บท 14: Familiar Warmth and Scent

Raine's lips curled up into a devious smile as she took several hard drinks in a row. In anyone's eyes, it would seem like she was just drinking multiple glasses of a great variety of fruit juices. But the bartender knew that she was currently outdrinking a lot of the men in the bar right now.

Destiny? Fate? If someone were to bring those up, Raine would scoff. She thought those were just ridiculous words to begin with. However, bumping into Tyrone like this made her believe that their paths were meant to collide in one way or another.

Once she finished another glass, it didn't replace the tingling feeling inside of her.

And there it was again… The strange feeling she currently had was exactly the same as what she felt with her first encounter with him in the strip club. It was a weird feeling she couldn't explain. It was as if there was a magnet between them that she couldn't resist. The excitement and thrill of it all was something she simply could not ignore.

Her eyes darted at Tyrone's reflection from the displays at the bartender's back.

'Did he recognize me or not?' she mused with narrowed eyes. She smirked when the man with Tyrone never seeemed to stop making glances towards her. Even if Tyrone didn't notice her right away, his friend was clearly invested with her.

"Look at her drink too much," Kiran commented as he sneaked glances at the beautiful woman whenever he could.

Tyrone sighed as he shook his head while looking at Kiran. "Like how you're also drinking too much? You'll l pass out in minute one for sure. And will you stop ogling at the woman at the bar?" he snorted.

Kiran laughed. In his drunk voice, he mumbled, "It's okay. We have a driver, so drink more. I'll have the driver drop us off! And for the record, it's not only me who's ogling her. All the men here are doing the same, except for you! Ah, for real… If I don't tell you that much, I'll think you have different preferences!"

Tyrone only shook his head. The bar's side was at his back, making it difficult to sneak glances and see how many drinks the woman was having. But he knew enough from Kiran's mumblings just how much she was drinking as if it was only water.

He recognized her the moment she entered the resto-bar despite her bare face. She was that woman from last night; the blood-eyed hunter, they were all calling. And yet, he acted as if he didn't know her. It was better this way, seeing as the woman spelled trouble. And again, trouble was the last thing Tyrone wanted to encounter.

*Thud*

Tyrone's shoulders drooped at the sound and glanced to the side. Kiran had passed out and banged his head on the table. He clicked his tongue and grabbed his friend's mobile phone to call his driver to get him.

The driver arrived quickly at their table, asking a waiter to help him with his Boss.

"How about you, Sir?" the driver asked.

"It's okay. I can go home on my own," Tyrone commented. "I need to take care of some things."

The driver nodded as he and the waiter helped in bringing Kiran inside the car. He was about to stand up when the woman suddenly sat in front of him.

"Hello there, darling. It would seem that we meet again," Raine greeted him with a seductive smile. She winked at him, "Quite a small world, isn't it?"

For some reason, Tyrone already expected this thing to happen. She was the bloody-eyed hunter, and she certainly recognized him just as quickly. Whether he looked forward to this, however, was another question entirely.

Tyrone did not comment. Instead, he gave her a blank expression in response to her greeting. Raine purposely ignored it and called for the waiter.

"I need a drinking buddy, so be a gentleman and wait for me till I finish. You look like someone who would not dare touch me, so I'm more at ease with you among all the men here. You will take care of me once I get drunk…" Raine murmured before she grabbed Tyrone's bottle of unfinished beer.

"How can you be so sure that you'll be safe with me?" Tyrone asked without batting an eye on her.

Raine gave him a sweet smile, "Hmm… Not safe in what kind of sense, darling?"

"I'm going. Enjoy your night Miss…" Tyron stoically whispered as he stood up to leave.

"It's Raine… Call me Raine," she whispered, enough for Tyrone to hear when he passed by her.

"He's a tough one…"

Raine mumbled with a smirk as she continued drinking. Meanwhile, Tyrone halted in his steps just when he was about to reach out to the door. He knew that the woman could perfectly take care of herself when it came to combat. However, things were bound to become different if she was drunk.

"Argh…"

Tyrone knew it wasn't his problem if that woman got herself in danger. But what kind of man would knowingly leave a woman who planned to get drunk?

His face dimmed as he massaged his nape in frustration. He couldn't, in his good conscience, leave her by herself. Tyrone turned around to return to the table where he left the woman. She was still sitting there drinking. But at the last minute, Tyrone chose to sit at another table not far from her.

After all, just because he wanted to make sure that this woman was okay didn't mean that they'd have to keep each other company.

Half a minute passed, and Raine stood from her seat red-faced and a bit lightheaded. Her entire body felt so warm and yet heavy at the same time. She usually knew her limits, but she got drunk on purpose, knowing Tyrone was behind her.

Well, it was true that she was drunk, but she was still in her right mind.

Raine swayed so much that she almost fell on the floor. And there arrived the devious smile now carved into her beautiful lips as soon as she felt the familiar warmth and scent of him.