I’m talking business with Carl, but it’s almost like my brain is on auto-pilot. The way he hugged and kissed Jade is still making my blood boil. It took all my willpower not to push the fucking table over and yank him off her.

Carl is a good client, but I have no problem punching him in his stupid, cocky face if he tries something like that again with her. As it is, I’m half tempted to cut this meeting short right now and sever all ties with him. There are other Swedish fish in the sea. I don’t need him.

But I know that’s just my temper getting the better of me, so I pretend as if nothing is wrong and smile.

Jade shoots me a worried glance, then she relaxes, and sits down.

I watch the curve of her smile as she takes the menu from the waitress. I stare at her. I still can’t believe her complete transformation from dowdy librarian to this raving beauty sitting beside me.

I don’t know when it happened exactly, but sometime yesterday, she became incredibly important to me. She went from being my assistant to being a woman I can’t stop thinking about.

Something about her drives me wild in a way I’ve never felt.

There have been plenty of other women in my life, but they tended to be casual affairs. They come, literally, and then go. It’s not a conscious decision on my part, and it’s not their fault either. I just tire quickly. Most of the time it’s like, I take them to bed, and by the morning, I already want nothing to do with them.

Maybe that makes me a womanizing bastard, but that’s just how it was. I never lied to those women. They knew exactly what they were getting into when they hooked up with me. I gave them no illusions that it would be anything more than great sex. Some of them tried really hard to tantalize me. I’ve seen every trick in the book. They probably fooled themselves into believing that they were more special than the other women I’d run with, that they were the one who would finally tame me and make me theirs for good.

But they never were.

Then there’s what-a-surprise, frumpy, dumpy’ Jade. We’ve already had our night together. Really, I should be done with her, or at the very least, have started the distancing process, but I only want her even more. Now that I’ve seen the swan hiding underneath the ugly duckling clothing, I can’t stop thinking of her. How good her body felt beneath mine, how sweet her pussy tasted, and how mesmerizing her face looks when I make her come. In the limo, and in my bed.

She is perfect for me.

It’s a lot more than just how sexy she is. I actually like spending time with her that doesn’t include sex. That’s a massive difference from all the other women I usually hang with. I have no idea what makes Jade so special. All I know is that she is. She actually makes me happy, for fuck’s sake.

The only fly in the ointment is that she’s my assistant.

Dating my assistant feels crude and low-class. Only scumbags do that. I can’t exactly fire her, then ask her out on a date. I’m a bastard, but I’m not a fucking bastard. But I can’t stop this freight train of desire either. I don’t want to stop it. I don’t want to throw her away like I’ve done with all the other women. I want to keep exploring her, both her body and her mind. I want to see where this goes.

The sound of Jade’s laughter cuts through my train of thought. I had retreated into my own head while Carl kept talking, but now, I notice that he’s sitting a lot closer to her than I like.

“You’ve never been to Sweden?” he says. “Well, that is something we must fix very soon. I will show you all the wonderful things about my country, yes? I will fly you out there on my private jet and you will stay with me.”

Jade smiles at him. “That sounds nice. I’m sure your country is beautiful.”

“It will be even more beautiful with you in it,” the smarmy bastard oozes.

Jade laughs.

My heart blazes with black fury.

“You’re too kind, Carl,” she says. “Maybe one day we can arrange something, and I can visit. But you know how busy I am.” She throws a look at me. “With Luke.”

Carl has the balls to turn to me like we’re fucking friends. “Luke, you can spare Jade for a week or two, can’t you?”

I’m one second away from punching him in his smug fucking face, but I remind myself that I’m not in the jungle. I’m not a caveman. I’m not going to act impulsively. There is a better way. I smile. If he can’t see it’s a tiger’s smile then he’s a bigger fool than I think he is. “No, Carl, I actually can’t spare her.”

He doesn’t even seem to notice the rage flaring inside me. Incredible!

Jade, who is obviously, a lot smarter than him, does. She turns and gazes at me with a worried expression.

“Don’t be silly,” Carl scoffs with a laugh. “Let her off the leash for—”

I slam my hand on the table, shaking the plates and the glasses. “Jade is not a fucking dog on a leash.”

Half of the people in the restaurant stop talking and look in our direction. Jade blinks in confusion while Carl leans back slightly and regards me with a curious, almost satisfied expression.

I force myself to smile. I doubt it reaches my eyes, but it’s the best I can do. “You’re being inappropriate, Carl,” I state, my voice tighter than I want it to be. “This is a business lunch. Act like a fucking professional and stop harassing my assistant.”

The smile drops from his face. He looks from me to Jade and back to me. “My apologies if I have offended you, Luke. Or you, Jade. I was just having a bit of fun.”

“Well, don’t,” I snap. “If you want me to keep working with you, you’ll go have your fun somewhere else.”

Carl nods. “Yes, of course, Luke. You’re right. That was unprofessional of me. I value your company’s services. Sometimes my sense of humor doesn’t translate to English.”

I nod, giving him a graceful way to back down. I know damn well his English is perfect. It’s his goddamn manners that are the problem, but I don’t want things to escalate further than they already have.

“Well,” Carl says, standing up. “I’m sorry for my rudeness, but I have another meeting to attend. Please excuse me.” He nods and leaves without saying another word.

Jade watches him go, her mouth agape. When he disappears from sight, she whips her head around to face me. “He’s our best European client. Why did you do that? We could have lost him.”

I stare into her eyes, letting her feel the weight of my gaze. “Fuck him and his fucking business. He can walk if wants to. I’ll replace him in no time.”

“But—?”

“Jade Emerson, you belong to me and no one else. Is that understood?”

Her head jerks back and she gawks at me as if she can’t believe her eyes. “What do you mean?”

I lean in. “I mean, if you want to be with me, then you are mine and only mine. You’re a beautiful woman, Jade. Other men will always notice. But when they come around, I expect you to brush them off real quick.”

“I wasn’t flirting with him, if that’s what you think,” she gasps defensively.

“No, if I thought you were flirting with him, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you right now. That would have been unacceptable.” I pause and let that sink in. “But I’m just making this clear to you. I don’t like games. I don’t find it attractive to see other men fawn over you. If we’re going to be together, it’s just you and me. Nobody else.”

She stares at me, silent.

“Now, I’ll have to punish you for what you did.”