''You know my rules. And I stick to them. What you have in mind is none of my business.'' The man sounded rather frustrated.
There was a harsh edge to his tone compared to how he had sounded back when he had held her and asked her whether she was fine.
He could not have brought himself to be unkind to her. Amara thought to herself as she stood there.
''I don't care what you do but I am calling this off. It is none of my business…'' the man trailed off when she sat on the lounge chair next to his. He shot her a brief glance before muttering a few words on his phone and dropping the call.
Amara did not say anything as she leaned back on the lounge chair and looked at the night sky.
''Can't sleep?" came a question from the man sitting beside her.
Amara was amused by the shift in his tone. He sounded calm and laid-back as if the person snapping on the call in utter frustration wasn't him. Had she not looked around to ensure that there wasn't anyone else around other than the two of them, she would have also thought that the person speaking in that rough, almost angered voice wasn't him.
When his question was met with silence, he turned his head to the side to look at her face.
Feeling his gaze on her, she nodded, ''It was noisy.''
''The walls here are soundproofed.''
''Oh, no. You misunderstood me. I meant it was noisy in my head,'' Amara turned to look at him just in time as he faced forward. And she ended up looking at his handsome side profile that held her gaze longer than it should have, ''So, I came here.''
''You must have been startled earlier. I was kind of…'' the man said, ''distracted so I failed to notice your presence. I hope I did not scare you.''
''No, you did not!'' Amara cleared her throat and averted her gaze when he looked at her. And almost instantly after that action, she glared at herself mentally. What was she, a teenager?
She tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear as she spoke, ''In fact, I wanted to thank you for earlier. So, I am glad that I saw you here,'' she stretched a hand towards him, ''I am Amara.''
The man's gaze dipped to her hand and he looked at it without making any movements to shake it.
Amara quirked a brow, ''I don't scratch,'' she said without urging him as she pulled her hand back.
But before she could retract it entirely, a huge palm enveloped hers as the sound of a deep laughter reverberated in the empty space.
Amara was surprised. But when she came back to herself and looked at him, he had switched to his calm face, almost as if he was not the one who laughed, ''I am not scared of scratches, kitten,'' his tone was low, almost inaudible, except she heard him. Loud and clear. Suggestive and seductive.
And the part where his hand held hers tingled with a warm sensation.
Kitten, huh? "Are you fond of cats?" she questioned.
''The animals?" he wiggled his brows slightly as if he was displeased by the thought of it.
''Of course, what kind of cats do you think I can be talking about…'' she trailed off when he gave her an 'isn't it obvious?' look. She did not know why her body felt slightly warm. It was not the weather, she could tell.
''The animals… I am not fond of them. They are quite the troublesome ones.''
''That's a pity,'' Amara shot him an almost judgemental look but composed her face before he could notice.
Except, he noticed. Obviously, ''Am I being judged over not being a cat lover?" he pulled his hand back and sat back straight.
''Not quite,'' Amara felt the lack of his warmth around her hand. When she looked at him again, he had his stoic form back in place completely. As if he had let himself slip momentarily, ''You might like hedgehogs then?"
He looked at her with a questioning gaze.
''The ones who go from acting cute to raising spikes out of nowhere. They are the grumpy ones,'' she propped her cheek on her palm and looked at him suggestively.
Whether he caught the implication in her words or not, his lips twitched, ''I wouldn't know. I haven't seen one.''
''Oh, ask me about it.''
The place fell silent and both of them did not take the initiative to speak for a while. It was Amara who broke the stifling silence, ''Earlier, I did not see you in the pool party. But when I was about to fall, you saved me right on time. Were you nearby?"
Amara had not given it much thought initially but later when she could not sleep, her mind wandered off to that incident.
Leah was causing a drunken fiasco by the pool beside that teenager and Sybella and Amara had been busy handling her. But the spot where they were standing wasn't as crowded. Probably because of James' intimidating stature that kept people at a distance. She would have noticed if this six-foot-something stunning entity was there anywhere in her line of sight.
But they had been in the party for while and she had not seen this man at all. However, the moment she was about to fall, he appeared out of nowhere.
''There were a lot of people. You would not remember me even if you saw me,'' As he spoke, he pushed himself to his feet and turned to leave.
''I am certain I would. You are not as forgettable,'' Amara looked at his back.
The man stopped for a moment before he continued walking.
''You didn't give me a name,'' Amara pushed herself to her feet and fixed the collar of her nightdress, ''How am I supposed to address you when we meet again?"