Chapter One

Alice

''You're a very beautiful young lady,'' A woman says, as she places her hand on my shoulder which causes me to turn around and meet her eyes. The woman smiles, revealing the wrinkles visible on her face; not strange, it is very clear that she appears to be in her sixties.

My lips curve up into a smile, ''Thank you.''

''My, my, my, your skin is very soft, dear. Your eyes are truly mesmerising as well.'' She continues before chuckling, ''I do think you would make a wonderful wife for my grandchild, Tony.''

A tall man slowly grabs onto the woman's hand, her fingers slowly leaving my skin. My eyes wander up to him as he smiles down at me, ''I'm sorry, my grandmother can be a little bit persuasive. I hope you don't mind,''

'I hope you don't mind.' As a matter of fact, I do. I'm not very fond of letting strangers touch me but then again, manners are important from how I was raised so I keep that to myself despite wanting to just be honest. ''It's okay. It's fine,''

'It's not okay. It's not fine.' I smile.

''I'm Tony.'' He hands out a hand, in which I shake in return. However, to my surprise, he leans down to kiss at the back of it before looking up into my eyes and smile.

''Alice,'' I reply.

''She didn't lie when she said you were beautiful,''

'Oh, my. Can I just smack him and leave? It's torture!' My eyes wander around to look for an escape because deep down, I know I'd suffocate if I bare any of this nonsense any longer. ''Oh, I think I saw my friend! Excuse me,''

I immediately pull my hand away before quickly making my way towards the middle of the crowd, seeing people chattering with drinks in their hands while I sigh in relief to find Tony nowhere near me. Whenever I attend any events, I would receive compliments from men and even when I'm not doing anything, I'd get their attention. The main reason why I'm here is because of a good purpose; it is a charity event but these foul men just can't seem to keep theirselves away from me which is disturbing.

My lips curve up into a smile before taking a few steps back, stumbling into a stranger.

''Oh, I'm sorry!'' I exclaim before looking up, into a pair of dark green eyes. They pierce deeply into my own as I feel his warm hands on my waist in which I strangely find it comfortable.

'Great, Alice. You had to stutter!'

The man stands tall, leaving me feel smaller than I actually am. Being five foot five, I wasn't exactly known as someone petite but being here, in his arms, makes me realise just how tiny someone can feel.

''Are you okay?'' He responds, his voice deep and a little bit hoarse. Not only does this man is beautifully tall, his eyes are mesmerising and his voice sounds a lullaby. How can someone affect me this much?

I nod, ''Yes . . . I'm sorry,''

''It's alright.'' His lips curve up into a smile, making me glance down at his lips in an instant to find them pink and full. ''I was afraid you might sprain your ankle if I didn't catch you on time,''

''I'm fine,'' I smile before slowly leaning back, feeling his arms leaving my waist. ''Thank you for saving my fall. I'm sorry, I really am.''

Both of his dark green eyes focus directly into my brown ones, somehow making my cheeks grow warm just by his gaze. Yet, it's not the only thing that's making me blush but the way his eyes manage to steal a few glances down my lips and back up to my eyes; it's weakening my knees. So, I take my chance to glance up to his hair, a few strands falling down to his forehead, his perfect high cheekbones and defined jawline, it's as if he was sculptured to perfection.

As clear as to the naked eye, there's not a single flaw.

''I just want to make sure you're okay.'' He replies, leaving a small space between us.

''Are you? I stepped on your foot,'' I say, in which he responds by chuckling as we both look down. ''And I'm in heels.''

''It doesn't hurt. Don't worry,''

''Okay,'' I clear my throat. ''Clumsy me,''

''Then, I'll excuse myself.'' He says, making me grab onto his hand immediately before tightening the grip.

'Oh my god. Why did I do that?' My hands loosening the grip around his as I ignore his gaze. It was a sudden reaction and before I could control myself, I was already grabbing hard onto his hand. It feels really warm, warmer than mine. Warmer than any hands I've ever touched. The warmth just calms my whole body as I glance back up to his face; seeing him standing still, showing no signs of wanting to pull his hand away. 'Improvise. Think, Alice. You're embarrassing yourself!'

I stutter, ''Can you keep me company?''

He stays still for awhile as he clenches his jaw, making me regret ever asking him that question. Yet, his smile eases me, ''For the night or for now?''

I pull both of my hands away, ''Oh! No, no, no. I didn't mean it that way—I just wanted someone to talk with. I have to be honest with you . . . I don't really like the men here. They tend to come and talk about things,''

''What things?'' He raises an eyebrow.

''Boring, uninteresting things. While you . . .''

''Don't seem boring?''

''Far from it.''

His eyes gazes down to my lips a bit longer than I expected before he grabs onto my hand, ''It's a beautiful night to see the stars. Would you be interested?''

''Sounds like a business proposal,''

We both laugh.

Deep down inside my heart, this stranger in front of me doesn't feel like a stranger at all. It's like I've known him for years, for an eternity but at the same time, we know very less of each other. The way he is gentle and kind, it attracts me further, causing me to want more.

''I'm very interested.'' I smile.

''Perfect,'' He gives me his hand, letting me place my own as he lightly squeezes it. We both smile up at each other as we walk away from the crowd, into a deeper hallway; a couple of people walking by but they're heading towards the other direction. As we reach the end of the steps, my eyes widen at the sight in front of me.

A door being held wide open, revealing the night sky above with stars shining brightly, accompanying the full moon.

''Wow,'' I breathe in surprise. ''It's beautiful,''

''Very beautiful,''

Both of my eyes are busy focusing onto the stars and the moon that I haven't being able to notice his gaze. While I'm too busy looking up at the sky, he's too busy looking down at me; we both have very different definitions of beautiful. I was talking about the sky, he was defining me.

I turn to look at him, catching him off guard yet he manages to keep his calm. ''I didn't quite catch your name,''

''Because I didn't quite give it to you yet,''

My lips curve up, smiling. ''I'm Alice,''

''Damon,'' He takes a few steps closer towards me, shaking my hand.

''Damon. You do know that your name means demon in German?'' I furrow my brows as I try to remember reading a list of names back in high school because I've always been the type to look up for baby names and saving it for future purposes. ''It means subdue in Greek.''

''So I've been told,'' He smirks.

''Don't get me wrong, you do seem a little bit—''

''—rebellious?''

''I was going to say, mysterious.''

Damon smiles, looking away from me as he breathes out. ''Tell me about yourself, Alice.''

''Well, I'm honestly an open book. Anyone can easily read me and I'm pretty bad at lying. I'm the only child in my family and that's also one of the reasons why my parents always put pressure on me. I'm their first and last. They always want the best,'' I look into his eyes, ''I'm here because my papa makes his business known by my presence.''

''Tell me more,''

''He's an investor. Whenever I go to these events, whether it's a charity event or a gathering, people know me as his daughter. They contact him for business purposes because apparently, I'm the face of the company. I attract clients. As sick as that sounds, it's nothing bad.''

''He uses you to get clients?'' He raises an eyebrow.

''Something like that.''

We both stare at each other before I clear my throat, ''That's enough about me. So, tell me about you.''

Damon glances up at the moon before looking back down at me and I take my time to take it all in. The moonlight highlighting his skin, it is as if he's in his own nature. The way his dark green eyes are somehow a tint of yellow but it was only for a couple of seconds, a bit too surreal to confirm.

''There's not much to tell.''

''Right . . . so, I just told you about myself. And, I'm getting none from you?''

''I like to travel in my free time. I've been to many places,'' He replies, his answer short and simple.

''That must be fun. So, you always travel for pleasure?''

''It depends. Most of time because of work but I always make the best of it—what about you? Do you travel?'' He asks, turning to look at me.

''I've been to a few places,'' I answer.

Then, that's it. The two of us remain quiet as we enjoy the night air, letting ourselves hear the chatters coming from inside the building but slowly, they're fading. It's like the two of us are left alone in this world and we have our whole lives to watch the stars. My eyes wander to Damon, seeing him eyeing the moon with full anticipation. I've never seen someone so focused on watching the moon. The way his eyes just light up as he smiles, it makes me wonder what's in his head.

''Alice,'' He calls out, softly.

Our eyes meet immediately.

For once, it surprises me of what I see. Dark green mix with yellow sparkles in the middle but it passes as quickly as it comes. Almost like an imagination. His eyes are somehow different, it's like the person standing in front of me is not Damon but somebody else. A different person.

One of his hands lift up to touch the side of my face, letting me feel the warmth of it. It's easy to differentiate his hand with another; his are just very warm, nowhere near the cold regardless of us being outside. It's cold. I'm cold.

''You're cold, beautiful.'' He whispers.

''It's the New York air,'' I chuckle.

However, his lips barely curving as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear; meeting his eyes and somehow hypnotising me. It's a weird sensation, letting his hand anywhere near my face because I like the feeling of it.

''Damon?''

The yellow tint in his eyes disappear as he blinks a few times, somehow regaining his consciousness.

''I'm sorry, Alice. I—I didn't know what I was thinking,'' He leans back before running his fingers through his dark and silky hair; truly regretting his previous action. ''It's very cold out here. We should get inside to keep you warm,''

His gazes down at my body, making me realise that my long dress isn't exactly proper in the cold air. The material clings onto my skin, revealing the right amount of cleavage and perfect to pair with a fluffy coat. Maybe better, in his arms.

'Wow . . . Alice, where did that come from? Why would I even think about that? Damon is a stranger. No, an acquaintance. Not more than that,' My mind wonders, trying to reason with myself.

''Damon,''

''Yes, Alice?''

''Do you think we'll meet again?''

Damon smiles, revealing his pearly whites. ''Do you want to see me again, Alice?''

''Gladly. I do,''

He keeps quiet for a few seconds, ''I won't be in New York for a few weeks, nearly a month. I will probably see you after,''

''Are you travelling for work this time?'' I ask.

''There's something you should know.'' He replies, ''I'm the kind of person that doesn't stay put in one place. I have a home where I settle but I travel to fill the empty space. But, Alice, really, I'm always travelling for work.''

I take a few steps closer towards him, ''What empty space?''

''Loneliness . . . is not really my forte.''

''Not mine either,''

He smiles, glancing down at my lips for a few seconds before grabbing my hand and leaving a soft kiss at the back of it. ''It was very nice meeting you, Alice. You're a very kind and wonderful woman,''

''What a man says when he's leaving,'' I smirk, knowing that Damon is quite the gentleman. He tends to avoid my gaze but at the same time, he'd stare into my eyes longer than necessary. He's a puzzle, a mystery just waiting to be solved. He's taunting me, challenging me even.

''I promise you, we'll meet again.'' He leans in, his warm breath hitting the side of my face as I feel his soft lips on my cheek. My eyes close as the smell of his cologne hits me, leaving me to be lost near him. It doesn't take me long to realise that this man has made me attracted to him.

As soon as he leans back, our eyes meet and we're only inches apart for our lips to meet. The yellow sparks reappear in his eyes as he glances down at my lips before clenching his jaw, it's like he is fighting something inside, trying to push away the desire we both know. Both of my hands wrap around his neck as my lips instantly meet his in a soft, innocent kiss.

The action barely surprised him. In fact, he seems prepared for it.

My heart skips a beat as soon as arms wrap around my body to pull me close, letting ourselves indulge into the kiss. From a sweet and innocent kiss, it turns out to be a little bit more passionate which causes me to lose my breath.

I pull away, meeting the same pair of yellow eyes. They are nowhere near bright, almost fading but with his eyes naturally being dark green, it's like the lights are playing with my vision. I know it's nothing more but a reflection of the lights coming from inside, an imagination of my own. As he leans in one more time, he goes straight for my neck; trailing soft kisses near my jawline.

And just like that, he pulls away.

I swear, I heard a low growl but then again, my mind is playing all sorts of tricks.

''The champagne must have gotten to me,'' I laugh, trying to hide the embarrassment before feeling the warmth of my cheeks radiating. ''I'm sorry, Damon.''

''No, no, it was my fault.''

''I'm really sorry,''

''It's fine, Alice. I'm sorry,''

''What?'' I frown.

''I'm sorry. If you'll excuse me,''

Just like that, he walks further away from me without sparing a second glance. His broad shoulders disappearing into the dark hallway, the same path we came from earlier in order to escape the crowd. As I stand still in the same spot, I remember kissing him passionately on the balcony, tasting the sweetness of his lips and drowning myself in his touch.

How can I let myself go like that? It has been awhile.

It was as if everything moved without my control. Then again, I was fully aware of what happened—I leaned forward to kiss him. However, I'm left with the warmth of his fingers on my face earlier.

I breathe out, not realising I was holding it in.