I was the kind of man who never gave up.

If I wanted something, I didn’t stop until I got it.

That applied to business, to tasks.

Never people.

I’d never wanted a woman that I couldn’t have. Women wanted to get into my pants because I had a reputation for bringing the heat to the sheets. Or they wanted to be close to my wallet, to take a ride in my Bugatti. They wanted to know how I became so successful, like I’d part with my secrets if they sucked my cock well enough.

But they never cared about me.

Tatum Titan didn’t need a damn thing from me. There wasn’t anything I could give her that she couldn’t give herself. The only thing she wanted from me…was me. She actually cared about me. She loved me for everything underneath my designer suits, for my flesh and bone.

And now she was gone.

I’d put myself on the line when I told the world about my father. Now I was being hit with questions left and right, questions I didn’t want to answer. I’d tarnished my father’s reputation with a past he wanted to stay buried. I’d basically declared war on him.

For one woman.

But it didn’t matter. It didn’t win back her trust. It didn’t win back her heart.

It was all for nothing.

I shouldn’t have been surprised by her decision. It took so long for her to open up to me in the first place. For months, we got to know each other over sex and limited conversation. It took months for her just to crack her shell. Even then, she hid most of herself behind her eyes. She kept her walls tall and thick.

But over time, I slowly knocked them down.

I defeated all of her walls until I was deep inside her, seeing her bare soul when no one could. I had her under my thumb, had her right next to my heart. I got past Tatum Titan and finally got to just Tatum…the beautiful woman at her core.

But then she was taken from me.

It didn’t surprise me that she ran off. It didn’t surprise me that she wouldn’t give me another chance. She stuck out her neck for me and got the edge of a blade. She got too close to the fire then got burned. She wasn’t the kind of woman who ever took risks because her past taught her not to.

And now she was too terrified ever to trust me again.

Unless I cleared my name beyond a reasonable doubt, she would never be mine again.

Fuck.

I spent the next few days camped out in my penthouse. Unknown numbers kept calling me, I was all over the news, and my inbox was flooded with prying emails. All the heat was on me. Not a single person was thinking about Titan anymore.

When I’d pictured myself moving on with my life, I didn’t know what direction I should take. Before I met Titan, my life was pretty simple—but also mundane. I went out to the clubs with friends, picked up a few women, and fucked late into the night. I had business meetings during the week. I counted my checks and dropped them off at the bank. I had so much, but I felt so empty at the same time. Good sex was easy to come by, but great sex like I had with Titan was unheard of.

That woman invigorated me.

Could I go back to before? Now that I’d known something so much better?

The idea of kissing another woman didn’t arouse me at all. She could be a supermodel, and that wouldn’t make a difference. I didn’t want to bury myself between a woman’s legs with a condom wrapped around my length. There was only one person I wanted to be with, only one fantasy I wanted to have.

I was a one-woman man now.

I knew Titan better than anyone, and when she said she wouldn’t change her mind, she meant it. There was nothing I could offer her to alter that. She was scared of me, didn’t trust me.

So now I was stuck. I didn’t want to move on from this woman, but this woman didn’t want me.

There was never a problem I couldn’t solve. But this problem didn’t have a solution.

None that I could see.

---

I didn’t care that much about Stratosphere. It was a viable company with a lot of potential. One day, it would be one of the biggest companies in the world. With Titan’s vision and my experience, we would turn it into a household name. But I was already wealthy and had other companies to invest my time in.

Titan was the only reason I was still there.

It was the only connection I had to her. Even if I couldn’t have her the way I used to, I needed to have some of her. She was important to my happiness. I’d rather have some of her than none of her at all.

I stepped out of the elevator and greeted my assistants. I had a few messages along with some mail. I took everything and glanced at Titan’s office.

The door was open.

I set my paperwork on my desk then walked across the floor to her office. My heart was beating hard in my chest as the adrenaline coursed through my veins. This woman got my heart pumping like no one else. I suspected she would always have this effect on me, even if she came to work with her son on her arm. She could have a family with Thorn, and I would still desire her the same way.

I tapped my knuckles against the open door.

She was sitting at her desk with perfect posture, her slender fingertips hitting the keyboard at a quick speed. During working hours, she hustled to get things done. There were only so many hours in a day, and she spent her time wisely. She wore a tight black dress with a silver necklace around her throat. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, showing her beautiful face and the prominent cheekbones that led to smoky eyes. She could hit the runway with a group of models and fit right in.

She looked up when she realized I was at the door. But her look was void of any kind of reaction. She must have suspected it was me, that we couldn’t avoid each other forever. I’d stayed away for a few days so we both could recover from the painful conversation we’d had.

Although neither one of us would ever really recover from it.

“Hello, Mr. Hunt.” She spoke to me like I was some business associate that she could barely remember. She had to force herself to remember my name because it was too insignificant to commit to memory.

Like a sore muscle that wouldn’t heal, the title was a dull pain. I was used to her calling me by my first name, the name that no one else ever addressed me as. She had a right that no one else had ever attained. It was personal, intimate, because that was how our relationship had been. “Call me Hunt.” If I asked her to call me Diesel, she wouldn’t do it. But the Mr. part was just annoying.

She gave a slight nod but no other reaction. “Something you need?”

My eyes were locked on her face, her red-painted lips. The last time I kissed that mouth, she tasted like salty watermelon. Kissing her felt like the most natural thing in the world. It brought silence to a chaotic world, it brought peace into my constantly shifting mind. I took a seat in one of the armchairs facing her desk and rested my ankle on the opposite knee. “I’ve been thinking about the image of the company lately.” I didn’t need to explain exactly what that meant. She’d been scrutinized over her past relationship with Jeremy, and I was being fried for my family problems. We were both taking a lot of heat. “We need to do something to rectify it, some good publicity. I just took a look at the stocks—”

“I saw them too.”

“We need to do something. I’ve been getting a lot of attention, but it’s not necessarily good attention. Even though my father was an ass, people still condemn me for turning my back on him. We should make an appearance together. It doesn’t have to be a personal one, but something that shows strength and unity. People will respond to that.”

“I think you might be right.”

“There’s the annual Business Expo in Cannes, France next week. We should make a presentation there. We’ll both be able to get out of the country, and people will start to forget about us since we’re focused on work. We can talk about Stratosphere and the improvements we have in store. We can unveil all our new products, and the world will be talking about that—instead of us.”

She nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. I love Cannes anyway.”

“As do I.” It was a beautiful city with great views of the French Riviera. The water was so blue, so deep. It reminded me of the Virgin Islands. “I’ll make the arrangements. In the meantime, we need to work on the presentation. I can have a team put something together, but I’m sure you like the hands-on approach.”

“I do.”

“Then let me know a time that works best for you.”

“I can do it on my own, Hunt.” She was avoiding me at all costs, doing everything she could to stay away from me.

There was no way out of this. “Titan.”

Her eyes remained focused on mine. She hid her unease, her trepidation. When I stared at her like that, she usually yielded to me. But now that our romance was over, she wouldn’t bend again. She wouldn’t submit the way she used to.

“We’re partners. That’s never going to change. This company is going to be exceptional because we’re exceptional. We have to work together. We do everything together—not separately. I can be professional if you give me that same respect.”

This time, she couldn’t control her reaction. The hardness of her eyes melted away. My words brought her relief but also sadness. “That’s fair.”

“Let me know what time works best for you.” I rose from the chair and buttoned the front of my suit. I knew her desire for me didn’t change. When she kissed me, all those feelings were still there. She wanted to grip my broad shoulders and ride me slowly on the couch, like we’d done dozens of times before. I wanted to take her on her desk right then and there, her dress pulled up to her waist and her panties pushed to the side.

But I kept walking, knowing she was staring at my ass the second I turned around.

Her quiet voice sounded from behind me. “I will.”

---

Music.

Dim lights.

Alcohol.

Women.

Silhouettes.

I was back in time. I was in a prime booth in one of the hottest nightclubs in Manhattan. There was a line out the door and around the block, but I walked inside without even having to give my name. Pine and Mike were doing shots off women’s bodies, having the time of their lives.

I was the center of all of it, but my mind was somewhere else. A blonde took the seat beside me, rubbed my thigh with her long fingertips, and did her best to flirt with me. Her touch wasn’t arousing. Titan was forward, but she was never desperate. She was classy in everything she did, even when it came to sex.

Pine pulled up a woman’s dress and revealed her tight stomach. He did a shot then licked the salt right off her body.

She threw her arms up. “Woo!”

He pulled her into his lap and stuck his tongue down her throat, her panties still on display for everyone to see.

I looked away, my thoughts returning to Titan even though they never left.

The blonde at my side took advantage of the way I turned my head and kissed me on the mouth. Just like Pine did, she went for the kill right away. She gave her tongue and desperately tried to take mine.

I didn’t feel a damn thing.

Just repulsed.

I turned my face away, rejecting her without sparing her feelings. “I have to go.” I pulled out my wallet and threw some cash on the table to cover all the drinks we’d ordered. Then I moved through the crowd of dark bodies and made it back to the entrance. The cool night air hit me and cleansed me of the muggy smell of alcohol and perfume. It was a beautiful night in Manhattan, but I didn’t enjoy it. I just wanted to have a quiet dinner with one woman, make love, and then go to sleep.

But that was too much to ask for.

“Hunt, what the hell?” Pine came up from behind me.

I was surprised he’d noticed I left. “What’s up?” I turned to him with my hands in my pockets. My Bullet was parked right along the curb, and I was eager to get it on the road. People were crowding next to it so they could get a closer look.

“What’s up?” he asked. “You just take off without saying goodbye?”

“I have business to take care of. And you looked occupied.”

“She can wait.” He waved her off like she was standing right there. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

I didn’t talk about my feelings with my crew. As far as I was concerned, none of us had feelings. “I’m fine, man. Go back inside and enjoy your night.”

“You haven’t been the same in a long time. And now this stuff with your dad…you seem low.”

“I am low.” I never told him about Titan because she asked me not to. I still kept her secret even though nothing was forcing me to do it. I signed an NDA, but I wasn’t scared of the legal ramifications.

“Let’s get a drink at my place,” he said. “We can talk about it.”

I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want anything. I clapped him on the shoulder, touched by the offer. “I appreciate that, man. But I’m really okay. Go back inside and do some more shots.”

Pine continued to eye me.

The blonde from inside walked out and spotted me. Her eyes were heavy, and she was obviously drunk. Maybe she needed to be wasted to have the courage to kiss me. She had tasted like booze. She wobbled as she walked up to me. “Hunt…”

I grabbed her by the arm so she wouldn’t topple over. “I’m gonna take her home. You go inside, Pine.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Absolutely.” I moved my arm around her waist and guided her to my car.

“Oh my god! The Bullet…”

“Yeah.” I opened the passenger door. “Just don’t puke in it, alright?”

“Okay…”

Once she was buckled in, I took her to her apartment then headed back to my place. I spent my evening with a bottle of scotch and my thoughts for company.