“Where the hell are we going again?”

Gideon turns to me with a wide smile and signals to his driver to stop. “We have one last place to be tonight.”

“I don’t have one last place to be.” In fact, I want to be back in my penthouse, stretching out on my bed after a long night of searching that has, so far, resulted in absolutely nothing. Gideon is only in town for the weekend, and he promised me a good time if we went out. For once, I had an empty space on my calendar. That doesn’t happen often. It’s even rarer that Gideon is in New York City at all—he and his Kennedy are constantly out of the country, those adventurous in-love fools. I don’t know how he manages to run his company from a different tropical beach every week, but somehow he manages. 

“Yes, you do. We’ve got to make an appearance at Cross’s bachelor party.”

“At the White Rose?”

“I didn’t pick the place.”

If he’d chosen the place, we’d be cliff-diving off some treacherous-as-hell cliff in the middle of nowhere, which is why most people don’t risk asking Gideon to be the best man at their wedding.

“Did you even get invited?” 

Cross is the kind of guy who has more friends than he knows what to do with, but it’s mostly because he never knows when to stop.

Not that I can talk about knowing when to stop.

Gideon shrugs. “It was a last-minute invitation.”

“Oh, so the rest of his party bailed, and you’re stepping in to bail him out?”

Gideon’s driver pulls open the door behind him, and he steps out onto the curb, smoothing out his jacket. He only put the jacket on recently, after we left the last club, which turned out to be a public place that was more dive bar than exclusive dining establishment. It was a good place to have a few drinks. It was not a good place to find a woman I could be interested in. It wasn’t that plenty of ladies didn’t throw themselves at me, which they did, but there was no spark.

I scotch across the seat and step out after Gideon, straightening my own jacket when I stand to my full height. At least the Rose has a membership requirement that keeps the quality relatively high. 

“That’s about the size of it.”

I punch him lightly on the shoulder. “It’s after one o’clock, and you’re dragging me to some half-finished bachelor party?”

“I think we both know it’s the other company that’s more worthwhile,” Gideon retorts with a laugh, bounding toward the steps and entering the lobby. “For you, anyway. I’m all set.”

The familiar buzz of the impending chase lights up in my chest, tingling down my arms to my hands. Gideon knows me too well. That’s what going to college with an infectiously adventurous housemate will do for you. Years later, he’ll still be convincing you to go out when you know you should go home instead. I should go home, but now that he’s got me here, I want to see what’s inside.

Or rather, who is inside. That’s more accurate.

I’m pretty well versed about who’s who in the New York City scene, but you never know. There could be a woman who’s flown under the radar, and those are the most intriguing ones. The less I know about them, the more I—

“Come on, Wes,” Gideon calls from the elevator, where he’s already holding open the doors. “The ladies are upstairs. You’re never going to find one dragging ass like that.”

The White Rose isn’t as empty as I’d expected it to be, and the low hum of conversation throughout the room makes my heart start beating faster. I want to know what all these people are talking about. More than that, I want to know who is at every table. I start scanning the room as we cross over toward the table positioned in front of the window. If nothing else, Table Five is my favorite table in the place. The Rose is a sea of pretty faces and breasts and narrowed eyes, pursed lips, while I’m being seen, like I’m seeing all of them.

A few of the faces register, but none of them make my heart race. There’s more than one been-there-done-that situation that I meet with a noncommittal grin that could mean anything, and one or two lingering glances, but the walk through the club is one strikeout after another. 

Gideon waves, getting Cross’s attention at the table, and he stands up by his seat, saying something to the two other guys sitting there. I stop to let a woman in something too pink and on the verge of being too short pass by, allowing Gideon to get a few steps ahead of me, and then he turns to the side, calling out something to Cross.

That’s when I see her.

From behind Gideon appears the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.

Time slows down like it’s being throttled by the need that’s suddenly raging through me, flooding all of my veins by storm, and my vision sharpens in a way that’s like something out of the movies. I’ve seen beautiful blonde women before, but something about this one has me rock-hard, my heart beating so violently it feels like it’s about to fly out of my chest.

She’s walking perfection in a black, strapless dress that hugs a lithe landscape of curves somewhere straddling delectable and athletic, her petite frame lengthened by stilettos that are on the border between sensual and slutty. I want to explore every inch of her with my eyes, from the wisps of silky blonde hair swept up in a flawless twist right down to her delicate ankles, but I can’t tear myself away from her eyes. Her eyes are a mesmerizing violet-blue, and like nothing I’ve encountered in any club, or at any mansion, or…anywhere…around the globe.

I swallow hard, feeling almost a little breathless and faint, a strange desperation overtaking my senses. I want her to part those cherry-red lips and speak to me so I can hear what her voice sounds like, so I can ask her what she’s thinking, because the little private smile she’s wearing on those lips has me ready to wrap an arm around her waist, lean in close, and command her to tell me every one of her secrets, right now.

And the walk…she knows how to move.

She takes a second step, and time screeches back into the present. Her eyes are still hooked on mine, sending shockwaves jolting down my spine.

My mind spins into overdrive. What the hell am I going to say to her? I’m always ready with something, but right now I’m speechless. 

Shit.

She stops half a step in front of me, searching my face, and then she leans in, her violet eyes sparkling. “Can I help you find someone?”

Her words are hooks in my heart, and my brain snaps back into action. “I think I’ve found exactly the person I’m looking for.”