Chapter 4 She Looks the Part

Amaya

When I stepped out, it took me a moment to figure out where he had wandered off to, but then he emerged from the crowd, and my heart nearly stopped as I realized he was coming toward me. I half-expected someone to step in and pull me away at the last minute, that some pretty young thing would draw his attention from me before he could get too close, but nothing did. His eyes were locked on mine, even brighter and bolder than they had been before.

Before I knew it, he was in front of me, those eyes burning deep into me as he came to a halt a foot from me. I could smell his aftershave, something strong and sharp and masculine that filled my senses and sent me floating a few feet off the ground. He was a lot to handle. He was even hotter closeup, like, male-model perfect, and I was struggling to remember how in the hell I was supposed to introduce myself.

"I've been watching you all night," he remarked, and the words sent a shiver down my spine. A waiter passed by us, and he plucked a couple of glasses from the tray the waiter was holding and passed one to me. I downed it in one gulp, hoping the booze would take the edge off the nerves racing through my system.

"I know," I finally replied, and he laughed.

"Was I being that obvious?" He cocked an eyebrow, but if he was sorry, he didn't seem it. He sipped on the champagne as I let the empty glass hang down by my side, my fingers barely holding on to the crystal. I still couldn't believe he was talking to me, that he had spent enough time watching me to know he wanted me. I couldn't remember the last time someone had treated me this way, with such obvious and blatant desire. And I couldn't remember the last time I had returned it.

"A little," I admitted, and I lowered my gaze for a moment. Should I tell him I had seen him in the pool earlier? No, I couldn't. I didn't want him to know I'd been thinking about him all day, since I had first laid eyes on him.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked, letting his eyes move down my body slowly before he raised them again to meet mine. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. The booze was moving around my system, loosening my tongue a little and opening me up.

"I'm raising money for my library," I replied honestly. "But I don't think I'm half as fancy as most of the other people here."

"Well, you look the part," he assured me, and I found my eyes drawn down toward his mouth. He had slightly olive-toned skin, and the sculpted shape of his lips popped against it. I wanted to run my thumb over them, to feel the softness of them under the pad of my finger.

"So do you," I replied, and then flushed a little as I realized how flirtatious what I'd just said sounded. He grinned, taking another sip on his champagne. He looked completely at ease as he asked me a few more questions, totally in control. I could see a few women who passed by us glancing in his direction, but he didn't pull his gaze from mine the entire time as though I was the only person in the room he could see.

I could barely take in what he was saying. All I could focus on was that he was paying attention to me, that he was looking at me like I was interesting and attractive and everything he'd been looking for. A guy like this had a play, of course. There was no way he learned this level of charm just off the top of his head, but how long had it been since a gorgeous, mysterious stranger like him just came up and started flirting with me? Maybe it was the champagne, or maybe it was something else, but when he reached out to take my hand, I didn't pull away.

"You know, there's plenty more of this hotel." He glanced around, a grin curling up the corners of his mouth. "If you want to see it."

"You want to ...?"

"I want to get out of here, with you." He filled in the blanks for me, moving a little closer to me, so close, I could almost feel the heat of his breath against my skin. I guess he saw the softening in my eyes, the way my resolve quivered and then gave out from underneath me.

"Come on." He tugged my hand, and we started through the crowd.

Despite the voice in my head telling me that this was fucking crazy, I followed him.

I had no idea what the rest of this night was going to bring, but I didn't want it to end there. He made his way through the room, and I watched him, watched myself following him. Whatever was going to happen, it was only just beginning.