Page 19

Story: The Inquisitor

“Fancy seeing you here, Forrest.” Yolanda bent down, gave me a one-armed hug, ruffled my hair, and introduced me to her friends. “This is Belinda and Amanda.”

Her friends were hot and dressed to impress. Levi and the guys at the nearby table stared at them. Belinda had curly blonde hair and wore a strapless dress that showed off her attractive figure. With her brown hair in a braid, Amanda looked fabulous in a low-cut floral dress that made a man imagine too many things.

Yolanda stood out from her friends with her long, dark hair and an off-white dress that showed off her bronze skin. She’d never have trouble dating.

She glanced around the packed restaurant. “Mind if we join you? I don’t see any empty tables, and I prefer not to sit at the bar.”

“Please do,” Levi said before I could suggest they sit elsewhere. I had more questions to ask him about the party. Apparently, he wanted to talk to the women more.

Levi brought over two extra chairs, and everyone squeezed in. Yolanda sat beside me and draped an arm around my shoulder.

While Levi chatted with Belinda and Amanda, Yolanda whispered, “Do you like one of my friends? I showed them pictures of you. They’re interested.” She patted my back. “I told them you were visiting, and they wanted me to introduce you.”

“Don’t set me up with anyone. I don’t have time. They’ll just be disappointed.”

“You work too much.” She patted my cheek. “You’re a handsome man who needs to enjoy life.”

“Not interested.”

“Why not? Are they not hot enough for you?”

I flicked her an amused look. “Don’t you have more important things to do than interfere in my personal life?”

She scowled. “What’s wrong with that? I’m only doing that because I care. Grandma wouldn’t want her grandson to be lonely for the rest of his life.”

“Who said I would?”

“Based on your boring routine, I’d say you’ll be a lonely old man missing out on life’s pleasures.”

Laughing, I finished my Whiskey Smash. “I have other interests that are more important. Besides, how do you know I’m not with anyone right now?”

Her eyes widened with curiosity. “Who?Are you seeing someone in Providence? Why haven’t you shared the news with the family?” She smacked my arm. “Is she pretty? What makes her special?”

“The prettiest.” My gaze slid over to Kiera’s table. “I guess you could say I can’t stop thinking about her. That’s a unique trait.”

Yolanda narrowed her eyes at me and grinned. “You’re lying.”

I didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Knowing Yolanda, she’d go on and on and report back to my grandma, who would then call me with questions.

“You’re paying too much attention to my life.” The waitress came over to take their orders, and the conversation changed to something else.

Thank God.

While they chatted, my gaze kept wandering back to Kiera, who met my eyes, sending an electrical circuit straight to my cock.

Yup, that was her specialty. She could command my body from a distance.

CHAPTERSEVEN

KIERA

Stop twisting. Stop squirming.

Though Bruno, Nate, and Olivia were having a conversation about the model Steven who was supposed to arrive tomorrow, my thoughts were on Forrest.

I scolded my body to stop reacting to Forrest, looking at me from across the restaurant. Even though there were crowds of people separating us, I felt his presence as though he were still standing beside me. Tingles ran up and down my body as though he were doing it to me with his eyes.

He had a magnetism I couldn’t resist. He was the freaking black hole in space that would swallow me up if I got too close, and yet I couldn’t stop myself.