Forbidden Lust

I smiled and nodded.

“Of course, you two would know each other.” Josh smiled, and I noticed his jaw tick.

“I didn’t know you two were dating. What a match made in society heaven. Your mother must be thrilled, Lourde.”

“Ecstatic.” I smiled sweetly.

He looked at me sideways, unsure if my answer was caked in sarcasm. It was.

After another boring hour of networking—as Josh aptly named it—we had arrived downtown. Seated in a private section of a club, Pepper and Grace sat beside me, sipping on bubbles, while Connor and Barrett sat opposite with dates who appeared like magnets when we arrived.

“This is so much better. Thanks for organizing, Connor,” I said above the booming bass.

He took his attention from the woman whispering something in his ear. “No problem, sis, it’s a big day for you.”

I smiled, my gaze settling on Barrett and his date. I wish they weren’t here—the women—that is. But if I had my boyfriend here, what was the big deal if they had company?

I looked around the club. Where was Josh exactly?

“So, what are your plans now? You’re a woman and all.” The way the word ‘woman’ rolled off Barrett's tongue made my thighs clench together.

Stop it, Lourde.

Your boyfriend was probably hurling over the toilet from the bottle of champagne he downed, and you’re drooling over your silly man-crush.

I pushed away my wavy hair. “I’m thinking about helping with the family business.”

Barrett smiled, and fuck, there went my ovaries. At the same time, my brother choked on his whiskey, and reluctantly, I peeled my eyes away from Barrett. The Ms. Universe lookalike seated next to him rubbed him on the back, soft enough to do absolutely nothing. He didn’t thank her. Instead, he looked up at me. “Since when, sis?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Maybe I could be an editor for a design magazine?”

He rolled his eyes. “None of the women in the Diamond family have ever worked, Lourde, and it's not starting now.”

Barrett turned to my brother, arching a dark brow, but he said nothing. If he was surprised, he didn’t voice it.

Walls felt as though they were closing in around my chest. “We’re not in 1950 anymore!”

Pepper and Grace stopped their conversation and turned toward me.

“Sis,” Connor said.

“Maybe we should dance?” Pepper squeezed my hand from under the table.

“Yes!” Grace had already shuffled out of the booth before I’d responded. Deciding I was sick of this discussion, I slid out after Pepper.

I swayed my hips on the dance floor. Then, sliding my hands down my ruby red dress that gripped my body, I closed my eyes and let the beat overcome me. Or perhaps it was the two glasses of bubbles I quickly downed. Whatever, I didn’t care. I felt free.

After a while, I opened my eyes, my gaze settling on our table. Barrett’s green eyes stared back at me. My cheeks burned cherry red while my skin heated all over. Thank God it was dark.

“Hey, where’s Josh?”

I blinked a few times, then turned to Grace, who was looking at me curiously.

“B… bathroom,” I managed to get out, and when I glanced back at Barrett, his lady friend had her hands around his neck.

Did I just imagine the whole thing? Ugh.

“Actually, I might check,” I said to the girls who were dancing to “Unapologetic Bitch” by Madonna. Josh had said he was going to the toilet but had been gone for a while.

On the way to the bathroom, I bumped into Magnus and asked if he could check if Josh was, in fact, keeled over in the men’s bathroom. After he came out, he informed me Josh wasn’t there.

What the hell.I didn’t know at this point if I was more aggravated over my brother’s sexist comment, Barret for giving me that spine-tingling stare, or my missing boyfriend. And tonight was meant to be about me?

Finally, I gave up scouring the crowd and slipped out the back exit in need of some quiet. Outside, the air was brutally cold—the wind whipping down the sidewalk, tossing my hair around my shoulders. The music lowered to a dull thud, giving me the space to hear my own thoughts. Moans pulled my attention, and curiously I walked toward the sound.

I turned the corner.

No.