Page 12 of Relentless Pursuit

“Not as dangerous as her leaving here with some guy who will expect too much from her.”

The things she put on that checklist made Julian uneasy. If she wasn’t upfront, a potential match could get the wrong idea. No one wanted a situation where they thought they were getting one thing and ended up with another. He certainly didn’t want her in a position where anyone pushed her into more than she was capable of giving.

“My team and I would never have let that happen.” Blake huffed. “You know that.”

“I have to be sure.”

“You want her for yourself.”

“Maybe.” Julian took a sip from his glass. “I don’t know, but it’s too difficult having her here and not knowing if she’s a match.”

“She isn’t.”

“Maybe not if you go by my normal profile, but I can adapt.”

“The fact that you want to adapt worries me. You’ve never strayed from what you like.”

“I was attracted to her before she left for college, but I knew we weren’t compatible then. I never would have dreamed she could want what I’m into, but now four years later, she’s here and looking for someone to show her. How could I ever hand her over to someone else? I’m exactly who she needs.”

“Don’t play around with her,” Blake said. “If you want to start something with her don’t do it under the pretense of a screening for someone else. You know as well as I do you can’t start out on a lie. Don’t break rules you won’t be able to fix later.”

“That’s why I’m having dinner with her. I need to get to know her and make sure we can entertain the idea of even being together.”

“Just don’t make a mess of this,” Blake said. “I’m all for you going after what you want, but make sure that’s what she wants.”

“Of course.” Julian pondered his cousin’s words as Blake left the room. If Kayla didn’t want to be with him, would she keep showing up at Sapphire? Well, to be fair, he never told her who she was meeting. He just kept appearing.

There was a quick knock at the door before it opened. Christine entered first with Kayla a few steps behind her. Once Christine stepped to the side, he got a full view of Kayla. A smug smile laced her flawless features, but she didn’t appear annoyed that he was behind door number one.

“Thank you, Christine,” he said. “Everything is perfect.”

Julian may have been referring to the dinner Christine had set up, but he was really thinking about how stunning Kayla looked standing in the doorway. She’d curled her long hair at the ends, the way he liked it. He imagined twisting those silky locks around his wrist as he pounded into her from behind.

Patience...don’t get ahead of yourself.

She wore an off-the-shoulder, black silk shirt that exposed her collarbones and enough cleavage to keep him distracted for hours. The hem of her shimmery silver skirt rested on her thighs, giving him a revealing look at her toned, muscular legs. He had thought she was beautiful before, but when had she become a goddess?

Christine exited the room, closing the door behind her.

“We’ll be dining in here tonight.” He handed Kayla a glass of champagne. “I hope it meets your expectations.”

“Let me guess.” She pressed the glass to her ruby red lips and took a slow sip. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to control the impulse to kiss her. “You want to know what type of vibrator I use.”

“I know you can’t answer that.” He pulled a chair out for her and motioned for her to have a seat, amused by her candor. “Unless you lied on your application.”

“No.” She sat down, setting her glass on the table. “I’ve never used one before.”

“You have time.” He grinned before taking the seat across from her. “Tonight, I don’t want to talk about vibrators, nipple clamps, handcuffs, wax, or anything else you checked off on that sham of an application of yours.”

“Sham?” She straightened her back. “What does that mean?”

“Sham? According to the dictionary—”

“I know what it means, but why do you think the answers on my application aren’t truthful?” She tucked her curls behind her ear. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Call it a hunch.” He leaned back in his chair. “But you’re correct. I don’t know the woman you’ve become since you left for school. I’d like to rectify that.”

“Do you get to know all the clients this well before placing them?”

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