Avriel Kaplan: Well dressed, well groomed, beautifully handsome, quiet and brooding and exactly the kind of man Ariel Declan doesn't need to know. But, that is not for her to decide.
Alexander Kirk: wickedly handsome, well known and well liked, egot...
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"You know, Ari," Alex let her name dangle in the air like he thought he was dangling her. She hadn't given him her name. She hated that he used it with her regularly despite not having been given the right. He had no idea how much she despised hearing it upon his lips. It always sent chills down her spine and set her teeth on edge in such a way that she struggled to keep her composure with him. She looked at him disparagingly. He didn't get the hint. She didn't understand how he could misread her signals so well. He always did. Maybe it was his ego. The ego was a pretty difficult thing to manage, his seemed to be overflowing. The bigger it got the worse it was. She was certain that his was the size of Texas.
"If you knew what was good for you," he reached a hand out to touch her. She moved away from his touch by reaching for a bottle on the shelf behind her. "You would just relax and let me show you a good time. You don't know what you are missing. I would take such good care of you. You would not want for anything. Not a thing, ever." His smile was suggestive and annoying. It took all the strength that Ariel could find to not roll her eyes at him and slap him. "Let me show you my world."
"I can take care of myself. I have all that I need. I like the world I have built for myself. I know where I am going and exactly how I intend to get there." He mistook the fire in her eyes for desire, her anger for intrigue and her snide tone for curious. "Thank you." She added rather icily. "If I ever find my self-esteem so insufficient that I wind up with you, I'll seek out the highest bridge and see if I have learned how to fly yet."
"You look so lovely. Do you ever get tired of being alone?"
"No one ever said that I was alone. What'll you have tonight?"
"You." He said confidently as he winked at her. He missed everything that she said. Was he really that damn dense or did he just not care? She wondered for a split second then decided that he wasn't worth caring about.
"Thanks." Her eyes almost closed as she threw a smile that was so fake at him the people in the balcony knew it wasn't real. "Never going to happen." She looked him dead in the eyes with murderous thoughts rolling through her mind and an unveiled insult on her tongue. She bit it hard enough to taste her own blood.
"Never say never, Princess." Another wink and waisted smile. "I'll have whatever you want me to have." She already had his glass in her hand. What she wanted him to have was another drink somewhere, anywhere else in the club. She damn near told him so. Only business sense and the threat of disappointing her boss, Kevin held her tongue. She promptly began to mix his drink. The sooner she completed it the faster she could be rid of him.
A set of cold and distant eyes watched from the other side of the club, intrigued. At the end of the bar, Avi ground his teeth. Ariel was amazingly patient with Alex. He was not. Normally, Alex's bold nature unnerved him and made him question so many things about life, but his flirting with Ariel made his blood feel like it was literally going to boil. Alex was dangerous, very dangerous. He hoped that Ariel sensed that and never gave into his machinations. If she did, since he hadn't openly stated his intentions towards her, whatever they were because he sure didn't know, he would be powerless to protect or save her. He felt like his hand was being forced. He didn't much like it. He watched Ariel, with more than a casual interest. He let thoughts of her fill his mind and pushed them her way.
