Call Me Princess

Chapter 1

            I am running. I am scared. I hated this. Being scared and being reduced to petty theft. I knew stealing was wrong but I am just so hungry. I can feel my insides collapsing in on themselves, trying desperately to find relief from the endless hunger I felt since I had left home.

           It was an apple that I had stolen and you would have thought that it was made of gold by the way the shop keeper was chasing me down the busy city streets. I had made the mistake of thinking that I could out run him, but in my current state of exhaustion and hunger, I quickly realized that I would soon be out of luck. I clutched the apple tightly in my hands as a turned a corner and slipped into an ally and knocked over a metal garbage can. I regained my balance quickly and continued down the alleyway. I had hoped I had lost him but one quick look over my shoulder told me that luck was not on my side today. I ran faster, keeping eyes on the man with a bat in his hands. Was this guy crazy? He would really beat me over an apple? The apple wasn't even that big either. A real disappointment. He was spewing curses and obscenities and his face was red with anger. He kinda looked like the app-

             Smack! I wasn't paying attention. I ran into something unforgiving and landed right on my butt, hard. I was too shocked at the force of the impact to notice that I had lost the apple from my hands. My eyes widened in panic as I searched the ground. I wasnt letting all that running go unrewarded. That's uwhen I saw exactly just what I had run into.

          My eyes started at his boots. Black combat boots. Then I saw his dark jeans that fit him seamlessly. Next I came to his tight black shirt, fitted to show off every curve and muscle he had. I didn't have time to see his face before I felt a large kick to my back. I lurched forward and was forced onto my stomach.

       "You little shit! No one steals from me!" It was the clerk. His foot was on my back, the source of the burning pain. I struggle to get a hand out from under me. I spotted the apple. Please let all my efforts mean something.

       I got my right hand free and just as my hand hovered over it, I saw a brown boot come down over my hand, squishing both the apple and my hand under its weight along with the cracking of what I thought had to be bone.

      I gasped and whimpered at the pain.

     "You mooch! Buy your own damn food!" 
I ducked my head as I saw him raise the bat in his hands.

       Suddenly, he was off me. He made a grunting sound as if he had been hit or pushed. I quickly sat up and looked around to see what had caused him to remove his hold and my eyes widened. 

      The man I had run into now stood between me and the clerk. A dark look on his face that I could now see was.....gorgeous. There was no other way to describe it. He was tanned, with jet black hair just long enough to curl at the ends in a husky way. His eyes were a pale gunmetal grey and his face was chiseled and defined with pierced ears and simple, black studs for earrings. His body...good lord above I had never seen a more perfect sight. He was tall, standing at about 6'3. His torso was covered in muscles as they moved below his shirt with every breath he took. He also had some tattoos here and there. I peeked a glance at his bottom. Yup. He was perfect. 

       "Calm down." His voice snapped me out of whatever trace he had put me in. Even his voice was deep and husky and filled with a cold controlled rage. This man was dangerous.

       I watched him carefully as he glared at the clerk.

     "The little shit stole from me and I can't have that!"

     The man with the grey eyes looked as if he was fighting for control of his rage. His eyes darkened and if looks could kill, the clerk would be six feet under. He must have sensed it too because his confidence wavered enough to show the fear in his eyes. His grip on the bat tightened.

     "How much was the thing that he stole?" grey eyes asked.

     The clerk looked at him in confusion. "Huh?"

     Grey eyes reached into his back pocket and pulled out a $10 bill. He walked forward until he was smiling down at the clerk. The smile was forced and cold. His eyes were on fire as he stared right into his face. I shivered. Boy was I glad I was not on the receiving end of that.

     The clerk looked down at the money before snatching it away and glaring at the man. He huffed and shoved the bill into his apron pocket and stormed off without a backwards glace.

     The man turned to me. His eyes had not changed from their cold state and I swallowed nervously. He took a step toward me and I took a step back out of instinct. He was way bigger than me and could easily over power me if he wanted to.

     He gave me a strange look before advancing on me again until my back hit the wall and he was towering over me about a foot away. I kept my eyes on his face and wondered if I should run from him too or thank him for saving my skin. He studied me and I, him. His stare was calculating and I could not read his face. I then looked into his eyes again. They were really gorgeous. I then started to lean into him without even realizing it. I wanted to get closer to his eyes. Woah. I sniffed a little. He smelled heavenly, too. Like dark spices and the slight smell of cigarette smoke the was edgy.
I swayed slightly, finally realizing what I was doing and a slow, knowing smirk spread across his face. I watched that smirk and gulped. I could feel my cheeks turning red but hope the darkness would cover them. But by the way he was looking at me, he knew. I couldn't hear anything but my racing heart. I hope he didn't hear it too. I wish he would say something. My hand hurt and I felt like I was about to throw up.