Chapter Six.

He was handsome.

The stranger, none other than Williams Herringbone. The young business magnate known for his enormous wealth and extreme good looks. She had not had the chance to look at him properly before, what with all the excitement of last night.

But now, with him just lying there breathing peacefully, Celine could take him in well. And she couldn’t take off her eyes, or stop the tingling sensation in her chest. He looked of a different breed from the men that revolved around her nowadays.

She had seen him on social media news rooms and on bulletin boards. But never so up close and personal. Never within touching distance. And Celine had touched him a lot already. Her palms itched to run down his velvety forearm again. He was simply the most beautifully handsome man she’d ever come across.

Though his jet black hair was a little ruffled at the moment, his equally dark lashes framed a chiselled face. A smooth, hairless, TV worthy face with high cheekbones and full lips that begged to be touched. He looked like a sculptor’s perfect work of art.

The killer feature were his eyes. Golden and blazing with brilliance. Mesmerizing. They were piercing and warm all at once. She couldn’t stop staring into them…

Wait a minute…His eyes shouldn’t be open…

Redness creeped up her cheeks and she looked away quickly, swearing at herself for not realizing that he was awake.

“Hey…You’re awake?”

He remained silent. The stranger…Williams Herringbone, just continued gazing at her.

She shifted in the chair, looking at everywhere else but him. Maybe she should’ve pretended to be reading a book instead of staring at him for close to half an hour.

“Eh…are you feeling ok? You practically died last night.” She said quickly. The tension of electricity sizzling between them was just too much for her.

Williams sat up slowly, and looked around. If he was surprised by what he saw he didn’t show it. Celine had nearly screamed her heart out when she’d half dragged half crawled the both of them in here.

The room was twice the size of Celine’s entire apartment back at Vaughn’s place, and looked like every child’s dream. Or nightmare, depending on where you’re coming from.

 Life sized toys from Disney shows and movies crowded the floor, the shelves, the couches, every available space. Some hung from the high ceiling like angels while others glowed from fancy hooks on the bright yellow walls.

Williams pushed a barbie doll aside to get more leg space as he swept them over the side of the bed. There was a strange expression on his face now. It wasn’t anger or bliss.

“Where am I?” He asked quietly.

Celine pinched her lips but couldn’t stop the words from coming out. “Really? That’s what you want to know right now? Didn’t you hear what I just said? You almost died last night! We have to get you to a hospital quickly.”

“Why are you always screaming?” He sounded sincerely curious about that.

“I’m not screaming. I never scream. I’m just trying to get you to understand how critical the situation is.” She got up from the chair and began pacing along the foot of the bed, not paying attention to the squeals and squeaks of stuffed animals as she stepped on them. “Last night you decided to pass out at the wheel of the car you were driving on a very busy road. We are both lucky to be alive, thanks to my ability to keep a level head in the face of danger. You’re welcome.” She waved that away and went on. “Anyway, you seemed to had eaten something your body is allergic to. It stopped blood flow to your heart as you went into a panic attack. Good thing I took basic nursing courses in college or you would be...why are you staring at me like that?”

“This is not your house.” He stated.

“Of course it’s not my house. Whoever sleeps in such a crowded room must have a death wish.

He frowned at you. “You broke into someone’s house?”

“I didn’t break in. I knocked on the front door asking for help but no one replied. Who would’ve known that the first code I type into the electronic keypad would work?”

“That’s still considered breaking and entering.” He got down from the bed and glanced around for something. She knew exactly what that something was.

Celine was getting frustrated by the collected way he said and did everything. As if he was the most reasonable person in the world. Like he was right and everyone else was wrong. Ok, he wasn’t being arrogant, but she found it rude anyway.

“There was no time to second guess anything. I needed a safe place to take care of you. Did I mention that you were unconscious for close to five minutes?”

He reached the nearest couch and moved an army of Easter bunnies aside to peer under it. “That’s not an excuse that’ll prevent you from getting sued or arrested. Where are my shoes?”

“What other choice did I have? And you weren’t wearing shoes when I pulled you out of the car.” The last part was a lie.

Williams looked up at her. “When do you ever have another choice, Celine?” He disappeared out the room, his socked feet noiseless on the carpeted floor.

The deeper meaning to his words froze her up for a few seconds, before something else registered.

She never told him her name.

She rushed after him. “You just called me Celine. How do you know my name?”

He continued walking. He had a certain way he moved with a confident swagger in every step. Elegant. Like he was floating.

“I asked you a question.”

He came to a sudden stop and she bounced into his backside. She stepped back, embarrassment turning her face red.

He turned around to face her. The fire in his eyes as he stared down at her sent something racing through her heart. She was tall for a girl, but Williams was even taller. She came up just to his nose, her eyes level with those lips.

“Eh…sorry? You calling my name like that took me by surprise, and I just wanted to know how you could’ve found out—”

 “Do you know who I am?”

She nodded. The sensation running through her body from standing so close to him was almost chocking.

“Then why are you surprised that I know who you are?”

She took another step back, allowing herself more room to breath properly. “You’re rich and popular. Everyone knows who you are. It’s not the same for me.” She paused, her mind putting certain pieces of what had happened from last night to the moment together. “What were you doing at the Carmolette last night? It doesn’t seem like your kind of place or thing.”

“Why didn’t you report him harassing you to the police?”

Celine was shocked. “How…How did you know?” She’d never told anyone about Vaughn. She had no one to tell, simple.

“It was obvious that last night wasn’t the first time.”

She looked down to her feet. Many times over the past month, she had thought of getting the police involved. Vaughn wasn’t the type of person anyone should let roam free on the streets. He was a predator. He and his friends.

But all those times she had done nothing. She’d endured all the anxiety of living in the same building with someone who practically undressed her with his eyes every single time. She’d not fought back whenever he attacked her verbally either. Why?

There was a good reason. Reporting to the police would’ve meant giving her true identity to them. They would dig into her past and unearth all the darkness there. This was the last thing she wanted.

Celine didn’t say any of this to Williams. She couldn’t bring herself to lie either, so she remained silent.

He considered her for a minute more before moving off towards the front door. He pulled up the pad covering the locks to reach the number keys.

“The password.” He said.

“What?”

“What’s the code you used to get us in here?”

“I don’t know.” She raked through her brain, trying to remember the four numbers she’d thoughtlessly punched in.

She couldn’t remember. Everything had been so fast paced and exploding last night.

“1470?” She offered finally.

He gave her a sideways look. “You sound as if you’re asking a question. Like you’ve pointed out several times, I was not awake when you brought us here.”

“It’s 1470. I’m sure of it.” Now wait a minute…Had it been 4 or 5? “Wait!”

Williams had already typed in the first number.

She blushed. “It’s 1570…”

“Are you certain this time?”

She nodded. Ok, maybe she wasn’t certain at all. But she didn’t want to appear more foolish than she already felt in front of him.

He punched in the remaining digits and pressed the enter key. The keypad went blank.

Williams turned the knob. The door didn’t move. Almost the same second, metal bars fell over the windows that faced the front street. Same thing for those in the kitchen, and as they would find out after checking through the entire house, every other window.

Dread pooled into her stomach as reality set in.

“Did we just get locked inside a stranger’s house?”