Raine
I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I was safely tucked into my car and gave the driver instructions to take me home. My eyelids fluttered shut and I listened to the gentle hum of the engine, hoping it would soothe my frazzled nerves.
The bizarre events of the evening replayed in my mind. One minute, I had my legs curled under me on the most comfortable couch on the planet, a steamy romance novel in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.The perfect way to end a day of sightseeing during my yearlong sabbatical in Romania.And in the next moment, a relentless wave of irresistible compulsion to go to the club had engulfed me.
I didn't like it. Not one bit.
My entire trip had felt like that,like I was being drawn toward some sort of destiny.I snorted. I had been on my own far too long to engage in that type of fanciful thought.Chagrin washed over me because I couldn't deny the fact that I had flown halfway around the world for something I claimed not to believe in.
Unable to resist the impossible pull, I had dressed conservatively, a simple crimnson sheathe that hugged my curves. Short but not too short. I had no desire to flash my ass
should I have the sudden need to bend over at the waist.When I was sufficiently primped,I had made my way to the mysterious destination.
But standing alone at the edge of the crowd in the night club,waiting for Destiny to reveal her grand plan, had been excruciating.I cringed at the memory. I had looked every shade of desperate and might as well have been wearing a sign begging to be picked up.Much to my apparent invitation otherwise,dealing with the idiosyncrasies and egos of the male psyche was not currently at the top of my to-do list. But since men could always be counted on to be men, more than a few had responded to my unintentional bait.
But none of them felt right.
2
Until him. ②
18
Abruptly, my attention had narrowed to an exact point, struck by the features of one man,leaning casually against the bar. I had inhaled sharply,shocked by my own reaction. He had caught my attention! No one ever caught my attention. It wasn't that I didn't care about the people around me. I just didn't seem to evernotice them-except for him. My pulse had started its own little sprint through my veins, as I tried to figure out what made him different.
Standing almost a head above most of the men around him, his broad shoulders and thick arms screamed strength and power. By
all appearances he had looked relaxed, a drink held calmly in one hand that he moved lithely to his lips and back to the bar again. But there was something about his stance and his eyes that had left me a little breathless. His gaze was focused and calculating, his body ready.
Almost as if I called his name,his head had slowly turned toward me and his knowledgeable eyes locked on mine. I had stopped breathing for a moment as he evaluated me. There really was no other way to describe the intensity of his stare. I had suddenly felt like I was in the middle of a nature documentary, where the lion observed his prey before he attacked.
Thankfully,Hayden had been there to pull my attention away from tall-dark-and-mysterious,otherwise I might still very well be watching him. I sighed heavily, forcing my attention outside of the chaos in my head. The lights of the city became a distant memory as my driver navigated the luxury town car up the winding mountain roads. Fifteen minutes later,I recognized the soft glow on the star-filled horizon.
Moirai Chalet.
How fitting.
In Greek mythology, Moirai represented the Three Fates. I had been well aware of that little tidbit of trivia when I booked the trip.I knew it and booked it anyway, snubbing my nose at the concept that some events MArer01 .
beyond my control.However,every time I tried to shake my fist angrily in Destiny's face,she promptly smacked me on the ass, and reminded me that I might not be the captain of my owncourse-and instead, was just along for her Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
Tonight was a perfect example.
Heartlesslyyanked away from a quiet evening in-and for what? To meet a man who was clearlyway out of my league. For all I knew,he was already busy if the gorgeous dark-haired beauty had anything to do with it.So, what was the point?
Still, I could not stop the skip of my pulse when I remembered his long fingers gripping my hips, holding me tightly to his body,his breath on my neck. And his naughty questions wanting to know what turned me on. Heat crept along my cheeks.I had no intention of sharing my sexual preferences with a complete stranger! Of course, I had to admit that I didn't really have any particular preferences, as I hadn't exactly gone that far with a man yet. It wasn't that I hadn't had the opportunity. I just hadn't found anyone that captured my attention enough, and I had no desire to be someone's booty call-especially his.
My lower abdomen clenched at the vivid memories and I shivered. No other man had spoken to me so boldly. He exuded confidence,while I was...
Well,I wasn't sure what I was.
I had always been self-reliant, never needing anyone, which was convenient, since I hadn't ever had anyone to relyon-a natural outcome of being alone in this world. My eyes pricked with a familiar and exhaustive pain.I squeezed them shut tightly and willed my mind to think about something else.
Immediately, an image of Cage's perfect face danced behind my closed lids. His dark hair that looked like he had run his hand through it one too many times, and yet somehow achieved the perfect state of disarray, and his unfathomable sterling eyes beautifully framed his chiseled cheek bones and full lips.
I wondered what his lips tasted like.
Stop that nonsense!
I needed to get a grip.
I didn't give a shit what Fate or Destiny had to say, I knew Cage was dangerous and there was no way I was going to see him again. I had no intention of visiting the club any time soon,so seeing him again was simply not going to happen.
However, apparently Destiny was a bitch with a sense of humor, because I most certainly saw him again.
And absolutely least where I expected...