Beautiful Seduction

“The storage area?” When I didn’t answer, he shook his head. The location was soundproof, not that it was absolutely necessary given the music, but I was a cautious man.

“Just do it.” I moved out of my office, heading toward the club. Whatever the hell Cassidy thought she was doing, she’d soon learn that I wasn’t in the mood for a reporter to hound me.

It didn’t matter what we’d shared of how much I craved her.

Fucking with me or my family would force my hand.

As I moved through the crowd, scanning the area, I allowed my anger to remain. The woman needed discipline in her life. Hell, she needed a goddamn keeper. What the hell did she think she was doing playing with fire?

I pushed my way through the crowd, heading toward the dancefloor.

Then I noticed her; the strobing lights from under the floor highlighted her frame, including the dress she was wearing, the one I’d given her.

There was no rhyme or reason for the intensity of the desire I felt, the need that threatened to consume me. She shouldn’t mean anything to me, yet I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Something had changed within me, a tear in my psyche that could never be repaired.

Suddenly, everything else seemed to fade away. I wanted the woman, the craving even more intense than before. As I advanced slowly, I studied her movements, the way she tossed her hair over her shoulders, the slight movement of her hips. Then I noticed a man heading in her direction.

I knew at that moment, she belonged to me. There was no turning back, no regard for my business or my family.

She’d made the mistake of entering my world.

And her life would never be the same.

* * *

Cassidy

Desire refused to leave me. I’d never felt this way, the now unwanted sensations driving me to the point of madness. I couldn’t think clearly, which was totally unlike me. All I could think about was him.

God, what the hell was wrong with me?

The pulsing lights had allowed me a quick glimpse of Valentin’s eyes, the cerulean blue exploding, piercing mine with the kind of intensity that stole my breath.

Hungry.

Possessive.

Determined.

I’d been pulled into a vacuum, all sounds shut out but the rapid beating of my heart. There was no one else around, the direct line to the man a thick chain yanking me closer and closer. I had no fear, only the same dark attraction that had lured me into his lair.

“What are you doing?” Trinity barked in my ear as she grabbed my arm, pulling me back into reality.

Blinking several times, I tried to resume breathing. “Just looking.”

“At that man in the suit?” she asked.

I licked my lips, finally nodding. Get a grip. He’s a monster.

“Yeah? Well, you don’t want to get any closer. Don’t you know who that is?”

“Um… Maybe. I don’t know.” The last thing I needed to do was confess what I’d already done. Sleeping with the enemy wasn’t in anyone’s best interest.

When he’d turned his head away, resuming whatever business he’d come to the club to handle, I’d felt dejected. That was crazy. I wasn’t eighteen any longer, crushing on some guy.

She yanked me so hard I almost dropped the glass. “Listen to me. The man you were staring at with lust-filled eyes is Valentin Vincheti. He is without a doubt the most ruthless bastard this town has ever seen. You don’t want him to notice you. You don’t need that beast in your life. Jesus. I thought you wrote stories about those kinds of assholes.”

“Mafia?” I hated playing the innocent fool.