The Nature of Cruelty by L. H. Cosway Read Free Book Online

did she have to say for herself?” he asks, peering down at me. We’re so close it feels like there’s hardly any air left in the room.
    I pull my eyes away from his and answer, “She said you’ve told her lots about me.”
    His mouth twitches in amusement, and his eyelids lower. When he breathes out, I can feel the air of his breath hit my cheeks. “Continue.”
    “She didn’t get the chance to elaborate,” I answer. “Gary interrupted us.”
    His gaze travels up to the ceiling of the large bathroom as he lets his head fall back against the wall behind him. “Ah, saved by rugby,” he muses.
    I try not to dwell on the “saved” part of his sentence. What exactly has he been saying about me?
    I grin. “I don’t think he even plays rugby. I overheard him telling Alistair that he’s a stockbroker.”
    “Well, he must play on the weekends, then. It’s either that or boxing, because there’s no other way he’d have gotten such a bashed-in face.”
    “Or such a smoking-hot bod,” I add, just to annoy him.
    “Oh, you think he’s hot, do you? Come on, Lana, admit it — we both know I’m way better-looking.”
    Ha! There’s no way I’m admitting that (even though it’s true – and then some). Robert and Sasha have the “wow” factor in looks, remember?
    “Ah, the vanity! Appearances don’t always come into it. Perhaps Kara likes Gary for his personality,” I suggest.
    “Appearances always come into it for Kara. The woman will hardly allow herself even to be friends with an ugly person. If you think I’m vain, just wait until you get to know her better.”
    “Well, she is very beautiful,” I concede. “Maybe that’s why she expects such high standards from those around her.”
    Robert gazes at me now. “Has anyone ever told you that your naïveté is refreshing? You’re wrong about Kara, though. She’s not beautiful. It’s all paint and lights with her. With you, on the other hand…” he says and then stops, eyes wandering over my face.
    “With me what?” I ask, eager to know what he was about to say.
    He reaches out with his uncut hand and trails his fingertips along my cheekbone. “You were always something, but you really did turn into a swan, didn’t you, Lana?” he whispers.
    His words make me feel like I can’t breathe, like I’m trapped inside a bubble filled with emotions I don’t know how to decipher. The moment drags out painfully, and Jesus, I really need to change the subject. “She reminds me of Aphrodite,” I blurt out.
    Whenever I get nervous in life I always seem to blather on about Greek mythology. Probably because it’s what I know best.
    Robert drops his hand and gives me a half smirk. “Aphrodite?” he questions.
    “Yeah, she’s the Greek goddess of desire. One of the most beautiful of all the goddesses. Kara reminds me of her. Her beauty meant that men were always fighting over her. That’s why her father Zeus married her off to Hephaestus so there wouldn’t be competition between the other male gods. She took lovers, though: Ares, the god of war, and Adonis, the god of beauty.”
    Robert smiles. “So Gary and I are Ares and Adonis, are we?” He pauses. “Well, I’m definitely the Adonis out of the two of us.”
    I shake my head at him, playfully disagreeing. “No, you’re more like Narcissus.”
    “Hmm, I’m thinking there’s an insult in there somewhere. What was he the god of?”
    “He wasn’t a god. He’s a character in one of the myths. Born the son of a god and a nymph, he was a very handsome young man and attracted lots of attention from the ladies. However, he never reciprocated any of their affections. Unfortunately for him, Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, took note of this. She decided to curse Narcissus by luring him to a pool of water, where he came upon his own reflection and ended up falling in love with it. There he spent the remainder of his days, gazing lovingly at his own face.”
    I end my story with a little hand