The Royal Contract

Chapter 15 - Scratch An Itch

Dani forced Jacky inside the bathroom. "What's wrong with you? You kicked and pinch me." Jacky shrieked, moving a bit away from her.

She started pacing the empty room as Jacky stared at her in disbelief. She did not have a good reason to do those things to her, but she could not exactly tell her the truth.

"Don't be so overly dramatic, I barely touched you. You were sharing too much information with those strangers." She reasoned. "I had to stop you. For all we know, they could be bad guys."

What she was saying was a little farfetched and she knew it, but she was panicking and she could not think of any better explanation for what she did.

"I can't believe you. They are not total strangers compared to the other man we went on a date with, but you never reacted this way. What I told them was hardly a secret. What's going on?" She asked incredulously.

"Ok. I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little on edge today because of all that had happened. I may have overreacted." It was partly true, except for the actual reason. Her agitation that he might had figured out who she was and her secret revealed.

"I get it. I just want you to relax and enjoy this evening. Alex appeared to be a gentleman. Based on Marcus, he is single and very much available." Trust Jacky to bring up her matchmaking skills at a time like this.

"Please. Don't try to set me up with him. I agreed to this dinner as a favor to you, but as soon as dinner is over, I'm leaving." Dani said with no room for argument.

"Fine. Can we go back to our table? Promise I will stop talking about you. Satisfied." When Dani nodded, they went out of the bathroom and back to their table.

The conversation centered on Marcus and Jacky, with some occasional questions directed to Alex and Dani. However, Dani usually stirred the questions away from her and avoiding Alex's gaze as much as possible. She could not wait for the dinner to be over so she could make some alibi and leave.

Alexander had no doubt he had the right woman. Now, what to do? Should he pursue her, but why? She was stunning. She was very attractive. Under normal circumstances, he could see himself asking her out on a date. Then what was stopping him?

Right, it was her brazen and wild attitude. He believed that he was not the first man she had done a one night with. He was brought up as a conservative man, despite the influence of western ways, he still wanted to uphold his values and principles.

She was not the kind of woman that he went after. He vowed to stay clear of a woman who had too much emotional baggage. She was one of those who carried too many skeletons. Besides, he was not looking for a relationship anytime soon.

All thru out the meal, she was careful with her words. She stirred clear from personal topics and quickly diverted it to something else.

"We are going to the club. Maybe you would like to join us." Marcus invited Alex and Dani.

Dani immediately declined. "Sorry, but I need to get home early." Thankful that the dinner was over and she could finally make her escape.

"Are you sure?" Jacky asked with a bit of disappointment in her tone.

"Yeah, I still have tons to do." Dani insisted. Making sure that Jacky had no clue of what she was thinking.

Besides, she was not lying. Trying to think of her other cases. Even if she was thinking of resigning, she still wanted to make sure that she did her best to the remaining cases under her.

"What about you, Alex?" Marcus asked averting his attention to his friend.

"I'll take a raincheck, my friend. I have an early meeting tomorrow." He reminded him since he would be part of that meeting.

Moreover, he had another thing that he wanted to do. Glad that he could finally get a chance to be alone with Dani. It would appear that he had decided to confront her, his curiosity had won over reason.

Jacky said goodbye to Dani as Marcus escorted her to his car. Dani hurriedly walked back to her car, trying to make her escape, but somehow Alex caught up with her.

"Wait, I was thinking maybe we could grab a coffee," Alexander said as he stopped her from opening her car door, blocking her path.

"Sorry I can't," Dani said as she tried to get around him.

"Can't or won't," Alexander asked, still blocking her escape.

"Both so if you'll excuse me. Can you move?" She said disinterestedly as she grabbed the door handle.

He stopped her by resting his hand on top of hers on the handle. "But we still have things to talk about." He said as he leaned closer to her side, positioning his lips a few inches from her ears.

"I don't think so." Getting frustrated. Every minute she stood near him was threatening her peace of mind. She never wanted to see him again and be in this awkward situation. It was the reason it was called a one-night stand.

"Yes, we do Dani. I believe we have some catching up to do." He insisted as he forced her to turn around and faced him.

"What do you mean? I don't know you. I'd never met you before." She attempted to step away, but there was no more space to move as she felt trapped between her car and his body. She ended up facing him.

"Are you sure? Because I could swear, I know you." He used his fingers to hold her chin up so he could gaze into her eyes. The same eyes that haunted his dreams.

"If you don't stop this nonsense, I swear I'll wipe that smirk out of your face. Now move and let me go." She tried to push him away, but he was strong. She knew that. She remembered how strong those muscles could be.

"Not until we talk. Why did you run away that morning?" All of a sudden, he wanted to know her reason. He wanted her to explain herself. He wanted to give her an excuse for why she did what she did that night.

"It's called a one-night stand for a reason. We're not supposed to see each other afterward. No names. No mess. No complication and no awkwardness. So, can we pretend that it did not happen and we don't know each other and left it at that?" She said irritably.

"But I don't do one-night stand. It did not count." He said riling her up. He liked this side of her. He was quite intrigued by her personality. He had never met someone like her for sure.

"If you're looking for a repeat performance, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't do seconds." She said as she tried to push him away.

"I'm not asking you to sleep with me. I just want to get to know you." Not affected by her rejection. In truth, he found himself more fascinated, the more she got annoyed and the way she kept rejecting his advances.

"Well, I don't think so if you'll excuse me. If you don't move, I'll scream." She said warningly.

He waved his hand in surrender and moved out of her way. He was content that he had confirmed her identity for now. The rest would just have to wait.

She opened her car with shaking fingers and hurriedly sped the car out of the parking lot. Not wanting to look back just in case he was still standing where she left him. She was not afraid of him, but definitely, the effect he had on her frightened her.

Only one person was able to make her feel this way and he was long gone. She had killed him in her dreams.

Although she still felt the strong attraction she had with him, she was willing to ignore it. She was sure that it was just lust. Something that she could control. She should not let this affect her. She was stronger than this and she had a far better goal in her life to pursue than to scratch an itch that she had for him.