Chapter 2: An Invitation

She had a shower first, changed into some fresh clothes. A pair of faded jeans and a T-shirt. It was a little cold outside since winter is just around the corner. She went into the wardrobe where she saw three coats hung there. She specifically asked the hotel manager to find her one and had them put away in her room.

She chose the purple one. Sliding her body inside the comfort of the coat, Maria didn't bother about checking herself in the mirror before she got out of her room. Taking her steps to the elevator, her pace was fast and sure. She then pushed the button and got inside it.

Outside the hotel, she decided to go to the pub on foot, estimating it wouldn't take her long to get there. The sidewalk made of red bricks was lighted with lamp posts of curious designs, letting her see her way better.

It was only three minutes before she reached the pub. The door chimed gently as she entered inside. She didn't look around and went straight to the bar.

"John Barleycorn, please," Maria said politely and waited in silence, looking at the bartender who had arranged her drink.

"Tough drink, you have there."

Maria's attention readily went to the man who sat with her in the bar. Instead of an Armani suit paired with an Audemars Piguet watch and hand-stitch Italian shoes, Maria saw a man dressed in a carefree manner. A devil may care about the aura surrounding him. His raven hair was a little messy now compared to the neatly combed array.

Now that she had an unintentional closer look at his face, she couldn't help but appreciate his sharp features. She wasn't sure if his eyes were dark green or shades of blue or evergreen. It might be the light of the pub which was a little dimmer. On his lips, there was a careless smirk drawn in there and he seemed amused... at her.

"I'm sorry?" Maria asked, a little distracted.

"Fire Whiskey is not a ladies' drink." He said in such a tone that seemed to hypnotize her to listen closely.

"Oh." She just said. "I can hold my drink."

"You should be. It isn't safe for a woman to drink that and alone." He said and nodded to the bartender when his drink came. "I'm Zeronis." he sipped from his Moonshine, not breaking his stare at her.

"Arya." She immediately said, grateful that her drink had arrived, giving her the chance to look away from his studying eyes. She had no idea why she suddenly felt so awkward around some strange guy.

"Hmm." He made a tone that sounded to her that he was unconvinced.

"What?" she asked, not really intending to sound defensive.

"You don't look like an Arya to me."He said, placing his glass on the bar while the bartender filled it up again.

Maria's brows slightly twitched into a furrow. "And what do you think my name should be if not Arya? My real name?" she challenged, but the guy only smirked at her as if he knew something she didn't.

When he didn't answer her, Maria only sipped whiskey, letting the bitterness fire up her throat down to her stomach. She was too late to even stop herself from grimacing under his studying eyes. Gosh. Whiskey in England seemed pretty different from other places she went.

"I told you it's not a ladies' drink," Zeronis said and voted himself to order a different drink for her. "Here." He offered.

"I shouldn't, really, thank you." Maria refused politely, placing down her glass on the counter.

"No. Trust me. This will suit your taste." He appeased and Maria saw there was no harm in accepting his offer.

"Thanks." She said once again.

"So. What brings you here to London?" he asked casually.

"Something. Looking around at landmarks and all." Maria answered.

"A tourist then." He ruled out while she nodded.

"How long are you gonna stay?" he asked.

"Not long," she said, appreciating how her drink smelled like chocolate and tasted sweet. "Hey, what do you call this wine?"

"A mountain dew, ma'am," said the bartender.

Maria took note of it inside her mind.

"It's one of the moonshines here," Zeronis said.

"I see. This is my favorite pub now." Maria declared, which made the bartender smile at her.

"Do visit us whenever you're in London," the bartender said and attended to the other customer from the opposite bar.

"Are you staying in a hotel?" Zeronis asked her after a while.

Maria took her time, considering if she should answer him or not. In the nature of her job, it would be a dangerous sign to just blabber about some personal things to a complete stranger. Especially to the place where she would be staying. She was a capable woman and very able to defend herself, but it is always good to take some precautions.

"I'd rather keep it private...Mr. Zeronis," she said.

"Just Zeronis, please." He said immediately.

Maria only looked at him for a brief moment, wanting to know why this stranger wanted to be on a first-name basis with her.

Then, before she could answer, he laughed at her, to her astonishment.

"Don't worry. I'm not some kind of psycho, charming a very beautiful woman in a pub before following her into her hotel room after," he said.

"I'm not saying you are." Maria defended, feeling hot in her cheeks when she didn't miss how he was so sure to call her beautiful.

"It's written all over your face," he said.

Maria held both of her cheeks, wanting to slap herself for acting like a teenager before a strange guy. She cleared her throat and downed her drink. She then pushed her bill beside the glass and stood up from her seat. "I must go. Thank you for the dew."

The door chimed as she exited and the cold air then hit her skin with rawness. She instinctively hugged herself and began to walk in the direction of her hotel. She ignored the pub's door chiming in a distance as she continued to gap her distance from the pub, away from the strange man.

"Hey, wait up."

Maria stiffened and actually stopped walking as she swayed her body behind her. She blinked in surprise when Zeronis ran in her direction.

"I'll drop you off at your hotel," he offered.

"No need. I can take care of myself, thank you very much." She said.

"I know. I just need an excuse to walk with you." He said in a straightforward manner.

"Don't waste your time," she said.

"I insist. It's not every day I could meet a beauty."

Maria stopped walking, making him stop too. "First, I'm not in the mood to entertain any guy right now. Second, if you're hoping for some easy sexy time with me, you can drop the idea now. It won't happen. And third, stop following me and play somewhere." she breathed.

"I'm not playing." He seriously said. "I mean what I said. I'll drop you off at your hotel. That's all."

"Stop wasting your time with me. I know your kind." She said.

Zeronis had his brows raised in amusement. He crossed his arms across his chest and smirked at her. "I didn't know you already branded me."

"One look at you and I know you're no different from any other billionaire." She said confidently. "What? You're bored with your money and would like to play a game to an unsuspecting woman in the pub who had no interest in throwing some ping pong balls."

Zeronis's smirk only widened, staring at her, having a different kind of expression right now. When she was done with her litany, he raised his brows to her. "Are you done?"

"Yeah, I think I am," Maria said. "Gosh that alcohol did me." she touched her face and fanned her hand after.

"You seem to stress out," Zeronis said and guided her with her arm. "And don't worry, I'm a billionaire, yes. Not really charming to bring that up to a woman, but I'm not bored nor fond of playing games."

"I doubt that," she just said.

Zeronis turned to her face with a smirk. "As I said, I'm serious."

The light from the post gave her access to see his eyes. Instead of dark greens, it was a pale shade of blue rings and greens. The streets weren't deserted with people but she wondered why she only felt like it was only the two of them that existed there. Maybe it was his eyes, the hypnotic orbs which could dangerously lull her into sleeping right there.

"And I'd like to invite you to dinner in my manor," he declared.

********************************************************