Chapter 8 #2
After stopping to catch my bearings, I almost experienced a panic attack.
I’d been on fast forward for almost four days, every day little more than a blur.
I had almost nothing to my name, two bags containing years of my life but nothing to show for my hard work.
What little money I’d saved was safely tucked away inside my bra.
A trick I’d learned from one of my roommates.
I’d never felt more like a pauper in my life. I certainly couldn’t stay in a hotel for very long. That meant I’d need to get a job, one that hopefully worked around my schedule at the ballet.
First things first. Meeting with my old friend. At least having someone I knew in the new city should prove grounding.
I was excited to see Emmeline again. She’d always been a breath of fresh air. I rounded the corner, checking the GPS on my phone as I did. She’d asked me to meet her where she worked. Indulgence. It sounded like a club, but it was ten-thirty in the morning.
The hard thud jarred every muscle, the tremendous force catching me completely off guard, so much so I stumbled backwards only to be saved by two strong hands grabbing me. For a few seconds, it was as if I was floating instead of falling.
“Whoa. I’m sorry. Are you alright?”
The strong hands belonged to a very sexy man with a deep and husky voice, the tone as alluring as any I’d heard in a very long time.
No, it wasn’t possible. Not three times in twelve hours.
His voice was low and smoky, a little rough around the edges.
Blinking and shocked that I was winded, I slowly lifted my gaze to stare into the most enigmatic pair of midnight blue eyes I’d ever seen.
With flecks of gold and silver surrounding his irises, the stark shimmer was momentarily mesmerizing.
My entire world froze, my mind incapable of processing or accepting what I was seeing.
Him.
No. No. There was no chance in hell this was a coincidence. He was just as shocked, maybe even more so than I was.
Yep, my luck sucked. The man from the night and morning before.
Fear swept through me gnawing at my insides.
My instinct was to fight him, but his hold was firm, the look on his eyes as defiant as mine likely was.
I’d worked so hard to hide every emotion, pretending I was perfectly fine being alone, but I’d never felt so entirely devoid of anyone to support me my entire life.
“My perfect Aphrodite,” he said under his breath. “My lost angel. How amazing running into you for a third time.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I bit my lip. Would he buy the charade or toss me into the ocean?
He took a deep breath, cocking his head as if trying to decide what the hell to do with me. “Is that the way you want to play it?”
“I’m sorry?”
While his voice was full of amusement, his entire face was pinched in confusion and uncertainty, his eyes scrutinizing mine. I prayed that he’d let it go. Couldn’t he get the hint? I just wanted to pretend that we hadn’t been embroiled in utter sin.
While I’d changed clothing, and my hair was in a bun where I’d had it in a long braid before, there was no chance he hadn’t put all the pieces together.
I was playing a fool’s game. Unless he was an arrogant bastard who had women falling all over him.
I waited for him to threaten me, but he took a deep breath instead.
“Alright. I get it. Are you okay?” he asked again, only enunciating the syllables this time as if concerned I’d been injured. His gaze immediately fell to my cheek, his eyes narrowing. “Now, did I hurt you?”
“I’m fine.” I was far too cool with my answer. “You can let me go.”
“You’re sure?” Was he pushing me to see if I’d pretend this morning hadn’t occurred?
That’s exactly what I intended on doing.
Perhaps he was surprised by my accent, although after the number of people I’d met between the hotel staff and the dancers with the ballet theater, the city was filled with foreigners.
“Positive. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, but neither were you.
” I turned my face away, although I was prepared with a lie should he ask what had happened to my cheek.
He shifted his hand, forcing my chin front and center, but I jerked my head away.
“Like I said. I. Am. Fine.”
Annoyed, he leveled me with his eyes in an entirely different way than he’d done that morning.
At least the time allowed me to take a much better look at him.
The handsome man was tall, at least six foot five and built differently than the men I’d spent my adult life around.
Dancers were muscular yet slim, not an ounce of fat on them.
The stranger was bulky from lifting weights, his muscles so well developed his suit was a little too tight in the arms and chest. Where he’d appeared elegant the night before, his look now reminded me of the way my brother had always looked just before handling a situation for my father.
“I’m glad to hear it. I certainly wouldn’t want someone as lovely as you are to be hurt by my careless behavior.
” His study of me brought another wave of nerves.
His words weren’t a threat by anyone’s standards, yet I continued shivering.
I half expected several goons to appear from every side, waiting for his commands.
I’d long since stopped looking for boogeymen in the shadows. Now, I was doing it all over again, fearful of everything and everyone. Including my handsome lover.
I just needed to keep up the pretense.
He was a powerhouse dressed in a black suit, a slight surprise in the colorful environment and steam bath of a sunny day. With polished ebony shoes and a matching watch and band, the only light was in the color his shirt, the stark white a completely opposite of the scowl on his face.
Seeing his muscles straining at the material, his tailored shirt unable to hide his carved physique, I was momentarily thrown.
Every inch of him was gorgeous, especially with his long, dark hair, the tips curling around his shoulder blades.
Where he commanded attention without trying, I’d dressed like a college student having gone four nights without sleep prior to the final exam.
Instead of appearing unkempt, his look was sexy, as if the man had just finished indulging in explosive morning passion. When naughty images rushed into my mind, I was forced to look away to avoid him noticing an unwanted wave of embarrassment coloring my cheeks.
He took a deep breath, once again leveling me with his eyes. Yet as he inched closer, I gathered a sense our paths had crossed again for a reason.
That could have nothing to do with kismet.
“You look lost, which is entirely unacceptable. I certainly would never want an angel to be lost. Not one so precious.”