CHAPTER 4

Mikayla whirled around. Her eyes immediately landed on the lean, handsome man in front of her. Her heart raced at having him standing in front of her, so close that she could reach out and touch him. It didn't help that those piercing eyes were on her either.

Mikayla gulped. It took all of her mental strength to keep her mouth from dropping open like an idiot. Up close, he was even more handsome, nearing perfection. His perfectly shaped jaw stood at a proud angle. His skin was clear and bright like a woman's.

His eyelashes were long and curled. With eyelashes like that, you constantly wanted to reach out and stroke his face. They were the only thing that softened his harsh features. Without those feminine eyelashes, his eyes would look too scary. Even now, they were piercing and hot.

Mikayla mentally shook her head. She needed to get herself together. He was looking at her expectantly as though waiting for something. What was he waiting for? Oh, right. He asked a question. What was the question again? Oh, heck, she couldn't remember.

He must have seen her confused look. Thankfully, he repeated the question. "Looking for me?"

Mikayla gave him a disgruntled look. She didn't like that she'd allowed him to see the effect his sudden appearance had on her. She stepped back and frowned. "Why would I be looking for you? I don't know you."

"Yes, you were," he said casually, not the slightest bit ruffled by her lie.

Mikayla gritted her teeth. Just as expected, he was arrogant and rude. No gentleman would act like this, pointing out a lie so plainly. "I don't know you," she repeated and made to walk past him.

He casually shifted his body. From the outside, it seemed like he merely shifted from one leg to the other but that move effectively blocked Mikayla from leaving from that side.

She turned to the other side only to see that there was someone standing there, blocking her path. Something he must have taken into account when he moved.

She would have to tell the person to move but even she could see that it would be hard for the person to move as he was also blocked by others around him. She looked around helplessly. Anna was nowhere in sight. She hadn't seen her since she left abruptly.

She tried to spot Antoine in the crowd. He was tall, almost as tall as this man so his head should stand above the rest but she didn't see him either.

No one was paying attention to them...except the harem from earlier but judging from the looks they were now giving her, she doubted they would be willing to help her. With a sigh, Mikayla turned back to him.

"I'm not going to bite, you know," he said, eyes directed towards the stage. She was happy for the reprieve.

"I know," she answered blithely.

He gave her a surprised look. "You do?"

She shrugged. "I know you're not going to hurt me if that's what you mean."

"And pray tell, how do you know that?"

"I just do. I feel it," she answered unhappily. She couldn't explain it herself. Talking to him and standing beside him, she instinctively knew that he wouldn't harm her. Not in a way that amounted to physical harm anyway.

But that didn't mean there was no danger. He was a full male. Energy emanated from him even when all he was doing was standing with his arms crossed. That energy was turned to her right now. For some reason she couldn't tell, she'd caught his attention and now she was in danger.

His lips turned up at one side. "That's good then. Saves me the trouble of trying to convince you."

"Convince me to what?"

"To dance with me. And you can't lie that you don't know how to dance. I saw you with Antoine."

There was an odd bite to his voice when he said Antoine's name. Did they know each other? It sounded like they had some beef. Was that why he approached her? As some sort of way to get back at Antoine?

She dismissed the thought as quickly as she thought of it. She'd only started talking to Antoine after she felt his gaze. He'd been looking at her before Antoine came into the picture. How could she get out of this?

"We can't dance right now. Miss Armani is still speaking," she said, the excuse rolling off her tongue easily.

He gestured towards the stage. "She's rounding up right now," he said.

Mikayla turned to the stage and sure enough, Armani was saying, "Thank you all for coming. The music will resume now. Dance, mingle and have fun. And be sure to empty those pockets before you leave."

Laughter echoed around the hall and they began to move around again. Mikayla groaned. Why was the universe working against her?

"So what do you say?" He asked, stretching his hand out to her.

That was something she was starting to notice about him. He went right in for what he wanted. There was no hesitation, no confusion and he didn't give any chances to turn him down.

With his hand stretched out to her like this, if she turned him down, people would notice. She had no choice but to accept his hand.

"Just one song," she said as he led her to the centre of the room. "I need to leave right after."

He pulled her securely into his arms. Her breath caught in her throat. His body was pressed taut against hers. She felt every inch of his body against hers, including his obvious reaction to her. She swallowed. This was so inappropriate. The way he was holding her... people would be staring at them.

Even when she'd danced with Antoine earlier, he'd kept a respectable distance between their bodies like a gentleman. Cael was not a gentleman. He made no designs on being a gentleman. She kept her eyes firmly on his chest which was in her direct eyesight.

He cocked a finger under her chin and tipped it up so she was looking up at him. A shiver ran through her body from the point where he touched her skin.

His eyes darkened in response. Oh, he knew the effect he was having on her alright. The only consolation was that she could feel the effect she was also having on him. Whatever good that did her.

"Don't hide your face," he said in a cooing tone that hit the pits of her stomach. "You're much too beautiful for that."

"I'm not hiding!"

He smiled. "Let's say that's true."

Mikayla huffed. He was so infuriating! So arrogant! So annoying! Mikayla considered herself a very calm, levelheaded person but in a few minutes of meeting her, he was already bringing out the worst in her.

He smiled. "That feisty temper. I like it. It matches your hair." He playfully tugged at her ponytail. Before she realized what he was doing, he'd pulled her hair band out. Her hair came tumbling loose.

She gasped and instinctively moved to grab her hair back up. He pinned her hand gently under his and continued to sway back and forth, moving her body easily with his.

"Don't," he said softly. "Let your beautiful mane breathe." He quickly flattened her hair down with one hand and returned it into position before she could get free. "Much better," he muttered.

"What do you think you're doing!" She whispered indignantly.

"Nothing," he said, giving her an innocent look. She scoffed. He could be an actor with those skills. Wait, was he an actor? It would explain the good looks.

"I don't even know your name," he said suddenly.

"No, you don't," she said slowly, actually coming to the realization herself at that moment. All this and he didn't even know her name. She wasn't a child or some sort of innocent, she knew that was between them; sexual energy, pure and simple.

It didn't translate to much else which was why she wasn't interested. At least, in her head, she wasn't interested. Her body, on the other hand, had a mind of its own.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" he asked.

"No," she answered stoutly. It was best not to give him any information about herself. The less he knew, the better. Once the song ended, she would vanish into the night and they would never run into each other again.

If that required her avoiding every fundraising event for the rest of her life, she would happily do that. How long was this song anyway?

He laughed. "Okay then, challenge accepted. Let's talk about something else. Why are you trying so hard to hide from everyone in here?"

She considered his question carefully and decided that it wasn't too personal to answer. "Because this isn't my world. I don't belong to this world."

"And what world would that be?"

"The rich, fancy kids club," she answered.

"Then we have something in common."

She scoffed. "And what would that be?"

He leaned close to her ear and whispered conspiratorially, "I don't belong to this world either."

Mikayla laughed out loud. She couldn't help it. This attracted attention to them as people dancing close by sent looks their way. She turned to hide her head and ended up planting her face right against his chest.

She backed away quickly. "Sorry," she muttered.

"At least you didn't get makeup all over me. Not that I would mind all that much. Especially if you offered to come over and help me get it out."

Mikayla scoffed again. "Yeah, right. Not going to happen."

He grinned. It did nothing to soften the intensity of his gaze. If anything, it magnified it. She swallowed again. He looked like a wolf, waiting to take a bite out of her. "If you don't want to come over, that's fine too. We could head over to the bathroom right here and take care of it."

"Not happening either."

He sighed. "You're no fun."

"No, I'm not," she agreed, shaking her head.

He was peering down into her face with a strange look. She sighed. This man was too observant for his own good. Even though she'd kept her tone light, he'd noticed the moment she said one personal thing about herself.

"Let's do this," he said suddenly, stepping back. He let go of her so suddenly that she stood there blinking stupidly for a few seconds without realizing.

"What?"

"The song is ending," he pointed out. "I don't want you to leave yet. I want to talk more. But if you want to leave, you can walk out right now and I won't stop you. But if you want to stay and talk, I'll like that very much."

Wait, what? What kind of ultimatum was that? He was asking her if she wanted to leave. Of course, she did. She'd been saying as much all evening. She was leaving right that instant. It was the sensible thing to do. Right? Righttt?