Page 45 of Ruthless Villain

“What is Luc like? You know more about him than I do. Is he the typical jock?”

“No, he’s not. Sure, he’s cocky as hell and his fame is insane but he’s one of those guys who are just irresistible in every way.”

Even with the little I know about him I’m inclined to agree.

When Zoe leaves I keep my promise and jump on the Internet to research Luc. I thought I’d do a quick search and bring up something on Wikipedia, but everything I find hooks me in and pushes me to keep going.

I read about his father, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest NHL players of all time. Luc isn’t far behind, holding all sorts of records and trophies.

Luc is considered one of the most legendary goal scorers of his time. It’s impressive and genius for someone his age to have achieved so much. Everything about his life revolved around hockey right from when he was five. He grew in fame in his teens after the death of his parents and hasn’t stopped since. On top of that his family is filthy rich and owns Le Blanche Global, the hedge fund investment firm.

Dad climbed up the ladder of success and is in the billionaire zone, but Luc’s family comes from an empire of wealth that is as old as dirt. I find details going back to the eighteen hundreds.

That’s all for the business-related articles. Everything else is juicy tabloid stuff that delivers all the gossip there is to knowabout Luc Le Blanche, the man FHM magazine nominated as the sexiest alive in their special last year.

I sort through mouthwatering pictures of him galore. There are a ton of him wearing his hockey uniform, others of him shirtless on the beach, or wearing a Brioni suit to some charity ball.

The pictures I don’t care to see are the ones linking him to a variety of women. From royalty to Victoria’s Secret models, celebs, and notable socialites. Then there are the puck bunnies.

I find it hard to believe that a man like him could be with women like them and choose me. A guy like him is going to go for women of high-society caliber, who don’t have emotional baggage, or fathers who don’t like him. He’d pick someone like Charlotte. I’m certain that if he’d seen her in Vegas, he would have chosen her. Not me.

The pictures and articles that follow are as recent as days ago and talk about Luc getting in a fight with Asshole Evan and being benched. I find social media pictures of him in Vegas with his fans.

I read and read and read and read. Before I know it, it’s midnight. I head to bed but Luc Le Blanche doesn’t leave my mind. By morning I’m back online again, practically stalking him and his Instagram account, which he posted to an hour ago.

He’s posted a picture of himself after a run in Central Park. He’s shirtless with his abs on display and sweat sliding down his happy trail.

There are nearly two hundred thousand likes now, along with hundreds of comments, and it’s only lunchtime.

This guy is sexy as hell and … way out of my league.

The fantasy has to stop here. At least I know what it’s like to be with him, and I have the excuse of doing the interview with him.

But I wonder what will happen now.

What will it be like when I next see him?

“At least you’re not watching porn.” Charlotte’s syrupy voice cuts into my thoughts, and I quickly exit Luc’s Instagram page.

I turn to find my sister standing in the doorway staring at me with open amusement.

Charlotte gives me a cunning smile and tries to look over my shoulder at my computer. As there’s nothing there, she frowns, but I know she saw that picture of Luc.

I can't believe I didn't even hear her come in, and why the hell can’t she ever knock? Or better yet leave me the hell alone and stop barging into my room. She doesn’t even live here.

“What do you want?” I snap.

“Hello to you, too, little sis.”

“I mean it, what do you want? And haven’t you heard of a thing called privacy?”

“Relax. I'm not here to broadcast the details of yourextracurricular activities.Who are you stalking this time, anyway?”

“I wasn't stalking anyone.” Yes, I know I'm lying, but she doesn't need to know that. “Why are you here, Charlotte?

“Mom and Dad need you downstairs. Lunch is ready.”

“I'm not hungry.”

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