ARSLAN, R. —
Lips parted, though only silence seemed to attend as Rhysand considered her for a moment longer. As if he could gather all he needed to know from her stare, the male held it, tracing over the warmth in her eyes. It was an unexpected interest, but the best things in life were just that, unexpected. “I say a lot of things,” A lazy smirk teased his features then, the corners of his lips dancing upwards yet not fully in a crooked angle. “–to a lot of people now that you mention it.” Shadowed hues shifted then, trailing after the bartender as they acted to take their leave, only once they’d been fully left alone again did he shift his focus back. Not that he’d been distracted, no, something in him promised that it’d be rather hard to be distracted in her presence.
At least he still had a flair for the climactic, which only brought a wordless satisfaction onto the male. “You’re very beautiful,.” An artless fact, as he shifted to face her more pressingly. “I’m sure you’re aware, but hearing it aloud, that’s nearly just as mattering.” But at the mention of her brother, Rhys found a budding tension between his shoulders. The topic of any family invariably seemed to admit for that predilection as he chuckled softly. “I’m my own man, thus, I like to think of myself like no one.”
Though that was only half true, he was sure the response may only make her wonder even more about him. “You act as if I might want anyone to know me, really know me.” Echoing her words, he arched a brow, though already he was releasing his drink to the action of the bartender and proceeding to stand. “Patience was never my virtue.” A promise and a fact as he took just one step to the side and offered the woman his hand, lips caressed together as he waited for the pressure of her own against his palm.
It was only once they had approached the dance floor, that Rhysand extended his arm out, leading her back in slowly as a hand rested just at the nape of her neck, index finger ghosting her pulse. “So Gabriella, are you just anyone?”
—
Effortless laughter, warm and soft, filled the space between them. “Of course you do,” the words were in company with a shake of her head and a playful roll of eyes that would stray only to return, as if it were impossible to look away for too long for fear of missing the infinitesimal expressions that teased his features. They gave nothing away of his thoughts, and by his own admission, she knew it was intended. Make no mistake, Gabriella was certain he was aware of the intrigue he stirred. It was his next statement, however, that would cause a raise of her brows, lesser lip catching upon her teeth as she ignored the fact that surely her cheeks were pooling with color. He wasn’t wrong, the attentions of others never hard to attain as she grew through various stages in life. But, somehow hearing the sentiment fall from his lips — it echoed, a slivered crack left upon her carefully crafted walls. Fuck. “Something else I’m sure you say often, to countless others.” She’d combat, the twist of lip corners pulling that easy smile back into place, as though the simple compliment had yielded no effect over the woman.
If there were other words to be said, the stayed upon her tongue silently as she slipped her hand into his. It wasn’t until he pulled her back to him on the dance floor that she found her voice once more. “Don’t you?” she’d contest, not unaware of the shrinking proximity between the two. “Doesn’t everyone? It’s practically the human condition.” She was unsure he heard or perhaps carried no interest in answering as her unattended hand came to rest softly against his chest and she began to move with the music. When he spoke again, it left her without response. But only seconds passed as she carefully weighed her return against her tongue, mulling over his question before finally answering. “Perhaps, I should be ‘just anyone’ where you’re concerned,” honey orbs, cast beneath thick lashes, would lift with a cant of her head to meet the enigmatic gaze in which kept her in his arms, despite the very words that had just fallen from parted lips, ripe with challenge.













