Untamed: Book one

Chapter one: The first night

Aarabella looks around the boring coffee shop, the dull expressions on each one of the busy people coming in making her day a blur of grey. She makes each one of their drinks, takes their money, hands them their change and they are on their way. When the last customer leaves she sighs, her loneliness washing over her anew. She runs her fingers through her long, black hair which is in a low ponytail that runs to her waist. Her grey-blue eyes, framed with dark lashes, her full lips, her petite and curvy frame, and her cream colored skin all make her slightly different than the others around her. The other baristas are tall, spray tanned, elegant blondes, who seem to get more numbers and date offers than they do orders.

Aarabella turns on the faucet, the water steaming up as it turns hot. She grabs the towel from across the counter and runs it under the water wringing it out, before she turns and begins her daily routine of cleaning the shop, wiping down the counters and the coffee makers. She hums softly to herself as she cleans, not noticing the man who walked in quietly and was watching her as she worked. She turns around with a start as she hears him clear his throat. Aarabella's face flames a bright red with embarrassment, but he smiles an award winning smile. His teeth gleam white and are perfectly straight, his jaw lined with a dark stubble, his eyes a light blue stark against his dark hair. "Well hello." He says with a slight smirk. "You have a beautiful voice, my dear." His voice a deep rumbling as he looks her over. "Th-thank you." She stutters slightly, her heart still racing from his sudden appearance.

He smiles softly realizing he's frightened her, he holds out his hand in a genuine gesture of introducing himself. "My name is Owen." His voice caressing the words as he speaks them giving her a sense of ease. "Aarabella." She says softly as she takes his hand shaking it slightly, not meeting his eyes, as the touch zings a shock through her body like an electrical current. "Beautiful name for a beautiful lady." He says. "Thank you." She manages then quickly goes on dropping his hand her cheeks going pink again, "uh, what may I serve for you today sir?" He looks at her taken slightly aback as he can see she's flustered. "A coffee, black, if you will please." He says as she moves to start his coffee, his eyes never straying from her. "And please, call me Owen." He chides gently.

Aarabella continues to make his coffee, pouring the hot liquid into the thick paper cup, she presses the lid on tightly and hands it to him. "That will be $1.46 please, Owen." She says quietly, as though the words might break the atmosphere around them. Owen reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet extracting a twenty dollar bill. He smiles and hands it to her his hand accidentally touching hers again and it sends a fresh shock through her body, his touch extremely cold compared to hers. Her eyes flash excitement as she looks at him. She quickly recovers and takes the money, clumsily cashing him out, she takes out his change and looks up but he's walking out of the door, coffee in hand. She rushes after him as the door closes behind him, she bursts out into the cold winter night calling out "sir!" Then she remembers what he asked her to call him, "Owen! Your change!" She runs to catch up with him, the bitter cold wind biting at her bare skin. He looks back pausing for a moment as she reaches him. "Keep it dear, as a thank you." He says with the same masculine grin as before. "A-a thank you?" She says questioningly. "Yes, a thank you, for being the most exquisite lady I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on." With this he turns away and continues to walk, but Aarabella doesn't follow him she stands there, stunned.

She stands there in silence as the wind picks up blowing the strands of her dark hair around her face, the icy cold of the night running through her body. She shivers and wraps her arms around her torso clasping her biceps as she slowly walks back to the coffee house. She opens the door and the tinkling of the bells startles her slightly as she shuffles back to the counter and continues cleaning, her mind racing the pictures of him flooding her conscious.