Chapter 32: Facts And Fantasies
[Music recomndation: Built For the Sea - Hold]
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"Ready to go for another dive?"
As soon as Aliana heard his voice, she whirled around to find the very man she had been looking for. Despite the speed at which he had disappeared, he looked as if not a single hair was out of place.
He was leaning against the wall in a languid posture, yet he appeared every bit as regal as if royalty ran in his blood. One hand was tucked into his pocket, while the other held a cigarette. His cheeks hollowed as he took a puff before lazily blowing the smoke into the air while keeping his icy blue eyes fixed on the woman in red.
Finding her speechless for a mont, he raised a brow in question and watched as her expression shifted from surprise into a deep scowl.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "And here I thought your only talent was the disappearing act I just witnessed in the corridor. But look at that, he jokes," she replied, folding her arms across her chest and fixing him with a pointed look.
Gavriel studied her for a mont, tilting his head ever so slightly as a flicker of amusent surfaced in his eyes.
None of the won he had encountered in his long life had ever dared to speak to him like that.
A ghost of a smile touched his lips as he clicked his tongue. "So... should I assu you were chasing after ?"
Aliana scoffed, "One can only wish."
"You weren’t, then?" Gavriel questioned.
"Of course not!" Aliana denied it quickly, but when the gorgeous devil before her fixed her with a knowing look, she found herself correcting her statent. "Well, yes. I an, I was looking for you to-"
"So, you admit you were chasing after ," Gavriel pressed. He watched her closely, clearly enjoying the chance to push the young heiress’s buttons.
Aliana’s jaw tightened, hating how easily he had cornered her into that admission. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to regain her composure before opening them again.
Taking a step closer to him, she said, "Mr Valentine, I’m sure you’re finding so amusent in this situation, but let
make one thing clear... I don’t do anything without a reason."
Gavriel took another slow drag of his cigarette, the embers glowing faintly in the twilight, before exhaling. He then pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against and stubbed the cigarette into the ashtray at the corner.
Taking unhurried steps towards her, he stopped just a pace away, towering over her.
Yet Aliana did not move back.
"So, what is your reason, Miss Vanderbilt?" he asked in his low, magnetic voice.
His icy blue eyes glead in the light of the setting sun. The sea breeze picked up, ruffling a few strands of his hair along with her own, making him look even more captivating than before.
Aliana swallowed hard before parting her lips to respond. "I’m looking for so answers."
He tilted his head ever so slightly. "Answers? And what makes you think I have them?"
"I know you do," her voice dropped to a low whisper as she kept her light grey eyes fixed on his.
"Really?"
"Yes. I know we have t before..." Aliana whispered.
She knew saying sothing like this might make others laugh at her for jumping to conclusions, but sothing inside her insisted she was right. She had never been one to blindly follow her pure gut instincts without logic, but here she was, defying her own principles when it ca to this man.
She watched Gavriel closely as he continued to observe her.
His aura was so intimidating that one look could make almost anyone kneel before him, yet she refused to be cowed.
Instead, he made her feel a defiant spark... a desire to deny him the pleasure of seeing her succumb, as so many others must have done countless tis before.
"And what makes you say that?" Gavriel asked, his eyes gleaming with amusent, his gaze never leaving hers.
"I saw you.... on the day of my accident. It was you, right?" Aliana breathed. She observed him closely, searching for any sign that would prove her theory correct.
But Gavriel was an unreadable wall. His eyes were cold yet alluring, his stance relaxed yet intimidating, and his expression was as unreadable as ever.
Before she could say another word, she saw a corner of his lips twitch. Then, for the very first ti, she saw a devastating smile bloom on his gorgeous face.
Her gaze dropped from his sinful lips to his cheek, where a faint dimple appeared, and she felt her heart skip several beats.
Had she been any other woman, she might have fainted on the spot. But Aliana had seen enough handso n to have built so resistance. Even so, she could not deny that Gavriel belonged to an entirely different league when it ca to male beauty.
’F*ck... he has a dimple. Maybe Nigel was right to call him a male god,’ she thought absentmindedly, utterly distracted by the sight before her.
But it didn’t take long for her to snap out of it when Gavriel finally spoke. "You know... when I saw you at the conference today, I thought you were sharp. A woman who deals in facts, not fantasies."
He stepped closer and swallowed the space between them, leaving barely an inch of distance.
His unique scent, which she had co to associate solely with him, filled her lungs as his voice dropped to a low baritone, "...I didn’t expect you to prove
wrong, Miss Vanderbilt."
Aliana was taken aback by his reply, but she recovered fast.
She knew very well this could be a tactic to make her sound irrational. Which, in his defence, anyone else would assu. But her intuition told her she was on the right path.
She leaned in, closing what little distance remained, her voice dropping to a near whisper, edged with defiance. "Don’t deny it. I know what I saw."
A flicker passed through his eyes, but it was gone almost instantly, if not fast enough.
"And what," Gavriel murmured, leaning in further, "exactly do you think you saw?"
If anyone were to see them, they would think two lovers were sharing an intimate mont. But if one were to look closer at their faces, they would see that the two were locked in a fierce, glaring contest.
"I rember seeing your... eyes." When Aliana said the words, she had to pause. She realised how ridiculous she sounded, claiming that his eyes were her only evidence.
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