Heart pounding, she kept her eyes carefully on him, waiting to see what he would do, the darkness in the alley casting shadows over half his body, making him seem even more lethal.
Tristan Caine took the gun from her father's man, unloaded it, and punched the guy in the face once, knocking him out cold. Impressive. Had she not known better, she'd have called him a show-off. But she knew better. Watching the ease with which he did all this, Morana suddenly realized how easy it must have been for him to kill her at any moment. And that was not a knowledge she liked having.
She crossed her arms over her chest, silently appraising him, unwilling to break either eye contact or the silence first.
He seemed to be on the same page.
His actions confused her, just as he did. She knew there was no love lost between them, and knew they'd see each other at the bottom of the ocean the moment they could.
She just didn't know what he wanted as of now, following her like he had and knocking out her protective detail as he had, but it sure as hell wasn't to just stare at her across five feet of space with a thunderstorm coming. And she sure as hell wasn't going to stick around for it. Driving in the rain was a bitch.
Sighing, she turned to head towards her car, only to stop cold in her tracks, seeing the alley blocked by Dante and the other two men, standing far enough away not to hear her but close enough to not let her escape. A frisson of fear traveled down her body before she tamped it down.
"I didn't know your father pimped you out to his friends, Ms. Vitalio," Tristan Caine said quietly from behind her.
Morana felt the fear slowly be replaced by fury just at the sound of his voice, the same voice that had tried to scare her last week, the same voice which had recited murder across her skin that first time. The fury magnified at his words but she leashed it. She turned to face him, keeping her voice cool.
"Why the formality, especially with the kind of liberties you take?" she spoke in a conversational tone.
His eyes narrowed slightly, his face remaining clear of any expression otherwise. "I haven't taken any liberties," he replied in the same conversational tone she was using. "Yet."
Lightning split the sky, illuminating the entire alley in bright light to her eyes, showing her the man standing before her.
Morana studied him for a second, willing herself to remain calm and objective. Tristan Caine had an angle. She'd be damned if she couldn't figure it out.
She took a step towards him, almost into his personal space, their height difference a disadvantage. Even in her heels, she barely reached his chin. Her head tilted back to keep their eyes together, her heart thundering in her chest, watching him closely for any reaction at all. There was none.
"I wonder," Morana deliberately smiled at him, her body burning with anger. "Is that supposed to intimidate me?"
And that got her a reaction. One raised eyebrow. Blue eyes that pierced hers. "You're stupid if it doesn't."
She let herself sneer at that. "I'm many things, Mr. Caine. Stupid I am not. Which is exactly why I know your threats don’t mean shit."
His eyes suddenly burned with that same undefinable something she'd seen in the restaurant, his head tilting to the side. He stayed silent, waiting.
Morana took another step closer, not knowing where the bravado of provoking him was coming from, not caring, just needing to. Her neck craned even with her heels, but she never broke their gaze.
"Oh yes," she spoke softly, leaning closer, her chin almost touching his chest, "did you honestly think that that entire 'Don’t invade my territory' thing on the car scared me? Not a bit. It only pissed me off."
He didn't utter a word, didn't move a muscle. He just looked at her, with those eyes, and her heart hammered even as she went on.
"Why don't you just get it over with?" she challenged, calling his bluff, her gaze right on him. "There is a wall right there. There is even a car. Pin me down and 'invade my territory'. Or if you hate me as you say, hurt me. Kill me. Why don't you?"
Morana felt her body trembling by the end of her tirade while he stood stone-still, their gazes locked, their bodies almost touching. For long moments, he just looked at her with those icy eyes, something burning inside him, and her heart beat in a wild staccato against her ribs, thumping with a vengeance, almost chiding her for her words even as she controlled her breathing and kept her chest from heaving. He would pounce on a single sign of vulnerability.
Slowly, after long, long seconds, his hand came up to cup the back of her neck, almost like a lover's, his huge hand cocooning the entire nape in its grip. Morana froze, her muscles stilling, suddenly realizing that this had been very foolish. What if he hadn't been bluffing and she'd provoked the beast? He could kill her right then and make her disappear from the face of the earth and no one would know.
His thumb slowly traced her jaw while his hand held the back of her neck, keeping her head tilted back and their eyes locked, the rough pad of his thumb stroking her soft skin almost like a caress. A shiver wracked her body under his hawk-like gaze, a shiver she couldn't control as her body reacted, and his unsmiling mouth twisted a little, the scruff on his jaw seeming even more virile this close, the little scar at the corner of his lip peeking out. His thumb settled upon her racing pulse, and her heart started pounding even harder, pulse spiking even more, as she pursed her lips.
"Your heart is beating way too fast for someone so in control," he murmured softly, the words ghosting over her face, the faint smell of scotch he must have had on his breath, his own scent, an odd mix of sweat and cologne and something musky invading her senses. She kept those senses on alert, seeing the rings of blue in his eyes, the long lashes as he blinked once, noticing every single thing.
He leaned in closer, his mouth almost inches away, and he spoke softly, lethally. "I warned you not to think, for one second, that you know me."
"And I warned you not to think, for one second, that you scare me," she reminded him in the same whisper.
"Don't think," he started, his eyes hardening, "that if I have the chance, I won't kill you."
"But that's the thing, Mr. Caine. You don't have the chance."