The CEO's Painted Skin

She was having so much fun shopping with Grace in the mall. They enjoyed perusing expensive gowns, clothes, shoes and makeup accessories, yet they brought nothing. They watched a sci-fi movie afterward. The bustling city got exactly the atmosphere she really needs to forget everything that happened to her in her hometown.

The smile on her face was instantly fading upon seeing John"s SUV car parked a few meters away from their house.

She sighed.

What does John need this time? Can"t get enough of her? She thought she was slowly becoming his s.e.x slave under his beck and call if she doesn"t get away from him.

Her mouth curled in distaste. She paid the tricycle driver for her fare and instructed him to stop the vehicle, she got out, let the tricycle go and then she walked slowly towards the SUV.

She found the driver smoking cigarette leaning outside of the car. His eyes were keenly scanning at Catherine"s nipa house.

"Looking for me?" she suddenly appeared in front of the burly guy.

The guy threw his cigarette in the cemented highway and grounded it with his shoes, his face lifted up upon seeing her.

"Finally, I been waiting for you nearly two hours already. My Boss wants to see you right now. He told me that if I can"t get you I can"t go back there in the house. He specifically instructed me that I have to wait for you here no matter how long it takes. I"m just glad that you"re finally here. Let"s go!"

The guy quickly opened the pa.s.senger"s seat for Catherine to enter.

But Catherine didn"t move, she doesn"t want to get inside the car. She has no plan to go back to the ancestral house ever again. She doesn"t want to see John ever again, he brought a lot of brand new emotions into her heart and mind that she can"t quite define herself.

"Miss Catherine, please don"t make my job any harder. It"s a must that you see my Boss right now, or else he will get angry and upset at both of us. He meant you no harm," there"s a bit of pleading in his voice.

"If I don"t want to go with you, what will you do?"

The guy"s eyes suddenly darkened. "Then I have to kidnap you, what else I can do?" he said.

Catherine sighed, not wanting any more suspense, dangers, and drama, "coz she already had enough of it in the last few days, she finally entered the pa.s.senger"s seat on her own accord.

Along the way, Catherine inspected the car up close. The seats were covered with high-quality leather and the interior design was really cla.s.sy and emitted an aura of masculinity, everything around her is s.h.i.+ny, the car freshener produces a smell that was pleasant to her nostrils. John definitely is a loaded kind of guy, but too bad, he got an ugly face, she told herself.

"How long have you been serving your, Boss?" she asked.

"Since he was 21 years old. I"m the oldest bodyguard he ever had, the other two of my comrades came four years ago. We both drive for him and serve as his bodyguard as well."

"What happened to him twenty years ago?"

The bodyguard gave Catherine a quick glance. "You have to ask him for that. We are not ent.i.tled to reveal information especially when it comes to our Boss private lives."

Catherine took her eyes off the road and stared at the driver.

"The day you start serving him, he"s been wearing mask already?" she asked again.

"Yes. I never saw him took off his mask even once. We, his bodyguards have not seen his face yet without the mask. Why did you ask? I suggest that you won"t ask him much about his mask, he doesn"t tolerate too much questioning from other people. His mask and his appearance is a delicate matter for him. He doesn"t want to talk about it..."

Catherine was greatly surprised. Why is it that John allowed her to see his face even if they haven"t known each other for long. What does it mean?

"Does he always wear a mask every time he goes out?" she asked again.

"Yes. A mask and a cap is a must attire for him when he goes out. But he doesn"t usually go out that much. He was much more of a loner type of person," answered the guy.

He was a loner...just like her?

"Is he married?" asked Catherine

"No."

"Does he had a girlfriend?"

"No. I never saw him in a relations.h.i.+p with any woman for the last seven years."

"Unbelievable," she said. Although John may have an ugly face, yet he has a great and caring personality though.

"But he fancied you," the guy said. "He was never interested with any woman before...until you came into his life."

Catherine marveled much on the bodyguard"s last sentence. John like her? As in like her? For what kind of like, as a s.e.xual playmate?

"My Boss is a very generous man. He gifted me and my wife a cruise holiday ticket for three nights stay during our 3rd year wedding anniversary. When my son got hospitalized out of serious illness, he paid for our entire hospital bill that would surely cost me a fortune. He also extended financial help to the other bodyguards who serves him on numerous occasion," his lengthy message was full of good praises for his employer.

She retreated into a silence mode, processing every little detail about John"s personality. The driver had just openly revealed to her a great deal regarding "John the person," the bodyguard trusted her as if she was already part of their inner circle.

Fifteen minutes later they finally arrived at the ancestral house. When Catherine got out of the pa.s.senger seat, her heart skipped a beat when she looked up, there he was...John leaning at the balcony intently staring at her.

Their eyes meet.

She went inside the house and slowly climb the stairs, at the top John was already waiting for her.

The way he looked at her...like a predator waiting for his meal.

And the way she looked at him...a shudder began creeping up in her body, remembering so well how his strong hands roamed all over her body freely, intimately.