I’ve always wanted to be here with you.

That’s the first thought that springs to mind when Kennedy parts those perfect lips and asks the question, but I could never say something so stupid out loud. I saw her for the first time tonight. There’s no always about it.

That’s what I tell myself. I don’t know if it’s the drinks or the music or the way I came to this club tonight with no expectations beyond finding a pretty woman to charm for the evening, but there’s something rich and heady about being with her, dancing with her. The sensation pricks at the back of my mind like I’m simply meeting the one woman I did always want.

But that would be impossible, because I’ve wanted so many women over the years that they’ve all started to blur together.

Except there’s something about Kennedy...

“I’ve always wanted to take a gorgeous redhead to Hawaii.”

She throws back her head and laughs. “You’ve done that.”

“I have not.”

“I swear I saw a picture of you with one of those celebrities…she had her hair colored for a movie she was starring in…”

“A dye job doesn’t count.” I grin down at her, sinking deeper into those intoxicating blue eyes, flashing with the reflections of all the lights in the club. “And that was Tahiti, not Hawaii.”

“So a man like Gideon Hawke could have a bucket list, after all.”

Item number one on that list: spend more time with you. My heart pounds in my chest, but I force my breathing to remain steady, remain calm, even as the throbbing of the music picks up the pace and Kennedy matches it with her motions, her hips bumping gently against my hands.

“Of course. Even a man as fabulously wealthy as I am hasn’t had everything he could dream of.”

She rolls her eyes. “You can buy anything your heart desires.”

“Not quite anything.”

She catches something in my voice when I say it, and beneath the colored lights a blush rises to her cheeks. When she bites her lower lip, shifting her eyes back up at me, I almost lose it. “Do you mean…you can’t buy love?” Her tone is light, joking, but I look at her with a deadly serious expression.

“You can buy some kinds of love.”

Her mouth drops open. “Like the kinky kind?”

It’s the last thing I expect her to say, and I burst out laughing. Kennedy smiles like she’s pleased with herself, but then her expression goes a little hazy, like she’s actually considering what it might be like to experiment with a pair of handcuffs or a satin ribbon tied around her wrists. I stifle the urge to tell her that she can come home with me right now, and I’ll show her how unbelievable that can be. 

We’re in new territory now, and she’s the one who’s taken us there. I can’t help but follow. I lean down and put my lips level with her ear. “Didn’t you know? Even the kinky kind can be had for free.”

When I pull back, she’s blushing even more furiously than before. “What do you think, Kennedy?” I raise my voice over the volume of the music. “Is something like that on your bucket list?”

She opens her mouth to speak, then closes it again. “I’m—I’m—”

“Speechless at how attracted you are to me?”

The grin that crosses Kennedy’s face is like nothing I’ve seen before, and in that instant, it’s like I already know her. She presses her hips into my hands with confidence now, the protective armor around her falling away for a moment, and she locks her hand around her other wrist and tugs my face closer to hers, looking at me with narrowed eyes. “Who said I was attracted to you?”

I let my gaze linger as it trails slowly down over all of her body, straight to her feet, and I take my time bringing it back up to finally meet her eyes. “Body language. It’s hot.”

Kennedy pulls back a few inches and sucks in a breath. With a smile on her face that’s mischievous and sexy and somehow innocent at the same time, she releases her arms from around my neck and turns, her perky ass swaying in time with the beat.  

She must know that I’m aching with desire for her, that I’m rock hard against the fabric of my boxers, but she doesn’t glance down. She only stares into my eyes when she turns and looks at me over her shoulder. Her lips, soft and shimmering in the dim light, part slightly, and I start to move in closer so that I can hear whatever it is she’s going to say. I’m desperate to hear what she has to say.

I’ve only taken one step forward when a crowd of women in sequined dresses descend on us, Adam in the middle, and come between me and Kennedy. A cold spear of irritation pierces my gut. What the hell...?

One of them, a tall blonde with her straightened hair falling past her shoulders, shouts over the music. “I have a surprise for the bachelorette! I splurged a little bit—”

“No, you did not!” cries the one wearing the tiara atop a mass of dark curls, but the blonde doesn’t miss a beat.

“—and booked us a suite at the Peninsula!” The rest of the women cheer, throwing their hands above their heads in excitement, but I can’t look away from Kennedy, who is wearing an expression somewhere between surprise and frustration.

“Wait—” I hear her say it, but the blonde either doesn’t hear her or chooses to ignore her.

“The champagne is chilling, the car is waiting out front, and I’m dying to take a dip in the hot tub. Follow me!” She wraps her arm around the girl wearing the tiara and starts to lead them in a sparkling procession off the dance floor. At the last moment, Kennedy is surrounded by three of them, laughing and teasing her, and the other people on the dance floor surge into the empty space they leave behind, cutting me off from her.

No way. No way am I letting her get out of here without—

In the crush of people, I can’t get to her side again, and the three women encircling her hustle her out into a car waiting by the curb in front of the club. I can hear the bass booming from the interior.

Before her friend climbs into the car, I reach forward and snag her elbow.

“Her number. Kennedy’s number.” I spit out the words like a man drowning. I follow them up with my most charming smile.

She adjusts her tiara on top of her head. “I don’t know, Gideon Hawke. Do you really deserve it?”