Page 40 of Prelude To You

Perhaps that was why I simply didn’t get involved with anyone who showed the slightest sign of wanting to pursue a relationship. Emotional intimacy was not on the curriculum. And I’d never met that one woman who would make it worthwhile.

Which was why this sudden fixation with a stranger was both unwelcome and confusing, to say the least. All of these thoughts were running through my head as I took a shower. As if I was trying to convince myself that the bookshop incident was of no consequence.

Realistically, even if I were to meet her again, she’d probably be less alluring than I remembered. And why spoil the one exquisite memory I had?

After taking care of my throbbing cock, it still required a torrent of ice-cold water to extinguish the fire burning tirelesslythroughout my body. And I knew it would only take a single thought of her to spark it back to life.

In a day or two, Dancer’s absence would dull my craving for her, and it would all go away. Maybe three days. A week, tops. Two weeks at the outside.

I was fully aware that going out would be a waste of precious time. Steven had hit the nail on the head in that regard. The only reason to leave the estate tonight was because I toyed with the notion of visiting the bookshop in the hope that The Dancer would be there again.

After a fierce debate with myself, during which I deliberated the pros and cons, I figured the cons outweighed the pros. I decided to stay home and work.

I settled down behind my desk again, looking at the latest figures for a pending merger. It was at times like this that I realized how important it was to maintain my focus on the empire. The slightest misjudgment could cost hundreds of millions, and that wasn’t a risk I was prepared to take. I didn’t need distractions.

My phone screen chimed with a message: “Car ready.” I leaned back in my chair, realizing I hadn’t canceled my ride for the evening. Which meant my security detail was on standby.

By this time I’d managed to cultivate a steely resolve to curb my relentless yearning to see The Dancer again.

So it was extremely curious why the fuck I was now thinking to go out anyway. What did I imagine could possibly happen, should I find her in the bookshop? Last night’s spell was a brief moment of splendor. Only disappointment could follow.

I didn’t have a lot of time to make up my mind and get dressed. If I was going. An unfamiliar tension settled in the pit of my stomach. I opened the safe and took out my signet ring.

I didn’t need Steven hounding me for not wearing the tracking device.

11

ISABEL

Istruggled to stay levelheaded. But the closer we got to the hotel, the more my anxiety consumed me. The same questions kept running through my mind.

What if he’s not there?What if heis?!?

My emotional state was in turmoil and I couldn’t imagine a scenario where any of this would work out the way I wanted it to. For all I knew he’d be freaked out by seeing me at an event where I clearly didn’t belong.

That was to say he even remembered me.

Given that he’d been in such a rush to abandon me at the bookshop, he obviously didn’t regard our passionate interlude as a life-changing experience. Maybe I didn’t either, but I was curious how one man, and a total stranger at that, could create these disturbing albeit wonderful feelings inside of me.

Felix kept a dutiful eye on me in the rearview mirror but eventually gave up when I showed no sign of wanting to swing from the chandeliers. “You still doing okay?” he asked for the fifth time.

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks for checking. Again.”

“You’re going to text us frequently, right? So we know you’re okay.”

I smiled. “Yes, Dad.”

Felix shook his head, skeptical to say the least. “Maybe I should come in with you. Check this dude out. You ask me, he sounds like a jackass.”

“He’s not a jackass,” I said weakly. “I don’t think?” But a maze of uncertainty blossomed within.

“Okay, say Meg came to you and said this guy kissed her, no name, no number, and then pulled a disappearing act. What would you say to her if she wanted to go find this guy?”

“It was Meg who put me up to this, Felix,” I said, snippy. “Maybe take it up with her?”

Felix’s sensible reasoning came to a sudden halt. “Yeah, no. I’m not arguing with Meg. Still, text us on the reg, please?”

“On the reg…?”

---