Page 8

B lood rushed through my veins, and it took all of my willpower to stop myself from going back inside and seeking her out and rushing her along.

This was really going to happen.

I was going to redeem my family name. And I guess I was excited about that.

But for some reason, that wasn’t what I was thinking about.

No, all my thoughts were on her .

Ever since I laid eyes on the curvy little redhead, a secret plan started to develop inside my head. One that had nothing to do with my family.

Now that I was confronted with it, I wasn’t even shocked.

If my mind wandered away from the interest of Callahan Protection Group, I was hardly to blame. I’d dedicated fifteen years to this venture, working night and day, doing things I would never utter to another soul just so I could try to wash away my father’s connection to me.

But what was the point if all I got for my efforts was a boardroom full of unhappy relatives and an empty house to come home to?

Suddenly, I wanted more than that.

Maybe it was because I spent the last two years working closely with Liam, watching his company grow and his family, too.

It was sort of funny. The success of ODI wasn’t the reason he wore a smile daily.

No, it was his wife and son. The fact he had something to look forward to at the end of the day.

Look at the party I just left.

Inside were couples, men I would never have suspected of even having hearts, standing arm and arm with their wives and children around them, smiling and congratulating their newest addition.

If men like that could have personal lives, why couldn’t I?

And if I could have that, too, then why not have her?

Dangerous thoughts.

But Clementine wasn’t just beautiful in the way that made my heart race. Oh, she had all the right parts from the top of her wild mane of sexy red hair down her curvy wonderland of a body, to her toes, which she had painted every second Thursday at the same salon.

And yet, she had something more going for her, too.

A spark.

An air of mystery.

A maturity despite her years.

There was this kind of quiet confidence that surrounded her, drawing someone like me in.

Like a moth to a flame.

It wasn’t just her looks, though those were enough to stop anyone in their tracks. No, it was the way she carried herself. How she seemed to know exactly what she wanted and how to get it.

Truth was, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her for a whole damn year. Every night I went to bed with her face stamped inside my head the second I closed my eyelids.

No, there’d been no other women.

How could there be when she occupied every corner of my brain?

At first, this whole thing was just a passing thought.

A fleeting idea.

Delusions of grandeur some had said, and maybe they were right. Maybe it was. But this was my path now, and I wasn’t getting off it.

Use the beauty to conquer the beast that was her father’s firm.

That was my strategy. But the more I’d watched her, the more my idea started to change.

It was strange, this feeling deep inside me. But like a seed being watered, it took root.

The moments our paths crossed, the glances we exchanged—it was all a part of the grand plan to get her attracted, get her interested.

Devious? Maybe.

But what was a little dirty fun between two consenting adults?

Tonight was the night. Even if she didn’t know it yet. I’d make sure she had a damn good time. And I swore to myself to protect her from the truth.

The decked out ballroom buzzed with the sound of conversation and reveling all around me, but all I could focus on was her.

All I saw was Clementine.

She’d been standing by the wall, a glass of champagne in hand when the toasts were made and congratulations shouted to the happy parents.

But I didn’t pay any attention to any of that.

Her fiery hair cascaded in loose waves down her back, drawing every male eye in the room and making me damn near homicidal with jealousy.

My cock ached and my lungs seized. I had to force myself to breathe evenly.

Her body was encased in a slip of green silk that emphasized her gorgeous as fuck figure.

I had a mom and sister, and I knew all women had concerns about weight. It made me angry to think she was one of them.

But in my experience, women who looked like that, ones who refused to starve themselves to conform to society’s beauty standards, never seemed to realize how beautiful they really were.

I knew Clementine worked out. Mostly in her apartment. She had machines and videos for that. But her body remained deliciously curvy, thank fuck.

To me, she was goddamn perfect.

That dress she had on should be illegal. The thing highlighted the swell of her breasts and curve of her hips, making it impossible for anyone to look away.

Every movement she made might have looked deliberate to someone who didn’t know her. But I knew better.

For all her flirtations and casual dating, Clementine wasn’t a vamp. She wasn’t promiscuous.

In fact, I doubted she was even fully aware of the effect she had on the people around her.

Guilt started to creep in on me, but I forced it out. Whether or not I was doing this for selfish reasons, Clementine Aziz was stunning. It was just the truth.

I took a slow breath, pushing aside the rising tide of excitement.

This had to go my way. I couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

I had studied her, watched her, learned the subtle patterns of her life.

Tonight, she’d finally be mine.

I’d walked towards the restroom where she’d retreated, each step had been measured, controlled.

This wasn’t just about the chase .

Not the means , either.

It was about the ends .

The kind that I intended to have, and the kind she didn’t even realize she wanted.

Now, I knew the old adage. That eternal question— did the ends justify the means? For all intents and purposes, I’d have to argue that yes, they absolutely fucking did.

Our little tete-a-tete had turned out exactly like I wanted it to. Though maybe not how I expected it to go. I wasn’t prepared for her invitation or for her to dare me to find her number if I wanted to go out for a drink with her after the party.

Saucy little firefly even taunted me about doing my job well.

But I’d felt her eyes on my face and body. I’d seen that flicker of recognition before her lips curved into a sultry smile all for me.

Her emerald eyes glittered with mischief, and I bit back my groan.

She was beautiful when she smiled. But she had no idea what I was about to do. No clue that she was inviting a monster into her playground.

But I did.

I knew, and I had to get my head on straight.