CHAPTER 5

Move, Mikayla. Turn around right now and leave! He's giving you a chance to walk away, you idiot. Leave, damn it! But Mikayla didn't leave; couldn't leave. She continued to stand there like an idiot. When enough time had passed that it was clear she wasn't going to leave, he smiled.

"I'm glad you decided to stay."

Mikayla groaned in her head. "Well, I'm not glad but my body wouldn't listen to me," she thought but didn't say it out loud.

"We should talk outside, away from the noise...and the probing eyes." He shot a meaningful look into the crowd.

Mikayla looked up just in time to see eyes darting away from them because of the look he gave them. She needed to get out of there immediately. She nodded. "Let's go." She followed him out of the hall and into the night.

She expected him to stop in front of the hall or a small distance from it but he continued to march on like a man on a mission. She had no choice but to follow him. For the first time, it crossed her mind that this man could be dangerous. He could be a serial killer for all she knew!

What if he was leading her away from the crowd so he could get her to a nice, quiet spot and kill her? After all, her first thought when she noticed him staring needles into her skin was that he was a psychopath.

Any same woman would turn around and run screaming into the night but Mikayla continued to follow him until they came to a little garden with seats around a fountain. He took a seat and motioned to her to join him. Mikayla hesitated.

"You've come this far. Just sit," he said and casually crossed his hand, careful not to wrinkle his impeccable suit. He leaned his head back and stared up into the night sky.

Mikayla watched him for a moment. Even in that position, he looked like a predator on the prowl, like he was preparing himself to reach out and snatch a piece of the sky for himself. But once again, she wasn't scared.

Despite the worrying thoughts and scenarios her mind was scheming up, she wasn't worried that he would hurt her. She sighed and sat beside him, but she kept a healthy distance between them.

"About time," he said. He eyed the space between them, frowned and shifted closer. "There, that's better." He said.

Mikayla felt a spark of electricity where their skins touched suddenly. She had to force herself not to move away. "What did you want to tell me?" She asked tightly.

"Tell you?" He asked.

"Yes, tell me. Isn't that why you asked me out here?"

"No, I asked you out here because I wanted us to talk, and get to know each other."

"And what if I don't want to know you?"

He smirked. "I think that boat has sailed. You wouldn't be sitting here if you didn't want to."

She scoffed. "My being here has nothing to do with wanting to know you." The words were out before she could stop to think about them. She blushed.

He grinned at her. Again, it reminded her of a wolf who knew he had his prey cornered. In this case, she was the unlucky prey.

Thankfully, he didn't press the point. He turned his body sideways so that he was half-facing her. "Let's try something. I'll ask you questions, and you'll answer if you want to. If you don't, just say pass and we'll move it along. How is that?"

Mikayla sighed. She might as well answer his questions. At least, these rules gave her some modicum of power over what she did or didn't reveal. She nodded her accent to his offer.

He immediately asked the first question. "So tell me, what did you mean earlier by saying that you're not fun?"

She shrugged. "I'm not. I don't party much. I don't date much. I don't do anything really, except work."

"And what do you do for work?" He asked.

Mikayla smiled. "Pass." She wasn't about to give him any clues as to her identity.

"Okay, next question. Why don't you do fun things?"

She thought about it for a second. "I guess it's just not who I am. I like to be in control of my own life. I am a very disciplined person. So I don't do anything that can take away that control."

"And having fun would take away that control?"

She picked her words carefully. "Engaging in certain behaviours would put me in a position where I may be forced to lose that control," she answered cryptically.

"But is being in control of your life really the same as being under such strict rules that you can't even enjoy your life and have fun?"

"I do enjoy my life and I do have fun. I love my job. I love hanging out with my friend."

That would be the black-haired girl from earlier. He'd seen the girl around, flittering around the hall. With a friend like that, she probably ended up having more fun than she liked.

"...and I do date from time to time," she added pointedly.

"So you could consider dating me then?"

"No." The answer came quickly and with cold certainty.

"No? That was a quick answer. Why not though? You just admitted that you date from time to time. So why not me?"

"For one, I just met you," she pointed out.

"Nonsense! Time is nothing when you meet someone you feel this strongly about. Do you know how much of a shock I got the moment my eyes landed on you? The entire room died away. I only saw you."

Butterflies fluttered to life in Mikayla's belly. She blushed bright red. "That's not feeling strongly. That is sexual tension. We are both old enough to know that."

"I don't agree. I know sexual tension."

She bet he did. A man like him probably knew too much about sexual tension.

"I'd wager this is something else. And you must feel it too. Have you ever felt sexual tension like this?"

She didn't answer, but in her mind, she agreed that this felt too strange to just be sexual tension. It was something more. But what? She didn't know, and she didn't intend to find out.

No, she couldn't allow herself to find out. If she loved herself and her sanity, she would do everything she could to not find out.

"You agree it's something else. So why wouldn't you date me?"

She needed to be plain about this. It was the only way she could get him off her back. "Because I would never date someone like you."

That stalled him. "Someone like me?" He repeated. "What does that mean?"

"Yes, someone like you! I don't even know why you're asking me these questions. We only just met. How does it make sense for us to be talking about dating already?"

"Listen, babe," he started.

There it was again, that endearment that rolled off his song so smoothly and simultaneously sent bubbles bobbing around in her chest.

He continued, "I am not the kind of man to beat about the bush. When I see something I want, I go out and get it. I feel things for you that I've never felt for any woman. I don't intend to let that getaway. If that takes me marrying you right now, I would."

"You're insane," Mikayla exclaimed, but his straightforward declaration of...of what, really? Love? Affection? Sexual intent? She didn't even know at this point. Whatever it was, it made her stupidly giddy.

It was kind of insane because she wasn't a super romantic kind of girl but she still wasn't immune to the charms of romance and courting. But this man had tossed all of that aside and was approaching this like a business deal with human feelings, yet she was blushing like a prune.

"You're blushing so hard," he observed. Her cheeks were bright red. With her hair let down and framing her face so delicately, she looked like an angel. Like the sexiest angel he'd ever seen.

Thank goodness, she seemed to have completely forgotten about the hair. Her hairband remained around his wrist. He liked her hair down, liked it a little too much. It was beautiful. She was beautiful.

She touched her cheeks and felt that they were indeed warm. She flapped her hands back and forth quickly, creating an improv fan to cool down her cheeks.

"It becomes you," he said, which made her blush even more.

"You're not helping!" She exclaimed, laughing as she flapped her hand even faster.

Cael watched her as she laughed, his eyes heating up as he took in her face. She noticed the look in his eyes and blushed. The blush deepened more and more furiously with each second that passed.

Mikayla nervously bit her lip. The action pulled his eyes to her lips.

"Heck, I'm going to kiss you," he declared.