Ari placed her hand in his, stepping out of the vehicle, careful not to snag her new dress on the door. Unconsciously her grasp tightened on him. A thrum of excitement and nervousness ran through her while her head tilted back, craning her neck just to see the top of the building.
Most nightclubs were filled with dancing people in scanty clothing lost in the stupor of their highs. This place was different. The crowds seemed more reserved and at best, from what she could see, it was more of a gentle sway. It was a dark ocean with streaks of crimson bleeding through the cracks. If Alaric owned the place, why would he set such a weird dress code? Maybe that was the true difference between their places in life. He was living in some foreign world that she could only dream of understanding.
She shook off such a depressing thought. Free food, free clothes, entry into an exclusive nightclub? It was a once in a lifetime chance so she was determined to milk it for all it was worth. "If these people are anything like you, I'll have more trouble than it's worth. Let's go."
Whatever she meant by what she said caused him to arch a brow, but he didn't bother asking her to declare. Afterall, he had a bit of an understanding of what she would have meant. Ari considered him a sophisticated asshole who liked to assert his power and dominance over others. This was true, and there was no denying it.
"I wouldn't say they'd treat you the same as, I, myself would treat you, love." Mr. Draconis had a way with words that seemed as though he was from another time period. "You might want to stay extremely close to me."
A light rain had begun, and everyone walked slowly inside like they weren't worried about the sudden downpour. The butler who had helped them exit the car earlier pulled an orange umbrella out, holding it above their heads until they reached the tinted double doors to the nightclub. A lady dressed in black with devils horns was a sign above the door, flickering on and off.
"Mr. Draconis. We haven't seen you in a while." The man said, leather jacket clean and snug around his buff form. He was dark skinned with extremely white teeth and a big wolfish smile. "Who do we have here?" He asked, lifting Ari's hand to his mouth to kiss. His lips lingered a little too long on her hand.
Slowly she slid her hand away from the man she assumed to be the bouncer. With everyone else dressed in formal clothes he stood out like a sore thumb. The smile he gave her was chilling and she wiped the back of her hand on her dress, pretending to readjust the fabric. His attention struck her as odd since there were plenty of women who had entered ahead without so much as a bat of his eyes.
Ari shook her head, raising a brow looking between Alaric and the muscle. "Just company for the evening. Don't mind me."
Before anyone could interject or continue the conversation she gave a gentle pull on her partner's arm to move them along to the safety within the doors. All she wanted was dinner and maybe a little fun to save her dream.
Alaric smiled as the bouncer stepped away, hardly having any words to what the dark skinned man had to say. They both weren't fond of one another, only close through connections. Slipping his arm free from Ari's arm, he rested a hand on her lower back to guide her inside the nightclub. There were over a dozen flashing strobe lights, smoke clouding in the air from vintage flapper holders women held in their mouths as they danced away.
Tall staircases split on either side of the room, covered in pearls that wound around their banisters, matching the bead room dividers sitting between one area and the next. One side was occupied by bartenders and their patrons, the other, an elegant restaurant with gold and black its theme. Two butlers ushered them up the right staircase. "It looks even larger on the inside. My father had this place for a very long time you know." He whispered, helping her up the last step.
Finally they were led to their seats, and a table that curved, cushioned and lit by a dim candlelight with faux jeweled bird cages hanging all around. The fake birds holding the lit wax sticks between their beaks.
Alaric helped her into her seat, plucking up the menu the moment he sat on his own. "Trust me, you won't find greasy nachos and cheap beer here." He smiled over the menu.
The jewels winked in the effervescent glow from the lights that managed to slip through the divider now and then. They made the little bird come alive, dancing in time with the music. The stark difference between pearls and late 50's style should have been tacky, they would have been anywhere else, but somehow the place blended into some strange fusion of modernity and retro.
Perfectly shaped brows rose in curiosity. "You have parents? For some reason I was thinking of you as some strange alien that just beamed down to Earth." She picked up the menu hoping between that and the noise around them that her laughter would be hidden. His smile was disarming. Ari found that when he wasn't all business and threatening her livelihood, the man was pretty tolerable.
Immediately she was grateful that he'd offered to pay. It was clearly one of those high society establishments where there were no prices on anything because regardless of the price, the patrons clearly would have no problem footing the bill.
"No nachos? And here I thought we could be friends. You're probably a better judge of what's good then. Choose for me." The folded menu was snapped shut decisively and returned to the table. "I would, however, love a glass of wine now. Then you can fill me in on why you haven't yet told me what you want. It must be rather important."
It had to be. Why else would he forgive her earlier intrusions earlier so easily and the smear on his good name? Slender fingers drummed against the table while she rested her chin in her hand.
The beginnings of a smirk toying at the corners of her full lips. No obscenities to throw, no product to hide behind. Oddly even with a table between them and probably hundreds of others in the building, Ari felt bare. She was out of her element and vulnerable. There was a strange feeling, hairs rising on the back of her neck from the cleverly concealed curious glances of others.
Either they knew she didn't belong or maybe they were appalled to see Mr. Draconis with company. That was it, right? Everyone thought he was an asshole.
Alaric's smoky eyes were locked on his menu as he propped his chin against the palm of his hand elegantly, gaze roaming over the pictures and their descriptions ever so slowly. "They could've been from mars and never told me," He teased. "But they are long since gone. I had parents. They were stern, my father was a businessman too. You can't have success without strictness. What about you, Miss Ari. Do you have any parents? Why do you live alone, why aren't you married?"
After deciding on the steak, he laid the menu flat upon the table, checking his watch before glimpsing up at her beneath dark lashes which stood out against stormy Grey's. Inside their depths held something one couldn't quite comprehend, and it seemed that despite him asking her questions, he was trying to read her more than what words would allow.
The waitress, dressed in an elegant vintage cocktail dress—a light shade of baby blue, came up to them with a golden notepad and pen. "What can I get for you?"
"She'd like a wine for right now, don't know if she's a lightweight, but I guess we'll find out." A grin found its way to his cruelly shaped mouth, their curves in all the right angles, like a dangerous predator with an alluring appearance but something awful and rotten beneath.
The waitress left and Alaric shook his head, shifting his index finger side to side like a ticking clock. "I never said I'd tell you what I wanted from you. Maybe it's all a facade. Perhaps I just wanted to help but didn't want you to think you had any special treatment so easily."
"My parents live in a small town in the middle of nowhere where everyone knows everything. I left it all behind to chase my dreams and marriage is not a part of that plan right now."
She didn't like to think of home too often.
Her mother had saved up money for her to move and start her shop just for her to fail. Ari even avoided most of their calls claiming she was too busy to keep them updated. "And you? I'm sure someone like you has plenty of women that would love to get married. Why aren't you?"
Familiar goosebumps rose along her arms. Something was still off even though she couldn't put her foot on it. The place, the man, all of it was strange. Briefly she wondered, when he flashed her such a charming smile, would his lips be smooth against her fingers were she to trace them?
How would they feel pressed against her own? There was an alarm ringing in the back of her mind but she paid it no mind. When she realized she was staring Ari quickly turned away, happy that the restaurant was so poorly lit.
"I don't buy that. I'm no fool. You went from threatening my life to taking me out to dinner. That is more than a facade, Alaric. It's an agenda." Her eyes narrowed at him in suspicion. "Are you lonely?" Something she could sympathize with. Often her new life felt like it was missing something. Beyond her shop and big city adventure away from the accusatory looks of others.
He laughed, and it almost sounded cruel as much as it did raspy. "You call this chasing your dreams?" Alaric folded his hands on top of the table.
Maybe she had been working her way up the ladder to success, or maybe for the past few years she'd been running that small little raggedy shop she called success, she lied to herself saying it'd get better—that perhaps one day she'd get closer to that dream.
"It wasn't quite successful." The same words his father used that made him feel insecure about every action he ever made when it came to business. But later he realized they were needed to propel him further when it came to the things he wanted in life.
Lifting the glass by its swirling stem, he took a sip of his wine after the lady had placed it on the table. Clear and crisp, his favorite. Alaric's lips pursed momentarily.
"Only someone foolish starts a business with way too little and thinks their dreams will come blooming with such a small droplet of sunlight. If you want I can teach you how to better what you have. That shit of a place won't get you anywhere."
He lowered the glass, tapping his index finger on the rim to the beat of the swing Jazz music playing around. "Marriage is something my family wants and pushes but I'm not interested. We're known for a long lengthy life without the need of a successor.
I only threatened your life because you can't speak to someone like me with disrespect. You brought an anger out in me that day I hadn't felt in a long time. So congratulations."
He smirked, though shook his head at the lonely question. But was it the truth? Since there was a flicker of pain in the shadow of his pupils which stood stark against the light gray swirling around their rings.
Each word that left his mouth was a dagger straight to the heart. He had no right to talk about her shop or her dream that way when she'd worked hard for years to make it work regardless of what anyone said. What would he know about her struggle? Clearly his family had been well off from the beginning.
Not everyone had the luxury of being born in the right place at the right time. Everything she knew, she'd learned for herself.
Every hungry, cold, miserable night was a price she paid to make the most of nothing. And some pompous asshole decided that it was nothing. It stung and that pain gave way to anger. The easiest escape for all of the hurt.
His laughter punctuated every word, racketing around in her mind drowning out all else. She released a breathy chuckle before picking up her own glass and taking a nice big sip of wine. "You know," She began smiling though it never quite reached her eyes.
"You were just starting to grow on me but you always manage to say something stupid reminding me of why I hate people like you." Her tone dropped with a venomously sweet edge.
Ari stood abruptly and tossed the rest of her glass all over Mr. Draconis. Even dropping the cup into his lap. "I hoped you weren't this big of a piece of shit but I was wrong. The stench of entitlement has ruined my appetite."
She didn't want him to see how much his words had worked themselves into her deepest insecurities, finding amusement in her shortcomings. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find the ladies room to fix my makeup." So she turned against the sight of him, hair dripping wine like leaves under the weight of morning dew.
Stealing off into the building to find the women's room that would offer a moment of air. The sweet anonymity that only some quiet stall could offer her.
By the time the waitress had returned to place down their chips and dip for an appetizer, Ari was already talking again from her momentary silence a few minutes before. Alaric excelled at reading people, and he was sure she took it well since usual customers he dealt with were quick to lash out.
He nodded his head, lifting a single chip from the white platter before him, his eyes ascending to stare upon her face. What did she mean he was just starting to grow on her? Did she not understand a single word he was saying?
He literally said he could help her, and here she was ready to call him an asshole again. Alaric's jaw tightened the entire time she spoke; his appetite becoming non-existent with every word that left that pretty little mouth of hers.
There were moments he wondered if he could silence her in ways that weren't aggressive like the beast he was, would normally do. Then other times he imagined his large hands against her throat with his teeth bared in an oh so primal.
His mouth moved as though her words were rather distasteful. "And here we go with the asshole throwing. If you can't handle my words, you can't handle a business deal. Like it or not, some people will be harsh and unprofessional because they can. I, however, was being kind. Even offered," Alaric flinched.
The white wine splashed all over his outfit, his combed back hair falling into his face in dark stringy strands. He had nothing to say to her. He only slowly glimpsed up when she stood, the wickedest glare he could muster beneath thick and heavy brows. This woman was one hell of a problem. He could only imagine what she would've done had they not been in public.
Growling beneath his breath, he yanked his handkerchief out his upper jacket pocket and wiped himself as clean as he could before staring in the direction she went. Perhaps he could have said that better, but that didn't mean she needed to leave him looking like a fish out of water.