You know my name, not my story. You've heard what I've done, but not what I've been through."

- Jonathan Anthony Burkett

Each of us has heaven and hell in him.

- Oscar Wilde

Chapter 3

The whole day the only thing I could think of was his massage. The fact that he made me feel the same way like he was just standing in front of me was so astonishing. His ability to seem dominant and dangerous, even with so few words said, was unreal. However, I was annoyed by his belief that he could do whatever he wanted and that everyone should and would obey his order because his message was exactly that - order.

I wondered what was I supposed to do. I wanted to come to know him better, but everything felt like it was happening too soon. I saw him for the first time in my life last Saturday. The day after, I met him again, and now, he wanted me to hang out with him. I was always careful when I chose people to spend my time with. Despite that, I was on my way to a place I knew nothing about with a guy that had the power to make me submit to his every demand.

What's the worst that could happen?

I spent the whole afternoon in debate whether I should go out with him or not. However, as the date deadline approached, all the worries were put to rest, I was too excited to see him again.

After I finally made my decision, a new problem emerged. I had no idea what to wear. He never revealed the location of the place we would go to, nor did he said If there was a dress code. I almost screamed out of frustration.

I opened my wardrobe trying to find something adequate. Nearly an hour later, I was seated on the floor in front of my closet, eating chips and crying because I still wasn't able to decide what I wanted to put on. I was aware that he would come to pick me up pretty soon, but the frustrating fact that I had nothing to wear got to me.

How can he put a girl in this situation?

I wonder if It was a good idea to send him a message, asking him to help me, nevertheless, I quickly dismissed it. Something told me that I wouldn't receive feedback.

I went that far that I started looking for outfits online, without realizing that I didn't have most of those things they had on.

Right when I was on the verge of breaking down, I heard a quiet click coming from my phone, signifying that I received a message. Mateo wanted me to send him my address. I wasn't sure how I hadn't thought of that before, even though I had been pretty occupied with trying to give myself a panic attack.

Earlier thoughts started popping in my head yet again. It was one thing to give him my number, but should I tell him where I lived? I've always been good at reading people, but with this man, I had no idea what to expect. He definitely didn't seem like the best person in the world, but should I judge someone just because of his appearance? It was against my principles, I couldn't condemn a person without knowing his story.

While I was having my philanthropic discurs, Mateo sent me yet another message.

Tara, don't make me repeat myself. Send me the address of your apartment.

That was exactly what I needed to abide by his demands. Although I indeed didn't know his story, our past encounters were clear indicators that he wasn't the person to be messed with. I quickly responded, sending him my address, and went back to business.

His messages affected me in such a therapeutic way it made all my earlier insecurities seem like they weren't there in the first place. The moment I turned my gaze back to the wardrobe, I found the perfect combination. I settled with black, leather pants with a white shirt tucked into them and, also white ankle boots. In addition, I chose my leather jacket even though I suspected that I would die of hypothermia, considering that it was very cold outside, but I didn't really care, I had this need for us to have matching outfits.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I was rather satisfied with my appearance, even though there were times I wanted to jump out of my skin. My, down to my hips, my hair was light brown, whereas my eyes were darker shade, not like Mateos's chocolate one, but pretty dark regardless.

I was pulled out of my thought by the sound of a car horn. I came closer to the window and saw the most handsome car (no matter how absurd it sounded) I have ever seen parked right in front of the entrance of the apartment complex I lived in. Matte black with tinted windows, it looked like it belonged to the members of Cosa Nostra, and not to some random, ordinary guy I met two days ago.

Looking at that sight, I couldn't help but wonder if I made the right decision. However, before I could overthink this, I shook my head, picked up my purse and hurriedly left my apartment.

"Tara, you look beautiful." was the first thing he said. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was checking me out, making me even more nervous than I already was.

"You don't look so bad, yourself." that was definitely an understatement. Leaning against his car, dressed in, as I had suspected, all-black, with a cigarette between his lips, he looked like he was ready for a photoshoot in one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the world. Seeing him like this did things to my body I never wanted to admit, not even to myself.

He smirked, clearly amused by the way I stared at him. Right after, he came to the other side of the car and opened the door for me to get in. I wasn't exactly shocked, moreover, that gentleman-like move eliminated all doubts I earlier had.

Gratefully, I smiled at him and went inside. As I expected, everything inside the car was black too, seats were overlaid with leather as well as steering wheel and many other things.

"You like it?" I was startled by the sound of his voice, I didn't even realize that he had entered.

"My knowledge of cars consists of whether they look nice or not, and this one undoubtedly fulfills my criteria."

He smiled hearing me say this and right after, he started the car and we were on our way to whatever he wanted to take me.

We drove in silence, and not the unpleasant one. Nevertheless, being the bubbly person I am, I had to start the conversation somehow.

"Where are we going?" I asked the simplest questions I could think of, to begin with

"You'll see when we get there," he was short as always

"Are you always that mysterious?"

"You tell me," The tone of his voice made it clear that he was joking, so I took that as I sign to keep on talking

"How old are you, anyway?" I asked him

"What's this, truth or dare?" he countered, trying to look irritated. He failed pretty bad, though. I had already seen the way he acted when he had been annoyed, and he definitely didn't sound like this.

"Mostly truth, we don't really have many options for dares."

"I'm sure that we can find a way," he winked.

I blushed so bad I was sure I looked like a tomato. Seeing that, being the gentleman he is, he decided to spear me and veered off the topic.

"To answer your question, I'll be 24 in a few months. How about you?" I frowned. It didn't bother me that much since the age-gap wasn't that big, I've just assumed that he was younger.

"20, and I'm not going to throw a birthday party anytime soon," was my response that made him chuckle.

"While we are at it, why were you even there when the fight happened, back at the party?" his expression changed in a millisecond, which reminded me of the previous night when a similar thing had happened.

"How are those things even connected?" I tried to keep the atmosphere light, but, he didn't want to let it go

"Answer me," he said sounding very serious. He left me no choice but to explain myself to him.

"I was out with my friends that night. To be honest, I found myself there totally by accident. I exited the club to get some air and the next thing I know, all hell broke loose," I shrugged.

"You should be more careful when you pick spots to go out. That is not the kind of place for girls like you."

"Girls like me?" I raised my eyebrow

"Yeah," he nodded.

"And what kind of girl supposedly am I?" I asked him irritated

"The kind that shouldn't go there."

I wondered if he was just trying to provoke me or he really believed in what he was saying, but the second option seemed fitting.

"Well then, I guess that it's a good thing you don't decide what I do with my life," I answered him angrily

"Tara-" he warned, "I would think before opening that mouth of yours if I were you."

I wanted to tell him many non-pleasant things, but somehow I stopped myself from spitting the facts in his face. I was way smarter than that. I closed my eyes, trying to keep myself calm.

"Now when we are really at it-" he looked at me with furrowed eyebrows, warning me to behave "You were just standing there, doing nothing as other people tried to rip each other to pieces, why?"

"Why would I do anything? They wanted to kill each other so bad, it was none of my business. They didn't deserve my energy," I frowned after I heard him say that. He didn't even sound arrogant, just disgusted.

Before I could even form a proper sentence, he took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one. I have always hated the smell of it, it made me sick.

"Can you please throw that away?" I asked him politely

"You need to learn to live a little, baby girl, but don't worry, I will teach you how," the way he said it, so serious and cold, put my whole body under tension. I knew that there was hidden meaning in his words, the hidden meaning I didn't want to uncover anytime soon.

Yet again, we were driving in total silence, but, whereas the last one wasn't unpleasant, this one definitely was, and I didn't have any intention to break it, not that I had to. At some point, my phone started ringing with the special ringtone I set so I would know when Lena calls me. I took it out of my purse, but before I could answer, Mateo grabbed it out of my hands, rejected the call, turned it off and threw it on the backseat.

Who does he think he is? I was so shocked, my jaw almost touched the floor.

"When you are with me, then you are with me and with me only, I don't want distractions. Have I made myself clear?" I could not even process his words, I just nodded my head.

Pleased, he smiled and shifted his gaze back to the road. Soon, we found ourselves in a huge drive-in theater. The scene was enough to make the previous occurrence disappear out of my memory. I turned around and smiled at him.

"This is what you consider fun?" I mocked him

"My definition of fun is a lot worst, but with you, I need to take it slow." he winked at me.

I shook my head, still smiling, and shifted my gaze back to the movie screen. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement.

No matter how big the place was, it was also packed. Actually, I had no idea how he even found a parking space at all. There were people of different ages, friends, family, lovers. It was a sight to be seen.

An opening sequence of the movie Casablanca appeared on the big screen. Feeling excited, I looked at Mateo wanting him to know how much I loved that film. I watched it thousands of times, but it seemed like I could never get bored of it. His mouth turned into the cutest smile I've ever seen. That was probably the first honest one since I met him, too.

He handed me popcorn from the backseat. I hadn't even noticed them. I took it out of his hands and very excited started watching the movie.

At some point, I leaned against him and put my head on his shoulder. Afterward, he put his hand around me urging me to come closer, if that was even possible. The whole time during the movie, he played with my hair, his fingers curled around the strands of my hair. My heart pounded fast in my chest, but it felt so normal for him to do that like he was made for it.

Even though I didn't want to admit it, I was happy.

-

"Well, that was fun," I said after we finished watching the film.

"We would've had even more fun if you left me some popcorn, but next time I will be smarter and buy more," he murmured

"Who says there will be next time?" I tried to provoke him, but he just rolled his eyes, like that was a known fact

After a while, he, yet again, lit his cigarette.

How often he even smokes? I wondered not very pleased and scowled. Still, I said nothing. I didn't see the point in starting another argument with him, we were having fun, I didn't want to ruin that.

However, he had other plans. The moment he inhaled, he forcefully and a bit painfully grabbed my chin, drawing me so close to his face, we were inches away from kissing each other. I was so distracted by his proximity, that even before I caught up to what his intentions were, he exhaled smoke in my mouth. He left me no choice but to inhale it and, a moment later, I started coughing.

After I had put myself together, I blushed and turned my head on the side, away from him, trying to hide how much what he had done turned me on.

Satisfied, he smiled seeing my reaction, started the car and left the parking lot. I just sat there, paralyzed, trying to understand what had just happened.

-

Somehow, after a long, deadly quiet drive, I was able to put myself together. I made a deal with my brain to ignore the fact that, whatever that was, happened altogether. My baby immediately agreed.

Mateo took us to some restaurant I've never heard of before. But I was kind of satisfied, it wasn't one of those luxury places, it was rather pleasant and warm, it reminded me of home.

The moment we arrived, Mateo left the car and opened the doors for me, helping me get out. He didn't let go of my hand even when we entered the restaurant, not that I complained. Holding him like that, I felt such electricity that I even tried to recall at what point of my life have I become a masochist.

We ordered food and quickly made ourselves comfortable at one of the vacant tables. The place was pretty crowded. I wondered how I've never been here before. Surely, the restaurant wasn't that close to my apartment, but my friends and I had this obsession with discovering new sites we could spend our days at. Few times we even lost track of time and the security came to throw us out.

"How is it possible for someone to not love ketchup?" I asked him after we received our orders, disbelief written across my face.

"How is it possible for someone to put that much amount in hamburger, or any other food for that matter?" he bit back, looking at my plate with disgust

"It's pretty simple really, you take the bottle like this-" I started, doing exactly what I said "Then you remove the cap and turn it upside down-" I trailed off noticing that he wasn't paying me attention. He stared somewhere sideward with so much rage it made me shiver.

I followed the direction he was looking at and saw a guy, around my age, sitting with his friends. However, he had his eyes set on me, lust clear in those green orbs. To be fair, he looked good, but his intense gaze made me feel uncomfortable. I shifted in my seat, wanting nothing more but for him to stop staring at me like that.

"If I were you, I would get my eyes of her before I make you," Mateo threatened him.

I didn't notice when he got off the seat, but a moment later he stood in front of the guy, almost in his face, trying to intimidate him. His voice was like ice, it made me tremble. Nonetheless, I didn't want to let that disrupt me. I jumped out of my seat and quickly caught up with Mateo, trying to calm him down.

"Mateo, it's fine, stop," I grabbed his arm in an attempt to pull him away, but he wouldn't budge.

"Who do you think you are?!" the guy countered angrily, standing up

He realized the mistake he made the moment Mateo smiled in such cynical way, and a second later, he connected his fist with the blonde guy's face. I was sure I had heard something crack.

I screamed not able to comprehend why was that happening. He kept on punching him, even though he was on the floor after the first punch. He was covered in blood and I didn't know if he was still conscious at all. But that didn't stop the guy that made me feel things I never felt before. However, right now I was terrified of him.

I had tried in so many ways to make him come to his senses, but nothing worked, he looked like he was possessed. I couldn't watch that anymore. I started crying, tears constantly running down my face. I couldn't see the end of this. Everyone in the restaurant just numbly watched the scene unfold, scared that they might get beaten even more than the guy who hadn't done anything wrong. Only after he was completely broken beyond repair, laying in the pile of his blood, the security came and took Mateo away from him.

"Get your hands off me!" he spat at them

Finally, he turned and started walking in my direction with long, rapid steps. He took me by the arm and started pulling me to the exit of the restaurant. He was so fast, I couldn't keep up.

I had a feeling that he wasn't aware of the things he did, my tears didn't seem to bother him, not even a little bit. He threw me in his car, buckled my seat belt, and then hit the accelerator. He just ignored my protest, like he didn't care at all.

-

"I'll see you tomorrow," Mateo said after he brought me back to my apartment. I couldn't look at him. The scene from the restaurant was on repeat in my head, whereas he acted as nothing bad had happened. Actually, quite on the contrary, he was in a great mood, like he hadn't beaten a man just because he had been staring at me.

"Tara?" he called my name. I closed my eyes, trying to keep myself calm.

"I can't, I have an important test," I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"Cute, try again," he smiled, but the type of smile that didn't have even an ounce of humor in it,

"I'm seriou-" I started, but he interrupted me.

"I will tell you this one and one time only," he gave me meaningful look that spoke volumes "Don't you ever lie to me again. I hate liars more than anything in the world, and I don't want you to find out what kind of man I am when I don't like something. Did I make myself clear?'

I nodded my head without thinking. I was scared that my voice would let me down otherwise.

"Great, now, am I going to see you again?" yet again, I nodded my head. This time, he offered me the same, beautiful smile, like he did when we were in the cinema. I cursed the moment we left that place, back there, everything was perfect.

Feeling pleased with himself, he left the car and, one more time, opened the door for me and gave me his hand to help me get off. He walked me to the entrance of the building and, after I tried to enter, pulled me to his chest. He then wrapped his hand around my waist and brought his lips to mine, making my whole body awake and very aware of his presence.

Will I ever be able to understand why my body reacts this way around him?

"It was a pleasure spending time with you, I had the time of my life. I felt so good, I can't wait for the moment I will meet you again. Until then, sleep well, baby girl," he whispered in my ear and brought his lips closer to mine leaving a lingering kiss in the corner.

I froze. My cheeks turned red. My whole body was on fire. I didn't even notice when he left, the only thing I could think of were his cold, plump lips. Never in my life have anyone made me feel this good.