Captivation

Captivation Introduction/sample

"Caitlin, have you met Angelo?"

Caitlin nodded politely, fixed a pleasant smile onto her lips and drew on her years of conditioning to say, "Yes, several years back. Hello again." She switched into polite mode with casual ease. Years of training had her smiling even when she wanted to escape this social hullaballoo and the endless nonsense that went with it.

Angelo held out a hand, and leaned in to kiss her on both cheeks. "Nice to see you again."

Silently Caitlin told herself to focus. No doubt they would run through the usual line of conversation. That's what she found boring. The utter triviality. She prepared herself to trot out the trite, predictable responses to tame, banal questions. But his first statement was different.

"You don't come to these things often."

She stopped herself from glancing around, "I don't live locally." She hedged as she kept smiling, then added for the sake of something to say, "What about you?"

"Usually when my mother reminds me that I haven't done my Goan duty and found the perfect daughter-in-law." He replied dryly, sensing he had found a like minded soul to talk to.

"Ah." Caitlin blinked and for the first time this evening her smile was genuine.

"I found her." He added seriously. Caitlin's smile almost vanished as she prayed and hoped that he wasn't hitting on her. "But she married someone else last year."

"Oh." Caitlin's smile was back in force. She could like this man, she thought.

He rolled his eyes. "And as my mother would say, telling a woman you've just met, about another woman that you want to be with, is not the conversation gambit to endear you to the new woman." He shrugged and with a cheeky smile added bluntly, "Foot in mouth disease. Sorry."

Caitlin's smile widened. It was a real one, and it transformed her face, taking her from pretty to stunning. He felt the impact. Perhaps his mother was wrong!

"Would you like to dance?" He asked hesitantly.

Caitlin nodded. "That would be lovely." Give her a chance to move away from this crowd. She smoothed her ankle length bronze silk skirt as she gracefully made her way to the dance floor.

Two dances later she was back with the group. Surrounded by chatter about some thing she'd missed, she stayed at the edge of the group and the voices blurred as she wished herself away and allowed her mind to wander. Some day soon she hoped she would be able to simply step away from these occasions. She hated the pretence that existed within certain circles, the camaraderie amongst some in her age group was nothing but superficial.

"Would you care to dance?" Came a deep, intriguing voice from just behind her.

A quiet hush descended as the group surrounding them waited for her to respond. Caitlin had a moment to wonder about that, but then she turned and saw who it was. And that explained everything. Jared D'Olivera stood not two feet from her. She had often secretly studied this man from a distance. Watching him interact with a variety of women. And something about the way he moved, and the way he stood, reminded her of a wolf!

"Thank you." Perhaps life was just about to get interesting. Caitlin smiled as if one of the community's most sought after men, albeit with a bad boy reputation, invited her to dance on an every day basis. Chance would be a fine thing. She was fairly sure that to most of the eligible, interesting men she would appear far too tame. But today, it would appear that Christmas had come early. Her smile came naturally as she moved that fraction closer. "Jared? Isn't it?" She knew of this man. He had a reputation. And he wasn't the type that usually approached women of her ilk. Not that he was the type she would usually consider approaching either. Way out of her league. Way, way out.