No one would ever call him a sensitive man,but even he could tell something was wrong when his date lost all colour from her face. While they waited for the valet to bring his Saab up, he watched Annie slowly sink deeper and deeper into herself. She wrapped her arms around her waist and kept her eyes down.

The August evening was hot and humid. He pulled Annie to his side and stepped away from the crowd waiting for their cars. She pulled away from him as soon as they were out of the crowd.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes,"she said, but he knew she wasn't.

"You're pale as a ghost."

"Can't you just ignore it? I'll be back to normal in a minute."

"No, I can't ignore it. I didn't realize you knew Skylar."

"Well, I do, and it's been years since I saw her... I thought I'd feel differently."

"How did you feel?"

"What are you,my shrink?"

"I'd like to think I'm your friend." Friend, he thought. Was that really what he wanted?

"I just expected it to be different."

"It?"

His car brought up,but he signaled the valet that they'd be a minute more. The feeling of protectiveness was disturbing. He wanted to keep her safe in the box labeled fuck buddy. He didn't want her upsets to affect him. Yet they did.

"Seeing her was different," she said her voice very soft.

He Jas the feeling she was talking more to herself more than to him. For the first time he realized he wanted more than Annie's body. He wanted her secrets,too.

"Different meaning better?" He asked.

"Not necessarily. I think I may have been feeling vindictive when I saw her."

He laughed at the way she said that. He already knew she wasn't all sweetness and light. He's seen her temper and her sheer force of will,both of which she used to get her way.

He cupped her elbow and led her to his car,using the few seconds to regain his control. The entire sex thing was supposed to enable him to control his feelings around her. Instead he had the feeling that it had backfired on him.

He saw Lukas come outside just as he closed the car door. The expression on Lukas' face wasn't a good one and he wondered what had happened after they'd left.

He lifted one eyebrow,a silent question to Lukas. Should he stay? Lukas shook head and motioned that he'd call later.

Annie fixed her lipstick in the visor mirror and then turned toward him, putting her hand on his thigh.

He glanced at her. It was the first time she'd initiated contact. She scraped her fingernail over the fabric of his pants and he felt that touch echo all the way to his core.

"Thank you," she said.

He had no idea what she was thanking him for, but if she moved her hand a bit higher she'd see how much he appreciated her touch. He shook his head,trying to clear it.

"For?"

She rubbed his leg one more time and then pulled her hand back. "For pretending you care."

He didn't like the way that sounded.
"I'm not pretending,Annie." He said,capturing her hand and putting it back on his leg. After tonight he hoped she'd have no doubts about how felt toward her. "I care about you."

She gave him a sideways look and stroked her finger up the inside of his thigh. "Most people don't consider lust caring."

She made him want to laugh at the wry way she said it. It was one of a hundred things about Annie him want to be around her. She played treated the attraction with a frankness that was refreshingly honest.

"It's more than lust where you're concerned," He said, putting the car in gear and leaving the building behind. And that one crucial point disturbed him more than he thought it would. It was why he'd proposed sex to her. His father said that the women who affected a man the most deeply were the ones a man had to be careful of.

She said nothing as the miles passed. Then she turned off the radio and reached for his arm.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about that. When I'm not sure of myself I can be mean."

"You weren't mean."

"Yes I was. And you were really trying to be nice to me."

"So why did you have a self-confidence attack?"

"Skylar Anderson."

Annie knew she was ruining her own image, but could only deal with so much at a time. She was losing control of the evening. Losing the perfect bubble that she'd managed to wrap herself in at the charity event.

Pretending she was someone else- a mysterious stranger with no problems- had helped. But one glimpse of Skylar Anderson had brought back to herself. Back to the girl who was weak and couldn't protect the ones she loved. Back to the girl whose father didn't approve of anything she did.

She could hear Skylar's words from long ago still echoing in her head. And she knew this night wasn't about the past. This night was about pleasing Jovon and fulfilling his wishes. She shook her head to clear it when Jovon turned off the road and into the parking lot at the public beach.

"What are we doing here?" She asked,trying not to feel relieved that they weren't at a restaurant. She wasn't ready to face anyone, not even strangers. Her reaction to seeing Skylar had left her raw and exposed and she had no idea how to pull her shell back around her.

Jovon didn't say a word. He put down the windows and then the top of his car. The moon was only a silver and stars were visible in the evening sky. It was still light enough to see.  The sound of the rolling waves hitting the shore filled the car as did the warm,ocean-scented breeze. She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes,breathing in nature.

She focused internally as he fiddled with the radio. The mellow sound of Billy Ocean flowed from the speakers. She loved the singer and was surprised as to how he knew that.

"I think you need to mellow out," he said,shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it in the backseat. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

"Mellow out?" She asked. As far as she knew,he personified hard work and drive. She'd heard his BlackBerry beep a couple of times while they'd been driving, and at the gala he'd excused himself twice to take calls from his office.

He slanted her a look as he slid his arm along the back of her seat, his hand came to rest on her shoulder. "It means relax."

She struggled to concentrate on what he was saying as his finger drew lazy circles on her upper arm. He turned toward her, his intense attention focused on her.

"I know what it means. I just didn't think you did," She said,knowing she was grasping at this conversation and trying to make something out of nothing. Anything to keep him from bringing up Skylar again.

"Oh,honey, I know how to relax."

He was being sweet and she knew he'd deny it if she called him on it. Seeing this side of him made her believe that he could want her for more than they agreed. This man she could fall for, not the arrogant man whom she met.

She fingered the diamond choker at her neck. She was something he bought and paid for,like his fancy car with more gadgets than anything she owned.

"Again with the lust thing."

The circle he drew in her arms got wider until the tip if his forefinger slipped under the strap of her dress,moving with slow sensual sweeps over her collarbone. "You're obsessed with making every conversation sexual."

No she wasn't. She had just learned from dealing with men that they were easily led off topic when sex was introduced into the conversation. And hey, she was honest enough to admit that it was easier to resist him in the moonlight when she thought he was only after one thing.

"Isn't that what our agreement was about?"

He ignored her. Jovon left off caressing her shoulder and traced the line if the choker. Her pulse sped up and the slow, steady rhythm of the music mirrored the beat of her heart.

She forgot about vacations and rest. She forgot about the anniversary plans they were supposed to be discussing. She forgot about everything except the man sitting next to her.

The man filling her head with thoughts she'd never had before. Thoughts of nighttime walks on the beach; thoughts of forever. As a young girl, the princess of her family, she'd awaited her future, sure that it would hold only more pampering and treasures. She'd never guessed that it could be such a hard and cold place.

Despite what she might feel in this moment for Jovon, she had to remember that the future wasn't a rosy,cherry place. The future, even one with him, would be filled with moments like the one she'd had tonight when she was Skylar. A moment that could make her stomach feel filled with lead.

"Don't think so much,honey."

"I can't help it."

"Yes,you can." He said,wrapping his arm around her and bending to kiss her. A sweet, gentle kiss that had her toes curling in her shoes and shiver run down her spine.

Maybe the future wouldn't be so cold and harsh after all.

Jovon's good intentions of relaxing Annie faded when she melted in his arms. He held her loosely trying to remember why he'd thought stopping at this very public spot would be a good idea.

He'd wanted to slow things down, to slow himself down and not rush his seduction. But at this moment,with her lips so tender and pliant under his, he couldn't recall why.

His cell phone rang again. Reluctantly he pulled away from Annie to glance at the caller ID. His Lukas name flashed across the screen. Again.

"I've got to take this."

She nodded and opened her door. "I'll give you some privacy."

He stopped her with his hand on her wrist. "Stay."

She sank into the seat as he accepted the call.

"Lukas."

"I wanted to make sure you had all the information you needed."

"About?"

"Ansela."

He glanced over at the woman in question. She had her head tipped back against the headrest and her eyes closed. She tapped her fingers to the rhythm of the music playing. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that Lukas wasn't calling to talk about her beauty.

"And?"

Lukas took a deep breath and Jovon worried what his cousin might have heard. "She's a player and a gold digger. Skylar remembers her. Don't be fooled by her wittiness or jovial attitude. Her parents cut her off and her brothers do not give her money too. She has slept with many men for money and ends up leaving them heartbroken and penniless."

Jovon felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of people gossiping about them when they'd left. He had an inkling as to why Annie blanched when she Skylar. What had happened between those two?

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Since they had an agreement already,he wasn't too worried about any designs that Annie had on his money.

"You're still going to-"

"Do whatever I damn well please."

"It's your funeral."

"Thanks for the encouragement." 

"Jovon, I, uh, I just don't want to see you heartbroken all over again."

He knew that Lukas didn't interfere unless he had a good reason. And Jovon did appreciate his cousin looking out for him. "Thanks,Lukas. I won't. Is there something else you want to say?"

"Yeah. Mother called that Grandfather suffered a shock and was requesting to see you before he was admitted into ICU." He sighed. "And please check your phone. Aunt has been calling you."

"Okay. Are you going home too?"

"Yes. See you tomorrow." Lukas disconnected the call.

He tossed his phone into the center console and turned towards Annie. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Everything okay?" She asked, with a note if caring in her voice that made him wonder yet again why she agreed to have sex with him instead of a more personal relationship.

"No. I have to fly out tomorrow. My grandfather is not feeling too well."

"Oh." She adjusted in her seat. "How long are you going to stay there?"

"I don't know for now."

She nodded. "I will carry on the plans myself and would update you about the progress."

Jovon cleared his throat. "Actually, I was thinking about you and I going together. Since we are yet to pick any type of food. We can even search for clothes there and also dishes."

"Really?"

He nodded. The smile she gave him made the invitation all worth it. He felt happy that she was back to her old self again,which was weird.

Maybe another visit to Dr. Marek would set his head straight.

William Levy As  Lukas Russell. <<<<< (pic above).