Running away

Gabriel's gaze was beginning to haze over as he stared at Anai'ya. The blood pumping through his veins was circulating faster than ever. Mentally he was sure he had never experienced something like this before but his body seemed to recognize this feeling. It felt like it was recalling an old memory from deep within his bones.

His scorching gaze startled Anai'ya. She was uncomfortable with the way he looked at her. The way his eyes sparkled made her feel wary. Her skin felt like thousands of little bugs were crawling all over her; her heart trembled ever so slightly when she met his eyes.

She didn't like this feeling at all. Getting away from this man and never seeing him again was the quickest solution she could summon at the moment. Whatever reason he had for staring at her the way he was she didn't care to know. She could see that he did not look at her friends the same way, all this intensity was directly solely towards her.

It was creepy.

As she was about to make an excuse to leave it seemed like the heavens were on her side when her phone rang. Even if the flashing name on the screen was Andre's it felt like a drop of cold water on a hot summer's day. She quickly excused herself from the table and walked to a secluded corner of the lounge and answered the phone.

As she walked away she felt that heavy gaze on her causing her to quicken her steps.

"Hello?" she said leaning against the wall pressing the phone into her ear as she stared at the wall across from her.

There was a painting of a beautiful woman on the wall, her body was barely covered, the curve of her body prominent as it leaned against a black background: her back was arched, one hand holding the flimsy cover over it's curvy body as the other hand held the woman's chin in a seductive manner. Her eyes were closed, her perfect features and full lips were exquisite making the woman more seductive.

The artwork was detailed and lifelike, it was hard to look away. Anai'ya studied it while she waited for a reply.

"Darling, where are you?" Andre's charming voice drifted over the phone.

"Out with Nadia and Brie. What's up?" She replied as she began twirling the ring on her finger.

"Out where?" He demanded.

"Velvet." Came her curt reply.

There was a moment of silence. She heard the man's breathing fluctuate, she could practically hear the anger that was surging through his body right at this moment.

"Why are you there? You know I don't like that place." His voice was angry.

"But I like it Andre. Is this why you're calling me? To check up on me?" She bit back. Although she was happy to have an excuse to leave the table earlier she didn't have the energy to deal with this man.

She heard him take a deep breath.

"No, I just wanted to see how you were. You know I worry about you. You're too beautiful what if someone tries to hurt you? Men are perverts." His voice regained its charm.

"I can protect myself Andre. If there's nothing else I'm hanging up. I'm in a bad mood. Go to sleep."

"Okay, babe. Let me know if you need me. Get home safe. I love you." He said gently.

"I love you too." She hung up, her face twisted in disgust.

She took a couple minutes to reel in her frustration and disgust before heading back to the table. She decided to call it a night telling them she had to move as she had important work meetings the next day.

"You're leaving?" Gabriel asked standing up his face dimming at the thought of her leaving. He did not have a chance to really talk to her and establish a footing in her eyes.

"Yes. It was nice to meet you Mr. Gabriel." She nodded at him with a plain expression.

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you too. Take care on your way." He said sadly. He felt defeated but did not say anything else as he sat back down. His eyes never left her face as he did.

She gave her girls a quick hug and immediately made her way to the exit. From a third party's perspective it looked like she was running from something by the way her power walked to the door.

In a way, she was running. The man was only in front of her for less than an hour and his body language and heavy gaze made her so uneasy she wanted to run far away from it.

This is what she did whenever any emotion-besides anger-was too intense. The way her heart shook when she took a good look at his face and felt his eyes on her freaked her out. She didn't know the man at all but there was this unexplainable feeling in her chest that she couldn't shake off. It was the same feeling she had when she found her brother after years of not seeing him and his whole appearance had changed, at the time he didn't bear any resemblance to the brother in her memory or their parents but her body recognized him immediately.

The mind might not always understand it but the body did. Actually it was more accurate to say that the soul had a deep memory and could recognize those important to it even if appearance or actions were different the soul was the same. It's core would never change.

She had the same feeling now with this man. However unlike when she reunited with her brother this feeling was more intense, like two souls in love meeting again after being separated for a long time. When seeing Lucian again it was the feeling of family, of blood relation, it was strong but on a whole different level from what she felt with Gabriel.

It was greatly alarming to her. It disturbed her, she didn't wish to probe any deeper into it or him or his background.

She was running away.