The tidal wave of tuxedos, white bow ties, and cream cummerbunds in here reminds me why Dad ends up having to beg, order or bribe me to attend these events. The extra couple of incentives for being at this particular shindig have to do with the fact that someone—possibly Gerald Buchannan—invited the Mont Blanc owners. So Jace and I are on the clock, greeting guests, mingling, and playing our parts. Dylan, Caleb, and Foster are also here, working the crowd and making the most of the free-flowing wines and spirits.

I’m speaking with a longstanding client when Dahlia walks in through the front entrance. She’s in a body hugging yet tasteful cocktail dress that shows off her hot, fuckable body, and legs that go on and on in those sexy fuck-me pumps.

My eyes are riveted onto Every. Fucking. Curve.

My mouth goes dry, my hands forget what they’re supposed to be doing, and my cock takes notice behind the zipper of my tuxedo suit pants.

Dahlia is stunning.

I’m not quite sure how I cross the room, but we’re face-to-face soon enough.

“Glad you could make it,” I tell her.

“Hi Jackson. Thanks for inviting me.”

I take some time to take in every feature of her face and trail my eyes down her gorgeous body as she stares up at me with those eyes, and that backcountry innocence I’m starting to love. A server passes by and lowers her tray of champagne flutes in front of us, offering one to me and Dahlia, who’s empty-handed. Dahlia turns it down.

“You’re not into champagne?” I ask after the server leaves. “I can get you something else.”

“No thanks. I shouldn’t drink tonight, just in case they card me.”

“But you’re not a minor…right?” I ask to make sure.

“Right. I’m almost twenty.”

Glad to have dodged a bullet, I take her hand and lead her through the crowd to a spot with more breathing room. We’re met by one of the food staff, who appears to know Dahlia. The slim blonde pulls Dahlia off to a corner, where they share a quick hug and a short conversation mixed in with girlish giggles before the blonde leaves again.

“That was Emily, my roommate,” she informs me on her return. “It’s a weird coincidence that she’s working here tonight.”

“Your friend is in good company, if Blair has her on his catering team tonight.”

“Em’s really talented,” she agrees, taking in everyone around us. “She’s assisting the chef.”

I rest a hand at the small of her back, and notice she doesn’t react. Leaning my head down to hers, I whisper in her ear, “Just to be sure I make this clear, you look stunning.”

Biting down on her bottom lip, she sucks in a ragged breath and leans into my side. “Thanks. You too.”

I’d like nothing more than to march Dahlia out of here so I can have my way with her, but playtime has to wait.

Dahlia takes the evening in stride, nodding politely and making conversation as I introduce her to my brother, who’s seen her a couple of times now, and our friends, along with the clients or associates we bump into. It’s either she’s a natural, or she’s been playing the part of cute little country girl all this time. At this point, I don’t care. She fits in well. Even Dad seemed impressed.

She excuses herself to find the restroom, and while she’s gone, Dylan comes up to me.

“Where’d you find her?”

“She’s sort of a neighbor.”

He takes a swig of whiskey, the only thing he ever drinks. “That’s one hot girl next door. Kinda young, but hot. Who was her chef friend?”

“No idea. Want me to ask?”

“Nah, I can find out.”

I nod. “I remember the lengths you’ll go to for a piece of ass.”

“Whatever it fucking takes,” he says with a grin. “Not much different from your brother. Did you see he brought Cherry tonight?”

“Yeah. He’s brave.”

“We’ll see how long your dad lets that go on for.”

“And Gerald. He’s her father.”

“Fuck, I forgot all about that. Anyhow, try to keep your gigantic dick in your pants while you’re here. Your old man won’t enjoy having to drag you off of a guest like that last time.”

“Have you forgotten how to Math, motherfucker? That was almost a decade ago,” I say with a slightly defensive tone. He’s bringing up ancient history.

“Feels like yesterday.”

“Then your memory is shot, because I was seventeen, for fuck’s sake.”

Dylan chuckles and pats me on the shoulder. “Oh, while I have a minute with you, what do you make of Mont Blanc’s VP of Risk Management?”

“What do you mean?”

“I asked him a couple of general questions about Pantheon. Dude got nervous as hell.”

“There’s more to that. They’re just not sharing. Can you do some more digging into why?”

“Sure.”

Dylan can be a wiz on the internet, so I add, “Just don’t get caught.”

He gives me a nod and heads off to keep socializing. I walk toward the nearest restrooms to look for Dahlia.

I don’t know why, but the more time I spend with her, the more I want her.

Once.

Then I can forget about her. Just like the others. The beauty of this situation is that if I sleep with her—not that there’ll be much sleeping—it won’t really break my ‘don’t crap where you sleep’ rule. She’s not really a neighbor. She’s just here until Vivian gets back. I even like the best part about it all. She wants me so bad, she doesn’t even know it yet. It’s the way her breath catches whenever I look at her. Her inhales get shallow, and her pupils dilated, and that glow rises up her neck to her face. Like right now as she walks over to me. Which makes a rare smile lift up on my lips. I’m going to enjoy taking her. Owning her for one night. Ruling her body and mind. And my guess is she’ll love it too.

Although I’m sure she won’t know what hit her.

Matter of fact, the innocence she gives off is kind of freaking me out right now.

“Enjoying yourself so far?” I ask.

Her face flushes again as she nods.

“Wait until I get you home.”

An expression of fear washes over her face. This is almost too easy. Dahlia straightens up and tries to downplay the moan that escapes her lips.

“Just because I agreed to come out with you, that doesn’t mean there’ll be more,” she says nervously.

I pull her close to me and move my hand lower down her back. “Don’t tell me you can’t feel that.”

“Feel what?” she stammers out after her breath hitches from my touch.

I smile as she freezes in place and her cheeks flush to an even deeper shade of red. Keeping my eyes fixed on hers, I run my hands down her sides, then back up her body. “You want this.”

Dahlia stops my hand by covering hers over it, and nervously looks around at the other guests near the corridor. “You realize there are people around who can see what you’re doing if they look closely enough, right?”

I clear my throat. “I don’t give two fucks what anyone here thinks.”

“Not even me?”

The question gets my attention for some unknown reason. Or maybe it’s her tone.

“Would you be offended if I said not even you?” I ask, then realize how illogical that question is.

I wouldn’t ask her if she was offended if I didn’t give a fuck what she thought. And she seems to catch that as well, from that glint in her eyes that appears out of nowhere. Biting down on her pink, full bottom lip, she glances away. Fuck. Those lips do me in. Every. Fucking. Time. I don’t want to wait any longer to taste them, to smash my mouth onto hers and steal her breath, and own her lips to the point where she forgets her own name.

“Let’s get out of here,” I whisper into her ear, which is intended to have an effect on her, but ends up making my cock hard as slate.

I notice the almost indiscernible one-sided smile on her face as she thinks it over. Something about it is entertaining to her. She drags in a ragged breath of air, but shakes her head.

“That wasn’t a request,” I add.

The statement makes an impression on her. And that makes me want her even more. She looks up at me, eyes wide with curiosity and a hint of fear. It’s an intoxicating combination for me, chipping away at the very control I want to have over her. Yet for the first time, I find that off-balanced feeling to be...intriguing. Still, I have to regain a level of control before I end up throwing her over my shoulder and fucking her brains out in a restroom stall. The last thing this young, sweet, innocent country girl needs is for me to lose it and take her hard. Or maybe that’s exactly what she needs.

“Okay,” she whispers after some time passes, but the sound of a partially muted bark causes Dahlia to pull her phone from her clutch purse. “Excuse me for one second,” she says, and unlocks her phone to check who knows what.

“Was that a bark?” I ask.

“It’s an app on my phone that keeps me connected with the dogs. Kind of like a baby monitor, but with video and audio.”

“They’re dogs, not babies.”

“I know, but you’ve seen what they can do. Imagine how much more trouble they can get into while they’re unattended.”

“They bark, and you jump? Vivian has you trained.”

“It’s not like that…not really.” She turns the phone to me. “See? That’s their room. They’re still inside, so that’s a good thing. Their water and food bowls are good too, and if you look in the far corner of the room, you’ll see their beds, and all three of them are resting.”

“Okay. So what was the barking about just now?”

“The app updates me every hour on how they’re doing. They’re fine. See?”

She raises the phone closer to my face. Nodding, I take her device, turn it off, and slip it into my pocket. “Great. No need to check up on them for another hour.”

She looks up at me with an optimistic gaze. “You weren’t really serious about making me pay because of Sheba, were you? I mean, why would you invite me out to this very sophisticated event and still have plans to punish me?”

I can’t help but smile a bit. Dahlia’s going to find out that I mean what I say. “Are you ready to learn what happens when I give my word about something? Let me spell it out for you, doll. Your coming to the gala was a chance for us to get to know each other better. It has nothing to do with my promise.”

“Can you at least tell me what you plan to do?”

“I’d prefer to show you.”

Blood drains from Dahlia’s face. I haven’t seen anyone turn this pale so fast before. What’s she so scared about?

“What do you want from me?” she stutters out the question.

“Telling is never as good as showing can be.”

“How do you mean? Do you prefer to write the number down? It’s a dollar amount, right?”

“Some may put a dollar figure on it, but I don’t.”

“So it’s not money?”

I press my lips together and shake my head. “You’ll pay, but not with cash.”

“With what, then?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“All right, I guess.” She pulls away from me. Pain mixes in with the confusion in her eyes creates some distance between us. “You go ahead and entertain yourself here. I need to go home…if it’s still okay for your driver to take me back.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s not easy for me to be here to begin with, let alone enjoy myself when I know you’re about to drop a bomb, and seem to really like knowing that you’ve put me in a vulnerable position.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. You got yourself here. Well, Vivian’s dog did, which you’re responsible for at the moment.”

“Maybe you have a thing for playing games with the weak and powerless.”

“Yes and no. I don’t play. I win.”

“Meaning?”

“You crossed a line, and there are consequences for that.”

“I wish you’d just tell me exactly what you want from me.”

A broad smile lifts my lips. My dick can’t be any more excited. Before the end of the night, Dahlia will find out.