Liam

Chapter 1

Almost a month had passed since that night in the club. Every once in a while Rayne would catch herself - What was I thinking? I've never done anything like that, but Gods, that was some amazing sex! Today, she was at a coffee shop with Megan and Kalli from work when a tall man with piercing green eyes walked in. He seemed to stop in the doorway and lock eyes with hers for a moment, then he began to walk towards her table. Rayne began to feel flush when she recognized him from the club. Shit.

"Hello," he said in a soft voice. She couldn't quite place his accent. "Do you remember me?"

As she looked into his eyes, she felt the heat rising in her cheeks as she stuttered and said, "Umm..yeah."

"It's Liam. May I buy you a cup of coffee?" he smiled.

"Sorry," she said, "We were actually just heading back to work."

"Perhaps dinner then this evening, and um, your name?" he pressed.

She paused for a moment, and looking into those green eyes again she found herself saying yes and, "It's Rayne." Chatting for a few moments, they settled on a little Italian restaurant downtown, agreeing to meet at 7:00 that evening. His hand brushed across hers, sending an almost electric jolt through her hand as they parted, and he flashed a devilish smile.

She spent the day trying to focus on work. All she could think about was that smile and the way it felt when their hands touched. What was that all about? she thought to herself. Rayne watched the time slowly pass. At 4, she hollered to the girls in the back that she was leaving early. "We want details!" Megan shouted as she was gathering her stuff. "You know us old folk have to live vicariously through you!" She could see Megan wink at her from behind her desk.

"I'll take notes for you," Rayne joked as she clocked out. She pushed the heavy oak door to the shop open and felt the hot air from the streets of New York try to steal her breath. Ugh, she already missed the air-conditioning. When she reached her car, she noticed a piece of paper stuck to the front window. She looked around cautiously before flicking her wrist to make the paper turn over without touching it. It was a flyer for a new club - harmless. She motioned it into the trash, got in the car, and left.

Rayne thought to herself, I'll take a quick bath and relax. I've got plenty of time.

Rayne's eyes snapped open. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't in the tub or her apartment. She looked down. She was wearing a long black ceremonial robe. There were others wearing the same robes, chanting. A tall figure walked forward and greeted her. "Welcome, child of the Raven Clan. We, the Kall Clan, offer you sanctuary." His voice hissed at her.

"Um, no thanks. Why have you brought me here? I belong to no coven." She pushed the robe back from her head and unzipped it. She realized too late that she was naked underneath.

"We seek an alliance. We want to merge our two clans. A union would be most beneficial." Every word from his mouth screamed of poison and deceit.

"Ewww, did you just ask me to have sex? No way man! Send me back now or pay the price!" Rayne's eyes began to turn red with black rims. Her hair began to swirl around her face. "I said NOW!" she boomed.

"As you wish, we meant no offense." The figure bowed and she woke in her now cold bathtub.

Rayne looked up at the clock. Shit! It was 6:00 pm. So much for plenty of time. She quickly dried off and found a simple but sexy jade green dress. It matches his eyes, she thought. She put on dainty earrings that looked like tiny flowers, her grandmother's ring, and a silver necklace with single teardrop quartz hanging from it.

She glanced at the bathroom and shoved the sick feeling in her stomach away. She would worry about the creepy hood guy on another day.

***

It seemed to take forever to find parking. Of course, Liam was already there when Rayne arrived. He had arranged for them to have a private booth on the far side of the restaurant, away from the large crowd. He had taken the liberty of ordering red wine and appetizers. Everything looked so amazing. She couldn't remember the last time she's been on a date and kept fiddling with her napkin in her lap so he wouldn't notice that her hands were trembling.

The conversation started out nervously with small talk. She learned he was not from New York but was here often on business. He was an antique dealer, and originally from somewhere in Norway. She mentioned she was born in Ireland but came to the states with her grandmother at a young age. She had been raised on a small farm in the Midwest and came to New York almost five years ago. She told him about her job at the bookstore, and slowly she began to feel more and more relaxed in his presence. At one point he reached his hand across the table to take hers while she spoke, but she pulled away slightly. He had a confused look on his face. Rayne felt the need to explain.

"I know that night in the club was rather fiery, but I have to tell you upfront that that is not who I normally am. I've never done anything like that before in my life. I was dealing with a lot of stress in my life and then chose to act out recklessly. I didn't think I would ever even see you again."

He stayed silent for a few moments. She could see that he was trying to work out in his head what she had just told him. He began to speak hesitantly. " Should I not have approached you in the coffee shop? You really didn't have to come to dinner just to give me an explanation if you didn't want to."

"Oh, please don't think I'm trying to blow you off. I just need to make sure you understand that I need to take things slow, despite our initial encounter." Rayne reached out to take his hand back to reassure him.

He seemed encouraged by that last statement and flashed that charming smile of his. "We can take things as slowly as you desire, my dear. Perhaps we could go somewhere for a nightcap?"

Rayne paused for a second to look around the restaurant and realized they were closing up. They had been sitting there lost in conversation for over 3 hours. "I'd like that," she answered.

There was a small bar just a few doors down from the restaurant, they walked in and found a table. When the server came to the table he ordered himself a scotch neat and turned his head towards her. "I'll have vodka on the rocks with a splash of cranberry please," she responded.

They continued to talk for a while longer before she commented about the late hour. She mentioned she had work in the morning. He apologized for keeping her out so late, but she cut him off. "This is the most fun I've had in a long time," she said," it's been quite a while since I've been out on a date."

Liam arched his eyebrows with a questioning look and said, "I find that hard to imagine."

Rayne softly laughed, "Thank you, but it is true."

"Well then, may I see you again, Rayne? Perhaps tomorrow evening?" Liam reached out for her hand, holding her gaze. She felt that same electric jolt as she did in the club and again today when they touched.

Looking at the clock on the wall she laughed and said, "I think it already is tomorrow. Unfortunately, I have work tonight. What about Friday night? If you're brave enough, you can come to my place, I'll cook. We can watch a movie and talk some more."

"Yes," he said, "I would like that very much. Of course, it might help if you gave me your phone number, so then I could ask for the address."

She blushed and laughed as she wrote down her number. Liam paid the tab and walked her back to her car. "Well, this is me," she said leaning against the door of her car. Liam stood in front of her staring into her eyes and then gently kissed her on the forehead. "Good night, darling, I will see you Friday evening." He watched as she got into her car and drove off making sure that she left safely before getting in his own car and driving in the opposite direction towards his hotel.  

Author's Notes:  I need feedback here.  As you've noticed with most of my other stories, I tend to write first-person POV, so this is not my comfort zone.  TIA!  Please comment, follow and vote!