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Three, two, one...
For the last time, she looked at her reflection, a dangerous smile painted on her face. One of the men in dark suits opened the door for her as she slowly stepped out of the sleek black Audi. With grace, she threw him a small smile that made everyone else outside hold their breath.
Chin raised, she made her way inside, mouths gaping and eyes following her every move, her grin widened at her effect. The security's responsibility, which was to check and verify visitors coming in to see if they were on the list, had long been forgotten.
She wore a grin that invited anyone in, a smile that can make anyone forget their names โ only hers on their lips.
The soft tempting notes of the music from inside beckoned to her. The party hadn't even begun yet, and she was already attracting too much attention...as usual.
She sashayed down the stairs and into the hall. A walk almost as powerful as her body, it radiated off of her, and everyone can see it even from the distance.
The song gradually became more intense, as did the looks she received from those around the room. Her neck was encrusted with heavy jewels, and her fingers were adorned with shimmering gems. They couldn't help but wonder... and what if they stared too closely?
She'd blind them.
She had entered the room with confidence, winking at a waiter who almost tripped before taking a glass of champagne for herself. The crimson of her gown glistened romantically under the mellow chandeliers above. Nothing was more perfect scenery than her, as if the lights were meant to gleam beautifully down on her figure.
Even now, as she glanced around the room, she could sense the electricity that hung around her. The poor, the privileged, and, of course, the filthy rich and powerful. They all desired nothing but a glimpse of her.
It was a shame that was all they were going to get.
Tonight, was all about enslaving one particular heart - for reasons of her own. As if by clockwork, she heard footsteps nearing her direction. Ones she had memorized all too well.
Placing the champagne glass at one of the empty tables beside her, she turned around. She couldn't help but smile at how predictable people are.
"I sense that smile is for me."
One of high society's more lucrative members stood before her, dressed in a black suit with a smolder she wished to slap off. His confidence, for some inexplicable burning reason, ravished her body.
Deep blue eyes collided with her dark brown eyes โ like the sea and the forest on a bleak winter night. But if one dared to look closely into her dark eyes, one could see an untamed flame just waiting to be unleashed. It was the same blaze โ a raging storm she saw in his ocean eyes that now bedeviled her thoughts and ignited a wildfire in her soul. She wanted it to burn her skin and leave a mark...
His face hardened as if he had read her thoughts and sensed her desire to close the gap between them.
"Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?" His baritone voice echoed in her ears, almost as if enticing her to surrender to temptation.
The watch upon his wrist glinted under the dull lighting as he grasped her hand, leading her onto the dance floor, and twisting her to the thundering tango of the band. He didn't even wait for her response; her answer seemed obvious in her eyes, but still, it vexed her how he could read her like an open book. Her gown bounced to his command. She cursed quietly. She had made it too easy.
Maybe you just underestimated him.
She quickly silenced that voice, trying to think of something else to distract her from what was going on. His hands were firm on her waist - secure enough to ensure she didn't escape, but gentle enough to persuade her to stay. She smiled inwardly, taking advantage of the situation. Her lips slowly found their way by his neck.
"It's a pity," she sang, with a voice as angelic as the devil, "you're an awful dancer." She let the words linger in the little space between them - challenges are the most entertaining distractions.
It was a lie, of course, because in the long seconds he spun her away from him, all she wished to do was twirl back into his warmth, into his arms. The firm arms she could feel through the layers of clothing separating them.
In response to her words, those arms that had been holding her so securely dipped her recklessly, his hand on the arch of her back sending shivers down her spine. With his nose a breath away from her jeweled neck, she let her fingers caress the fold in his suit, while her other hand set to work.
"You are the first to raise such concerns, Ms.?"
She let his question hang in the air as she regained her posture, working her feet in time with the music. She noticed the crowd's gaping eyes who observed the dance as if she were some mysterious animal in a menagerie. They would never come to know anything else about her. They would simply remember the series of events her departure initiated.
She drew herself to the present "I don't tend to hand out my details or my name for that matter," she hummed, gazing intensely into his eyes.
His eyes followed hers and paused, "You expect me to work for your name?"
The art of seduction demanded mystery, while the art of distraction demanded a show. She had provided both. She laughed quietly to herself...he'd have to do a lot more than work for her name. The hesitation in his voice gave her the strength and the perfect opportunity to swing herself away from him.
It's a shame, I could drown in those eyes.
For a second, she paused, bewildered at the unrecognizable thoughts stirring inside her. Letting out a deep breath, she continued to walk.
Her gown billowed as she made her way out of the room, pleasantly aware that his eyes trailed her as she left until she was out of sight.
Perhaps more pleasant was the fact that his watch was strapped to the garter around her thigh.
Her walk broke into a run as the estate's alarms rang out in a piercing cry, deliberately avoiding areas where she could be seen on CCTV cameras.
She swiftly pulled off a layer of her red gown, transforming into a dark blue. She laughed at how her new outfit matched the exact shade of his eyes. Turning to a corner, she checked to make sure no one was in the corridor before pulling out her pistol, which was strapped to her other thigh.
She made a beeline to one of the estate's rooms, pulling out a single hairpin, hacking her way to open the locked door, and successfully slipping inside before she heard footsteps approaching her direction. Calming herself down, she scanned the room and then stopped at a particular thing. She smiled the way the devil might have smiled before he fell from heaven.
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She dashed out of the room a few minutes later, whistling a soft tune. She almost did a twirl in the middle of the corridor but decided against it because she was still inside the estate. She wouldn't have her perform her victory dance only to be apprehended seconds later.
Without hesitation, she jumped over the railings of the roof, slid down the pipes, and landed gracefully on the ground before sauntering beside the catering van. A black car was already there, waiting for her arrival.
A smirk escaped her as she noticed her dancing partner standing upon the roof of the estate, watching her departure. Idiot.
The light from the room she had just seduced him in cast a silhouette on his tall figure. He resembled a prince charming out of a fairy tale, the only difference is he was enthralled with the villain or was it the other way around?
With a shrug, she let her maniac laugh seep to the surface as she drove into the cruel night.
Deep down there was a voice at the back of her mind, whispering. She wouldn't mind another encounter with him, she'd welcome another chance of seeing him again.
Truth be told, she wanted him to chase her, and well...let's just say when he finally caught up with her, maybe they might do something else; something similar to what a predator does to its prey - devour them.
Of her growing list of enemies, he was certainly the most... tempting.
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