Chapter 7 To DateNot To Date?
The General stood on the other side, and even through the small glass, his presence was suffocating.
It made the air around me tighten as my heart thudded harder, fast enough that it caused my chest to ache.
I pressed a hand over my heart, trying to calm the wild beat beneath my palm.
Then I smoothed my other hand down my top, as if that could steady me too.
“Alexandra?”
Just hearing my name from that voice sent a strange current through me.
But with no other choice, I opened the door, stealing myself against the power of him.
Not that it made much of a difference because he filled the threshold with those big, broad shoulders of his.
His large frame was even more intimidating thanks to his usual black uniform of black leather and armored pieces.
But it was his eyes that always got me. Those impossibly dark eyes that seemed to lock onto me and, for a moment, something else flickered there.
A strange white glow, barely perceptible, like a shadow illuminated from within.
Then his gaze dropped, slow and deliberate, tracing the line of my body from head to toe and back again.
Every inch of that look felt like a touch.
And there was something dangerously attractive in the way he did it.
Whether it be his brazen confidence or the quiet arrogance that said he didn’t need permission, I didn’t know.
My body reacted before my mind could stop it. So, I crossed my arms over my chest in a weak attempt at hiding it with pretend defiance. The sight caused a faint smirk to tug at his lips, the barest curve that still managed to look sinful.
“I trust you slept well,” he said, his deep voice sliding over me like silk dipped in smoke. Another shiver crawled down my spine before I replied.
“Apart from waking up and not knowing where I am or how I got here.” I matched his calm tone with my own. However, instead of answering, he nodded toward the doorway.
“Did no one ever tell you that it’s not polite to leave a guest standing outside?”
I scoffed. “You’re not a guest,” I shot back.
His smirk deepened, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.
“All right, then. How about this… you are my guest, and it’s considered impolite when you don’t invite in your host after he has shown you such generous hospitality,” he countered, making me lift an unimpressed brow at his argument.
“Do you often talk about yourself in the third person?”
He laughed before nodding to the door and saying, “When the need arises, yes… although as to date, you are the only one who dares to refuse me.”
I tried not to physically gulp at this, instead daring to question why.
“And yet you seem intent on keeping me around,” I pointed out, making him grin for half a second.
“Evidence would suggest as much, wouldn’t it?” he replied in an almost playful tone that I hadn’t heard before. But then he nodded to the door once more, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes before conceding.
“Fine,” I muttered, exhaling sharply and swinging the door wider.
“Please, do come in,” I said with a bite of sarcasm, even adding a mocking flourish of my arm, like some royal gesture of welcome.
One he ignored as he just walked past me, and the moment he did, I felt like the air shifted.
The penthouse suddenly felt smaller, the space bending around him like it was adjusting to his presence.
He moved through the room like a predator in familiar territory, his gaze scanning everything. Those dark depths assessing, searching for threats I didn’t have. Unless he thought I was hiding a few Ninja Turtles in the cupboards, I wasn’t sure what he expected to find.
He finally stopped and took a seat at the table, unhurried and perfectly at ease.
I muttered under my breath, “Make yourself comfortable, why don’t you?”
If he heard me, and I was sure that he did, he didn’t comment. However, that same knowing smirk lingered, subtle but constant.
“I trust you’re happy with your accommodations,” he said smoothly, eyes glancing toward the bedroom door. “And you found the clothes I arranged for you, I see,” he added with his gaze coming back to me and feeling free once more to make a leisurely assessment of my body.
The way he spoke with that calm, measured, authoritative voice made it sound less like a question and more like a reminder.
Again, my whole body tensed. I knew the polite thing would’ve been to thank him, but that wasn’t exactly my strong suit right now. Not when I was still clinging to my anger like a shield.
“I did,” I said stiffly. “And to whoever got them for me, I send my thanks,” I added quickly, trying to make my own point that I knew he hadn’t been the one.
He gave a quiet scoff, the corner of his mouth twitching as though he found my attitude mildly entertaining.
“Is it really so hard for you to thank others?” he questioned, making me jerk slightly as I arched a brow.
“I don’t know. Is it so hard for you to apologize?” I threw back at him, causing his eyes to darken further if that were even possible.
“I’m not sure I have anything to apologize for,” he said evenly. Then, with a subtle pause that made my pulse stutter, he added, “But caring for you, apparently, is one of my many faults.”
Now it was my turn to scoff. “Oh, is that what this is? Caring? Because from where I’m standing, it looks more like kidnapping with a side of luxury,” I snapped, yet he didn’t even flinch.
“No. It’s called making sure you’re safe.
” His voice softened, the edge fading for just a breath and taking the anger out of my sails for a startled moment.
“And I carried you here myself, in case you’re wondering if I got one of my lackeys to do it,” he said as if making his own point after my comment about the clothes.
“And unless you missed it, since then, I’ve ensured that you’ve lacked for nothing,” he added, gesturing his arm to the penthouse, noticing the empty plate on the side that told him that I had already helped myself to the food.
Although the reminder only ended up fueling my anger once more.
“Funny…” I muttered before continuing, “…Because I don’t remember asking for any of it.” The bite of my words gave him cause to sigh. One quiet, controlled, but undeniably tired.
“My purpose for coming here wasn’t to argue with you,” he said, reaching into his jacket.
“It was to give you this.”
My eyes widened as he set a book on the dining table between us.
But now my heart skipped when I saw the worn leather cover, thinking for one hopeful second that it was my journal.
However, disappointment soon followed as it wasn’t what I had hoped for.
The binding was darker, older, its title etched in a language I didn’t recognize.
“What is it?” I asked warily.
“I’ve read enough of your journal to know that you clearly value knowledge,” he said, taking a pause to nod down at the book. “I thought that this may offer greater insight to my world… or at the very least it will aid you in what must come next,” he added cryptically, causing my brow to furrow.
“And that is?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as I leaned back against the kitchen counter.
“You’ll know soon enough,” he replied, making me actually roll my eyes as I exhaled sharply.
“You say that a lot, you know, but I think you and I have very different ideas of what ‘soon enough’ actually means.”
He tilted his head slightly, his mouth curving. “So impatient to fly, little bird?” he taunted, making me grit my teeth.
“More like I don’t have time to waste,” I countered, making him sneer at me.
“And what exactly is so important that you need to return to your little base?” he mocked, making me shake my head in annoyance.
“You just love taunting me, don’t you?” I said, lashing out in a bitter tone.
“After all, I am a villainous bastard, am I not?” he replied, shocking me and inwardly making me wince because I knew where he had gotten those words from.
“I don’t remember ever using those exact words to your face,” I said dryly, knowing it was a weak argument on my part.
“No?” he murmured, before pushing his point. “But you thought them. More than once, I’d imagine… or did I not read that part right?” he asked in a cold, dark tone, making me flinch.
My silence was enough of an answer. Yet before I could say more or explain, he stood, his movements graceful and deliberate.
Every motion of his body radiated command.
Enough that I too moved, taking a few steps away from the kitchenette.
Then I instinctively straightened as he started toward the door, pausing by my side before continuing on.
“I request your presence at dinner tonight,” he said, his tone casual yet firm, but it caught me off guard.
“Dinner?” I repeated, blinking.
“Yes,” he said, the faintest smirk returning, “It’s usually the third meal of the day,” he teased, and I couldn’t help but let out a surprised laugh, half scoff, half disbelief.
“Yes, I’m aware of what dinner is, thank you.”
“Good,” he said.
“Then you’ll have no trouble joining me for it,” he added, making me frown.
“Well, I didn’t say that,” I grumbled, crossing my arms again.
“Well,” he countered. “Unless you plan on sulking in this room for the entirety of your stay here and no longer wish for the answers you seek, then I suggest you prepare yourself for dinner… I’ll have someone fetch you,” he stated, making me huff.
“It’s not very gentleman-like of you,” I shot back before foolishly continuing on to say, “On a date, the man usually shows up at the door himself and… er…” The words left my mouth before I could stop them, and I immediately wanted to throw myself into the nearest black hole.
“A date?” he repeated, one dark brow rising as that damn smirk of his made its mocking appearance.
I cleared my throat and told him, “I was joking. Obviously. I know it’s not a date.” Of course, I knew this pathetic attempt at redeeming myself fell flat on its face when he grinned. And just like that, his whole face changed.
It was devastating, that smile.
It stripped him of his stoic armor and turned him into something dangerously human. Breathtaking, even.
“No, of course not,” he said softly. “And besides…” His gaze lingered, his tone dipping to a low murmur when he told me, “I don’t usually invite others to accompany me on my dates.”
“Others?” I echoed, my voice barely more than a whisper.
“Your uncle and my second-in-command, Aster, will be joining us,” he informed me. And then, as if he hadn’t already scrambled my nerves enough, he leaned in close enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath against my ear.
“So, don’t worry, you don’t have to be alone with me again…
well, not tonight at least.” This whispered promise was one he pulled back from enough to actually wink down at me, shocking a little gasp out of me.
But before I could even form a coherent thought, he straightened and turned toward the door.
“Happy reading, Alexandra.” The sound of my name had never felt so dangerous when hummed like that.
The door then clicked shut behind him, leaving me standing there, pulse racing, lips parted, words trapped somewhere between anger and confusion.
Then it hit me.
He hadn’t told me what time dinner was.
So, I flung open the door, stepping out into the hall just in time to catch sight of his retreating figure.
“Wait! You didn’t tell me what time!” I called out.
Without looking back, he said, “Wouldn’t be much fun for me if I had.” And then he laughed, a low, amused, and infuriatingly sexy chuckle.
“Asshole,” I muttered, shutting the door again. But this time, the word didn’t hold the same venom it once had. Because as my eyes landed on the book sitting on the table, the ghost of his smile replayed in my mind.
I couldn’t help it because I then…
Smiled too.