Chapter 6 Under The Starry Night Sky

• 'Move, Mikayla. Turn around right now and leave! He's giving you a chance to walk away, you idiot. Leave, damn it!'
• But Mikayla didn't leave; couldn't leave. She continued to stand there like an idiot.
• When enough time had passed that it was clear she wasn't going to leave, he smiled.
• "I'm glad you decided to stay."
• Mikayla groaned in her head. 'Well, I'm not glad but my body wouldn't listen to me,' she thought but didn't say it out loud.
• "We should talk outside, away from the noise...and the probing eyes." He shot a meaningful look into the crowd.
• Mikayla looked up just in time to see eyes darting away from them because of the look he gave them.
• They needed to get leave. She nodded. "Let's go." She followed him out of the hall and into the night.
• She expected him to stop in front of the hall or a small distance from it but he continued to march on like a man on a mission.
• She had no choice but to follow him. For the first time, it crossed her mind that this man could be dangerous.
• He could be a serial killer for all she knew!
• What if he was leading her away from the crowd so he could get her to a nice, quiet spot and kill her?
• After all, her first thought when she noticed him staring needles into her skin was that he was a psychopath.
• Any same woman would turn around and run screaming into the night.
• But Mikayla continued to follow him until they came to a little garden with seats around a fountain.
• He took a seat and motioned to her to join him. Mikayla hesitated.
• "You've come this far. Just sit," he said and casually crossed his hand, careful not to wrinkle his impeccable suit.
• He leaned his head back and stared up into the starry night sky.
• While he watched the sky, Mikayla watched him.
• Even in that position, he looked like a predator on the prowl; a god about to snatch a piece of the sky for himself.
• She sat beside him slowly, keeping a safe distance between them.
• "About time," he said. He eyed the space between them, frowned and shifted closer. "There, that's better." He said.
• Mikayla felt a spark of electricity where their skins touched suddenly. "What did you want to tell me?" She asked tightly.
• "Tell you?" He asked.
• "Yes, tell me. Isn't that why you asked me out here?"
• "No, I asked you out here because I wanted us to talk, and get to know each other."
• "And what if I don't want to know you?"
• He smirked. "I think that boat has sailed. You wouldn't be sitting here if you didn't want to."
• She scoffed. "My being here has nothing to do with wanting to talk to you."
• The words were out before she could stop to think about them. She blushed.
• He grinned at her. Again, it reminded her of a wolf who knew he had his prey cornered. In this case, she was the unlucky prey.
• Thankfully, he didn't press the point. He turned his body sideways so that he was half-facing her.
• "Let's try something. I'll ask you questions, and you'll answer if you want to. If you don't, just say pass and we'll move it along. How is that?"
• Mikayla sighed. She might as well answer his questions. At least, these rules gave her some modicum of power over what she did or didn't reveal.
• He asked the first question. "So tell me, what did you mean earlier by saying that you're not fun?"
• She shrugged. "I'm not. I don't party much. I don't date much. I don't do anything really, except work."
• "And what do you do for work?" He asked.
• Mikayla smiled. "Pass." She wasn't about to give him any clues as to her identity.
• "Okay, next question. Why don't you do fun things?"
• She thought about the question for a second.
• "I guess it's just not who I am. I like to be in control of my own life. I am a very disciplined person. So I don't do anything that can take away that control."
• "And having fun would take away that control?"
• She picked her words carefully. "Engaging in certain behaviours would put me in a position where I may be forced to lose that control," she answered cryptically.
• "But is being in control of your life really the same as being under such strict rules that you can't even enjoy your life and have fun?"
• "I do enjoy my life and I do have fun. I love my job. I love hanging out with my friend..."
• 'That would be the black-haired girl from earlier.'
• "...and I do date from time to time," she added pointedly.
• "So you could consider dating me then?"
• "No." The answer came quickly and with cold certainty.
• "No? That was a quick answer. Why not though? You just admitted that you date from time to time. So why not me?"
• "For one, I just met you," she pointed out.
• "Nonsense! Time is nothing when you meet someone you feel this strongly about."
• Butterflies fluttered to life in Mikayla's belly. She blushed bright red. "That's not feeling strongly. That is sexual tension. We are both old enough to know that."
• "I don't agree. I know sexual tension."
• She bet he did. A man like him probably knew too much about sexual tension.
• "I'd wager this is something else. And you must feel it too. Have you ever felt sexual tension like this?"
• She didn't answer, but in her mind, she agreed that this felt too strange to just be sexual tension.
• "You know it's something else. So why wouldn't you date me?"
• She needed to be plain about this. It was the only way she could get him off her back. "Because I would never date someone like you."
• That stalled him. "Someone like me?" He repeated. "What does that mean?" She didn't answer.
• "Listen, babe," he started.
• There it was again, that endearment that rolled off his song so smoothly.
• "I am not the kind of man to beat about the bush. When I see something I want, I go out and get it. I feel things for you that I've never felt for any woman."
• Mikayla huffed disbelievingly.
• "I don't intend to let you get away. If that takes me marrying you right now, I would."
• "You're insane," Mikayla exclaimed, but his straightforward declaration of...of what, really? Love? Affection? Sexual intent?
• "You're blushing so hard," he observed. Her cheeks were bright red.
• With her hair let down and framing her face so delicately, she looked like an angel. Like the sexiest angel he'd ever seen.
• She touched her cheeks and felt that they were indeed warm. She flapped her hands back and forth quickly, creating an improv fan.
• "It becomes you," he said, which made her blush even more.
• "You're not helping!" She exclaimed, laughing as she flapped her hand even faster.
• Cael watched her as she laughed, his eyes heating up as he took in her face. She noticed the look in his eyes and blushed.
• Mikayla nervously bit her lip. The action pulled his eyes to her lips.
• "Heck, I'm going to kiss you," he declared.