Finally, I find her—well, only her name. But this is a big clue.

Just when I think I won’t ever see her again.

It’s kind of poetic, if you think about it.

But “poetic” won’t help you, angel. You’re really in trouble now.

Last night, before I went back into my hotel room, I managed to get my hands on a copy of the guest list from one of Dad’s important friends.

I scoured through the names, but I couldn’t find a Jacqueline. I couldn’t find anyone with the surname Summers either.

I had no other leads to use to find her. So even though I knew that brief meeting with a gorgeous, mysterious girl under the moonlight was going to haunt me for the rest of my life, I thought I had to let it go.

But there she is.

I didn’t see her name on the guest list from last night, but her name is printed right here, on the list of interns working under Dr. Crenshaw.

Jacqueline Summers.

She’d really messed with my mind last night, to the point where I was starting to think she was just a figment of my imagination. She was the perfect girl—physically, sexually, and personality-wise. No girl like that could exist. It was the logical conclusion.

So she lied to me about smoking. She lied to me about wanting to come up to my room. And she probably lied to me about the friend, too.

I was starting to assume everything that she’d told me was a lie. Including her name.

In fact, now that I’m staring at her name in black and white, I can’t quite believe that she’s real, that she’s really going to come into this building and work here today.

Is it possible she gave me a false name and made sure I was going to come across that name the next morning?

Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch. Let’s take off the tinfoil hat and try again.

It could be that Dad had really hired an escort to seduce me, and absentmindedly plucked a fake name for the escort from memory, not realizing that the name belonged to an intern. But then why would she back out of our deal?

No.

None of those scenarios sound right at all.

Despite everything that has happened, despite the fact that she didn’t show up last night, my gut tells me it wasn’t some kind of a dumb prank.

Her reactions were too genuine. Not even an Oscar-winning actress could act out the little signs of her arousal as perfectly as she did, without a script and under pressure.

No, I really did have her wrapped around my finger. And at least up until the moment she gave me that lingering glance through the door from inside the event hall, she fully intended to come up to my hotel room.

Even after giving it a lot of thought, I still have no idea what happened last night, and why she left without an explanation.

But I’m about to find out. It’s only five minutes until the interns gather to do their rounds.

* * *

I check my watch obsessively, scanning the faces gathered around Dr. Crenshaw and me.

She’s not here.

I don’t know if Jacqueline Summers is here. All I know is the girl from last night isn’t here. Her name could be anything.

As the interns bow to read the handouts, a head of blonde hair bobs closer to join the edge of the crowd. It continues to move forward until finally it stops and I hear a soft whisper.

That light shade of blonde… Could it be her?

My heart beats faster as I keep my eyes on the blonde. Jacqueline Summers, is that you?

As if she hears my question, she looks up, and my heart stops.

Oh, shit.

It’s really her.

Holy fuck.

I’m really glad I’ve found her. Now we can pick up where we left off.  

Yet there’s also some anger simmering under the surface. She left me hanging without an explanation, and with a dumb excuse that, come to think of it, really insulted my intelligence.

Luckily, in my world, attraction and anger can go hand in hand.

I’m starting to count the number of minutes she’s been late, up until now. She won’t be able to sit for a while when I’m done spanking her ass.

When she catches my gaze, her big doe eyes widen even more, and her lips part in surprise. In her eyes: recognition, attraction, lust, and panic—all at once.

It’s a beautiful sight. I get high on that mixture of lust and fear. It’s my elixir.

It starts out as a huff of breath that’s just a little too loud. I’m just so fucking glad to have found her again, and God, the way she looks right now…

You know when you watch a stupid cat video on YouTube and it’s so damn cute you can’t help but smile and want to reach into the screen to grab all the fucking adorable cats?

Yeah, that’s how I’m feeling now. I watch her expression change while she decides which mood to wear, and I can’t stand it.

I look away and clear my throat before a chuckle escapes my throat. That would’ve been inappropriate.

Dr. Crenshaw starts walking, and the interns follow. I fall back to match Jacqueline’s pace. The slight worried frown on her face only fuels my desire.

You’d better be worried angel. You’re about to get fucked like you’ve never been fucked before.

She looks different with her hair down and a pair of glasses perched on her nose. The loose blue scrubs she’s wearing obscures her figure, but I know she’s hiding a tight little body underneath.

A part of me likes that she’s nerdy during the day. It turns her sexy, night-time persona into a little secret.

But I don’t like how many secrets she’s keeping from me.

“Where were you?” I ask under my breath as the group keeps moving.

She glances up at me and softly says, “I, uh, I was too drunk to stay.”

“You couldn’t have come up to let me know?”

“It was pretty bad,” she says, her cheeks growing red. “I had to go home right away.”

“It still would’ve been faster to go up to my room. I’m not a complete asshole. I would’ve let you sleep and not bothered you if you were feeling unwell.”

“Yeah, but I…” Her sentence hangs in the air as she hesitates. She lets out a soft sigh. “I passed out. My friend took me home,” she admits, her gaze flicking away from me in embarrassment.

What the hell…?

After all the conspiracy theories I came up with, it turns out she just couldn’t handle her drink?

I hide a small smile. “You’re not going to apologize to me for standing me up?”

“Sorry,” she says quickly.

“It’s going to take more than words to make up for it.”

She gazes up at me from underneath her lashes, arousal flashing in her blue eyes. This girl likes being told what to do. It wasn’t just because of the alcohol.

“You're coming to dinner with me on Thursday,” I state.

I was planning to take her straight to my hotel room, but there’s something about this girl. She’s so full of contradictions.

Sometimes she’s sassy, but she can also be so naïve and innocent. Her tough act is amusing, and it’s even more amusing when she inevitably gets tangled in her own little lies and becomes all flustered.

I’ll have to figure her out. And a dinner is perfect for that—not to mention, I’d love to see her get all dressed up again.

She seems unsure. “I’ll have to check my—”

“Your schedule? I’ve already done that for you. You’ll get off at 7. I’ll be waiting for you outside at 7:30.”

And then maybe later that night I’ll finally get off.

“Okay,” she says.

“Good. Don't make me wait this time. Or you’ll really regret it.” I hold out my hand. “Give me your phone.”

Jacqueline hesitates for a moment, but then she hands it to me.

I make sure both phones are silent so I don’t disrupt Dr. Crenshaw’s lesson. I call myself from Jacqueline’s phone so she has my number, and her number shows up on my screen too.

I give Jacqueline a small smile before I give her back her phone and leave the group of interns.

The last time I promised to punish her, she didn't show up and nothing happened.

But this time it's happening. Jacqueline’s ass will glow bright red with pain. She’ll get the punishment she deserves.