It was only when I entered the ballroom that I realized I still had Kaylan's jacket draped over my shoulders. Before I could contemplate returning it, the sound of shoes echoed on the marble floors and Jasper came into view.

He took in my soaked state with one glance. I didn't miss the slight pause that occurred when his eyes laid on the jacket.

I cleared my throat. "The patio floor was slippery. I was looking at the pool and went too close so. . ." I shrugged.

Maybe it was because he was too far, and couldn't see my body language. Or maybe he decided for some reason not to pursue. In the end he merely snapped his fingers, and the butler from before materialized out of thin air.

"Get a dress for Miss Hayley. Make sure she's warmed up. A hot bath should help."

The butler bowed, and I followed him out. As we walked past Jasper gestured, like an afterthought.

"Oh, and for the new dress? Make sure it's blue."

*

The warm bath did help, tremendously. I wanted to stay in there and not come out forever. I leaned back with a sigh, feeling the soap against my skin. In my hands I kept turning over the phone the butler had given.

The number Thomas had used was unlisted, and couldn't be called back. So I just stared at it dumbly, waiting. Like a heron by the stream.

Why can't I just let it go?

Sighing, I got out of the tub and dried myself. Surprisingly enough, I didn't love the new dress as much as I loved the red one. There were too much ruffles. And if I was to be honest with myself, I did look better in red.

I was in the middle of putting on my heels when my newest phone rang. Was it normal for someone to have three phones? It rang for three times before I finally picked it up.

"I heard you took a dip in the pool. Liked it?"

I made a casual rolling motion of the shoulders, even though I knew he wasn't there to see. "Well, it could have done with more lights."

"Hmm. I'll make sure to tell the electrician that."

So he lives here?

There was some background noise and I heard a new voice speaking. A low distinct murmur of "Everything's done in the Sakura Room." Thomas murmured a vague reply back, his voice retreating into the distance, before coming back near the receiver. 

"Well! Duty calls. Be going now. Try not to cause any trouble, okay?"

"What do you mean, trouble - "

The line disconnected. I exhaled, staring at it.

God, I missed that voice.

I set my jaw. If he thought this was the end of it he was severely wrong. I took Kaylan's jacket and stepped out of the room, looking around the corridor. The butler was nowhere in sight. A maid passed by just then, and I called out.

"Excuse me, do you know where the Sakura Room is?"

*

The house was frigging huge. It was gorgeous too, with resplendent paintings on the wall, along with soft lush carpets under the feet.

Walk down this corridor, then take the second left. Take another right after that and the room is at your left. 

The heels made no sound as they sank into the soft fabric of the carpet. The corridors were long and empty - until I rounded a corner and saw the three men talking ahead. 

I shrank back behind the wall. Isn't one of them Jasper? I sidled out as much as I could, trying to catch snippets of their conversation.

". . .drop-off at noon. Baron Bay. The shipment's coming in."

"Full cargo?" Jasper's voice.

"Full cargo."

"I'm glad to hear that. I would have been very - disappointed if it had been otherwise."

"Yes. Once again, my apologies for last time - "

"Forget it. Just make sure this time, it's a success."

"Of course. I will."

Jasper walked off, leaving the two men in black to converse among themselves. I slipped back out of sight, my back against the wall, mulling over what they had just said. Shipment. Cargo. Noon.

But this was not the time to figure out all that now. First I had to find that Sakura Room. I turned around to make my way back down the corridor, failing to notice that in the corner there was this

Which resulted in this

That resulted in the two men looking like this

Oh crap.

"Who's there?" came the sharp voice, followed by running footsteps.

I took off at once. Taking a right I heard the yells behind and knew that they'd spotted me - or at least the flying hem of my dress. The heels were being disobedient so I took them off and hitched up the gown. Running running running. 

I was less afraid of them than the idea of the consequences. They were in league with Jasper, which meant Jasper would find out. And though I was his so-called fiancee, I doubted that he would let me get away so lightly. It would start with a simple question of course - why were you there - that would eventually haul up several issues I didn't wish to expose. You didn't stand a chance when Jasper interrogated you - his methods were persuading to say the least, and I didn't want him to know about the call or the pool.

So I ran. The corridor petered out into some sort of a wide open space, shaped like a square, with rooms lining all three sides. I dashed to the room directly opposite. The sliding doors were very Oriental-like, its handles shaped so that when the doors were brought together, they formed a pink flower. I slid it open and ran in, slamming the door shut.

I'd thought that there would be some back door leading out, but one quick look around revealed I was wrong. I cursed mentally and made to leave, but by opening the doors a crack I saw that the two men were now in the square. I closed it and backed away, heart hammering. From inside I could hear one of them yell, "Search all the rooms!"

Crap. Crap crap crap crap.

"You again?"

I whirled around, ready to face any potential attacker.

Oh my. 

His white formal shirt was unbuttoned all the way down, and his hair looked as if he had just came out of the shower. In fact, he had a towel in one hand and was staring at me with an arched eyebrow.

Outside I could hear doors slamming and opening. That was when I noticed that the room had windows, opened windows, and any moment now they might look in and see me. I raced over and swished the curtains across fiercely.

Kaylan narrowed his eyes. He walked over, and with one finger lifted part of the blinds. He paused for a moment, looking out, before turning back to me.

"Friends of yours?"

"Uh, well, I broke a vase and they're searching for the culprit."

"Running after you for a vase? That seems quite petty, isn't it? Can't your rich fiance just pay them back?"

I don't have time for this! Ignoring him, I moved away from the window and searched frantically for a possible hidey-hole. It was like a hotel room, only it was Oriental-themed. I didn't know where to hide, and even if I did, could I trust Mr Hood not to give me away? 

The wavering thoughts of mine cost me deeply, because at that exact moment I heard footsteps thundering outside, before the sliding doors were pushed roughly open. 

A hand, masculine and trailed with raised veins, emerged from the corners of my vision. For the second time that day it grabbed my arm, pulling me close, spinning me like we were in some sort of a wild waltz. Once again I was enveloped in his embrace, only this time he did something more.

And that something was the act of his other hand, coming up to cup the right side of my cheek, swift and sure, before he leaned down to pressed his lips on mine.

By Merlin's most baggy Y-fronts!

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Yet I couldn't deny the deliciousness of the moment - the way sparks arced across my skin at his touch, the softness of his lips on mine. I couldn't deny the way my mind went utterly blank, the way the butterflies burst to life in my stomach. All around us, the air was as if before a thunderstorm, and I could feel the molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide and God-knows-what-else crackling and hissing like soda fizz. 

My immediate thought was to push him away and demand what on Earth did he think he was doing, but then I saw - them. The two men in black, coming into view, their searching eyes landing on the inside of the room, on this random couple making out. I flinched a little and tried to shrink out of sight. He felt it, and his hand moved from my arm to my waist. With a tug I was pulled even closer, his frame blocking mine from view. 

Thrills danced up the entire length of my spine. Protected. Secure.

His lips murmured against mine. "Cooperate." His breath sent shivers across every fibre of my being.

Cooperate?

Ah. 

Cooperate.

Right.

Cooperate.

I swallowed, and let my eyelids flutter close.

And the moment I parted my lips, just the teensiest fraction - that one hesitant second, was all it took. His kiss deepened, the intensity firing up several notches high. I was pretty sure my heartbeat had went straight through the roof.

It was all about that moment. In the background I heard a quiet exclamation, followed by a hasty apology. It took all of my effort to remember that I had a greater issue to think about. It was dizzying, it was distracting, it was hard for me to remember. . . to remember . . . what exactly?

God.

After several heartbeats,  I stopped responding. I'd opened my eyes, only to see that he had his still closed, and for some reason that set off the butterflies again. It was like I was having a storm in my stomach.

I stepped back, and his hand slipped from my waist to his side. The room was now empty. It took several seconds for me to recall how to speak. 

"They're - they're gone now." The breathlessness in my voice was evident. I looked around, scrambling for something else to say. To diffuse this - this tension in the air. In the end I held up his jacket, which I had been holding on to all this time. "And - uh, your jacket."

He glanced at it, before reaching out to take it. His blue eyes locked back on mine in a gaze that warped eternity. When he spoke, that gorgeous voice of his was low and husky.

"I know they're gone." And just like before, just like that day in the alley, he flicked his jacket around my waist, and grabbed each sleeve in one hand. He pulled.

He kissed me like he'd never kiss anyone before. He kissed me like he could never get enough, as if every touch made him hunger for more. He kissed me with abandon, wild and unrestrained. And I found myself moving with him, found my arms snaking around his neck, found myself going close, getting near. Found myself answering his every movement. The jacket fell with a hushed thump to the ground, as both his hands cradled my cheeks. When my fingers brushed across his I found that they were shaking.

Now I know why all the girls swoon. By Zeus' thunderbolt, the last time I kissed like this was - 

With a burst of unexpected ferocity I pushed him away. I actually stumbled backwards, my heart racing, my breaths coming out short and fast. His eyes snapped open to look at me, the emotions in them unreadable.

Is it me or is the room spinning? For long seconds we only looked at each other, watching the flecks of light in one another's eyes. I finally managed to snap out of it enough to mutter my thanks, before getting the heck out of there. I didn't run, but the moment the sliding doors closed behind me I took off like a shot. 

What in the name of heavens was I thinking? So the first kiss had been acceptable, but the second - what - how could I betray - 

There was a sudden glare of light, followed by loud applause. I blinked, my hands reaching up to shade my eyes. Without knowing it I had made my way back to the ballroom, and it seemed as if my entrance had triggered several things. The wedding march started blasting from the speakers, people were cheering and confetti was swirling in the air.

What?

The crowd before me parted like the Red Sea, and walking through like Moses was Jasper. He was smiling, and what alarmed me the most was how genuine it looked. He stopped before me, pausing only to look at me for several seconds.

Then he went down on one knee, and in his hands was a small blue box. Nestled in it was a ring, and embedded in it was a sparkling stone. Purple musgravite.

His left hand reached out, porcelain fingers extending. "Hayley, will you marry me?"

A respectful silence dropped on the room as everyone waited for my answer. So this is what it feels like when Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima. I was caught completely unprepared, and my eyes flicked from person to person, seeing the happy smile on one lady's lips, the encouraging nod given by another man, the expectancy on everyone's face.

And then I saw him, a certain bad boy, standing still just a few feet away, a blank and unfathomable expression on his face. Uncomfortable, I shifted my glance, only to let it fall upon another certain butler, who had been the person that had bestowed upon me my newest phone.

Kaylan.

Thomas.

Jasper.

I let my eyes fall to the ground, not meeting anyone's gaze.

Thomas.

Kaylan.

Jasper.

I looked up, and with the best smile I could offer, took Jasper's hand.

*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *.  

Better late than never huh? :P This chapter is for Allegra_26. You know why you're here ;)