Lucas Carter moved across the tall glass structure with outstanding command. Workers naturally moved aside, heads lowered, the very power of his presence impossible to overlook. He ignored them, his head set forward as he went deliberately. His control was as unreachable as the sun at noon.
Five others ran behind him, three men and two women, all trying to match his big strides. His always-sharp aide, Stacy, spoke first.
"Sir, your office is waiting for your buddies."
Lucas's eyes narrowed somewhat, but his face stayed blank. Last night he had just seen them. Why did they have to drop by unannounced early in the morning? What was so critical?
He nodded curtly without words, the only sign he had heard her.
Tasha, his other assistant, told him he had an appointment with the new customer at ten.
They continued to compile his daily schedule, yet their voices were barely audible. His head was elsewhere, caught in last night's recollection. Her skin still smelled, her body had trembled under his hands, and she had given herself totally to him. Her proof of innocence had marred his bedding, a subtle statement declaring that nobody had ever touched her before he arrived.
His mouth shut. He had never been this totally absorbed by a lady. He had never taken someone so many times in one night, yet his desire for her remained unquenchable. Even today, the idea of her causes his body to react in a way he has never known. It was horrific.
Oh, darn it. He needed her to be released from his system. No woman should be under this kind of mental control over his ideas.
Two familiar faces met him with knowing smiles when he entered his office on the thirty-fifth level.
"What the world do you want?" His voice pierced sharply across the air.
Amused looks passed between Nathan and Zachary before they laughed. Lucas sighed, unbuttoning his jacket, and then, seated behind his desk, he turned on his laptop.
Relax, guy. We're only here to share something intriguing about last night," Zachary grinned.
Lucas's fingers stayed above the keyboard. That piqued his interest.
"Last night"? Though his voice was monotonous, his attention had heightened. "What about it?"
Nathan slanted forward, mischief glistening in his eyes. "Do you even know who the woman you basically abducted last night is?"
Lucas's stare darkened. abducted. He stopped to consider the word. He had picked her without asking. He dragged her into his domain as though she belonged there. And for several hours, she had.
"You're going to tell me anyway," Lucas said quietly. Say it out.
Apart from the name her buddy had dubbed her, Eva, he knew not much about her. At the moment, it had not really mattered. Her feelings, her voice, and her fit so precisely under him—all that counted.
Zachary let out a faint whistle. "She is the sister of Lillian. And the one promised Ryan, too.
Lucas stilled himself.
The words crashed at him like a goods train, leaving an unusual weight in his chest. His hold on the desk got stronger. Not Yes. That needed to be a joke.
He looked for any indication that this was merely a nasty joke on their expressions. But Zachary and Nathan seemed almost too pleased with themselves.
Under his breath, Lucas said, "Damn it."
Nathan squinted. You seem not to be joyful. We figured you would be ecstatic. Ryan cheated on Lillian with her sister, Eva. You might now start having an affair with his fiancée. flawless retribution.
Lucas gave a head shake. That is not the same thing. Ryan's a serpent; Lillian—"He stopped himself." "I should not have drawn Eva into this mess." I would not have touched her if I knew her name."
A voice in his thoughts snipped at the untruth.
Would that have stopped you exactly? The second you looked upon her, you were too far gone.
He pushed the idea behind him. For now, the reality took precedence. Any intentions he had to see her once more were now off the agenda.
Despite everything, he still yearned for her.
Zachary moaned. Perhaps you are right. She did appear unique.
"She is different," Lucas said, more pointed than he had meant. He had taken something from her that no one else had: the memory of her uncertainty, the way she had tried to follow his lead in the dark, the lovely innocence in her touch.
Nathan laughed. Then it's a wonderful thing we let everyone know you were Zane last night.
Lucas's shoulders become rigid. That was indeed true. At that instant, nobody knew his true identity. Eva had offered herself to a man she believed to be someone else. And should she subsequently discover the truth?
At the idea, his stomach turned.
He had lately made things a hundred times worse.