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He looked out the window, staring at the street. “Lost. I’ll give you a single piece of advice, Juliette. Don’t allow your father to talk you into anything. Ever. This is your life. You have only one. Try and remember that.”

As he slowly turned his head, he allowed the walls to come down if only for a little while. In his eyes I saw dedication, respect, and so much intelligence. But I also saw something else.

Pain. Tremendous pain.

The walls were returned, locked in place. His advice wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before from friends and colleagues, but coming from him, the words and meaning were entirely different.

With him, everything was difficult.

As we ordered, he constantly scanned the restaurant just like he’d done on the street.

Even when our drinks came and finally our food, he remained completely on edge.

When I finally got up to go to the bathroom, he reacted, immediately standing.

“The corridor is right there. I’m not going to do anything stupid,” I told him.

“It’s not you I’m worried about.” He trailed behind me, glancing down the short hallway before nodding.

He was looking for a back entrance.

His actions should scare me, but they didn’t. They were comforting. I moved inside, using the bathroom and washing my hands. I’d never met anyone like him. He was hard edged, but there was so much furrowing inside of him. He made me want to learn more about him. His story.

The reason behind his anguish.

A private man, he’d never open up to a girl like me.

I dried my hands, tossing the paper in the trash and barely looking as I moved into the corridor. As soon as I stepped into the dining room once again, a pair of hands grabbed me.

It took me a solid beat to realize Kage had pulled me into his arms, spinning me around so I faced the wall near the bathrooms. His hand gripped my jaw, his thumb pressed against the outside of my lips.

He’d startled me to the extent I didn’t say anything or ask him what was going on. Somewhere inside, I knew he was hiding me from plain sight, potentially worried about someone looking in through the windows. The girl inside of me who’d dreamt about finding the perfect man peered up at him with hope this was something else entirely.

He stared at me for a few seconds. Up close, I basked in the reality of just how handsome he truly was, rugged in every way. Something about the way he was holding me screamed of domination. This man knew what he was doing and took what he wanted.

I’d never been attracted to a man like that before.

Until now.

His head descended and the moment our lips touched, everything around me faded into shadows. There was no sound, as if the entire world had just stopped spinning. His scent was just as powerful, masculine and full of testosterone, kissed by the shower gel he’d used earlier. His mouth tasted like the single whiskey he’d allowed himself.

Delicious.

Just like the man.

I brushed my hands up from his abdomen, crunching the fingers of one hand around his shirt while slowly sliding the other arm around his neck. Leaning in, I moaned into the kiss as he opened my mouth. My hand found his thumping heart and I envisioned just how incredible it would feel lying naked next to him.

I craved his callused hands stroking me, his mouth consuming mine. I longed to feel the weight of him pressed against me, one leg between mine.

His mouth was firm and I opened mine wider, maybe giving permission for him to taste more of me. When he slipped his tongue inside, I mewed and arched my back. His stubbled beard prickled my skin, the excitement of kissing him creating a throb between my legs. The way he held me sizzled every nerve ending and shooting stars matched the wild intensity as electric current rolled through every cell and muscle.

The way he tasted me was sweet at first, just another taste of the gentleman lying dormant inside of him. But as he dominated my tongue, I was reminded how controlling he could be. This time, I craved his rough handling, the thought of relinquishing control more enticing than it should be.

At least with him.

He wasn’t stopping, sweeping his tongue back and forth and for the first time in kissing a man, I felt lightheaded. How many times had I been kissed, yet I’d never felt anything like this before. An explosion of heat and fire burning so rapidly that I feared being consumed.

But when he broke the kiss, I wanted him to do it all over again.