CHAPTER 4: A TASTE OF TROUBLE
1528 Words
Tall. Expensively dressed. The kind of man who was used to women finding excuses to stand beside him.
Interesting.
Amara allowed herself the smallest smile before looking away.
She didn't look at him again.
At least, not directly.
Instead, she laughed at something the man beside her was saying. She honestly hadn't actually heard a word he'd said. She was far too busy ignoring the pair of eyes watching her from across the room.
She took another sip of her drink.
From the corner of her eye, she caught him again.
Still watching.
Amara resisted the urge to smile.
Got you.
Orion couldn't take his eyes off her.
He couldn't even explain why.
There were plenty of beautiful women in the room. Women dressed to impress, women who had spent hours getting ready for the evening.
But her?
She stood out without even trying.
Her confidence was subtle. She wasn't throwing herself at anyone. In fact, she seemed almost bored by the attention surrounding her.
And there was plenty of it.
Men kept glancing in her direction. Even some of the ones who had arrived with women seemed incapable of keeping their eyes to themselves.
Orion couldn't blame them.
She was breathtaking.
His eyes shifted to the man sitting beside her.
Was he with her?
Orion narrowed his eyes slightly.
He could have sworn she'd smiled at him.
Then again, maybe he was imagining things.
“Boss.”
Nothing.
“Hey.”
Orion didn't move.
“Rio.”
Orion finally blinked and turned.
Blake was staring at him with a ridiculous grin plastered across his face.
“Shut up.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“Good. Then don't.”
Blake's grin widened.
They sat in silence for a few moments, both sipping their wine.
Then Blake nodded toward the woman.
“You should talk to her.”
Orion raised an eyebrow.
“Talk to who?”
Blake slowly turned his head toward him.
“Seriously?”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Right.”
“I don't.”
“Sure.”
Orion took another sip of his wine.
Blake sighed dramatically.
“Fine. I'll leave you to your very heterosexual staring contest.”
Orion nearly choked on his drink.
“Go away, Blake.”
“Gladly.”
Blake's attention suddenly shifted toward the bar.
A pretty bartender had just walked past.
His eyes followed her like he'd been programmed to track beautiful women.
“Well, I'm getting laid with or without you.”
“Classy.”
“I try.”
Blake disappeared toward the bar.
Orion rolled his eyes.
He never changes.
Blake was almost always with a new woman every week.
Orion turned his attention back toward the room.
And immediately looked for her.
But Amara had already moved.
She could tell from her peripheral vision that Orion was alone now.
Perfect.
Earlier, she'd deliberately spilled the contents of her drink on the man beside her.
An accident, of course.
At least, that's what she'd made it look like.
The poor man had been embarrassed enough to excuse himself.
Amara stood.
She took a few steps toward the VIP entrance, which happened to bring her closer to Orion.
Then she stopped.
Her expression changed.
She swayed slightly.
Just enough.
Orion noticed immediately.
He watched her for a second before getting up.
As she stumbled again, he reached her just in time, one arm wrapping securely around her waist.
Amara smiled inwardly.
Bingo.
She looked up at him with wide eyes, perfectly innocent.
“Are you okay?”
His voice was deliciously deeper than she'd expected.
Up close, however, Amara's carefully constructed plan briefly malfunctioned.
Oh.
He was HOT.
His features were sharp, his cologne intoxicating, and the hand resting against her waist felt far too steady.
For half a second, she simply stared.
Then she remembered herself.
Focus.
This wasn't about how handsome he was.
It was about finding out what kind of man he was.
Money?
Obviously.
Status?
Almost certainly.
Influence?
Judging by the way people had been watching him all night, definitely.
And confidence?
She could practically taste it.
Interesting.
“Hey,” Orion murmured.
Amara blinked.
“Careful.”
She straightened slightly.
“Thank you so much, Mr…”
She paused deliberately.
Orion's lips twitched.
“You don't know my name.”
“I was hoping you'd tell me.”
That caught him off guard.
Amara smiled innocently.
“I probably would've been spread out like a starfish on the floor if you hadn't caught me.”
A laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
“You don't seem that drunk.”
Amara's eyes widened.
“Are you accusing me of pretending?”
“I'm saying you seem perfectly capable of standing.”
She gave him a suspicious look.
“Perhaps I'm recovering quickly.”
“Convenient.”
“Very.”
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
The teasing smile disappeared from Orion's face.
His gaze dropped briefly to her body, then her lips before returning to her eyes.
Amara noticed.
Of course she noticed.
And she liked it.
But she wasn't going to make things easy.
She gently distanced herself from him.
“I should go.”
She turned.
Orion caught her hand.
Amara stopped.
His fingers wrapped around hers, warm and firm.
She slowly looked back at him.
“I can take you home.”
“I'll be fine.”
“You're leaving alone.”
“Yes.”
“You're not exactly walking straight.”
She glanced down at her perfectly steady feet.
Then back at him.
“I am.”
Orion looked at her.
She smiled cutely.
He almost smiled back.
“You're stubborn.”
“You've known me for approximately thirty seconds.”
“And I'm already certain.”
Amara laughed softly.
Orion found himself smiling.
God, she was trouble.
And he hadn't even spoken to her for five minutes.
“Let me take you home,” he said again.
Amara hesitated.
She knew better than to give a man everything at once.
But this wasn't giving him everything.
This was research.
Besides, she wanted to know just how far his pockets went.
“Fine.”
Orion's smile returned.
“Good.”
He glanced around for Blake.
Nothing.
He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message.
Leaving. Don't do anything stupid.
A reply came almost immediately.
Too late.
Orion sighed.
Of course.
---
The drive was quiet at first.
Amara sat comfortably in the passenger seat, studying everything.
The car.
The interior.
The watch on his wrist.
The way he casually handled the wheel.
She wasn't impressed easily.
But this man was making it difficult.
Orion glanced at her.
“You're very quiet.”
“I'm observing.”
“Observing what?”
She looked at him.
“Everything.”
He smiled.
“Should I be worried?”
“Probably.” she shrugged.
That earned a low chuckle from him.
He liked her.
More than he should.
“Would you like something to eat?”
She was about to refuse but that was before her stomach decided to betray her with a quiet growl.
Orion raised an eyebrow.
Amara stared straight ahead.
“Don't.”
He laughed.
He immediately made a turn for the nearest restaurant diverting from his earlier route.
Over dinner, they finally exchanged names.
“Orion.”
“Amara.”
He repeated her name slowly.
“Amara.”
Something about the way he said it sent an unexpected shiver down her spine.
She hid it behind a sip of her drink.
They talked.
Nothing too personal.
Nothing too revealing.
Just enough.
Amara dropped subtle hints about herself, carefully watching his reactions.
Orion, meanwhile, seemed completely fascinated by her.
Every smile.
Every little gesture.
Every time she leaned closer.
And Amara noticed something else.
He wasn't trying too hard.
He didn't need to.
Men like him knew their worth.
That made him more interesting.
By the time they got back into the car, the atmosphere had changed.
The playful conversation had faded.
Something heavier had taken its place.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
It was charged.
Orion looked at her.
Amara looked back.
Neither spoke.
His eyes dropped to her lips.
This time, she didn't pretend not to notice.
He leaned closer.
Slowly.
Giving her every opportunity to move away.
She didn't.
Their lips met.
It was supposed to be a simple kiss.
It wasn't.
Amara's fingers curled lightly into the front of his shirt as the kiss deepened, and for the first time that evening, she forgot about the money.
Forgot about his status.
Forgot about what she had planned.
There was only the warmth of him and the way his confidence seemed to disappear beneath the kiss, replaced by something much more raw.
When they finally pulled apart, their foreheads remained almost touching.
Orion breathed out slowly.
“You're dangerous.”
Amara smiled.
“You have no idea.”
He kissed her again.
This time, she didn't hold back.
And somewhere between the teasing smiles, heated glances and the growing tension neither of them bothered to deny anymore, the rest of the night became a blur.
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