The Hunter(21)

His voice interrupted my mortified chain of thought. “Miss Prince, I certainly haven‘t settled down and don‘t plan to - ever!” His eyes darkened to midnight blue and his gaze bored into my eyes before he continued, his voice strong and yet barely a whisper. “And you really have no idea how unlike most people I really am.”



I felt a chill run down my spine before he looked away and then I felt his hand on my back as he propelled me into motion. I jolted when he touched me. As we walked, I could hear his words echoing in my mind. You have no idea how unlike most people I really am. It wasn’t really the words that bothered me - it was the way he said it and the chilling sensation that they had evoked. We didn’t speak again until he came to an abrupt stop. He looked at me and although I could tell that he was excited, he also appeared to be nervous. I raised my eyebrows questioningly and he immediately gestured to the building before us. I must have been so deep in thought that I hadn’t noticed it as we arrived.



I looked up and gasped. The building was beautiful. It reminded me of the infamous Dakota apartment block that was nearby but on a much smaller scale. It had a similar mix of Renaissance architectural styles with deep gables roofs scattered with dormers. There was an array of spandrels, niches, balconies and balustrades. It was simply breathtaking. “You own this?” I gasped.



“I do,” he said proudly. “Do you like it?”



“I love it,” I replied without hesitation. “It’s … awesome. A mini Dakota”



“It is awesome, isn’t it?” he grinned down at my overwhelmed face. “Mini Dakota … I like that. Shall we go inside?”



“Yes … no, I haven’t finished admiring the exterior yet!” I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t stumbled upon this building before. It was just a few blocks from where I lived.



I stepped back to the edge of the sidewalk so that I could get a slightly better view. I barely noticed him follow me until I felt his arm around my shoulders, gently squeezing my arm. I looked up at him in surprise but he didn’t seem to notice. He was like a kid looking at his main present on Christmas morning. I laughed when he grinned down at me, eyes full of life. “Can we go in now?”



“Yes,” I laughed. “We can go in now.”



He bounded up to the huge gated entrance and unlocked the gates, holding one open for me to pass through into the once elegant courtyard. This place just gets better and better.



Once inside, we talked about the previous use of the building and the type of development that would take place and I asked a whole barrage of questions. I knew that part of the reason that my career had taken off was my ability to listen to the client’s wishes then probe deeper to gain a full understanding of their tastes and needs before I began the design planning stage. As we walked around, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would do if given a free rein. I suddenly noticed those blue eyes watching me intently and I realized that I must have had a dreamy expression on my face as I imagined what the building could be.



“Tell me what you were thinking,” he said. “You looked so absorbed yet at peace. I don‘t think you’ve heard a word I‘ve said for the last five minutes.”



I felt my cheeks coloring and I bit my bottom lip. “Sorry, I just got carried away with possibilities.”



“Possibilities?” he repeated, as if testing the word. “For what?” he added, the ghost of a smile playing with his lips.



“For this place!” I said, shaking my head, slightly. “What else would I have meant?”



As he walked into the next room, I could have sworn I heard his voice muttering, “Well, nothing obviously, because you are on a sex ban!” I stood rooted to the spot in embarrassment thinking that I had spoken my thoughts aloud again until I realized that the voice I had heard was definitely masculine and incredibly sexy.



Oh so he is laughing at you now! Well, that’ll teach you not to engage your brain before your mouth!



When I caught up with him, his eyes were once again bright and full of life. I wondered whether it was because of his parting shot or whether it was caused by his obvious excitement of his planned development of the building. We continued the tour without incident and we relaxed more and more in each other’s company. All too soon, I found that we were back to the main entrance.



“Well, what do we do next?” I asked, taking one last lingering look at the front of the building.



“Excuse me?” he said, tilting his head to one side and stepping away from me slightly.