13. Be careful

She heard a rustling sound and footsteps getting closer to her.

'Why is he coming closer?' She couldn't help but ask herself and panic. Though it baffled her from the beginning, she was quite aware of why her heart kept beating abnormally when he was nearby.

She was attracted to him. Even though she swore not to fall for anyone again she'd been betrayed, her heart was too stubborn. It kept getting excited at the mere sight of him.

She calmed herself and clenched her fist against her chest. The vibration she felt underneath her clothes wasn't normal. It was as though her fragile heart would soon leap out from her body. Even towards Gerard, she never felt this way.

"I already put them there."

Azer's deep voice pulled her back into the present. She wet her dry lips and pretended like she was busy arranging the things above another table. She couldn't even face the man because of embarrassment.

The majestic view kept appearing in her mind, taunting her more and more and more.

"O-Oh, okay…"

Azer stopped just a step away from her. He stared at her petite figure and was reminded of the time they first met. Her dainty shoulders shivering from fear, hunched, and arms hugging herself. 

It was the day he first felt his mate nearby. And she was the closest person in that place where the scent was. 

Now that he brooded about that night, how could he easily accept the scent's disappearance? His kind has enhanced olfactory. The scent couldn't have gone away completely without leaving any trace at all.

It was as though something or someone deliberately hid the scent away. And why did he not suspect her? 

Amara was holding herself back from shaking as she could feel the intense stare. She cleared her throat to break the silence again and added, "You should go back. I'll make sure to deliver your clothes later."

However, Azer was occupied. Rather, his eyes and mind were. 

His gaze traced the back of her ears to her nape and traveled down her shoulder's blade. She was wearing thin and soft fabric, a sleepwear must be, which made her voluptuous figure more conspicuous. 

If he moved closer and peeked below, he would be able to glimpse what was below her collarbone.

The softness he felt when their chests touched almost clouded his mind. He was lucky another person was watching them from beyond the glass door, but if they were alone, he would have a hard time stopping himself.

But looking back on it, how could she even step out of the door wearing just her sleepwear?

Azer pursed his lips. Just thinking about someone seeing her like this already boiled his temper.

"Azer?" Amara wondered about the silence and asked, yet she still didn't turn back.

"Yes," his answer seemed detached, as though his mind was occupied.

She flinched at the voice that echoed right in her ear. If she turned back, she was certain she'd bump into his body again. She kept her head lowered as she could feel blood rushing to her cheeks again.

"I-Is there anything else?"

Azer frowned, "Why do you keep asking me that question?"

He noticed that she always asked him that. Like she couldn't wait for him to leave.

"I don't know what you mean," Amara answered, pretending like she didn't understand him but she did remember those times.

He sighed and voiced out his thoughts, "You always asked me that, and always looked impatient to see me leave."

"You're mistaken."

Amara took a step forward to put some distance between them, but she made sure to not make it look obvious. She gathered some broken plates and put them aside, trying to focus her mind on something so she wouldn't be reminded of what she'd seen.

However, like an inconsiderate fool, he took a step closer again, and the gap she deliberately made between them vanished.

'What is he doing?' She asked herself, yet still embarrassed to face him.

"But who is that lady?" He asked again.

Amara furrowed her brows. She didn't like his tone. 

"She is my friend," she emphasized the last word. Then, she added while wiping the edge of the table, "Her name is Vida. Didn't she tell you earlier?"

Azer shrugged his shoulders and asked back, "Why would she?"

"You were talking before I came?"

Is that not the case? Amara thought. She clearly heard them conversing earlier, but when she came down, they stopped. Did they know each other?

"Not really," Azer replied. He took the broken plates she gathered and examined them like a detective. His forehead creased while looking at the other pieces. It seemed like a completely fine plate, but why did it break? 

"She just asked me some questions and I answered a few," he continued, putting down the broken piece. Then, he asked again, this time his tone was filled with curiosity, "How long have you been friends?"

'Why is he asking?' She asked herself again. The smooth and shiny vase she picked mirrored her puzzled face.

"Not that long," she answered and wiped the vase again. "But why are you asking?"

She ended up asking what was on her mind. Although she wasn't looking, she could feel him become wary. Why?

"She seemed mysterious. Like she's hiding something. You should be careful."

What he said completely took her aback. She wasn't expecting him to say such words. And the fact that he was openly showing his worry to her, after ignoring her for a couple of days, bewildered her.

When she remembered that again, she frowned and answered sharply, "I don't think you have the right to tell me that."

The sharpness and the change in the mood didn't escape from Azer's senses. He knew she would react that way. But it's better to plant some doubts in her mind against her mysterious friend, that way she won't trust her completely.

Especially when he met the woman at the entrance banging on her shop's door. His senses heightened and his guts told him the woman was no ordinary.

He looked at her redhead and asked himself, 'Why did she keep attracting troublesome people?'

He snapped in his reverie when she slammed the table with a wooden bowl. She looked mad.

"You should leave. Don't you need to tend to your customers? What if they get bored and leave after waiting for you?" She asked him, still without looking.

Azer grinned amusingly. She thinks he wouldn't notice, but he knows she was doing her best not to look his way. Since he was half naked. Yet, she was too kind to kick him out forcefully even if he was being rude.

He chuckled, "Don't be mad. I'm simply telling you to be careful."

The light laugh didn't sound good in her ears. It sounded like a tease, but because she was upset, she took it seriously. She whirled around and pointed the shiny vase she was wiping at him.

"From my own friend?" She asked angrily, then glared at him. "She's the only friend I have. Don't slander her in front of me."

Instead of getting dismayed, Azer fought back a smile. The image of her holding a vase and a rag, wearing sleepwear with her hair tied in a bun, was incredibly adorable. 

A far-fetch picture of her acting the same while he was meddling with her pieces in her small workplace inside their home came to mind.

He shook his mind to erase the unbelievably detailed plan in his mind. He hid his curving lips behind his hand, and answered, "Right. I apologize."

Her action finally sunk into her mind when she met those enigmatic grey eyes again. It was too late to look away, as like before, she felt like getting sucked into his eyes. A flicker of something like a warm color showed in those grey orbs, but it also quickly disappeared.

'What was that?' She wanted to ask him, but he spoke already before she could.

"But at least, you finally looked at me," Azer lowered his hand and showed her a playful grin.

"..!"

He laughed when he saw her get flustered again. Even though he didn't want to leave yet, he had a feeling that he would really be thrown out soon if he stayed longer. 

"I'll go ahead. I'll be waiting for my shirt," he said and waved at her, before walking out. Those wide shoulders and muscled dorsal made Amara so speechless that she forgot to answer. 

"See you," he added before disappearing from her shop. 

And a minute later, a shrilling sound of girls shouting was heard from across the street.

Amara frowned as she picked up the shirt. She was about to smell it, but shivers ran down her spine as she felt someone looking at her.

She looked up and found Vida, standing at the root of the stairs, looking at her with a disgusted expression. 

"It's not what you think!" She lied.