Hello,
Just a note, this part of the story is character/plot development, there is no sex. It's also best if you've read the first chapter. Don't worry, sex comes...it always comes ;)
A.K.
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I slept so well that night, a solid eight hours. Although I woke up refreshed and still riding that wave of euphoria from the night before, dread slowly worked its way into full blown anxiety. It was Raye's birthday, and I had promised not only to show up but to participate in more than my normal wall flower way.
The concept of facing Eli so soon after our night at the club only made my anxiety worse and by the time I arrived, I found myself going out of my way to avoid him. I watched for him, hiding around the corner until he went inside, counting to fifty before I slipped in behind a large group of people. I did my best to blend into the crowd, yet he still managed to find me almost instantly.
I was in the coat check line, seconds after arriving, and without so much as trying to meet my gaze Eli slid to a stop beside me and leaned over to say, "Don't you look well rested." The tie of his all black suit was loosened and his dark hair was ruffled giving him a casually elegant look. My stomach did a flip and I had to glance away.
"I slept for the first time in a week," I muttered, smiling at the coat check lady and doing my best to escape him as I waded into the crowd. No luck however, Eli strolled close behind me like he had all the time in the world and no other place to be.
I glanced back nervously and found his eyes leisurely sliding down my body. He met my gaze with a little half smile and I knew exactly what he was thinking. Blushing I turned away, just in time to collide with the line up at the bar.
The red head I'd hit was nice, he reached out to steady me, which only made me more uncomfortable. He laughed, I apologized and lined up behind him. Eli, with his hands in his pockets and his best non-threatening air, came to a stop behind me.
"So, you'd do it again then?" Eli's question took me by surprise, as did his heat as he leaned into me. Eli's face betrayed nothing, he had that same small smile that was his trademark but his eyes were guarded. I couldn't honestly say if it was unusual, I've never been one who enjoyed eye contact. I knew the exact shade of every tie he owned but I wouldn't have been able to tell you the colour of his eyes until yesterday.
I took a deep breath and nodded, "Yes, I'd do it again."
I don't know why I told him that, but there was no backing down now. I watched his eyes light up for the briefest of moments before that mask of indifference returned. Across the room Raye called my name and I glanced over to see her waving at us, the brightest of smiles on her face. She looked so happy, the new, glittering diamond on her left hand rivaled only by the joy radiating in her blue eyes.
I, on the other hand, felt incredibly self conscious. We bought drinks and Eli followed me over to our group. He hovered too close as Jane positioned us for a group photo. If this had only been the weekend before, Eli would have gone to the other side and thrown his arm across Derek's shoulders. Tonight, however, he stood beside me, leaning in a little too close for comfort as the four of us smiled for the camera.
Only Jane didn't get it the first time and she made us hold that pose while she tried to figure out her camera. I froze as I felt Eli's hand move to my waist. Raye was laughing and chattering but my mind was not there. It was all wrapped up in the man whose hand was burning its way through my loosely fitted blouse. A shiver rolled through me as I remembered the night before and it took all that I had not to pull away.
By the time Jane said she had a 'good' pic, I'd chugged my drink and was pushing myself through the crowd to the bar. Tension filled my body when a familiar heat slid in behind me again as I called out my order.
"I'll be there next week," Eli turned and leaned back against the bar to watch me as I waited. Pretending for all the world like this wasn't the most inappropriate conversation to be having right now, I just smiled at the bartender, paid for my drink then turned to navigate my way to the tables where our group was gathered. Eli followed, pretending not to notice my discomfort and watching me with eyes that seemed to see everything but revealed nothing.
I smiled, laughed and chatted with the people around me, pretending like I wasn't focused on the dark stare that never seemed to leave my body. A few drinks in I was shamelessly flirting with some stranger, pretending to be interested in whatever sport he said he played. When in reality I was hoping Eli would get the point and leave, or ignore me. He didn't, instead the infuriating man waited and watched. Eventually, out of desperation I excused myself and escaped to the bathroom.
After an uncomfortable pep talk where I tried to convince myself that I could do this, I exited the bathroom. My eyes instantly going to the table in search of the man I hoped had found something else to distract himself with. Part of me didn't know how it would feel to see him all over someone else but I was convinced it would be better than the alternative.
"There you are," I heard him say, seconds before he herded me into the corner. Eli never touched me, he just used his whole body to make me go where he wanted. Head down low, eyes locked on me, he looked like a cat cornering his prey. I was pretty sure I looked like a startled deer searching for a direction to bolt in.
When my back was against the wall, his hands braced on either side of me, and his body looming over me to block out the rest of the bar, Eli asked, "Why aren't you flirting with me?" Clearly I wasn't the only one drinking away my inhibitions.
"That's not a good idea," I said under my breath.
The devil smiled, a heart stopping smile that I'd never seen before. "I think it could be."
I shook my head adamantly, "No Eli, it's a bad idea. You and I see each other way too often for you not to be a threat." The word was out of my mouth before I had the sense to stop it and instantly I regretted it. "I didn't mean that," I tried desperately to recover but it was too late.
"Yes you did. How am I a threat Mariah," Something in the tone of his voice and the way he used my full name made me think he knew the answer, so stubbornly I held out. After a moment he leaned in and when I turned away, he let his nose follow the line of my cheek. "How am I a threat Mariah?"
Shamelessly I couldn't help the groan that came out. I felt a wave of pleasure roll over me and I swore his pheromones were a truth serum. That was the only explanation, I lied to myself, I couldn't possibly be this weak.
"There's no risk with them," I confessed. "I can flirt tonight, go back to Raye's and never have to think of them again. With you..." He nudged my cheek with his nose and for a second I stumbled over my words. "I s-see you everywhere, and even if I tried to get away, I get the feeling you would haunt me."
He gave a satisfied chuckle and pulled away, looking more than a little pleased with himself. "I think I haunt you already. Come on," he took my hand, "I'll buy you a drink."
"I can buy my own," I muttered unhappily pulling my hand away but following him nonetheless. I was all too eager to drown my confession in something, anything that would prompt me to forget it. His smile stayed as he ordered our drinks, and he paid before I had the chance to complain. So I ordered two shots and paid for them myself, passing one to him.
"So, Friday," he said, raising the shot glass and downing it like a pro. "Am I going to see you or not?"
"Don't make it sound like a date Eli," I threatened pointing an unsteady finger at him.
"Why not," he laughed, that hand going to my back once more as he pushed me through the crowd to the tables. "Is the thought of a date with me that bad?"
How very far from the truth he was, I thought as I shook my head and pulled away from his warmth. Before we reached the curious gazes of our friends I turned and held up a hand. "I'm not on the market for anything Eli. Seriously, I'm not."
I waited until that smile faded, and nodded at the serious look that replaced it. Once I was satisfied that he got it, I turned back to the tables and plastered a smile on my face.
I spent the rest of the night avoiding his angry stare and pretending like I was excited to be with them. I danced with Raye when asked, smiled and laughed when the others did, but all the while I was all too aware of the anger bubbling in the man across from me.
A few hours later when Jane and her man disappeared and the rest of the group dispersed, Derek and Raye suggested we all go back to their apartment for movies and popcorn. Before I could say anything Raye bullied me into saying yes and Eli agreed. To my dismay I found myself following them out to a waiting cab.
I shouldn't have expected any less, but mere minutes after we were at their place, Raye and Derek disappeared, leaving me with two uncomfortable choices. I could stay the night with only Eli for company, or head back to the lonely old house I avoided at every opportunity.
