on just one dress.
She stepped in front of Rio, who looked up from his phone. She had expected him to comment on it, but he just sat there, gazing at her with an intense gaze. His stare made her shiver and her heart race, as his gaze was full of lust and desire. He seemed to be undressing her with his eyes, taking in every curve off her body.
“That will do,” he said, his voice thick. “Have it packed and meet me in the car.”
He got up from his chair and headed over to the counter, throwing his credit card on the counter. Pearl looked at him, standing there aloof, and wondered why the hell men have to be so confusing.
She went inside the fitting room to change and then handed the dress over to the sales girl.
“This way, ma’am.” The sales girl smiled at her. Pearl nodded and followed her.
Pearl picked up her dress from the counter thinking about Rio’s weird behaviour. He neither commented on the dress nor did he ask for her to try on other dresses. He just said yes to the very first dress she had tried.
She walked out of the mall and looked around for Rio. He waved at her and she walked up to the car with lots of questions going through her head. He played some romantic music all the way back but didn’t say a word.
What was he thinking? Pearl was confused at his behaviour. But she now understood that Rio was so unpredictable.
Chapter 12
It was party day, and Pearl looked gorgeous in her dress and almost every man in the room noticed her. She looked magnificent.
Rio swallowed as he once again found himself staring at Pearl. He was trying to keep his attention on the people that surrounded him, but his eyes kept drawing toward her. The dress he had bought her truly fitted her well. It hugged her body like a glove and left little to the imagination. Rio had been battling against his lust and longing, trying to suppress the feelings that spread through his body like fire. It was getting harder and harder to control himself, and he knew that he just had to have her.
He didn’t know what about her attracted him so much, but he knew that he had to have her at all costs. The bear inside him was howling and he knew that he had make her his.
“Rio,” he heard a voice say, and he looked up to see his friend, Jake, walking over. “A very happy birthday to your lovely Laura and thank you for inviting me. It is good to see you after so long, my friend.”
“Jake!” Rio exclaimed. “It’s a pleasure seeing you after so long.”
“I want to thank you once again for your help with the Rain clan. If you hadn’t come in time, they could have seriously injured and hurt those humans,” Jake said. Jake was the leader of the Akai Bear clan and Rio had recently helped him with a problem that involved another bear clan.
“I am glad that I could be of help,” Rio said. “Now, don’t mention it again, my friend. The past is in the past. Have a glass of champagne and enjoy the party.”
“Where is the little birthday girl, anyway? I don’t see her anywhere,” Jake said, sipping on a glass.
“She is on the other side of the room, surrounded by her group of friends,” Rio said, pointing. “I believe they are currently playing party games and drinking juices while they overload on chocolate cake.”
“She is a beautiful little girl, Rio,” Jake said. “I am sorry about what happened to your sister. I couldn’t believe it when I found out. I thought there might have been some mistake.”
“It’s been just two months since the incident,” Rio said, his voice low. “I caught the bastard and I killed him with my own hands, but the nightmare still plagues me. Laura was so traumatized that I actually had to pass on my duties to my right hand and stay home to look after her. It took a lot of therapy and counseling to get her where she is. I just recently took my duties back on and had to hire a nanny to look after her.”
As if aware that she was being talked about, Pearl turned around and looked at him. Their eyes met and Rio felt a familiar feeling of desire and want flow through his veins.
“She is very pretty,” Jake said, looking in