Love AFTER Love

Chapter 3 - Angel Wings

Vanity tried to keep her eyes from wondering down from his eyes to his neck, following the trail of ink from his perfectly tanned chest, leading to his arms. It took more of an effort than she thought she need - as sitting here, this close to him sparked curiosity.

Swallowing uneasily, she shifted her weight on the couch and placed her bag beside her.

Adam waited for her reply. The silence in the room pressed on her eardrums, causing her to lick on her suddenly dry lips. And when his eyes trapped her gaze in a forbidding expression, her fingers instinctively curled into balls.

Dear God, truth be known she hadn't thought about how she would start apologising or what to say when she was done or how to convince him of taking her case if he declined.

She gave the room another brief scan before returning her gaze to him.

"I'm sorry for intruding, Adam. But I needed to speak with you. I needed to apologise for, well, basically running off. It was insensitive on of me, given that you had taken time out of your busy schedule just to come and meet with Max and I. "

Adam said nothing and his expression remained indifferent. Everything that she was saying was true, she was mainly stating facts. But what he had not anticipated was that she would last this long without looking at his tattoos, or that she'd be even more attractive than he remembered.

He watched in a lengthening silence as she pressed her thin lips together, offering him a low smile. Begging was obviously not in her nature and it showed, the discomfort was in her voice and on her face.

For a brief moment, Adam wondered whether he should let her suffer or simply put her out of her misery; so that he could get back to his life.

She must have taken his silence as a sign of retribution because pulling a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she seemed to burst with a new found confident.

"You see, Adam. I don't know how much Max has told you about my situation. But he assured me that you can help. Assuming that you are willing, of course."

She was right. Max had already told him about her situation. And he also had already told Max that he wanted no part in the Aden situation. But after several pleading phone calls, he had agreed to meet up with them to hear what she had to say.

Replacing the cap on his now empty bottle, he gave her a noncommittal glance before placing it on the table infront of him. The few seconds that his gazed locked with her pair of amber eyes caused tiny pinpricks of sensation to dart across Vanity's skin.

"Why?" She heard him ask. His voice deep and husky and yet his gaze was still and watchful as a panther preparing to spring on its doomed prey

Her brows scrunched in confusion. "Why should you help?" She asked in a low tone.

He slowly shook his head from side to side. "No. Why did you leave?" He asked, then decided to be a little more elaborate. "At the restaurant what made you run?"

Vanity's face flushed.

Why?

She opened her mouth to speak but her brain seemed to have stopped functioning.

Where should she even begin? She had not expected him to ask her that.

No longer able to keep her eyes to his face, she allowed them to drop to his chest. Her eyes were immediately drawn to wide-spread angel wings that covered his chest. She had never stood so close to a man with this many ink on his body before. She was surprised by a compelling desire to spread her palm and feel the wings underneath the softness of her skin. She immediately dismissed the thought and quickly averted her gaze.