How he can be so captivating by a scowl is beyond me, but it commands me to stay rooted to my place. It stirs something inside me. Something wild, and achy, and so very new.

I lift my chin slowly up, up, up. I knew he was tall, but over six feet of gorgeous Norse God tall does me in. The tailored suit was designed to emphasize the hard lines of his build. With the top few buttons open, there's a gorgeous expanse of strong neck. I might have seen him just a few hours before, but I'm detailing his features in my mind again.

A breathy gasp leaves my throat as a familiar feeling erupts between my legs, and I curl my toes against the floor as excitement and trepidation spikes my blood.

Blinking once, twice, I gather my lips in a tight line, visibly frustrated to be so attracted to a man who is stalking me.

"How did you find my address?" I lift my eyes to his emerald ones, trying to look intimidating. Who am I kidding? The only intimidating one among us is him.

"I have a way of knowing things I seek." He extends one of his callous hands to shake. "Alessandro Wayland."

The name takes its sweet time to caress my ears as it reaches. I know his name. Alessandro Wayland. Why is this day turning so dreamy? Did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Or am I still asleep?

I look at his palm then at his face then back at his palm before I place mine in his. I shudder from inside with the impact of electricity zipping up my arm. I slide my hand away and fist it at my side. "Are you stalking me, Mr. Wayland?"

He released a low laugh. A dangerous thing to witness.

"I didn't have to." His scowls deepen and it makes him look so very notorious yet sexy. "I own the property of the strip club you dance in. And as of tonight I own the club too."

"What?" I gape at him, my head swirling a little.

"Technically, I'm your employer from this moment on and I'm here to discuss an important employment proposal."

I take a moment back to understand his words. "But why me? I'm just a stripper. It doesn't matter if it's owned by you or Karl. Unless, you're planning to ramp down."

He shakes his head and then glances at my bare legs. The silk robe I'm wearing reaches only up to my upper thighs and the way his eyes darken, I want to shrink and fit my entire body into the robe.

"I think we better discuss this inside." He glances at his watch for a millisecond. "I don't have much time."

I anchor my fists on my hips and weigh his words. I might be a stripper at the club he now owns and mildly attracted to him but I have my dignity. And he can't command me every chance he gets.

"I'll meet with you tomorrow at the club or in your office, Mr. Wayland. Now-" I tilt my head towards the inside of my room. "-is not the right time to have a meeting. And not the right place either."

"Did I not make it clear? You work for me now, and if that's not clear then how about this-" he pauses and regards me with a smug smile. I feel so freakishly small in front of his tall frame. He bends down to whisper in my ear. "From now on, you're going to work only for me."

I step back, tilting my head up with my eyebrows screwed together. "What are you trying to say, Mr. Wayland?"

He straightens and rakes a hand through his tousled dark locks. He tilts his head and I stare at his stony expression. "You'll dance only for me. From now on you're my personal stripper."

Okay now he's being an asshole. Just because he owns the club I work in doesn't mean he owns me. I snap my head up at him with a glare.

"Is there a problem, Ever?" Shawn's voice takes me by surprise. He was holding his door open. When did he appear in the scenario? I hope he didn't hear our conversation.

Alessandro glances at Shawn and a look of pure dismissal passes on his face. "Ever and I here are having an important work related discussion. Why don't you fuck off since it's not your business."

I release a shocked laugh. "Are we though, Mr. Wayland?"

Shawn's gaze flickers from me to Alessandro then to his security standing tall down the hallway and he curses under his breath. He retreats into his room with a loud bang. And I resist the urge to laugh at his cowardly self.

"It's Alessandro."

"Huh?"

"That's my name, Ever Forever." His silken voice caresses my ear. The potency in Alessandro's gaze as he meets mine is torturous. He stares at me challengingly as if he had already won me over. It awakens a desire so deep in me that I'm sure if I let me retreat from my door, he would still haunt me in my dreams.

My skin heats up, my chest feels heavy and my thighs come together to stop the ache between them. I'm living that dream all of a sudden, his lips ghosting my collarbones, nipping that sensitive spot where my neck and shoulder meets. His breath all desperate and possessive tracing the pulse point in my throat. I wouldn't resist him, if he decides to do those things in my dreams but here in person, I will because once won't be enough with him.

My heart pounds in my ear with the sinful realization I wrap my hands across my middle and look up at him in question.

"You're not staying in this shithole anymore." His voice has a possessiveness that weekend my knees. But I know what I'm in your eyes and I won't create beautiful fantasies only to cry over them when they shatter.

"It's not your business," I shut my whining heart, take a few backward steps from the threshold and give him a hard gaze. "I'll meet you at the club tonight. We can discuss your proposal then."

I take my sweet time watching his darkened face. He gets annoyed by my response, I take it but he shows it only in the form of a small muscle flexing in his jaw. I admire the dejected look on his face.

A hand comes in time to stop my front door shutting on his beautiful face. My eyes take in the big fingers, a few rings around adorning them and then to the veins lining his forearm, God it turns me on in a way that I'm ready to open the doors to my room wide and let his sexy hand pull me into that hard, rugged body of his. But I shove the thought aside and keep holding the door in vise grip.

"I told you-"

"What if I say it concerns your father? Winston Graham Hill, is it?" He lifts his thick eyelashes and regards me with a flinty stare. His smug smile says it all. One point to him. He just staked his claim.

My hand releases the door, and I take in the raw, forest scent of his cologne as he brushes my shoulder lightly while stepping into my room.

***

A/N: I'm finally setting up the tension between these two fated soulmates and I hope it's going in the right direction.

Do let me know your thoughts about the story so far. Good? Bad? Average?