Skin of the Night: Book One of The Night series

by Claire D. Bennett

  He was strong, too, which I could tell from the way his shirt and waistcoat strained against his body, as well as the general width of him given his broad shoulders and back.

  “Who would have guessed? How to seduce an arsehole – accuse him of sleeping with his mother. Turned you on, did it? The idea of her?” I cheekily responded.

  Frightened, I turned rigid when he suddenly leaned towards me. Hardly an inch separated our noses. He was so close that I could smell the alcohol on his breath as it fanned against my face. In my momentary fear, my eyes locked with his, and I was immediately hypnotised by their dominating gleam.

  Perhaps this wasn’t a man to be trifled with. He didn’t strike me as the sort of man who allowed others to walk over him. On the contrary, he looked to be in the habit of performing that deed himself. I felt walked over. To be honest – under the burning heat of his gaze – I felt vanquished.

  “You did,” he replied firmly.

  2

  THAT’S MORE LIKE IT

  His bold reply took me aback. I hadn’t foreseen that he would be so direct with me, but it was oddly refreshing. Suddenly nervous, my heart started pounding in my chest.

  “Well,” I murmured as I mustered my remaining courage to say, “you got what you wanted – something original.”

  His lips tucked into a smile. “Without a doubt. Although, is your name as original as your personality?”

  The astute method he employed as he made a third attempt to fish out my name impressed me. He was obviously a cunning man, so I reminded myself to exercise caution. However, it amused me that he wasn’t one to give up without a fight, so a faint smile nested on my mouth while I shook my head.

  “I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint,” I said.

  “How so? It’s not Electra, is it?”

  I couldn’t possibly suppress the giggle that escaped my lips, because the reference was remarkably shrewd. Clearly, he had read and enjoyed his fair share of Greek tragedies, too. Electra was, in some ways, Oedipus’ female counterpart after all.

  Momentarily inspired by the current theme, I lied, “No, but you’re not far from it, actually. It stems from Greek.”

  “Really?” He looked intrigued.

  “Yeah. Name’s Cassandra, but everyone calls me Sandra.” Since I wasn’t naïve enough to trust him on a whim, I didn’t feel like giving him my real name. Besides, he hadn’t proved himself remotely deserving.

  “Sandra,” he echoed with a nod. “Well, I’m William, as you may have already gathered, but you can call me Will.”

  “Or Oedipus. Tomato tomato,” I countered.

  Genuine amusement twinkled in his eyes. “So you’re a fan of Sophocles and Greek tragedies, then? Or are you merely a disciple of dear Mr Freud?”

  His evident intellect irritated me somewhat because it led me to like him more than I wanted to. He was retaliating with precisely the same sense of humour and with force equal to my own. It wasn’t often that I encountered people who could keep up with my sharp wit, but this man seemed to be up to the task. Despite his lack of affability, he clearly stored a quick and well-functioning brain behind that annoyingly handsome face of his.

  I was still contemplating whether to reply when Philip interjected, “Here you go, Miss,” and presented two lush cocktails. “An espresso martini and a gin and tonic.”

  “Thank you.” I was about to grab them when William beat me to it.

  “I’ll give you a hand,” he said as an explanation.

  “I’ve got two already. Three aren’t required, as you can see.”

  He chuckled. “You’ve got quite the witty mouth, haven’t you?”

  “Well, at least one of us has got some wit,” I challenged. “Poor man can’t even count right.”

  William shook his head at me but, nevertheless, persisted in carrying my drinks away. With a pout on my face, I trailed after him. How had it come to this? I hadn’t meant to attract him earlier. Had I known my insult would prove so counterproductive, I’d have bitten my tongue.

  “Andy,” he called and cocked his head in the direction of Olivia’s lonely figure. Struck by evident surprise, Andrew’s brown eyes widened before he stood from his seat.

  When I fixed my gaze on Olivia, I found her smirking. The sight extracted a groan from my mouth. Unlike Andrew, she wasn’t the least bit surprised, and I didn’t appreciate it, because it spoke of her impressions and expectations of me.

  “It’s Olivia, right?” William asked once we reached her.

  “Yes, but everyone calls me Livy.”

  “Livy,” he echoed as he placed my drinks on the table. “Well, Livy, would you mind if Andy and I joined you?” he politely inquired as he stretched back up. His sudden gallantry made my eyebrows furrow. How was it possible to host both a gentleman and the Devil himself in the same vessel? Flummoxed, I watched him.

  “No, of course not,” Olivia answered with a dazzling grin.

  “I mind,” I declared.

  Immediately, William turned towards me with a sardonic smile. “You don’t get a say, I’m afraid.”

  “Pardon?”

  He faced Olivia again while pointing his thumb at me. “Is she always such a handful?”

  In turn, Olivia studied me with clear humour in her eyes. “Takes one to know one?” she replied cheekily. As thanks for the support, I wanted to kiss her entire face like an excited dog.

  William laughed. “I suppose I deserved that.”

  I rushed to grab the available seat beside her on the small sofa so that I wouldn’t be forced to sit next to him, and after leaving my purse on the floor beside my feet, I leaned next to her ear.

  “I don’t know what he wants, but my name’s Sandra, okay? Short for Cassandra,” I whispered.

  Olivia pursed her lips. “He wants you, but alright.”

  I scoffed before I continued in another whisper, “Andy split from his girlfriend earlier today. Just thought you should know – unless William was only telling a lie, of course.”

  She gave me a nod to confirm that she’d heard me.

  “So, Sandra,” William said as he fetched a chair over, “now that you’re done whispering about me, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?” Descending into his seat, he sat at a right angle from me. Intimidated, I instantly recoiled towards Olivia.

  That was what he was – intimidating, and immensely so.

  “I’d rather not.”

  He chuckled. “Are you students? You look a bit younger than the average woman here,” he probed, eyes shifting between Olivia and me.

  “We are,” Olivia confirmed, and I was immediately alarmed.

  Worried she would inadvertently expose my real identity, I hurried to say, “Livy’s studying law at UCL.”

  A glance passed between William and Andrew then.

  “Are you?” Andrew asked her.

  Catching on to my deceit, she glanced in my direction. Nevertheless, she proceeded with honesty, “Yes. I’m in my third and final year now.”

  “And how do you like it?” Andrew followed up while he brought a stool over to sit across from her.

  “I love it, but it’s very demanding.”

  A chuckle escaped both men and, again, a message I couldn’t quite decode passed between their eyes.

  “What’s funny?” I asked.

  While directing his attention to me, William struggled to suppress his grin. “Well, both Andy and I are lawyers, so it’s just a bit charming to hear a student’s perspective.”

  Points for Jason. Lawyers did, in fact, frequent this place. “Are you barristers?” I asked.

  William shook his head and folded his hands together. “Solicitors. Corporate kind.”

  “I see. So you’re colleagues, then?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And how’s working with corporate law?
Is it compelling?” I had a personal interest in whatever he had to say now. Was I networking unknowingly?

  William smiled, and I thought it was because I was finally expressing signs of interest. “Certainly. Initially, I wanted to specialise in human rights, but my father swayed my mind. I’m glad he did.”

  I was taking mental notes. Like William, I aspired to be a solicitor rather than a barrister, regardless of whether the latter weighed heavier in matters of prestige.

  As I looked diagonally across the table, I caught Andrew’s eye. Seeing an opportunity to taunt William, I deliberately gave him a seductive smile before I asked with feigned interest, “How about you, Andy? Have you always wanted to practise company law?”

  Noting my behaviour, his eyes flickered in William’s direction. “I was never really sure until I completed the LPC.”

  “But I’d like to know more about you,” William insisted and leaned forward to demand my attention.

  I frowned. “You can’t always get what you want.”

  While scrutinising me, his eyes narrowed somewhat. “Since you specified that Olivia is a law student earlier, I think it’s fair to assume you’re studying something else. Otherwise, you’d be more likely to say, ‘we’re studying law’. And considering the nature of your earlier insults, I’m going to take a wild guess and say psychology.”

  A giggle surged out of me. “Well done, Sherlock.”

  He didn’t look convinced. “No,” he murmured as he continued to analyse my reaction. “That was too easy – I was wrong. It’s something else, isn’t it?”

  Olivia nudged my arm then, and when I looked over, I saw disapproval in her features. It would seem that William had managed to stir her sympathy to some extent, and now she was asking me to share her sentiment.

  After a sigh, I returned my gaze to William’s. “I study medicine,” I lied. I knew enough about the coursework from Jason to be able to make it convincing.

  His eyebrows climbed higher up his forehead. “Really? Here in London?”

  “No, in Edinburgh. I’m only visiting Livy for the weekend,” I continued to lie.

  While it was hardly detectable, I noticed that his eyebrows twitched. In fact, if I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he looked a bit disappointed. “Oh. Edinburgh,” he repeated to himself. “Well, medicine – that’s impressive. Decided what to specialise in?”

  I shook my head. “No. Not yet.”

  William nodded and leaned back again. All the while, he continued to stare at me as if he were observing every corner of my soul. His gaze was remarkably piercing – penetrative, as if he could catch a glimpse into my core with a mere glance. It made me wonder if he hadn’t already discerned all my lies.

  “Well, the mother I love to sleep with is an oncologist,” he eventually said.

  I blinked. “Oh. Well, that explains everything. You’ve clearly got a type.”

  My joke extracted a laugh from him. “And you clearly embody all the necessary characteristics of said type.”

  “Just my luck.”

  His eyes gleamed with amusement. “Anyway, are you in your third year as well?”

  I groaned. “Is this an interview or something?”

  He stood no chance of hiding his grin when he turned to his colleague. “She’s lovely, isn’t she?”

  Andrew smirked. “Indeed.”

  Taken aback, a blush emerged on my cheeks. Were they patronising me, or were they sincere? Olivia sniggered beside me, unwilling to come to my aid. Meanwhile, William faced me again.

  “I’m worried I might have fucked up my chance completely,” he said, although he seemed to be speaking to Andrew still.

  “You have,” I assured him.

  “How do I change your mind?”

  I scoffed. “You’re the lawyer. Shouldn’t you know how to sway one’s opinion?”

  I heard a strange sound beside me then, much like a strangled laugh, and when I looked over, I saw that Andrew was looking anywhere but at me while he tried to fight back a massive grin.

  “You’re quite right,” William replied, summoning my attention again, and once I fixed my gaze on him, I could have sworn his eyes were aflame with something I had no experience dealing with.

  “I’ll start with this,” he continued. “We have definitely not met before. There’s not a chance I wouldn’t remember you, for several reasons.”

  Sceptical, I raised a brow. “Such as?”

  “Aside from the obvious?”

  “What’s obvious?”

  “Well, the obvious is that you’re really quite stunning, physically speaking, but then that’s seldom enough to capture my interest, much less my memory. You see, beauty isn’t in short supply in this world, but yours is.

  “What’s not so obvious at first sight – regarding any person, really – is your admirable integrity, sharp wit and keen intellect. Ultimately, you’re a rather bewitching woman, and quite impossible to forget, I expect.”

  My breath caught in my throat at his climactic declaration. Meanwhile, Olivia and Andrew stilled beside me, awaiting my reaction. Since my mouth appeared to have disconnected from my brain, I merely stared at him while I tried to process his memorable confession.

  Seeming to realise that I had completely lost track of space and time, Olivia quickly nudged my arm to help me reconnect with it. Returning to my senses, I gave William a genuine smile to express my gratitude. His earlier insult, where he had accused me of not being a memorable encounter, had angered me more than I’d expected it to. It was the way he had phrased it, as if I were an escort offering my services.

  I struggled to form a decent reply. “I appreciate that, but I meant what I said earlier – you do look familiar. Livy thinks so as well.”

  Visibly reluctant, he gave Olivia his attention. “Do I?”

  She nodded. “No idea why, though. Have you been on telly?”

  He chuckled. “No.”

  “Newspaper?” I asked.

  William cocked his head. “Once or twice. Work-related, though.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “How old are you?”

  “Now who wants to know?” He countered, humoured.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Tell you what,” he said, “for every question you ask, I get to ask one as well.”

  “No deal.”

  “Oh, come on, love. What have you got to lose?”

  “My dignity.”

  He burst out laughing, and it occurred to me that I wasn’t going to get an answer from him anytime soon.

  “How old is he, Andy?” I inquired and turned towards him. Hoping to resemble a version of a puppy, I pouted at him, but his responding scoff proved my efforts ineffective.

  “Sorry, love, you’re on your own.”

  I sighed. It was worth a shot.

  Wearing a sly smile, William sent his friend a nod of gratitude before he said, “Looks like Livy’s finished her drink. Perhaps you could get her another one, Andy?”

  Grinning back at William, Andrew stood and then turned to regard Olivia. “It would be my absolute pleasure.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Olivia offered, enthused, and pushed herself out of the sofa. Immediately, colour reduced in my face while my heart skipped a beat.

  Was she blind to the fact that this was precisely what William had intended? Or did she mean to go along with it? Was she going to abandon me to the care of this dreadful man? This horribly intriguing creature that I did not want to succumb to?

  “Don’t leave me,” I pleaded.

  Visibly amused, she directed her eyes to mine. “You’re a grown woman, Sandra. You’ll be alright. We’ve all seen that you can fend for yourself.”

  From the faint pink in her cheeks, it was obvious that she desired time alone with Andrew, but it would cost me severely. William had piqu
ed my interest to the extent that I considered it morally wrong. He wasn’t right in the head. He was rude, and he was bloody attractive.

  Lethal combination.

  As I continued to entreat her with my eyes, William conceitedly asked, “Yes, I wonder what you’re scared of. Starting to get under your skin, am I?”

  My gaze dashed to his at once, and I proceeded to glare at him while Andrew and Olivia headed for the bar. “You will not be getting anywhere near my skin. What’s the matter with you?”

  He shrugged. “Right now, you.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I’d like to get to know you better. Isn’t that what you wanted in the first place? I mean, you approached us first.”

  “Specifically your friend,” I reminded him tersely.

  His head tilted, and even though he concealed it well, I thought I recognised hurt somewhere deep within his eyes. I must have bruised his ego. “Oh, so that’s what this is?” he queried flatly. “I’m not cutting it?”

  Since it was far from the truth, my conscience suffered at the impression I was clearly giving off. Blowing out my cheeks, I leaned forward to grab my gin and tonic, and while I was raising it to my lips, I hurriedly said, “No, that’s not quite it.”

  Since I wasn’t looking at him anymore, William leaned forward again to attract my gaze, and once he captured it, he scoured it thoroughly. Meanwhile, he folded his hands between his thighs and allowed his thumbs to rub together. “So, I do make the cut?” he asked then, ever slick.

  I couldn’t fight my smile. “There is no ‘cut’ to make, Will. I’m not here looking for anything if that’s what you mean.”

  “Then how come you approached us to begin with?”

  My eyes darted in Olivia’s direction, but since I didn’t want to expose her, I was quick to avert them again. Alas, he didn’t fail to notice my wandering attention. As soon as he turned his head to observe Olivia and Andrew by the bar, he stated, “Right. I get it now. You were winging her.”

  When he looked back at me for confirmation, I merely returned his gaze so as not to reveal anything. Suddenly, a grin claimed his mouth. I frowned in puzzlement.