out a hand to weave a few strands behind her ear.  

But she instinctively backed away from him, her defense wall rising immediately.  

Valeric drew his fingers through his hair and nodded his head. There was something different glinting in his usual cold and emotionless eyes at that moment. It was almost as if he was coming to an acceptance of something.  

"You can continue playing," he said. "I'll see you later." 

"I…" 

The words faded from Stella's throat as he turned around and left the room, slamming the door shut. She was startled by the noise, but she'd composed herself and sat down. 

There was nothing wrong with how she'd reacted. This was a man who could get rid of her anytime soon. She needed to be cautious around him, at least until she found a way to escape from him. 

… 

Valeric returned later to the room after having spent most of the evening in his working office. He closed the door behind him, and right there on the sofa, as usual, Stella lay, fast asleep, with a blanket covering her. 

"She'll never listen to me, will she?" 

He bit his finger and moved over to the sofa to take her, transferring her to the bed. Beside her, he laid down and pulled the duvet over them, however, due to the rustling sounds of the sheet, Stella blinked her eyes open, a slight frown of tiredness on her face. 

She wasn't on the sofa.

Hit by the realization, she widened her eyes and jackknifed out of bed. But, due to how careless she'd been, she fell off the bed and landed on her back, her head hitting the floor with a heavy thud. "Ow!" 

Valeric pinched between his brows and stood up from the bed. He walked over to her, grabbed her by the armpit, and lifted her off the floor, her feet dangling in the air. 

"Please let go of me." She struggled against his grip, and the second he did let go, she hurried off to a corner of the room and stared at him with vigilance in her eyes. 

The man turned stiffly toward her. "You think I'll hurt you every time I touch you?" He sounded cold. Annoyed, even. 

Stella looked away from him, a streak line of red casting above the tips of her ears. "I…I don't want to do it."