Lost (Beautiful Beast I)

Chapter-10

Leia

The rest of the night was spent by me as far as possible from Lantsov but my eyes didn't leave him even for a second. It astonished me that a man like him is loved by so many people in this room. Even women and children were jovial with him and I had hard time not to roll my eyes at them.

Nicholas made himself busy with other gentlemen in the room or should I dare they they kept him busy. Aron being a charm, was surrounded by women and Sophia spend her entire time with one man in particular, named, Turner Crawford, son of Oscar Crawford.

Anyone in this room can make out that he's just trying to keep up his family status at top and don't want to ruin the deal faster than his father has got. Sophia, for the first time seems to be blinded.

With Lantsov being the center of attraction, hardly anyone noticed me being the newbie and that gave me a chance to breath normally at this abnormal place. My stomach is grumbling for food and no where I seem find anything to eat. There's only drinks being served and the bartender gave me a second look when I asked for water.

I was sitting on a stool and sipping my water when all of a sudden my eyes fell on a familiar person.

My first instinct was to hide but then I saw the man walking away. I placed the bottle on the table and started to follow him with a decent distance between us.

I'm not surprised to see Rob here, not after Nicholas mentioning them as family but I'm just curious as what he's doing when he's supposed to meet Nicholas and his family. Nicholas said that he they kidnap women and sell them and parties like these seem to be the perfect place.

As I kept following him I noticed that he's walking alone, no sign of Stark around him. I turned around to see Irina and Lantsov busy with some woman and Rob just crossed them. I followed him quietly and soon, he was out of the hotel.

I tried to walk softly but the heels clicking on the padlocks caught his attention. I swiftly hid behind the duvet in I found nearby and breathe in softly praying he didn't catch a sign of me. After several seconds, I peeked from the top of the bin to see him already pacing faster than before.

Removing my heels and clutching them in one of hands and my gown on the other hand, I ran after him. The area is deserted and hardly any light around. I saw him taking out his phone that was buzzing and started to talk to the person on the other side. I was close to him and with the silence around, I was able to hear some of the words.

Words like "I'm almost there, Boss" "No, Lantsov is busy" "He won't know if we do it now" "This is the perfect time. The cops won't know too"

I almost fainted when I listened to him. The conversation seems to be like a mission to kill Lantsov and my heart skipped a beat at it.

Images of tomorrow's news with — The mass murderer and the dangerous criminal of all times is finally dead — as headline is running in my head with Lantsov bleeding on the floor and Irina holding her dead husband close to him.

I've heard somethings I shouldn't have and followed him when I shouldn't have. Now that I've done both of these I feel conflicted. What should I do? I feel like returning the favor to Nicholas by informing him that the person whom he thought to be his family is going to kill his father tonight. Irina and Sophia were so long good to me and were happy to have me at their place and it'll be cruel if I don't help them, but what they are doing is surely bad but Lantsov is an incarnation of bad. So many innocent blood has been split because of him and the man is supposed to be locked up in a cell for life.

My legs are still walking towards Rob, who's now in a totally different part of the hotel. I hid behind a wall and watched him closely. He turned around to check whether anyone's around — I immediately hid myself — before making his way through the bushes. When I saw him disappearing in the darkness. I slowly stepped out and made through the bushes softly so he wouldn't hear me behind. I saw Rob talking to two bartenders. He took two guns from his side pockets gave one for each. They hid them inside their clothes before turning around and making way towards the back door of the party hall while Rob walked the other way.

Not wasting anymore time, I made a quick decision and ran back to the party. My eyes were in the crowd, searching for those two bartenders and I immediately found them having drinks in their hands and making their way towards Lantsov. I panicked and searched everywhere for Nicholas and when I found him talking to Oscar and his wife, I took a quick ran towards him.

Nicholas eyes drifted to me when I came closer.

'Nicholas, I need to talk to you now' I said, trying to keep my voice calm and my former relaxed and professional which I was failing miserably.

Nicholas saw the heels in my hands and then at the Crawfords who were eyeing me suspiciously.

'Excuse me' Nicholas said politely and clutched my free hand, pulling me away from the crowd, to a secluded area.

'I would very much like to hear the explanation behind your current state' He said.

'Nicholas there's no time to waste, we need to save your father! Rob appointed two men to kill your father, we need to act now!' I said in a hurry and pulled him by his arm but he was strong and instead pulled me back to the place and closed the gap between us.

'What are you saying?' He spoke densely. Both his hands are on either side of my arms, holding me firmly.

'I followed Rob and-

'Why would you even do that?' He asked, ridiculed.

'Because I thought he's going to kidnap someone to sell later. And moreover, he was acting weird, Nick! I followed him and I heard him talking to the person on the other side of the phone. He was talking to about killing your father and then he met those two men who were in bartender clothes and handed them a gun each' I explained him calmly while he listened to me carefully.

His eyebrows and scrunched in confusion and I realized how close he is to me. Our clothes are touching and his rich cologne is faintly alluring. His breathing is calm and fanning my cheek and his dark eyes are stained on me.

He chuckled softly and released me from his firm grip, stepping back. I frowned at his reaction, clearly not expecting this attitude.

'Nicholas' I called out.

'Yes' he said, smiling at me.

'What are you smiling for. We must save your father' I said.

'My father needs no safety, trust me' he said softly.

'They have guns' I replied.

'Where your shoes first' He said, seeing me holding them still.

'But-

'Go on' He folded his arms in front and waited. I scoffed in annoyance and wore my shoes before facing him with hard eyes.

'You saved me, Nicholas, and that's why I'm returning the favor back even though your father doesn't deserve it. If you're not doing anything, then fine. My work was to inform you and it's done' I said firmly and walked away him.

'You do not understand' Came his voice.

'It's you who don't understand' I said, looking at those two bartenders who are still with Lantsov.

Nicholas came forward and stood beside me, watching his father and the men.

'Let me show you something, Leia' he said and stretched his hand 'May I?'

He asked so politely that I can't put down. I placed my hand in his and wrapped his on mine. They were warm and soft.

I followed him out of the hall and found us walking the same way Rob walked few minutes ago. We took a left instead of entering bush and found ourselves in a more secluded area. None of us has spoken a word yet and the only source of noise is our shoe heels clicking.

Soon I heard grunts, muttering and a loud thud followed by shouting. When we approached closer, I saw a huge truck and a lot of men loading something in it. Aron walked from the front of the truck and immediately saw us.

He looked at me and then at Nicholas in confusion.

'How many more?' Nicholas asked, indicating the truck.

'Two are off already, this is the last one' Aron replied and soon we heard trucks reviving at far and soon was off.

'Good' Nicholas replied.

'What is she doing here?' Aron finally asked.

'She followed Rob and has come to a conclusion before knowing the whole scenario' said Nicholas.

Aron didn't reply, didn't ask further questions too. He gave me a smile and returned back.

Nicholas moved towards the truck and so did I. As we came closer, I smelled a bad air. It's like rotten chicken.

I saw the content that's been loaded. They were hotdogs, rotten hotdogs with fungi formed on them.

I coughed and Nicholas left my hand, only to take a tissue from one the workers and took one hotdog from it.

'What is this, Nicholas?' I asked.

He tore the hotdog until a fresh shinny golden item surfaced on top. I looked at it closely and saw its a bad of gold. Nicholas took the gold out that is shinning brightly in the dim light and they have some engravings on them.

'Pure ones, 500 grams each. Totally three trucks, worth millions' He said before keeping it back in the hotdog, closing and throwing it in the truck.

Alright, this doesn't say why we're are here. Nicholas wiped his hand with the same tissue on the back and threw it in the bin before facing me.

'This is what Rob was talking about' Nicholas said.

'No, he wasn't. I'm positive' I replied instantly.

'Leia' he sighed. The way my name came out of his mouth was so beautiful 'My father told Oscar that he will show this before they are being taken from here but Rob got information from his men that the cops have sniffed about the gold that's being smuggled tonight and thus, he hurried everything without consulting my father. The cops can be distracted for a while and these will get away to the airport on time. Did you get me?'

All the while my eyes were on his gorgeous face and it took me a very long second to possess all that he told.

'But he could have put a word to your father, it wasn't hard' I said.

'I don't think it's possible when the Crawfords are always around him' he said.

'Then...then why did he give guns to those bartenders? Are they even bartenders?' I said.

'No, they are not bartenders. You see, Leia, whenever you are going to an unknown place, you always need to be careful and armed. He gave them guns and asked them to be around my parents and Sophia. They are five more men of ours in this estate and they will leave only after us'

'But you said your father doesn't need any protection' I reasoned.

'But my mother and Sophia do'

'But-

'Enough of your buts, Leia. I've answered quiet more questions than I should have. Come on, the dance must have started' He started walking towards to the party and I didn't have a choice but to follow him.

I still find it hard to wrap around the things he said. Smuggling? The first thought that came to my head was, P-O-L-I-C-E but then what? Get a bullet in my head as an award from Lantsov? And get thrown up in Stark's hand who's in search of me?

I'd rather shut my mouth and wait for my chance to finally leave Nicholas and family or I open my mouth and fall into some deep trouble than I already was.

The hall which was once lit brightly is now darker with just purple low lights at the corners and at the pillars of the room. You can only see outline of the people and need to get closer to get an actual image of their faces. Couples were dancing slowly to the music by Yiruma - River Flows In You.

I smiled as I heard the music. It's one of favorites. Yiruma is one of my inspiration and I've learned to play almost all his music. In many competition I've played his songs and the kids have danced and won many prizes.

I was so indulged in the music that was so soothing, I didn't notice Nicholas who is now looking at me. Without any words, he stretched his hand.

'I-I'm bad at dancing' I chuckled nervously.

'I'll catch you if you fall. No matter how many times, Leia' his voice was soft and gentle.

I placed my hand in his and he led us to the dance floor. He lifted up our hands and slowly intertwined his fingers. I felt his each finger sliding down smoothly and settling in the gaps. He closed the gap between us and I felt his other sliding from my waist and settling at my back. All the while his eyes were on me, watching my every action. I nervously lifted my hand and placed on his shoulder. The suit was silky smooth under my palm and fingers.

He gave a curt nod and moved ever so lightly with me. I felt the blush creeping to my neck and my cheeks and it feels so great full that the hall is darkly lit. I felt myself losing to the music and soon I became comfortable on the dance floor. My eyes never left his even for a second so did his.

My brown ones on his black ones.

Brown to black.

I inched closer, giving myself to him as he guided us accordingly to the tune. The fear of stamping his foot long gone. At the middle of the song, the music became faster and so did our steps. I totally didn't care that we are among so many people and all their eyes are on us. I just gave into the music and let my body move according to it.

Nicholas turned me around all of a sudden catching my guard, making me squeal. I grasped for breathe and watched his eyes filled with amusement.

When he made me dip, I thought I lost control and clutched his arm. He bent low until our nose was almost touching and flung me up with force. The crowd cheered and I looked around to see that we were the only ones remaining on the dance floor. My clutch on Nicholas shoulder tightened and I felt him giving my back a firm squeeze.

'I didn't notice when everyone stopped dancing and went away' I said, sounding so breathless.

Nicholas shrugged in response and didn't stop moving. When my eyes never left the crowd who were constantly cheering and giving us those lovely cute noises, Nicholas pulled me even closer.

'Eyes on me, Leia' he spoke softly.

I looked back at him.

'Concentrate on the music and us' he said and felt myself nodding.

Nicholas made me swirl, dip and made me move beautifully with him. I feel butterflies in my stomach and the crowd seems to disappear to me again, letting me lose myself in these dark eyes.

When Nicholas finally stopped, I was panting real hard and felt my cheeks paining. I didn't realize I was smiling so widely at him. The crowd started clapping and I heard a clink of glass.

'You were beautiful, Leia' Nicholas said.

'This is my first dance. I never danced before' I confessed, smiling at him.

'Well, for your first time you seemed to be pretty great' said Nicholas.

I heard another clink of glass and soon another. Clinking of glassew is all I can hear in the room now. I blushed harder and felt nervous.

I couldn't meet Nicholas eye but felt his eyes burning my face. I felt him disentangling our fingers and placed the hand on my back with the other.

I saw his eyes flicker to my parted lips and then my wide eyes. The clinking didn't stop, if only, it increased. I felt him bend even lower, closing our distance slowly. My hold on his shoulder tightened and my other hand was placed on his left side, above his hip region.

'Nicholas, they are not stopping' my voice was a whisper.

'There's only one way to stop them and you know it' he replied in a husky tone.

I felt his warm breath fanning my face as he leaned in. The clinking was furious now and felt myself leaning close to him.

'Nicholas-

'It's so hard for me to stand this close to you and not kiss you. So, don't tell me to back down' He said, thinking I was going to tell him not to kiss me.

'I was going to ask' I took a deep breath, staring into his eyes 'I was going to ask what's taking you so long to kiss me already'

My eyes s**t automatically when his lips landed on mine. My ears felt deaf to the crowd and my hand moved from his shoulder to his silky hair. I opened my lips, letting him kiss me and I mimicked his action, since this is the first time I'm kissing. It was like drug, letting lost in his delicious kiss. He bit my lower lip, and opened my mouth. His tongue invaded my mouth and pushed my body even more to him, feeling his hard abs and the warmth of his body.

When I was out of breathe, Nicholas slowly released my lips and my eyes quickly found his. I saw desire pooling in his eyes and I felt the urge to lock my lips again on his wet ones.

The kiss was beautiful.

The lights were turned on which blinded my vision. I took time adjusting to the brightness and looked at Nicholas who hadn't turned a word yet. His hair is messed up and my fingers are still in those locks. When I saw both his arms at his sides, no longer holding me, I quickly removed my hands from him and stepped back.

The crowd seemed to finally stop ogling at us and continued to whatever they were doing before. I hugged my petite frame and looked everywhere but him. When he turned his back to me, my eyes were immediately strained on his back as he walked away from.

I felt disappointment wash over my features.

* * *

When the party was over and the hall cleared up, we were taken into a private dining hall for dinner. The dishes that were already placed on the huge table were enough to serve more than nine people.

It contained Spaghetti, Mushroom Lasagna, Taco rice with chicken, Fried Rice, Cornflakes Chicken with potatoes and peas, Pan Parmesan Tuscan, Chicken rice Mexican, shashlik and some other dishes I didn't know.

The two men, Oscar and Lantsov sat at the head of the table with Turner and Amanda (Oscar's wife) at Oscar's side and Irina at Lantsov side. I chose a place next to Sophia and just when Nicholas was going to place himself on the other side, next to me, Irina motioned him sit next to her and sent Aron at my side. I looked at Irina but she diverted her eyes from immediately.

'I've been wanting to have this time with your family for a long time now, Lantsov. I'm so happy that we're finally business partners' Said Oscar.

'Me too, Oscar. It's a pity we couldn't meet your daughter' Said Lantsov.

'We did request her to attend this party but work calls' Said Amanda with a smile.

'Duty always calls. Lantsov barely makes back home' Said Irina, letting out a chuckle.

We helped ourselves with the food while letting the elders chat.

'Bacon, Rose?' Sophia asked.

'No, please'

I had very little though the food was too delicious. I lost my appetite.

Nicholas is right in front of me and I tried hard not to lift my head up and look at him.

I observed Irina's eyes wandering towards me often and the moments I catch her staring at me, she turns away. It wouldn't require a genius to find why she's acting weird to me. Clearly, she didn't like his son kissing me in front of so many rich people. After all, to her I'm nothing but a mere orphan girl who was abducted by her family member. I can't imagine what sorts of wild imagination will be running in her pretty head now.

After dinner, desserts were brought which consists of Affogato, varieties of cakes and not to forgot, ice cream of different flavors. I suited myself with a vanilla cream with chocolate toppings and excused myself towards a huge veranda.

The night air was chilly and with the ice cream in my hand, I felt my body going cold.

My mind went back to the kiss I had on the dance floor. I don't know what came into me, I just kissed him back. I remember telling Marie how disgusting it is to kiss someone on their lips, sharing each other saliva and loving the moment. Now that I think about it, I feel the urge to have that kiss again with him. I don't know whether it's his kiss that was so good or it's just that kissing on lips are usually good.

'Hey' Came Sophia's voice, which pulled me from my trance.

'Hey' I said back. She had a affogato in her hand.

'I'll take it that your not a party person' she said

'Yes, never went to a party before' I said, taking a scoop of my ice cream.

'I've attended many like these and not be mistaken that all parties are like this. I'll definitely show you what a real party is one day' she said in a cheerfully voice.

'Thanks but I doubt I will like it'

'Oh, you'll love it, Rose' Seth assured.

'So, how did you enjoy your shashlik?' I asked in a say tone for which Sophia laughed out loud.

'It was better than I expected' she replied.

We finished our dessert and sat in a long seat we found in the veranda.

'I saw you and Turner' I said out of blue. Her ears turned pink.

'I didn't mean to intrude but he doesn't seem good to me' I quickly added, watching her ears go darker shade of pink.

'Well, this is the first time I've met' she chuckled nervously 'I've seen him in magazines, news and such. After meeting him finally, I think he's fascinating'

'Is it because of his looks?' I asked because clearly the guy has only that quality. His eyes are blue, just like his father which is enough to attract the whole female population and with the help of gym or steroids, the boy got some muscles to show off.

'It's not just that. You know the the feeling where you see a person and immediately feel attracted to them?' she asked, I nodded 'Yeah, that's how it is. Nothing more'

'Nothing more?' I asked, raising my brow.

'Nothing more' she chuckled, slapping my arm 'The Crawfords are stupid and selfish. I can never fall for Turner. Aron will kill him' She said, her voice going low as she said the last line.

A pregnant silence fell upon us. I watched the cloudy night sky with no stars and moon in them.

'Nice dance, by the way' Said Sophia.

This time it was my turn to go pink.

I turned to see her giving me a knowing smile.

'I didn't mean to kiss him. They were all clinking their glasses and Nicholas said—

'It was romantic. Truly romantic' she said.

'Sophia—

'Listen, Rose, I don't know what he said to you and what you both were feeling that moment. All I know is if you both wouldn't have kissed, I would have banged my head on a nearby wall and died' She said seriously.

I looked at her for a second, and her lips turned up into a smile and soon we were laughing.