CHAPTER FOUR
Kael’s POV
She wasn’t in the dress I sent her.
It was the first thing I noticed when she walked in.
We had moved downstairs into the grand hall, where the party was being held. Despite her objections, Aria had stayed. She was sitting across from me, her eyes alert, taking in every inch of the room.
She didn’t look scared, but she had good reasons to be.
“I should get going.” Her eyes filtered through mine. “I have a lot to do at the office tomorrow.”
“You wouldn’t have an office if I didn’t ask to buy it.” My fingers held the stem of my glass, and I raised it to my lips, watching her from the rim. “The night isn’t over. You haven’t signed the contract.”
“You are asking me to give away ownership to the company my parents laboured for,” she countered, shaking her head. A few stray strands of her brown wavy hair got in the way, and I stifled the strange urge to tuck them behind her ear.
“We both know your parents had no plans of handing that company over to you.”
I knew every single thing about the woman sitting in front of me, including the fact that her brother was the CEO of the Vale Firm, flaunting that in her face at every chance he got, until three months ago.
“That doesn’t mean I am ready to hand it over!”
“You aren’t handing it over. I would only be CEO, leaving you with the freedom to make the daily decisions. Of course, you have to directly report to me as your boss.”
Boss. I’d always found the word annoying, but where Aria was concerned, it had a certain appeal, like a box of undiscovered mysteries.
She scoffed. “Can I at least think about this?”
I nodded. "I'll give you till tomorrow for a response. The party has already been held to honour this purchase so I'm afraid you have no choice."
“I didn’t ask you to throw a party.” Her defiance was like a spark of fire. “You could have at least spoken to me about it first.”
I leaned back on my seat, took a slow sip from the glass, and returned it to the table. "I ask no one for anything, Aria. You should know that by now, considering…"
I let the rest of my unspoken words simmer in the air. Her stubborn gaze broke through and a soft sigh escaped her lips.
She got up and started to make her way to the door, but I was on my feet in the same second, pulling her with me to the dance floor.
She yelped as her hands pressed against my chest. Her eyes locked with mine. “You’re insane.”
“I prefer determined.”
“More like arrogant and domineering.”
“With all my arrogance, you’re still here, your hands splayed on my chest, dancing with me.”
Her lips twitched in a near-smile, but it was gone before I could get a glimpse of it. "You really think a cryptic mail, a limo, twirl, and a glass of whiskey is enough to make me obedient?"
I felt her sharp intake of breath as I leaned in. “No, Ria. I think that you liked all of it. No. I know for a fact that it brought a thrill to you. You don’t want sweet and soft. You love being in control. But do you know what you love better?”
She cocks her brows.
“When someone takes it from you.”
This time, she allowed the smile to glimmer through. "Someone like you, Mr. Knox?”
“Don’t do that, Ria,” I whispered, leaning in again until my lips slightly touched her ears. She shivered in my arms, and I held her even closer. “The formality doesn’t look good on your lips. You used to call me Kael.”
The dim light created a halo around her. It made her eyes look a piercing shade of green. They still hadn't stopped staring at me, and for some reason, I couldn't look away either.
“Kael,” she calls softly when I lead her into an abrupt dip before whirling her around to face me again. “I need to know why you are buying my company. From the moment I got here, I have been thinking about it. It makes no sense.”
I shrugged, a mischievous glint in my eyes. “You’ll find out soon enough, Ria.”
Her hair got my attention again, and this time, I couldn’t resist. My finger locked around a curl, pushing it slowly behind her ear.
It felt exactly as I had imagined. Soft, and sensual. I could imagine it. Her hair sprawled on a pillow, framing her head in a perfect arc. And her …
Really, Kael?
I shook my head, as if that was enough to dispel the thought. It had to be.
“You’re insane
“Is this about what about two years ago?”
I didn’t say anything as I led her into another dip. But Aria was stubborn and insistent as hell.
“That is it, right?” She tried again. “Kael, I was…”
I shook my head slowly. “You had two years to do something about it. The time for talking is over.”
Her lips parted open again, but I was done. Breaking away from the close hold, I retrieved my phone from my pocket and typed in a few instructions before looking up at her.
“Let me walk you to the car. The Limo will take you back to your house.”
With my hand placed on the small of her waist, we moved through the crowd, easily dispersing with my presence. In a few minutes, we were out by the car.
The men who had escorted her here already had the door to the back seat open the minute they saw us approaching.
“Tomorrow,” I muttered as she walked away from me and paused by the door, her fingers on the handle. “That’s all the time you got.”
“Is this what you do? Corner CEO’s into contracts on a dance floor?”
I shook my head. “That is reserved for just you.”
“Why?”
“Goodnight, Ria.”
She pursed her lips and made to get into the car.
“And Ria?”
“Yes?”
I took a slow step closer.
“Tell your little boyfriend that the next time he sends you in another dress to my event, I’ll have him blacklisted in three countries.”