Chapter 14

"Haven't heard a better idea all day. Let's do it." Austin agreed. "It's settled then, let's head to Shooters next Saturday. I can guarantee a night full of dancing and a hangover the next morning that'll have you wishing you were never born."

Everyone broke out into laughter at his words, excited for a fun night. They continued chatting away, getting to know each other's hometowns, families, common friends and class schedules.

Khai spoke when he was spoken to, keeping his answers brief. He was only interested in everything Anaya had to say. He watched her as she spoke, studying her beautiful face, as if trying to memorize it.

She liked mimosas, was excited about dancing, adored her friends and family, knew less than a handful of people at Arcane and had a voice that would put singers to shame.

She also spoke lesser than her two friends Meghan and George. He noted that this was out of choice. Anaya chose to listen more than she spoke, or maybe she was shy in the beginning.

He noticed her drink the last sip from her cup and she abruptly turned to face him. Khai's mind went blank. Did she catch him staring at her? He always took pride in being a discreet person.

"Khai where's your drink?" She cocked her head to one side as she smiled at him. "I need a refill, shall I get you a cup?"

"Let's get it together." He offered, getting up too soon.

Anaya turned to the group, asking if she could get a drink for anybody else. George turned alert as he saw Anaya stand up to walk somewhere. He was about to get up to join her when Meghan held him back down.

"Trust me, I have a good feeling about this one." She said as she watched Ana walk away with Khai. George nodded, giving Meghan a knowing smile. However, he was still nervous for Ana and kept glancing in her direction every now and then, just to make sure she was okay.

As she walked with Khai, Anaya remembered how she took all his food on Wednesday when she hurt her hand.

"I'm sorry for taking all your food that day."

"My food?"

"On Wednesday, you bought food for the both of us, but I took all of it. You told Maeve you didn't eat.." she trailed.

"That food was for you Anaya. I figured you were pretty hungry and maybe you'd want dinner too. I didn't want you running out of food."

Anaya turned away, mortified when she remembered her stomach growling in the clinic. Did he think she was a glutton?

As Khai watched her turn red, he laughed. "I don't think you eat too much, don't worry. In fact, it's the opposite. You're too thin."

"I wasn't thinking that!" Anaya exclaimed, as they reached the beer keg.

Khai fought a smile as he took her cup from her and started to fill it up. "I think I can read you pretty well." He said.

Anaya's eyes narrowed when she saw that he didn't believe her. "If you're so good at reading me, what am I thinking now?" She asked him, as she puffed her chest and folded her hands.

She looked suffocatingly adorable and Khai wanted to squish her in a tight hug. But he fought his urge and leaned towards to her. She tilted back at his abrupt closeness.

"Well, right now, I think you're challenging me. Which means you're curious about me. Tell me, are you curious about me Anaya?"

Anaya's hands fell to her sides as she felt her face grow hot. She was definitely curious about him. Was she that transparent? She saw Khai break out his million dollar smile and her heart betrayed her yet again.

He straightened himself, still smiling as he looked at her. "Your cup." He said, handing her a drink before he proceeded to get one for himself.

Anaya gulped down most of her cup, attempting to cover her flushed face and calm herself down. Khai raised his eyebrows as he watched her drink.

"Do you need some water?" He asked her, slightly concerned.

"No, not at all. I'm okay. I'd like some more please." She said as she handed him an almost empty cup. She decided that she'd need the alcohol to get through this night.

Khai briefly hesitated before he took her cup to refill it. She took a sip and turned around to walk back to her friends.

"So, what do you like about Arcane so far?" Khai asked her, trying to make conversation and get to know more about her. He wished that this whole party would disappear so he could talk to her all night.

"The library!" She exclaimed. "It's the largest one I've seen. I love historical romances, and I found six whole shelves filled with them." She skipped ahead in excitement as she spoke to him about it.

Khai watched in amusement as her eyes grew wide and her face broke into a smile. He wasn't particularly big on libraries and the last thing he read was the training plan Gordon drew out for him. But he was prepared to become a scholar if that is what excited Anaya.

"You could reserve nooks in the library. It's open at night too, in case you suddenly decide to read." He told her.

When he mentioned going to the library at night, Anaya's face clouded over. She suddenly remembered Sean Perkins and how he ambushed her in the library. She cast her eyes down, knowing that she'd forever be scared of him.

"What's wrong?" Khai asked, as he watched her frown.

"It's nothing. I'm just scared of the dark." She muttered, not willing to tell him about the monster that plagued her.

Khai halted his steps and turned her towards him. "It won't be dark and I'll come with you." He tilted her chin up to look at him and smiled. "My mother always said I should read more." He shrugged.

Anaya felt herself melt at his kind words. As she smiled at him, her mind suddenly went back to how she fell for Sean's fake words. She turned away from Khai and continued to walk towards the log, scolding herself for getting carried away.

As she picked up pace, Khai followed her with his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't understand what just happened, but he felt like she suddenly turned cold towards him. He wondered what was bothering her as he took a seat next to her on the log.

Anaya's mood plummeted as memories of Sean occupied her thoughts. She abruptly fell silent and stared blankly as everyone chatted away. She subconsciously took large sips of her drink, not paying attention to how much she was drinking.

Meghan and Khai both noticed Anaya lightly swaying from all the alcohol she drank too quickly. Meghan quickly took the cup away from her hand and gave it to Khai to hold.

"Sweetie, are you drunk?" She whispered in amusement.

Anaya simply nodded to Meghan with a troubled look on her face. Meghan burst into giggles, slightly tipsy herself. George turned his attention to the two girls, wondering what they were laughing about.

He gave them a sidelong glance of disapproval when he realized what was happening. He turned to the group and sighed "Where can I find some water?"

"I have some in my car, I'll show you where it is." He offered and the two men got up to get the girls some water.

As they walked to the car, Khai looked back at Anaya, worried that he left her with Meghan who also seemed pretty drunk. "Are they going to be okay by themselves?" He asked George, his voice tinged with worry.

"Don't worry, they can't move when they're drunk. I taught them to stay put, essentially being their butler when they get tipsy." He laughed weakly.

Khai nodded, feeling somewhat reassured. As they made their way to the parking lot, George regarded Khai with a somber gaze. He knew that Khai was interested in Anaya. Maybe Meghan took until now to understand, but George saw it in his eyes when he met Khai on the stairs for the very first time.

After that, he chatted up everyone he knew at Arcane, asking them what they knew about Khai Heathcliff. Khai came from a family of powerful legacies. His father, grandfather and everyone as far as his lineage was remembered were Wahren leaders in some capacity. Heathcliff men where known for their strength and ruthlessness.

What he also found out was that Khai was a cold player. He was strong, rich and extremely handsome, a lethal combination that most women killed for. Women swooned at a glance from him and rumor had it that he took full advantage of their weakness before discarding them without a care. And then there were rumors about his engagement to Natalie, but those rumors clashed as he heard them from different people.

While he had the chance, he decided to confront Khai. He was not going to let Anaya get close to a rake, only to have her precious little heart broken again.

"Where's Natalie?" He asked, as they walked towards his car.

Khai's footsteps slowed as he frowned at George. "Wouldn't know, never cared." He said, casually flinging his key fob into the air before catching it.

"Isn't she your fiancé?"

"She is not." He replied curtly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that everyone…"

George took a step back when Khai halted and turned to him. His eyes held an intense look, staring at George as he addressed him.

"Let me make this clear George, and I'm only doing this because you're Anaya's friend. Natalie is nobody to me, and she will remain that way unless she has a death wish. There's only one person that I'm interested in and she has successfully driven me crazy to a point of no return. It's Anaya. It will only ever be her." He declared.