Page 26 of Fighting Fate

10

Parties have never been my thing. There’s always too much drama that ends up getting in the way of the important stuff. However, every time I open another of these clubs, there’s always a massive PR event with an obscene celebrity crowd to attract the press. Every time the parties get bigger and further from my comfort zone. Which is why I’ve zoned out of the conversation with the PR people. I’m sure Jan, my assistant, has this covered.

The screen of my phone lights up with a text notification. Of course, not the one that I’m waiting or hoping for, but checking this one gives me an excuse to peer at the text thread with Willow.

Frank:Drinks tonight?

We’ve gota date set for the fight with Reznik, and although I maintain a level of training all year round, in the lead-up to a fight, it gets a lot more intense. While alcohol is strictly off the diet plan, I’m packing all the carbs I can get. Still, as much as I enjoy hanging out with Frank, it’s not him I want to spend my evening with.

Switching to the chat with Willow, my eyes dart to the small read notification by my message. My fingers itch to follow up my previous text asking her out to dinner tonight, but I resist the urge to chase. It’s not something I do. While I’m not a player, I’ve never gone to any trouble for girls. I’m not one to give someone the wrong impression or lead them on. Which is why I can’t keep chasing Willow. At some point, she’s going to have to decide that she wants this too.

I go back to Frank’s message, and as I’m about to accept his invite, Willow’s text appears on the top of my screen.

Willow:Sure.

Sure.My chest fists around my heart, causing it to stutter as I reread the message before I reply.

Rory:Pick you up at 7.

Three dotsinstantly appear before she responds.

Willow:I’ll meet you at your place.

Rory: You want me that badly?

Willow: Let’s see if you deliver.

Rory: If you make it worth my while…

I’m waitingfor her comeback when Jan elbows me, clearing her voice to make sure that I zone back into the room. When I look up, the PR people are staring at me as though they’re waiting for an answer to a question I’ve completely missed.

Jan taps her pen on the pad in front of her, calling my attention to something she’s jotted down in all caps and underlined twice.

GUEST LIST

“Yeah, guest list is great,” I tell them all as my phone vibrates in my hand.

Without a second pause, I open the message. I’m struck for a moment, all thoughts and words completely eradicated as I stare at the photo. My cock instantly rouses, throbbing at the sight of light golden skin. The side swell of a perfect tit framed by a slender arm that hooks over it to barely cover a pebbled nipple.

Holy shit.

My pulse is roaring as my blood rushes down south, burning through my veins as I trace every detail of the photo, pausing at the teasingly bitten lip that makes it impossible not to bite my own.

I’ve been sent nudes before. Yet none of them had the effect that this one’s having. My mouth is watering to taste, my hands are aching to touch, and every square inch of my skin is burning with the need to have her body pressed up to mine. Desperate need coils tightly around every thread of my control, threatening to pull it apart.

“Rory?” Jan kicks me under the table, the jolt bringing my attention directly to her. “Everything okay?”

I can barely hear her through the lust fuzzing my senses as I lock the screen of my phone and take a drink of water.

“Everything good?” Jan repeats, her eyes narrowing on my phone, fisted in my hand.

“Great.” I have to clear my throat loudly to drown out the sound of the phone vibrating in my grip. “Everything is…ummm…it’s…good. Yeah. Fine.”

“The guest lis—”

“List is good.” We need to wrap this up because my attention is completely gone. There’s only one thing on my mind right now—sex. Fucking Willow. Hearing her moans as I—

“We need to know who you want there.” Jan pushes the notepad in front of me.

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