Sea of Temptation ; Simon Riley.

Chapter 37.

And suddenly,
we were strangers
again.

THE warmth of the sun rays hit my face, snuggled against a comfortable pillow. A blanket was pulled over my bare body, heating it up. I could barely open my eyes from the sleepiness. Then, remembering where I spent last night, made me realize that a lounger wasn't as comfortable as a bed. With a gasp I sat up, the blanket fell off my body that shivered at the contact with the cool air — I was back in my room and I didn't even know how.

I looked at my surroundings, the side of my bed was empty, my swimsuit was neatly placed over my desk together with yesterday's towel, my phone and keys. My eyes were wide, my eyebrows raised in confusion. Did he carry me back to my room?

The memories all hit me like a truck; the 'nightswim', his chest pressed against my back, our kisses, sex on the lounger, the starry sky, his arms holding me safely. My heart beat accelerated, my cheeks felt suddenly on fire. This time I wasn't cursing myself for what happened, it actually felt good, in a way it helped me feel relieved and better with myself.

Yesterday I showed him that after all I was still human, a poor soul hiding behind a mask scared to be betrayed or to be hurt again, and he seemed to accept all of me. Hoping it wasn't the contrary.

"Another two laps!" John's voice echoed from outside, the door to my balcony was left open, letting some of the autumn's breeze into my room. I was so quick on my feet. I covered my bare body with my usual robe and stepped outside the balcony, curious of the voices.

Leaning against the railing, I lit up a cigarette and took a long drag, squirming my eyes to watch the scene from afar unfold. Soap, Gaz and Ghost were running laps on the shore, they were sweating, panting, obviously exhausted from running at first in the morning.

John, instead, was standing with his hands clasped behind his back, watching them carefully as they ran. "What'd they do?" I caught his attention, he turned around and raised his head, squirming his eyes too from the bright sunlight.

"Not gonna let their legs get some rest." He replied with a bit of humor, cracking a smile from me. He looked taken aback, I never usually smiled this easily, but it was a step forward. He gave me a slight nod, "You should be there with them, you're lucky you're still injured." Then I remembered the wound on my abdomen.

I absolutely needed to clean it and patch it up again, soon, I was finally going to get these stitches off. "Why aren't you running with them? Are you perhaps taking advantage of your 'Captain' rank?" I cocked an eyebrow upwards, my tone holding a bit of humor too.

The corner of his lips turned upwards, his eyes closing into small slits as he smiled widely, "Then who is going to order around running laps?" He retorted and folded his arms to his chest, as if to challenge me.

I took a long drag, before exhaling the smoke through my nose, "The tough sergeant here."

"Bet."

Tossing the cigarette away, I walked inside my bedroom and opened the closet, quickly taking out a t-shirt and some leggings, both black. I slipped in a pair of shoes and made my way downstairs, the delicious smell of coffee filling my nose.

Joyce was cooking breakfast for everyone while humming a song, she looked so joyful to have some company at home.

I walked out to the porch and stood next to John, busy watching over the three soldiers that were about to pass out, except for Ghost. "God, do you always torture them?" I cocked my head to the side.

Ghost was wearing a black tank top – his toned muscles restraining against the wet fabric – some sweatpants and sneakers. His balaclava was always there, stuck on his head, and I wondered how he could run like that. Just at the sight I felt like choking.

"I'm actually very soft on them." John answered to my question, his eyes never leaving them. "Cap, please spare us!" I could hear Soap yell from afar, waving a hand in the air to greet me, and I gladly returned the gesture. "Come on, John. That should be enough."

I nudged his side before getting inside the villa to grab a few bottles of water for them. When I returned, they were back at the porch, sweating and panting heavily.
I took in the sight with raised eyebrows, I didn't even realize I was spacing out on their muscles. Suddenly, a hand snatched a bottle away from my hands and it made me snap back to reality.

Ghost rolled the bottom of his balaclava, exposing his lips, and drank the fresh water before heaving out a tired sigh. My eyes never left his figure, I was waiting for him to say something, to greet me, to smile at me — but none of it came, and all my hopes came crashing down.

Was I being a fool?

Well, he should've at least greeted me normally as a teammate.. after all that happened. Seemed like he was back to his usual self.

"Thank you, Scylla." Soap breathed out and snatched the remaining bottles from me, handing the other one to Gaz. "Of course." I mumbled quietly, still confused, and I didn't even hide it from my looks. "You good?" Soap asked me all of a sudden, and I turned my head to him.

"Yes. Joyce made breakfast, if you'd like.. I will go and clean my wound, I'll catch up as soon as I'm done." I excused myself and disappeared inside, making my way to my bedroom quickly, not even giving time to them to respond.

Cursing to myself silently, I stayed in my private bathroom for at least thirty minutes, letting the warm water run all over my body. I replayed yesterday's events, it all felt so genuine, he felt different, was it all in my head?

It was too early to get my hopes up, maybe I shouldn't have let my guard down, I still had to take things slow and sort them out properly. Being all alone gave me attachment issues; either I stayed away from everyone, or I became too attached too quickly.

After all, we were talking about Simon Riley. He never intended explicitly about wanting things to keep going like this or even get a step ahead. I was being too reckless.

I stayed in the shower for another five minutes, then I got out and patched up my wound after getting dried and dressed up.

When I walked back to the kitchen, everyone was almost done eating. Joyce, on the other hand, had left to go to the hospital and check on my uncle.

I didn't feel like eating anything so I just poured myself some coffee. And like a complete fool, my gaze fell on Ghost, who was silently sipping some coffee while scrolling through his phone – my eyes were looking for his desperately, even just a small glance. The smallest things were what mattered the most to me.

Nothing. My stomach scrunched in defeat.

"Scylla, after this I need to talk to you." John turned to me, his blue eyes shining brightly under the sunlight coming from the window. "About what?" With a small jump, I hopped on the counter and sat on it, my actions making my face twist from the uncomfortable feeling of my wound.

"Jonathan Wilson. Kate took a lead on his movements."

My heart sunk. In the past few hours I completely forgot about him, Simon's company made me forget about everything, about the pain and memories. I wondered if it was the same for him.

"Can we.. talk about this now? In my uncle's office?" My voice came out quiet, I didn't want to wait any longer, if it was about that fucker then I was more than ready to face it, to track him down and give justice to myself and the angel up there.

John seemed to catch up on me, with a nod, he got up from his seat and brought his mug with him.

Before I could exit the kitchen, I stole one last glance at Ghost and his eyes were already set on me. For a moment I felt relieved.

I wanted to say something, to greet him at least, but he just turned away silently and focused back on the screen of his phone, acting as if nothing really happened between us just a few hours ago. That made my guts twist into a tight knot.

"Where's the office?" John asked me, already climbing up the stairs. "Coming." I responded, still looking at Ghost before finally turning away and dragging my feet out of the kitchen.

I couldn't stand to breathe his same air anymore.