"...the Woodhouses had been settled for several generations at Heartfield, the younger branch of every ancient family—"

"I can't hear you."

My jaw went south and I was ready to hit him with the book. "You ass, I have been reading to you for almost two hours and you're telling me this now?!"

He nodded. "Si, I can't hear you. Maybe I did at the first hour, but now I don't."

I gritted my teeth. "Fine. I'll read more loudly. THE YOUNGER BRANCH OF EVERY—"

"Hey! Psst! Sshh!" He interrupted me and I shot him a glare. "Not so loudly. You don't want to wake up the whole mansion!"

"Then whose fault is that, huh? It's midnight now and you still want me to read!" I whisper yelled.

"Because the story is interesting."

"Said the man who couldn't hear a word since the past hour!"

"Don't blame me, Amelia. You happen to have a very sweet and soft voice."

I swear I stopped breathing for ten seconds. Did he just compliment me in a... flirtatious way? Oh no. Of course not. I must be in a half sleepy state and hearing nonsense.

I eyed him dryly. "Right. Like a lullaby."

"Exactly." He smiled. "What should I do about this situation? I do want to hear more of this Emma girl."

"Um..." I kept thinking of some way for him to hear when my eyes went to his chair. An idea crossed my mind but I shook it off quickly. Why did I even think of that? He should stay where he is.

"I do have an idea..." I trailed off, feeling unsure of what is going to happen in the next few minutes.

"Do tell me, signorina Jones."

"You are sitting at the far end of your balcony. You could just shift to the middle, if you don't mind."

He didn't reply and simply got up, picked up his chair and positioned it in the middle then made himself comfortable on it.

"All good?" He nodded slowly, not meeting my eye. "Okay. I'll continue then. The younger branch of—"

"I still can't hear you."

My breath hitched. "You-You can't?"

"No." His answer was simple and straight to the point.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Amy, what are you thinking of doing? This is absolutely insane. I don't want him to... I shouldn't be thinking of him to... I just can't. I should not. I must not. Think of boundaries, private space, limits and everything which I have in my dignity. Oh dear God, save me because these are some very dangerous waters I am swimming on.

But the selfish part of me wanted to continue swimming.

"If that's the problem..." I gulped, tasting my own words before I spoke them, "Then you should just shift to my side. Just sit on this end of your balcony." 

Wordlessly, he got up, grabbed his chair and positioned it in the corner then made himself comfortable on it. The logical, safe side of me took over and I found myself getting up, dragging my chair to the farther corner, away from him then I made myself comfortable.

"All good?" He nodded again, still not meeting eye. "Okay. I'll continue then. The younger branch of every ancient family and that the Eltons were nobody. It—"

"I still can't hear you."

And I stopped breathing after that.

He was playing with me. I knew that. He knew that. We both knew that yet we were playing along. Playing dumb.

"You can't hear me?"  I asked.

"No." He answers after hearing me.

Bad Amy. Naughty Amy. This playing dumb game is getting out of hand. I should be scolding him, shouting at him for making me stay up so late with him. I should not be thinking of the unthinkable things which can happen if I open my mouth now.

"Then you should just come here."

He looked at me, his eyes hooded underneath those long eyelashes, shining from the moonlight and from the light of his bedroom.

"You want me to sit here?" He pointed to small vacant area right beside him. The only thing was that it's my balcony and the boundary between us was the metal railings and a small gap.

This feels familiar. Metal railings, small gap, me and him. Except the situation was totally different and somehow I was excited about it.

"Yes." I whispered. "You have to land right over there."

"Land?" He sounded like a child, clueless and innocent.

I chuckled softly. "You don't expect yourself to fly here, do you?"

"No."

"Besides..." I gulped inaudibly and looked straight into his eyes. "It's just a small jump, right? You jump and land here... on my balcony, maybe then you might hear me."

He had a knowing yet curious look on his face. We both knew what had happened. The tables had turned unknowingly, the roles had reversed but the task was same and simple as ever; jump.

My mind was screaming at me to stop right there, to stop him from going any further near me and shut him out again, but it seems like my selfish side wanted to know if Leonardo Agostini would actually jump into my balcony to hear me read for him.

My breathing sped up as I watch him getting up and picking up his chair then leaning towards my balcony and he places it carefully. He looked at me and his gaze sent an electric shock to my spine.

"Try not to get stuck in the middle." I found myself saying. "It would be a shame though."

His hazel eyes narrowed in a challenging manner and his lips slowly curled up. For a man who is about jump from one room to another, he is surely preparing himself like he is about to go for a fight. I watched Leonardo in amusement as he rolls up the sleeves of his shirt, removes his shoes, stretches his arms and legs and much to my surprise, I found him pulling out a gun from his pant and tossing it inside his bedroom.

"What's next? Knives and bombs?" I giggled which made him roll his eyes and then my playfulness vanished into thin air when I saw him gripping the metal railings tightly, his eyes never leaving mine.

Then he jumped.

Thud!

What was that? The sound of my heart pounding in my chest or the sound of his feet touching the marbled floor of my balcony?

Then I realised... he's here.

Holy shit. He's here.

In my balcony.

In a part of my bedroom.

In the middle of the night.

And most importantly, alone.

No brother.

No lizard.

No gun.

It was just him, standing on my balcony.

Quickly, I averted my eyes and subconsciously pushed my chair more farther till I touched the cold metal railings.

"Y-You should s-sit down. I'll continue reading."

Why was I nervous? I've had people of the opposite gender whom I knew in my bedroom before. My brother, my father, the twins and now Adrian. This was perfectly fine. Having capo in my company in the middle of the night, but he has only been in my company, in my bedroom when Adrian was present too.

Alone with me? Never.

And I was nervous about that.

"Read."

Oh yeah, right. Read. That's what I am supposed to do. I flipped the pages of the book, suddenly confused where I was reading and where I had actually stopped. I couldn't find it.

"Everything all right?"

I looked up and saw him looking at me in a slight... concern? Ha. Was he concerned about me? I think I am still in half sleepy, tired state and seeing nonsense.

"I-I forgot where I was reading."

"It's okay. Just start from the beginning of the chapter."

I flipped more pages and mentally sighed in relief when I finally saw the chapter I was reading previously. I cleared my throat and began.

"The hair was curled, and the maid sent away, and Emma sat down to think and be miser—"

"I can't hear you."

Somebody give this man some fucking hearing aids.

I looked at him in disbelief. "You can't?"

He blinked. "No."

"I think you have some wax in your ears, August-mini."

"No. I don't. My ears are clean and in good shape, thank you very much for asking."

I groaned. "Now what?"

His eyes lit up in mischievously. "I do have an idea..."

"Do tell me, signore or else I'm going to sleep."

"You are sitting too far. Maybe you should shift to the middle, if you do not mind."

I froze. My heart started beating wildly and I tried to think of any excuse to discard this insanely copied idea, but couldn't find any so my mind continued to scream at me as I slowly got up and dragged my chair back to the middle. I gave a look to the man who was now hardly one arms distance away from me then sat on my chair. I wanted to shrink into this chair and never return again.

Bad Amy! Naughty Amy! What are you doing?!

I did have a vague idea. It has been so long and I wanted it. He wanted it too. Yet we were playing dumb with each other.

"Read again."

I murmured something gibberish instead and shut my eyes tightly, mentally cursing at myself.

"I still can't hear you."

I sucked in a sharp breath when I felt my whole body jerk right along with the chair. That was a sign of impatience. He got impatient and pulled my chair in his direction.

Our arms brushed and I shuddered at the contact.

"Read." He sounded restrained and thirsty.

Thirsty for me.

I gulped as I tried to make out the words of the chapter. "E-Emma sat d-down to think and be m-miserable. It was a wretched business i-indeed..."

I could feel his burning gaze on me as I continued reading. Our arms were still in touch, the heat kept exchanging and I wanted to squirm. I had to do something... anything... everything.

Okay Amy, time to take a trip down to memory lane.

What to do when someone is staring at you? Not in the stalking way nor in the creepy way.

A sad smile appeared on my face as I remembered my own words years ago.

You tuck your hair behind your ear.

That's it Amy! You can do this! Easy as a pie. No need to save the world for this. Just hold a few strands and pull it behind. You advised it so you can also do it!

Our arms brushed more as I lifted mine slowly and grabbed a few strands of my hair with trembling fingers. I knew he was watching my every move so very gently, I tucked them behind my ear.

How did I do?

Goddammit! Where is Maria when I actually need her?!

Deep breaths, Amy, deep breaths. No need to panic. No need to go batshit crazy. Just keep reading.

"...as a mere error of judgement, of knowledge, of taste as of—"

The strand fell ahead and I was about to tuck it back again when my fingers touched his, sending me jolts of electricity straight to my spine and the book fell from my grasp, landing on the marbled floor with a thud.

I bit my tongue to stop myself from screaming as his fingers brushed against my ear and tuck my hair. His fingers lingered behind my ear longer than I was expecting. I couldn't hold back the tingling feeling any longer so I squirmed and faced him.

He looked so beautiful. Angelic.

I couldn't get my eyes off his magnetic ones.

Pull me! Pull me! I'm right here!

My breathing became erratic and my heart sped up as something hypnotizing and amazing drawn me closer to him than he already was. Our noses touched, my throat constricted and I wanted to pounce on him.

"Close your eyes."

I did. My senses heightened at an unimaginable wonder and I was surprised by it. I could hear him breathing in very short exhales, the soft and wet lick of his thin lips made mine dry rapidly, the creak of his chair, the heat of his body radiating as his lips finally touched mine.

This was slow yet it made my heart beat super fast, soft and delicate as if he were... afraid to hurt me. My eyes watered.

His lips were sweet, warm and it made my mind spin at this indescribable sensation all over me.

Too emotional to move my lips along with his, I moaned as he did a quick swipe of his tongue on my lower lip and pulled away.

My eyes fluttered open, lashes wet with tears that didn't fell on my face, I waited for regret to wash over me and when it didn't, I threw myself at him.

He released an animalistic groan from his throat and welcomed me with open arms as I pulled his tie as an effort to tell him that I wanted more. I moaned as he pushed his tongue deeper into my mouth, coaxing and caressing every corner of my tongue. My fingers tingled in excitement when I tugged his black locks hard and kissed him back ferociously. Legs tangled, lips joined, his hands exploring my back and my curves, my hands running on his hair and pulling his tie to push ourselves closer than we can ever be, I was on fire! Fire everywhere!

And damn, I was so ready to get burnt.

"I still hate you very much." I panted through gritted teeth.

"Good. Keep hating me."

Then he kissed me passionately and I responded him with equal fervor.

For a wooden chair with cushions, it sure is strong enough to carry the weight of two grown people who were kissing each other senseless for the rest of the night.

Oh, and I did lots of reading, but it was definitely not about a girl who likes matchmaking.

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