The Heir (Gentlemen Rogues 1)

I shook my head. "No, she had a phone call."

She looked down at the phone again. "Oh shit, yeah, I know exactly who called her."

I frowned at that. Not that it mattered. He’d clearly been lacking as a boyfriend if he wasn’t out with her. Not to mention, she didn’t touch me like a woman with a boyfriend. "Does she have someone special?"

She grinned and shook her head. "Smitten, are you?"

"Do people say that still?"

She shrugged. "I say it. And I have a ridiculous love of romantic period pieces, the whole thing. So yeah, I say smitten.”

"She's all right. Smart, gorgeous, obviously, but a little locked away. But when she shows you part of her, it's like you're seeing her for the first time.”

She grinned at me. "Oh, you'll do nicely."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Right. So I'm just going to go check on her. Make sure she's good."

"Yeah, you do that. Remember what I said about those balls of yours. Do you like them where they are? Be nice to my mate."

"Is there something about me that screams not nice?"

Maybe she can see your black heart.

She laughed at that, showing perfectly even white teeth. She was beautiful. But there was something obvious about her. Like what you saw was what you got. And while some blokes might like that, I liked a bit of mystery.

I'd always loved puzzles. Cracking them. Unraveling them.

I was probably coming on too strong, but I couldn't let go of the feeling that I needed to see her and confirm that she was okay. I had zero explanation for it. Hell, all we'd done was dance. It wasn't like she'd shared her whole life story with me. But that look she'd given me, the shy smile but blatantly honest gaze... It was hard to ignore. It was like she had seen straight into my soul.

There was no looking away, no hiding who I was, and no pretending that everything was fine, that everything was perfect. It was like she could see me. And that should have fucking terrified me, but all it did was make me want her more.

We're just going to see if she's okay.

That's what I told myself. That I was just going to have a quick look. What could it hurt?

Shoving through the crowd, I made a point to ask the bouncer, "Mate, have you seen a woman come through here? Black, total stunner, long braids?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she went out to the right. Do you want me to check the security cam for you?"

I shook my head. "She wouldn't leave without her mate. Thanks."

He nodded as he checked the ID of the girl who was eyeing me up and down. She gave me a warm and inviting smile.

I ignored her and pushed at the doors, nodding at a mate of mine as he was coming through the door. "Hey, Lock, what are you doing here?"

"Just heading out."

"Oh, come on, mate. I'm sure it's wicked inside."

"Sorry, I can't."

When I rounded the corner, I froze. All it took was a solid two seconds before the injection of rage into my blood sparked to life. And I released the anger I kept so tightly concealed. That motherfucker was trying to hurt her, and I was going to kill him.

Today was a perfect day for him to die.